Starlit Splash, Staycation, and Star Wars!

I promised myself when I started this blog that I would make an effort to update it regularly, and I have failed in doing that.
The reason why is because I have been so darn busy!

Work has been amazing as always and I have had some really magical moments there. I just can’t imagine ever going back to England and having to work in a boring job with no Mickey’s to be seen!

But I really want to talk about the three big things that I have done in the past few weeks, and those are the things you can see in the title of this post.

The Starlit Splash:

This has so far been my most favourite thing that I have done on my programme. For the Starlit Splash, Disney opens its Typhoon Lagoon water park for the international and collage programme cast members. They basically gave us free food (including Mickey ice creams!) and free entertainment until 1am. Oh! And free t-shirts!
I didn’t take any pictures of that night because I was too excited to be there, but I swear to God it was amazing.

Staycation:

So, I did my first staycation and it only cost $18! It was honestly worth it just for the bed which was beyond comfortable. We also planned it around the extra magic hours in Magic Kingdom so got to do loads of the attraction which normally you’re waiting in line forever for.
We stayed in All Star Movies, which is a budget hotel, but for what we were doing the staycation for it was perfect!

Star Wars:

At the moment Hollywood Studios have Star Wars weekends going on and I went to one this weekend. I’m the first to admit that I don’t really care for Starwars at all, and have never watched any of them, but it was amazing.
All the characters were out in their Star Wars costumes, and I even went and did a Princess Leia bun ear thing. The most magical moment, though, was when Chip and Dale (dressed as Ewoks) decided to pick Emmy and I to dance with. I thought it was going to be a cheeky twirl and then we’d get to the photo, but they just wouldn’t let us go and we were dancing for quite a while.

I have loads of pictures of Star Wars weekend, so I’ll post a few of my favourites because #yolo

I’m definitely working the ball dance routine with Dale here.

Jedi Master in the making

I have no idea what Goofy is, but how cute is Donald as a stormtrooper??

I know it looks really lame because I don’t have long hair…but Leia buns!

 

 

Easter in Epcot

Happy Easter!

Throughout the Easter holiday Epcot has had an Easter egg hunt running where guests are given a map and set of spent stickers and have to find the hidden Easter egg in each of the pavilions and then place the character sticker on the map.
Well, I had Easter Sunday off, so guess what I went and did…

So I was thinking that I am definitely going to get some chocolate for doing this, and was so psyched for an Easter egg. But no, instead we go hollow plastic eggs with nothing inside them. They’re cute though!

I found out that Americans don’t have actual Easter eggs like we do in the UK, and I was missing British Easter chocolate like you wouldn’t believe. So imagine my excitement when a package arrived for me from my mum and dad packed full of Easter treats! Including these babies which are like eating a piece of heaven

Anyway, I’m starting to get into Merch life. I’m poor, eating ramen all the time and having an absolute blast in work. I’ve taught several young princesses how to curtesy properly, had too many sword fights to count, and had far too much fun with a Merida bow and arrow that is meant to be for children.
Also, if you work in merchandise, you will almost definitely become obsessed with pins and pin trading. I’ve actually spent my own money and bought pins which I wear with pride when I’m playing in the parks.
I also found this beaut of a pin which I had to have because a) it represents the time that I arrived at Disney and b) it has the topiaries from the UK pavilion on it so obviously had to buy it.

Oh and we passed our inspection today so got free cookies from housing!

I think that’s it for now, I hope you’ve all had a great Easter, ate loads of chocolate and had a merry time.

It’s already been a month…

Like, seriously, how could this have happened?  A whole month has already passed since I arrived?!

Today marks my one month anniversary since I arrived so I feel like this warranted a post.

In some respects it has gone incredibly fast and it feels like I only arrived last week.  But at other times it feels like I have been doing this my entire life.  I feel so comfortable in my job role, feel like I actually know what I am doing, and feel comfortable enough to answer guests’ questions with confidence and interact with them in the ‘Disney’ way.

 

Outside of work has been pretty quiet as of late.  I’m not used to working full time so I’ve been struggling with all the hours and have been feeling really tired; I am basically living for my days off.

Last week I had a nice lie in and then cleaned my flat.  On my second day off I went to Animal Kingdom with Holly and Llauren and them me and Holly went on to Magic Kingdom to show some princesses how to twerk.  This week I have no plans, but today I did my food shop and tomorrow I need to go to the post office.

