24th Dec – 24th Jan

Ok. Sorry for lack of update for a whole month. I did warn you it could be a while, but its been longer than I expected. I really have been so busy the last few weeks!!! I’m taking the day off today to just catch up!!!

Anyway… Errm… I’ll go through what I can remember… Cos after all this time there are gaps!!!

Christmas day I went to Magic Kingdom. I had to get up ludicrously early as the rumours were that the park was going to reach capacity by 9:30am. It paid off as apparently at almost 9:30 sharp the gates closed, and friends who took busses to work and parks etc. say how signs were directing people to Epcot instead of MK as it was closed. It actually didn’t seem that crowded. The weather may have helped there though… There were some very heavy showers and a lot of people left, apparently the park re-opened after the rain and remained open the rest of the day as so many left. I stayed in the park til 10, I watched Spectromagic and Holiday Wishes – Spirit of the Season. Was such an amazing atmosphere in the park that day, everyone seemed so happy, CMs and Guests. Really enjoyed it

Late on Christmas Day my friend Lee from the UK arrived. On boxing day we spend the day together in the parks. Turned out it would be the only day we spent together cos of my Schedule. We did Magic Kingdom first, followed by MGM, then Epcot. We had a meal in the Rose and Crown, which I enjoyed. Had the Vegetable Selection which is actually a really nice vegetarian dish Was nice spending the day with Lee, not sure when I’ll get to see him again seeing as when I get back to the UK he’ll probably be getting ready to head off to New Zealand to live!!!

My parents arrived on the 30th Jan, but I was working then til New Years day. I met them the morning of 31st of Dec, then we had breakfast before I maingated them into Animal Kingdom then headed to work… Well I worked new years eve… Wow what a night I was scheduled to work 11:45 – 20:15, but I asked all the managers to extend me. Most people thought I was crazy, but I have 1 year here, 1 opportunity to work new years eve, I can come back as a guest any time!!! So anyway, I got extended, with no specific time to go. I ended up practically as a bouncer! I was stood at one of the doors of the pub. We had a 1 way system going! I had to make sure no-one went in the exit. It got a bit slow at times, but at 7pm, midnight in the UK, the crowds went wild in the streets… Was so much fun At midnight I got to go and watch the fireworks! They were better than the cast preview a few weeks before. It was probably the atmosphere that made them better but it was soooo great!!! I then stayed at work til 1:45 helping clean and close everything down before going home. 14hr Shift! Woohoo! I was also in work at 11 the following day!

New years day I was working 11-6. Was so quiet after the night before. I took an ER at 5. I then went and met my parents. We went around Downtown Disney and then had a really nice meal at house of blues. Was so nice to finally spend some time with them.

The following day I had to stay in to wait for a package from UPS, so I waited for the package. To cut a long story short UPS screwed up and it never turned up so we had to pick it up. Anyway once I established it wasn’t going to show I headed over to Seaworld where my parents were to meet them there! Seaworld was quite busy, but it was also peeing it down with rain! We watched Believe that day, and had a meal in the Hospitality suite! After we went for a meal, though I don’t recall where.. Possibly Denny’s.

Following day we went to Disney Parks. We started in magic Kingdom though I don’t recall exactly what we did. We enjoyed the day though, and went to Kona Cafe in the Polynesian for lunch where I had Stir Fried Vegetable Noodles, was really good!!!

 On the 4th Jan we headed over to Port Canaveral to board the Disney Wonder for our 3 night Bahamian cruise. I was looking forward to the cruise but I didn’t know that I would enjoy it as much as I did Right from Boarding to Disembarkation I think the Disney Cruise Line is the most magical experience i’ve ever had! We arrived shortly after 12 I believe to Port Canaveral. We checked in which was so easy as we had completed all of our forms online! Mum and I then posed for photos with Minnie before our group was called and we boarded the ship about 1pm. We explored the ship a little before being able to enter our Cabin at 1:30pm (or might have been 2:30). The cabin was so nice, we got a deluxe outside cabin which meant our cabin had a window so we could see out to sea After going to the Cabin we went to the Beach Blanket buffet and ate our first on board meal there! The food was soo good!!!

After eating we looked around the ship then headed back to the cabin for a bit before we did the emergency drill, then we went to deck 10 for the Sail Away Party. The Sail Away Party was a lot of fun, theres pictures of it on my photo site, lots of characters and music and dancing! At 5 the ships horn went (It plays When you wish upon a star!!!) and we set sail Apparently all the land side crew came out and waved us off wearing Mickey hands but I missed that

After the Sail-Away party, we went and got ready to go to Hercules the Muse-Ical at 6:15pm in the Walt Disney Theatre. We got to the theatre and were ready for the show. It was really good, i’ve only seen Hercules the movie once, but the show was really fun! It was a comical interpretation of the movie I guess would be the best description.

After Hercules we went back to the Stateroom to get ready for our meal at Palos. I was really looking forward to the meal, but at the same time was a little dissapointed we were missing our meal at Animators Pallette to go there. The service at Palo’s was so attentive, and the quality of the food was amazing. I had a Soup for Appetizer, followed by a pasta dish at the Entree, and for dessert I had a freshly baked chocolate souffle, it was filled with cream and chocolate sauce, it was amazing. They also brought out a second dessert, I had a hard job choosing between the Tiramisu and the Souffle, so guess what… Our server brought out the Tiramisu as well. It was a delicious Tiramisu, it came out in a cylindrical shape and was held together by being wrapped in chocolate, not sure how they did that but it tasted amazing! Probably the best dining experience of my life in here

After Palo we headed back to our Stateroom to find the first of our Towel Animals (see photo site and it will be more clear!)

