"And this form basically says that you agree to give your first-born child to Mickey Mouse."
Hiya folks, and thanks for stopping by. It’s been a busy two weeks since I last updated, an amazing two weeks as well. But here is my feeble attempt to highlight the well, highlights of that time. Now if everyone remains calmly seated with their hands, arms, feet and legs inside at all times and refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and the use of flash photography, then we can begin. *waits for pre-recorded Spanish spiel to play* Sorry, Disney is starting to get to me.
Just after New Year’s began what turned into a farewell tour for me. I had to say goodbye to a lot of family and friends. It goes without saying that a huge part of my life is up north, and I’m going to miss it a great deal. But enough about that, let’s move forward.
Thursday night I packed up the car with most of my worldly belongings and left Reading with my dad just past 7. We drove through Massachusetts and about 2 hours later arrived at Brian’s house in Connecticut to pack a few of his effects into the only remaining space in my car. For a minute, it looked like it wouldn’t all fit and the view out the rear mirror was quite obscured, but it all turned out all right. By 10:30 we hit NYC, then took a wrong turn off the George Washington Bridge onto the Garden State Parkway instead of the New Jersey Turnpike, which ended up costing us about 40 minutes and 10 bucks in tolls. Not good when you have the entire east coast in front of you.
Eventually we found the Turnpike and I got to experience the wonderful smells of New Jersey. After Jersey we hit Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. Virginia in particular never seemed to end, and now about 10 hours into the trip, we were quite anxious to hit North Carolina. At last we did, and at 8 am sharp, we finally got to my uncle Ron’s. We chatted for a few minutes and soon after I was out. Slept until about 3:30, then got up and had breakfast. About 3 hours later, it was time for dinner. So my dad, Ron, Lauren, Kara, Ben and I all went to some Japanese place, which was very good, as they always are. After a quick stop at Best Buy, we watched Wedding Crashers and not too soon after, went to bed.
Saturday was a lazy day for the most part, though Kara and I did make it to Franklin Street (the main street for kids at UNC Chapel Hill) for some pizza and a little shopping. That night, we had homemade burritos and watched the Pats game. I tried to be in bed relatively early, as the next day would be another long day in the car.
We left on Sunday around 10, stopped at the infamous South of the Border (on the NC, SC line) then drove straight through South Carolina (another long one), and then Georgia. Once we were almost to Florida, we stopped at a small diner that looked exactly like a small town diner you would see in a movie from the old folks outside reading the paper in rocking chairs to the orange and yellow seats inside to the Southern belle type waitress who seemed to know everyone. It was quite an experience. When we were done there, we hit Florida at last, though it still took another 3 plus hours to get to Orlando. We arrived at our hotel around 8 and settled in for the night.
The next morning, we got up moderately early and went looking for my apartment complex. Long story short, we took a left instead of a right and ended up wasting a great deal of time. Unsuccessful, we went over to Epcot for the remainder of the day and saw the fireworks before coming back for the night. Tuesday, my last day as a “guest,” we hit MGM and the Magic Kingdom. That night I met Brian and his dad and we discussed the plans for the morning.
And then, dun dun dun, came move-in day over at Vista Way. We arrived just past 9 in the morning. Disney happens to be known for it’s efficiency, but the way they handled this was amazing. Everything went incredibly smoothly and by 10:45 we were at our apartment moving. The place is pretty nice: Brian and I have our own room and bathroom, then there’s a living room, kitchen, 2 other bedrooms and another bathroom. If you’re doing your math, that would give us a total of 4 other roommates, or 6 altogether. Oscar, from Vegas, who will be one of the fearless characters (Pluto we think); Mike, also from Vegas believe it or not, will be at the beautiful Yacht and Beach Club Resort working as a bellman; Josh, from Pennsylvania, who will be in crowd control at the Magic Kingdom; and Bobby from New York who will be life guarding at the Old Key West Resort, and apparently also running the fireworks cruises for VIPs. Brian and I have somehow been put together over at the Land pavilion at Epcot running the boat cruise through the greenhouses. I’m happy about it, but Brian, not surprisingly, is not at all and will try to transfer out, which is just fine with me.
So Wednesday and Thursday were mostly about getting settled in, buying groceries (something new for all of us), and learning about where we were working. But on Friday, I got up at 5, took a bus behind the Magic Kingdom at 6, and got to Disney University for “Traditions” at 7. It’s basically a 5-hour class where you sign your life away and learn all about the culture and heritage of the Walt Disney Company. It’s also when you officially become a Disney cast member. Once we had completed our brainwashing, we were free to go into the parks and explore anywhere a cast member can explore. For me, this meant I was going down into the tunnels underneath the Magic Kingdom. That in and of itself was a dream come true (I have strange dreams I know), but it was quite an interesting experience. That night we met up with some fellow Disney-freaks who we’d actually gone exploring with the day before, and saw Illuminations at Epcot.
Yesterday I was up before the sun again to go to Epcot for “Discovery Day.” Basically, we learned a little bit of history about the park, took a tour, and got our costumes (which are just oh-so-cool). Last night, we went to MGM with Josh to try and get into a taping of Who Wants to Be A Millionaire. Low and behold, we did, so look for the back of my head February 9 and 10. Came back here, watched 40 Year Old Virgin and called it a night.
Today we went over to MGM for two of my favorite attractions- Rock’n’Rollercoaster and Tower of Terror. As for the rest of the day, well who knows? There really never is a dull moment around here, so I’m sure I’ll find something to do pretty easily. The Magic Kingdom for a spin on Space Mountain? Pleasure Island to see some of the clubs? Animal Kingdom to go look at Everest (Disney’s newest ride opening in April that I get to ride on Friday)? This really is the most amazing place I’ve ever been and I can truly say there is no place on earth I’d rather be.
