Food and Wine Preview Party

13th August - Food and Wine Cast Preview Party

Food and Wine is an exclusive event to EPCOT which started over 20 years ago. It is an annual event which runs from September through to November and allows you to sample food and beverages from all over the world and includes several countries which are not home to the World Showcase such as Australia, New Zealand, Greece, Poland etc. 

So in anticipation of the event opening to the general public on September 25th 2015, Disney organised a fun preview party exclusive to cast members only. Besides the amazing food and drinks you could sample, they had Chef demonstrations, Character meet and greets, music from the All American Music Machine (which play in the American Adventure pavilion) in addition to DJs, stations set up informing you about the event as well as a sneak peak at the merchandise which would be on offer amongst a photobooth and many many more fun offerings throughout. So if anyone is thinking of doing this program and gets accepted definitely stop by this event - I definitely recommend.

First ever picture with my new Boss - Mickey Mouse!

I blame the humidity for the state of my hair!

I didn't have work until 3.30pm and others also didn't have work until later so after sampling all the fun at the preview party we opted to go on Spaceship Earth and have a mooch around before beginning our shifts.

Arrival Group Friends

First Disney Keeno Day and First Water Park

11th August - Magic Kingdom with Giss

When Giss and me realised we both had the same days off we decided to have a Disney Keeno day at Magic Kingdom. Upon arrival first on my list was to purchase some Minnie Mouse ears, I had originally thought I'd want the sequinned ones but when I tried them on I found them to be really scratchy so opted for the felted ones instead which were much comfier. Then time to pose for a quick snap with my new ears in front of the castle!!! Eeeek!

We had no real itinerary for what we wanted to go on so just casually joined lines for any rides we were in the mood to go on. We ended up going on most of the rides and I also got to meet my first Disney Princess Tiana!! I was concerned about meeting her as everyone in the line before us were children all under the age of 10, and her interactions with them were so cute. So I figured as Giss and I were older she wouldn't really interact with us much but boy was I wrong, I had so much fun talking to her about Jaffa Cakes, bacon haha  she was so much fun to meet.

Giss had to go and collect something at Epcot so we said goodbye to Magic Kingdom and hopped onto the monorail over to there, our home park.

We joined the single rider line for Test Track which was at 20 minutes, but we somehow ended up just walking on to the ride and having a car to ourselves...madness but hey I'm not complaining :P. Then after some exploring around Future world and going on some more rides we headed over to our workplace the World Showcase and had a mooch around. 

Yet again, another wonderful day in Walt Disney World.

12th August - Typhoon Lagoon

 The sun was shining, the temperature was soaring so what better than to spend a day at a water park - Typhoon Lagoon!

From memory I think this was my favourite of the Disney water parks as a child so I was keen to return, but this time with my Mexican flatmates Anilu and Giss. 

After getting ourselves a locker and finding the perfect spot to set up base, we headed on out to explore the park, and we ended up spending a lot of our time out on the lazy river - one of the best things there is as well as spending some time in the wave machine pool. It was so nice to sunbathe and relax, then on our way out of the park who should we bump into but Stitch doing a meet and greet, so of course we had to stop for a photo with him (even though if I am honest I'm not really his biggest fan - shhh!)

In the afternoon we ventured over to Coronado Springs Resort which is where Anilu had worked previously as a Concierge Cast Member, so we were able to have a guided tour around which was really cool and Anilu got to meet up with some familiar faces which was lovely. 

We finished the day by heading to Cast Connections, which is an exclusive cast member only place where you can purchase discounted merchandise. You want to take the whole shop home but your bank balance soon reminds you to calm the heck down and take control of your finances haha otherwise it would be so easy to take so much away with you.

Days out with two Hollie/Holly's at two wonderful Disney Kingdoms

Walmart Shopping and first trip to THE Magic Kingdom with Holly - 3rd August

The bus to Walmart from Disney Housing takes foreverrrr THEN when you get there you lose hours of your life, that is if like me you have no real plan/idea on what you need/how to navigate around. Whereas my friend Laura from my arrival group is quite the pro and can be in and out in 30mins whereas it takes me a minimum of an hour and that's on a good day (Mental Note Made: I need to learn lessons from Laura).

