The Next Phase of Disney

Well everyone it has been quite an interesting week here in Florida. Working as always and my Disney Class also began this week. But the big news is I have officially found out where I will be moving too for the next phase of my Disney journey. I am very happy to announce I will be staying at Hollywood Studios and moving to attractions. I will be working in animation courtyard. This is where all of the Disney junior characters and the little mermaid show is. Although I am sad to be leaving sunset (technically), I am still going to be picking up shifts there so it's not goodbye forever!! 

My Disney class began on Thursday. I am enrolled in Creativity and Innovation. The class is about the elements of being creative and how creativity is going to continue to grow as the years go on. The class is also every Thursday morning for 4 hours. My instructors name is Ellen Tetlow and she has been working at Disney for 17 years. She began working part time in MK but has since moved into other roles, which has lead her to teaching different course for Disney. Although this class is not something I would take at home, I'm excited to do be challenged. It is going to be a lot of work and I am really going to have to think outside the box. 

After class on Thursday Sandra and I went to HS because they were having a cast party for all the cast members. There was a special lanyard you needed to have to get in so we went to get those first. They held the party at club villain which is at the sunset showcase. They provided food and drinks and we were able to take pictures with all the Disney villains. The food was actually pretty good. They had chicken, sausage, beans, rice and potatoes.  They also had a huge spread of drinks as well. For dessert they had red velvet cupcake and a chocolate pudding. We also had the opportunity to meet the Queen of Hearts, Maleficent, Cruella de Ville and Evil Queen. We had a blast and we spent about 3 hours at the party. 

After that we headed over to Epcot and made our first attempt at the food and wine festival. Sandra really enjoyed being there and not working it. We also went and visited Alex at his work location. We got passports and we went to so many places. But we didn't even do half of them. 

A few highlights of the places I went to are:

• the mac and cheese at farm fresh (it was delicious and I wish it came in a bigger portion)
• Schofferhoffer Lemon beer in Germany
• Beef stew with mashed potatoes from Belgium (it reminded me of beef bourguignon
   that my mom makes)

I will have to take pictures next time so you can see how delicious it looks. 

I can't wait to go back and try over delicious dishes. My goal is to have eaten something from every country at food and wine. But I have to pace myself with that!

That's all from me! More updates to come next week. 

Xoxo

Michelle 

(Sandra and I pre Cast Party)

 This is Maleficient

The Lovely Cruella de Ville

The Evil Queen on Stage 

These are the BEST days of my LIFE

Well everyone, it has been a whole week since I have updated you on what’s been going on here in Florida. The weather is much of the same…. sunny in the morning and raining in the evening. Florida has been under thunder and lightening watch in the evenings lately, which is very unusual for me.  But enough about the weather, lets get to the exciting adventures I have had this week.

On Monday, three of my friends and I decided to challenge ourselves and do all four parks in 1 day. We left the housing complexes bright and early at 9:30am. Some of you may think that is late but since we work such late hours, most of us sleep late in the day. We headed to Disney’s Animal Kingdom first. We went to see the Lion King show and we also went on Expedition Everest. We spent about 2 hours here.  Next stop was Disney’s Hollywood Studios. We arrived at my second home and headed straight to Sunset Boulevard to see our coworkers. Yes, on our day off we go to our workplace… I don’t know why but I do it every time. There is just something about going when I’m not working to see everyone and eat the foods I cannot eat when I’m working. We went to see Beauty and the Beast. It was fabulous as always and we all sang along to the songs. As the park was not to busy, we also had time to ride Rockin Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror.  We headed to Sweet Spells and got a little sweet treat and then it was off to the next park!

Around 3pm we arrived at our third park Epcot. We headed over to see the Interactions with Crush show in the sea’s area. The show with crush was so cute and very interactive. I really enjoyed it! We then went to Soarin and there was absolutely no line… it as awesome. We just walked right into the queue and went straight onto the ride. Next up was test track and we waited about 10 minutes in line for the ride. After that we did a quick walk around the world showcase to scope out food and wine locations as all of my friends are working there. We left Epcot around 6:30pm and headed to the last park of the day to complete our challenge…. The Magic Kingdom.  Once we arrived at MK, we went to get something to eat. We were starved! After that we headed over to the main area in front of Cinderella’s Castle and waited to see the updated Celebrate the Magic show. Following that was Wishes.  After wishes we went to see Mickey’s Philarmagic show followed by Space Mountain. We did a bit of shopping in the Emporium and then we headed home. We had so much fun and I am definitely looking forward to doing it again.

Tuesday was another day off for me this week. I just had a chill day and did some housekeeping things. I worked on an assignment for school that was due and then chilled with my friends in the evening. I worked the rest of the week.

On Sunday I had tickets to see Meghan Trainor. She is a fantastic performer. She had Common Kings (whom I have never heard of) and Hailee Steinfield open up for her. They really got the party starting. It was an early concert as it started at 7pm and finished at 10pm. Meghan sang for an hour and half. She sang almost all of the songs from her newest album and she even brought both her parents on the stage. At the end, she brought her fans on the stage and really made them feel very special. I would definitely go and see her in concert again.

That's it for me for this week. I hope everyone is doing well!!!