The next morning we arrived in Nassau. We had one shore excursion booked here, we were going on a glass bottom boat tour, so we headed to the meeting point and were taken to our boat. It was a really nice trip, lasted a couple hours and the reef was quite cool, not as colourful as I had expected but we saw lots of fish and was nice to sail around the harbour. Theres some photos from the boat and what we could see from the glass bottom on my photo site.

We weren’t too fussed about hanging around in Nassau, we wouldn’t get to see much anyway with the time we had, so we headed back on board after having a quick look around the shops after we finished the boat ride. Once back on board we went for some lunch at Beach Blanket Buffet (again very good). Don’t recall what we did in the afternoon between lunch and Golden Mickey’s but I am sure it was fun At 6:15 we went to the show in the Walt Disney Theatre ‘Golden Mickeys’ This turned out to be my favourite show of the cruise. It’s like an award show, and songs and scenes from Disney Movies would be acted out and then awarded a Golden Mickey. It was a very impressive show that I thoroughly enjoyed!!!

After Golden Mickeys we went and got ready for Dinner in Parrot Cay. This was a really nice themed restaurant. Reminded me some what of the Tiki Room actually. This was the first meal we had with our actual dining team who would serve us for the duration of our voyage. I remember enjoying it but don’t recall what I had… Sorry LOL! After dinner we had a Pirates IN the Caribbean Party on deck’s 9 & 10. That was a lot of fun! Afterwards they played Pirates of the Caribbean on the large LCD screen on Deck 10, so I sat on a lounger with a hot chocolate and watched that Where else can you watch Pirates of the Caribbean in the Caribbean???

The next morning it was the day at Castaway Cay. We disembarked straight after breakfast (which we had at Beach Blanket Buffet with a gorgeous view of Castaway Cay) and then me and mum had a bunch of character photos taken! We then headed to the Cycle Rental location (via the Shops). Me and mum had booked bike rentals for 1hr, we got to ride a few miles around Castaway Cay around the cycle paths, we went to some nice areas and took some nice photos, we found the observation tower and took some photos all around castaway cay, was very nice. We then headed back and returned our bikes in time for our scheduled Swimming with Stingrays.

We got to swim and feed stingrays at Castaway Rays, it was a really nice experience. We got snorkeling equipment and got to watch them under water, what fun After this we got to rent snorkelling equipment and some floating devices for in the sea. Was a really relaxing afternoon before heading back onto the ship. Castaway Cay really is an island paradise, I did not want to leave at all Again lots of photos on my site!!!

Tonight we go to see the show Disney Dreams in the Walt Disney Theatre. Its a really nice show about a girl who has to discover the power of her dreams. The host is Peter Pan There were lots of classic Disney movie scenes acted here, lots of singing. The show was really good, and the ending is absolutely fabulous. At the end Tinkerbell enchants the Disney Wonder and you see a video of the ship outside all glittering with stars, and then inside the theatre the whole theatre lights up with stars all over the ceiling and walls. A VERY magical moment! A very good show!!!

After the show we headed for our last dinner at Tritons. The restaurant is really nicely themed with a large mosaic of King Triton from the little mermaid. The meal was fabulous and at the end of the meal all the restaurant staff came out with flags from their own country and paraded around the restaurant to It’s a Small World! It was a very nice moment. I really enjoyed the whole dining experience on board!

After we ate we went to “‘Til we meet again” which was a farewell from all the Disney characters. Was quite emotional when they all waved everyone goodbye Kinda seemed to mark the end of the cruise! Stitch didn’t want to go at the end and was causing his usual level of trouble before he got sent to bed!

We then wondered around the ship a little bit before heading back to the stateroom. We had to get up early to present ourselves to immigration at 5:45 in the morning so the ship could clear immigration. We went to Immigration and once that was cleared we went upstairs to watch the sunrise before going back to the stateroom for a while before it was time for breakfast! We had breakfast in Triton’s. Breakfast was a bit quiet. Got to say goodbye to our servers and enjoyed our last meal here. Seemed like quite a sad time, but got to reflect on the great times we had. After breakfast we went up on deck and took a few last photos before disembarking We picked up our luggage that had been collected the night before and then headed back to the car and headed back towards Orlando

When we got to Orlando we decided to do the Disney Parks that day. Turned out it was the last day of the WDW Marathon. We started at Epcot and it was quite busy, we park hopped though, just don’t remember where too… We ended up at MGM and watched Fantasmic! and then watched the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights.

The following day, the 8th, we weren’t sure what to do. We headed towards Kissimme and decided to go on an airboat tour. We went on an airboat tour of Lake Toho, this was cool and we got to see some real gators, check my photos and you’ll see. We then went and grabbed some lunch at Pizza hut. After this we went and did some shopping at the Orlando Premium Outlets and then we went to Walmart and did shopping there. We then went to Downtown Disney and had a meal at Rainforest Cafe.

The next day, we went to Sea World, had quite a leisurely day! We fed the Stingrays and the Dolphins, we also went to Backstage at Believe, where you get to Dine backstage in the training area where they hold the whales. It was quite nice, got some nice close up shots of the whales. Great experience. We then went and watched the show.

