End of October update

Well, to no surprise to me, I still don't have a job. I had a few leads that didn't pan out. I'm still looking but the whole job thing has kinda been put on hold. This past Saturday my friends from OC were in town for Fall Break. We went out to play football and next thing I know, my ankle is broken. The noise of the snap was pretty loud and at the time was the worst part of the whole thing. I'm not in much pain, just limited mobility. I'm not supposed to walk on it for a month and then I should get a boot that i can walk on with a crutch. So given what I'v been handed, I'm living it up sleeping and laying around watching TV and movies all day. Other than my laying around, how about them Broncos? 6-0 way to go, hope that keeps up, I hate the new QB and Coach, but I'm glad we are doing well. Thats all for now, upcoming for me, a Halloween party, hopefully Saw 6 and well if all goes well 6 weeks I will be able to walk again. Until next time, take care.

Summer?

In a way this summer has felt like summer, no job (can't find one) and relaxing, but on the other hand, it hasn't; Cold rainy weather almost everyday, I need the sun!

Home

This is kinda short, but it's mostly cuz i've seen you all in the last few weeks. I'm finished at Disney. It was a blast, and that is an understatement. For anyone still in college, or not started yet, let me strongly urge you to try the Disney program. As i explain it, it's a 5 month paid vacation. I had a great time and made dozens of memories that i won't forget. 

Now i'm back in the real world no more castles, princesses, mice or magic here. Just colder weather, job search, future planning/worrying and the best of all, the first school loan bill on its way. If anyone has suggestions of what i should do, let me know, i'll try almost anything cuz i'm out of ideas. Life is still good, don't get me wrong, just kinda looking for the next step along the way. 

This past week and the current week are busy. Parker is having its VBS so i've been decorating, and enjoying time with people i haven't seen in a while. I'm picking back up right where i left off at, when i get busy with stuff around here, it's hard to believe I was gone for 5 months, but thats the nice thing and probably why i missed everyone, cuz no matter what i always have a place here at home. 

Although my time at Disney is over,.... for now, i'll still keep this blog updated. So don't give up on me, haha. I'm sure that i will get to write things on here that will live up to if not exceed my disney postings, only time will tell. Thanks all for following along and hope you continue to follow my journey.

The Countdown!

They say time flies when you're having fun; I must of had fun cuz i only have a month left. I never saw anyone famous, but i did see a ton of great stuff. I met people from all over the world, made new friends had some laughs, and learned a lot about myself. I was talking to a friend from upstairs and he was saying the same thing. He and I both found that being put in a totally different environment than we are use to didn't change us, it just allowed us to find who we really were away from influences from home.  It's nice to know that i'm being myself even away from home. 

On a sad note, 3603, the room i live in, lost 2 people in the last week. Kevin, got terminated for having alcohol in the apt, and then the roommate that turned him in, and his actual roommate, Jordan quit and left today. So there are only 4 of us here now, kinda sad, kinda empty, but losing Kevin so suddenly has brought us all closer and we have hung out and goofed off alot.

I saw New Found Glory a week or two ago. It was really good. The House of Blues was really neat. I met the band and got my ticket signed by them all after the show. 

On another sad note, Space Mountain closed down for 6 months. They are gutting the building and rebuilding. It should be great when it's done, but it'll be sad to never ride it again while i'm here. I did get 3 good rides in the last day it was opened though. With Space Mountain closed, this should give me more time to ride other stuff that i haven't done yet. One of those is Dumbo, believe it or not, i have never gone on Dumbo and have been here for 4 months and several times before. My goal is to ride everything at least once. I just have a few things to do so it should be hard. I'm also working on attending a tech rehearsal for my favorite nighttime show Fantasmic! I hope that works. 

Last week i went to Miami. It was as great as it sounded. Warm weather, sunny beaches, great food, and well, Miami. I have decided that if i moved back to Florida, it would be by the beach in Miami, and not to the Orlando area. Orlando is nothing but touristy shops, and crowds. Miami is laid back with beaches, restaurants and shopping all in five minutes of each other. One of many funny sites of the trip, a mental ward with a sign hanging on the building that read, "It's crazy in here".

