Days 1-4 At Sassagoula

So. Transportation. A completely different ball field than recreation. I have no clue what I'm getting myself into here, but then, do we ever?

Day 1, I have Fred for my trainer, and Julia shadowing him. Fred is absolutely hysterical, and I am so glad I had him for my first day. Julia is a sweetheart, just a few months older than me instead of the few decades most of my coworkers are. Going into watercraft I was warned that most of my coworkers would be older gentlemen who had retired and are doing this for fun. Those people weren't wrong. It's amazing how much more relaxed they are [so long as you're able to do your job].

On day 1, we drove around on a pargo, going to each of our docks. We started at Port Orleans Riverside, then French Quarter, before heading over to Old Key West. From there we went to Saratoga Springs and Disney Springs. Disney Springs has 3 docks; Marketplace, The Landing, and Westside. We rode a water taxi around the lake to visit each of them, before heading back to dry dock taking our own boat out. I got to drive that for a little while, and then I also got to drive the Whaler. It was awesome, and much, much faster than our flat bottom boats. We spent a while reading the OG, and then... it stormed. Huge storms that shut everything down. So we sat and watched the Olympics for a while. Sounds good, huh?

Day 2 I still had Julia, but I also had a new trainer, Eric. Day 2 was a good day. I got to drive the boat. All. Day. I took to it, and things seemed to be going well. I docked the boat a few times, did okay at that, and learned how to go through the bridges [and which are the trickiest].

Day 3 was the problem. I was exhausted from 7:30 start times, my trainers were getting used to me doing well and seemed to expect me to be perfect. Other trainers on the water would say "man, you're doing great. You're going to be fine." and Eric would shoot back with "Yeah, she's going to be okay, but she's still relying on coaching." to which the other trainers would reply that that was normal for someone on their day 3, and that I was still ahead of most people.

From there it just got worse. my trainer would say something at the exact moment he wanted me to respond, and then get frustrated when it wasn't done before he had finished his statement. He would repeat what he wanted me to do five or six times in a row, getting louder each time he said something. He would stand behind me and breathe down my neck before all of a sudden sticking his hand in my face and knocking into me as he yelled directions. I left that day feeling frustrated and like there was no possible way I would be able to do it.

Day 4 seemed to go better to me. I got yelled at less for screwing up, and was able to get myself docked by myself a couple of times, even if that meant correcting. I carried boat fulls of guests up and down the river all day, and finally got lots of guest interaction. Eric and I seemed to have found a middle ground and things worked.

I also had my one on one with the manager, which they always do on day 4. I left that meeting a little less sure of myself, but I'm not going to let that get to me. I hate that I have these trainers that tell me I'm doing better than most people and "I promise I wouldn't just say that" and then slip every once in a while and let me know how frustrated they are with me. Especially since they told my manager that I'm struggling and having a hard time. Why tell me I'm doing better than most if I'm not. I thought I was doing great, considering I still have 3 more days of training. I'm starting to get frustrated, so I'm glad I have a few days off from Sassagoula. I'm just going to go back to doing what I know I'm really good at for a couple days before I go back. I'm bound and determined to make this work.

Take One!

Before I start this blog post, I want to preface it with the fact that I went in as a hard core, lifelong Disney fan. Disney is my end goal. Outside of Harry Potter, The Minions, and Transformers, I don't know a lot about Universal. I have a feeling I went in with some prejudice. Add in a couple of inappropriate comments made by my facilitator and... well, I'll let you decide.

My class was originally slated to start at 3:30, at which point they started calling us into the classroom by rows starting in the front. We walked to the back oft the building, where we picked up our name tag(s), some paperwork, and dropped off our payroll information. Then we headed into the classroom where we sat for another 30 minutes before finally getting started [waiting for the last people to trickle in, maybe?]. After that we filled out our W-4. If you've never filled one out before, I recommend you fill out the practice one they send home. They cannot tell you how many deductions to take, only explain how it works. That is for any employer you'll ever have, so it's good to practice.

Once that was out of the way, we started. We watched a lot of clips of Universal movies, bits and pieces of monster movies, clips explaining how they discovered some of the old greats, etc. Universal prides itself on it's roots in monster movies, which I am not particularly a fan of, and they were really pushing Halloween Horror Nights, which I've never been to. It was still cool to watch, and I'll be excited to see.

Right off the bat our female facilitator caught one of my nerves. "We're genuinely happy here, not drink the kool aid happy like that other place." Multiple times throughout the night she made remarks about Disney employees drinking the kool aid. And so I have come across my first major difference between Universal and Disney.

