Everything Magical Must Come To An End

Thursday, Dec 29th: In the morning, Cassie and I went to two cast member stores. One of them sells a lot of Disney clothing and toys, in addition to cheap household things, likes computers, dishes, irons, and pinball machines. The other store sells damaged or otherwise unsellable Disney merchandise for 75% off. They're the best places to shop if you don't mind stuff that's a little chipped or imperfect. Later on, we went to the Polynesian Resort to confirm reservations for Spirit of Aloha, which is a fancy outdoor dinner and luau. I had organized these plans for a final dinner for the presenters, core team, and my roommates because we had a special 50% discount in January. 17 of us were going, so it was going to be a huge group. However, due to an uncommon cold front that hit Florida, it was cancelled a few days later. All that work for nothing! We were all pretty bummed, so we tried to find something else for us to do together instead.

On the drive to the Polynesian, my brakes started to fail. They were making kind of an "airy" sound and I had to press all the way down just to stop the car. Luckily, I was able to make it to a parking spot and check out the problem under the hood. Thank goodness Cassie was with me, or I don't know if I would have figured out what was wrong. It turns out there was a hole in a pipe, and the brake fluid was leaking. Awesome. Like I needed another car issue. So after we got our dinner ticket, I bought some brake fluid at Hess, dropped Cassie off at home, and took my little Nissan back to Riker's. Then Cassie picked me up again, and we went to Animal Kingdom for a while (which we intended on doing earlier, had it not been for my stupid car).

Friday, Dec 30th: The roomies, Hulbert, and I wanted to go to Magic Kingdom one last time, so we went there after work. Alyssa, Cassie, and I watched the first Wishes fireworks show, and then they headed home since they had to work early the next day. I found Hulbie and Sonia, and we rode the Peoplemover (the most exciting ride at MK...or not). Then we went to The Laugh Floor, which is a short comedy show with the characters from Monsters Inc. They choose random people from the crowd as volunteers, and then put them on the screen. I happened to be sitting next to one of them, so I leaned over and made a ridiculous face so I could be on the screen, too. WIN! Next, we went to the Tomorrowland Dance Party (which is as amazing as it sounds), shared a funnel cake, and watched more fireworks at 11:50! These were the New Years Eve fireworks (they were having them today and tomorrow), so they were bigger and better than ever. At midnight, everyone counted down and then there was a spectacular grand finale! To avoid the crowd, the three of us flew out of the park like we were being chased by a serial killer. We rode the monorail and tram, and drove home in record time...We were back by 12:35!! That's virtually impossible, especially on a night when the park was so insane!

 I'm definitely going to miss this view from Main Street and these fireworks.

Saturday, Dec 31st: Instead of making a poor life decision of going to one of the parks for the actual NYE fireworks, Sonia, Hulbie, and I stayed in and watched the ball drop on tv. That night, I discovered my new career goal: tattoo artist. I drew a honeybadger on Hulbie's shoulder, and it was EPIC. Ok, actually it was horrible, but it was purely for entertainment purposes. The reasoning for the tattoo is this video on Youtube. During the past few weeks (or months...), the presenters were getting a little burned out, so we were like honeybadgers because HONEYBADGERS DON'T CARE! Now it's a big joke with all of us, and we reference it whenever possible.

Sunday, January 1st: Today, we started one of our many new rotations at DAK. Next semester, instead of 20 presenters, there will be 27, and as a result, the schedules will change frequently. So Core Team is testing them out on us. Instead of being at KDC's or animal exhibits for an hour, sometimes we're there for two or two and a half hours, so it's veryyyyy different. It's just a little hard to get used to this after having the same schedule for 7 months.

When I was at the siamang exhibit, this super attractive Puerto Rican guy came up to me and asked if I could help him. His son had dropped his Pokeball in the water, so I called the keeper to come retrieve it. In the meantime, this guy kept telling me that all the cast members were so nice and helpful, and that he really loved Animal Kingdom. I've talked to so many rude guests that just want to get where they're going, and could care less about what they can learn from the presenters, so it's really refreshing when someone appreciates the work you do. He was really fascinated with what I had to say about the siamangs, and he thanked me and the keeper after his son's toy was removed from the water. It's those type of people that I'll miss talking to after this internship is over.