I'm getting super pumped to see friends and family. I won't know where to start telling you all about how fun this is and has been. Also, it'll be nice to just see all you and see whats new with you. Thats all for now, hope it was a good one. See ya soon. Miss ya.

The East Coast.

Bubba Gump, facing the beach.

The Ocean, pretty isn't it.

New Found Glory @ HOB

Hello Again!

They wanted me to pose, so I did my best.

Ok, lets see,..... what have i missed telling you all? I've been doing a TON with people from work, both on my days off and days before i go to work. We went and flew a kite a few days ago, we normally eat B-dubs on Thursday, watch Wishes at the Magic Kingdom, and we even get food at Wendy's after work at like 1 in the morning. I rode in the front of a Monorail the other day, great fun for sure, you can see so much more and is a lot of fun seeing the track and the other trains coming at you. I went to the pool with people from work and found out how quick you can burn down here, but man it'll be a nice tan when the pain goes away.

I ended up staying at the Boardwalk and not moving to Blizzard Beach. now that the weather is nice, i have a new position to work at; outside on the boardwalk is a pin cart for all the Disney pin traders, It's a lot of fun cuz i get to wear glow toys and interact with guests more and the outfit, shorts and short sleeve button up, isn't bad either. Things are starting to get busy around here, the parks are worse than the resorts, but you can tell a slight pick up in the crowds. I'm getting about 35 hours a week which is good, but compared to my roommate that works in the park who is getting close to 60, it makes me wish i worked more. I may pick up shifts in other areas, but not sure yet.

Like i said earlier, i had a ton of fun with my family while they were here, we got to see alot and enjoyed the weather together. I'm getting really excited for May 6th-9th, rumor has it a wedding/party will be taking place in Oklahoma around then, and i won't be missing that. 

Church is still great here, very, kind and loving people. People are always asking how work is going and are glad to see me when i am there. The preacher announced today that by the end of June he and his family would be moving to Texas to be closer to family, so thats sad, but understandable, i'm doing the same. 

I'm super pumped for New Found Glory this Friday! It should be a rock'n show. Time here has gone by so fast, wish it could be longer, but it'll be nice to see friends and family and be home soon. Sad note,..... Space Mountain will be closing this month for the rest of the year, they are gutting the building and redoing it. It'll be missed and i won't even be here for the whole time it's down, but that month will be killer sad. Also, the other night i ate at T-rex, a dinosaur themed restaurant just like the Rainforest Cafe and got one of the best meals i've had while i've been here. I got Mahi Mahi crusted in parmesan and served with grilled shrimp on top all covered by a white buttery lemon garlic sauce, it was and is to die for. I'll have to get that again before i leave. worth the $20 bucks!

To clarify about the twitter box,... Twitter is like a Facebook status, thats really all, i can post a update, picture or link to a video/ website. So if you just can't get enough of stalking me on this blog, check out my Twitter all throughout the day. That should be all for now,.... i think. 

Miss you all, and see look-a-likes of all of you all the time.

My stylin' Pin Cart costume

My meal at T-Rex, Yummy!

Adventures in Kite Flying

(That girl is 'friends with' Mickey Mouse*)

If you're 'friends with' a character, that means you are them.

Monorail view from the front.

Quick update!

Hey all, sorry its been so long. I'm about to head out to Epcot for the day before work, but was going to try and give an update. More to come soon.  Notice on the right side a twitter box, i'll update that several times a day, so you ALWAYS know what i'm up to. I had a great time with my family a few weeks back, and made me realize that although its so fun down here, i'll be coming home this summer and not extend my program. Still having a blast, and enjoying the sun. Oh and i bought tickets for the New Found Glory show here at the House of Blues, so that will be fun. More to come soon! 

Miss you all. 

