Week 2

We all started working this week and with our schedules clashing it’s been hard work but we’ve squeezed in super magic fun times between our shifts somehow! Can’t believe the girls I’ve met and the memories I’ve made already.

Week 1 – FINALLY (sorry)

So I made it to Florida safely and I have successfully survived my first full week. I have literally had about 2 minutes to myself the whole time and I’ve used them to shower rather than write sorry haha! Anyway, I made a cute little weekly montage video so here is week numero uno and I hope you enjoy it!

This week features: travelling, All Star Movies, Disney Springs, character breakfast, moving in, Walmart, Polynesian, Traditions, my flatmate Jess’ gammy bite, Boardwalk, movies under the stars, pool time, Hard Rock Cafe, Disney University, Magic Kingdom, Mickey Mouse, Festival of Fantasy, Electric Light Parade, Celebrate the Magic, Wishes, Hollywood Studios, Star Wars Fireworks, costuming, Animal Kingdom and our first Florida thunderstorm!

I’ll write a proper blog post soon, I promise.

 

My home for two months…

… It’s Vista Way!

If you’re familiar with the Disney housing complexes, you’ll know Vista has the party reputation. It’s the oldest of all four of the complexes but many of the apartments have or are undergoing refurbishments right now.

As you can see, it’s the nearest complex to Disney property – literally over the road from Disney Springs.

Facilities and good bits:

• Has its own transportation hub meaning its the easiest complex to get to and from work
• Walking distance to: Walgreens, Chick-fil-a, Wendy’s, Applebys, Dunkin’ Donuts, Cicis…
• Two pools
• Fitness Centre
• Volleyball/tennis/basketball courts
• Pool table
• Hot tub
• Mail room
• Laundry room
• 24 hour security
• Most events take place at either Vista or Chatham
• Usually cheaper than other sites

I suppose negatives for Vista would be: potentially loud, but completely dependant on where your apartment is and who you live with; older and so maybe needs a lick of paint and a bit of TLC… other than that, right now, I can’t see many other reasons to knock the place.

Honestly, Vista doesn’t look anywhere near as nice as the other (newer) complexes but, for me, it’s all about the company you keep anyway. I’m excited, I just hope my flatmate request works out and I’m placed with my friend!

I also received the dates/times for check in, housing welcoming, drug and alcohol testing, immigration, international onboarding, and Traditions. Only a couple of early starts in there and plenty of time left over to explore.

Can’t believe how quickly this has all come around. I’m coming for you Vista!

My Top Threes

Just to keep me entertained I thought I’d do my top threes of lots of Disney categories…

Disney classic films:
1. The Lion King
2. Pocahontas
3. Hercules

Pixar films:
1. Toy Story
2. Monsters Inc.
3. Wall-e

Princes/Heroes:
1. Simba
2. Flynn Rider
3. Woody

Princesses/Heroines:
1. Pocahontas
2. Tiana
3. Megara

Characters to meet:
1. Gaston
2. Chip n Dale
3. Goofy/Pluto in Dino Land, Animal Kingdom

Magic Kingdom attractions:
1. Splash Mountain
2. Haunted Mansion
3. Philarmagic

EPCOT attractions:
1. Soarin’
2. Mission Space (orange)
3. Gran Fiesta Tour starring the Three Caballeros

Hollywood Studios attractions:
1. Tower of Terror
2. Rock n Roller Coaster
3. Toy Story Midway Mania

Animal Kingdom attractions:
1. Kilimanjaro Safaris
2. Expedition Everest
3. Festival of the Lion King

Restaurants in the parks:
1. Cinderella’s Royal Table, MK
2. Be Our Guest, MK
3. 50s Prime Time Diner, HS

Restaurants in resorts:
1. Citricos, Grand Floridian
2. Hoop-de-Doo Musical Revue, Fort Wilderness
3. Sanaa, Animal Kingdom Lodge

Quick-service restaurants:
1. Casey’s Corner, MK
2. Earl of Sandwich, Disney Springs
3. Be Our Guest, MK

Night time show:
1. Wishes
2. Illuminations
3. Fantasmic

Disney snacks:
1. Mickey Ice Cream Sandwich
2. Mickey Pretzel
3. Chocolate covered pineapple

…might have to keep updating this one as I’m sure I’ll think of a million more categories as soon as I post it!