Disney looks at Universal as: "Oh yeah, they're there, it's okay. They aren't stealing our guests, they're sharing them. Feel free to talk to guests about Universal. Wear a Harry Potter backpack into work. We don't care." And that's the end of that. No more discussion, no more taking them into account [at least not on a level I've seen]

Then you have Universal. "Oh yeah, haha, they're there, Disney isn't a bad word haha. Feel free to recognize Disney princesses when they come in haha." I feel totally comfortable telling my coworkers and managers at Disney that I also work at Universal. The reverse could not be said that day. There was this constant mention of Disney is a slightly negative way throughout the entire class that made me uncomfortable. That being said, I did not feel that way at my day 2 orientation, and so I'm thinking it was just my facilitators.

They provided lunch [or dinner] for day 1 orientation. There wasn't anything provided for people with food allergies, but we were told that we were more than welcome to purchase our own food. Food in the grill is available at cost, which is nice, but I decided to stick with the lunch I had brought and the chips they provided since I don't know how much care they take with food allergies yet.

We also talked a lot about the Universal Way and Universal's mission statement. We talked about the 10/5 rule, which is pretty much applicable across the hospitality industry. The 10/5 rule  just means you acknowledge guests at 10ft and greet them at 5. We talked about how it's everyone's job to help keep the park clean, and how everyone needs to check their personal life at the door. A lot of this stuff is something you would encounter at any job that deals with customers or guests. Theme parks tend to take it more seriously than stores and hotels, especially these two theme parks.

We also talked about Universal's current marketing theme, which is [Happiness] is Universal. I hadn't seen their commercials or billboards, but I've started to notice one or two since then. Overall, besides the small hiccup of this constant subtle dissing of Disney, I enjoyed my first day of orientation. One of my old coworkers from Disney is actually going to be working at Gringotts with me, and we ended up in the same class, which was nice. I'm excited to get started on my on the job training, but first more orientations!

I Guess I Forgot To Announce.. I'm Also Working For The "Other Guy"

Surprise? I guess not really if you follow my Instagram or Facebook, but I never talked about it here? So...

At the beginning of July I went in and interviewed at Universal Studios Orlando. Interviews are held in the Human Resources building, one stop light down from the directions your GPS is going to take you. It's also where you're going to end up parking for the rest of forever if you get hired for USO (as opposed to City Walk or Islands of Adventure). Park in Applicant parking, following the very small signs pretty far down. Inside you check in with security, go through a metal detector, and have your bag run through an x-ray machine. You fill out a form, and wait for forever to be called. It's nice because they play movies while you wait, but it literally feels like it takes forever.

Eventually I got called in, and interviewed with a lovely woman whose name I forget. She asked my a lot of questions about my leadership and management experience. They were all pretty basic questions aimed at finding out how you handle different situations. She asked a couple of questions that had similar enough stories that I had to come up with different stories. In the end, she let me know that she felt comfortable hiring me, but she wanted to wait until closer to the end of my CP so I wouldn't have conflicting schedules. So I scheduled another interview for a week before the end of my program and went on my merry way.

Fast forward three weeks and I'm back in the same place. A new interviewer, Candi, who let me know I would have to go through the whole interview process again. Two questions in, she changed her mind and said I was obviously a perfect fit, and she was going to find a place for me - would I like to work in Wizarding World of Harry Potter?

At this point, I started to get excited. As in, I was actually bouncing up and down in my chair excited. Before I could get too excited though, she let me know that I would have to be able to answer some trivia questions to move forward in WWoHP. How would I rate my knowledge of Harry Potter on a scale of 1-5? I said 4, just in case she came up with some crazy obscure question, and she pulled out a quiz with questions categorized into 5 groups based on how hard they were. I flew through the number 4 questions without hesitating, and so she asked me to do the 5 questions. In the end there was only 1 question I wasn't able to answer, but once she told me I remembered and was able to recall facts surrounding the event. So I moved on and found out my role. Drum roll please!

Harry Potter and the Escape From Gringotts!


So I am going to be wearing this absolutely hideous security guard looking costume, but I don't care, because I am going to be working in Diagon Alley! My heart can hardly stand it. Butterbeer, here I come!

Welcome To Transportation

As many time as people have tried to convince me otherwise, The Sassagoula River Cruise is no longer part of Recreation, it does belong to the Transportation line of business. So, I got to go through Welcome To Transportation. When I first looked at my schedule, I was so confused, because Welcome to Trans was 7+ hours, whereas Welcome to Rec was 2. I assumed something must have gone wrong with my schedule... but no.