The things you find in Walmart are most bizarre so not only is there an aisle dedicated to 'gun accessories' a sight you would never see back home you can find baked beans in a tin which are MAPLE flavoured?!?!

Like that is NOT okay, and Vodka Pasta Sauce? It baffles me to be honest. Not forgetting the fact that you just cannot fully explain the size of the place and the size of the things they sell. So say you wanted a loaf of bread or some grapes or a carton of juice? over here (well in Walmart at least) you can only purchase things that will feed a family of 4 for a fortnight. So shopping for one is very hard especially when you know your flat only has one fridge/freezer for 6 of you. What fun!


So after my Walmart adventure, three hours later I had returned home and was preparing to leave for an evening of magic. I had arranged to go to Magic Kingdom for the first time this program with Holly (who I had interviewed with back in Oct'14). We arranged to meet after she had finished work and she would get the Monorail over to Magic Kingdom and meet me at the bus stop (as I would have been clueless as to which direction to head in). As we wondered over I caught the far off views of Space Mountain and my excitement began to build. Stepping through those gates/check in area for the first time as a cast member was just the best feeling ever!! I had finally arrived. All those wishing on stars and all the stress and emotional roller-coaster it took to get here it was now a reality. Seeing Cinderella's castle even though having seen it before when I was 6 years old and 15 years old was just as magical and exciting as the first time.

We managed to pack in quite a bit and Holly being the pro had sorted us out for fast passes so we managed to go on quite a few rides such as Ariel's (Under The Sea - Journey of The Little Mermaid), Peter Pan's Flight and I went on Haunted Mansion for the first time which was cool. I had previously avoided Haunted Mansion thinking it was a creepy house you walked around...oh what a fool was I or should I say foolish mortal ;). It ended up being lots of fun to ride. 

Then the magical moments of the evening included being Pixie dusted for the first time which is just amazing, you can get it done at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique and if you are a Disney Keeno like myself then it is simply a must! Then I got to see Celebrate The Magic for the first time which was just incredible. Without sounding too old, the whole phrase of "kids these days don't realise how lucky they are", the technology that Disney has access to now only enhances the Disney experience and if you ever visit it is a must do alongside Wishes. Wishes is definitely one of those tear jerker's for Disney Keenos there is just so many feels when you watch and listen to it. Yet again a must do to anyone who visits.

We got to also see the ending of Main Street Electrical Parade which I remember being in awe of as a child. Overall it was just a magical evening and big thanks goes out to Holly for planning such a magical time :).

Animal Kingdom with Hollie - 4th August

From one Kingdom to another and time to meet my FIRST Disney character - of course my favourite - POCAHONTAS!!!!!!! This was the highlight of the day for me 

We of course took the obligatory selfie with the Tree of Life then headed on our merry way to It's Tough to Be a Bug 4D which is full of special effects and some creepy crawlies too! After the show we braved it and went to Expedition Everest of which we opted for the single rider queue and practically were able to walk on. I love the buzz you get after coming off this ride, as I am one big wimp it's always a sense of achievement when I get off this ride. Then time for my first ride on Dinosaur, a lot of people had gotten me nervous about this ride saying how terrifying it was, so I spent the majority of my time on the ride anticipating something really bad to happen, only it never did and I got off like what the hell was everyone on about? They are clearly quite the pranksters. 

After a lot of fun going on all the rides it was time for a pit stop and grab some food. We chose Flame Tree BBQ, where I got to try corn bread for the first time, and I wasn't that much of a fan of it to be honest but pleased I got to try it, then I had some BBQ beans with some ribs. Now it being Animal Kingdom and all it was only right that as Hollie and I were eating we were joined by lots of wildlife how very Disney of us. 

In the evening we decided to go shopping at the Outlets and I ended up wanting to party in Forever 21 as the music selection they play in store is very much on point!

Last few days of training then hi ho, hi ho it's off to work we go!