 

Disney World A-Z

With only five days of rushing around in an unorganised blur left to go before Disney, I thought I’d do something daft to channel my excitement so I’m going to go through the alphabet with Disney World related words completely off the top of my head, no Google allowed…

A – Animal Kingdom
B – Blizzard Beach
C – Carousel of Progress
D – Dinosaur
E – Enchanted Tales with Belle
F – Fantasmic
G – Gaston’s Tavern
H – Hollywood Tower Hotel
I – In the biiiiig bluuue worrrrrld…
J – Jungle Cruise
K – Kali River Rapids
L – Living with the Land
M – Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor
N – Narcoossee’s
O – ‘Ohana
P – Polynesian
Q – (Disney)Quest        …yeah, I cheated
R – Rock n Roller Coaster
S – Soarin’
T – Toy Story Midway Mania
U – United Kingdom
V – Voyage of the Little Mermaid
W – Wishes
X – EXpedition Everest?!
Y – Yak & Yeti
Z – Zip-a-dee-doo-dah

This time next week

Oh yeah, you got it…

(RIP Hollywood Studios hat – yes, I loved it)

I will be taking off from Manchester Airport, bound for the most magical place in the world.

The early start date cast members already look like they’re having an insane time. Like Snapchat has been both a blessing and a curse. I’ve been able to get in on so much Disney action before actually being there myself but OH MA GAWWWD am I jealous? YE BABE.

I requested the later start date because I’m finally getting to see Stone Roses on the 18th and I just couldn’t even consider missing that. I was just a poor college student earning £25 a week last time they did a set of gigs, and this year, with all of their new material coming out, it’s going to be insane.

Anywhos, back to Disney. So I’ve been running round this week like a headless chicken looking for swimsuits, sandals and then potential outfits for Disney Traditions. Traditions is like a training centre that you go to for 3 days-ish and they’re very strict on shoulders, knees and toes coverage. As part of training, however, we go into Magic Kingdom, and if anyone has been to Florida in the summer, you know it is HAWT. I’ve been trying to find a nice balance of summery but businessy and it just isn’t happening. Apparently all I own are long sleeved or no sleeved tops so I’ve been to Topshop about 20 times, scrolled through ASOS for about a million hours, and been back and forth to the local shopping centre too many times to count: still not bought anything.

Any suggestions for outfits would be great.

Also, still need to buy a suitcase hahahahahah what is my life. I’m going away for 3 months and I haven’t started packing, yup, what a fool. The mad rush is gonna hit me hard.

Another thing griping me right now is how the referendum vote is affecting the exchange rate. WHY DIDN’T I GET MY DOLLARS EARLIER?! Decided I’m literally leaving it until last minute now because it’s just too irritating watching them go up and down like a freakin yoyo.

Sorry, I’m just babbling about crap, I might make a post that makes sense and is maybe more interesting soon but, for now, I’m in Center Parcs with some pals so I’m gonna go have some fun.

Much love x

 

Visa = Approved!

Thank the Lord, America is letting me in. On June 2nd, I went for my Visa appointment at the US Embassy in London so I thought I’d write a little bit about it in case you’re curious/worried about going in future yourself.

My appointment was at 8:30am so myself and my mother travelled down to London the day before and stayed over in a hotel not too far from the Embassy in Grosvenor Square (not far from Selfridges if you’re more familiar with that haha).

I had to take a number of documents with me:

• my passport
• a 5×5 passport type picture – photo booths have US Visa as an option
• the SEVIS fee receipt
• the DS-2019 form – Yummy Jobs sent that in the welcome pack
• the DS-160 confirmation printout

I was also meant to take the program acceptance letter and proof of strong home ties (i.e. uni enrolment letters, rent confirmation or something) but I was unorganised and forgot. Luckily I didn’t actually get asked for either of these things so I was fine!

You queue up outside the embassy and they get all of your forms in order for you and then you go through like an airport security system. You can take like backpacks/bags etc. but you can’t take luggage in with you. You also have to go in alone, or with someone else who has an appointment too so I had to send my mama off for a coffee.

You go into like a huge waiting room type thing and numbers come up on a massive screen telling you where to go. It seems like there are soooo many people in there but they move really quick. When your number flashes up you go to your corresponding window. It’s just like windows at a bank or a train station with someone sat behind a glass screen and you pass things underneath. Once you’re done scanning your finger prints and getting your documents back you get sent to wait again but in a slightly different area.