It's been a while

Well It's been a while, and that is an understatement. I've had a lot going on and now have a ton to tell you. I'm sure i won't remember it all and will post more later when it comes to me. First off, a few weeks back Disney held a event for the college program students (CP's) at Hollywood Studios where we could ride the new Toy Story Mania ride from 9-1 in the morning. It was really neat cuz the park had been closed for an hour or so and it was just CP's in the park, and just the one ride was open so the whole park was like empty. The ride is really neat, it is a 3D ride where you move around to different screens and the you shoot a gun, like a shooting gallery and get points. The screens are themed to Toy Story characters,  Buzz, Woody, Army Men, and so on. Fun stuff. Before me and some of my roommates and friends got to the ride we found bikes that cast members use to get from one side of the park to the other while staying 'backstage'. We hopped on and went for a ride. We circled the back of the park and ended up behind the Tower of Terror. It was AWESOME! we went up a parking garage that is in the back and could see most of the park from there. It was so cool. Then we were told to get off the bikes cuz it was a safety hazard to ride them in the dark. It was by far the coolest night I have had here!

One of the main reasons i've not posted in so long is that i'm doing more stuff in my off time. A group of people from work get together and go to parks, movies or out to eat ALOT so when i get to my room, i go to bed before the next fun filled day. Two girls from work have left and gone home, so we have had days where the group of us all go out to eat and hang out before they leave. Just this last tuesday we all went to Magic Kingdom to eat and hang out before our friend Rachel left to go home. Sad, but fun day. 

I got a hair cut the other day, under the Magic Kingdom. Yes thats right. Basic fact for ya, in order to repair power lines, phone lines or what ever else that would run under ground in the magic kingdom, there is actually a tunnel system that runs under the whole park so workers can fix whatever with out having to dig up the grass in the Magic Kingdom; instead the go to what is really the first level of the Magic Kingdom and work on the wires or whatever that are on the ceiling. Magical, i know. Also on the first level the cast members have locker rooms, costume rooms and even a food court with a Subway. It's so neat, and i can't wait till i go back for another hair cut so i can look around down there again. So just keep in mind that when you see anything in the magic kingdom, it's the second level; this includes, rides, roads, buildings, rivers and castles, all on the upstairs.

A week or so back ESPN held it's annual ESPN the Weekend here at Disney. Stars from all sports teams and television were here for live shows and other events from Hollywood Studios. I didn't make it over to the parks the weekend they were here because it was super busy and i had to work most of the time. I saw one famous person during the weekend, it was an announcer/host for Baseball Tonight, his name was Karl Ravech. I wouldn't have know he was famous unless one of the guys i was working with told me; but still cool anyway. I was hoping to see one of the bigger stars that was here for the weekend, like Bret Favre who was even staying at the Boardwalk resort, but saw no one. 

Lastly, i'm ending on a tasty note. The other night i was in the Japan pavilion at Epcot's World Showcase. (more to come about what this is later) and i got dinner at Teppan Edo. It is one of those places where they make the food on the stove top at your table. It was so fun and really good! I ordered steak and shrimp, obviously, and can't wait for the next excuse to use to go back. It was so good! Our Chef made what he called the smoking Volcano. He stacked onions ring by ring on top of each other making a volcano then he poured different oils and liquids into the top and it shot smoke out the top. He then took the sharpest knife i've ever seen in real life and split the smoking tower of onions in half with one quick chop. The show/food was worth the $30. 

I think i did a pretty good job of covering all i missed updating you all on for the past month. If i think of anything else i'll post it soon! mostly cuz i want to inform you but also cuz i hate typing this much. I'm sure i'll have some good stories next week while my mom brother and sister are here visiting. As always, miss you all. 

View from the top of Hollywood Studio's backstage parking garage

Moving Talking Mr. Potato Head. Really cool and freaks out if you say any food product made from potatoes.

New York City Street Set, you will never see it this empty.

Smoking Volcano! P.S. that is not my beer in the photo.

Cooking up some great steak!

The Twilight Zone....

