What happens in Vegas…

So on Wednesday evening Nina came round to the Grand Flo, we had chinese, and she helped me pack…hiding a few extras in my case along the way. OnThursday morning I left the hotel just before Kathryn and Rebecca, I got Supershuttle and they got the Magical Express.
I then met up with them again at my gate, as my flight left 30 minutes before theirs. My first flight to Charlotte was quick and then it was a long 5 hour journey to Vegas.
The transfer to the hotel was simple and before I knew it I was reunited with Vicki and Claire It was weird, simply because it wasn’t. It didn’t feel like it had been a year since I last saw them.
We headed to the room, where they showered the most disgusting ‘champagne’ over my head and then I got ready at light speed to head on a bar crawl. It started in Senor Frogs in Treasure Island, then another bar there. We left the bar crawl at this point as there wasn’t much going on and went and had a go on some of the tables…roulette and 21.
Friday
We got up and had lunch at Guy Fieri’s , got a drink from Fat Tuesday and headed to the Venetian for a ride on a gondola. After that we headed to the Stratosphere to do the rides on top of it. Claire couldn’t as she has vertigo but Vicki and I managed to do all 3 within 50 minutes 🙂
We then headed to Treasure Island again for another go on the tables.
That night we headed to see Britney, she was BRILLIANT! Though I’m totally biased and then in real party style we headed to bed as we had to be up at 5.30am to go to the Grand Canyon.
Saturday
It was an early start to go on our tour, on the way to the Canyon we stopped at the Hoover Dam for a quick photo and the Joshua Tree forest and then it was on to the Canyon itself.
As soon as we got there, us 3 and a couple headed on a helicopter ride over and down in to the Canyon. We then went on a short boat ride along the Colorado River and then back to the top. We visited Eagle Point first so as we could do the Skywalk. It was pretty scary but really cool. Vicki and Claire couldn’t have scared me more at Eagle Point as they got VERY close to the edge.
We then headed to Guano Point and had a look round before heading back to the bus.
That evening we got ready, with the help of a bottle of wine and headed to Fremont Street. It was amazing. The lights, and the casinos and mainly Slotzilla which is a zipline that runs the length of the street. It was a fantastic night!
Sunday
This was our last full day in Vegas together. We planned to do things we hadn’t yet done.We visited the Vegas sign, did the rollercoaster on New York,New York, did some souvenir shopping, had a nice dinner in the Cheesecake factory at Caesar’s, watched the Bellagio fountains and then watched Cirque Du Soleil, Mystere.
Monday
The girls got up and left super early. I stayed in the room for a little while longer, left my bags with bell services and then went to look round the last few hotels, I went to the Mandalay Bay, to the aquarium, the Luxor, Excalibur and then finally to the Mirage. I then headed to McDonalds to sit for a while, walked the Miracle Mile and then it was time for my shuttle to the airport.

It’s something unpredictable, but in the end it’s right.

So, after I got back from New Orleans I only had 6 days left to work due to booking yet more time off!
On the Monday it was Rebecca and I’s last lasses. We chose Mardi Gras as our theme as we’d had our last trip to New Orleans. We played the Latinos which I was glad about as they’re my fave team to play and funnily enough we played in SOB which is where our throw in had been.

The next day I had to wait in all day for my suitcase to be collected, which is lucky as I wasn’t feeling too good. Unfortunately due to a mess up with security the collection never happened so had to spend Wed morning doing the same thing.

On Wed afternoon I headed to BJ’s for drinks and food with Ash, Bella and Rachael before heading to ibar that night. I can’t remember much of Ibar apart from I spent no money woohoo!

Thursday was Rebecca’s birthday so when I eventually surfaced I joined her and Kathryn in MK, we went to the plaza for lunch and hit a few rides before heading home for the evening.

Friday was then Kathryn’s birthday so Nina, Rebecca, Kathryn, Rachael, Bella, Ashleigh and I headed to California Grill for dinner. This is one of Disney’s signature dining restaurants and the bill reflected that, but it was a lovely night and was cool to watch Wishes from the top of the Contemporary.

Saturday, Kathryn came with me for my final trip to Universal. We only went on one ride, The Cat in the Hat but I had come with the intention of going on anything as I just wanted to see it all one last time, and have one last lunch in the Leaky Cauldron.

Sunday brought the start of my final week of work, and my last shift with Rachael and Ash which left me slightly more teary than I thought. A load of us then headed to  B Dubz to watch the Superbowl and then on to HOB.

Monday was my final night in my apartment and meant that my packing had to be pretty much finished by the time I went to bed as on Tuesday we would be coming home from work, grabbing our things and moving it all to the Grand Floridian for the last two nights.

Wednesday was my last day of work but before that, Kathryn, Rebecca and I headed to 1900 park fare for breakfast before hopping on the monorail and bus to work!

Wed morning was spent taking photos all around the pavillion and doing even less work than usual. It was a very strange feeling as it didn’t actually feel like I was leaving until I said bye to certain people which made me a bit teary as the chance of me seeing some of them again aren’t high due to location, also, clocking out made me cry more than I thought it would haha!

After that we went to the pub for a couple of drinks, French Fry and Lisa came round to say bye, I then threw my shoes in to the lagoon…2 seconds later, a bird pooped on my foot. Karma.
Rebecca, Kathryn and I then headed to Magic Kingdom for one last time, we rode Big Thunder Mountain and then found a spot to watch our final wishes. Funnily enough Wishes didn’t make me sad, it made me happy, thinking about everything I’d manage to achieve in my year.

I’m home now, (I’ll do one more post about Vegas) and it still doesn’t feel like it’s over, yet at the same time it doesn’t feel like it ever happened.

♫ It’s something unpredictable, but in the end it’s right, I hope you had the time of your life ♫

 

N’Orleans

Rebecca and I headed to Downtown Orlando on the evening of Sunday 18th to catch the Megabus. It was a 12 hour journey to get there but admittedly it wasn’t too bad as we had 2 seats each so were able to spread out and sleep.

We arrived in NOLA at 6am the next morning and headed to our hotel and dropped our bags before heading out to explore. Our hotel was really central (just off Bourbon street). We went straight to Jackson Square to Cafe Du Monde for some Beignets. They were so good.

After that we just wandered around the shops for a bit and then headed to Louis Armstrong park. As I’m updating this a few weeks after I actually visited NOLA I can’t be sure of what else we did that day or on any other in particular. Things that we did do though include visiting St Louis Cemetery (where Nicolas Cage has bought a grave and Marie Laveau is buried), Beauregard Keyes House, Mardi Gras World, St Louis’ Cathedral, Houmas House Plantation tour, a hop on hop off bus tour and the Voodoo bone ladytour.

The Voodoo tour took quite a bit of effort as the night we were meant to originally do it we headed to Bourbon street a few hours prior to the tour…4 drinks (NOLA Style) later and we both fell asleep and missed it so had to rebook.

NOLA is a cool place to visit but one thing I will say is that it was a lot dirtier than I envisioned and it seemed to be a place for ‘lost souls’, lots of street artists and homeless people

Dear Mr. President

Last Monday, I managed to swap some shifts around for this week and ended up with 3 days off in a row. Due to panic setting in about the end of my programme I decided to book a last minute trip to Washington D.C., from the 13th-15th.
Monday night was Nikki’s last lasses, because I had to be up so early the next morning I couldn’t go out but I went to the apartments. It’s very strange to see Nikki have her last as she arrived just two weeks before me and we had our throw in together.
Tuesday
Up bright and early and off to the airport. I landed in D.C around 10 and hopped in to my shuttle to my hotel. Thankfully they had a room ready so I was able to drop my things and head off to explore. I headed straight for Pret a Manger to grab some food then off towards the Whitehouse. It was right at the bottom of street my hotel was on, a 60 second walk at most. It was just as impressive as I imagined it to be! After nosying at Obama’s digs I headed down to the Washington Monument, it was SO windy round the monument as it’s on a hill so there was no shelter. I managed to get a ticket to go up it for 30mins after I arrived. The views were unbelievable!
Once I’d come down from there I headed on a loop of all the monuments..WW2, Lincoln, Korea, Roosevelt, MLK and Jefferson.
I headed from there over to the Holocaust Museum. It was very strange, in that it actually made the Holocaust real. It was very interesting to read but it was pretty grim.
I then went to the Natural History museum for a little nosy but it was really no different to the one in London. I had dinner in a lovely restaurant called the Old Ebbit Grill, it was the ‘local’ for presidents in the past. The food was lovely, as was the wine!
Wednesday
It was an early start again to head to the Bureau of Printing and Engraving. This is the place where money is made. It was pretty cool to see and was really interesting hearing about all the different processes the money goes through. I also got to see 1 million dollars!
After the museum I trekked down the mall, stopping off at museums along the way. I went in to a couple of the Smithsonian museums, the best one being the Air and Space Museum. It was huge and parts of it, again, reminded me of the museums in London.
I then went further down the Mall to the Capitol Building where I had scheduled a tour. The capitol building is where the sentate and congress meet so it was really interesting to see inside. No building in Washington is allowed to be higher than the top of the Capitol! We went in to a few of the meeting rooms, the main rotunda and then another room where some presidents had been inaugurated.
I had some lunch in the Capitol and then hopped on a city bus tour. It was nice to sit down after all the walking and the tour guide was really good and shared some interesting facts. Once I hopped off the tour I headed back to the hotel as it was too cold to stay out. I got takeway and a bottle of wine to keep me amused.
Washington D.C. wasn’t on my Bucket List but I’m extremely glad I visited it. I’m also glad that I managed to do a trip by myself. It was nice to just have some alone time as you’re constantly surrounded by people here!

Tiny update

Since I last posted New Year has been and gone. It’s now 2015 and my timehop is now constantly reminding me of the excitement of this time last year when the whole thing was just beginning. It’s scary to think it’s almost over.

It’s also time for another round of applicants to apply and bearing that in mind I’ve noticed that my blog is overwhelmingly positive. Which for the most part my programme has been but I don’t know that I’ve given an entirely fair representation of the whole thing given that there are obviously some negatives too. Though I still maintain moving to America is the best thing I’ve ever done I wanted to point out for anyone who may be reading this some things to consider.

1. Missing your friends and family.

A year is a LONG time when different things are happening at home. Since I’ve been here my gran has been diagnosed with cancer (but at the moment is all clear…YAY), a friend got engaged, another friend broke up with her longtime partner , one has been made redundant and another had a baby. These all make it tough to be so far away as you want to be there for everyone but you just can’t. You can try to empathise but a whatsapp message doesn’t really cut it.

2. Giving up work at home.

Whilst the programme has been brilliant and I’ve worked for the best entertainment company in the world I have stepped away from my chosen career for a whole year. The work I’ve done in Disney has minimal bearing on the work I do at home and it’s only now that I’m coming to the end of my programme that I’m realising how scary it’s going to be to step back in a classroom and how my chances of doing so are smaller than that of someone who has worked at home for the past year.

3. Work

To me the job is great in that the actual tasks are easy and sure you can get in the weeds but in the grand scheme of things it’s fish and chips so I never stress about it. What can be difficult though is the working hours. During busy seasons you can work 6 day weeks running around 50-60 hours. For most of my time on podium and a good chunk of my time in service we’ve been on 6 day weeks. I’ve struck it lucky in that I had vacation booked at the right time and mostly managed to swap out of 6 days but it’s something to consider.

4. Housing/Buses

Whilst I understand and am grateful for the fact security and housing are there to keep us safe there are times when they can be very frustrating. Such as inspections which happen monthly, sending packages to the wrong complex and the fact that they won’t let companies deliver to your door. I’m hoping to send a suitcase home but I’m going to have to spend my whole day off waiting at security to actually do it as they won’t let them through.

Buses…sometimes they’re on time, sometimes they’re not, sometimes they’re hotter than hell and sometimes they’re like the arctic. They are however, ALWAYS rammed. But, at the same time they’re  free so I really shouldn’t complain.

—–

So in actual Disney life since I last posted.