Tuesday, January 3rd: It was SO COLD today!! It was literally 48 degrees. I realize in Pennsylvania, that's nothing. But because I was wearing shorts just a few days ago, it sucks! We all were wearing our long-sleeved shirts, long pants, barn coats, hats, and gloves. Insanity!!

Instead of going to the siamangs exhibit in the morning, our Education Manager took Mike and I to a meeting room for our end-of-internship one-on-ones. I was just excited to be indoors during the frigid cold! During the meeting, we reflected on my time at Disney and discussed my performance. It went alright, we talked mostly about the positive things I've done for the company, and she gave me some advice for future job-searching.

Wednesday, January 4th: In the morning, we had a group feedback session with all of our managers, and I think they received all of our input pretty well, and that it will help make the presenters' experience even better next semester.

Because of the changed schedule, I had to talk to guests for an hour and a half at the main entrance (eww). So I grabbed a cast of a rhino horn and told people some facts about our rhinos and the differences between horns and antlers. The morning got a little better when I saw the attractive Puerto Rican dad from Sunday. He thanked me again for helping him out, and then I told his family about my prop and told them to have a great day.

That night, Sonia, Cassie, Alyssa, and I had our last dinner together at Boma, a fancy restaurant at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Most of the food there is African cuisine, or at least has a little African flare to it. It was all absolutely delicious, and the night was a fun last outing with my roomies that I've become such great friends with. I'm gonna miss them and their crazy antics SO much!!!

Thursday, January 5th: The time has come. Today was my last day as a Conservation Education Presenter at Disney's Animal Kingdom. The journey was over after almost seven months.

We had a lovely breakfast and party waiting for us when we arrived today. Core Team had put together a slideshow with pictures of us interacting with guests, and it had inspirational quotes and messages that made me tear up a little. We even had a graduation ceremony where we received a "yearbook", a group picture, a certificate, and our Mickey graduation ears, complete with tassel. Then we all signed each other's yearbooks and headed out for our final work day.

While I was at the main entrance, I swear I saw Dr. Powell, a geology professor at Juniata. He was too far away to go talk to him, though. I'm about 90% sure it was him. Anyway, later on when I was at the otter exhibit, I almost cried. I guess it hit me that my time at Disney was almost over and that I wouldn't get to talk about these animals anymore. To my delight, I was able to watch one more training session with them. Afterward, the two sibling otters chased each other and rolled around in the dirt. It was incredibly adorable.

When I was in Africa, a woman noticed my Juniata name tag, and asked, "Did you take any math classes at Juniata?" I said yes and wondered why she was asking. She then asked if I knew Kim Roth (I  knew of her, but I'd never met her), because they had gone to college together! Small world! Love those JC connections.

At 5:00, Katrina, Emily, and I closed the Asia KDC one last time and walked back to the CCC. Now it was time for goodbyes. We all exchanged hugs and final words with each other and with Core Team. I was crying the entire time we all walked to the parking lot. It was all surreal that the internship was over already. Absolutely crazy.

Our KDC sign in Africa, where you can track a rhino!

That night, Cassie, Sonia, Hulbie, Nicole, and I went to Dave and Buster's for some appetizers and fun games. Because Hulbie, Nicole, and Cassie chose to go home after that, I had to say goodbye to Hulbie and Nicole. That was difficult because we all became so close while we were here. Sonia and I then drove to the Ale House to get some dessert with most of the other presenters. When we left, it was goodbye for real.

Friday, January 6th: Since i had to run a ton of errands, I woke up super early. I went to the post office, Downtown Disney for some final shopping, and Epcot. There was almost no one in the park, so I was able to meet Mulan, Belle, Marie (from the Aristocats), Snow White, Alice, and Mary Poppins. In total, I have met 57 characters during my internship! EPIC.

