The other night, I called home and talked to my Dad and Eddie for a little bit and it was really nice. I came to realize how quickly by time in Disney is flying by. Part of the reason I think it feels so past paced is my work schedule here in Disney has left me with an unconventional work week. Thursdays are my Mondays and Mondays are my Fridays. It's fun on Mondays but kind of a struggle on Thursdays.
Anyway let me recap the rest of last week and my "long weekend."
Friday: I was sad I was going to be missing the Villains night at Hollywood Studios on Friday the 13th but from the sounds of it there was major traffic and crowd problems so perhaps I was spared, though, of course, my room mates still made sure they made the most of it and had a good time!
Friday night at work for me marked by first floor stock shift flying solo. I must admit I like stocking because, while it is solitary and really repetitive, I feel the shifts go a lot faster.
Saturday: For the majority of Saturday I took it easy knowing I'd be in work late. Saturday marked another stock shift, a long one, but everything went smoothly. I'm fortunate to work with really nice and funny people so they help in making things less stressful at closing time. I had a few magic moments coloring with little princesses, just like the CornerKids days. Kenzie was nice enough to drive me, Kate, and Thea home and we a had a typical, 2:30 am, girls, laughing hysterically, car ride home.
Sunday: Sunday marked my longest shift to date: 10 hours, with a fun training/welcome session thrown in. New CPs at the Emporium got to meet with our "CP Champions" (our leaders who have, in many cases, also done the college program) and be formally welcomed in our new work location and review all the rules, etc. Leaving the meeting feeling empowered and inspired, and with a pen that I won in trivia, I started my third stock shift in a row. Sunday's shift also went very fast and there were several other people also assigned to my area so the work load never felt overwhelming. It was an amazing feeling when 2 AM came around knowing I'd have the next three days off. After work Kenzie and I stopped at McDonald's and when we realized we were outnumbered by party goers (when we had just been working for eight hours) we skipped dinning their and just took our meals home.
Monday: Every other week so far in Disney I have always I have had off Tuesday and Wednesday but this week I was given off Monday and Tuesday (not that I'm complaining). I slept in and was slow to wake up and get ready. By the time I sorted myself Kenzie was already outside waiting for me. We stopped by to pick up Thea and her room mate Mallorie and were off to the Magic Kingdom. In true tourist style I documented most every moment. I still find the process of getting on the tram car and the monorail to get into Magic Kingdom so incredibly neat :). Of course everyday spent in the Magic Kingdom is a fun day and every day you have off spent in the Magic Kingdom is very fun but we entered the MK on a mission: to enjoy another cast member perk and see the Princess Fairytale Hall before anyone else (it formally opened yesterday). We met up with Kate and Kali (two girls we work with at the Emporium) and set off on our adventure. It was so cool to see where Rapunzel and other Princesses hang out and Cinderella was nice enough to put their portraits in her foyer :). After getting some pictures (please see FB) we grab some ring pops, from our Prince Charmings of course and set about to have a fun filled day in the park.
We met Terrence and Tinker Bell and Merida and went on the People Mover and Winnie the Pooh and the Carousel (which caused me to feel like I was at the shore for a spilt second and miss it). We also went on Space Mountain, timing it perfectly as to miss the a huge thunderstorm outside. There was a dance party in Tomorrowland that was a lot of fun.
We also saw the "Celebrate a Dream Come True" Parade. The sunshine came out just in time for it. I'm usually at work, indoors, while the parade is going on and so I only catch bits here and there. It was great to be able to see the whole thing and get caught up in the excitement of it all. We got ice cream at the ice cream polar walked around some of the places where Mallorie works before calling it a day. A great day indeed!
Making memories!
