8.14.2010
Magic is everywhere already.
Good morning! I got up way too super early, but that's because I'm a paranoid individual. I have my Orientation called "Our Town" at DTD (Downtown Disney...I'm going to make a list of these "short cuts" for everyone who doesn't know them already later...)

But, this post is going to be about Traditions and my time at Magic Kingdom afterwards!

Traditions, as I've mentioned, is basically the orientation every Cast Member (employee.) needs to take. It's a history of how Walt started the company, and how he wanted it to be run. I got my Disney ID! Woot! The two Leaders that I had in my class were really funny. They made the 4 1/2 hours fly by. Mickey also showed up towards the end to give us our name tags. That was nice of him, I know he's a busy guy. :)

After Traditions I went with my new friend Keri to Magic Kingdom to use my first ever free pass into the parks!
Let me just say....Keri is awesome. :D He and I figured out the perfect way to fit EVERYTHING at Magic Kingdom into our playtime. We missed one parade, and didn't do the kiddy rides (aside from Peter Pan. Fastpass that shiz....dawg?) but yep...it was possible to do everything without feeling like you're in a rush to do them, either! Fun fun fun. ^_^

Also, if you haven't done the Jungle Cruise at night...DO IT. Its the best time to ride it. That is, if your skipper makes it fun. We had Skipper Lupe ("Loopy"). We got off the Cruise and went right back in line (it was towards park closing, so we basically just walked onto the boat again...) to ride it again with Lupe. Hilariousness ensued. He even found Keri (then I found him!) on Facebook. Now he wants to hang out sometime. Hah! xD

Summer Nightastic is in it's final days here, but when it comes around again...be sure to get to a Disney park! The fireworks are AMAZING. No matter where you were in the park you could see them, so there wasn't much of a crowd in Liberty Square (which, I think was probably the best spot. The fireworks were right above our heads) so getting out of Liberty Square after was not stressful at all....

Magical Moment: Keri and I were sorta.....distracted away from the fireworks. There was a Cast Member selling those toys that light up in the middle of Liberty Square, and when the music started she started to dance like crazy! She knew all the words and knew the perfect cues to point at the sky and a firework would go off. It was AWESOME! Then, when Hook started fighting Peter Pan via fireworks, a little kid ran up to her and began to sword fight with her to the soundtrack of Pirates of the Caribbean. Amazing. <3

Well, that's about it so far! I have watched my roommates go to work while I had days off. Not fun. After today and tomorrow, I will finally have an official schedule at my work location and we'll all be on the same page. (aside from Bethany. :( poor girl had a hell of time with paperwork ID mix ups...)

I leave in about an hour, but am ready now :/ I even made a lunch already...*sigh* well...I guess I'm going to...watch Spongebob? Anna just turned the tv on...lol

I'll update again after I have my first official day at work! <3
8.11.2010
2 days thru Check-In!
Why HELLO! :D SOOO much to tell you about today... Lets start at the beginning, shall we?

I missed my first flight to Florida. :P It was at 8, and we left our hotel at 6 30. I missed my check-in by about 10 minutes. So, I was put on the waiting list for the next flight out at 10:20. Long story short with the waiting list...I did make it on the plane. Frickin window seat on the wing of the plane...

My flight was boring. I listened to music the entire time occasionally looking up at the in-flight movie (Iron Man 2) to admire the beautifulness that is Robert Downey Jr.

I met my Uncle and his sons at baggage claim. It was so good to see them again! Although, the oldest son used to be a tiny little guy and now, 3 years later, he's TALLER than me! And I'm above average! Off topic.

I stayed with my Uncle that night at his house in Plant City, Fl. It was only about a 40 minute drive from Orlando. I took them out to dinner to thank them and we watched Night at the Museum 2 and Clash of the Titans. :)

Day before check-in: I met my roommate Anna at her hotel and dropped off my suitcases and then we went off to meet our other roommates at Earl of Sandwich in DTD. I am in LOVE with the sandwiches there. Lunch spot for work? I think so.
We talked for a while and we all felt that we all feel comfortable with each other and got even MORE anxious for check-in the next morning!!