This is when I wish I had kept a diary as I cannot fully remember everything about these few days now as it is all one big blur. However, what I do remember was that there was lots of information to take in and I had the classic new job jitters so it made for an overwhelming few days, but thanks to my fantastic colleagues, my trainer Louise, the co-ordinators and leaders it wasn't that scary and ended up being lots of fun!

Tier 3 Training - 1st August

Ahh so first real on-the-job training begins! We were scheduled for 10am-6:30pm.

We started with our first morning meeting and leader Tracey informed us all of any important updates that we needed to know with regards to our role or the park itself. 

Let's do this, let's make this dream a reality! Never been so keen to start a job.

Then I'm not too sure what we did next as such, we may have wondered around the pavilion again to get familiar with the shops, but I can't be too sure. However, I do remember training on the till with our trainer Louise. There is one merchandise location in the pavilion which is only really used during peak times and this was the register where we would begin putting into practice what we had learned at our Merchantainment class. After being made familiar again with the layout of the register our trainer got us involved with doing a bit of role play. Our trainer placed our register on training mode, which allowed us to quite literally 'play shops' placing transactions through, getting familiar with the currency (because American currency is very confusing because their 10 cents/Dime looks like our 5p and their 5 cents is very similar size to their 25 cent/Quarter coin and their notes are all the SAME colour and size - nightmare!). 

Then after some role play our trainer had confidence in us that we knew what we were doing and it was time for us to try out some real life transactions. Dun dun dun duuun. So leader Jesic got us set up with our logins for the registers then we could practice for real.

I think it all went pretty well but I was definitely ready for bed when the time came. Being new is tiring having to use your brain as a sponge trying to soak up all the new information/reinforcing information - but hey I WORK IN WALT DISNEY WORLD and life legit couldn't feel any better. Excuse the cheesiness but wearing the costume and being on stage for the first time was quite emotional. I've wanted this once in a lifetime opportunity more than anything and for it to now be here and real is really overwhelming and I do not take one second of it for granted. 

Tier 4 Training - 2nd August

Work Schedule: 13:00-21:30

Tier 4 training allowed us to try out each register in the pavilion and get a sense for what each store is like and what some of the common questions you might get asked by guests within them. For instance, in our Sports shop you guessed it, people will ask what's your favourite football/soccer team? or Why don't you have any of ____ football team merchandise in here? Or where can I find___? and you soon discovered which shops were the busiest and which ones are the quieter ones e.t.c. it was a really insightful day.

Then park closed at 9pm and this was our time to be trained on how to cash up. As with anything new thing, there was lots of information to take in but thanks to my amazing trainer Louise, she provided me with some very helpful notes to take home with me so I could have them in case of emergency, as if anyone doesn't know me that well I can be a bit of a Dory at times and I need new information to be repeated to me at least 3 times before I fully grasp things. 

So after all that fun at work it was time for my first throw out experience which is obviously the opposite to a 'Throw In'. It is a weird occasion as it's both happy and sad. Happy because you all get together as a UK Merch fam and you might be able to take home some goodies with you but sad as it means people are leaving and it signals the start of them leaving. So very mixed emotions throw outs are but I loved my first experience of it nevertheless. 

First Throw Out Experience

Tier 4 Cont Training. - 5th August

Work Schedule: 11:00-19:30

Last Day photo tradition in Christopher Robin's bedroom <3

Yet again thanks to my Dory memory I can't remember what order things happened on this day as such. However, I do know that we started our day saying our goodbyes to those who were leaving our pavilion and taking photos with them. I got to go to Christopher Robin's bedroom for the very first time in my life and just wow is that room special, it has been so wonderfully fitted out, any Winnie The Pooh fan would be wowed by it, I was in awe. 

When it was time to open the shops, I feel Kim and I got to practice again on registers for a bit then we went for our test which I am pleased to say I passed which meant I was/am fully trained and qualified to start my role and go into rotation - YIPEE!!!. My first rotation/assignment was for me to go on cart (our only outdoor position we have) which turned out to be a girl called Sarah's last ever bumpout which was crazy. Her program was coming to an end whereas mine was just beginning. 