Xoxo

Michelle

At Home in Disney's Hollywood Studios

(From left Me, Sandra, Emily and Leanna)

Our First Stop..... Disney's Animal Kingdom

We have travelled around the world... at Epcot

At the Magic Kingdom

Meghan Trainor's Stage

(From left: Jen, Kyley and Me)

Let the Magic Continue

Its been a long week for me. I am happy to report I survived my 8 days straight of work. It got a bit tough the last 2 days but I managed to pull through and Wednesday never felt so good.

As Wednesday was my first day off last week I originally was going to just hang out around the house but I shortly after decided to go out and do something. I had to run to Epcot to get a hat for work and my friend Alex had training so I met up with him and we hung out at Epcot. We walked around the world showcase and checked out where he would be working as he has been deployed for Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival. After that we headed over to Hollywood Studios and I watched Frozen of course. We also rode Rocking Rollercoaster while waiting for our friend Sandra to get off work. When she was off we went to Cast Connections. We didn’t buy anything as there was nothing new available. After that we were all starving so we headed to BJ’s for dinner. BJ’s is just a restaurant that has a variety of food options and it is similar to White Spot in Canada. We decided to have a movie night so we headed home and watched part of Mamma Mia and How to be Single. It was nice to just have a movie night and chill.

Thursday was back to work as usual.

On Friday I had work and after work my friends and I headed to Clearwater, FL, which is close to Tampa. My friend Sandra had something she needed to do there and didn’t want to drive by herself. Since I was off early and Alex was also off early we decided to go with her. We had the opportunity to walk along the water and it was very peaceful. It was nice to get away from all the hustle and bustle of Disney and just hear silence. Getting out of Orlando made me realize how much more there is to discover and makes me want to go on day trips more often, when it is possible. We had a great evening and I think we are all looking forward to do that again.

Saturday was my other day off last week and I took the day to get caught up on my laundry, TV shows and some assignments I haven’t had time to complete. I finally had some uninterrupted time to complete my first Study Abroad Report. It took me a while to finish it but that's always how it is. Later that day I went to the outlet malls to look around and also get out of the house. I was starting to go mental! After my friend Sandra was off work, I went over to her place to chill with her and her roommate. It was a very relaxing day off.

Sunday I had work and I also had a super long shift that I wasn’t looking forward too. I went into work thinking it would a very long day but it proved to be just the opposite. Right when I walked into the prep kitchen to put my bag away, one of my leaders offers me these chocolate mousse cups and brownies (both were amazingly delicious). I also got to open Hollywood Scoops! I love it.

After my first break (I got 2), I got asked to participate in a big magical moment. We are doing a new thing where we go and walk along our street and look for people to invite to “Be Our Guest”. We are feeding off this theme and treating them to a free meal from any of our quick food locations. It took us 3 different tries but we finally found this couple that was hungry and on the second part of their honeymoon. We took them to a special table that was set up and served them like they would receive in any Full Service Restaurant. We even got to give them a special fast passes and candy apples that said Mr. & Mrs. on them.

This was such a rewarding experience. Not only because I got asked to do this by my leaders but also because it was so rewarding to see how happy this couple was. They were so grateful and polite and they were also very easy to talk too. It really made me realize how such a small gesture can change our guests day and really stand out for them. It was awesome.

Well that's all for me tonight.

Until next time,

Michelle

xoxo

(The Sunset on Friday)

Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party!!!

It's been a crazy last couple days here in Florida. It has been raining like crazy here the last couple days and has reminded me a lot of fall in Vancouver. We are in hurricane season right now. 

As I took my days off while my family was here, I am currently half way through working 8 days straight. It hasn't been as bad as I thought. Time has been going by fast (as always) and I have still been able to hang out with my friends too. 

On Wednesday after work, I went to see Pete's Dragon with my friends and some of their roommates. It was such a cute movie. As always Disney did an amazing job in putting together a great film. I don't want to spoil it for anyone but it was so touching to see how a little boy can find a home with a dragon! I would definitely see it again and even buy it on Blue-Ray. 

As most of you know I am not big on Halloween. But as I am in Florida and at Disney World, I decided to go with my friends to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. We went last night and it was opening night. It is at Magic Kingdom and the park was decorated with pumpkins everywhere. All the cast members were wearing special costumes with bats all over them. It was super cool to see. They also had trick or treating throughout the park. They gave you a trick or treat bag and started you off with a nice goodie bag. They also had special characters that come out during the party as well. These characters for example are Queen of Hearts, Lotso, the Mad Hatter, Piglet, and Gaston.  

There were also special Halloween parades and shows. The wishes fireworks show turned into "Hallowwishes" and the colors of the fireworks were purple, green and orange. They also had a special Mickey’s “Boo to You” parade which highlighted all the villains in all the Disney movies. Lastly, they have a stage show called Houcus Pocus Villian Spectacular that again highlights all the villains of Disney. Most importantly they had special Halloween treats you can only get during the party. They had caramel corn soft serve, spider cupcake and a pumpkin spiced cupcake as well. It was well worth the 55$ and it was an experience I was glad to share with all my friends. 

That's a wrap everyone. Highlights of this week will be up on Sunday!! 

Yours Truly, 

Michelle

xoxo

(Cinderella's Castle during Hallowwishes)

The Parade

(it actually smelt like candy when this was passing through)