Officially a Disney Cast Member!

Hi everyone!! I'm finally in Orlando! Well, I've been here for several days but I owe y'all an update.

At 7:30am on Sunday, my parents and I started our long drive, and made it as far as Columbia, South Carolina. That evening, we ate dinner at "Lizard's Thicket" which was a cute little southern restaurant. I had fried chicken, cinnamon apples, and cornbread. Yummm. Welcome to the South! The next morning, we drove off again and made it to our hotel in Orlando around 4:30. We stayed at a very nice Marriot (there were a group of 3 all clustered together), and there was a pool (that was both indoors and outdoors!), fitness room, restaurant, food court, etc. We were pretty tired from the long day and heat, so we explored a little and then chilled out.

On Tuesday, we went to Gatorland! My parents took my siblings there 27 years ago, so they thought I should experience it, too. It was a huge place with gators and crocs swimming in swamps, and birds (herons, egrets, cormorants, storks, and woodhens) flying everywhere. First, we saw an employee wrestle a gator, which was awesome. Then we saw the "Gator Jumparoo" show where two guys put skinned chickens on a pulley and hung them over the water so the gators would jump up to eat them. Unfortunately, this is mating season so they were pretty lazy and not too excited about the food. After that, we went around to see the macaws and cockatoos. Among others, they had a blue and gold macaw (my favorite!) and a military macaw (...hah). Then I went into the room with hundreds of budgies so I could feed them a stick of food. We had to shuffle our feet because there were SO MANY birds on the floor. Immediately, 6 or 7 flew to me. It was so cool, especially when the gorgeous sun conure came to me! We then wandered around the park's trails and suffered through the outrageous heat until we finally came to the exit. Before we left, I got my picture in front of the huge gator mouth.

 Gatorland!!!!!

Wednesday consisted of lounging at the pool (it's a hard life!) and meeting up with my sister-in-law's parents and my niece, Abbie, for dinner. They were taking Abbie to their house in Florida and wanted to catch up. I'm glad I got to see Abbie. She loved the Disney princess shirt we got her at Wal-Mart (which has A TON of Disney merch).

Thursday was the big day! I went to Cumberland Park at 9am to go through housing meetings and fill out paperwork. They gave us a big spiel about apartment policies and other stuff, only half of which I heard because they talked so fast. I was a little overwhelmed after that. Then, my parents and I moved everything into my apartment! I met my roommate Sonia, and one of my other housemates, Alyssa. We rushed to get everything inside and slightly organized so I could drop the rents off at their hotel and then get over to the Casting building. Once I was there, I waited in a ton of lines and talked to some new PI's (one girl was from Meadville, PA who almost went to Juniata). Then I had to fill out more paperwork and wait in more lines, until I was done at 1ish. Then I ran across 6 lanes of traffic to get lunch at Downtown Disney. Wow, I'm glad the pedestrian signs weren't working.

At 2, I had a meeting with everyone from Animal Programs where I met my managers and fellow Conservation Education Presenter (CEP) PI's. There are 22 of us! We were given a binder with our schedule for the next few days, and reminded about The Disney Look. On Saturday at 7:45am, we have "Traditions" at Disney University, where we learn Company history and policies. Later, we'll have some meetings, and then get our costumes!! Safari vest, here I come!! We are going to look CLASSY.

After a stressful day, I hung out at the apartment for a bit, and then went to dinner with my parents. I had shrimp gumbo and fried alligator. WIN. No, it didn't taste like chicken. More like very bland calamari. But hey, have YOU eaten alligator? I didn't think so. :-)

That evening, I went with some fellow CEP's to Miller's Ale House for a PI meet-and-greet. It was insane. There were probably 40 or 50 of us. We literally took up half the restaurant. It was funny when people came up to us and asked us our names and PI titles. "Oh hi, I'm a Conservation Education Presenter, and so are these other 3 girls next to me." I guess it was easier to remember us, at least. Although I'm probably going to forget the names of half of the people I met. Oh well, at least we'll all have name tags soon!