It’s really strange because I’m not what you would call a ‘Disney Kid’ but I’m on a mission to get character selfies and all of their autographs.  I think I have Holly to thank for that.  It’s almost impossible not to go into full on keeno mode when you’re around this girl in a Disney park.  I’ve even started pin trading.  And it is all her influence.

Let’s talk about food, baybee

Being in America for three weeks is taking its toll on me food wise. I’m the first to admit that I am not the healthiest eater in the world, but I do enjoy my fruits and veg.
You can see why a lot of Americans are overweight; junk food is so much cheaper and far more accessible than anything healthy. Example: a small bag of frozen broccoli cost me $2.49 whereas a large frozen pizza was $1.19. Because we don’t earn a great deal of money and there are things that I want to do whilst I’m here, I’m obviously going to go for the cheap options, so I’ve basically been eating a load of shit.

I am trying to be healthy, I eat at least 2 portions of fruit a day but it’s difficult to get the vegetable in because so far I’ve been finishing work late and really can’t be bothered to cook anything when I get home so have been eating microwave meals.
We’re also not allowed to leave food on the counters so we have to keep things like bananas in the fridge which, for some reason, makes them go bad faster.

Anyway, rant about food over.
Florida living is good! So far the weather has been less than perfect, but I don’t mind because I’ve had things to do in my apartment. Today I cleaned my bathroom and had a good hoover as well as scrubbing the hob of the cooker, cleaning the microwave and scrubbing all the pots and pans clean. I also did all of my washing and still found time to go to the gym for 45 mins. Oh, and I also did my food shop.

So far I’m absolutely loving work! My favourite shop to work in is easily The Toy Soldier because you just get to play when you’re in there. I also enjoy being in The Sportsman Shoppe because they sell Doctor Who merchandise and I basically get to geek out with all the whovians (there are a lot of them) that come in.
I haven’t really done much outside of work recently. I went to House of Blues in Downtown Disney on Sunday and was basically groped from start to finish. People just grab you in there and it’s creepy – I was asked by 5 different men if I was married and when I was at the bar a man (who was the same age as my dad) swiped his credit card down my ass. He was lucky he didn’t get a punch in the face – seriously if that had happened at home he would have left with a black eye.

Me and my roommate also have a small ant infestation which is nice. I went to housing yesterday and they said that the exterminators come on Thursdays so we have to wait until then. Thing is, they all seem to be on my side of the room so I’m a little bit scared to sleep just in case they crawl into my mouth.

Anyway, this entire post has been a bit pointless but I’ve got nothing eel to do for the rest of the evening so thought I’d share what’s going on in my life.

Princesses, Parties, and Passing exams

I can’t believe that another whole week has passed since I arrived.  It’s going far too fast already.

Anyway, on to what I was going to talk about.  Many people have been asking me on facebook if I’ve actually started work yet, and the answer is yes…yes I have, but it’s so much fun, it doesn’t feel like work.

Work is fun, but being out of work is so much more exciting because we get free access to Disney World.  I’ve been to all of the parks now and I’m loving it so much.  I’m a massive fan of the Disney Princess movies, and I was so excited when I got to meet Rapunzel in the Princess Hall at Magic Kingdom! We haven’t really done many of the rides so far because we have a whole year to do it in, and wanted to just have a day where we explored without waiting in queues for hours on end (and also Magic Kingdom day was right after throw in and I wasn’t feeling quite show ready).

With Princesses out of the way, we move onto Parties!

When each new arrival group comes, they get initiated into the Pavillion through a throw in.  I was terrified of this because I had heard some really cringe worthy things about throw in, but it was honestly nothing to be worried over.  At throw in, any cast member in your pavillion who can make it comes, and you stand up infront of them and introduce yourself.  You are then asked a few questions from the crowd and get asked a ‘would you rather…’ I think that our throw in was pretty tame compared to some of the others that I have heard of, and I was pleased because I make a massive tit out of myself when I’m drinking anyway, without the added fun of doing weird things infront of a load of people who I have to work with for the next year.  After that, you go to the bar and get drunk.

I realised that in America they don’t measure their drinks, and so after 3 mixers I was absolutely off my tits, and made a lovely friend from the  Mexican Pavillion but didn’t actually really talk to any of the UK family.

