The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Back in October, Christina and her coworker Amy,Matt,and I got a year ticket to Universal. We were able to show mail sent to our Vista Way address and get the FL resident discounted price. This is the first time that I went to Universal so I was pretty excited. We started our day at Universal Studios. The Mummy roller coaster was really unique. I didn't expect the fire inside which helped with the effect. I definitely recommend this. We went on a few more rides including Men in Black. We also saw a monster song and dance show which was well done. The San Francisco harbor front area was really pretty. Overall though I felt that the streets of the park were lacking in show compared to Disney World. It felt rather weird in a way NOT being Disney. Same goes for the employees. They were not as welcoming as my fellow cast members. Before leaving we met Dr. Brown from Back to the Future and he was just as crazy as the movie. 

Next we headed over to Islands of Adventure. The entrance area was really cool with an exotic travel feel. We quickly made our way to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter which was the highlight of the day. Our whole way there we were freaking out over the view of Hogwarts castle. After growing up with Harry Potter it was a dream come true to have the world of my favorite series come to life. We walked down the cobblestone street of Hogsmeade looking at each of the shop window displays. 

Zonko's was  a crowded little store full of tricks, joke toys, pygmy puffs, and the like. 

Honeydukes was very colorful inside filled with all sorts of wizard treats: chocolate frogs, lemon drops, Bertie Botts, candy quills, and many more. The Three Broomsticks had a cozy tavern feel inside. You could definitely understand why Harry and his friends would flock there during the winter.  
The other shops such selling wands, robes, books, and other merchandise were just as great. There was even a mandrake in one of the windows.

Our visit to Hogsmeade would not be complete without getting a mug of Butterbeer from one of the large red barrel carts. This comes in two varieties, regular and frozen, and comes with a type of butterscotch whipped cream on top. The frozen one was very delicious! They also sold Pumpkin juice which I plan on trying another visit.

Walking up to Hogwarts castle was unreal. The detail put into it was incredible. Unfortunately the ride was broken down and most likely would be for the rest of the day. Thankfully they let us walk through the fast past portion of the queue. The rounded staircase full of talking photos on the wall felt straight from the books. Next, we passed through a room with Dumbledore talking about a new Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher, and then a room with Harry, Ron, and Hermione talking about their plan to sneak us out of the castle to the quidditch pitch so we don't have to sit through the boring lecture. I definitely planned on coming back to experience the ride. Instead we rode the little Hippogryph roller coaster through the grounds of Hagrid's hut. 

Spending the afternoon at Hogsmeade was absolutely incredible!

Gaston's Tavern

In mid October I met with my friend Ciana and some of her work friends for a visit to New Fantasyland during it's soft opening. The Dream Builders' walls were down and we were able to walk through the new castle walls. It was evening so everything was lit up with  a gentle candle light glow. The new land is the "forest" and full of greenery and land forms such as a waterfall by Beast's castle. 

We sat at the large circular table in a nook of Gaston's Tavern. The place was small and full of antlers all over the wall. At the counters you can order "lefou's brew" a frozen apple juice drink and snacks such as cinnamon rolls. They both looked really good. Afterwards, we poked around "Village Gifts" which is more of an upper scale boutique of Beauty and the Beast inspired items. 

Then we went on Voyage of the Little Mermaid. In my opinion, the most incredible part is the queue where you wrap around Prince Eric's castle, past a waterfall, over a little river, and into the grotto. The ride itself was pretty decent. The paint was so vibrant and new feeling. I liked riding in a clam shell going through the scenes represented by the major songs in the movie. Although it isn't in my top Disney attractions, it is definitely well done and worth a visit. One thing disappointing is that people come to the Finding Nemo ride saying that our clam shells are just like the Little Mermaid's. We were first! And our shells are better in my opinion because we have a door that closes you in verses a lap bar. 

Before leaving we went to the Enchanted Tales with Belle which again was very well done. 

We watched Wishes from the forest area and then rode Space Mountain and was able to see some of the Electrical Parade. 

I'm definitely looking forward to seeing New Fantasyland during the day time!

Guest Service Fanatic!

Back in October I got my 1st Guest Service Fanatic Card! Managers and other cast members can fill these out for exceptional demonstration of one or more of the Four Keys: safety, show, courtesy, efficiency  You can rip off the top sheet to put into a prize drawing and have it filed to your permanent record. I was outside at greeter interacting with the kids and handing out Mickey stickers. One of my managers came by and saw how special and happy I was making them feel. Being outside at greeter is one of my favorite positions because of all the positive guest interactions I can have. :)

Blizzard Beach

On October 13th, Christina had off and I didn't start till 4:30pm so we spent the late morning/afternoon at Blizzard Beach! Christina had never been and I only went when I was younger so most of the water slides were new for us. We got to visit Colleen operating the River Rapids which was probably my favorite slide. I also really liked the wave pool. We got to float around on inner tubes while waves sloshed us back and forth. It was a gorgeous day and needless to say I did not want to spend the evening at work. 