About half way through being on rotation it was time for Kim's and mine leader engagement, which is an opportunity for us to not only meet a leader on a one-to-one kind of basis but also allowed us to ask any last minute queries/questions we had about our role and for us to be updated on expectations and guidelines we will need to follow.

Again another splendid day in the UK Pavilion finally making this dream a complete reality now as a fully fledged, fully trained Merchandise Cast Member for DISNEY! So so blessed to be able to have this opportunity. 

First free couple of days - EPCOT and Universal Studios

E P C O T

First day off training so I decided to head to EPCOT to do some exploring and go on some rides for research purposes you know so I can advise guests on where to go and what to go on ;). As a big fan of Ellen Degeneres I just had to go on my first Disney Ride with Ellen as the leading role 'Ellen's Energy Adventure', an old school ride that needs updating but hey Ellen is there so what's not to love?

I then ventured over to The Land to do the 'Living with the Land' ride which is a little boat tour inside a greenhouse where you can see the various ways of food production and you can also see the various ecosystems and get to see creatures such as baby alligators, eels and various other fish (and some hidden mickeys are to be seen on the ride too if you keep your eyes peeled). After my boat ride I went to go on the Figment ride for the first time ever. Figment is a small purple Dragon and is deemed as the mascot to the Imagination at EPCOT. The ride was interesting, it won't be a favourite of mine but I'm pleased I have been on it now. I then went for a wonder around Mouse Gear then headed over to the World Showcase and found myself drawn to tuneful songs sung by the acapella group The All American Music Machine. I think I will now be their number 1 fan. It's like real life Pitch Perfect - my idea of heaven! There I met up with my friend Hollie who works over at HRC (Historical Research Centre) after the performance we continued to explore all the various countries the world showcase has to offer and the delights they have in store such as in Japan they sell Pineapple flavoured gummy sweets, marshmallows that have nutella hidden inside, amongst Hello Kitty Merchandise, swords oh and in Germany they have an AMAZING caramel shop called "Karamell-Kuche" which is a must visit and I could go on as each country has so much to offer, but I'll save that for a post another day. So we finished our world travelling at Mexico and went on Mexico's Three Caballeros ride which if you haven't been on before is a boat ride inside the pyramid which takes you on a journey to explore and discover the wonders of Mexico and of course the Three Caballeros in the form of Donald Duck and his friends Jose and Panchito join you for the fun.

Having finished exploring the world showcase we decided to head on over to Future World West to check out the Seas with Nemo and Friends area we checked out the ride and went to Turtle Talk with Crush which is amazing, then hopped off and went exploring the tanks they have there where I got to see the biggest Sting Ray I have ever seen in my life.

Hi Mr.Ray!!!

We also then went exploring the other tanks and got to see some divers, Manatees, Dolphins, Jellyfish e.t.c. and I also took part in a quiz where I pretty much failed but did get given the title of Sea Worthy so...yeah. 

Then time to go on Spaceship Earth for the first time since arriving here! I love this ride not only because number one it's really cool that you get to go INSIDE the big golf ball (it's correct name is Spaceship Earth) but two it's educational in a fun way talking you through the development of communication and the best bit Judi Dench is the narrator for it -what more could you want from a ride? Haha :P. It was a lot of fun as you also get to create your own future world which is hilarious but I won't give away any spoliers on here.

To finish the day we ate at Electric Umbrella both Hollie's and my first Disney Dining experience.

This is the life, I could get used to this!

From the World to the Universe - 

First Universal Studios day!

After some confusion over how to get to Universal we decided to ditch waiting for the iTrolley and try out Uber instead, which ended up getting us there much quicker than the bus would have done - hooray!


First stop after arriving and taking the obligatory group photo by the spinny sign, purchase of our annual passes, which for me was pretty straight forward as all I had to do was show a letter I got from Disney Housing to confirm I am a Floridian resident, show my photo ID then voila one Florida Resident's annual pass to Universal I have! Score!

