After a great afternoon, the day went downhill. On my way home, I turned onto International Drive, literally a mile from home, and my gas pedal lost all of its tension. So instead of speeding up when I pressed the gas, I kept slowing down. I started to freak out, but luckily I was able to pull into a nearby parking lot and slide into a spot. I turned my car off and then on again, and when I tried to pull into the next spot, I barely could. The car literally could only go about 5 miles per hour. Not a good thing. I called AAA, and they said it would take about 90 minutes for them to get there, but it only ended up taking 15! Jose drove me to Riker's, which was pretty close to my apartment. I left my car there overnight, and Cassie picked me up (my favorite roommate haha).
Friday, Dec 2nd: Today was an awesome day with Hulbie--I finally got the chance to go to Universal Studios! It consists of two parks, and we decided to just go to Islands of Adventure. It includes Jurassic Park, Super Heroes, Suessland, Comic Strip land, and Harry Potter World. Right when we got there, we went to HP World!! YAY! The butterbeer was absolutely fantastic. I want the recipe for it! We went on a few rides and walked around the shops. It's pretty amazing how much it all really looked like Hogsmeade. It was like I was actually in the movies! Although Universal is completely different than Disney, it has its own charm. We got our pictures taken with soo many characters, and we rode some of the rides several times since the park was pretty much empty!
After a wonderful time with Hulbie, we went to Riker's to pick up my car. The GPS took us to a very sketchy area, and we were a little scared for our lives haha. Eventually, we found our way, but the place was closed by the time we got there. Luckily, Sonia was nice enough to wake up the next day and drop me off so I could finally get my car back!
Saturday, Dec 3rd: I heard a funny story from the Disney Vacation Club (DVC) guy that works next to the Asia Kids' Discovery Club. He said that one time when he was working at MK, a guest asked him, "Where is the dome that goes over all of Magic Kingdom?" REALLY?! Wow. That has to be one of the most ridiculous guest questions of all time.
That night, BTN was hosting "Christmas with the Critters", a fundraiser for the refuge. I took Cassie along and showed her all the animals I work with. They had a bake sale, auction, face painting, and Santa! Unfortunately, Mr. Clause had already left by the time we got there.
Sunday, Dec 4th: Awful day at work. I was at the Dinoland KDC, and some stupid middle or high school football players were across the path at the crocodile exhibit. One of them thought it was fake, so he started to climb over the fence. Before I could say anything, the adult with him told him to get down. Since I am not allowed to leave the KDC, I couldn't go over there. But when he did it again, I walked halfway over and yelled at him (oh and did I yell!). He tried to tell me that the "alligator" wasn't real so it was ok. He also told me to make it move. Then the idiot adult said, "He's not moving, he has cobwebs on his mouth. He isn't real." I tried to calmly tell these ignorant people that he sits still in his natural habitat and waits for his prey, but then they just asked if they could throw rocks at him. What the hell is wrong with you?? I argued with them for a good while, trying to convince them that Marley was real. Eventually, I just gave up because they were causing a scene. So then I just gave them the death glare until they left. Those were the most frustrating people I've ever talked to.
The day got better after that, because the roomies, Hulbert, and I went to DisneyQuest, which is a big place with arcade games and interactive activities. It's like a 10-year-old boy's dream! Also, it was one of my favorite parts of Disney when I was young. What can I say, I was a tomboy.
Monday, Dec 5th: Happy 110th birthday to Walt Disney! Thanks for having all those ambitious dreams so families could come together. Because of you, I have made so many friendships and memories that I'll cherish forever!
This evening was the College Program/Professional Intern formal dance at Coronado Springs Resort. It was so much fun! There was dancing, food, and obscure characters to meet. I met the three hyenas from Lion King, Baloo, Mowgli (who was an awkward adult trying to look like a kid...), safari Mickey and Minnie, and Tarzan and Jane. I was pretty much starstruck when I saw Tarzan...in just a loincloth. He said, "You can stand right here next to me!" Don't mind if I do! So apparently he's the only Tarzan at Disney. He was the same guy I barely missed trying to meet at Mickey's Not-So-Scary party in September. You have no idea how excited I was to get a second chance! Because we got a big group picture with him and Jane, Cassie and I went back later to get one with just him. We JUST made it before he was done for the night. Overall, it was a spectacular night with good music, friends, and smokin' hot Tarzan.
If only I would have thought to touch Tarzan's butt...
Tuesday, Dec 6th: I had my interview for the animal keeper trainee position during my lunch. I thought it went pretty well, but ultimately, they didn't choose me.
Tonight, Cassie and I went to our first Candlelight Processional. Here's what the event is: Every year around Christmas time, our cast choir (plus some high schools from around the country) perform concerts, three times a night. There is also a guest celebrity that narrates the story of Christmas in between each song. Tonight, it was Edward James Olmos. Award-winning actor from Miami Vice, Battlestar Galactica, and Stand and Deliver. Or, if you're a Dexter fanatic, he was frickin Professor Gellar!! And trust me, he was every bit as scary while he was reading about shepherds and inns as he was on Dexter. But he was so amazing, you can tell that he loves doing Candleight every year because he spoke with such passion and meaning. Love him.