I then went to DAK so I could take one last tour before I left. Mostly, I wanted to say goodbye to all of my favorite animals and take pictures so I could remember where I worked every day. When I was finished, I returned my Disney ID to the CCC, and then walked out of Animal Kingdom one last time. I had a wild time, thanks for the memories. Dig ya later! Also, here are some of the critters I talked about on a daily basis (plus a final shot of The Mouse and I)...

Reeve's Muntjac, Babirusa

Military Macaw, Giant Anteater

Cotton Top Tamarin, Asian Small-Clawed Otter

White-Cheeked Gibbons, Safari Mickey and I

Now I had the daunting task of packing my car and cleaning out the apartment! There was actually room to spare in my Nissan when I was done! However, I still had a lot of food left in the fridge and freezer, so I stuffed half of it in my mouth so it wouldn't all go to waste.

Saturday, January 7th: At promptly 10:15, our resident director came to check the apartment and kick us out. We weren't exactly finished cleaning, so we had to just grab everything and go. Sonia and I said goodbye, and then drove out of Cumberland. I MISS YOU, ROOMIE!! The funny thing was that our cars passed each other going down International Drive, but then I turned off and we went our separate ways.

I got to Sanford at the Auto Train station (a double decker train that you can take your car on!) around 11:30 to sign in and get my boarding pass. Because I was really early, I took the courtesy shuttle to downtown Sanford for a few hours. It's a cute little town; there are a bunch of little cafes and art galleries and whatnot. I roamed around the farmer's market, sipped on a pineapple-orange smoothie, and enjoyed the lovely sun and breeze that was passing through. At 2:00, the driver came back to get us, and took us back to the station. I boarded the train (I was on the top level!!), and we left around 3:00. The trip was about 17 hours, so after a nice dinner that was included, I watched a few episodes of Dexter and tried to get some sleep.

Sunday, January 8th: We arrived in Lorton, Virginia around 9:45, and my brother, sister-in-law, and my two nieces were waiting for me! It took quite a while for all of the cars to be unloaded, but when mine came out, we drove to Jonathan and Staci's house where I'd be staying overnight.

These are the trains that all the cars came out of. It was kind of cool to see them all drive out!

The Steelers vs. Broncos wild card game was tonight, and it was awful. Oh well, it was still a good season for the Stillers. The only thing that made the hurt go away was the SNL skit about Tebow. Freaking hi-larious! I hope you've seen it, because it's a gem, but it's been removed from Youtube.