Kenzie, Mallorie, Terrence, Thea and myself
Merida and I :)
That night we went to Olive Garden. Thea and Mallorie are from Australia and wanted to do something "American" so Kenzie and I decided Olive Garden was the perfect place to have dinner (because we weren't going to take them to Outback but told them about the Bloom'n'Onion :)). Thea and Mallorie really seemed to enjoy it and I'd say there's another Olive Garden trip in the future. And don't worry family strong nothing can replace the fondness I have for going to Club OG and our memories there :)
Thea and Mallorie's first Olive Garden experience :)
Tuesday: Tuesday morning I slept in, again. Haha. I went to the gym and got ready before heading to Vista to meet up with my friend Hannah so we could go to tea. We had plans to go for the past week. I had told Hannah about my desire to go to a proper tea and she said she'd love to join (she was born in England and lived there almost half her life before her family moved to Germany and now she goes to school in Scotland). We had a lovely time having full tea at the Garden View at the Grand Floridan. I remembered walking around the hotel when I was little. Hannah and I felt so elegant in our dressing, taking pictures on the staircases, and listening to the pianist and the band that played upstairs. It was a wonderful afternoon and we hope to go back a few more times (definitely around Christmas time).
Hannah and I at tea :)
I'll share a facebook status I made from Tuesday: "Hopped off the monorail at Epcot with a dream and a wishing heart. There truly is nothing cooler than working in Disney." I had this moment while on the monorail from the transportation center to Epcot when I realized how fortunate I was to work in Walt Disney World and how these "oh let me just jump on the bus or monorail to Magic Kingdom then to Epcot then Hollywood Studios then Animal Kingdom FOR FREE" moments - will never happen again. So I'm appreciate it and make the most of it and savor it all while I can. Once in Epcot I waited for Mallorie and Thea in Starbucks (they had been there since earlier in the day and were on the Ellen ride which is about 40 minutes). Once the ride was over they met up with me and got drinks themselves - Thea had only gotten Starbucks like twice before in her life and Mallorie never had so NATURALLY this moment was documented.
Slowly corrupting Mallorie and Thea into a Starbucks addition like me :)
We continued to walk around the world show case and stopped in the UK - duh. As we "walked down high street" we heard some music and Thea sprinted towards it. We found the source of the music around the bend in a private garden area and a pavilion. In the pavilion a band was performing their cover of The Who's "Who are you". The crowd was really into it, and it was grand. We continued to walk down through the Asian countries and stopped in Morocco for dinner, Thea and Mallorie had their eyes on it all day! The girls really enjoyed their meals and as we sat and chatted about CV vs Resumes (typical CP conversation) Hannah met up with us and then we all continued walking around the nations. We stopped in Mexico to all the festive items. Before we knew it, it was time in secure a spot for illuMinations. We stopped in front of Norway and set up camp. Note: Norway is a great place to watch illuMinations - you're directly across from France :)
Quick stop home.
illuMinations
After illuMinations we all ventured home tired but happy we all had a great day. When I got home I finally got to see ALL of Pitch Perfect before heading to bed. LOVED THE MOVIE and I ashamed it took me so long to see the whole thing haha.
Wednesday: I was originally scheduled to work Wednesday night but gave my shift away in order to attend a Professional Internships Insight Seminar. I weighted the pros and cons of giving up some time (and pay) in order to attend this and saw it as a benefit to my future - so I went - and it was! After some confusion of going earlier in the day (east coast vs west coast time issue) I returned home, worked out, shower, got into my professional wear and went back. I knew I was on the wait list so I arrived an hour early and was second in the wait list line. Fortunately, for all of us on the wait list, there were a lot of no shows so we got to go in. The seminar was really beneficial and I took some great notes and was able to network. Now I'm all set to apply to some professional internships :)
Thursday: Today I woke up and typed this blog. Alexis, Brittany, Lauren and I went to Starbucks and now were gonna lay out by the pool. I have work tonight and I'm gonna go early because it's cast appreciation day and I'm gonna go buy a ticket for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party for next Tuesday - wish me luck!
Thank you who take the time out of your day to read this blog (or only to look at the pictures ;)). Your support means the world to me.
Keep Dreaming,
Mary-Kate
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