I walked into DU, asked about Welcome to Trans and one of my facilitators, Steve, was standing there, and greeted me with "It's our Recreation friend!"...what? So we get into the room and I realize, there are only 3 of us in the class and I'm the only female, so of course they knew who I was. This should be fun. It gets better. Both of the boys in the class with me are very young and very shy. I am not. I am a very loud person when I want to be, and so I think I ended up making them nervous. Oops.

We sat in the room for 5 minutes, got a new water bottle [Hallelujah, my old holder was so ratty] and immediately hopped up and got on a bus driven by a lovely woman named June. Mode of transportation number 1. We headed over to the TTC where the monorail was down [boo] for testing, which it always is, and we hoped on the Ferry Boat. There are 3 ferry's, and they can hold several hundred people at a time. The training for those captains take's about 6 months, so I consider myself lucky for not ending up there [even if they do get paid more].

Then we walked into Magic Kingdom [how I've missed it. I need to go back soon] and saw all of the old school car's that drive up and down it during the mornings. We walked into the theater, and then backstage, and just chitchatted about guest relations, etc.

After that we hopped on a bus over to Old Key West [where I have never actually been] and took the Sassagoula River Cruise up to Disney Springs. Hopped on the bus again and it was back to the TTC to talk to our COT and then lunch! After lunch we rode the Epcot loop of the Monorail, where our other facilitator, Ralph, assured us our driver was currently going through training [which no one wants to hear], Then we headed over to transportation costuming for the boys, and they told me I would have time to get my costume during my Day 1. I got to talk to June, who is just a sweetheart, and then they drove me by Sassagloula's office's so I would know where to go!

After that it was back to DU for fire safety training, and we were done! I was not nearly as painful as Welcome to Opps or Welcome to Rec, which are both very necessary but long classes full of video's and e-learning. I enjoyed the class, and I'm excited to get started with Sassagoula!

Moving Day!

Okay, the best news I have for ya'll is that it's all over. Moving out of CP housing and into an apartment in the area was more stressful than I ever could have imagined. Until just a couple days before we ended up moving, I actually thought we were going to be several days between moving out of CP housing and moving into our new apartment... but more on that latter.

We moved to a beautiful apartment complex in Kissimmee. As soon as we knew we were done with the Disney College Program, I started searching for apartments that would fit our criteria. There weren't as many as I had hoped. We have a 40 lb golden doodle that will be moving down next month, so we had to find a complex that would allow her to move in, along with someplace that has a porch/balcony and fit's within our budget. We narrowed it down to just a couple choice's, went and visited at the beginning of the month, and immediately decided to move into the complex we live in now.

Unfortunately, the agent who helped us was more than slightly unhelpful [And is now gone]. She insisted we would have to move in by July 15 at the latest, but our CP didn't end until the 28th. On top of that, my sister and I were out of town for most of the time between visiting and when they wanted us to move- that was a no go. So we went home, looked on their website, and saw they had an apartment that wasn't even going to be available until July 15. Then, when we got home from the Midwest, we saw another apartment becoming available on the 23th. So much for limited availability, huh?

We applied on July 15th to move in on July 23. Decided to wait a few days to call them so the background check and credit check could go through. Called on the 20th. No answer. Called on the 21st. "I can't help you, I'll have someone call you back." 22. 5 "Someone will call you back. 23. No answer. 24 - Sunday, office was closed. Now it's July 25, 2 days AFTER we were supposed to move in. Kallie [our roommate] and I went over to the apartment complex, only for them to tell us they couldn't see that our application had been approved or denied. We sat there for an hour and a half, refusing to leave until they figured it out. They found our approval, and like magic, we got the ball rolling.

I'm not going to lie; I was a nervous wreck. I was a complete and total bitch, I was rude to people, I was in full on panic mode. I don't do late. On time? That's late. Early. Early is good. So I spent the entire week in a fit of nervous rage, and it only settled once we actually made it into our apartment and had the keys in the door.

We had to be out of CP housing by 11am July 28. I had an am IST from 7:30-9:30. [Spoiler: we didn't get out on time]. I was supposed to work an afternoon shift that same day that I thankfully was able to give away. We couldn't move into our new apartment until after 2pm the same day. Our lease didn't come through to be e-signed until the morning we moved in. Once we finally got there, it took over an hour to get our fobs to work so we could get in the gates, and even then one of them ended up not working that night [mine] Everything was a mess. A meticulous planner's hell.

But it was worth it once we got into the apartment. We still don't have a couch [coming this week!] or a dinning room table [not here until labor day], and I'm sleeping on an air mattress until my bed gets here Labor Day weekend with my mom, but it's ours. Our apartment. No inspections. We can open the windows if we want. We can burn a candle. It's so lovely to be out of CP housing, because as much as I loved my CP, I did not love their housing.