I celebrated NYE at the Rose and Crown, one of my roommates got termed, I stayed in Animal Kingdom Lodge for the better part of a week, I said goodbye to one of my best friends from the programme and I booked a spontaneous 2 night trip to Washington D.C. I go on Tuesday morning  (all by myself eeeek) and fly back to Orlando on Thursday before heading to New Orleans for a week that Sunday. It’s going to be a busy few weeks before I get home but it all looks like fun 🙂

6 weeks to go

On the 15th Lydia and I rented a car and stayed in Caribbean Beach for the night as Lydia had wanted to do a pirate room. Before we checked in to the hotel, her, Roisin and myself headed to Celebration to see their Christmas decorations. It’s a little town close to Disney that was originally owned by Disney. It has massive houses and it’s town centre is really ‘Old America’ in style. We had dinner in the Celebration Town Tavern and then had a wander around. They had a little ice rink and it also ‘snowed’, it’s one of the few times I’ve actually felt Christmassy since being here.
We dropped Roisin off and headed to the hotel where we just chilled before getting up the next morning and heading to Publix and then to the outlets at the bottom of International Drive where we spent a lot more money than planned.
That night I headed to Raglan road with a few people from work, the sangria was flowing VERY heavily and I have to say I don’t remember an awful lot!
I was off the next day and meant to be Volunteering but that didn’t happen, I also developed a mega sore throat over the day so ended up calling in for the next two days 😦
On Saturday it was back to work for a mid, followed by another on Sunday. The Sunday mid wasn’t too bad as everyone in work had booked to go to a trampolining centre after work 🙂
We had rented it out completely so it was just us lot there, between midnight and 2am, we played dodgeball, managed to break a trampoline and just generally had a laugh. It was a really fun way to spend the evening.
I only had 1 more day of work after trampolining (another mid) and then I had 4 days of for Christmas.
That Monday was Christmas lasses which was brill, and for me it was my first lasses in months where I could sit down and enjoy the games and not worry about looking after everyone else. It was Wil’s last, but Chloe and Lydia who don’t come to lasses came too as it would be their last as well.
Lydia’s one of the people I’m closest to here and that and the fact I was guzzling wine made me very emotional and therefore I was crying my eyes out in the last circle…I don’t cry!
Tuesday was another hungover day of nothing, apart from lying on Lydia’s sofa feeling sorry for myself lol!
Christmas Eve
Rebecca, Kathryn and I got up early to head to Universal. I hadn’t been since October when my friends from home were here and I really wanted to see the Christmas decorations. We had a nosy round both parks and managed to get on MIB, Hogwart’s Express and the Mummy with no wait 🙂 We also watched the Grinchmas Show.
We headed home around 1pm and had a nap before packing our stuff and going to the Beach Club where we were staying over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
We just chilled at the resort for the evening, had some wine and watched TV.

 

Christmas Day
We got up around 10, I opened my pressies and skyped home which was nice, but strange as it doesn’t feel like Christmas at all. I also got my email from housing telling me that my programme ends in 6 weeks. Happy Christmas to them too! We then headed to Captain’s Grille in the Yacht Club for Christmas Day Brunch. The food was amazing, plus they had turkey, ham and stuffing so I was happy 🙂
We headed back to the hotel and had a nap due to the crazy amount of food. When I woke up Kathryn and I headed for a walk around the Boardwalk. We ran in to Laura on the way so we went to see her and Katie’s room in the Boardwalk and had a glass of wine 🙂 Once we left we had a margarita and walked back to the hotel before chilling in the hot tub.

Christmas Day was Lydia’s last shift at work so Bella, Kathryn and I headed in to EPCOT for some drinks and then to have food as Lydia’s ‘last’ table. It was nice to see lots of people we knew on Christmas day and to have a great spot to watch the fireworks.

After dinner we went back to the resort, played some games (badly), watched Mean Girls and went to bed.
Today it’s Boxing Day and I’ve literally done nothing other than chill in the apartment 🙂

Christmas in Sunny Florida!

So it’s now December which means it’s a very busy time in work as the Candlelight Processional has just begun in EPCOT. Candlelight is when a celebrity comes to EPCOT and narrates the Christmas story along with a choir. As it’s such a popular show Disney have created a dinner package to accompany it, which means people get guaranteed entry into the show. Work has been really busy because of it and the hours have been a lot longer, though the money has become slightly better.

Other than working I’ve been trying to get up to lots of Christmassy things!

2nd
Lydia, Kathryn and I headed over to Hollywood Studios in the evening to see the Osborne Spectacle of Lights. It’s a
display in the Streets of America section where the lights dance to Christmas songs. It was really lovely to see and
got us all in the Christmas spirit. Afterwards we headed to Bahama Breeze, I’d never been before but the food was really good!

6th
I was off again today so Krysten and I headed to EPCOT to eat at Biergarten, using the Candlelight package so that we could go and see Whoopi Goldberg! The food in Biergarten was really good, and there was a lot of variety for a buffet.
We had a few drinks in France, America and Italy to pass the time and then it was time to watch the show. We managed to get a seat right at the front! The show was lovely, it was nice to hear Christmas Carols and fun to see so many people
getting excited about Christmas.

8th
This was my last Monday as Head Lass. I had decided the week before that I was ready to give up being in charge,
my time here is running out and I want to be able to enjoy my last few weeks fully without worrying about organising
taxis or the booze run. Three lasses went for it and after the vote it was given to Olivia who I know will do a great
job.

9th
Hungover as hell/Slightly drunk I got up at 5.30am and headed to Magic Kingdom as we had tickets to the filming
of the Christmas day parade. It was ok, and I was glad I got up and went but I wouldn’t say it was a highlight of my
programme. In the afternoon I slept off the booze before heading back to Magic Kingdom that night with Rachael,
Lydia and Kathryn for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. There was a special parade and fireworks show.
The fireworks were pretty emotional in that it kept talking about family and friends and home!
We did a few rides, including the mine train for the first time. It was really cute, and really funny due to the fact
I pushed Lydia’s safety bar down as far as it could go making her highly uncomfortable for the entire ride

10th
I was off again today so Lydia and I headed to All Star Movies for the night. It was a nice chilled night,
we watched a couple of movies and then headed to bed at around 3am!  After our staycation it was swiftly back to reality with a pm shift.

12th
I was a pm shift again today so Kathryn, Lydia, Matt, Ryan and I headed for breakfast at 10.30 at 1900 Park Fare,
in the Grand Floridian which is a character breakfast It’s still crazy to think we can do things like this
before work. The food was good, although the service could have been better. It was nice to meet the characters whilst
enjoying food rather than standing in a line!

Other than these few things life has pretty much consisted of work! I have a couple of nice things planned for the coming weeks, such as voluntearing, staying at the Beach Club and then in January I’m heading to New Orleans!

Merry Christmas to everyone reading this

Sailing the 7 Seas

Finding it really hard at the moment to try and find time to update my blog. Candlelight has just started in work so I figure I’m only going to get busier so thought I’d throw in an update about the cruise now.

Mon 17th Nov
Tariq picked me, Bella, Lydia, Kathryn and Rebecca up at 10am to take us down to Port Canaveral where we boarded the Disney Dream for a 4 day cruise to the Bahamas. Check in was pretty swift and before long we were boarding the boat. The first thing I thought when I stepped on board was ‘how is this a boat?’ It was so grand and so big that it didn’t seem like we could possibly be on a ship. We headed straight for lunch in Cabanas which was a buffet breakfast/lunch restaraunt on the 11th deck. The sheer mass of food was unreal…and our fave bit of the cruise 😛 After lunch we went to find our room, then went to the safety drill and finally to the sail away party which had to be held in the atrium as it was pouring with rain. Damn you Florida. That night we ate in the Enchanted Garden. It was a beautifully themed restaraunt…they all were in fairness. After dinner we headed to the Golden Mickey show but there was a technical hitch meaning they couldn’t finish the show so we headed straight to the hot tub before bed.

Tues 18th
When we woke up we were pulling into the port at Nassau. We had booked a tour of the Atlantis resort. The resort itself was a lot bigger than I thought and was absolutely beautiful. It’s filled with private beaches, pools and aquariums. After we’d toured the resort, Bella, Lydia and I headed to the casino while Rebecca and Kathryn headed back to the ship. Bella made the most of the bar as she could legally drink in the Bahamas, Lydia made the most of the casino, and I made the best of both! Lydia and I actually managed to win quite substantially on roulette which was pretty cool 🙂
After our win we headed back to the boat, where Bella and I realised we were slightly more than tipsy! We had a brief nap then headed watch Villains tonight then on to our dinner reservation at Palo. Palo is one of the two speciality restaurants on the Dream and comes at an extra cost of $25 but it was beyond worth it. Our server was fantastic and the food was the best I have ever tasted. Once we had finished dinner we headed to the cinema to watch Maleficent then it was bedtime in prep for Castaway Cay.
Wed 19th
When we woke up we had docked in Castaway Cay. Sadly it was pretty overcast but we still got off the ship and explored. After we’d had a look around the Island, Bella and I donned our snorkelling gear and headed to look for the sunken Mickey in the lagoon. Suprisingly even though it started to rain the water was really warm! We managed to find Mickey after much searching. Once we’d finished that we did a little bit of shopping then got back on board and again got ready for dinner, it was Pirate night so we put on our bandanas and headed off to the Royal Palace. After dinner we did some shopping and then went to watch the Pirate show on the Upper deck of the ship. They had a show, a dance party and fireworks.

Thur 20th
We spent the Thursday at sea. We all decided we would like to spend the last day relaxing so all booked in to the Rainforest Room of the spa, it gave you access to different heated rooms, showers, heated beds and a jacuzzi. Bella and I eventually decided that this wasn’t enough for us so we booked ourselves in for a ‘couples’ massage. It was lush, even if I thought the woman was going to kill me at certain points. In the afternoon Lydia, Bella, Kathryn and I headed to play bingo (Rebecca had a nap). It was here that Lydia and I realised we are definitely future members of gambler’s anonymous!
Our final dinner of the week was at Animator’s Palate. This may have been my favourite meal of the week (apart from Palo). The restaraunt was really cute and fun! The rest of the evening we just chilled out and then tucked ourselves up in bed for the last time 😦
Friday 21st
We docked at around 7 am and were booked to have breakfast at 8.15. After breakfast it was time for us to board the ship again and wait for Tariq to take us back to Orlando.
That evening it was Emma’s last night in Florida so a few of us headed over to the Contemporary to say goodbye to her and to watch her final wishes. A lot of people come and go over the programme but Emma is the first person I had felt really close to that had gone so it was really sad to see her go!

California Dreamin

California
10th -13th November
10th
We were up super early and left Commons at around 4am for our flight to LAX. We split up from Lydia once we got to LAX and the rest of us (Emma, Rebecca and I) went to LA. We had a stroll around the Walk of Fame, headed to Hollywood and Highland shopping centre for a glimpse of the Hollywood sign and a spot of lunch. We also headed to Ripley’s Believe it or Not, the Wax Museum and the Guinness Book of Records Museum. We had some dinner in Johnny Rocket’s in Hollywood and Highland and then went to head for our shuttle but as we headed there we saw a film premier in action..we spotted Mark Wahlberg and John Goodman.
After that we headed to the hotel which was absolutely beautiful. The headboard was a huge engraving of the Disneyland castle and it had stars which twinkled and played ‘A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes’

11th
Up early again, this time to head in to Disneyland…Walt’s original park. We met Ella and Will outside the entrance and in no time we were heading down Main Street USA. It was a very surreal experience being in Disneyland as whilst a lot of things looked the same there were a lot of differences. For a start the castle was tiny! It also had quite a few rides that Magic Kindgom, Disney World does not, like the Matterhorn, Alice in Wonderland, Mr Toad’s Wild Ride, Snow White’s Scary Adventure, Pinnochio, Rodger Rabbit and more. The most interesting was probably The Haunted Mansion, which is in the Florida park but in Disneyland it has a Nightmare Before Christmas overlay for the holiday season.
It was nice to visit a Disney park that I had never been to before as it made me appreciate Disney again.
In the middle of the afternoon the 4 of us headed back to the hotel for a nap and left Ella and Will to do a few rides, when we came back to the park it was time for Ella to go as she had a flight to catch. The rest of us hit a few more rides, then watched the Christmas parade and fireworks, finally ending the evening having a lovely dinner in the Blue Bayou which is a restaurant inside the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.
12th
The next day we headed to California Adventure (simillar concept to Hollywood Studios). I think I actually preferred this park to Disneyland. We started off by heading to Paradise Pier, riding California Screamin, the Big Wheel and the Silly Symphonies swings. We then played some fairground games (which I won :P), after that we headed to the Ariel ride and then to Cars land for some lunch. At the end of lunch we said bye to Will as he had to go to the airport to catch his flight back to the UK as his programme had ended. It was a very weird situation saying bye to someone and having them go home :S
We spent the rest of the day doing different rides, having a nap and then in the evening we went to Ariel’s Grotto for dinner as they did a package for World Of Color. Our service was absolutely awful to be perfectly honest but we used vouchers that we had to get money off and it gave us a VIP viewing area for World of Color. It’s definitely the best nightime show I’ve seen in a Disney park. It sounds like such a simple concept…water and lights but it’s one of those things you have to see to appreciate it.
13th
Our last day was spent finishing off some things we didn’t get to do during our first day at Disneyland. After we finished in the park we went to Downtown Disney and did some shopping and had lunch in a little place called Jazz Kitchen. It was very quaint and the food was amazing! At around 5ish, Rebecca, Lydia and I headed to the airport for our flight back to Orlando, leaving Emma behind as the complete eejit booked the wrong flight haha!

When I got home it was 3 solid days of work, thankfully followed by 5 days off…4 of which were spent on a cruise to the Bahamas. I’ll update about that in my next post!

October!

I last left off with going to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween party. It was great night and it was fun to meet some
characters that aren’t normally there….The 7 Dwarves, The Wicked Queen and Lotso! Loads of people were dressed up
which was cool to see and the parade and Hallowishes (the Halloween fireworks) were incredible!

When my friends from home were here I bought myself a Seaworld pass so a few of us who had the day off (8th Oct) decided to go to Seaworld and so the ‘Day of Fun’ crew were born! It was nice to go somewhere different on a day off rather than Universal and Disney parks. We also decided that we needed to book the Dine with Shamu experience and have now done so, so are going to see that in the first week of November. That night it was a lot of people’s last night in housing so we went to a really nice little restaurant called “Melting Pot”. You picked what type of meat you wanted and then cooked it yourself at your table! Definitely somewhere I would recommend that other people try. After that we headed out for the leaving groups last I-Bar. Itwas a fab night and made me realise I need to do I-Bar more often!