There is also a thing called Lads and Lasses which is a guaranteed night out every Monday. Lads and Lasses are two separate drinking groups (obviously they girls go to Lasses and the boys to Lads).  I’d also heard things about  Lasses which were unsavoury so I had my reservations about going (I was also feeling ill – it’s honestly like I’ve got Freshers Flu all over again), but I went anyway and had a really good time.  I was told that it was a bit of a different Lasses meeting than it would normally be, because some of the girls are leaving next week and it was their last meeting, so we took a trip down memory lane.  Although I didn’t know anyone or anything they were talking about, it was lovely to hear stories about how these girls, from all walks of life, and all areas of the UK have become such good friends and I actually shed a small tear when they began to cry.

After the house party aspect of it, we went to Murphy’s, which is an Irish Bar, met up with the Lads, and played some drinking games against the Australian Boys and Girls.

Everyone kicks out here at 2am so you never really have a late night when you go out, so you have to make the most of it whilst you’re out.  I wasn’t feeling 100% so I didn’t really take advantage of the jugs of alcohol that were being passed around, but some of the guys there were absolutely wasted.

 

Finally, Passing Exams! I passed my Merchandise exam so I have officially earned my ears! YAY!

I also met and had a chat with the boss in Magic Kingdom, and honestly I was a little bit starstruck.  I’ve met Mickey Mouse before, but Magic Kingdom have a new Mickey Mouse, called Talking Mickey, and he actually talks to you.  It was honest to god amazing!

I would also like to say that I’m definitely missing home.  The two week mark has hit and I’ve realised that this is not a holiday and I’m not going home anytime soon.  I had a few tears on Mother’s Day when I rang my mum and my nan, but I suppose that it’s to be expected that there are going to be bad days amongst all the good ones.

 

The first week

My lord, what a crazy first week this has been!

Tuesday
Tuesday was arrival day and to be honest it was horrible. I had to say goodbye to mum and dad (who both cried, it was awful) and get on a plane by myself for the first time in my life and sit on it for 9 and a half hours. It wasn’t all bad though – I was in an isle seat so didn’t need to bug anyone if I needed the toilet and I got to finally watch The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug which I’ve been wanting to see since forever.
Customs was a nightmare and took an hour and a half and then I was supposed to be meeting Edd so we could get the bus to Vista Way together. Neither me not Edd could find each other so just got on the bus but ended up being on the same one anyway, so it worked out fine.

You then have a quick welcome, get your housing ID, find out where you’re staying and go there. I was in The Commons which is the nicest complex (and also the most expensive) and live with 3 other people, but no one was there when I arrived so I had the opportunity to have a good snoop around.

I then arranged to meet back up with Edd because we were both shattered but, more importantly, starving. We were meant to be meeting Rachael at Vista Way and getting food together but ended up getting on a bus that took us all the way to Animal Kingdom. It took us an hour. An hour sitting on a bus when you’ve been travelling all day and are tired and hungry isn’t ideal. In the end we didn’t meet Rachael because it was too late and ended up having the most unsatisfying meal I’ve ever eaten in Wendy’s.

Then home to bed – I didn’t have any bed clothes though (we were gonna run to Walmart after food, but we got the wrong bus) so I slept in a towel with my dressing gown as a pillow. Fun.

Wednesday

Woke up at the crack of bloody dawn because there was this annoying bird outside of my window who would not shut up.
But then I got ready, walked to Vista Way to meet the others and had a snoop around Rachael’s apartment at Vista. We then had to go to this welcome meeting which reminded me of a school disco because there were strobe lights and loud music.

Then the dreaded Walmart run. I spent so much money and only came away with enough food to last me about 2 days. But at least I now have bedding and coat hangers so I can finally get unpacked.

Thursday
We had another meeting thing today and it was much more serious than the last one. It was basically filling in the forms you need to get your social security number (which I think is like national insurance?). The meeting was super early and we were then all given an appointment time to go back and pass in all our information that disney still needed from us (health insurance etc) as well as to check that those forms were filled out correctly.

The first meeting finished at like 10:30 and my appointment was at 15:30. We decided to have a lookie loo around the outlet mall opposite The Commons, but only stayed there for about half an hour. I then went back to my apartment fully intending to go for a work out and then chill by the pool, but actually ended up watching 2 episodes of Malcolm in the Middle and having a 3 hour nap.