This post's attraction is from Hollywood Studios 

Victims trapped in the fifth dimension 

The lobby just the way it was left.

Neat picture I found online

Picture I took of the Hotel.

It's been a while, sorry, I was in another dimension, The Twilight Zone. This update is focused on the great ride in Hollywood Studios called, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. At 199 feet tall, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is the highest attraction at Walt Disney World. Here is info about the ride from the Disney website:

The Legend

Classic stars of the silver screen sought rest and relaxation at the grand Hollywood Tower Hotel during the Golden Age of Hollywood. In 1939, during a gloomy Halloween night, 5 unlucky souls were riding down the Hotel's maintenance service elevator when a violent storm struck the building… and they were never seen again. Black scorch marks still scar The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror facade where lightning left its autograph.

The Elevator

A ride on the "fright elevator" beyond the eerie boiler room in the hotel basement could be down, then up, or maybe down again, or up and up—every experience is different and randomly selected by the Tower itself. There's no way of knowing which direction you'll go on the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.

Step aboard, if you dare. You're about to discover what lies beyond the deepest, darkest corner of the imagination.

This really is an awesome ride. you go forward and backward, up and down, and the best part is the computer running the ride chooses how may times you drop. For future reference for all of you if you ever get the chance, ride it! 

On to other things, like me. I have been working and playing a lot. I played basketball with my roommate Kevin a week or two ago, I also took a different Kevin and my roommate Ryan to Church Sunday night. It ended up being one of those nights that you just sing and have a short devo, so they didn't get to see what it is normally like, but they seemed ok with it. Later a bunch of my roommates and friends went to the hot tub, it felt great. We are getting along great still, and i'm getting to spend more time with them thanks to some scheduling that gives most of us the same days off. 

I still have yet to see anyone famous here even though i hear about celebs on property all the time. I guess the cast of HSM3 (High School Musical 3) was here last week, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas were here last week. I was hoping i might see them because they were staying at the resort right across the bay from the Boardwalk. Hollywood Studios just opened an attraction called the American Idol Experience so most of the people from American idol, past and present were here for that. I'm sure i'll see at least one before i leave. 

Last night and today I went to the parks with some people from work. It was a good time to hang with them outside of the shops and get to goof off and all in the parks. Last night at the Magic Kingdom we rode Space Mountain once, and Splash Mountain 6 times. We also got to see the Spectro Magic Parade that night, (great stuff, i'll post on that soon). After the light parade we ate at the Crystal Palace. It is themed after the Crystal Palace from Hyde Park in London, and is buffet style but the food is great! prime rib, garlic mashed potatoes, mac n' cheese, ice cream, chicken, pork,....should i go on? Also the characters from Winnie the Pooh come to your table and let you get pictures with them. It was great, wish i could have eaten more, maybe next time. 

I'm also excited for my mom, brother, and sister to come visit in March! it should be a good time. maybe i'll take them to the Crystal Palace, haha. either way it'll be nice to see some familiar faces, other than a mouse. Again, sorry it took so long to write, but i'll be better about it. 

Miss you all

Votes are in,....

Well, the votes are in, and it looks like i'll be spotlighting attractions around Walt Disney World. Don't worry, to full cover some attractions, I may also cover resorts or restaurants too. Thanks to all you who voted, i hope to have a new poll up soon. I'm going to plan out how to best cover everything and hope to have the first attractions post up before the end of the week. Be ready!

The weather is starting to remain warm for longer than a few days at a time, so thats always good. The statue in the picture above of Walt and Mickey is my latest purchase,... ok, not the real one, but a small replica. All I need is the miniature castle, anyone have some cash to spare, haha.

Miss you all.

The last outfit for you all to see. ESPN.

(Sorry no action shots of me yet)

Don't forget to vote!

This is the costume for the Sea Shore Sweets candy store.