The few weeks in between my friends leaving and me posting have been pretty quiet in fairness, it’s involved the usual nights out and work stuff. Work has been quite busy due to food and wine and I’ve been getting to train more people who are coming in to service!

On Saturday, Lydia and I got up SUPER early and headed off to Miami on a bus tour. On the way we stopped at the Everglades for a gator air boat tour. It was brilliant, much better than the ones I have done before mainly because we actually saw Gators swimming and they were massive! After the boat tour we got dropped in South Beach for 2 hours to explore at our leisure. We headed straight to DASH and Miami Ink for a nosy, then wandered along the beach front stopping off for a massive  (EXTORTIONATE) cocktail along the way…though in fairness it was amazing!

When our time in South Beach was up we got back on the bus and headed for dinner in the Bayside area before heading on to another boat tour, this time it was off mansions, mainly belonging to celebrities including Gloria Estefan, Ricky Martin, Shakira, Elizabeth Taylor and Rosie O’Donnell.

When we’d finished our second boat tour of the day we then headed back to the coach for a long ass bus journey home. It was a tiring day but really enjoyable!

Last night, Lydia, Ryan, Kathryn and I stayed in Art of Animation in the Finding Nemo themed rooms. They’re SO cute and it definitely doesn’t feel like a value resort! The main entertainment of the evening was getting sucked
into a documentary about a fake shark (SUBMARINE). I want to stay in a Lion King room next time.
This morning though, instead of a luxury lie in we had to get up early as 7 of us decided to go to Busch Gardens,
I’ve really begun to like this park a lot more than I did when I visited with my family a few years ago. It may be due to the factthe park is REALLY quiet and every single ride is a walk on!

Friends from home

The last fortnight has been hectic.  Some of my best friends from home arrived on the 20th for a 2 week holiday….cue me trying to live the holiday life but fit work in too.

I was working on the day they arrived but we arranged that they would come to EPCOT and I would get them a fireworks view table if possible. I was really excited to see them but didn’t imagine I’d be as emotional as I was when I actually saw them, I was a blubbering mess!  Jack our assignor that evening was brill and managed to get them a table on lower deck and also let me serve them. I was working again until Tuesday (24th) morning when I headed over to their hotel . It wasn’t particularly sunny and they were quite tired so we headed to Wonderworks on I-Drive for a nosy. It’s somewhere I’ve always wanted to go and it was a good use of the afternoon. We had dinner at Ale House and headed to TGI’s for a few drinks in the evening.

On Wednesday (25th) we headed to IoA. The wait times were pretty low so we got on everything we wanted to, then we boarded the Hogwarts express and headed over to Universal to have a look around Diagon Alley.

On Thursday (26th) we headed back to Universal, this time with the plan of staying for Halloween Horror Nights (I’d already been once with friends from work). We managed to get a good few houses done…Walking Dead, Clowns, Dolls, Cannibal, Dracula and Halloween. Lisa and I established that if you’ve made the most of the 7 dollar double vodka refills the houses really aren’t scary at all.

Friday (27th) I was back at work and on Saturday it was time for another day with the friends, this time we went to Seaworld. I’d been when my family were here but didn’t buy a pass, so this time I did and I can now go until the end of the year as many times as I’d like. I went home straight after Seaworld, went to Longhorn with Rebecca and then went straight to bed….working and playing is hard.

I worked Sunday through Tuesday (30th) AM and on Tuesday met back up with the ones from home. Lisa and I went to see the Blue Man Group. It was an amazing show and something I’d wanted to see since I first arrived so I’m glad I got to tick it off my list.

Wednesday (1st) was an early morning as we headed to Busch Gardens. It was a brilliant day, there were NO queues whatsoever. Everything was walk on which was brill as my friends have never been to Florida before so it was good that they got to get on every single ride! The new ride Falcon’s Fury is amazing. Scary but brilliant.

On the note of scary, that evening we headed along I-Drive. Lisa and Matthew did the Slingshot and then David, Matthew and I decided to do the chair-a-planes that lift you 230 feet in the air. Literally the scariest thing I’ve ever done. I didn’t enjoy a single second of it! We also had a game of never ending mini golf at the Volcano golf on I drive.

Thursday (2nd) was my last full day with them and we headed to EPCOT. I managed to get us fast passes for all the big rides. We then headed round world showcase, where once again Lisa and I got slightly over enthusiastic with our drinking but we had a really good night!

Friday (3rd) morning we got up at the hotel and said our goodbyes. They got picked off and headed to Aquatica whilst I waited for Rachael, Bella and Kathryn to pick me up so we could go to the mall and then on to Tampa to see One Direction at the Raymond James Stadium. I spent FAR too much money at the mall and then continued to spend more at One Direction. I will learn one day!

I was back at work yesterday and my friends flew home. I’m off today and I’m just about to get ready to go to Longhorn with Lydia and Ashleigh before heading off to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party…dressed as Ursula! 😀

New York, New York!

It’s now been a week since I went to NYC and I have to say it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life.

NYC turned in to everything I hoped it would be, it was exactly like the movies.

First of all, the Monday (8th) before we went it was time for our Head Lass, Kim to step down. Three of us lasses went for the role of Head Lass in her place. We all had to give a speech and come up with a drinking game for us all to play. I was one of them and was surprisingly voted in as the new head lass. It’s a lot of work (it’s now Tuesday, after my first Happy Monday as president) but I imagine organising things will get easier.

Anyway, NYC

Monday 9th

Rebecca and I set off for the airport super early, just before 5am and landed in Newark airport at around 10. From there we took a train to Penn Station and headed towards our hotel to drop our bags. We went for a spot of lunch, along the waterfront for a bit and then off to Times Sq. Stepping in to Times Sq was very surreal, it was weird to be in a place I’d seen so many times on TV. After a brief nosy in the Hershey’s, M and M store, Forever 21 and of course the Disney Store we headed off for a wander. We saw Bryant Park, NY public library, the Chrysler building, The Empire State and Grand Central. We then headed back to the hotel for a bit before heading to Madame Tussauds to meet the celebs and then for dinner in Bubba Gump’s in Times Square. I also met the naked cowboy 😛

Tuesday 10th

It was up bright and early as we needed to be at the 9/11 memorial for 9.30 am. We hopped on the subway and got there pretty easily. There’s still a lot of construction going on in the area but the memorial itself is beautiful. The museum was a really weird experience. I expected to find it really interesting, which I did, but I didn’t imagine it to be as emotional as it was. Some of the stories that you read and listen to throughout the exhibit are heartbreaking and I honestly think it was the first time 9/11 ever seemed real to me.

After the museum we headed for a wander and went to Battery park, we then got the subway back to 5th Avenue and explored. We went to FAO Schwarz and I played on the BIG piano, we went to Tiffany’s, Trump Towers, St Patrick’s church and finally we went up the Empire State.

That evening we decided to book a musical. We ended up going to see Matilda and it was amazing. It really surprised me how good it was. After Matilda we chanced our luck and headed to the Rockerfeller to see if we could go to the top of the rock but it was closed for the evening so we headed back to the hotel with McDonalds in hand.

Wednesday 11th

This was yet another early day as we wanted to do Central Park and see the Statue of Liberty. We headed to Central Park first and wandered around for nearly 3 hours.. It’s crazy to think that such a place exists in the middle of all the craziness of NYC. We had pancakes in a cute little cafe called the Boathouse. It was a perfectly chilled morning.

After that it was back on the Subway to the Staten Island ferry, by getting on this ferry we got a great view of the Statue of Liberty and lower Manhattan. We got off on Staten Island and just chilled for a little bit, we also looked at their 9/11 memorial which is shaped like a pair of wings. Where they are situated, the view between them lines up with where the towers stood.

We headed back over on the ferry and then it was off to Times Square for a few last minute souvenirs before heading back to the hotel for a quick nap, we made a pitstop at the Cake Boss Cafe first! Then it was off to the Lion King. It was a fantastic show! Afterwards we went to Planet Hollywood, just on the other side of Times Square and then it was off back to the hotel for our final night in NYC

 

Staycations, Golf and the countdown to NYC

Monday 25th Aug
After 6 months of going to lasses I finally got my shirt. I am now Stage Dive Cougar. I’ll not explain the reasoning
incase an elderly relative ever stumbles upon this blog! It was Shannon, Charli and Jenny’s last fines. It was a really
fun night and they made their last really unique!

Tues 26th Aug
This was potentially the worst hangover of my life. Thankfully I got er’d from work and headed home for a nap
before heading to the Saratoga Springs treehouse villas with some others (Ash, Kathryn, Bella, Amy, Will, Emma and Nina).
The treehouses are absolutely lush. We went to the Turf bar and grill in Saratoga and whilst the food was ok,
the service really wasn’t up to par and made me appreciate how I need to work hard to make sure guests can’t say the
same about my service.

I was off the next day so a group of us headed in to work for last tables and drinks for Jenny, Amy and Conor. It
was a really good wee day but it was the first time I really appreciated how sad it was when people leave.
Jenny, Amy and Conor were all on podium with me for the first month or so of my programme so they’re the first group
of people that have left who I’ve felt I got to know.

Later in the week we had another little spontaneous staycation in the Old Key West Villas with Lydia, Emma,
Kathryn, Chloe, Annie, Kristian and Ashleigh. These villas are gorgeous and I’d definitely recommend
people to stay there.

Wed 3rd September
It was another set of last tables at the Rose and Crown, this time for Ben, Catherine, Natalie, Mike and Rob.
After last tables Lydia, Nina, Rebecca and I headed over to WinterSummerland at Blizzard beach to play mini golf.
It was a really random and fun afternoon…if ever so slightly competitive. It was something a little bit different
and it was nice to spend the afternoon in Disney but not somewhere overrun by people on holidays.

The next big thing I have planned is NYC which is in 6 little days! I can’t wait!

 

Wilmington, North Carolina.

17th August

Kathryn and I got up super early for our flight to Charlotte and then on to Wilmington. When we arrived her friends from Uni, Kate and Sarah picked us up from the airport and we headed to a little diner down on Front street called Nick’s Diner. It was a really quirky little place, typically american and did lush food!
After we’d had lunch, Sarah took us back to her place to chill for a bit before heading to Wrigtsville beach for the evening. It’s an amazing big beach and home of ‘Dawson’s pier’.
Once we were finished at the beach we headed back to Sarah’s and played some drinking games and basically had a really chilled evening.

18th August

Up bright and early again to head back to Wrightsville beach, there was a charity event on called surfer’s healing which was really cool. Pro surfers from all over the world come to teach children with autism how to surf. We spent a few hours on the beach watching the surfers then Kathryn and I walked up towards a restaurant called the Oceanic….infront of it was Dawson’s pier, and therefore I had to take thousands of pictures.
Once we were done at the pier we headed to Olive garden for lunch and met up with Kate. We then headed over to her apartment complex and chilled atthe pool before curling up and watching Sister Act 😀

19th August
Kathryn and I headed to Airlie Gardens today. It’s a beautiful place, and somewhere I definitely recommend that anyone in the area visits.
It’s also been home to some scenes from Dawson’s Creek and OTH, so naturally I was all over the photos again!
After the gardens we headed over to UNCW for Kathryn to reminisce about her study abroad year, and for me to finally visit Capeside High!
We met up with Kathryn’s friend Toby and Jackie, we were later joined by Kate and headed to Fuzzy Peach which Kathryn had talked loads about. It’s a frozen yoghurt parlour with a massive topping bar and it was pretty good. We then headed with Kate for her to have some lunch before going back to hers. Later that evening we met up with Sarah and headed to Kyoto Grille for some food!

20th August
This was our last day so we got up early and headed off to the Battleship, it’s a MASSIVE ship with loads to explore. It was really surreal thinking it had actually been a working ship. Whilst we were there we saw a gator swimming in the water, which anyone who knows me will know it made my day!
After the Battleship we took a little river taxi across to Downtown and headed for lunch at Front Street Brewery (which was used in OTH) before heading on the Hollywood Location walk tour. For me, as a Dawson’s Geek it was a brill tour…we saw lots of places used in the show as well as from other shows/films…a list of the highlights were Leery’s fresh fish, Nathan and Hayley’s bench (OTH(, the Capeside High sign, the spot where the Ice House stood, Julia Robert’s old apartment, Pacey/Joey’s wall and Hell’s Kitchen.
Once we’d finished there we headed back to Sarah’s to grab our stuff then straight to the airport.
Wilmington was brill and the pefect place for a chilled out holiday.

Trip number one down…now just 18 days until NYC! I’ve also booked my final trip of my programme to Las Vegas. Two of my best friends from home are flying out so I’m meeting them there for a week of madness before heading back to the UK!

 

 

Life after family time!

So after the family left I have to admit I was pretty down, I cried pretty much all day after they left until it was time for work….I trotted off to work and then er’d from the shift because I just didn’t want to be there. To be honest, I was ready to go home and if I hadn’t had so many things booked I probably would’ve packed it in and gone. However, after a few days I got over it and remembered how ridiculously lucky I am to be here!
I’ve done a few little things since the fam left.