After all of our scheduled meetings, we went to get some dinner at Red Lobster (omg we had the nicest cocktails) and then had another group romp to downtown disney.

friday
Friday was our day off and we decided to go and get our year pass to Universal Studios and spend the day in the parks. There’s not really much to say about this except that without Nina or Ryan we wouldn’t have any idea what we were doing and we wouldn’t get any done.

Saturday
Traditions! Basically this is a day long class at the disney university where you learn about the service standards of the company, as well as it’s history, heritage, and the legacy of Walt Disney.
They like you to participate in this class and when you answer a question or say something relevant, you get a little disney figurine. I managed to get Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy.
Even more exciting is that you receive your Disney ID which allows you to get into the parks, and also entitles you to your discounts. Your name badge is also given to you at this class.
We all then went to Magic Kingdom – you actually go into magic kingdom for a while as part of your traditions class, but you don’t get the opportunity to look around or visit any of the attractions. We stayed until closing time, and thanks to the buses we didn’t actually get home until around 1:30.

Sunday
Up to this point we had been doing everything together, and that was great because it allowed us to bond and get to know one another. However, because half of us are out to do Merchandise and the other half to do Food and Beverage, we obviously have to do different site specific training.
On Sunday, Holly, Edd, and myself spent the entire day in Epcot. We were shown around backstage by our lovely trainer, Jonathan, and went to get out costumes, which was beyond exciting.
We then had to do some compliance elearning which was beyond boring but after that we got to go onstage and were shown around the different merchandise locations.
It took the entire day, and I felt so bad for Jonathan because He was so enthusiastic, but Holly, Edd and I were absolutely shattered because of our late night.

Monday
Monday we had to do our Merchentainment training, which was at the Disney university. To be honest, I’ve been working in retail for 5 years and they didn’t tell me, or teach me, anything I didn’t already know. Even the till system was very similar the one I’m used to using in the UK, so this day was pretty boring.
We did get to do some roleplay though, which was sufficiently awkward and hilarious.

Tuesday
This brings us full circle. We were back to on location training today and had to do more elearning on things that will not apply to us in the position we are in.
We then went on stage and did some more till training and tried to get used to the money.
It was a long day – made longer by the fact that I still don’t have any flat shoes, so was in my heels all day again today. My poor, poor feet.

There’s a picture under the cut

Goodbye my lovers, goodbye my friends…

I’m so sorry for these cheesy titles I keep spewing out.

My last week at home has been emotional, tiring, and so much fun.

The celebrations/goodbyes started last Friday. What I was lead to believe was going to be a quiet night out with my Boots besties (*cough*torididn’tcome*cough*), turned out to be a surprise leaving party/gathering. I was honestly so surprised! Brad, I love you but you’re a little shit.
Anyway, I didn’t get in until 5.30am and had to be up for work in the morning (or later that morning). Safe to say, work was horrible.

Thursday was saying goodbye to my best girlfriends from school and that was done at Nando’s because there are no Nando’s in Florida. It still didn’t feel real at this stage because in my mind I had still had ages left. But I know that I will miss them all so much.  It was also a bit sad because 3 of my girls couldn’t be there because they’re all off studying around the country – but I love you guys.

Friday was family time – my cousin went to Singapore for 4 months (he works on cruise ships) on Sunday so we had a joint leaving party with both sides of the family. It was a lovely evening and I’m still dreaming about the lovely salad I had. Seriously, it was amazing. We were surprised by an amazing cake made last minute by my cousin, and had a really lovely time.

Saturday was when it hit me. It was my last Saturday with the healthcare counter crew and they bought me a beautiful necklace  and everyone signed a card which made me cry when I got home and read it. After work I went straight to my friends house and was given yet more gifts and pretty much sobbed my heart out. It hit me that I won’t be seeing my two best friends, who I see every single week, for a year. Don’t even get me started on one of my oldest friend’s, Lauren, who is currently in Austria and who, by the time I get back, I won’t have seen for about 18 months.

Sunday was goodbye to my Sunday team at work and it was emotional if I’m being honest. I don’t know if they could tell, but I was trying to keep It together all day, and they got me the best card, and some really lovely presents. I love you guys.