Now we have the next month or so to get it set up how we want it, just in time for the rest of our stuff to get here and us to rearrange. I'm so excited, but for now I'm content to have a moment to breathe. So I'll sit on a pallet on the floor with a cup of coffee in front of the huge beautiful sliding glass doors in our living room, and I'll just take a moment to reflect. And when things get crazy again, and life picks up, hopefully I'll have the energy to meet it head on.

Quick Trip Home

Lifeguarding - Audit's

Let's take a minute to talk about the thing all CP lifeguards fear coming into the program - audits. If you know what you're doing, and you do it well, audit's are quick and simple. Basically, and audit is a test to make sure you're doing your job the way you should be, to the standard Disney and Ellis hold us accountable to. Easy right?

Who does audits?

There are different groups of people who can do an audit. There are coordinators, Tier 2[Managers], Tier 3[Disney Higher Ups], and Ellis. Coordinator audit's don't count unless a manager is present (which usually makes it a Tier 2 audit), which means they rarely audit.

What is an audit?

There are multiple types of audits. The first, most common, is a VAT, which stands for Visual Awareness Training. Then there are visual audits, technical audits, and audit's that test your knowledge of the resort and the pool deck (a.k.a. the once a year Tier 3 audit).

What is a VAT?

A VAT is a weighted silhouette that gets laid at the bottom of the pool. There is a tan (light) side and a dark side. When a VAT gets laid you have to respond to it as if someone was drowning in the bottom of the pool. This means spotting it in 10 seconds, reaching it in 20, calling the coordinator, activating your EAP, everything.

What is a Visual Audit?

A visual audit is when someone come's out and watched you on stand. If it's a manager or a coordinator, they'll just watch you for a while and maybe take notes. If it's Ellis, they'll record you with a video camera. They're looking to make sure you maintain your 10/20, that you're not falling asleep, making sure you're in Disney Look, you don't hold extended conversations, that you rule enforce, everything.

What is a Technical Audit?

A technical audit is the big scary that hardly anybody ever has to deal with, also known as a 3 Whistle Audit. This is where you respond to a VAT, reach it, and someone says "This is an audit". At that point they start enacting one of our "worst case scenarios" and we have to treat it like it's a real situation. Clear the pool, do "CPR", the whole 9 yards. Technical Audit's are a big deal, and Ellis only does them once a quarter per pool. In some regions, the managers do technical audits, but those aren't quite as big of a deal (still a big deal)

That being said, most CP's spend a lot of time freaking out about VATs. VATs are usually relatively easy to spot (in fact, I've seen them in other people's water before...) and they only do the bare minimum each month. Once you've been on stand for a month or so, you'll be able to recognize your managers and coordinators in the pool and know a VAT is coming.

Personally, I've been through several audit's. I have been visually audited by Ellis, one of my managers, and a manager at Art of Animation. I was technically audited by a manager in my region. And I was Tier 3 audited at Coronado a few months ago (Did you know Coronado has the longest resort water slide on property?) Once you know what you're doing, audit's seem like nothing. In fact, there are days when you'll be on stand wishing someone would VAT you because it's so hot or you're so bored. Getting in the water is the quickest way to cool off, and no one looks at you funny when you do it to get a VAT!

Life Update

Dumela! I am so sorry for dropping off the face of the Earth. Needless to say, I'm kicking myself more than you are, because I have so many things I forgot to write down. It hurts to think of all the memories that are slipping away even now.

A lot's happened since I last wrote. I got extended through the summer as a lifeguard. Animal Kingdom Lodge and Coronado Springs got divorced, which was a huge change. I'm the only CP that got statused at Coronado. I hardly ever worked there for the first month, I was constantly getting deployed, and I loved almost every place I got deployed to. I, along with all of our spring CP's, got denied for an extension through the fall. It was crushing. I can't tell you how many times I almost quit and went back to camp. Even now the mountains call to me every moment of every day. But I'm determined to make my dreams a reality, and to follow this through.

So I decided to stay in Orlando full time. Which is... wow, it's hard to make that kind of choice with so little time to follow through. My sister is staying with me as well, and our puppy Ginger will eventually be coming down. We've gone through a few potential roommates, and now we know for sure we're going to be living with another guard I work with, Kallie.

Trying to get a job is the worst part. As a CP, you can put in for a full time/part time transfer 6 weeks before the end of your program. I applied for Attractions and Resort Activities (CAC), which requires an interview to make sure you're an appropriate choice for the role. During my CAC interview, they asked me if I had an prior experience with children, and I nearly fell out of my seat laughing, since that's basically all I have experience with. There were no open positions in either of my chosen roles, so the wonderful recruiter who interviewed me helped me find a position that was open that I would be willing to take. I ended up accepting a part time job in watercraft at Sassagoula.