From there you get lead to a queue for another window – this window is your actual appointment. I was expecting a full on sit down interview but nope it’s very quick and informal. I got to my window and the lady asked what my occupation is so I said student, she asked where and what I was studying; I didn’t tell her I’d just finished uni incase it raised suspicion that I’m trying to run away to America. She then asked why I want to work at Disney and whether I’d been before and then she gave me a booklet on fair working rights and told me I was approved!

In and out in about an hour I’d say. It seems it just depends on the day how long you’ll be in there. Apparently some people were done in 10 minutes and some people were waiting for hours on end so it just depends. It’s not scary or anything, despite the armed guards outside, and once you’re done you’re off to the land of the free!

See you soon Orlando!

Disney Q&A

A few of the CEP-ers have been doing Q&A videos so I thought I’d answer a few questions here instead. You can learn a lil bit more about my Disney side and I can get pure excited for flying out in 14 days!

1. Fave Disney: character? – Woody
2.                           princess? – Pocahontas
3.                           prince? – Flynn Rider
4.                           hero? – Simba
5.                           heroine? – Jessie
6.                           animal? – Pascal
7.                           sidekick? – Baymax
8.                           villain? – Hades
9.                           original character? – Chip n Dale
10.                           love song? – I see the Light/Tale as Old as Time/Bella Notte
11.                           villain song? – Be Prepared
12.                           song overall? – I Won’t Say I’m in Love
13.                           kiss? – Lady and the Tramp, of course!
14.                           Pixar film? – Toy Story
15.                           classic film? Lion King
16.                           sequel? – Toy Story 2
17.                           quote? – “Look at the stars. The great kings of the past look down on us from those stars.So whenever you feel alone, just remember that those kings will always be there to guide you, and so will I” – Musfasa, Lion King. Reminds me of my dad and it means a LOT.
18.                           theme park? – Well, it was Hollywood Studios but now all of the construction’s going on it’s probably Animal Kingdom.
19.                           attraction? – Tower of Terror
20.                           theme park show? – The Beauty and the Beast show at HS!
21. First Disney film I ever watched? – The first Disney film I remember seeing in the cinema was Lady and the Tramp but from what I’m told I was obsessed with Snow White so it was probably that.
22. Least favourite: song? – We are Siamese
23.                                 Pixar film? – I love all Pixar films but if I had to choose, probably Cars 2?!
24. Song that always gets stuck in your head? – A Friend Like Me/I’ll Make a Man Out of You
25. Most overrated film? – I’ve never been able to watch Oliver & Company the whole way through…?
26. Most underrated film? – Hercules/Tarzan/Emperor’s New Groove/Brother Bear
27. Film that makes you laugh the most? – Monsters Inc.
28. Film that makes you cry the most? – Up
29. Saddest scene from your favourite film? – Mufasa’s death
30. Saddest Disney death? – I don’t want to repeat myself… ^^^ but I also balled at Arlo’s dad’s death in The Good Dinosaur

Totally cheated some of these and gave more than one answer, such an indecisive lass sozzzzz.

Much love x

DISNEY BUCKET LIST

Yes, the time has come when I have finished my uni work and can spend too much time googling disney stuffs. Less than a month to go so I fiiiiiinally made my bucket list! Now, because I have been to Disney World four times already, I will have done a lot of first timers bucket list items so you might think I’m missing some pretty obvious things out, maybe you’ll find it more interesting as it might be a little bit more niche (or maybe you’ll notice a lot of elements revolve around food…)?!

60 thangs for 60 days, ere we go:

• Do all four parks in one day 19/7/16
• Complete the boat challenge
• Find at least FIFTY hidden Mickeys
• Do the monorail bar crawl
• Go on one of the Disney tours
• Book a character meal  20/6/16 – Breakfast at the Grand Floridian’s 1900 Park Fare
• See some Fourth of July fireworks 3 & 4/7/16 – at work!
• Eat a corn dog 23/6/16 – Corn Dog Nuggets at Casey’s Corner, MK
• Buy a new Disney artist sketch
• Swim with the sharks in Typhoon Lagoon 15/7/16
• Get a dole whip 23/6/16 – Aloha Isle, MK
• Buy something from Cast Connections
• Buy some new ears 23/6/16 – Sparkly Minnie Ears
• ‘Disney bound’
• Visit Celebration