Hey all, not much new here. I got a bit of a cold, but it's not too bad, i held off for a good amount of time, i'm the last one in the room to get it. Speaking of my room mates, i want to tell all my past room mates how much i wish i still lived with them cuz the ones i have now are gross dirty. I don't care how much laundry you may have had built up in the closet, it beats the dishes with food that collects up in the sink, and the scraps of lunch meat left on the counter, along with what ever else may spill. Oh and one of my room mates is either too lazy or was never told to lift the toilet seat before going to the restroom. Anyway, other than that they aren't too bad. 

The weather can't make up its mind on if its going to be cold or hot, we have one week freezing and the next is fine; the warm is starting up today so i'm happy. One of the guys that hangs out in my room drives a safari truck at Animal Kingdom, he said the other day that former N'sync member Joey Fatone, also from Dancing with the stars and one of those lyric singing shows, was on his truck the other day. That seems pretty neat too me even if it is just an Ex- boy band member. 

You all only have 4 days left to vote on the poll of what the blog will cover. I guess i should have mentioned, i will still post updates about me and things going on at work, church or in the room, but to add a little more i was seeing what you all want. 

Miss you all, hope all is well.

Next for the blog

Thanks all for voting on the poll of your favorite movie, I know i didn't have all options, but there are far too many to post. I'll try to do another one with different options later. The new poll is asking what you, the readers want to read and hear about. If there is something i don't have message me and let me know. Not a whole lot is new here, just working and going to parks on my off time, still. Work is fun still so thats good. A lot of college kids are working in the stores with me so it's nice to have people my age around the work place. Room mates are the same, get a little crazy some nights, but funny and nice. We knew a girl that came over a lot and made muffins, brownies, and cleaned the apt,... sadly so got terminated this week, so she is gone. I guess we will have to find a new one, haha. 

Travis, the room mate pictured a few posts ago works a ride at Epcot and said that last week Celine Dion and Rihanna rode the ride he works at, so thats neat. The Steelers, stole the Super Bowl from Arizona and where here too, but i didn't hear about any sightings from anyone.

Lastly, not that i'm begging or telling anyone to visit, but until April i get 60% off on Hotels, half off on Cirque de Sole, and i still have 3, 3 day tickets to give out. Think about it.

Miss you all.

Just as I promised

Here it is, just like I said I would post. This is my basic outfit. The candy store and ESPN have different outfits, but this is the normal costume for the Boardwalk merchandise team. The picture at the top is Everest, I rode it 3 times yesterday before work. Its a great ride, you go forward and backward, and see a Yeti. Don't forget to vote on the movie, just a few days left! Welp, thats it for now, Enjoy! Miss you all.

My snappy outfit

Pictures in my break room

and another

A bird that watched me eat ribs today at Animal Kingdom. By the way, they are the greatest ribs in the world!

To Clarify a bit.....

I sell merchandise at Disney's Boardwalk Resort. The resort is considered on of the Epcot Resorts, meaning it is relatively close to Epcot, along with Disney's Yacht and the Beach Club Resorts as well as the Swan and Dolphin hotels which are not Disney's. The 5 resorts all back up to the lake you see in many of the pictures and from that lake you can take a 3 minute boat ride into the back of Epcot. You can also take a 8ish minute boat ride to Disney's Hollywood Studios from the resorts. The Boardwalk resort is one of the Disney Vacation Club resorts; the Vacation Club is like a time share, but better. You can use your points you collect at any of the vacation clubs on property as well as one on the beach that Disney owns, and numerous hotels around the world. Disney's Boardwalk opened July 1, 1996 and has 378 regular rooms and 532 vacation club villas. The whole resort is themed late 19th and early 20th century Atlantic City. 

