Days 4, 5, 6, and 7!!

Wow, things have gotten crazy! I've barely had time to update, obviously. So this might be a long-ish one.

SO Animal Kingdom on Thursday was a blast! It was really cool to see my ride, the Wildlife Express [WHICH, (as pointed out by ...ahem...Tom...) I failed to mention, I will rotate between driving and giving the tour speech for]!! Haley, Grapes, and I spent a good portion of the day there, going on Everest, seeing Finding Nemo (SO GOOD!) and just having a great day exploring the park and seeing the animals. THEN we got the bus back to Patterson and met a kid who told us about a Day Glo party that a nearby club was having. So of course, we ended up going that night.

For those who've never heard of it, a Day Glo party is a neon paint party. Everyone wears white and the only lights are blacklights, and they spray/throw paint on the whole crowd. It was quite an experience. I'm glad we got to do it, but we ended up leaving early because there were SO many people there that we could hardly breathe. SO Haley's sister came and picked us up. It was TONS of fun, but we were glad to get out of there.

Then on Friday, Grapes, Haley and I slept in (while the other three roomies went to work!) and when we were all up and about, we went to Disney's Hollywood Studios! We had SSOO much fun! I felt like such a little kid, walking down Sunset Blvd, being greeted by old-Hollywood style characters, etc. It was an absolute blast. We went on the Great Movie ride, Rockin' Roller Coaster, and some other fun stuff, before Grapes decided she wanted to go to Magic Kingdom. So it was just Haley and I who went on the Tower of Terror, saw the Journey of the Little Mermaid, Rockin' Roller Coaster again, got ice cream, watched a hilarious street show, and went home. That night, I went over to Ryan and Shelsy's and just chilled for a few hours before going home to sleep.

SATURDAY!!! Saturday was DAKlimation!!! It was our introduction to Disney's Animal Kingdom. All-in-all, it was a 6 hour orientation. It was great. We learned all about the history of Animal Kingdom, got awesome water bottles, and took a tour of the whole park, learning SO much along the way. After we ate lunch, we went to costuming!! I found my costume without much trouble, and went home with 5 sets of shorts and t-shirts. It was quite possibly the best day yet.

Yesterday was a nice, relaxing day. I went to church with Ryan and Shelsy in the morning, and ended up hanging out with them until around 8pm. Shelsy and I played Disney Dance Dance!!! We totally rocked it. Then we went to the grocery store which was oh so much fun. Everyone and their mom stopped us to say how cute Amber was. The lady in the seafood dept. even told us we could leave her there if we wanted. Everyone loves her. I can't blame them. We went home, made dinner, and sat around till the baby woke up, and I left not much later.

TODAY is my last day off before OJT (on the job trainint) starts!! I can't WAIT for tomorrow!! It's gonna be great. But I have a TON to do today, including go buy unmarked, black, leather shoes, so I'd best be going. I miss you all!

Oh, and pics of my costume, roommates, and apartment are coming soon, I promise.

Day 3

Well, it's official. I am now 100% a cast member at Walt Disney World!!!!
Yesterday was Traditions, a 4+ hour class about Disney history, policy, legacy, etc etc etc. We got our nametags, which all say our university on them. Not what I requested; I wanted it to say Philadelphia, PA because NO ONE knows where Kutztown University is!! Oh well. If anyone asks, I'll tell them.

All around, Traditions was really fun, a good opportunity to meet people, and we really learned a lot about the Disney Company. A good thing, before starting work.

Then, after Traditions, I met Ryan, Shelsy, and Amber at Downtown Disney for some dinner and shopping. It was good fun and a good sandwich! Amber was really happy most of the time we were there, which just made it ever so much more fun. We walked through what used to be Pleasure Island. All the closed up clubs and stuff made me very sad. It looks like it used to be a happenin' place. But, no longer. But anyway, it was a very fun night and I'd love to do it again...once I have some money.

Today, two of the roomies and I are off to Animal Kingdom to see my job!! And we'll probably go to Epcot to see the fireworks tonight. What a ride this is all going to be.

Day 2

So I'm going to try to update as often as possible, to keep you all informed about what's going on. We'll see how long that lasts.

Yesterday we had our housing orientation meeting, which was almost entirely predictable. It was basically just how to behave, how to treat the apartments, the top 10 reasons why people get sent home, etc. OH and we do have apartment inspections. If our apartment fails the inspection, we each get fined $25. If it passes above expectations, we get a big box of chocolates!! So we're trying for the chocolate.

After the housing meeting, Mom, Ryan, Shelsy, Amber, and I went to IKEA (A.K.A. the best store EVER). We ate lunch there and then shopped for some fun stuff. Amber screeched (very happily!) quite a bit. It's really adorable when she does that, but very loud. After we came back and had everything in the apartment, we sat around for a little while, then the family left to take Mom to the airport. It was sad to see her leave, but I'm glad I get to see her and my whole family again in just about a week and a half for Elizabeth's wedding!!

Last night was the welcome pool party. 4 of the 6 roommates went. We danced the Cupid Shuffle, ate hot dogs, and played lots and lots of volleyball. I met SO many people, I can hardly remember everyone's names. BUT I do remember that I met a guy who lives in Allentown (which, for those who don't know, is a city that's only about 20 minutes from Kutztown!), so that was pretty cool. Then it started raining while we were playing volleyball, but we stayed anyway. So bottom line, we all got soaked and covered in sand. So we went home and got showers before going out for dinner.

Today we all have Traditions, which is sort of an orientation to the Disney company. We'll get our nametags and officially be hired as Disney cast members. However, the dress code for Traditions is REALLY strict, so we're all worried about what to wear. It's been quite an interesting morning.

Bring on the pixie dust.

DAY 1!!!!

OK, so I'm officially and FINALLY here!! However, I don't have time for a real update, so here are the basics.

Yesterday morning, I checked in, got my housing ID, and moved in to Patterson Court.
My roommate's name is Grapes. She lived in Africa this summer.
My house/apartmentmates are great. They're all so much fun. I think we'll get along wonderfully.
Mom bought me the most amazing corn muffins.
OH and the BIGGEST NEWS OF ALL!!

I WILL BE WORKING IN DISNEY'S ANIMAL KINGDOM ON THE WILDLIFE EXPRESS!!!!!
to be seen here: http://tinyurl.com/nmthoo
and here: http://preview.tinyurl.com/lnjxxc

So exciting. I can't even wait. Orientation is on Saturday. Free days Thursday and Friday=me going to the Disney parks FOR FREEEE!!!

Love you all.