Magic Kingdom

• Get to Magic Kingdom for rope drop 19/7/16
• Try a cinnamon roll at Gaston’s 19/7/16
• Get reservations for Be Our Guest 12/7/16
• Chillax in the new hub area with an ice cream from The Plaza 1/7/16
• Become a galactic hero on Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
• Ride Jungle Cruise then eat at Skipper Canteen
• Get picked as a character in Enchanted Tales with Belle
• Purchase a bauble from the Christmas shop in Liberty Square
• Meet Jessie and Woody
• See the new castle show 1/7/16
• Send a postcard using the Magic Kingdom post box 11/7/16

Epcot

• Drink around the world (first time over as a 21 year old woopwoop)
• Eat at that cray Japanese restaurant where they do cool stuff with the food
• See the new Finding Dory characters in Turtle Talk with Crush 26/6/16
• Ride the new Frozen ride
• See the new Soarin’! 4/7/16
• Eat a pastry in France 20/7/16
• Design a winning car on Test Track
• Get the biggest cheesiest pizza at Via Napoli 26/6/16
• Complete the Agent P World Showcase game
• Get a World Showcase passport filled

Hollywood Studios

• See the new Star Wars fireworks 24/6/16
• Get a sick score on Toy Story Midway Mania
• Eat a carrot cake cookie 29/6/16
• Watch the street performers

Animal Kingdom

• Ride Dinosaur before it closes for the rest of the summer 25/6/16
• Cuddle some animals at the Conservation Station 23/7/16
• Do a night safari in Animal Kingdom
• Become a Wilderness Explorer

Disney Springs

• Eat at The Boathouse
• See La Nouba by Cirque du Soleil
• Get a cupcake from Sprinkles 26/6/16
• Have an Earl of Sandwich sandwich 2/7/16
• Buy some new Disney Pandora (lost my earring in Australia cryyy)
• Get sloshed in House of Blues

Resorts

• Eat ‘The Kitchen Sink’ at Beaches & Cream
• Eat then watch Wishes at The California Grill
• Watch Wishes from the beach at The Polynesian 20/6/16
• Toast s’mores with Chip and Dale at Fort Wilderness
• Watch a Disney film outside at one of the resorts 21/6/16 – Monsters University, Boardwalk
• Go to Mickey’s Backyard BBQ
• See the Spirit of Aloha show at The Polynesian
• Complete one of the resort running trails
• Use CM discount to stay a night in a Disney resort or two
• Visit every resort – Grand Flo, Poly, Contemporary, Boardwalk, All Stars, Port Orleans, Yacht & Beach, Wilderness Lodge, Fort Wilderness, Art of Animation, Saratoga Springs, Old Key West, Coronado Springs, Caribbean Beach, Animal Kingdom Lodge, Swan & Dolphin

Meeting up with my Disney pals

So it’s that time of year when my uni workload is at it’s highest and I’m just about to throw myself off a cliff – what better way to procrastinate that to Disney it up on a night out in Liverpool with some top CEP lasses.

It was a super gorgeous sunny day, myself and my new mate Sophie headed over to Liverpool on the ‘orrible Northern Rail train for my first Bongo Bingo night out. We were greeted outside Lime Street by my beaut future roommate Emily and her friend from uni and we went to Turtle Bay for some smashing Caribbean food and 2 FOR 1 COCKTAILS, oh yeah.

After a slightly tipsy walk to Em’s flat, we got changed and then scarpered to meet Ellie, Beth and Alison at Camp and Furnace for one of the greatest novelty nights ever. If you aren’t familiar, Bongo Bingo is basically bingo with loads of alcohol and some absolute tuuuuunes (they even played Let it Go, You’ve Got a Friend in Me, Part of Your World… like how did they know?!). There were rumours swimming round that someone won a Porsche the week before so we were all buzzing for the bingo until we all got smashed and couldn’t keep up with the pace hahahaha so after spending too much dollar we left.

Bongo’s starts at 7:30pm so by the time we were actually going to town it felt like we’d already had a full night out, but being true troupers, we opened another bottle of Prosecco.

We headed to Popworld for a boogie and all in all had a fab night in L-town. I wish we took pictures but we’re rubbish and we didn’t so I’ll just have to try and remember next time.

I’m so excited to spend my summer with these chicas, so many memories to be made, so many cocktails to be drunk.