On the 10th and 11th I worked but in the evenings I went out and one night we ate at Golden Corral, the other we went to Bongo’s Cuban Cafe in Downtown Disney. I would highly recommend against the latter….. Some of the blandest food i’ve ever eaten! On the 12th, the Friday I was supposed to work, but got an ADO at work. Instead of Working we went for Breakfast at Golden Corral and then went to Blizzard Beach water park. Mum and I really enjoyed the day here, it was the first time I had been. I actually managed to convince myself to go on Summit Plummit… I dropped at a speed of 66mph.. Craziness!!! Afterwards we went and had a evening meal at Whispering Canyon in the Polynesian Resort… It was a very interesting experience, and we thoroughly enjoyed the meal there

The following day was the day my parents left. We went for breakfast and then they dropped me off at Cast Services at work I won’t see them again now til September when I return home

On the Sunday Ona and I had a Disney Dorks day at Magic Kingdom. We went with lots of Disney Clothing on and Mouse Ears, and we were pin trading and I took my Pal Mickey to the park. Was fun, it was the day before Martin Luther King Jr. Day which we didn’t actually realise, so the park was busy…. but we had a good time

The following day I rented a car. Ona, Andrew and I all went over to the Kennedy Space Center for the day! Really enjoyed the day, though as we didn’t arrive til late we didn’t actually get to do a lot, we looked around, did one of the Imax Shows and did most of the site tour, we missed the International Space Station. Andrew and I upgraded our tickets to Annual Passes for $12 so we’ll be going back again to do the rest. That Night Andrew, Jenna, Natalie, Di and I went to TGIs for a meal. Little did I know how different TGIs would be to its UK counterpart, there was not a single item on the menu that was vegetarian. I told the server I was vegetarian and he said all there was was salad. I ended up getting 2 starters that cost more than the others 3 course meal. I was a little disgruntled, especially after telling the server I was vegetarian and getting potato skins coated in bacon. The service was shocking, and to top it all off at the end there was a huge debate as to how much to tip the server. Quite frankly if service is bad I don’t see why you should tip. Over here they tip the same for Good and Bad service! It’s pointless cos then that just lets the bad service carry on cos they can get away with it. Me and Andrew would have been quite happy leaving without tipping, but the girls were saying how much their room mates come home with every night and how much they are tipped per table… personally I think thats irrelevant, especially when the service is totally crap!!! Anyway… Rant over!!!

The next day Laura, Andrew and I went on a mini road trip. First off we went and ran a few errands, then we went to Celebration and looked around the town there. It’s a nice town, very idealic yet quite unusual at the same time. See the photos I took. We then headed to where we planned to visit… St. Augustine. Its a town kinda in the North East of Florida. We stopped off at a Denny’s on the I-4 on the way, that was a nice meal! Didn’t mind tipping there LOL Good ole Denny’s! We didn’t actually get to St. Augustine til about 4:30 and only stopped there for just over an hour and a half. We enjoyed the road trip though, and the town was nice, we got some nice Ice Cream there! Again theres a few photos on my site. There were lots of little shops there that kind of reminded me of the posh little shops you get down Arcades in London or cities like Bath, quite nice!

On the way back Andrew and Laura wanted Dunkin’ Donuts, so stopped there for them. We got home and then I grabbed a Pizza to eat. The next morning I had to get up early to return the car Back to no wheels!

The next 8 days which brings me to now I was working Solid. I’ve now got 6 days off in a row. Tomorrow I am going to a Old Peoples Home to talk to them about the UK and on Saturday Patrick arrives from California so I’ll be showing him around Walt Disney World with the time off I have!

On Tuesday just gone I had a walking tour of Main Street USA which was a Cast tour that I booked. Was very interesting, got a lot of Info about Main Street. Some of it I knew, some of it I didn’t but it was a fun experience. I also had to go into the Utilidors under the magic kingdom to get to the tour, that was an interesting experience. I had an image in my head as to what they would be like, and they were nothing like that. It was very interesting to see them properly.

I think thats about it for now. Hope you managed to read this far, sorry…. it’s such a huge update Hopefully more regular from now on.

3rd Dec – 23rd Dec

Ok, to be honest I really can’t remember what i’ve done these past few weeks! I’ve been so busy with extra hours at work, that its all just been a blur! Trying to think what I’ve been getting up to to summarise!

I’ve done a few park visits, as you’d probably expect! I’ve been to MGM a couple more times and seen the Christmas lights again, also watched Fantasmic! 2 or 3 times! I’ll never get bored of F!

We had new arrivals a couple of weeks ago, including Kirsty, Chris, Blonde Beth and Steph who I met at the interviews! I’ve not seen too much of Kirsty and Blonde Beth as they are Merchies, but Chris and Steph seem to be settling in nicely. I met up with Chris and a few of the other new arrivals (Johnny, Carla and Chelsey I think) at Universal, was cool to meet them and get to know them before seeing them at work.

Last week on Wednesday there was a cast preview of the Epcot New Years Eve fireworks… All I can say is WOW! they must have been 30-35minutes long. On new years eve they will START at 11:40pm. First of all they run Illuminations: Reflections of Earth, then after each country has its own fireworks. They start with China who they tell you celebrated new year at (i think it was) 8am, then on to the european showcase countries, Italy, France, Germany and Norway celebrated at 6pm and each country has their fireworks, then at 7pm the UK and Morocco celebrated, and then we move on to Midnight…. 10..9…8…etc. and then its the Canadian, American and Mexican pavilions turns to celebrate new year in. The show was so impressive Abolutely loved it!

Last Night I went to Jo’s house after work! We had a Christmas Dinner cooked by Jo, Mike, Chris and some of Jo’s room mates. They made me a Vegetarian Canneloni which was so good Most of the guys were there who I knew before I came out, Jo, Chris and Mike of course, then Natalie, Di, James E, Hayley, Dark Beth. I hope i’ve not missed anyone out who was there.

We ate lots of food, had a few drinks and were in Jo’s appartment til about 2am. Thanks Jo it was great And to Mike and Chris and the others who helped cook the meal Was great to be with lots of my friends all together again! Hasn’t really happened much since the arrival week!

At the moment thats pretty much all I can think of, but if I think of anything else i’ll add it in bold or something!