At this point we were all pretty hungry so we headed for food in the Universal Studios' Classic Monsters Cafe where we got to use our annual passes for discount - win! Over food we discussed our next move and chose The Mummy ride for the first ride to go on. To say I was nervous would be an understatement but I sucked it up and ended up going on it twice in a row as the queue was so small - success! I was very proud. After a bit of an adrenaline rush we walked by the start of the Beetlejuice Graveyard Revue show so decided to pop on in. I loved the music but as Hollie and I agreed if we actually had seen the movie I'm sure it would have made much more sense. But hey it was good whether we understood what was happening or not haha!

Then what our group was most looking forward to Diagon Alley!!! Hollie had been before so for the rest of us we were in complete awe. Now I'm not the biggest Harry Potter fan and certainly no Potter Head but even I was blown away and amazed at what an incredible job Universal has done. My hat goes off to them. We explored all the shops and went on the Gringotts ride which was full of surprises (don't worry I won't spoil it for those who haven't been) but OMG it is good! After the ride we went to get some ice cream and boarded the Hogwarts Express train over to the second park Universal has, Islands of Adventure which is home to Hogsmeade. Hands down the best train ride I have ever had haha.

The rest of the group went on some more rides until the park closed and we headed back home.

One big fun day at Universal Studios!

First week!

I can't believe I have left it so long to update my blog, but life is pretty hectic over here, if you aren't working you are having too much fun, the whole phrase, "work hard, play hard" is so true here. I had hoped to keep a diary too whilst I was here but so far that isn't working out too great but I hope to change that moving forward simply because I do not want to forget anything about this magical year. Can you start new years resolutions at the end of August? Well I am now anyway :P

So without further adieu...this is a brief summary of my first week based on my foggy memory of it all. Enjoy :)

Wednesday 22nd July

This was our first 'Welcome day' after moving in we had a housing meeting scheduled for 1pm at the Commons (a housing complex here). This consisted of Disney Housing letting us know the rules and regulations with regards to living in our accommodation and also pre-warning us of the dangers which we might face and they reinforced this with some scary stories. Lovely jubbly.

So after the meeting some of us decided to head to Patterson to check out their pool...only Florida of course decided to treat us to our first thunder and lightning storm. 

So due to the weather we decided to head out for another Walmart shopping trip where I came across a jar of Creamy Vodka Pasta Sauce?!?!? Seriously cheap Ben and Jerry's amongst other crazy stuff. Of course the first meal I had in my flat was a microwave one - oops!

Then after our shopping trip we decided to chill out at the pool in Vista. I've missed late night swimming sessions where the temperature outside is still lovely and warm, ah Florida how I love you!

Thursday 23rd July

Thursday was the day of more meetings, Immigration presentation scheduled for 8:45am and a paperwork session at 1pm. I seem to remember it being a really hot day and I also got to meet some lovely German people who arrived at the same time as us. The Immigration presentation covered the rules associated with our Visas and the paperwork session was quite literally that, handing in papers and signing papers.

Then in the evening it was time for our 'Throw In'. Throw Ins are if you have been to University similar to initiations, basically the new people are given tasks or things to do, it is a way for others to get to knows us and vice versa. After hearing some stories of what went on in throw ins, all of us newbies were pretty nervous about what lay ahead for us but it turned out to be not as bad as we had thought and was actually a pretty good night and I also got to meet some of the Merch lot that I will be working with which was lovely, they all seemed so welcoming and friendly which was so reassuring as it helped calm any nerves about starting work. 

Friday 24th July

Our first day off with no housing meetings - woohoo! After having a much needed lie in after the night before, I updated my blog then spent over 4 hours skyping my family which was lovely although they did order a Chinese Take-Away without me...erm not okay with me!

The afternoon our arrival group had planned a night of pizza and mini-golf. Cici's turned out to be super cheap and we got discount there too - big plus! I have never had pizza and pasta on the same plate before but over here this is deemed normal and I'm not one to complain ;). After food we headed over to the mini golf place located right next to it to find out we were too late and it had closed :( so we'll have to go back there another day.

Saturday 25th July - TRADITIONS!!!