It's not something I ever would have imagined myself doing, but I'm excited about the upcoming opportunities. I'm always willing to try something new, and it's not lifeguarding! I'll be able to talk to people and get the guest interaction I came to Disney to get.

I will also be able to pick lifeguard shifts for the next 6 months as long as I continue IST. That being said, I can't rely just on a part time job. So last week I had an interview at Universal for an Attractions job. It went really well and she said that I (and my sister) had both been put through, but they want us to finish our program. So we go back next week to decide what we want to do.

I'll admit, I'm a little nervous. They interviewed me for a leadership position, which I had originally decided I didn't want to try for yet. I have no experience with working in a theme park, which I would like to do before working a leadership role there. Ultimately, if that's all they're willing to offer me, of course I'll take it, but I'd rather build up some experience first.

A lot of not work related things have happened in the last few months as well. For as big of a disappointment as my first set of roommates turned out to be, my second set more than made of for it. Mary, Jenna, and Courtney turned out to be some of my best friends on this program. I was heart broken when they went home, and I can't wait until they come back to visit. At first it was awkward, because I was so messed up from the weirdo's that were my first roommates, and because our schedules so often didn't line up. In fact, I didn't even meet Courtney for the first week. Eventually though, things got worked out and we became fast friends. It just goes to show that sometimes rando's are better than people you plan on living with.

We had terrible tragedies strike Orlando one after the other. Going to work after everything that happened got more and more difficult. Disney was amazing with the way they responded to things and offered their cast members any support they needed. But, inevitably, people will take their frustrations out on you. Guest interactions were intense for a few days, but it's amazing how short people's memories are...

I went home this last weekend. I'll do an entire post on my love of Chicago, but right now I'm just sort of overwhelmed. Coming back to CP housing was and is strange. I feel all sorts of out of place and in between adventures right now.I wasn't ready to leave the Midwest, but it's time for me to start something amazing.

At 24 years old, I'm finally starting to feel like a adult. Not a college kid, not a teenager playing grown up, but an actual adult. It's a scary feeling. Picking out an apartment, job hunting, and knowing this time I don't have anything to fall back on. A big part of me wants to run back home with my tail between my legs. How could I ever think I could move so far away from home and everyone I love. A significantly smaller, but infinitesimally more stubborn part of me is insisting I stick it out and work through the panic attacks and the anxiety. I can do this. I can live my dreams and my life without letting things get me down. I will do this.

DCP To Part Time - Lifeguarding At Animal Kingdom Lodge

You Can't Get Rid Of Me Yet

Magic Kingdom With Lindsey

Last week I spent a day in the Magic Kingdom with my friend Lindsey! She hadn't been to Disney before that start of her program, so it's cool to get to go into the parks with someone who still hasn't ridden some of the rides and such. Walking into the park we were greeted by the Dapper Dans, who you can always hear before you can see them because they attract such a crowd. We only stopped for a moment before heading forward!

We started off the afternoon at the laugh floor! I love the Monster's Inc Laugh Floor, because every single time you go it's different, and so it never gets old. This time That Guy was a little to full of himself, but they had the funniest little guy from Canada on screen for a significant amount of time, which was awesome. The lady sitting right next to me was picked for something, and I had a brief moment of panic thinking they had chosen me. I'm so not good at being put on the spot!

After that we headed over to Stitches Great Escape. I like the Stitch ride, probably because I love everything Stitch, but I know a lot of people don't like the ride. It's very loud and in your face, so it can get a bit intense. At one point, Stitch starts bouncing on your shoulders, which hurts a lot of people. The simple fix for this is to shrug your shoulders up when they start to lower the "body scanners'. Then release your shoulders once they've stopped dropping. This keeps them from resting on your shoulders to much. You can also push them up just a bit once they've settled to give yourself some relief.

After Stitch we headed to the peoplemover. I love the people mover for the amazing views, and because it gives you a chance to relax and take it all in. Recently they have been having a problem queuing people, with lines wrapping back towards Space Mountains, but since it's a ride that doesn't stop, the wait is never long. People have a hard time telling where they beginning of the line is without any real queue happening, and so I have seen more mom's scream at other parents "for trying to cut in line" here than I have anywhere else...