Mum and Dad arrive on the 30th Dec, and are here til 13th Jan. Not sure what chance I will have to keep this updated whilst they are here, but we’ve got a few things planned whilst they are here. We are going on a Disney Cruise from 4th – 7th Jan, I am so excited about that, I really can’t wait to go!!! Its my Christmas present from them, seeing as it doesn’t make too much sense to bring over many gifts cos I am only going to have to get them back some how! Thanks Mum and Dad I’ll be taking lots of pictures on the cruise!

I’m off over Christmas, from 24th – 26th so I’m going to try and keep myself busy, quite a few peoples off so probably won’t be too hard! I’d like to go to a Water park if the weathers good tomorrow (just so i can say I went to a water park on Christmas day!!!) but I don’t know if anyone else wants to LOL

Anyway, I think thats about it for now! Will try and update soon

Added: 26/12/06

Not sure how I forgot to mention this, but on Tuesday 19th December I went with the College and International Programs Office (CIPO) on a trip to a local(ish) School! They take Internationals to speak to the kids about their home countries. I went to a Kindergarten Class (age about 5). I went with 4 Japanese girls and a Moroccan guy! I talked a bit about the UK, where I was from and about Christmas in the UK. Really enjoyed doing the visit, it got me outside of the Orlando Theme Park Bubble, and the CIPO Ladies took us out for a meal afterwards, so all in all it was a nice trip out! They also mentioned they going to a Retirement home on 26th Jan, so I am hoping to go to that too, possibly a little bit more organised this time now I know roughly what to expect

Will update as to what happened over Christmas soon! In mean time I have uploaded photos

26th November – 2nd December

This week has been a pretty easy going week for me, at least compared to the last few weeks!

On Sunday I worked all day in the new Beer Tent, finished at 10pm, I extended so someone else could get an ER(Early Release -Aren’t I nice? :p) Afterwards Jo managed to convince me to come to Bennigans, I had a few drinks and something to eat, stayed til close at 2am and then got a taxi back to the commons with everyone else. Nice for a change Lots of UK peeps there

On Monday I got an ER and finished at 4:30pm which was nice, I met up with Ona in the evening, we went to Downtown Disney, wondered round Team Disney for ages trying to find the Vista ATM for Ona and then went to Ghiradelli’s for an Ice Cream Sundae which was sooooooooooo good We then went to the Adventurers Club in PI. I had no idea what to expect of this place, but I was actually quite impressed, its certainly not a night club style club, but something very different! Went to the Hoopla at midnight which is a crazy little show but quite fun! I could even see me taking my parents there when they visit! I dont think I could say that about any of the other PI clubs. It kinda reminded me of the Alton Towers Hotel inside, but themed MUCH more intensely! Then went over to 8Trax for a bit before heading back to the Commons for a little sleep!

Tuesday wasn’t overly exciting, except we closed the beer tent at 8:15pm due to rain, and I was ERd at 8:45pm. Whats with the ERs this week?

On Wednesday morning Jo and I went to Walmart and we sorted out our Suntrust tax forms and did a wee bit of shopping! Took a few hours to take it easy, and then headed over to MGM at 5:45 to watch the 7pm Fantasmic! After F! we went to see the Osborne Family Dancing Christmas Lights in the Streets of America in MGM, we then wandered over to Epcot via the Boardwalk to see Holiday Illuminations as Jo hadn’t seen them properly yet. Really enjoyed them as usual! Jo loved them too!

Thursday was an exciting day for me, I got to do the Epcot Treelighting Ceremony, this is the ceremony that is performed daily at 6pm to… well you guessed it, light the Christmas tree. At 5pm I left work and headed towards the International programs trailer where we had to meet, We received some brief safety and training, and then at about 5:45 we were paired with our Characters (I was with Dale (As in Chip and Dale) and headed onto the Character Bus. We were taken around to the Mexico gate where we waited til about 6pm when we went on Stage, we got to wave at all the guests with the characters, much fun. We then went on Stage with our characters  and stood in our spots, singing along to the songs that we knew that were played, as well as clapping and cheering and interacting with the characters. At the end we have to use our hearts to light up the Christmas Tree (Awww….) and the Lights of Winter (see photos) all light up slowly towards the Christmas tree, and at the end all the lights on the tree go on, and we got to stand in amazement looking at the tree, its a really nice little ceremony, and theres a photo of me taking part on my photo site.  After the tree is lit we leave the stage back onto the bus with our characters, and back off stage. I really enjoyed it and hope to be scheduled again!

Friday was a pretty average day at work, on the beer tent, it actually went a bit slow. Friday night I went over to the mall with Laura where we wondered around looking in shops for a while, when we decided we were hungry! We checked the food outlets but weren’t too excited, so wandered to McD, but they don’t do veggie burgers (as expected) so tried to get to the Pizza Hut you can see from the commons, but its only for residents of the Hilton Timeshare Resort, so they wouldn’t let us in, so we walked over to Publix, which was closed, but we saw the Walmart bus arrive, so randomly jumped on that. We went and bought some food to eat from Walmart, I bought a French Baguette and some baby bel to eat with it (Yum!!) and Laura bought Oreo Cookies. We then went outside and ate then took the bus back to Commons, very exciting

Today, this morning I went to Golden Corral for breakfast with Ona, it was an amazing spread for breakfast, they have so much. They make Waffles, Eggs and Ommelettes to Order, and have all your usual breakfast foods as well, as well as some lunch foods like pizza, veggies, salad and they also had the desserts they have in the evenings.. All for $7, really can’t go wrong! I didn’t make too much of a pig of myself (no really, I didn’t, i’m not a big breakfast person) but it was all so good! That pretty much brings me to now,  I’m going to Epcot with Ona later, we’re getting the 3:43pm bus, and going to explore the Wonders of Life pavilion which is open this Christmas Season! And of Course to watched Holiday Illuminations again

I’ve only added a few photos but they are at http://photos.tpruk.com/021206 including the one of me lighting the tree

5th – 25th November

Ok, so i’m a little behind so this update is going to be highlights of the last 3 weeks I guess.

