Jambo!

As I mentioned in my last post, I extended my program in an Attractions role. Well, I will be working in Africa on the Kilimanjaro Safaris! I am beyond excited!

It's definitely bittersweet though because I love my apartment and the girls I live with now, but I am the only one extending. So on January 4 I will be moving across the street to Chatham... and I have no idea who I'll be living with!

Ch-ch-ch-changes.

Oh. Heyyy. I have a blog, don't I?

So it has officially been like a month and a half since I have updated this thing. We've gotten an influx of new CPs at Hollywood and Vine, and thankfully they're all pretty cool. It kind of makes up for the loss of some of our awesome Spring Advantage people, like Michelle and April.

Work is... work. Some days are better than others. I now know food and beverage is not my calling. Unless, of course, by food and beverage you mean coffee shops. Then it's completely my calling.


I've learned a lot about myself on this program and I'm only about halfway through. And there are a couple of things I'd do differently "next time around," whenever that may be...

• Live in Chatham or Patterson in a one or two bedroom. Vista is old, and six girls in one apartment is too many for me.
• Only check off roles that I am truly excited about, not just ones I think I could handle for the sake of getting into the program.
• Bring a car. Granted, one must have a car in order to bring it with... whatever.

Speaking of next time around, I'm basically back to square one and I have absolutely no friggin' idea what's happening with my life after January 3. I'm definitely going to apply to extend, but three things can happen there:

1. I am granted an extension in Entertainment. Easy decision: I stay!
2. I am not granted an extension. Easy decision: I go seasonal and go home!
3. I am granted an extension in Character Attendant or Attractions. Decision more difficult!

So yeah. I'm applying to five (count 'em, five) schools to transfer to, but not until Fall 2011. So if my extension is denied there are a whole bunch of things I could do with those seven-ish months between the end of my program and whenever I start school.

Also, budgeting is still hard.

So, um, I guess that's kind of it for now. Anything you guys are itching to hear about?

Oh me, oh my.

I will update again very soon, I promise!

I've got posts written up, and quite a lot to talk about, but it's such a whirlwind down here...

I know, I know. I'm terrible at blogging.

Part I : The Journey

( written on the flight to Orlando, Saturday night )

I am writing this 30,000 feet in the air or however high planes go these days. It’s 10:36pm central time (we were supposed to depart at 8:15, thanks weather) and I am surrounded by Disney already. There’s an article about it in the in-flight magazine, for crying out loud. The guy behind me casually mentioned to the guy next to him that he used to work at Epcot. There are so many families, clearly Disney-bound, and it’s all getting me so excited. I want to compliment every little kid on their Disney paraphernalia (and ask the parents if they will be dining with the stars at Hollywood and Vine during their vacation).

Basically I just want to get up and shout to the whole plane, “I’M WORKING IN DISNEY WORLD! HAVE A MAGICAL FLIGHT!”

It’s surreal, to say the least. Despite all this it still hasn’t hit me. It kind of just feels like I’m going on vacation with my dad, like I’ll be back in a few days.

But I won’t. More like a few months. 

Speaking of my dad, he is like a Gold Star Frequent Flyer (I’m sure United has a more professional term for it), so he got upgraded to first class while I ... did not. Granted, I was already sitting in Economy Plus/an exit row, which is really no big deal. But my dad, being the awesome and generous dad he is, switched seats with me. So right now he’s about 11 rows behind me in an exit row, and I am in first class feeling guilty for not eating the meal they served us and passing up the warm chocolate chip cookie. Who knew they still fed you on airlines? It’s swanky. And awesome. But my stomach is all in knots because there’s some hardcore turbulence happening right now so all I can really handle is ginger ale.

I wanted to film take-off, but there’s that rule about all personal electronics being off until 10 minutes after take off blah blah blah and I wasn’t really sure if I could. I also thought about taking a picture of my freaking in flight meal (this is a big deal, okay?) but kind of only realized it once everything was half consumed. Not very appetizing.

This probably won’t get posted for a few days, actually. Thanks to the thunderstorms in both Chicago and Orlando, we’re not going to land until about 2am Eastern Time. And I am still planning on dragging my dad out of bed to get to Islands of Adventure when it opens in order to scope out the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. We’ll see how that goes...

Then pre-check in dinner with the roomies, then I’m checking in!

I just don’t even know. So surreal.

Dream Locations Redux!

Hey there, hi there, ho there... I feel like I haven't properly blogged in a good long time. Eek! The check-in date for May 19th people is right around the corner, too, which means it's getting closer to June 14 as well!

I'm not super sure what to blog about between now and then - is there anything you'd particularly like to see before I pack up and head down there? I don't know how much time I'll have to blog during the week leading up to my check in - my last final is June 7, I'm driving home from Michigan to Illinois that night, and then flying from ORD to MCO with my dad June 12. Not much time at all! But I am getting a Flip sometime before 7/12, so I will record my adventures both in writing and video.

Anyway, a lot of my friend's roles have been mysteriously disappearing on the log-in site, which from what I understand means they're being put in the Hub! For whatever reason my role is still there, which means I'm not in yet. So I thought that I would reiterate my top dream locations one more time, just in case any CP recruiting people are reading this and still deciding where to place me... ;)

My absolute number one top choice remains Cinderella's Royal Table...

I know I would have a fabulous time at what is easily the most magical restaurant on property. Between the amazing theming and the high volume of guests who come through there, I would love coming to work every day.

The rest of my list has gotten a bit shuffled around, however. California Grill remains a top choice, as does Citricos. I think the upscale nature of those two restaurants would be another great work experience. And, of course, there are the wonderfully themed restaurants of Disney's Hollywood Studios - 50s Prime Time Cafe, The Hollywood Brown Derby, and Sci-Fi Dine In Theatre.

However, there are some new additions to my list - namely the other (non-buffet) restaurants of the Magic Kingdom. I think Tony's Town Square Restaurant or Liberty Tree Tavern would be a lot of fun too! I wish the characters still hung out at LTT, but alas.

So we'll see where I end up come June... here's hoping it's one of the restaurants I just listed!

ps. if you, like me, saw Iron Man 2 this past weekend, you should totally check out my most recent vlog.