I have ridden every ride in Tomorrowland more than once since starting my CP, but somehow I still suck at Buzz. Maybe because it was closed fora  few weeks, or because I just don't have an affinity for video games? Whatever the reason, I consider myself lucky if I average 350,000 during the game. Whereas I have gone on with people who get to Galactic Hero halfway through the game. I guess it just gives me something to work towards? After Buzz we headed over to Main Street to watch Move It! Shake It! I love the excitement of this parade but it always gets so crazy!



We also tried to hit up Pirates to see my sister but that was a bust. So we headed over to Big Thunder Mountain to explore before trekking all the way back to Tomorrowland for Space Mountain... I always forget how big the drop on that ride are until I'm in the middle of it going "OH MY GOD HOLY SHIT I CAN'T DO THIS!!!" but that's another story. We also walked through the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House. It was so cool, and so pretty, but a LOT of up hill walking!

I love riding Winnie The Pooh. It's such a sweet classic throw back. I loved Christopher Robin and all of his friends in the 100 Acre Woods when I was growing up, and you really feel immersed in the story when you enter the the ride. The hard part for me is walking off and into the gift shop where there are so many soft, fluffy stuffed animals...

Lindsey had never ridden Seven Dwarfs Mine Train before, so we decided to standby it since it was only a 50 minute wait. I ended up only being 30 minutes, and then the girl in the fastpass line let us go again! Recently Mine Train has felt very blah, because I've ridden it to many times since getting here. However, we got seated in the last row (usually my least favorite seat on a coaster) and I found some thrill in this thrill ride again. I was so much fun to rock the cart from side to side while coasting through the diamond mine.

We finished the night on Main Street front and center for the second showing of Celebrate The Magic. I love Wishes, but Celebrate The Magic is where it's at for me. I can, and do, sing along to the entire thing, and it amazes me what they can do to the castle. I love the way it just celebrates the core of what Disney stands for. This is the magic I came for, and I'm so happy to be a part of this magical place.

Aloha O'e, The After, and 4 Keys Basics

Last Monday was my last full day with my Mom and Papa before they headed home to wet, cold, gross Indiana. I won't lie and say I miss it there. The people? Yes. But not the cold, or the small town narrow mindedness. However, it was hard to let my mom and papa go after having them down here for a few days.







We started off in the only place you can really start off in the Magic Kingdom - Main Street USA! I love Main Street. I love performances that go on through out the day. My grandparents started bringing their kids to Disney World in 1972, the year after it opened, and brought them every other year as they were growing up. I guess you could say the Disney craze runs in the family. These street shows are a sort of throw back to how Magic Kingdom use to be, so it was awesome to hang out watching them with my family. We settled our butts up close to the castle with Starbucks to watch Dream Along With Mickey and were just about to leave for Adventureland when I realized I could hear the Trolley Show behind us. SO we raced back down Main Street to watch. I love the Trolley Show, I love the songs they play, and my family and never seen them before, which was a plus!





After that, we headed to the Skipper Canteen for lunch. Oh. My. GOD. If you like the Jungle Cruise, you'll love this restaurant. If you don't like the Jungle Cruise, you will STILL love this restaurant. OUR hostess and our waiter were both absolutely hysterical, and our waiter never turned off. Even when the wrong order was brought out to me (which is a big no-no for Disney when you have a food allergy) he never stopped cracking jokes and making bad puns. The best part though is that, unlike the Jungle Cruise, however, all of these jokes are brand new. He went through the menu with us, pointing out certain items and making really bad puns that had us in stitches. Jared was fantastic.

The food was really, really good (minus the gluten free rolls, just stay away) BUT it was way, way over priced. Relatively small portions at full portion Disney prices. I got a rice noodle bowl with chicken that was fantastic,while my mom went with the pork chop, which was also wonderful. My water came "straight from the Amazon" and the meal that was accidentally brought to me was aptly named "It Tastes Like Chicken Because It Is". I just want to say, before anyone who has a food allergy starts getting leery, our waiter Jared handled it wonderfully, he took the food away, and had the right food out to me in minutes. He let me know that he completely and totally trusted the chef they had in the kitchen that day when he said it was prepared so quickly safely.

The backside of water!

After that, Papa went back to the hotel for a while, so we headed to Pirates, which was, SHOCKER, down. (Pirates goes down a lot.) So we raided the gift shop and headed towards Haunted Mansion! Yay! A trip through the jungle on Jungle Cruise was in order before we made our way back towards pirates, which was finally back up! Of course, no trip to Magic Kingdom with my family would be complete without going on the Carousel of Progress!






After that we headed back to the resort to eat dole whip floats, Wishes, and just spending our last little bit together. We were originally going to go to the campfire on the beach (yeah recreation!) but time got away from us and that didn't happen. One day! We had a magnificent view of the fireworks from our patio, and I miss seeing and hearing Wishes every night. We get used to things so easy, hmm?