Grim Grinning Ghosts Come Out to Socialize

Last Friday, October 12th, Christina, Kacie, and I all had off so we joined Christina's co-worker Amy to watch Pitch Perfect. We've been wanting to see this movie since the previews were out months ago.  The AMC theatre at Downtown Disney has a cast discount and I was able to use my family's movie rewards card. For those of you who don't know, Pitch Perfect centers around a collegiate glee club competition. The movie is much more than just singing and dancing, which by the way was phenomenal. The character development was excellent as well as the acting. This was definitely one of the best films I've seen in a long time! I highly recommend it. My friends and I left the theater with a music high and were singing songs from the film while strolling around Downtown Disney, feeling like a girl glee club group. 

Our friend Ellen joined us after the movie and we planned to go on Characters in Flight, the hot air balloon at Downtown Disney which just reopened. Unfortunately, it was too "windy." Coming from Chicago, it seemed a bit pathetic for them to be calling it a windy day when there was only a small breeze off an on. But, safety first so no hot air balloon for us. I often see the bright red and yellow balloon floating in the air and get jealous of the spectacular view one must have from there. 

Speaking of wind, the weather here in Florida is very weird. It's still incredibly warm. It was in the high 80s today and very sunny. It still feels so much like summer that it's hard to believe it's the end of October already. However, I can tell that Florida's "fall" is coming because the evenings and mornings have a slight chill to them which is refreshing after working outside in the hot sun wearing my costume. I do miss the Midwest fall with beautiful leaves in shades of reds, oranges, and yellows and walking along paths of dried up leaves crinkling under my feet. I miss going to the apple orchard for cider and donuts and taking a hay ride at the pumpkin patch. Although the Magic Kingdom is full of fall decorations, Epcot sadly doesn't have any. From August until about the end of September it would rain every day (seriously, I could count on one hand the number of days it did not rain) for about an hour, usually sometime between 3pm and 5pm. Unlike Chicago when it would be rainy and gloomy all day long, it would be beautiful outside then the rain clouds would roll in, downpour, and then back to sunshine. Being hurricane season, we did have several hours of downpour  one day while the hurricane passed over Florida to the Gulf Coast. Thankfully, the rain has let up considerably in October. 

Back to our day at Downtown Disney. The five of us strolled around going in and out of shops (World of Disney, Ghiradeli, TrenD) and took pictures with the Mickey shaped pumpkin decorations. Of course we took a group picture with the "everyone smile!" dragon. We decided to get some food at Earl of Sandwich, known for their delicious hot sandwiches. I tried their famous fresh lemonade. 

That evening, Christina, Colleen, and I went to the Polynesian resort to watch Hallowishes from the beach. We walked in through the front door and were given leis after we performed a little hula dance. 















Then we got a dole whip to eat while sitting with our feet in the sand. Watching Wishes from the Polynesian was a must do on my bucket list and this was really special because since Mickey's not-so Scary Halloween Party was going on that night, we got to see the Halloween version of the show. The soundtrack is played from speakers around the beach so we were able to watch the fireworks in tune to the villain inspired music. The finale was incredible because many big bright fireworks were set off on both sides of the castle, lighting up the lagoon. 









Spectacular evening to a fun filled day!

Didn't Make Sense Not to Live for Fun!

"Didn't make sense not to live for fun" - one of my favorite lyrics by Smash Mouth and how I try to live my life. This definitely holds true for the College Program. There's so much to do and see at Walt Disney World that my friends and I have adventures every week. I also love my job and have fun at work. Being honest, there are some rough guest situations, tiring positions, and the lovely polyester pants in 90 degrees heat with the sun beating down. However, the smiles and hugs from children when you compliment them on their princess dresses or Disney attire and hand them the cherished Mickey Mouse sticker, the happiness from guests when you trade them a pin they were so excited to have, the genuine thank yous from guests when you help them out, the signs of appreciation from guests - "thank you for working late for us tonight" said a man at 11:30pm during Extra Magic hours, the friends I work with and the laughs we share at work all more than make up for the "bad" if you can even call it that. I am so fortunate to have a totally awesome job. My life outside of work is pretty spectacular too :)

Last Thursday, October 11th, Colleen, Laura, and I went to see Smash Mouth perform at the Eat to the Beat concert series. We stood in line so had excellent seats, but stood during most of the concert. The live music was outstanding and reminded me of listening to them during Junior High. Just before they performed "Walking on the Sun" they called for ladies to come up to the stage. So my friends and I got to dance feet away from the band while Steve Harwell sang in front. "All Star" ended off the set with the whole crowd singing along. 

I'll leave you with this: "so what's wrong with taking the back streets - You'll never know if you don't go"

The Kitchen Sink

Last Saturday was Faith's last day of work at the Seas before moving to merchandise so we celebrated by getting a group of us "cool kids" together and digging into a kitchen sink at Beaches and Cream, a themed ice cream parlor and diner at Disney's Beach Club. 

We were all starving by the time we got a table so we started off by ordering some food. Their sandwiches are delicious and definitely ask for a pickle because it has sort of a spicy zest to it. 

Instead of writing about the amazing monstrosity called the Kitchen Sink, here's a video. Enjoy!

We ended the evening by hanging out at Vista with more Seas friends who were stuck closing at work. Fun night!