Check-in! : Anna and I left the hotel around 7 and got to Vista Way around 7 20, and...GOOD LORD! There were already 50+ people there! The whole process was supposed to start at 9, and we though we were early!
First we got sticker name tags and this Disney Guidebook that multiple people had to ask to look at...then it was the waiting game. Since there were so many people ahead of us, it was a bit of a wait (in the heat/humidity) to get to pick apartments. Plus, Anna and I were worried about our other roommates. They got there a little late, so they were faaar behind us. Right before we picked what apartment we wanted, we were able to wait for them to reach us. Unfortunately, that meant that most of the 2 bedrooms in Chatham get taken. Ugh.
Sooo we had an option of a 2 bedroom in Vista Way (we all did NOT want to think about living there) or a 4 bedroom in Chatham (meaning there are 8 of us). Wow. Lots of people. But, I am actually liking it a lot! (More info on the apartment in a bit, can't go off timeline or you'll get confused...)

We got our housing assignment, our key, and time when we had to catch the bus to Casting. At Casting, we found out where our work location is (Merchandise: Art of Disney in Downtown Disney!) and filled out more paperwork, got fingerprinted, found out when our Traditions class is...blah blah...HR/Background check stuff...
Now, Traditions is the "orientation" we have to go to before we can get our Disney IDs and have the ability to get into the parks for free. So, naturally, I was given the LAST slot for Traditions which is tomorrow (Thursday) at 7 30am. Joy. So, basically, I'm sitting here writing this blog watching my other roommates getting ready for their class wishing I were among them. *sigh* (BUT, also coming later, what I'm going to do today instead ;D)

After Casting, we were taken back to Vista to pick up our suitcases and head over to Chatham to check out our apartment! Anna's grandparents were amazing letting all of us (mind you, this is still the 4 of us who've known each other already) put our stuff in the back of their truck. It was a tight fit, but it worked!

We made the right choice with going to a 4 bedroom. It's BIG and it's got lots of space. You enter from the ground floor, then we take stairs up to the rooms (townhouse, basically). We also lucked out on location! From our balcony you can see the security tent, then right around the corner is the bus stop. Then outside our door to the right is our laundry room. Perfect.

The roommates: I've already mentioned Anna, Siara, and Bethany. All amazing girls :) But now...there is Amy, Jackie, Melina, and Brandy. Last night we all were in the living room talking for hours! It started with Bethany, Melina and I watching Hell's Kitchen (Melina and I are obsessed.) then the others (minus Siara) eventually joined us. It was tons of fun and a big relief that we all were talking with each other!
Fun thing that happened: We were talking about something random...then a commercial came on TV and some familiar music started to play....all of us shouted "GLEE!!!!" at the same time and clapped. It was awesome :)

Now, the apartment: 4 bedroom, like I said, and has 2 1/2 baths. There are 2 girls per room. I am rooming with Anna, and our bathroom connects with Siara and Bethany's room. The living room is biiiig. But only has a couch and chair. So, it really only seats 4 people. We do have a dining room table with 8 chairs, but still. Another couch or chair would be nice...
The kitchen is a good size for all of us to get around one another. We thought we had one fridge which...really wasn't going to fly. 8 people's food in one little fridge? Not gonna work, guys. We didn't discover that we had ANOTHER fridge in the apartment until after all of us went shopping for food. So...right now our fridge is overflowing. Lol
The other one was hiding! Hiding behind a door (around the corner from the kitchen, even!) that had a "Maintenance" sign on it! Whatever....we have another fridge. Phew. Haha

So, yesterday was spent going to Wal-mart, and hanging out with everyone. Today, while all my roommates (except Bethany, she has to take Traditions next week due to paperwork mix ups...poor girl) get ready for Traditions, I'm waiting for Jackie (who had the first class this morning at 8am...) to get back. The class is 4 hours long, so...it's 11 30 now...she should be back within an hour given the bus ride taking forever. She has an Annual Pass to Universal Studios and offered to get me in with a 10% discount. But...after thinking and talking with her about it...I've decided that I'm going to get my own Annual Pass. It was a $70 down payment which is basically a one day admission price. Then after that I pay $7/month for a year to keep it. You see...I know I'm not going to be here for a year, but I know for sure that I'm going to want to go to Universal more than once! And paying $70+ each time? No thanks...

SO I'm going to Universal Studios today with Jackie and Bethany. Bethany and I have never been before, so Jackie is especially excited to show us around. Haha
Bethany and I though...we're SUPER excited to go to Hogwarts. So, have fun in Traditions girls, but I'm going to ride a dragon, fight along side some super heroes, and go to Whoville. :)


I'll update about how Traditions went tomorrow or the day after (hopefully. I plan on going to Magic Kingdom right after with my friend Keri :D )
Friday...I have a free day. That might be park filled as well....LOL
Saturday I have a work orientation, then Sunday is my first official day of training! WOO!

Love and miss you guys from Nevada!
<3