Today, I did some shopping with my parents, because I was worried some of my clothes wouldn't work for the Disney Look. After relaxing for a bit at the apartment, I went to dinner with the 'rents and then went to Wal-Mart for the second time today. It was absolutely POURING rain, so my dad dropped us off. There were literally 50 people under the roof just outside of the entrance, waiting for cars to pick them up. It was like a natural disaster had just happened. Sheesh! Well, I better get used to this crazy Florida rain. After taking Mom and Dad back to the hotel, I said goodbye to them, as they're leaving tomorrow morning.

Alright, I have a very early morning tomorrow, so I'm heading to bed. See y'all later!


"Don't wait until the conditions are perfect to begin. Beginning makes the conditions perfect."--Alan Cohen

Tomorrow (Well, Today, Actually...)!!!

The day is finally here!! My car is mostly packed, and I'm leaving for Disney tomorrow (well, technically today)!!! Ahhhh! I can't even contain my excitement! Although I would much rather skip the 16+ hour drive and just be in Florida, I guess I'll have to deal with it. We're leaving at 7am this morning (eek!) and will be stopping in Columbia, South Carolina for the night (10 hours). We'll finish off the drive (6 hours) to Florida on Monday morning. My dad and I will be taking turns driving so it hopefully won't be too awful.

I've been relatively busy getting ready for today. However, I've mostly been procrastinating haha. I've been reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows so I can catch up on everything before the final movie comes out in July. It's still just as great a book as it was when I read it the first time. I couldn't put it down, and my packing had to wait until I finished it. Besides that, I finished up some last-minute shopping, got my oil changed, filled my gas tank, deposited money into my checking, and finally successfully installed my new car cd player/radio (well, my dad did). Unfortunately, the radio has limited reception because the tuner is bad (only one of the many problems my dad and I encountered while installing it), but at least the cd player and iPod connector work, so this drive will be tolerable.

It took us several hours to pack everything in space bags, plastic bins, and boxes, and then cram it into my car. Thank goodness for the car carrier (we had to MacGyver a contraption to keep it on the roof because we ordered the wrong straps), because there's no way all of my stuff plus my parents' suitcase would have fit.

My little car is ready to go! Let's just hope she makes it all the way to FL without trouble!

Alright, well I should go get some sleep before the long drive. I'll be in Florida by Monday evening and my first day of training in Animal Kingdom is Thursday! This is still very surreal, and I don't think it will hit me until I walk through the turnstiles of The Happiest Place On Earth.


Oh, one more thing. Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there! I'm sure my dad is really excited about spending the whole day driving. :-)

"The invariable mark of a dream is to see it come true."--Ralph Waldo Emerson

One Week!!

Just one week until I head down to Florida. I can barely believe it!! Just a few months ago, I was searching for jobs anywhere and everywhere--Pennsylvania, Maine, Wisconsin, Texas, North Carolina, New Hampshire, and Florida. I definitely never thought I'd end up at Disney World! I'm not someone who dreamed of working there my whole life (I haven't even been to Disney in seven years), but I'm SO excited and blessed to have this opportunity!

Since my last entry, I've been making a massive packing list. As of now, it's several pages long. I was very specific and slightly OCD about it, because I don't want to forget anything! I've also started to make piles of things in our guest room. It basically looks like a bomb went off. To make the packing process easier, we bought a rooftop cargo bag (thanks for the great idea, Luke!). Also, I'm helping my dad install a new stereo with radio/CD player in my car. Unfortunately, we have to wait a few days to finish because the car has to go back to the shop to fix a problem with the exhaust.

I recently did a ton of shopping to buy professional clothing to wear during my first few weeks of training. In general, while I'm at work, I have to exemplify "The Disney Look." It's a pretty lengthy list of guidelines for hairstyling, headwear, eyewear, tattoos and piercings, makeup, etc. The reason for these rules is that Walt always wanted Cast Members to appear approachable, friendly, and knowledgeable.

Although I have to start getting really organized before next Sunday, I've also been trying to relax and enjoy my last few days in PA. I've been hanging out with friends, playing pick-up frisbee, and catching up on hours of sleep I lost during college.