I work in 3 different stores on the Boardwalk; On The Boardwalk, Sea Shore Sweets, and ESPN Club. The On The Boardwalk store carries drinks, snacks, frozen pizzas, kitchen supplies, toys, clothes, jewelry, snow-globes, mugs, tea and coffee just to name a few. It's like part souvenir shop half supply store for Vacation Club users that have full kitchen in their rooms. The Sea Shore Sweets is a candy store, we have soft serve ice cream, jelly beans in every color known to man, and pretty much everything you could imagine covered in chocolate. The ESPN Club is connected to a ESPN restaurant; we sell sport hats and shirts with teams names and/or ESPN logo on it. We also operate a small arcade in the store. All in all it's pretty much the same job and duties in all the stores, the merchandise just changes. I stock the shelves, ring up guests, help them find stuff, scoop ice cream and most of all, make sure the guest are happy. Disney is in the entertainment business, obviously, so I'm not someone that sells merchandise, rather I perform Merchantainment. 

Enjoy the pics, Miss you all!

P.S. I changed clothes before I remembered that I was going to take a picture of my costume for you all, so i'll have it tomorrow, I promise.

I'm pretty sure you all know what shop this is. I watch ESPN and bounce basketballs all day.

The Boardwalk gets lively at night, good times

The yellow awning is the candy store and in front are some of the entertainers.

The pink building down to the arches is the store that has almost everything in it.

The Boardwalk with a boat that travels to and from Epcot and Hollywood Studios.

Warming up!

It's been a little while since my last post, hope you didn't miss me too much. I've been staying busy with work. This past week I finished my training and now have fully earned my ears, haha. That's their term, but anyway, i now work without someone watching me which is nice cuz I'm not as worried about making mistakes. The guests have been great and friendly and everyone i work with are great and helpful. Sunday there was a little girl who had a birthday in the store. Being the most magical place on Earth, Goofy called and sang happy birthday to her, then she received a pin with Tinker Bell on it. When she got it the cast member told her that it was just for her from Tinker Bell. She had the biggest smile and the parents were about to cry they were so happy.

Today i went to Epcot after work and got my hair cut at the cast services building. Really neat going backstage at a new place i haven't been before. After the hair cut i rode a few rides and shopped. For dinner i got one of my favorite meals at Disney World, Fish and Chips at the England pavilion in Epcot. While i was in the back side of the park with all the country pavilions i went to France to watch the movie they have there (my moms favorite) and then journeyed over to China because it was the Chinese New Year today. Then I ended off the night with watching the Epcot fireworks Reflections of Earth again. Pictures of the show are below

Also below are pictures of one of my room mates that we dressed up so he could do karaoke at Buffalo Wild Wings. Also below, the Boardwalk area at night. Night entertainment, stores, restaurants and hotel rooms facing the water. The pics aren't the greatest, but my phone can only do so much. I hope to go with my real camera soon and get better quality photos. Also I hope by my next post to post me in my costume, I've had some requests/ reassurance that I'm alive. Stay warm as most of you are in snow and or ice, I'm in shorts and the sun. Miss you all.

Street Performer

Hotel rooms at the Boardwalk

This is what I see from where I work, see why 

I'm not complaining.

Reflections of Earth

Just a small taste of the firework portion of the show.

Travis (T-Rex) getting ready to hit the town.

I'm not dead

The picture in the post below that says R.I.P. Jonny Boone, doesn't mean I'm dead,.... obviously; it's actually one of many memorials that people from school have created to remember me by. Don't worry, I'm alive and well and the posts will keep coming. 

Room Pics, and a little more

I got some more pics to put up. I spent my day off yesterday an Disney's Hollywood Studios, it was really crowded because it was a holiday, but i did most of what i wanted to do. My favorite show/ fireworks is at Hollywood Studios, its called Fantasmic, it's indescribable, so i'll have to get a video or better yet, come visit and i'll take you. 

 Thanks to everyone that writes, calls, texts, and posts telling how much you you miss me. I miss you all too. Hope all is well with everyone. 

I worked a little more today, got more training in, and actually did some transactions. I'm getting use to the rules, and ways to do things in the store, so I'm feeling good and comfortable working there. The cold found me,.... again, it was 54 degree with a low of 30, and won't warm back up till this weekend, if I'm lucky. I've bought more jackets and blankets than i know what to do with, but i wasn't expecting cold.