I’ve done a staycation in POP with Rebecca. POP is a really nice resort, and possibly my fave value resort that I’ve stayed in so far.

 

A few days later I decided to ER from work again and headed on another little staycation with Lydia and Emma at All Star music. We watched Brave under the stars and just had a chilled out night in general.

On the 12th I met up with my friend Carly and her wife Emily who were on honeymoon and got them into Hollywood studios for the day. It was great to catch up with Carly and finally meet Emily! I only spent the early afternoon with them as due to lasses the night before I was flagging really badly.

The next day I headed to Universal with Lydia and Emma and I have to say it was one of the best days of my programme so far. We headed to Diagon Alley and had a little explore, had lunch in the Leaky Cauldron, watched the Deathly Hallows and Celestina Warbeck perform and then rode the Escape from Gringott’s, which is an amazing ride. We also managed to do MIB, The Mummy, The Hogwart’s Express, HP and the Forbidden Journey and Dr Doom’s Fearfall. We then headed to Bubba Gump’s for dinner which was lush and somewhere I’ve always wanted to try.

Today it’s Thursday and it’s back to work for 3 shifts before I head off to North Carolina on Sunday with Kathryn 🙂 Can’t wait!

 

I’m alive!!

Long time no post! It’s the 29th today and my family have gone home 😦 I was so upset this morning, literally couldn’t stop crying before and after I said bye to them. After that, I had to head to work for a PM. As I was feeling fragile and was sad too I managed to get an ER which was nice as it meant I got to come home and chill 🙂
It’s been so nice getting to spend the majority of the month with them but them leaving has left me a bit homesick. Anyway, an update on the past few weeks.

Tuesday 15th
I met up with the family mid afternoon in Magic Kingdom, we managed to do some rides and then the highlight, we headed to Be Our Guest for dinner. It’s such an amazing restaurant. The theming is unbelievable and the food was amazing. Our server (once he learned I was a CM) was kind enough to bring out some of the grey stuff for us to taste for free 😀 It really is delicious.

Thursday 17th
We made our return to Seaworld,we hadn’t been since 2009. Last year I made my whole family go to the cinema to watch Blackfish…we apparently claimed to be shocked an appalled but here we are a year later, watching Shamu perform tricks.
I forgot how much I love Seaworld. We went on Journey to Atlantis, watched both Shamu shows, Pets Ahoy and the Sea Lion show.

Saturday 19th
We headed off along the US27 towards a place called Bok Tower gardens. It’s basically what it says, gardens. It’s all beautifully landscaped and the main feature is Bok Tower itself. It’s definitely worth a visit and was a really nice relaxing day, it was good to get away from the touristy stuff in Orlando.

Sunday 20th
Back to Disney, and my favourite park…Hollywood Studios. We managed to get a good bit done but only really stayed on one side of the park. We did the animation class (Woody), One man’s dream, ToT, RnR, TSMM, Lights, Motors, Action, the Backlot tour, watched Fantasmic and finally finished with the Frozen fireworks (which are amazing).

Tuesday 22nd.
Slightly fragile from Monday nights lasses the family picked me up and we headed to EPCOT. We were hit by the EPCOT curse, everytime we’ve been to EPCOT as a family it has rained. We managed to do Ellen’s Energy Adventure, Test Track, Soarin, Maelstrom and the Mexico ride that I can never remember the name of.We then headed to the Rose and Crown for dinner with a fireworks view. Perfect way to end the evening.

Wednesday 23rd.
This was one of my favourite days, we headed out to Silver Springs national park which is completely lush. We got a glass bottom boat and went along the Silver river, looking at all the natural springs!

Saturday 26th
We headed off to Sanibel Island today. It was a lot like Anna Maria in that it was like visiting the Caribbean but I think I prefer Anna Maria as there was a little more to do! It was a nice day though 🙂

Sunday 27th
Boggy Creek boat tours for some gator watching. I love sitting on the airboat just zooming around looking for gators (I’m slightly obsessed). After our boat tour we headed to Downtown Disney for the family to get some last minute souvenirs and then home for a splash in the pool.

Monday 28th
We went for a big breakfast in the morning at Denny’s then just chilled around the villa for the day while mum packed. In the evening I came back to Commons as it was our night to ‘earn’ our shirts. It was interesting and I’m definitely glad I only have to earn it once!

 

Vacation :D

Well since my last update I’ve been busy, busy, busy. I had my first shift as a server on July 4th which was fine. I expected to be a lot busier than I was but because I was an inside section it wasn’t too bad.
The family picked me up straight after work and since then it’s been go, go, go. I’ll try and keep it short and sweet what we’ve been up to in the time they’ve been here.

Sat 5th
We headed for Ripley’s Believe it or not on I-Drive. It’s something we’ve driven past everytime we’ve been here and thought would be interesting, especially since we used to be obsessed with the TV show. It turned out to be a good call as it was a wet afternoon and it had some pretty cool stuff on dispay. After that we headed to the Florida mall for a quick nosy.

Sun 6th
We headed out to St Augustine for the day, it’s a Spanishy type town with lots of history. It was an absolutely scorching day and it was lovely to get out of Orlando. We walked around the old town, had a look at the University and the local museum before walking around the old fort on the shore front. Instead of going straight home we headed for Jacksonville. My stepdad is descended from Andrew Jackson so he has always wanted to visit this town. It was only a flying visit and he was happy enough to get his picture in front of the statue of Jackson on Water Street.

Mon 7th
Gatorland. Anyone that knows me will know I am OBSESSED with gators so this was something I was really looking forward to. We watched three different shows when we were there, and I even held a Boa constrictor that was longer than me! I really enjoyed the day with the family before heading back to housing to get ready for lasses. I was on my best form to date with flip cup, sadly that made for a very tragc Tuesday!

Tues 8th
It was mum’s birthday so we headed to Animal Kingdom bright and early. I assure you this is the worst possible park with hangover. There is NOWHERE to hide from the heat. We managed to do the Kali River Rapid, Everest, Safari and Festival of the Lion King before heading home to get ready for Cirque du Soleil.
Cirque du Soleil was out of this world. I can’t describe how amazing the artists performing were. There was so much going on you didn’t know where to look. I’d recommend it to anyone.

Wed 9th
We headed to Islands of Adventure initially, and walked straight through to Hogsmeade where we intended to ride the forbidden journey, when we got there we discovered the Hogwart’s Express was only a 10 minute wait so we gave up on IOA and headed to Universal. The Hogwart’s express and the whole Harry Potter experience is unbelievable!
When we got off we headed over to the London waterfront area thinking we’d never get in but just wanted to have a look. My sister needs a GAC and my mum happeded to show it to a very friendly worker named Ray who immediately sent us in to the Waterfront and therefore gave us immediate access to Diagon Alley. Diagon Alley is the most AMAZING thing I have ever seen in a theme park. It’s literally like you’ve stepped in to the film.
We headed straight for the Leaky Cauldron to have lunch, where the menu is pretty much identical to the Three Broomsticks but delicious. I had the cottage pie!
After that we just had a nosy around the area and then headed out. We went to the Disaster show, where I volunteered as an evil villain. We then met up with mum’s friend Jackie from home and went on the mummy. After that we watched the Blues Brothers, rode Terminator and then headed back to IOA on the Hogwart’s Express and headed home.

Thur 10th
Lazy day by the pool, then off to the outlet malls

Friday 11th
This was my favourite day so far. We headed to Anna Maria Island. It is absolutely beautiful and I’d advise anyone who is visiting Florida to take a visit down there. We had lunch at a lovely little restaurant called The Waterfront and tnen strolled along the City Pier before having a drive around the town. After Anna Maria we headed to Sarasota to see what it was like. We stopped briefly at a statue called the Unconditional Surrender, it’s based on a famous image of a soldier in Times Square after the war kissing his wife/girlfriend.

Saturday 12th
Back to IOA. We did Spiderman, Dr Doom’s Fearfall, Jurassic Park, Ripsaw falls, the forbidden journey and then the Poseidon Adventure. My family did a few extra that I don’t like, like the Hulk and Storm force acceleration.

Sunday 13th

We went to Clearwater for a nice chilled out day, it was completely scorching and was nice to just chill.

Today’s Monday and I’m back in the apartment having a chilled day and going to get ready for Lasses soon!

 

Tests and family fun!

So I last left off at drinking around the world. As I said I died the next day and then only had one day off after that which didn’t amount to much apart from me stressing about the impending doom of starting my service week.

On Saturday it was the last day of my food running week and on that day I had to spiel to two managers and a chef. It all went ok, I was encouraged to be a little more magical but it’s exceptionally difficult to do that when talking to a manager in their office with no guests around.

Sunday was my first service training shift and it started off with the core service class.
Stu (our trainer) picked Ben and I up at 7.45 as we had an 8.30 start. In the class we went over the basics of service and what we would be doing over the course of the week. Stu was kind and bought us some munchies to make the class less boring.
Immediately after that it was time for our first service shift. Stu ended up being my trainer which I was nervous about as people had told me he can push you quite hard and that a few people have cried during his training…he knew I had the fear but was super nice and just kept pointing out all the little things I need to improve upon.

After training on Sunday I headed straight over to the Cabins at Fort Wilderness for another little staycation for Ryan’s 21st and a night out to watch Hoop de doo Review.
It was such a good night as loads of people from the pavilion went, the show was funny, plus wine was included in the price…whats not to love? In fairness we nearly didn’t make it there as THM’s driving is absolutely grim and my life flashed before my eyes when he was trying to park our golf buggy!

 

After the show Lydia,Chloe, Ryan, Gemma, Jen, THM, Emma and I all headed back to the cabins for a cosy wee night in. It was a great wee night with lots of giggles and heated debates (I’m looking at you Lydia) about what temp the air con should be at!
Monday came all too soon and I was on a mid. Aimee trained me in the morning and pretty much left me too it, I felt much better during this shift as it wasn’t all brand new anymore and I had a wee bit of knowledge behind me. The PM shift was my first outside section and I had Will looking after me. Will is a brilliant trainer, he left me to my own devices in the restaurant but observed and asked me why I was doing things in a certain way when I came in to the kitchen. I was weeded but Will made me feel ok about the whole thing.

Tuesday was my last training shift, I had my wine class in the morning with Ashleigh and then had a PM shift with KD..the person who ensures the kitchen and restaurant are up to scratch before everyone else can go home. Catherine was training me and again, like WIll, left me to my own devices but helped me when I needed it. It was really nervewracking leaving work on Tuesday thinking it was my last ‘training’ shift. It was made a little less scary though by the fact my family were picking me up from work!!! They came and got me, took me to housing to pick up a few essentials and then headed back to our villa.

On Wednesday they all went out during the day and I tried to revise/nap. In the evening we went to Old Town for a nosy around and a bite to eat 🙂

Today is Thursday and I had my service test. Your service day starts at 9am where you do a written test in one of the managers trailers. Once they confirm you’ve passed you head over to the Rose and Crown to set up the kitchen and then start your service.
I got quite lucky in that my test table was sat at 12.15, only 15 minutes in to the shift meaning that it was the only table I had for a while. I had Greta and then a manager from the American pavilion. Greta isn’t intimidating at all, she’s very approachable which settled my nerves a little bit. The test went smoothly and I actually only ended up with one other table for the majority of my test which set my mind at ease.

And the bit you’ve been waiting for….I PASSED. Such a massive relief! So now I only have one shift (Pm tomorrow…the 4th July…EEEK) and then I’m off for a few weeks with the fam 😀

 

Being tipped and drinking around the world.

So, since my last post I have to say my confidence has definitely grown in my ability to food run, in that I now think I do a pretty decent job. Still not the best by any means, but I can do what I’m asked and I try to help the servers out where possible.

So far this week I’ve had 4 tipped shifts …it’s funny how getting lots of money for running food can make you enjoy it that bit more! It’s definitely made me want to get in to service as the money is SO much better but I guess I’ll have to wait and see. I have my service test on Thursday and am beyond nervous already!

On Wednesday, my roomies (Emilie and Lisa) and I decided to drink around the world. Let me just say this was MUCH more difficult than I had imagined it would be. We were joined by a few of their colleagues from the Norway pavilion and off we went. We started in Mexico…this may have been where it all went horribly wrong!

In Mexico I had a fiesta Margarita, next up was Norway for a glass of Wine, then on to China for a Peach Snap, followed by Germany for another wine. Then it was on to Italy for a Bellini, marching on to America for a red stag lemonade and some horrendous drunken dancing with the beach boys tribute act (God help us all).

Next up was Japan for a Tokyo sunset, Morocco for a Habibi daiquiri, France for a grand marnier orange slush, UK for some fish and chips and an English Rose and finally Canada for a Torontopolitan. How we managed to get past America is beyond me because we were definitely worse for wear by that point.

It was a very funny day but definitely something I only need to do once as the hangover yesterday was grim!

 

 

 

 

Week 1 in the kitchen

Ok so the past week or so has been training for a tipped role and trying to understand the role of the bar and the kitchen. It’s been a long week but enjoyable (most of the time). I wrote about each day on the day that I did it…I’m just posting about it now!