On 6th November I went to Epcot, it was the day after Guy Fawkes Night, and they put a special cast celebration on for us on the 6th. Backstage we had free food, and some games to play as well as a raffle. For winning a game I played against Caroline (from merch) I won a book called ‘The Magic Begins with Me’ or something to that effect, its a nice book exclusive to cast members from the 50th anniversary! After enjoying our special cast event, I went over with a few others and finally rode the new Nemo attraction, which was a nice ride with a couple of great effects. After that I went over to MK with James (and his GF Jen) and Adam (both from merch). We went on a couple of attractions and stayed to watch Wishes, and then headed back to the commons.

On 7th November I had my Appetite for Service and Intro to Wine classes that were at Disney University. They weren’t as bad as I had expected, however as I have Zero interest in going into service, I still feel it was an absolute waste of a day off!

On Sunday 12th after work I went over to MGM and met up with Jilly, James (F&B), Anneliese, Andrew and Jenna to Watch Fantasmic! and for a meal at 50s Prime Time Cafe. This was all in aid of Jilly’s last day in the country before she headed back to the UK. She’s back in March for the program I am on though. Fantasmic! was awesome as Andrew, Jenna and Anneliese arrived early and got us great centre seats. 50s prime time cafe is awesome. Was my first proper Disney Dining Experience since I arrived, and its an interesting restauring. You get told off for having your elbows on the table and for not having a clean plate at the end of you meal. Really enjoyed it, was nice to spend some time with Jilly again before she left.

On Monday 13th November after work myself and Nicola (Meg) went to Mickeys Very Merry Christmas Party. It was the first christmas party and it was a lot of fun. The parade was very good, though the music not as good as Boo to You music from the Halloween Party. The Holiday Wishes fireworks were amazing, with fireworks around the perimeter of the park. The show in Tomorrowland disappointed me a little, but the show on the castle stage was amazing, loved it! I also made a pig of myself with cookies and cocoa for free all around the park, the cookies were cinnamon ones and tasted awesome

On Tuesday 14th November I spend the day with Lee and Jo, friends from back in the UK. We spent a couple of days together. Today we went to Animal Kingdom, rode the E-Ticket attractions there, and then headed over to MGM to ride the E-Tickets there. They had an awesome time, and at the end we saw the Lights in the Streets of America switch on, they were absolutely amazing, photos are on my photo site. We then went and ate a meal at Golden Corral, which they both really enjoyed.

On Wednesday Lee and Jo picked me up from the Commons, we headed over to Busch Gardens, it was the first time that I have visited this park and we had an amazing day. I did all the coasters that were there, I absolutely loved Gwazi the woodie, and Sheikra is everything Oblivion at Alton Towers should be and more!!! Its great actually having a ride after the drop! I dont think i’ll actually want to visit Alton Towers again after this year!!! (Okay, I probably will visit, but only cos theres nothing better in the UK ) Jo and Myself also visited the hospitality suite and did the free beer tasting session and had a couple of complimentary drinks from the bar which was fun!

We left Busch Gardens at 6, and headed back to Orlando, we went and did some shopping at the Walmart near where I live before they dropped me off and they headed back to their villa.

On Thursday Lee and Jo picked me up and took me to Ponderosa for breakfast before we went to Cast Connection and Property Control so they could do some disney bargain shopping! We were there til about 10:15 when we headed over to Epcot, I signed them into the park and headed to work, started at 11:30, clocked in with only 5 minutes to spare. They enjoyed the rest of the day in Epcot and Magic Kingdom whilst I was working!

On my next day off, Sunday 19th Nov, I went over to Sea World with Andrew. We rode Kraken and Journey to Atlantis, Andrew loved Kraken, specially from the front row which we queued for. We also saw a couple of the shows, including the Shamu show again, I enjoyed it more the first time I saw it, but bought the music to the show this time. Had a great day there!

On Monday night I went to PI with Andrew and Nat, we went to 8Trax then Motion and then Beach Club, met up with all the Lasses and Lads lot at Beach Club as usual. Was a fun night

On Friday at work I had my Culinary Day, this is the day you work in the Kitchen to get an idea of how things work in there. I did mine with Lucy who has a photo of me in my Chefs Costume, I should be able to get that online soon The morning was fun, but the afternoon was slow as it was so busy being the day after thanksgiving that the Kitchen Staff were too busy to find us jobs to do, they had us working in the last couple of hours. I’m glad i’ve done it, but it certainly didn’t inspire me to have a culinary career, I have no desire to repeat the day

That brings me to today, i’ve had a lazy day to be honest, actually had a lie in for the first time in I dont know how long, the last few weeks have been so busy and have just flown by. This evening I am going to Epcot with Ona to see Holiday Illuminations and to see the tree lighting, and then we are heading to the magic kingdom til Midnight I believe

Remember to check my photo site, I update that a little more often. Http://photos.tpruk.com/WDWIP

29th October – 4th November

Ok, i’m writing this a little late as haven’t had much time to do this lately.

Couple of Highlights from Last Week.

On Monday I went to Universal Orlando Resort with Andrew as he’d not been before. We spent most of the day in Universal Studios but then went over to Islands at about 3pm. We got absolutely soaked on the 2 water rides in IoA and Andrew was not a Happy Chappy….