The day I had most been looking forward too - Traditions. Those of you who don't know what Traditions is it is basically a day where you officially become a cast member, you get given a set of ears and the most important and highlight of all your name badge! This was also another early morning start for us, our bus was supposed to pick us up at 7:30am but unfortunately our bus never turned up so after a call to the transportation our bus eventually came and on we went to DISNEY UNIVERSITY!!! I mean how cool is that alone? A University dedicated to all things Disney, this is my kinda place I tell you. I won't ruin it for those who are due to arrive but the building inside and the people who work there are just magical and everything you'd ever hoped it would be (well for me anyway). We got to learn about the history of Disney, the terminology Disney use and the magic that is Disney in general. We also had a few quizzes which if selected to answer you got rewarded with a prize in the form of miniature Disney figures. I of course was delighted to receive a mini Minnie Mouse and Donald Duck. I can't quite remember what order things happened in now but at one point on our tables we were given a sample letter to read from guests who had written in to thank Disney for the wonderful time they had. Here we got to hear so many lovely stories and although all were wonderful there was one letter which also had a video attached which we got to watch in class and well I had a tear in my eye. Disney is just wonderful, it doesn't matter who you are, where you're from or what age you are, at Disney you are an equal and an invited guest to participate in creating everlasting magical memories. Can you tell that I just love Disney? Also on this special day we had a surprise visit from our boss, the Big Cheese Mickey Mouse! He walked right by my table and everything and waved at me too.

Sunday 26th July

Welcome to Operations Day. Again another early start as we had to be at Disney University this time for 7:30am - ouch! But hey I got to go to Disney University again so can't moan! The day consisted of learning about the different working areas that Disney has and the roles required for the successful running of the park. Also focus was placed on safety and we learnt how to lift items in the correct way which would prevent any injury to ourselves. The trainers we had for this day were superb, they were super energetic and enthusiastic about everything which made for an enjoyable class. 

In the evening we went to our first Disney park - Hollywood Studios!!!

Thanks to some Disney magic we were fortunate to get some fastpasses for both Tower of Terror and Aerosmith Rock 'n' Roller coaster. Now I last went on these rides over 7 years ago but I do not remember being so scared. I think it will take some time and going on a few more rides to get used to roller coasters again. So I learnt that night that I will never ever go on Tower of Terror EVER again. I was so scared that I went numb, I couldn't even move my fingers and I had to grab my friends arm throughout the whole ride otherwise I wouldn't have coped. So thanks Hollie even though you had no choice about it :P.

We then checked out the party going on by the mainstage with a DJ playing some decent tunes I must admit and had a good time dancing away waiting for the Frozen fireworks.  The fireworks were amazing and of course as I love Frozen the music was ace too, I was singing away but one guy in front of me turned round and told me that I couldn't sing...nice man - not! But I moved away and carried on singing because no one is going to tell me that I can't sing a long and have fun, I mean we are at Walt Disney World after all so...

After fireworks it was time for Fantasmic. My only memory of this was when I was 6 and I don't remember being that impressed by it but then I also remember being overly tired and falling asleep on my Dad's shoulder so to be fair I gave it a second shot. Despite it having to be stopped twice during the performance I loved it and couldn't wait to see it again all the way though another time. It's times like this that reminds me how grateful I am to be here for a year so if something like that does happen it's okay because I can go another night. I love this program.

Hollywood Studios

Monday 27th July

Time for on-the-job training known here as Tier 1. This training day consisted of getting our costumes and being shown around the UK pavilion in order to get familiar with our soon to be working environment. Our trainers for the day were Charlotte and Chris both who are super lovely and they were very welcoming and friendly. I had such blurry memories of the pavilion so it was so nice to see it again and surreal to think that this time I will be working here - madness but exciting all the same! Towards the end of the day we also got to help create some magical memories and hand out some Mickey Mouse stickers! 

My costume for the year :)

Tuesday 28th July

Discovery day- a chance to get to know your 'home park'. We had an introductory talk from two people one of them actually ran my traditions class - Christian (I love this guy he is so much fun) and the other was a cast member at EPCOT and has been EPCOT's biggest fan since its opening. 

We then got to have a guided tour around the park including a trip on the friendship boat and all I will say is that it is one magical and special day that you will always remember. I believe it is thanks to Christian though that made it as fun as it was, he truly lives and breathes Disney and adopts their philosophy of creating happiness and making magical memories so well. You go Christian, you go (Mean Girls reference was needed here).