Culinary Day
So today was my Culinary day. I made sure to get to work a little earlier than usual to get out some chef whites for the day, this took a little longer than expected because the trousers I lifted to put on…some eejit who had had them before me had pulled the draw string so tight and tied it that it wouldn’t go over my backside, so I had to get dressed again and go back for a new pair with a normal drawstring!
Anyways, I headed over to work a little early and at 12 (your culinary day starts at 12 and ends at 8.30) headed down in to the kitchen and spoke to Fred who sent me over to the pantry area to start my day with PJ. In Pantry they make some of the starters and all of the desserts. PJ was good and gave me the chance to make everything that pantry are responsible for. Obviously I had to get him to check it but it was really cool knowing that the food I made was going out to actual guests.
After pantry I headed over to the ovens. My God that area is HOT. I had to go out and in a few times as it was literally too hot to stick. It’s a very busy section between the ovens and the grills and at times I felt a little like I was getting in the way as there was very little I could actually help with as opposed to pantry where I could get stuck in.
When we finished serving for lunch it was my fave part of the day…they made me a sampler plate, because realistically, how can I sell what we make without having knowledge of what it tastes like 😛 Omg I’ve literally never eaten so much food. On my plate they gave me steak, fish, corn beef, mushy peas, bangers and mash and chicken curry. The food tasted great and it was even better because it was free 😀
After my break I headed back down stairs and went back to pantry with Alejandra, she was very helpful and talked me through everything really well. She had me make up some trifles for the kids meals and again just helping with all the other starters and desserts.
It was then back to the hot sections for a while (ovens, grill and fish frying) and then I ended my day in potwash. I have to admit I really enjoyed potwash but part of that may be due to the fact that my job when I was going through uni was as a dishwasher in a restaurant *memories* lol!
All in all I enjoyed my culinary day, but admittedly I am very anxious about the next few weeks or so. Tomorrow is food running so fingers crossed it goes ok.

Food Running
Monday was food running. This is the element I’ve been most worried about and rightly so as I found it extremely difficult. I have tiny hands and also have arthritis, these 2 things don’t mix very well with trying to carry three plates. I did manage to do three on a good few tables but didn’t feel confident in myself doing so, so always asked Emma for a follow just incase I messed up.
Emma was my trainer and she was absolutely brilliant, she was really encouraging and gave me lots of advice that I’m trying to take on board. I don’t think food running is something I will ever enjoy, but it’s something I’m going to have to get used to so I’ll just have to suck it up.
Monday evening was lasses as usual and we were playing the Latino’s in glitz. They’re definitely my favourite team to play, they’re hilarious with all their little dances and songs 😀 In fairness I defo drank too much and got very teary about the food running shift as I just didn’t feel I’d done a good job and had been a hindrance to Emma so it probably wasn’t my best lasses to date but it’s ok, there are plenty more!

Bar Day
So I have to admit I was feeling pretty deflated after my first food running shift, and a tad fragile after lasses but I really enjoyed my bar day. I started off for the first hour with Tom. He was really nice and explained the pouring involved with the cocktails and made me practise my pour counts a few times. He then let me start working on cocktails that came through for the restaurant.
When Zoe came in she explained a few different drinks that came through and how to make them, then she had me serving customers at the bar when there were no orders on the service bar. In fairness that bar was really quiet when I was on it but it gave me a little taste of it and I think it could be something that I’d be really interested in, but obviously there’s service to overcome first.

Food Running Day 2
So, I was really anxious about day 2 of food running as I really wanted to be better at it. I think it may just be a confidence thing and continuing to build strength in my arm as I found it a lot better today. I still find the plates heavy at times but I’m definitely getting better and carried 3 for the majority of the shift. I’ve also come to accept that there will be times when I’m in the weeds but I can only do my best. I have my first tipped food running shift on Saturday which I’m now excited for the challenge of as I want to prove I can do it without a trainer.

 

Goodbye Podium…eeek!

 

After my little staycation it was back to work for another week. Ashleigh was off and Ryan, Kathryn and I were on am’s so we decided we would head over to Magic Kingdom after work for some dinner. Which we realised once we were there was extremely strange that we could just pop to MK for dinner! We then took the resort boat over to the Polynesian to watch the Electric water pageant and wishes from the beach. We obviously had to have a cocktail so the others went off to the bar and I guarded the seats.
When Ryan came back a woman who was sitting beside me heard me speak to him and asked if I was from Northern Ireland. It turned out that she was from NI as well but weirdly had grown up in the same town as I had, she had emigrated 40 years before but it was very strange as she was talking about people that I had heard my mum and gran talk about when I was younger. Such a small world! Anyways, back to the cocktail… I had one that was served in a pineapple, I can’t remember the name but it was lush!
The Electric water pageant was beautiful, it was the first time I’ve watched it since our very first visit back in 2004!
Again, the next day, Ashleigh, Kathryn and I were on earlys so we headed to Hollywood Studios after work for Star Wars weekend. We managed to meet Mickey and Minnie dressed as Luke and Leia which was fun, even if we did queue for a year and a day. After that we headed to watch Fantasmic and then saw the Star Wars weekend fireworks which are absolutely insane!
The next few days it was work as usual, apart from getting force extended on Saturday but it was really quiet so it was an easy way to get a few hours extra pay.
On Sunday at midnight the new schedule came out and I’ve now got my schedule for going in to the kitchen/service. I’m really glad I’ve got it and feel really lucky at how quickly it’s come around given that some others have waited 8 months but I’m also very nervous about the whole thing!
Monday night was lasses as usual and my Friday. We played the Mexican and I think we won but I can never really tell, it was a brill night as usual. On Tuesday I yet again wasted away in bed and then that evening I went to Downtown Disney with Kathryn, Sammy, Ashleigh and Emma. We had dinner in the Lava Lounge of the Rainforest Cafe..with yet another cocktail and did some shopping! It was a lovely chilled wee night which finished off with Emma, Sammy, Kathryn and I staying at All Star Sports (Ashleigh had her service class on Wed AM). People say that the value resorts aren’t as nice but in all honesty I think the theming is better and a lot more fun at the value resorts. Definitely a better choice for families with kids. It was a nice wee night and it was good to hang out and catch up with Sammy and Emma as I don’t get to see them too much apart from in work.
On Wednesday the 4 of us headed in to EPCOT to have lunch in where else but the Rose and Crown! We just can’t get enough of the place apparently! It was nice to be on the other side of the restaurant, sitting down and enjoying food and a drink. I had the Welsh Dragon to drink (obv had to get a stein), and had the potato and leek soup to start followed by the fish and chips (I’m such a bore). It was really good 🙂
After that Sammy and I headed to Walgreens as the others had to work and then home for a nap before Wednesday nights throw in for the newbies.
The throw in was really good. We went to I bar after the apartments and it was brilliant. It was the first time I’d been to I bar and I LOVED it. They play pure cheesy music which is right up my street 🙂 All the newbies were really lovely as well and definitey survived their throw in better than I did!
Today is Saturday and it’s my last podium shift, well unless I’m rubbish at service and get sent back which is a massive fear of mine. I start training tomorrow with my culinary day! Eek, I’m so nervous but trying to be positive that it’ll go ok!

 

1/3 of the way in..how is that possible?

 

On Tuesday, I pretty much wasted my day off by lying in bed trying to recover from Monday’s antics…I managed to make a brief trip to the outlets for food and that was the height of it.
On Wednesday, Ashleigh and I headed over to Universal for a bit of a keen day 🙂 Universal wasn’t too busy and we managed to ride Rip Ride Rockit, Transformers and watch the Horror Make up Show. Ashleigh also managed to fit in the Simpsons ride but it makes me feel sick so I skipped it! We also met quite a few characters, we managed to see Sideshow Bob and Krusty, Dr Doom, Betty Boop, Woody Woodpecker and Storm and Rogue from X men! It was a brilliant wee day and was nice to just take things slow and nose around. Halfway through the day we headed over to IoA where I got a birthday badge 😀 and we watched the Ollivander wand show, ate at the 3 broomsticks, had some butterbeer and rode Dr Doom’s fearfall before heading home.
The past few weeks I’ve been busy on and off after work revising for my pre service test, so on Wednesday evening after spending the day at Universal I went to Lydia’s and we tried to revise. I eventually sat my test on Friday and passed, which was a complete shock as when I was doing the test I was freaking out that I didn’t know any of it. This means that I’ll be moving in to service training over the next few weeks…eek! I’m really looking forward to a new challenge but totally scared too!
Sunday was sadly my 26th birthday…I’m ancient! I had planned to go to Magic Kingdom after my shift with my roommates but it was raining and I really didn’t fancy it so instead we headed to Applebee’s for some cocktails and food 🙂 It was a chilled evening but a nice way to spend my birthday!
Monday was lasses as usual. On the Tuesday I didn’t manage to do anything apart from roll around in bed and feel sorry for myself haha!
On Wednesday 11 of us headed to the Fort Wilderness cabins for the evening. It was a cracking wee night, plenty of booze and laughs. It was nice to spend time with a big group of people and have a chat outside of work.
The Thursday morning came and I was due at work but for the first time I called in as I literally couldn’t breathe due to having the cold (I’d spent the night at the cabins working my way through kleenex), I also called in the following day to try and get over it a bit better. I felt really guilty about doing it which is stupid as I genuinely didn’t feel well.
The next three days were work as normal, on Sunday evening Ashleigh and I headed over tO Downtown Disney to meet a few other girls (Kathryn, Ciara, Annie, Hannah and Bella) to see Maleficent. It was outstanding! Seriously amazing! If you can’t tell I’m obsessed.
Monday was lasses again and for once I was actually GOOD at flip cup…there’s a first for everything!
Tuesday I had booked a staycation at the Boardwalk with Lydia, Ryan and Rebecca. Ryan and I were off, so I went to the outlets in the morning and then met up with Ryan later on at the boardwalk where we just chilled by the pool and explored the resort until Lydia finished work and we could check in 🙂 Check in was easy, finding our room was not! We spent around half an hour before we realised we were on the wrong side of the building haha! At around 6.45 we headed over to the Beach club to meet Nina, and eventually Rebecca for a meal at Cape May. It’s a seafood buffet and it was absolutely delicious, I also treated myself to a pina colava. After dinner, the 4 of us headed back to the hotel and chilled for a bit before hitting the pool and the waterslide. It was a lovely, relaxed evening and definitely makes me appreciate living here and the opportunities it gives me.
Wednesday came and I was the only one of us off so I got the boat over to Hollywood studios and did an animation class, I finally got to draw Mickey YAY! That was literally all I did in HS before heading home. I went round to Ashleigh’s for a bit to help her and Kristian revise for their pre service and then came home and chilled.

 

 

Skydiving baybeeee!

Thursday I ended up heading to Hollywood Studios for a nose, it was a nice little day. I drew Rapunzel in the animation class and managed to snag the artist’s drawing of Rapunzel too, then had a quick trip to the Tower of Terror. I had lunch in the backlot restaurant then went to the Maleficent sneak preview which was amazing and has made me (if possible) even more excited for the film 😀 It looks so good!

After that I headed to a show of American Idol and the winner was unreal. It was a girl called Shanay Lewis, look her up online, I definitely reckon we’ll hear more from her. I then headed to the bus as the sky was about to open thankfully it waited til I arrived back at the apartment!

The rest of the week was all work and minimal play apart from Monday night which was Lasses as usual. Before that I’d also managed to get a 4.5 hour ER which was a beaut!
It was an amazing lasses. Everyone was so up for it and had such a good night, we were playing the Mexicans which was pretty approrpiate given that it was cinco de mayo.
On Wednesday I was off, so I headed to the Outlets in the morning for some shopping and then back to the Commons pool for a bit. Wednesday evening was an amazing night, Disney closed Typhoon Lagoon to the public and instead opened it up for a cast member only party called Starlit Splash.
It was literally one of the best nights of my programme so far. Free burgers, ice cream and use of a waterpark with no wait times. It was a brilliant night, particularly UK pav wise, everyone was there having an amazing time and just being silly. Really glad that I got to experience it!
On Thursday morning I had my first shift as a trainer 🙂 In fairness it was on seating which is one of my least favourite positions but hey ho such is life. Before my shift, Shannon, Bella and I booked a skydive for next Tuesday. I’m really excited for it but in my head it’s not actually happening and I forget I’m actually hurtling out of a plane!!!
On Tuesday, I got up super early (even behaved myself and missed playing the Spanish team on Monday night) to go and collect the car for our little trip to the skydive center. When I got back to Commons I found that Shannon had had a wee bit too much fun the previous evening so it was a case of getting her up and frog marching her hungover little ass out the door haha! Then we went and got Bella and set off 🙂
We stopped at Denny’s on the way as we were going to be super early otherwise and got a big feed, definitely a sensible plan before throwing yourself out of a plane.
When we arrived at the skydive center we had to basically sign our lives away ..in otherwords promise that we wouldn’t sue them! They were unsure at the start if we were actually going to be able to jump but eventually it all went ahead and we got harnassed up and did our mini interviews for our DVD and before we knew it we were in the plane.
I hadn’t been nervous until I got in to the plane and that’s when the nerves really kicked in. My face in my video says it all! The guy who was jumping with me was making jokes about my harnass being wrong and lets just say I couldn’t fully appreciate his humour at the time.