After Universal we headed back and went to PI in the evening with Ross, and then met up with the UK Lads and Lasses who arrived after us. Was fun but after a day in Universal Iwas incredibly shattered and just wanted to go to sleep

On Tuesday I met up with Nat in the morning and we went over to Animal Kingdom as Nat has never been before. We did all the E-Ticket attractions including the Rapids, and got nowhere near as wet as the day before at IoA. Eventually I convinced Nat to go on Expedition Everest, after the night before she didn’t think she was up to it, but I convinced her to go on, and sure enough, as soon as she got off she wanted to go on again :p though her On-Ride Pics were a little funny!!! We left at about 3:30 as Nat wanted to head over to Walmart!

Around 6pm I headed over to Chatham to Meet Ona, Jorden, Paul and Paul’s friend whose name escapes me right now, I think it was Kristina or Katrina, something like that…. Anyway we headed over to Universal on Halloween Night for the final Universal’s Halloween Horror Night.

Much to my shock, this was actually the quietest Horror Night to date, I figure it was a) cos it was a week night and b) cos you can’t go in Costume (Mickey’s Not So Scary the same night sold out weeks ago and they let you in costume) Anyway, we did everything all over! Bill and Ted’s show was a little different this night, instead of Lex Luther it was Dr. Evil appearing for one night only! It was not Lutherversal but Evilversal tonight! that was fun, and we queued maybe 20-30mins for a couple of haunted houses, but after that they were all walk on’s which was absolutely amazing. I’ve now done all 7 haunted houses 3 times, once each night! Park closed at midnight tonight so we couldn’t stay too late, headed back and arrived back before 1am.

As for the rest of the week, not much happened that I can remember, that’ll teach me to write my blogs a little sooner

Next (well this now) weeks schedule

Sunday 13:45 – 21:15 Seating (from 16:15 – 21:15 AmGard… more on that next week)

Monday Off – Epcot for Cast Member Guy Fawkes Day Event

Tuesday - Disney University 0800 – 17:00 for Appetite for Service & Introduction to Wine.

Wednesday 13:45 – 21:15 Seating (from 16:15 – 21:15 AmGard)

Thursday 13:30 – 20:30 Seating

Friday 16:00 – 23:00 Seating (if in work after 10pm i’ll be in shock)

Sunday 13:30 – 20:30 Seating

22nd – 28th October

This week has been pretty busy but i’ve enjoyed it. Work has been pretty much the normal, didn’t finish work on Tuesday in the Chippie til 10:25, but I didn’t have any plans so wasn’t overly concerned to be honest.

On Wednesday I went to SeaWorld Orlando

Had an amazing day. Really enjoyed the roller coaster Kraken. Its an amazing ride and I think its replaced nemesis as my fave coaster Its great when you sit anywhere, but at the front… WOW It has to be done from the front, I only did it the once, but AWESOME Loved it!

Journey to Atlantis is also great, in fact I think its much better than the one in Sea World San Diego. There is much more to the one here, and altho having an elevator rather than a chain lift is a pretty cool way of getting you up in San Diego, the themed areas here are significantly better, and you actually get to understand the story, I dont remember a story at all in San Diego.

Saw a few shows whilst there, Believe, the new Shamu show is absolutely amazing. Loved it so much The dolphin show was also pretty good. The Sea Lion show was funny, much like its San Diego counterpart, just a different story. Also saw the Odyssea show, which is kinda an acrobatic show I guess. Enjoyed it, quite good

After Sea World headed back via the I-Ride, walked from the Mall to golden Corral and met up with Ona, Paul and Jorden. We ate at the Golden Corral then walked to Downtown Disney. Not walked there before but it wasn’t too bad (well I didnt think). We stopped at the Walt Disney World Resort gate and had our photos taken there as chances are we probably won’t walk again.

We wondered around Downtown Disney and through the shops for a bit before heading back on the bus to the Commons

Photos at http://photos.tpruk.com/251006

On Thursday I went to the Magic Kingdom with Lucy, Nicola and Anneliese for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party

We went over in the afternoon and did some attractions, Space, Big Thunder, Philharmagic etc. etc. but the park was TOTALLY empty, was awesome we walked straight on everything (BTM was probably about 10mins) At about 6pm we went and picked up our not so scary wristbands.

After getting wristbands we went over to Pinocchios Village Haus to get some food before meeting up with Jo who had just left work. From here on we were going around collecting candy from the candy locations. It was actually a lot of fun, really enjoyed it. There were a couple of Candy Trails where you’d go down a trail and there would be like 4 or 5 candy locations. They were a lot of fun

We skipped the first Boo to You parade and continued with our hunt for Candy, but at about 8:45 tried to find ourselves a good spot to watch Happy HalloWISHES. The fireworks were awesome, they were perimeter fireworks, they weren’t around the outside of the park til the end, but it was worth the wait. They had fireworks surrounding the front of you at the end, and catherine wheels on the castle. The music was pretty cool, really enjoyed it

After the fireworks we headed to some candy locations again just til it was time to see the Boo to You parade. We got a spot for this just near where Jilly was working at Sleepy Hollow, we went to say hello to Jilly who was working hard serving Funnel Cakes (Yuck!) Anyway we stopped here for Boo to you. Before the parade started a headless horseman came riding down the parade route, I managed to get a really good photo which is on my site. The parade itself was so good, and the music so catchy. There are some photos of it on my photo site.

After the parade we went to watch the Disney Villians Mix and Mingle which was a show starring the Disney Villains, and even played some of Halloween-lo-Ween from Disneyland Paris. The show was quite good to watch, and at the end the Villians all came out into the audience. At this time we headed off to get some last minute candy before it was time to leave the park. We had our photos taken by some Photopass Photographers on the way out, and had the photos printed. They were half price on the night, and then we got our 20% cast discount on top of that, worked out at $6 for each photo which was a good price. It was a photo of our group down Main Street in front of the castle.