Monday, January 9th: I got an early start today, and made it back to Pittsburgh before noon! Although I wasn't a fan of the cold weather, I was glad to finally be home!
~~~

So this is the end of my blog, and I hope y'all have enjoyed reading about my adventures as a Conservation Education Presenter at Animal Kingdom. It was such an unforgettable seven months. I worked with 19 fantastic people (and great managers, too), many of whom I'd consider to be really good friends. Even though we all went through our ups and downs, I feel really grateful to have had this opportunity. It's one I'll never forget. No, really, I never will. I see Disney commercials and references to my job every single day, and I miss it A LOT. So thanks to everyone who made this experience "magical". 

To my fellow presenters, we touched the lives of over 1,070,435 guests during our journey. Even though we may not have given out a conservation message to everyone we saw, we made a huge impact on a lot of families, and on conservation. I'm proud of all of us, and I hope I'll get to see you guys again real soon!!

"If we can help young people keep alive their sense of curiosity, their joy of discovery, and their hope for the future, then we really can help make the world a better place."--Jane Goodall

Rafiki Ya Wanyama

Hi all! As promised, I have an update on my last few days of training. Also, if you want to know what the heck the title of this entry means, it's Swahili for "Friend of the animals." The kids who complete all 6 of our KDCs earn a "Rafiki ya wanyama" stamp in addition to an activity book. I love this phrase, especially because it reminds me of The Lion King.

So Thursday the 30th was a day off for the presenters. A computer repair man came to my apartment to fix the right click button on my laptop touchpad and replace the framing around my screen, but Dell hadn't sent the palm rest that was necessary to fix the button. (They later called to say that they don't have any in stock and may not for a while) Thanks, Dell. I appreciate your help. I'm glad you realize how hard it is to function without a right click button. 

Anyway, after he left, Sonia and I went to Magic Kingdom for the first time since we've been here. Unfortunately, the second we boarded the monorail, the clouds opened up and a torrential downpour started. While we waited for the rain to stop, we talked to a CP (college program) student from Harrisburg that goes to Penn State. I love meeting fellow Pennsylvanians! Unfortunately, within 2 minutes of getting off the monorail, we had been walking in water up to our ankles. We ran for cover inside Monsters Inc Laugh Floor, and it was so COOL! It was an impromptu comedy show with the monsters from the movie, and it was hilarious!!! After riding a bunch of rides, we saw the "Move it! Shake it! Celebrate it!" parade, and then headed out. Our GPS got us super lost while on a quest for food, so I was very happy when we finally got home.

Friday, July 1st was a relatively uneventful day. We had more classroom training, and learned about some of the mammals and birds in our collection. Then we went through a presentation about biodiversity and the different kingdoms (basically a review from every college class I've ever taken). On an unrelated note, when I got home, I found out that Jagr and Talbot had chosen to sign with the Flyers over the Penguins. Let's just say I was not a happy camper. Of all the teams, did they have to pick Philly? Oh well, at least they got the money they wanted.

On Saturday the 2nd, we took a more thorough tour of DAK in small groups. That day, a light bulb went off in my head, and I finally started to remember a good bit of info about the KDCs and animal exhibits. After a fun day at work, a bunch of my friends and I went to the pool at Cumberland. It was definitely good to cool down and just relax.

Sunday the 3rd was another day off, so Sonia and I went back to the costuming building to get a few different sizes of costumes (my shorts could have fit another person in them). Then we went to the Animal Kingdom Lodge to explore. It is a really neat resort with savannah animals right outside the rooms! We went to Chipotle for lunch (I haven't had so much rice and beans since the Galap!) and then went home so I could nap. We, along with Cassie, decided to go see the Independence Day fireworks at Magic Kingdom. The sun was just setting as we arrived to the park on the ferry, and it was soo pretty! It was an absolute mad house when we got there. I felt like we were all sardines, stationed in front of Cinderella's Castle. The show was awesome, and I'm glad we went that night instead of the actual 4th of July when it would be even more chaotic.

Our last day of classroom training was on Monday! In the morning, we completed a sort of scavenger hunt slash way-finding activity. My group didn't finish everything, but it kind of helped us get more oriented within DAK. The highlight of my day was definitely the Flights of Wonder bird show in Asia. IT WAS EPIC. They had an Abyssinian Groud Hornbill, Bald Eagle, Eurasian Eagle Owl, Red Legged Seriema, Gray Crowned Crane, Harris Hawk, Toucans, and Macaws, among others. When I go to the show as a Guest, I'm going to try and volunteer so I can sit onstage and take a video of the hornbill flying right at me. I was so jealous of the Guests that got to do that!

After lunch, we did a role-playing activity and then took our assessment to make sure we knew the information from our training manual. I'm hoping this is the last test I ever have to take, because it made me feel like I was back in college again! Next came a tour of Conservation Station. We saw a Tawny Owl presentation, looked into research windows, heard rainforest sounds, and saw Rafiki, Jiminy Cricket, and a very pale Pocahontas. We then reviewed our test (I did better that I'd expected), and left work early!

That night, Sonia, Cassie, Alyssa, and I went to Epcot for the real 4th fireworks. They were probably some of the best ones I've ever seen. Half of my pictures look like the sky is on fire because they were so bright and filled the air with a lot of smoke. Probably one of the cooler parts was when we saw fireworks from Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios in the distance. So we saw them from three different parks in one night! Pretty neat, I'd say.

One more thing that I've been thinking about...Every time I go on an attraction at Disney, I look at all the details in the artwork and architecture, and see the themes that they create to help the Guests immerse themselves in their own imagination. I've decided that one of my dreams is to be an Imagineer. I'd get to help make Walt's visions come true by designing exhibits, rides, and shows to keep the Disney magic alive. I think that would seriously be the coolest job ever.

"They say if you dream a thing more than once, it's sure to come true."--Briar Rose, Sleeping Beauty