It was hard to say good bye to my mom and Papa. My mom and I are so close, and she taught me how to be comfortable in new places, and how to find home wherever I go, but there is still a piece of me that will always miss her. Still, Tuesday morning bright and early I headed off to work (for an AM shift... have I mentioned I'm not a morning person) and so I had to say goodbye to my family.

Life has been pretty calm since then. I've been working like crazy, and I've been exhausted from a crazy sleep schedule. I've had to jump in a few times for kids. The pools have been a lot busier, as spring break really kicks into full swing. Little kids whose parents swear are the best swimmers they've ever seen, but who have never had to deal with a current as strong as the ones at the bottom of our slides. Very, very drunk college kids and adults who think they're still college students, and then parents complaining about  the language being thrown about the pool. The cheerleaders. Oh Lord, the cheerleaders. I thought we were done with them? All perfectly friendly on their own, but egging each other on in groups, and trying to stunt in the pool or on the wet pool deck for hours. And then their mothers. "They're cheerleaders you know. They'll be fine."

I got scheduled for my four keys basics class this week! It's a class specifically designed for CP's, set a month or two into your program. It's a networking event and a giant scavenger hunt to see how well you know your location. Ours was at Coronado, which was cool, but I want one at the Lodge to, because we never get to explore! The class was at least half filled with lifeguards, to the extent that one of the facilitators asked if there were any lifeguards left, or if we had closed the pools. We started the 2 hour meeting with several leaders from across our resort and property. Reggie, the recreation proprietor was there, as well as one of the Disney ambassadors. It was cool to listen to them speak, and then to place an ice breaker (I love ice breakers). After that we got split into teams and sent out into the resort to see who knew it the best.

The me tell you one thing. Lifeguards never, ever leave the pool. We have out break room back there, our leaders are all back there, and we are nowhere near where everyone else congregates, due to the placement of the pool. We just don't have the time. So then, you can imagine that this was very hard for us to know where exactly in the Casitas to go, or which convention center is which. That being said, I had a really well balanced group, and while they were really driven and didn't really let us stop and network like we were supposed to, we did win. By about 20 minutes...

Each of our pools has a pool bar, which also serves a limited menu of food. The pool bar at Coronado, The Siesta Pool Bar, either smells like Chinese food or french fries all the time. On days it smells like french fries, inevitably I end up craving Wendy's french fries and s frosty, which I can conveniently get right nest to Vista... Thankfully I have friends who are good about indulging me in my odd habits!

There's a great big beautiful tomorrow, shining at the end of ever day!

Maholo

Food, food, food, food, food. There, a quick summary of my blog. Or at least a quick summary of my last several days. I am so stuffed from eating the last few days I don't think I will ever be able to eat again.

Saturday was our Animal Kingdom day! I consider DAK to be my home park, even though I work at the Lodge. I love how you always leave the park feeling connected to the Earth, with a renewed sense of wanting to take care of it. Festival of the Lion King is my favorite show, and I could easily sit and watch it all day.





However, I'm not sure it would be one of my blog posts if we didn't start it off with... FOOD! We got to DAK and my Papa was ready to eat right away. As we walked in, we just so happened to see that Rainforest Cafe was seating right away. We eat at Rainforest Cafe in Chicago, which has a bigger menu, but isn't nearly as fun. The Rainforest at DAK is the largest in the world, and it has 4 separate dining rooms. Vines hang from the ceiling and it's always raining somewhere. Our server, Kelly, was so absolutely fabulous and wonderful. She knew how to have fun, she made great recommendations, and she was so willing to go above and beyond to help us. Papa was on a Bloody Mary kick, but they don't come with celery, so she went back into the kitchen and cut it up for him herself. I had the best barbecue bacon cheeseburger on a (not stale and disgusting) gluten free bun. It's been a long time since I had a burger that good, and I would get it again in a heart beat.

After Rainforest we headed to Africa to watch Festival of the Lion King! We sat right up front in the giraffe section, which is where I always seem to end up. This was the first time I had ever seen the show without one of their singers, and I'll admit to being shocked and worried at first. However, they pulled it off beautifully, and the show was as wonderful as it always is. I love watching the joy in the performers faces, seeing how much they genuinely seem to love doing what they do. I would love to be a parade preformer or be in one of the shows, but I think I'm going to have to lose a bit of weight before I could ever hope for that, yeah?