Photos can be found at http://photos.tpruk.com/251006

Only other thing to mention this week was on Saturday I was given a Great Service Fanatic Card by a manager. It is a card you can give another cast member for giving great service. The reason given was “Outstanding Magical Moments Always Created”. Was really pleased when I was given it. I get to put the card into a box to be entered into a draw, it is also shown on my record card at work!

Next weeks shifts are:

Sunday 2:30 – 9:30 Seating

Monday Off – Universal

Tuesday Off – AK in Day, Halloween Horror by night (Halloween Night)

Wednesday 13:30 – 20:30 Seating

Thursday 13:15 – 21:00 Greeting

Friday 16:30 – 00:30 (Extra Magic Hours) Chippie

Saturday 11:00 – 18:00 Seating

14th – 21st October

Well to be honest this week has been pretty uneventful. Last Saturday (14th) I went to the Magic Kingdom with Laura and Anneliese from work. There are a few photos but not many to be honest. We did a few attractions, wondered around. Went in Tiki Room and Jungle Cruise which was fun! We saw some of the parade. Still not seen that all the way through!

This week I had Thursday and Friday off.

Thursday I headed over to Universal in the day, went to Islands of Adventure for a bit, went on the larger attractions, Hulk, Spiderman, Duelling Dragons (Ice so i’ve done both tracks now) and also went into Poisedons Fury. That was quite a fun attraction, though the special effects didn’t wow me all that much in the final room. I love the room where you walk through the wall of water.. much fun Was worth the visit, but I do think that Templo del Fuego at PortAventura (ex-Universal) in Spain is a better attraction and makes better use of the effects at the end.

Headed over to Universal Studios afterwards, went on Jimmy Neutron which was kinda fun, also did Earthquake for the first time which I enjoyed! I then headed over to Hard Rock Cafe to meet Anneliese and Laura, and a bunch of other Disney folks including Jilly and James and some others on another program who I dont really know! (Well except Simon, I know him.. in case he happens to read this and gets upset LOL)

Anyway. we ate at Hard Rock Cafe, I had a Veggie Burger, was ok but nothing special. We then headed back to Universal for my second Halloween Horror Night. I enjoyed it again. Was fun being in a bigger group as there was only 2 of us last time. I almost lost my arm with the girls grabbing onto them, but it was all good fun. Again they didnt really manage to scare me! But I still enjoy it. I am hoping to go again on 31st Oct for actual halloween night, I have the day off but we’ll see how that goes!

Friday, my second day off, I lazed around really. Went to Cast Connections and Company D at Disney University/Magic Kingdom but all I bought was a International Programs Back Pack and some Cast Exclusive Pins! Was nice to have a lazy day to be honest.

Thats pretty much it. Going to try and do this Sunday – Saturday as thats the work week here from now on. I’ll also post my upcoming weeks schedule so you know what I am up to

Photos at http://photos.tpruk.com/221006

Schedule

Sunday 14:30 – 21:30 Chippie

Monday 14:00 – 21:00 Seating

Tuesday 14:30 – 21:30 Chippie

Wednesday Off – Sea World

Thursday Off – Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party

Friday 15:30 – 22:30 Seating

Saturday 14:30 – 21:30 Seating

6th – 13th October

Well Guys, I think i’m going to have to do weekly updates with the highlights of the week cos its far too time consuming doing them more often than that, i just seem to be busy all the time and can never find the time to do it!

Anyway this week:

Haunted Mansion Walk Through

On tuesday I did a Haunted Mansion Walk through. I had to get to the Vista Way housing complex at 6am which was hard work, had to get up at 5. Got to Vista at 5:50 on the first bus of the day and headed to the meeting place. We were provided with Breakfast (if you call Doughnuts Breakfast… from an English point of view I wouldn’t call them breakfast, but they were very much appreciated either way heh) We then headed over to the magic kingdom at about 7:25. We arrived just before 8 I think, headed through security and back stage (my first time Backstage in MK)

We headed on Stage, there were loads of cranes and vehicles on Main Street. Very unusual site to be honest But quite cool to see! Anyway we headed over to HM and waited for our guide to arrive. Our guide was called Ginger, she was from Los Angeles and previously worked at the Walt Disney Studios (but not at DL), she also has a laugh VERY appropriate to the Haunted Mansion. We headed into the attraction. It was very interesting having things pointed out to us. I think the highlights for me were, walking down the never ending hall (well to the end at least!), walkthing through the graveyard, and then going in to the Ball room… That was a very strange experience which I thoroughly enjoyed. Its amazing the details you can see when walking through which the guests will never see!!! Loved it!

Universals Halloween Horror Nights

On Thursday I headed over to Universal to meet my friend Paul (and his Fiance Pam) whose over here on Holiday. Went over to Universal about 2pm I guess (took the I-Ride Trolley, its like $1 and drops you 10mins walk from Universal, its great!) Went in the park usual my Annual Pass for the remainder of the regular operating hours. It was my first trip to Universal Studios itself as last time I went to Islands of Adventure.  Went on some of the attractions, Twister was an interesting one which is supposed to feel like being inside a twister… i’m not convinced… it was cool but not as good as I expected…. Errm…. I also went on Termination 2 3D which I had done in Hollywood, its identical. Went on the Mummy… This is a great attraction… I’ve heard arguments saying its the same as the one in Hollywood, but I am sure the track layout is very different… for starters I am sure I dont remember being launched up a hill, it was on a straight I think and took me totally by surprise there! Also i am sure the backward motion of the ride is right at the end in hollywood, and in Orlando its in the middle! Anyway, I prefer the one here I think!

