Sunnys Days Of Disney: DAKL

Showing posts with label DAKL. Show all posts

Thursday, July 14, 2016

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.

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

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.