After the show we headed over to Kilimanjaro Safari's, where we had a fantastic Safari guide named Brooke, who had only been at Safari's for a week or so but who seemed to have already mastered the many different animals. A lot of the animals seemed to be in hiding, but the closer you looked the easier they were to spot. We saw elephants, okapi, giraffes, hippos, lions, and more. Of course, five minutes into the safari my phone decided it was a good time to become full and refuse to allow me to take any more photos, but that's besides the point.

After Kilimanjaro, we walked around for a bit, just enjoying the beautiful park, before heading to my home - Animal Kingdom Lodge! Papa wanted to check out my pool(s) and I figured we'd be able to talk to one of the Safari Guides that hang out at the over looks, so we hopped on a bus and off we went to Jambo House!

Of course, none of the safari guides were by either of the main over looks we tried, but I was still able to point out more animals than they could see by themselves. We went down and looked at the pool, which is my favorite of my pools. Then we headed over to check out the flamingos, who are very loud and very smelly. I can hear them clearly from the pool at Jambo, and they fight all day long. From the overlook by the pool we could see several gazelles, giraffes, red rivers hogs, and other animals (whose names I forgot, and whose names I bs'd to my family).







We headed over to the overlook by the lobby, where the animals tend to get a lot closer. There were several giraffes right up front, but most of the animals had been scared away by the safari truck rumbling around the savanna. The animals at DAKL aren't as used to the trucks as the one's at DAK, as they run much less frequently. Of course, no trip to DAKL outside of work hours is complete without a trip to The Mara for zebra domes. If you've never had zebra domes and you're a CP, drop everything you're doing and try one now. They are so incredibly decadent and delicious, and they make them gluten free for those of us who can't have the sponge cake.

Sunday was our hotel day, so of course bright and early Papa wanted to know where we were going , what we were doing, and why we didn't have plans. We had rented him an electric wheelchair (not an ECV, one that's more of a wheelchair) like the one he has at home, but it was going haywire, so we had to get that replaced. We hung out at the pool for a good bit, walked around the resort, and just generally took our time enjoying things.

We headed over to Disney Springs to do some shopping and eating. Somehow, the embroidery store was completely out of adult sized mouse ears, so a trip to World of Disney was in order. I wont lie, I go out of my way to avoid World of Disney at any cost. It's crowded and chaotic and generally (but certainly not always) the cast members are miserable because it's not a fabulous place to work. We found the mouse ears, along with several Mickey mugs for Papa's nurses. I love staying in a resort, so that things can be shipped back and we don't have to carry them with us. The Poly even delivers them to your room so that you don't have to remember to pick them up later.

After that we headed to Raglan Road, where we checked in ridiculously early so that we could make sure to get a table in the main room. While we were waiting, since we were ridiculously hungry, we munched on some Garlic Parmesan Chips from Cookes of Dublin. They are so addicting and good, I'm bound and determined to find a way to make them at home. While we were sitting there, I realized that St. Patrick's Day is coming up, which means that this Irish girl needs to find her Irish Soda Bread fix. So I ran over to Erin McKenna's to ask if they're going to have it, or if I need to make it myself. The girl behind the counter had never heard of it, but the guy was so much fun and joking around with me, asking me to bring some in if I make some. However, I don't particularly want to make it, so I need everyone to call/ask them about it next time they go in so demand gets high and they make it, kay?

Once we finally got into Raglan Road, we got seated right in front of the stage, which was fantastic and really loud. The band they have in there right now, Jigjam, is fantastic, and hopefully my friends and I will be back to see them for the St. Patrick's Day festival. The River Dancers are always so much fun to see, but the best part is when they bring the little kids up on the stage and teach them to "Irish Dance". The looks of joy on their faces are so contagious, you find yourself smiling and laughing the whole time.

We had another fantastic waitress, Kaitlyn, who gave really good recommendations. I can't help but have fish and chips every time I go there, just because they make them gluten free safely. I love talking to people who started out as CP's who either stayed with the company or who stayed local because they loved their CP so much. That's what I want to do eventually, so I'm always happy to see it working out for other people.

I'm so grateful for the place I am in my life right now. I had a hard few weeks, but things are finally looking up. I have great friends, great roommates, and I love my job. I'm finally starting to really settle in and get comfortable in a way I didn't realize I wasn't before. My life doesn't have to revolve around trying to make other people like me, because the people I choose to surround myself with like me for me. Awkward, dorky, hippie me. I hug trees, and get my feet dirty climbing things, and sing to loudly and a bit off key, and that's okay. It okay that I wear flower crowns and take pictures of things twelve million times just to be sure I got one that turned out. In fact, it's great that I dance along to Move It Shake It every day, making an absolute fool out of myself while my friends do the same next to me. Because that's who I am, and it's who I want to be. So Mahalo to everyone who makes it easier to be me, I love you all.