Wednesday, Dec 7th: During our morning meeting, Sonia said to me, "I think I'm in the mood for ice cream." This was the best thing I'd ever heard. She isn't a big sweets eater, so I knew when that time came that her, Cassie, Alyssa, and I were about to face the biggest challenge of our lives. The Kitchen Sink. This is something that many people attempt, but few finish. It's an epic dessert served at Beaches and Cream, and you need at least 5ish people to eat. It's 8 scoops of ice cream (3 flavors of your choice), all the toppings in the house (angel food cake, brownies, hot fudge, bananas, marshmallow creme, various chocolate candies, almonds, sprinkles, cherries, and more), and a whole can of whipped cream. Here's the complete recipe!
So the whole thing is served in a bowl that looks like a sink, and when the waiters bring it out, the lights and sirens go off in the 50's-style ice cream parlor. Now some of y'all probably know how much I love ice cream. I eat a bowl every night...sometimes even two. So we thought it was gonna be an easy challenge, but we were so wrong. I don't think I've ever felt so sick in my life. But at the same time, it was EPIC. Halfway through, Alyssa pulled out, so Sonia, Cassie, and I had to eat for her, too. It was kind of funny, because we saw families of 6 people, or groups with huge guys that finished it. But we just had 3.5 tiny girls, and we flat-out dominated. It took us 50 minutes to finish, but we did it. Afterward, we felt like we were all going to explode, and I said I'd never eat ice cream again...Needless to say, that only lasted one day.
Before...and after...
Thursday, Dec 8th: Somehow, David, Debbie, and I were the only ones at BTN today. Usually there are 5 or 6 of us, so we were super short-staffed. David isn't exactly the most motivated person around, so I had to, once again, do most of the work with the resident animals while Debbie took care of the babies and raccoons. At least I got to see all of my favorite animals! Besides the birds, squirrels, and emu, I spent some quality time with the lemurs and Spencer the Arctic Fox. Spencer is so sweet, he's just like a little puppy. He even eats right out of my hand! Since he's an omnivore, his diet always has variety. Some fruits, veggies, dry dog food, a chicken, and some other kind of meat. Usually I hide the chicken in a bell pepper so he can find it, or I freeze it in ice so he can try to scrape it out. He's so precious and I love him.
Friday, Dec 9th: Since there had been a lot of drama going on lately, I really enjoyed whatever time I could just have by myself. So I had some fun "me time" at Hollywood Studios. I saw the Beauty and the Beast theatre show, went on Voyage of the Little Mermaid and Tower of Terror, and then headed to the Pixar area to meet Buzz and Woody! I was pretty much in love haha. On my way out, Buzz pointed to his cheek and asked me to give him a kiss. I bet YOU haven't kissed Buzz Lightyear before! All I know is that it was probably some creepy or old guy in the costume. I then went over to the Animation Building where I learned how to draw Sorcerer Mickey from a real animator, and I met Mr. and Mrs. Incredible and Sorcerer Mickey himself. The Pixar "Countdown to Fun" parade was at 3, and it was really cool. There were a lot of stars in it that you can't meet in the parks. Later on, I rode Star Tours (LOVE it), and met several other characters. Finally, my goal of doing just about everything at Studios was complete, and I went home feeling accomplished.
NEIL PATRICK HARRIS!!
Sunday, Dec 11th: NPH was at DAK as a guest today, and when Steph sent me a picture of him on the Pangani Trail, I'm pretty sure I squealed so loud that everyone in the cast cafeteria heard me. NBD.
Monday, Dec 12th: Today I met a new security guard named Russell, who was kind of awkward and strange. He showed me a scar on his arm, and told me it was from an alligator bite. Ummm, what?! I didn't believe him, but he showed me a video later on that proved he wasn't kidding. Him and his friends went fishing and they caught a small alligator, and they all thought they could hold his mouth open and stick their arm in. It didn't work out so well for Russell haha. Wow, he's not the sharpest crayon in the box. Pretty entertaining, though.
Wednesday, Dec 14th: The presenter Christmas party was tonight at a member of Core Team's house! She had her place all decked out with the holiday spirit, and it really put me in the mood for Christmas. I had soooo much food, I was stuffed. After eating, we opened our secret santa gifts. Mine was a penguin photo frame, a Happy Feet puzzle, and a penguin card, all in a penguin bag. I'm glad everyone knows how much I love penguins! I think everyone had a good time, and it kind of brought us all together like a family again.
Ok, so that's the end for now. I'm going to have two final blog posts after this so I can finish up my stories about Disney! Even though I've been home for over a month now, I'm having fun writing these and bringing back some of the great memories from my internship! I hope y'all enjoy them, too. I'm gonna finish off with a quote I thought was appropriate because I'm basically living in my own fantasy world right now.
"I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living. It's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope, which is what I do. And that enables you to laugh at life's realities."--Dr. Seuss
No comments:
Post a Comment