You’re really not given very long to think about it, when it’s time to jump they just …go! My instructor threw us out in to a back flip!! The sensation was very different to what I imagined, I imagined it to make your stomach drop but in all honesty it doesn’t feel like you’re falling at all.

The view was amazing, we were along the coast so it was a good mix of land and sea and before I knew it we were landing. It was such an amazing experience and one that I’m glad I can tick off my bucket list 🙂

Once we’d finished the skydive we headed over to Cocoa beach for a chill, and some food in Coconuts on the beach. Cocoa beach is lovely, it’s not as touristy as Clearwater.
After a little sunbathing we headed back to the car and home for a bit before heading to TGI’s for Bella’s bday celebration! It was such a brilliant day, it still all feels like a bit of a blur to be honest!

 

Home, HOB, Hotels and happiness :)

So, since my last post I have moved house, had my first HOB experience, found out when I can do my pre service test and met up with friends from home. I feel like I haven’t done much in the past few days but I obviously have.
On Sunday I had friends from home come and visit me whilst I was at work (Julia and Louise). It was lovely to get to chat to them and to actually see people from home. We arranged that on Tuesday evening we would go out for dinner so that they could catch up on Disney life and I could catch up on home life

On Sunday evening I got ER’d from work and headed home for a bit before going to HOB for the first time. Whilst it was an ok night it has definitely confirmed to me that going out all the time is not how I want to spend my programme. I want to spend money on trips and seeing things that I can’t do at home.

On Monday it was moving day….I assure you with a fragile head it was NOT fun. We moved from building 19 to building 13 (going up in the world). The new apartment is lush! It’s exactly the same layout as the old one but it’s got wooden floors, new lighting and coloured walls. It definitely feels more homely, though because of all the wooden floors it echos like mad.
After we moved, Rebecca and I headed to Outback Steakhouse for a well deserved munch, publix and then back home where we had our first ‘Villains monopoly’ contest. Any friends of mine from back home will know that I do not take monopoly lightly, in fact I’d sell my own soul rather than lose. True to form, I kicked ass 😛

On Monday evening it was lasses as ususal, it was Laura’s last and Gary’s last. I only ended up going to the apartments as I was still dying from the night before but it was a funny evening (Kim literally has me in stitches every week) and poor Laura was very emotional. It’s scary to think that in 10 months time that may be me!

Tuesday was spent finally unpacking my belongings (I’m nearly finished), then a quick trip to the pool and then on to the Beach Club to meet up with Julia, Louise, Ian and Sophie 🙂 They gave me a little tour of their apartment in the Beach Club, it was lush and definitely somewhere I hope to stay 😀
After that we went to Celebration and had dinner in the Celebration Town Tavern for dinner, it was a gorgeous meal and it was lovely to get to stroll around Celebration (we obviously followed dinner with some ice cream) After we’d finished in Celebration we headed to Old Town for a nosy around which was nice just to have a bit of a wander, then we headed to Walgreens and then they dropped me back home 🙂

Tuesday to Sunday it was standard working. Though thankfully I didn’t have to close chippy once 🙂 On Friday evening, Ryan and I went to Lydia’s to book our staycation. We decided on the Port Orleans Riverside and Lydia managed to get us a Royal Guest Room, so we’re staying there on Monday. It was a lovely wee evening at Lydia’s, far too many giggles be it from the butter dance girl, Mike Wazowski falling or the fact I ate half of Ryan’s vegetarian pizza thinking it was mine.
On Monday I worked a cheeky 11.30-6 shift then headed round EPCOT for a little while (with a Magners) waiting on Chloe to finish so we could head over to Port Orleans.

The room we had was lush, it was in Oak Manor on the ground floor and had 2 large double beds. We went for food when we arrived and then the 4 of us headed back to the room to get changed for a late night swim 🙂
When we came back we chilled, watched TV and eventually went to sleep. It was a lovely evening and I particularly enjoyed it as I don’t feel I’ve done a lot with Chloe, Lydia or Ryan so it was nice spending time with them!

On Tuesday we got up early for breakfast, then Lydia, Ryan and Chloe had to go to work so I went off for a little explore of Magic Kingdom by myself. This was something I’d been excited to do for a while, just to explore the parks at my own pace. I got on the MK steam train and headed from Main Street USA to Fantasyland where I got off and had a look round Big Top souvenirs. From there I headed over in to Gaston’s Tavern to see what it was like and then over to Tomorrowland to do Carousel of Progress. After that I got some ice cream (standard) and then sat and people watched for a while before finding an amazing spot at the start of the Festival of Fantasy route (in Frontierland, I had a little wall to sit on :D) .

The Parade was brilliant and I’m really glad I went to see it, Maleficent’s dragon was particularly amazing.
After I’d finished watching the parade, I jumped on the monorail and headed over to the Grand Floridian as I’d never visited it before. It is amazing. True luxury. I definitely have to stay there once over the course of the next year. After that, it was back on to the monorail to the Contemporary and then the bus home!
I’m off again tomorrow so who knows what I’ll get up to!

 

  

2 months down…WHAT?!?!?

 

Friday to Monday was all work and no play, the highlight was probably Rebecca and I getting a Domino’s and watching Bridget Jones on Saturday night. You’re always so busy here that it’s nice to have a chilled evening when you can get it.
On Monday it was lasses again, it was Lauren and Katie’s last and our theme was ‘french’. Before work on Monday I headed over to the outlets to try and find something ‘French’ but failed miserably so I ended up wearing stripes and red lipstick! We played against the French in Glitz. Let’s just say cereal is not suitable for dinner and will only lead to sleepy times outside Glitz. Better luck next week. I also broke my camera…oops!

On Tuesday it rained all day, it made the shift super long even though it was an easy 6 hours.
Wednesday was my only day off this week but myself, Rebecca, Nikki, Courtney and Rebecca rented a car and drove out to Wekiwa Springs. The morning started off in a bit of a mess as the hotel we’d originally tried to rent from required the driver to leave a credit card in their name, which is all well and good but I don’t have one. Thankfully the lady behind the desk was super helpful and got us something arranged at a hotel nearby in Downtown Disney.

Wekiwa Springs is only a 40 minute drive from Orlando and is SO worth it. It’s completely lush and we had such a relaxing day. When we got there we had a bit of a nosy around, finding the spring itself and then the area where you could rent canoes/kayaks. We decided to have a spot of lunch before renting the canoes and then off we went. Rebecca and I got a double kayak…lets just say our hopes for Rio 2016 were well and truly dashed. Top kayakers we are not! We managed to crash several times, in to other boats, walls, trees and the swampy bits! Wahhh! We saw gators and turtles whilst we were out on our kayak and it was just super relaxing.

After we returned the boats we headed back to the spring for a little bit of sunbathing and a cheeky dip.
We left the Springs at about 5.30 and headed to the US192 for something to eat. Initially we tried Houlihan’s to discover it was closed, so we instead settled on the Texas Roadhouse. I’d eaten here before with my family and it was just as good as I remembered. Proper comfort food for a small price 🙂

Finally Rebecca and I dropped the other girls off and then headed off to Walmart. We decided it was a good idea whilst we had the car a it meant we could buy bigger items that would be a hassle on the bus and could buy in bulk.
Thursday it was back to work but I had my first AM shift…11.15-5.15. Before I could head to work I had to leave the car back which made me super tired but it was also a nice chance to stroll around Downtown Disney and the Beach Club resort. It’s absolutely stunning there, and definitely somewhere I want to stay.

After work I met up with Rebecca, Holly and Emilie. We initially planned on eating the Kitchen Sink at Beaches and Cream but it was fully booked, so instead we just got some food at one of the little kiosks at the Boardwalk and had some ice cream. It was a really chilled evening but it felt good to be able to do something after work.
Friday was another standard extra magic shift, and Saturday was a relatively easy day.
Sunday I decided to go to the pool in the morning for an hour or so before work, I feel like I need to start doing more stuff in the mornings, like going to the pool and visiting Disney parks so that I can do other things on my days off. After I came back from the pool I tidied my bedroom as inspections start this week, it’s literally sparkling and I’m feeling pretty smug about how nice it looks.
Monday, I had an am shift which was nice, plus I managed to ER. When I got home from work I found that my new camera had arrived and that the rest of my goodies from home had come 😀
Monday night was lasses again and there were initiations for some people, to say I’m terrified of initiating is an understatement after what we witnessed but it was all good craic. We then went on to Glitz and played against the Latinos.
Tuesday was extra tragic (they’ve changed the hours for Easter) but thankfully it wasn’t too busy and I manage to ER again.

Today is Wednesday and was my day off this week. Rebecca, Holly and I headed to Hollywood Studios. We went straight to the animation class and ended up drawing Stitch. We then had a spot of lunch at Starring Rolls and then used our fastpasses for Tower of Terror and Beauty and the Beast. I’d forgotten how much I love that show. Truly amazing, and Belle’s dress at the end is just ❤

After that we went back in to the animation building to try and meet Mickey but when we got inside we spotted that the line for the animation class was non existent so we went in and….got Stitch again. Thankfully he was in a different pose. After we’d finished the class we went to meet the boss in his Sorcerer’s Apprentice gear. The girls headed to watch The Little Mermaid whilst I went home for a chill.

When Rebecca got home a bit later, her, Lydia and I headed to Longhorn at the back of Commons. It was lush and nice to just chill! Tonight we have throw in for the Newbies and then tomorrow it’s back to work for a few days.

All play and some work!

Thursday and Friday were again both standard shifts at work, thankfully I was off Saturday as Mark had agreed to take a shift for me. Kathryn and I had planned to go to the pool during the day and then head to Magic Kingdom at night but it ended up absolutely POURING down all day so we had to skip the pool and have a lazy day at home. It was nice just to have a bit of down time by myself, to get caught up on facebook msgs etc. The weather really brightened up in the evening so we decided to man up and headed to Magic Kingdom.

We went on Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, Space Mountain and the People Mover. Once we got off The Peolemover we went to meet Bella and get some food at Cosmic Ray’s Cafe. I had a bit of a nightmare food wise…I ordered a turkey sandwich, 25 minutes later, and a pretty unhelpful cast member later I was handed a burger…not what I ordered but by that point I was so hacked off I just took it.
After that we headed over to Haunted Mansion and did it and It’s a Small World before heading back to Mainstreet USA to watch Wishes. After Wishes we got some ice cream (standard) and headed up to the hub to watch Celebrate the Magic. We found an amazing spot right beside the Partners statue <3. I had only ever watched the show from halfway down Main Street, and either my eyesight is APPALLING or else you really need to be up close to appreciate how AMAZING this show is. I can’t wait to watch it again. After that we decided to call it a night and head home. Saturday was a really amazing day in the end, and reminded me of why exactly I’m here and how lucky I am 😀
Sunday and Monday I was back at work but excitingly on Monday I got my first ER…40 mins before the end of my shift. I was definitely more excited about this than I should have been lol! It was super handy as I was able to head home and get ready for Lasses without being in a complete rush.
It was a Last for 5 girls on Monday evening so we had a theme, on this occassion it was ”Legendary Lasts” from the course of their programme. I chose animals and went as a leopard, I was pretty impressed with my effort given that it was a very last minute decision!

On Tuesday I was off so headed to Hollywood studios with Kathryn, we decided we had to do Toy Story Mania and braved the 50 minute queue…it was totally worth it. When we got off the ride, Courtney had arrived so the three of us headed to Tower of Terror as the wait was only 20 mins. After that we just had a walk round until our dinner reservation at the Sci Fi diner. It is such a cool dining experience, you’re sat in cars just like you would at a drive in movie and clips of old sci fi films are played on the big screen. I had the steak and it was completely lush.
On Wednesday I was off again, so Rebecca, Courtney, Ashleigh, Kathryn and I rented a car . We set off at around 9 and headed to Clearwater Beach. I had the job of driving and to be honest I was absolutely bricking myself to start with but once I got familliar with it, it was completely fine and something I’ll definitely be doing again. Clearwater was beautiful, the weather was perfect and we had a really lush, relaxed day.

We left Clearwater around 5ish and headed back to Orlando, and for some dinner at the Olive Garden at Crossroads. Since we had the car, Rebecca and I made the most of it and headed to Walmart to stock up on Diet Coke…it’s blooming heavy haha!
Today’s Thursday and it was back to work for me, I left the car back early and then headed in to work 3 hours before I started to have a wander around World Showcase so as I could see the displays that were up for the Flower and Garden Festival. I’m really glad I did as I spend so much time in EPCOT at work, that I don’t tend to feel like I should be spending days off there, but by heading in early I got to appreciate how amazing it all looks.

 

Marching towards April (see what I did there?!?!)

So I’ve been pretty damn lucky, out of the last 3 weeks I’ve been scheduled to work 6 days per week, however I’ve only actually had to work 1 six day week as some fellow cast members have been good enough to pick up shifts, giving me a bog standard 5 day week 😀
On Saturday and Sunday I spent most of my shifts in chippy fill and chippy reg.
On Monday (St Paddy’s day), I went to Universal with Courtney (merch) and Maricarmen (Mex pav), we didn’t get to do too much as the weather wasn’t on our side but still had a great wee day all the same. We had lunch as soon as we arrived in the little patisserie just as you enter and it was ❤ We managed to get on transformers (amazing), the mummy and Men in Black…which for the first time ever, I won!! We decided to head out of the park but not without picking up a Pina Colada first to toast oul Saint Pat!