On Thursday, I visited the National Aviary so I could see "Skydeck," the new rooftop bird show. (It was awesome, by the way!) It's always fun to go back and see my former co-workers and to see how the place has changed since I left. I'm really grateful for the fun times I had during my internship. I learned a lot about bird behavior and husbandry and how to relay conservation messages to guests of all ages. Thanks to everyone who made it an enjoyable experience for me, especially Caitlin, Nicole, and the show staff!

One more thing--I recently watched a documentary called "Waking Sleeping Beauty" that I heard about from another Disney PI. It gives you a behind-the-scenes look at the period in which Disney animators struggled to make successful films, and how they pulled through during leadership changes and created some of the most memorable movies in history. If you appreciate animation, I'd definitely recommend this movie. There are many places to find it online, so check it out. Here's the trailer!

This is the last real entry before I get settled in FL. Thanks for reading, and I'll leave you with a funny comic and a quote from Walt himself.

"It's kind of fun to do the impossible."--Walt Disney

Packing Strategies and Living Situations

Wow, this summer is flying by! 19 days until I leave for Disney and 23 until I start working!!

On Wednesday, I got my official email with the times I'm supposed to check-in to Cumberland Apartments and to Casting (basically Human Resources) to fill out paperwork (and meet Mickey!!!) on the 23rd. I also have received several emails about how to prepare for hurricane season. Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Pennsylvania anymore...

Legit.

In the past few days, I've worked on cleaning out my closet and drawers because I've realized I have way too many clothes. Although, ultimately, this new-found extra space will be used for my load of Disney clothes that I'll be collecting during my internship. :-)

During this cleaning process, I've started to freak out about packing. How in the world am I going to fit everything into my little Nissan plus have room for my parents, their suitcases, and I???? This is going to be a very uncomfortable ride, I'm sure. We're driving from PA to a family friend's house in South Carolina, sleeping there overnight, and then finishing the drive to Orlando the next day. That means it's about a 17-hour trip altogether. Thank goodness I won't have to make that drive alone when I go back home in January--I'll probably be taking the Autotrain.

To save room, I have some space bags for my clothing, and I may invest in a waterproof roof top cargo bag. That would help A TON! Also, I still need to find some kind of packing list that previous PIs have used. I want to be as prepared as possible so I don't have to buy much stuff when I get to Florida. If you have lived in FL or have any general packing tips for me, please leave me a comment!!

If you're wondering about my living situation, I'll fill you in on where I'll be in Florida. I'm going to live in Cumberland Apartments, which is company-sponsored housing about 15 minutes (without traffic) from Disney. My apartment will either be 2 or 3 bedrooms (with two girls in each room). We have a kitchen (which I've heard is pretty nice), a living room, a dining room, two bathrooms, two walk-in closets, and a utility room (YAY FOR A WASHER AND DRYER!!!).

The awesome thing about that place is it's fully furnished, down to silverware and plates. So at least I won't have to worry about transporting many big things! The only problem is that there's not a whole lot of furniture in the bedroom, so we may have to buy a few things once we're there. The rent is also super expensive, but it's deducted from our payroll, so at least I'll never have to cough up a ton of cash. On a brighter note, I'm stoked about all of the cool things that Cumberland has to offer: a fitness club, a theatre/media room, billiards/game room, b-ball court, 2 pools and spas, picnic area with grills, and a biweekly housekeeping service! I think the price will definitely be worth it in the end. 

I have no clue who my roommates are going to be. I know a bunch of people in the Disney PI facebook group got to know each other a few months ago, and ended up requesting roommates. However, I was a little busy with school work, so I didn't get a chance to know everyone quite as well. Let's just hope my future roomies are nice!

On a completely unrelated note, I have been really bored lately, so I've been watching a lot of movies online. I've decided that I'm going to watch one animated Disney movie every day until the 19th. So far, I've watched Pocahontas, Monsters Inc, Tarzan, The Fox and the Hound, and The Little Mermaid. I have to say, I'm a sucker for Disney movies. My guilty pleasure is singing along to Mulan, Pocahontas, and Aladdin with my friends. Yeah, I'm a dork. I'm ok with it.

Alright, I'm gonna go finish watching The Little Mermaid. If you want, please "follow" my blog on the right hand side of this page. :-)

"If you can dream it, you can do it. Always remember that this whole thing was started with a dream and a mouse." -Walt Disney