 I dont recall what other attractions I did by day. We had to leave the park at 5 for them to prepare Horror Nights. We re-entered at 6:30 and proceeded to do the Haunted Houses. There are 7 in total. We managed to do each and every one of them in one night! Quite impressive they are too, to be honest they didn’t make me jump or scare me, but I am not easily spoooked to be honest. Paul was a little jumpier than me, but not much. The concept is very similar to the Terror of the Towers at Alton Towers and the Fright Nights at Thorpe Park, but the theming is so much better and the overall experience is a lot more fun! The houses are also longer than their UK Park equivalents.  I’ve taken a few photos of the horror nights which you can find on my photo site, but i’m going again on Thursday so shall take some more

We also saw 2 of the 3 shows… one we went to which is on a stage and nothing was happening at the time so we left, but we saw the show on the lake, which was basically movie images projected onto a sphere shaped screen, I wasn’t wow’d. They threw in a few pyrotechnics, but I was actually dissapointed. The 3rd show was the bill and teds halloween adventure. This was awesome, basically a piss take out of a bunch of movies (not scary ones) like Pirates of the Caribbean, there was a Jack Sparrow and Davy Jones battling good against evil. Its hard to explain when you are in a rush like I am right now, but there was lots of loud music and some pyrotechnics. Really enjoyed it Left after Bill and Ted as it was 11:50pm and the park closed at 12.

Social Security

Not very exciting, but thought i’d mention it. On thursday I went to the Social Security office to get my Social Security number. Involved getting a bus to the office in Kissimmee, waiting in line to be served, signing a couple of papers, and then leaving again. We got the bus at 9 and were back just before 12 so it wasn’t too bad!

I think thats it for this week, later today (14th) i’m going to Walmart then to the Magic Kingdom

This weeks photos at http://photos.tpruk.com/141006

Since Last Entry

Well… Since my last entry i’ve been keeping busy….

Sunday I worked, was on Podium Seating most of the shift, but covered breaks on the Beer Cart and also got put on the Great Beers of the World stand which is in the UK Pavilion as part of the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival.

I think it was Sunday night I went to Bennigans, had some food and some drinks then around one of the UK girls apartments with a few of the others til about 4am….. *Yawn*

On Monday I went to the Magic Kingdom in the morning with Natalie, Di, James, Luke and Adam (I think thats everyone…. but I could be wrong…)  We went around the Magic Kingdom and did a few of the attractions til about 4pm when we went over to Epcot. At Epcot we went on Soarin’ as Di had never been on it before, we then went to the UK Pavilion, watched the Beatles and then everyone bar myself and Nat headed back to the Commons. Nat and I wondered around for a bit trying some of the foods available in Food and Wine til 8 when Natalie left, I went over and rode Test Track and Mission: Space and then went to watch the fireworks before heading back to the Commons

On Tuesday I headed back to Epcot, originally should have been with Natalie and Kerri but neither could make it in the end so I ended up going on my own (which if you haven’t already gathered by now doesn’t bother me in the slightest) I stayed in Epcot, trying a few more of the offerings in Food and Wine (well the food anyway), and trying to do most of the attractions i’ve not done yet in the park. universe of Energy, Living Seas, the World Showcase Attractions etc. etc. I think theres only 4 attractions I not done in the park now… O’ Canada, Turtle Talk with Crush, Maelstrom and the American Adventure…. I will get round to doing them some time… I really should check out Innoventions too, just not had chance….

At about 5ish I headed over to Disney-MGM Studios. Went on Tower of Terror and then watched the Voyage of the Little Mermaid, a nice show. After that I went in the One mans dream attraction, its a story of walts life basically… with a movie at the end… Enjoyed it After this I went quickly over to the Hollywood Hills Amphitheatre and watched Fantasmic! again

After leaving the Park I headed over to the Boardwalk to get the bus over to Downtown Disney, a bunch of us met up there and went to the Rainforest Cafe. I had a Natural Rainforest Burger (veggie burger) which was good!!! At the Restaurant there was Andrew and Ross (the new guys), Dom, Natalie, Kerri, Lucy, Jenna and myself!

Wednesday morning as I didn’t start work til 4pm I went to Animal Kingdom with Meg, Ross and Andrew. We did the major attractions in the park and ate at Tuskers Restaurant which was good Plenty of photos from Animal Kingdom on my photo site… Link below.

At work I was down for 4-11 but got Early Released at 10pm. It was Extra magic hours in Epcot til 12 but it was quiet in the Rose and Crown and I was not really needed. Was seating for most of the evening, got to do Magic Moment tonight though

And that brings me to just about now

http://photos.tpruk.com/051006/

Last few days!

Sorry for lack of updates… it’s just… well there isn’t a lot to report. Work Work Work… is pretty much it heh

Thursday I worked seating 2:30 – 9:30 but ended up doing Greeting for a bit, then beer cart, then more greeting til 8:30 when I did Magic Moment. Enjoyed the day actually cos I was kept so busy

After work I went to Bennigans, we got a taxi there at 10:30. I had a Spicy Bean Burger to eat there which was good, then we were there til about 12, at midnight a bunch of us got a Taxi over to PI. We went into The Beach Club first, they only seem to play Rock music in there though, so soon we headed to Motion, we stayed there less than 5 mins when Kerri, Jenna and I headed over to 8Trax where they play 70s and 80s music. That was fun and we stayed there til they closed at 1:40. Grabbed a Taxi back to the Commons and then went around Chris’s apartment (from work) where we stayed and chatted til 3:50. Was a fun night, luckily no work til 2 the next day

Worked 2-9 on Friday. Was seating most of the day except when I covered Wayne’s break on the beer cart.

Saturday worked 1-8. Again seating most of the day apart from a short stint on the beer cart when it got really busy! That brings me to now really… Like I say not much happened lately. I did go to Publix (Supermarket) last night with Jennifer from work, I grabbed a few bits and pieces but thats about it