When we got back to Commons, Courtney and I headed over to the outlets to grab some green stuff for a St Patrick’s themed lasses that night. This was my first lasses that wasn’t a last so it was great to see what most weeks are actually like 🙂 We went to Glitz and played against the french boys and basically had an amazing/messy time 😀 Can’t wait til next Monday!
On Tuesday I was working 12-10, I drew the short straw and got stuck on seater first. Don’t get me wrong it’s not a bad position to get but I’d much rather be on chippy reg or fill as you always tend to be busier which makes the day pass faster. Thankfully I eventually got move to reg though in saying that I have never been so glad to get off chippy reg in my life as I was on Tues afternoon. It was ROASTING and I forgot to put on suncream…Irish girl problems. After my break I was put on chippy fill and it was really busy which was great as the night flew by 🙂 After work, Rebecca and I did the epic Walmart journey. We’ve started to get in to a wee routine of going late at night after work as it’s much better than spending any of your day off doing it.

On Wednesday we got up early and tidied the apartment as inspections are going on at the moment and no one particularly wants to pay the fee! Rebecca and I then met up with Kathryn and Ashleigh (Jen joined us a little later) and headed to Animal Kingdom for the first time since we’ve got here. We managed to get on Everest and Dinosaur. We also did the Jungle Trek and watched Finding Nemo: The Musical. After Nemo, Rebecca and I decided to come home for a nap as we’d been up pretty late the night before and were still recovering from post lasses lack of sleep. On Wednesday Kathryn came round to our apartment for some drinks…I swear I’ve drank more alcohol in Florida in the past few weeks than I did in the year before I came out!

On Thursday it was back to work and was all pretty standard to be honest.
Monday night-lasses- we had to vote for our new head lass, it was between 3 top girls and I genuinely reckon any of the three of them would have done a crackin job. Kim ended up being our new head lass and I reckon she’s gonna be brill, mainly due to the fact she’s absolutely HILARIOUS!

Tuesday at work was tragic given Monday night’s antics but I got through (with help from some hangover munchies from around world showcase). On Wednesday I was off so headed to Hollywood Studios with Joe and Courtney, Ashleigh joined us a bit later on. We managed to grab some lunch, then watched American Idol and did the animation class (we drew Goofy) before heading out of the park. The three others headed to Downtown Disney but I came home to chill for a bit before heading to Applebee’s for some cocktails and munchies with Court, Ash and Kathryn! All in all it’s been a good week or so 😀

 

All work and no play…well, some play!

So I’ll start where I left off. I had a pretty big working week…6 days, 52 hours but I did it 🙂

I am now officially trained and have taken off my earning my ears ribbon. Connor and Mark trained me on my final position which is stocking. Admittedly this is probably my least favourite job but as I’ve had 3 stocking training shifts I feel confident enough to do it. It’s quite heavy (moving kegs) but I’ve managed ok, I think!

On Monday I didn’t make it to lasses, I desperately needed to do a Walmart shop after work so that was the height of excitement. Rebecca, Emilie and I went and then treated ourselves to a midnight Maccy D’s.

On Tuesday Joe and Suraj came round after work, we just chilled and had a few drinks 🙂 Was a fun evening.

On Wednesday night after work a group of us went to TGI’s for some dinner. It was nice to just chill with a few cocktails and a munch.

On Thursday I didn’t start work until 3pm which meant that in the morning I had plenty of time to book Rebecca and I flights to NYC! We’re going in September and I’m SO excited for it!

Thursday night was the throw in for the new arrival group (Kathryn, Courtney, Ashleigh, Emmy, Bella, Jen, Joe and Kristian).We went to an irish bar at Crossroads called Kitty O’Shea’s. I had a great night but will definitely only be ordering one jug next time!

Today is Friday and me, Emmy, Joe, Ashleigh, Courtney and Kathryn went to Typhoon Lagoon! It was roasting and I’ve completely fried my legs…I resemble a lobster! We went on Crush and Gusher, the lazy river and played in the wave pool. Emmy and I also snorkelled over the shark reef which was cool and something I’d never done before. Next week I’m off Monday (which is St Paddy’s day so that’ll be interesting) and Wednesday…no solid plans yet but I’m sure I’ll do something 🙂

 

Where are the weeks going?

So I’ve now been trained on another position in work  – chippy reg and chippy fill (sometimes the 2 combine). It’s been fine, though a lot more quick paced than the other 2 roles so far but any days that I’ve spent in chippy have gone a lot faster than those when I have been elsewhere. Sammy trained me again, God love that poor girl.

 

On Friday evening I went to a bar called Cowboys with my roommate Katrine (from Norway) and another Norwegian girl called Anna. Cowboys is a bar where they play country music and EVERYONE knows how to line dance…apart from me obv! It was a really good night…though admittedly I got a little too drink happy towards the end of the evening woopsy!

Saturday-Wednesday was work as usual, with lasses on Monday evening. It was a last so we headed to Murphy’s again and played against the UK guys. I tend to just watch the games and order my own drinks as I HATE beer. Had a brilliant wee night until Rebecca and I found out around 3am that McDonalds was closed lol!

I worked on Tuesday then straight after work I popped round to see the new arrival group! Thankfully 3 of the girls live in my building which is gonna be so handy 🙂 Emmy lives in Patterson and Joe lives in Chatham.

I had Wednesday and Thursday off. On Wednesday Rebecca and I had our first staycation. We went round to see the new girls again in the morning, then headed to Publix to get a few essentials then on to the Carribean Beach resort. It was lovely to stay in a nice hotel for the night, and sprawl out in a big bed. We spent the afternoon at the swimming pool which is themed like a Pirate ship whilst sipping an AMAZING pina colada.

That evening we’d booked to eat at their restaurant…Shutters. It was AMAZING. Seriously yum! I would definitely recommend it. We both had Braised Beef and Pepper Jack Cheese Empanada  to start and then had the New York strip steak for mains. It was delicious. I had the Captain’s Mai Tai cocktail and the Magical star cocktail. ❤

After dinner we walked back to the room and just chilled out with some wine and the luxury of a tv. On the subject of wine, we brought 2 bottles with us but completely forgot that most wines here are corked so we had to use a variety of tools to get in to the wine, including and not limited to…a shoe, coat hanger, pen, hair clip and lid of an ice bucket. We finally opened it and victory was sweet. We watched Sweet Home Alabama which I absolutely love, then fell asleep.

Today is Thursday and when we woke up this morning it was raining which was a bit disappointing but we powered on and went to the Magic Kingdom for a proper keeno day 🙂

We decided the main purpose of today would be to meet characters so we got to meet Tiana, Daisy, Minnie, Goofy, Donald and the boss himself, Mickey. We had a few funny moments, Tiana asked me (since I worked in Food and Bev) to come and work at her restaurant. Daisy was NOT happy about my t-shirt (it has Ursula on it) and Mickey performed a magic trick with Rebecca! We had a yum lunch at cosmic rays, the standard MK ice cream and a whirl on Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. At around 2.30pm the rain had done us in so we headed home. We had a cheeky little nap and are about to order a chinese and have Kathryn round for a wee night in 🙂 Florida life is good 😀

Munchies, Lasses and Universal…with the odd bit of work thrown in!

Sooo as I said in my last post I had another training shift on Saturday. Amy trained me on greeter, it took a tiny bit longer to get my head around than seater but it’s still absolutely fine and nothing too stressful…apart from when you have non english speaking guests, then it’s loads of fun lol!

On Sunday I worked again from 11-7pm and then afterwards headed to the Beach club resort with Suraj and Rebecca. We headed to Beaches and Cream for dinner (I had the most massive burger ever…swear I’m gonna be morbidly obese in no time) and then we went to Jellyrolls. It’s a bar where there are 2 piano players at the front who basically play any song that is requested and sing along. Cast members get in free which is great but admittedly the drinks are a bit steep (11 dollars is NOT the one when you’re a podium peasant).  The music was really good and the atmosphere was great but we didn’t stay very long as we were all super tired.

On Monday I worked 11-7 again (a mix of greeter and seater) and then headed home and got ready for my first ever lasses. I wasn’t too sure what to expect but I had an absolutely brilliant night. Probably a few more vodkas than necessary (understatement) but so much fun and it helped to get to know a few more people around the pavilion. We went to a bar called murphy’s and then stopped at McD’s on the way home…as is the law after a night out. I definitely reckon it will become a regular thing for me.

I died a wee bit on Tuesday morning but righted myself by the time I had to go to work (3pm). Again it was a mix of seater and greeter. At work I’d been talking to Chloe about how lovely the Disney resorts were but that I’ve never actually stayed in one. She has stayed in a few and that spurred me on to get something booked, so when I got home Rebecca and I booked our first staycation. We’re staying at the Caribbean Beach resort next Wednesday night and have booked to have dinner in their restaurant as well (it’s called Shutters). I’m really looking forward to 2 very chilled out days.

On Wednesday I was off so Rebecca and I went to Publix in the morning and then headed over to Universal in the afternoon. We finally navigated how to work the i-ride so it only cost us 50 cents to get there and back which was amazing. The weather wasn’t great, it poured on and off the whole day but that’s the beauty of having a whole year and an annual pass…we don’t need to rush to do everything!

We managed to get on 4 rides with minimal wait (10 mins was the longest). We got on Shred 4D, The Mummy, Men In Black and E.T. I was a bit disappointed that Rip Ride Rock’it wasn’t up and running as it’s my favourite but there’s always next time. We also met some of the characters from Despicable me and had the most awesome choc brownie sundae EVER. Even if I’m now almost positive I’m diabetic lol! 

Today I’m off but we had to get up at 5am for  social security appointment so have had quite a lazy day! After the ap we came home, I slept for an hour or 2 then tidied my room. I then headed to walmart to get some more food as publix is just too expensive. Since I got back I’ve just chilled on the sofa, had a few smirnoff ice, some munchies and have looked up some hotels for NYC as Rebecca and I have requested some time off for September, we’re just hoping it gets approved so we can book 🙂

Back to work tomorrow and not off again until Wednesday by which time the new arrival group will have got here. I am SO excited to see those guys. I literally can’t wait until they get here. 

 

Time flies when you’re having fun!

I can’t believe I’ve nearly been here for 2 weeks…it all seems so normal!

 

To catch up from where I last left off.

On Monday I had more e-learning. I had to be at EPCOT for 7am (wahhhh sooo early), I met Ivi (def spelt her name wrong) and she took me to get my costume. We then went in to the offices and I did a LOT of e learning courses. I’m really not good at concentrating on something for so long, it nearly killed me. After I’d finished that she sent me on lunch and then took me over to the UK pav to have a look around. Because I was the only f and b on my start date she let me go earlier than usual as everything was finished.

Tuesday was my Discovery day. We got shown a presentation on the history of EPCOT and then went for a tour of the park to see where we’d be working. Once Discovery day was over I had an induction in the UK pav, it was basically just being told lots of info about the service standards and roles that I would be working in. I got some fish and chips for lunch too 😀

Wednesday was my first day of training. Will trained me on seater and I had a pretty good shift. I don’t think I did too badly, I managed to get the table numbers down and didn’t sit anyone in the wrong place which was good. I think it’ll just be a case of getting a bit faster and more confident but Will was brill and helped with everything! 

Thursday I was off so I headed to EPCOT with Suraj, we got on loads of rides-Soarin, Test Track, Maelstrom, Grand Fiesta Tour, Journey into Imagination, Captain EO, Living with the land and The Seas wit Nemo. We had a lush lunch at the quick service in Morocco and I had a few cocktails too…my absolute favourite-the orange slush in France and a Strawberry Margarita in Mexico. I bought a lush Lion King pillow ❤  On Wednesday night Madison and Suraj came round for some drinks, Madison made the most AMAZING Disney cupcakes…when you bit in to them Mickey’s head was on the inside….the woman’s a genius! A bit later Rebecca got home and then Alyssa came round for a bit too. It was a great wee night

Thursday, I was off again so Rebecca and I headed to Holywood Studios. I bought some amaaaazing Maleficent ears which may be my fave thing in the whole world! We went on/watched Rockin Rollercoaster, Tower of Terror, Art of animation, Muppets 3D, The Great Movie ride, Indiana Jones and finished with Fantasmic 😀 Sadly we didn’t get on my fave…Toy story midway mania, but we have a whole year.

 

I have my 2nd training shift today, starting at 3pm and finishing at 9.30 so God knows what time I’ll get home due to the buses! Hopefully it goes ok 😀

I live here!

So this is my first post since moving across the pond and I have to say I completely understand already how people don’t have time to update their blogs once they’re out here. We’ve been super busy since we got here and it’s only been 6 days!