Wednesday 29th July

Merchantainment Class (Disney's way of placing the entertaining in merchandise). This training was role specific so for us in Merchandise we learnt how Disney Merchantains and learnt how to operate the registers and a lesson on loss prevention.

In the evening I finally got to see the film Inside Out I think only myself and one other person managed to stay awake throughout the entire film not because the film was bad but these training days are long days and consist of early mornings and lots of information to absorb, so placing us in a dark room it was only inevitable that some of us would fall fast asleep haha :P. But I loved the film.

Hotel days and Moving into Housing

Hotel Days

Once we had checked into our hotel, we headed in search of our rooms. When we came out of the lift we were greeted with a welcome team of people from our arrival group who had already arrived which was lovely. After dropping our bags off in our room, we headed on out for food and where did we go for our first meal in America? McDonald's, yes you are quite right!

The following day we decided to do some shopping, as our hotel offered a free shuttle to the Orlando Premium Outlets...who could say no hey? When we arrived we were randomly greeted with a red carpet to step onto, as we made our way into Tommy Hillfiger (the sponsor of the free shuttle). We grabbed some food at the food hall then split up to go shopping. 

Shopping & Food time!

My lovely new work shoes!

I went on the hunt for some shoes which were suitable for work and met the required guidelines for the 'Disney Look'. I experienced some amazing customer service at the shop called Aerosoles, and got my pair of work shoes there, the woman serving me knew exactly which shoes Disney would accept and provided me with options to try on. There was one pair I loved style wise, but after some thought I had to go with the not so attractive but comfortable and practical shoes. Tough life.


The taxi that took us back to our hotel after shopping had a place for you to charge your phone...how cool! England needs to catch up with America on this. We then spent the afternoon at our hotel pool, chilling, relaxing and making the most of our freedom and the Floridian sun. Bliss.

Pool Time

In the evening we headed to Downtown Disney, or Downton as some of us would accidentally say #BritishProblems. We ate at Planet Hollywood, and my goodness was it pricey, but hey the food was good, the company was good and it was a cool place to spend our first night so no complaining from me. I also had my first alcoholic drink in America woop woop for being over 21! I had to go for the cocktail called 'Princess Cocktail' of course ;). It was really cool wondering around Downtown Disney, it has changed so so much since my last visits but there is so much to see and do there, I'm so grateful I am here for the year to hopefully go and explore as much as I can of it.

Moving In Day - Plain Sailing or Plain Failing?

Ah at last it was time to MOVE INTO HOUSING!!!! Alot of us were full of mixed emotions but all eager to find out, where we will be living and with who.

The taxi we had ordered from the hotel to housing didn't turn up on time, and when it did, it couldn't fit all 7 of us and our suitcases (even though we had given ample warning of how much space we required) but alas the solution was found and two taxis later we were dropped off just outside of Vista. 

Checking into housing was pretty straight forward, we went to a desk where they informed you of your apartment complex, how many people you would be living with and how many bedrooms* e.t.c. then we got our photo taken which would be used for our housing ID, the card printed within a few seconds then voila you went back outside to collect your bags and if you weren't living in Vista you got the luxury of a coach to take you to your housing. Ace.

*For those interested I got given Chatham Square, 3 bed 6 Person (although we only have 5 living here at the mo 2 Mexicans 2 British and 1 Norwegian). I was overjoyed as 1) No bunk beds and 2) this was second on my preference list...yippee! I struck Gold!

Checking into housing!

Well, we arrived at Chatham, had our bags taken off the coach, then that was it. Time to go hunt down my building. I had no clue how to find my building, I wondered round and round the complex, in the heat, dragging my 23KG big case and my hand luggage case which at this point was around 7KG and my handbag on my shoulder, I was not a pretty sight. When I had almost admitted defeat I bumped into a groundsman who whilst wasn't sure where my apartment was exactly had informed me I would be on the 3rd floor and pointed me to the rough area of my building. But to cut a long story short, I found my building knocked on my front door and was greeted by my Mexican and Norwegian flatmates. 