Sunday was also saying goodbye to my sister and I’m still too emotional over this to write much, but, Lucy, I love you, and I will miss you so much. Stay safe, have a fabulous 18th, and I’m already looking forward to seeing you in October.

Saying goodbye to my grandparents was hard.  They’re elderly, and my grandad is quite ill with Parkinson’s Disease, and it was the first time in my life I can ever remember seeing my nan cry.  I’m sat here writing this now and I’m filling up with tears. My parents, my siblings, and my friends I can cope with because they all have access to the internet and skype is a wonderful thing.  But I won’t be seeing my nan and grandad at all until next year.  And that’s a really hard concept for me to get my head around.

So, I’m off tomorrow morning and heading to Gatwick (which is about 5 hours from where I live), and getting onboard my plane to take me to the most magical place on earth.  Excited doesn’t even begin to cover it!

DORMs

So, a bit before you arrive you get sent an email asking you to register and give preferences for your living situation. I got mine today and have just done that.

This gives you an opportunity to say where you want to live, who you want to live with, and how many people you want to share with. If you honestly don’t mind there’s a ‘be adventurous’ option as well. I only put preferences for housing (The Commons, Chatham Square, and Patterson Court – not Vista Way lol) and said that I didn’t want to live with anymore than 5 other people.

In my arrival group there’s a girl who is the same age as me called Rachael and we planned on being roomies. However, Rachael got her Dorms email 2 days before me and while she said she’d wait until I got mine and we’d request to be put together (In the email you get a roommate number that you have to put if you want to room with someone) but she kept getting emails telling her to register. So she did hers and told me what preferences she put and I did the same so hopefully we’ll be together anyways.

They don’t don’t guarantee that you’ll get any of your preferences but they will try to do their best.

12 days to go!

Viiiiissssaaaa

Firstly I apologise for the excessive amount of posts I’ve made about the visa. Hopefully this is going to be the final one.

Secondly, my visa was approved!

My appointment was at 0830 in the morning at the US Embassy in London. I had work until 9.30pm the night before so I couldn’t travel up and stay somewhere, so I caught a bus at 1am and got to London at 7.15. And it was only a fiver – good old megabus!
Getting to the Embassy is dead easy if you start from London Victoria. You just have to jump on the tube and make two stops. Firstly get the Victoria Line to Green Park (one stop) and then get the Jubilee line to Bond Street (one stop). You come out of the tube station on Oxford Street and the embassy is just down the side of where Zara is.
You’re not allowed to take any big bags or electrical items (apart from a mobile which must be turned off) with you, but there are places around that you can store your bags for a couple of quid.

The embassy was massively busy even though it was only 8am when I arrived. I had to join this massive queue to sign in and then an even bigger one to actually get into the embassy. You have to go through a security scanner and any items you take in with you have to go through a scanner too.
You then go up to the desk with your documents and they give you a number (I was N89) and you have to wait for your number to be called. I was only waiting for about 10 mins so it was really quick for me. You have to go to the booth the caller tells you and hand over all of your documents and have your finger prints done. They then take all your stuff and tell you to sit down and wait to be called again.

This was even quicker. I was sat down for 5 minutes and contemplating getting a cuppa when I was called to the interview booths. The two guys that were sat behind me had both been waiting for an hour already, so I was like sorry not sorry.

I can honestly say that I was terrified for this interview. I thought they we’re gonna grill me and that I’d end up crying. But she just asked what I was doing in America, when I was going and when I was leaving. They also ask you about your ties to the UK (they ask you about your family) and you have to have your finger prints done again.

They tell you then and there whether you have been approved (I was!) and they take your passport and documents away for processing and say when you should expect them back (she said 3-5 working days to me).

And that’s it! You have your visa!
I got chatting to a girl in the queue and we sat with each other in the embassy so we went to get some breakfast together after because we were both starving! So, Steph, if you’re reading this, I hope you’re having a fab time in New York!

Then I went shopping because Forever 21 is right near the embassy (Awww yea). And then I went back to Victoria to catch a train to Brighton and I’m writing this in the front room of my friend’s student house.

I’m bloody shattered.

Visa a gogo

You have no idea what a relief it was when I got my visa documents in the post today. It means that I can actually go get one.

Because of the bad weather it’s really difficult to get from Plymouth to London by train, so I’m bussing it up.
I’ve got about 100 hours of travel ahead of me, so wish me luck!