On Monday morning I left the house at about 3am and headed to Dublin airport to meet Rebecca for our flight. We met up about 5.30 and waited for check in to open. We said our goodbyes before security, I have to admit there were tears but as soon as I left my family I was fine again. Our flight to Newark was pretty uneventful, apart from the fact we got sat beside a guy who constantly needed the loo and kept licking his teeth and making a clicking noise. In fairness I slept for the majority of the flight but his constant toilet antics meant it was quite interrupted. Again in Newark everything went smoothly and it wasn’t long before we were on our next flight. Rebecca and I got separated on this flight due to families not sitting with their kids which meant Rebecca got an extra leg room seat and I ended up with 2 seats to myself 🙂 As soon as we arrived in Orlando we met Suraj and headed down to the Mears shuttle to go to the Holiday Inn. It is right across the road from Vista way (where you have to check in). We dropped our bags and ran in to the Mexicans from our arrival group. They told us about some paperwork we needed to fill in so we did that and headed in to Applebee’s for a drink and a bite to eat.

The next morning we headed over to Vista way at about 11.30 am and got given our housing assignments. Rebecca and I got what we requested, a 3 bed in The Commons. We’re living with 3 Norwegian girls and a French girls. Everyone seems to be getting along well so far so I have no complaints. We spent most of Tuesday unpacking and trying to organise everything in the apartment, we also did the Walmart shop of doom. I advise anyone who is coming out to take their suitcase to Walmart as carrying bags back is NOT fun. In saying that we got everything we needed 🙂

On Tuesday evening a group of us (Madison, Rebecca, Suraj, Mayela, Giuseppe, Antonio and Victoria) headed to Downtown Disney, to Paradiso 37 for some food. It was a really nice restaurant and was a very chilled out evening. We had a little look around World of Disney and then headed back to the apartment.

On Wednesday and Thursday we had housing meetings and signed our lives away. We headed over to Publix to get our phone contracts sorted and back to Walmart for a few more bits and pieces. On Thursday night we went out with a lot of other cast members from the UK pav to get to know them. Lets just say they’re crazy 😀

On Friday we were feeling a little delicate after our  UK welcome party,  but we headed to Universal anyway. We bought our annual passes ($266 for Florida residents) and headed off to play in Islands of Adventure. Although it was a dodgy start to the day it was so much fun. We went on The Cat in the Hat and then headed to Harry Potter and the forbidden journey. We decided to go in the single rider line as the queue was 45 minutes but when we were on it (in 3 separate vehicles), it decided to break down for 5 minutes or so. I hate simulators as it is but feeling unwell and being stuck in front of a screen is not the one when you’re already a little fragile. After that we all felt a bit sick so we headed over to Jurassic Park River Adventure which I told Suraj (who didn’t want to go on any water rides) was a nice boat ride. We got absolutely drenched and from here on in Suraj was the source of amusement for Rebecca and I for the rest of the day….so naturally I made  them get on Dudley Do Right’s Ripsaw falls next. When we got off we were completely soaked through so we decided to pay for one of the heated dryers. Again, Suraj provided much banter by yelling at some American woman to move her kid away from our machine as she was trying to get him to stand in it. Shortly after we headed to the comic strip cafe and then home.

Saturday was Traditions at Disney Uni, the main highlights were getting our name badges and heading over to Magic Kingdom to see the show in action 🙂

After Traditions we rushed home to get ready for Magic Kingdom…I mean we got a Main Gate pass, we may aswell use it! Suraj at first didn’t think he’d  be able to come as his pass wasn’t ready but then he remembered he had a pass from when he worked in the Disney store! Woop! So him, Rebecca and I headed off to MK. We managed to get on It’s a small world, The Little Mermaid and Winnie the Pooh before watching Wishes on Main Street USA (obviously with an ice cream).

Today is Sunday and I had 4 hours of e-learning this morning. I had to get the bus at 6.30 and really didn’t sleep well last night so I was super tired throughout. I got my shoes from costuming and then headed home. I tidied the apartment a little bit, skyped home and had some lunch. I then had a quick nap and headed over to Publix to do some shopping. After that I’ve just been chilling. Some of the girls from my apartment are going to Downtown Disney for a nosy but I’m just gonna chill out for a bit then head to bed as I’ve to get the bus at 6.04 tomorrow. Roll on Wed when I can wake up at a normal time and e learning and inductions will be over with for a while!

Less than 6 hours to go!

Well this is my last blog post from Northern Ireland. Can’t believe I’m saying that, the time has flown by in the end. Just going to update what the last week has been like. Prepare yourself for what will be a boring post but it’s more so for me to remember what I did!
On Saturday 1st Feb I’d arranged to go out to O’neills in Belfast for a dance and drink with a few girlies. All was arranged and on Sat evening I went to pick up my friend Vicki, to go to another friend’s house for a few nibbles and drinks. When Vicki came out of her house she wasn’t alone…my friend Jenna, who I have been friends with since I was 8 appeared. She lives in Glasgow and I haven’t seen her in months but she flew home for the night which made it even better 🙂 Was lovely seeing all my girlies together!
On Sunday, feeling slightly worse for wear I went out for a family meal at Scallini’s, it was yum and fixed me right up.
On Tuesday I met up with Kathryn as she was over in Belfast getting her visa. We went to Nando’s for a cheeky munch and then randomly to the BHS cafe …mainly so we had somewhere warm to sit and have a natter! Only 3 weeks until I see her again. I also packed my bags on Tuesday, I admitted defeat and have packed 2 cases.
On Wednesday Mum and I went to cancel my car insurance and bought a new hand luggage bag for the plane as I decided that with 2 wheelie cases a third wasn’t a good plan!
On Thursday I had a great day with 3 of my best friends (Bex, Claire and Vicki), we had booked in to a beauty salon in Helen’s Bay and had a massage and afternoon tea. It was a lush day and we went to the new Sozo restaurant after for an early dinner. Was a brill way to spend one of my last days.
On Friday, I spent the morning at the local beauty salon trying to get myself beautified for Florida, sadly they didn’t have a magic wand but they tried their hardest. Then it was home to get the house ready for my leaving party which turned in to absolute carnage. There was LOTS of wine and lots of crying but it was a brilliant wee night. My party really made it hit home that I wouldn’t see some people for a long time 😦 But it’s not a goodbye, it’s a see ya later. I got lots of lovely gifts and dollars. My friends and family are amazing.
On Saturday I spent the day…in bed, recovering from all the excitement of the night before.
Then finally, today, Sunday! I had a family dinner with my mum, stepdad, 2 sisters, granny, grandad and aunt. It was lovely and was like a mini Christmas…10 months in advance. It was all brilliant until they were leaving when my aunt started crying and naturally set the rest of us off. I’ve now spent the day crying on and off. My friend Vicki came to say bye, cue more tears on my part. Then my aunt, uncle and cousin came…more tears and finally my wee second cousin who is only 5! Pure broke my heart saying bye to them all but with skype etc it should be ok…it’ll just take a while to get used to it.
I leave for the airport in 6 hours, dreading the goodbyes but I know I’ll be fine when I meet up with Rebecca and we head through security. Next time I post, it’ll be Stateside! Wow!

The final countdown!

I officially only have 10 days left in the UK until 2015. Oh My God! Anyways, here’s a brief update on life over the past few days…

My Visa arrived back a day earlier than scheduled, it arrived on Monday. You’re told when you book your visa to be delivered that you need to have ID to show the courier when it arrives. Not the case. My mum walked in to the living room and handed it to me, apparently the delivery man just asked if I lived at “this” address and handed it over. Getting the visa back made everything seem a little bit more real, I particularly loved that it said that I would be working at Walt Disney World (little amuses the simple).

On Monday evening I had my first ‘goodbye’. I went to Papa Browns with 3 friends, 2 of whom went to Australia on Wednesday for 3 months so I won’t see them again until 2015. It was VERY strange saying goodbye to them. They’re two of my best friends who I’ve known since I was really young so saying goodbye was weird. In fairness I don’t see them all the time but they’re 2 girls that I know are always there for me any time I need them. 

Below is a pic of said girlies 🙂

 

We got our DORMS email on Tuesday, 2 weeks before our scheduled arrival date. Sadly some of the Mexicans from our arrival group have yet to receive theirs. We’d hoped to request to live together but weren’t able to due to them not having their room-mate ID number. My preferences for housing were Commons, Chatham then Vista Way. I’ve requested to live with Rebecca, Emilie and Katrine (both of whom are from Norway). Fingers crossed it works out but I’m trying not to get my hopes up.

On Tuesday I also had my second goodbye. I met up with my dad and we went for lunch in Belfast and then went to see my granny in her house. I don’t see my dad that often so it wasn’t too weird saying bye, but my granny has cancer so it was very strange saying bye to her and not being sure if I’d see her again. Admittedly I’m not particularly close with her but she is a fantastic wee woman and would do anything for anyone, no questions asked. My dad gave me some much appreciated cash for my travels which was brilliant and a lot more than I expected so I’m very grateful for that.

On Thursday, my mum and I went to Abbeycentre to get my money sorted out. I decided to go with the Thomas Cook travelcard as it has minimal fees. I also got some Euro’s for the airport…I definitely plan on seeing off Irish soil with a fry up and a glass of wine 🙂  I also sorted out payment for the hotel on our first night and transferred my share to Suraj 🙂

Today is Friday and I’ve just met up with Claire and Bex. I’ll see both of them again before I go, I’m going out for leaving do part 1 tomorrow evening but Bex won’t be there as she’s PREGNANT! So exciting but it’s one thing that I’ll miss when I’m away as she’s due in August.

Tomorrow night I’m heading to O’neills with a few close friends for a drink and a dance, initially I’d invited loads of people but changed the plans last minute and I’m now glad that it’s not going to be filled with randoms 🙂

I’m now at the point of just having little bits and pieces to sort. I need to fill in my I94 form, print off all the necessary paperwork that I need to take with me and photocopy my passport and visa petition. It’s really not a difficult task but it’s not very interesting and so I haven’t done it yet. I will have it done by Tuesday at the latest. 

I also need to pack. I say this like I’m going to do it myself but if we’re being realistic my mum is going to and I’m going to supervise. It is stressing me slightly as I need to fit all of this in to 2 cases!! 

The pink box is half full and the suitcase is full of shoes. Oh dear.

 

Talking of Tuesday, Kathryn is coming over for her visa appointment so I’m planning on meeting her after she’s finished for a quick bite of lunch before she has to head off for her flight home! Excited to see her 🙂

Anyways, that’s a little run down of my week…I imagine the next few weeks might be slightly more interesting.

 

They’re letting me in

I’m currently curled up in bed about to go for a cheeky nap after the past few days. On Wednesday I went to the airport at ungodly o’clock, commonly known as 7.30am to pick Rebecca up.

When I picked her up we went to my house, dropped off her bag and headed in to Belfast to scope out where the Embassy was for our Visa interview the next day. In fairness it’s really easy to find, I went to Stranmillis Uni and it’s literally about 2 seconds past it on the Stranmillis Road.

After we decided we were happy enough with our bearings we headed over to the Titanic quarter to visit the Titanic exhibit. It’s safe to say Rebecca and I are not historians! There was A LOT of reading throughout the exhibit, we clearly didn’t have the interest or enthusiasm for that, which is actually strange as I am completely fasciated by the Titanic. Instead, like the big kids we are we spent our time looking at the things where there were buttons to press and levers to pull. We were in and out within the course of an hour…pretty quick given that we’d heard from other people it took 3 or 4 hours to go round…woops!
We then headed over to the Odyssey for a quick munch in the Streat, I’ve never had a bagel before but given how yum the bacon one was that I had I shall definitely be having more 😀 After our quick snack we went in to the Odyssey bowl, which is basically an arcade. We played ten pin bowling (neither of us were particularly fabulous at this), air hockey and obsessively tried to beat some basketball game. We killed enough time in the Odyssey Bowl that it was time to go and see Frozen…it was only right that we watched a Disney movie! It was a brilliant wee film, the songs are amazing and I now completely get why everyone rants and raves about Olaf…he is ridiculously cute.

Once the film was finished we headed home and found something we are good at…drinking wine and munching chinese food and just had a general giggle.

The next morning we were up bright (with a slightly sore head on my part) and early for our appointment, we were both really nervous which was daft as it was completely fine.

We arrived at the embassy about half an hour before our appointment and were let in soon after, the security men were really friendly and had us checked in within seconds and sent us up to the visa office. It’s a really small waiting room, probably about 30 seats in total and most of them were full when we arrived. We sat down and a few minutes later the woman at the desk called to see if there was anyone who needed to hand in their paperwork and passport so we went and did that, then sat back down to wait…and wait…and wait. After what was probably about 40minutes we were called individually to the window again to have our finger prints read, then there was MORE waiting. Eventually I was called in to the interview booth, I must have been in there about 3 minutes when she said, “I’ll issue you a visa, it’ll be with you in 5 working days”, and that was that. She didn’t ask too many questions, basically just what I would be doing over there, if I had family in the States and if I planned on teaching when I returned. Rebecca was called shortly after and then that was it. We were done. When we came out we realised we’d been in there for 2 hours!

If you are going to the Belfast embassy for your visa I strongly recommend you wear a watch, as there are NO clocks…probably to stop people moaning about how long they have to wait and bring a magazine or a book as everyone in the room falls prey to waiting room syndrome where you don’t feel like you can talk!
We then headed to leave my car off with my mum at work as we had designs on a mega munch and cocktails in TGI Fridays. Needless to say that mission was accomplished with no problems 😀

It was a brill few days and has made me (if possible) even more excited about going to work for the Mouse! 17 days 😀