My new home <3!

After resting and taking pictures of the apartment whilst it was empty, it was coming up to the time I had arranged to meet up with my arrival group to go to our first Walmart shop (A Disney program Rite of Passage). BUT drama unfolded, I had decided it would be a good idea to take my big case with me to Walmart so I could just wheel my case with all my shopping inside...genius! Except, when I went to open my suitcase the combination padlock decided to not work. Fantastic. Panic ensued, but after a phone call to the front desk of our complex a maintenance man came quickly to my rescue and cut open the padlock. I quite literally dumped everything out of my case onto the floor and ran to my bus stop with my now empty case. I should put this into context, at this point we had no internet, no means to communicate with one another and we had set a time for us to meet, so I had no way to inform my group that I might be late.  How did people survive before mobile phones? But it turned out I actually ended up being early and arrived at Walmart roughly an hour before my arrival group. I made sure to make the most of the free wifi Walmart had to offer to message friends and family back home which helped pass the time whilst I waited. 

Once everyone arrived we made our way through the giant Walmart store collecting the bare essentials such as bedding, towels and some food to start with.

In the evening I met up with the lovely Holly and Jennifer who started their program in March. I met Holly during the application stage at Pre-Screen and Face-to-Face Interviews so it was nice arriving here in Orlando having a familiar friendly face to greet me and I also got to meet Jen for the first time who is also super super lovely :) They both made me feel so welcome and helped calm my moving in day jitters! 

Hi ho, Hi ho, it's off to Disney we go!

So the night before I left to start my magical Disney year was spent packing and unpacking, desperately trying to ensure all luggage was within the required weight limits to avoid having to pay any excess weight charges. I was one stressed out chick, I can tell you that! We had an Indian takeaway for my last meal because I had heard a good quality Indian meal is hard to find in America apparently? But we shall see. 

When leaving your family for a year it is so hard to know what to do about leaving gifts/cards. I decided in the end to personalise a plate with a message that read 'See ya real soon' a quote Mickey Mouse often says. I felt this was appropriate as it wasn't a goodbye but rather a positive note about being able to see them again in January when they come to visit me :).

I'm super proud of how this plate turned out!

Then came the morning to leave, it was really weird sitting in the car thinking I'm not going to see any of my family for 6 months! Crazy. I was dreading the goodbye bit at the Airport, but once I had seen people in my arrival group already there, all looking pretty chilled my nerves chilled out and I suddenly decided right that's it, time for goodbyes and because it was all so quick I ended up having no time to really think about it so definitely helped and I wasn't left a blubbing mess. I just tried not to look too much in my family's eyes or I probably would have been a mess.

Ready to start my magical Disney year :D

My flight was scheduled for 11:30am but we were delayed several hours and didn't end up leaving until around 2:16pm. We spent the time though at the Wetherspoons in Stansted chilling out, some people grabbed breakfast but due to the anxiety I felt I couldn't eat a thing so stuck to the good old British staple, a mug of tea!   

Ready to board the plane!

Finally time to depart, I got a window seat - yay for photography but I was sat next to two strangers and separated from the group. BUT I was in luck there was a spare seat available near my arrival group so once we were in the air I was quick to change seats. 

Let's do this!

I was also happy to change seats as my screen in front of me was broken. Now that would be okay if it was a 4 hour flight, but 9 hours...hell no! Also I really want to know why was there a penguin on my screen?

Random penguin...why?!?!

 The flight was pretty bad, I won't go into all the boring details but let's just say at one point a 15 rated film was put on that was not suitable for kids. And the screens didn't fully work, but what did was the music selection so hello Britney Spears and Annie Lennox!

The plus for the flight was the food though. I haven't had the joy of plane food for ages, so this was a nice treat.

  

Yum!

Then we arrived at last, hello Orlando, Florida!!! 

 

 And at last we arrived at our hotel!

We arrived!

 Then of course the first American meal we had was a McDonald's...no judging please :P

Watch this space for my next post about the hotel and our first full day in the US of A and a post about moving in will be coming shortly.