That’s it for now. Training starts on Tuesday and continues all week, so I’ll be sure to keep you up to date on what I’ll be up to while I’m down here. Until next time, have a magical day.
Just after New Year’s began what turned into a farewell tour for me. I had to say goodbye to a lot of family and friends. It goes without saying that a huge part of my life is up north, and I’m going to miss it a great deal. But enough about that, let’s move forward.
Thursday night I packed up the car with most of my worldly belongings and left Reading with my dad just past 7. We drove through Massachusetts and about 2 hours later arrived at Brian’s house in Connecticut to pack a few of his effects into the only remaining space in my car. For a minute, it looked like it wouldn’t all fit and the view out the rear mirror was quite obscured, but it all turned out all right. By 10:30 we hit NYC, then took a wrong turn off the George Washington Bridge onto the Garden State Parkway instead of the New Jersey Turnpike, which ended up costing us about 40 minutes and 10 bucks in tolls. Not good when you have the entire east coast in front of you.
Eventually we found the Turnpike and I got to experience the wonderful smells of New Jersey. After Jersey we hit Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. Virginia in particular never seemed to end, and now about 10 hours into the trip, we were quite anxious to hit North Carolina. At last we did, and at 8 am sharp, we finally got to my uncle Ron’s. We chatted for a few minutes and soon after I was out. Slept until about 3:30, then got up and had breakfast. About 3 hours later, it was time for dinner. So my dad, Ron, Lauren, Kara, Ben and I all went to some Japanese place, which was very good, as they always are. After a quick stop at Best Buy, we watched Wedding Crashers and not too soon after, went to bed.
Saturday was a lazy day for the most part, though Kara and I did make it to Franklin Street (the main street for kids at UNC Chapel Hill) for some pizza and a little shopping. That night, we had homemade burritos and watched the Pats game. I tried to be in bed relatively early, as the next day would be another long day in the car.
We left on Sunday around 10, stopped at the infamous South of the Border (on the NC, SC line) then drove straight through South Carolina (another long one), and then Georgia. Once we were almost to Florida, we stopped at a small diner that looked exactly like a small town diner you would see in a movie from the old folks outside reading the paper in rocking chairs to the orange and yellow seats inside to the Southern belle type waitress who seemed to know everyone. It was quite an experience. When we were done there, we hit Florida at last, though it still took another 3 plus hours to get to Orlando. We arrived at our hotel around 8 and settled in for the night.
The next morning, we got up moderately early and went looking for my apartment complex. Long story short, we took a left instead of a right and ended up wasting a great deal of time. Unsuccessful, we went over to Epcot for the remainder of the day and saw the fireworks before coming back for the night. Tuesday, my last day as a “guest,” we hit MGM and the Magic Kingdom. That night I met Brian and his dad and we discussed the plans for the morning.
And then, dun dun dun, came move-in day over at Vista Way. We arrived just past 9 in the morning. Disney happens to be known for it’s efficiency, but the way they handled this was amazing. Everything went incredibly smoothly and by 10:45 we were at our apartment moving. The place is pretty nice: Brian and I have our own room and bathroom, then there’s a living room, kitchen, 2 other bedrooms and another bathroom. If you’re doing your math, that would give us a total of 4 other roommates, or 6 altogether. Oscar, from Vegas, who will be one of the fearless characters (Pluto we think); Mike, also from Vegas believe it or not, will be at the beautiful Yacht and Beach Club Resort working as a bellman; Josh, from Pennsylvania, who will be in crowd control at the Magic Kingdom; and Bobby from New York who will be life guarding at the Old Key West Resort, and apparently also running the fireworks cruises for VIPs. Brian and I have somehow been put together over at the Land pavilion at Epcot running the boat cruise through the greenhouses. I’m happy about it, but Brian, not surprisingly, is not at all and will try to transfer out, which is just fine with me.
So Wednesday and Thursday were mostly about getting settled in, buying groceries (something new for all of us), and learning about where we were working. But on Friday, I got up at 5, took a bus behind the Magic Kingdom at 6, and got to Disney University for “Traditions” at 7. It’s basically a 5-hour class where you sign your life away and learn all about the culture and heritage of the Walt Disney Company. It’s also when you officially become a Disney cast member. Once we had completed our brainwashing, we were free to go into the parks and explore anywhere a cast member can explore. For me, this meant I was going down into the tunnels underneath the Magic Kingdom. That in and of itself was a dream come true (I have strange dreams I know), but it was quite an interesting experience. That night we met up with some fellow Disney-freaks who we’d actually gone exploring with the day before, and saw Illuminations at Epcot.
Yesterday I was up before the sun again to go to Epcot for “Discovery Day.” Basically, we learned a little bit of history about the park, took a tour, and got our costumes (which are just oh-so-cool). Last night, we went to MGM with Josh to try and get into a taping of Who Wants to Be A Millionaire. Low and behold, we did, so look for the back of my head February 9 and 10. Came back here, watched 40 Year Old Virgin and called it a night.
Today we went over to MGM for two of my favorite attractions- Rock’n’Rollercoaster and Tower of Terror. As for the rest of the day, well who knows? There really never is a dull moment around here, so I’m sure I’ll find something to do pretty easily. The Magic Kingdom for a spin on Space Mountain? Pleasure Island to see some of the clubs? Animal Kingdom to go look at Everest (Disney’s newest ride opening in April that I get to ride on Friday)? This really is the most amazing place I’ve ever been and I can truly say there is no place on earth I’d rather be.
That’s it for now. Training starts on Tuesday and continues all week, so I’ll be sure to keep you up to date on what I’ll be up to while I’m down here. Until next time, have a magical day.