Jingle Bells

On one of my days off last week I had to get up at 6am to go to the social security office, I was not impressed! They open it early as there is so many of us but I don’t enjoy that time of morning. It just involved handing over paper work and answering a few questions. When I got home I went back to bed! I will soon be a legal alien in the USA, but hopefully I won’t grow another head or turn green. I went to Epcot in the afternoon as a guest, looking around the park and tasting beer from different countries! On Christmas Eve I worked till half nine then we had some people over. We sung Christmas songs and followed Santa round the World on the internet!

On Christmas morning, my friends from my arrival group came round to my apartment for an English fry up and to swap Secret Santa gifts. It was nice to have something to unwrap as I’d already had all of my other presents! I got sweets, a fluffy Minnie pen, a photo frame and a Mulan pin, so I think I did pretty well. I worked from 1pm but the park was relatively quiet, but at least the sun was shining. I served Kevin Webster from Coronation Street, although I didn’t have a clue who he was at the time! In the evening I didn’t get home till about 11pm but someone had already started cooking dinner. Two of the guys from work had finished early so cooked for about 20 of us! I had turkey and all the trimmings, even homemade pigs in blankets! It was a really lovely evening and it was good to spend time together outside of work.

On Boxing Day I started the second part of my training. I have to greet the guests as they arrive and the restaurant and check them in then seat them once their table is ready. It‘s not extremely taxing but it’s good fun as you can interact a lot with the guests and get to learn the restaurant layout and operations which will help me to become a server quicker, which is when we get tips!  The table numbers took a while to get used to be it does make sense when you’ve worked it out. The restaurant is booked out weeks in advanced although we do sometimes have space for walk ins. The food all looks good, I need to start learning the menu soon!

Today I went to Hollywood studios for the afternoon, it was so busy. The queue for Toy Story mania was 3 hours long! It’s a good ride but I’m glad we have a chance to go back when it’s not so busy. Apparently the middle of January is quiet in Disney so we’ll try and go on all the good rides then. The next few days are going to be really busy everywhere, Epcot expects over 70,000 people on New Year’s Eve! I’m working till 12:30am that night but I think it will be fun to be in the park when it strikes midnight. The fireworks are going to be amazing, I don’t even want to know how much they cost. We’ll also celebrate at 7pm, as that’s midnight at home!

I’m sure I’ve done a lot more but I can’t really remember! I went out on Monday night dressed as a pirate J  we played games and danced around a lot! I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas with lots of festive cheer.

Happy New Year!!

From Florida with Love,

Emily

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Working 9 To 5

I can’t believe it’s been over a week, days seem to go by quicker here! I’ve have a hectic weekend, working and playing hard! I have one more day at work tomorrow from 1-10pm then two days off, wahoo!

At my theme park orientation day last Monday we did actually get to go on Spaceship Earth, the ride inside the big golf ball! It was really good fun, there’s a lot more in Epcot than I realised. It was so windy when we were walking round, making it freezing cold (I’m sorry England I know it’s colder there!). In the afternoon we went for our costume fitting. I haven’t managed to take a picture yet but it is rather fetching! Especially the mop cap, it makes any girl look good. I had to buy non slip work shoes which are also rather attractive! Most shops around Orlando give Cast Members Disney Discount so I managed to get some money off. They haven’t rubbed at all but my feet definitely ache but the time I’ve finished an 8 hours shift.

On Wednesday night I went to the Disney Entertainment staff Christmas Ball, it sounds very fancy! It was on the Disney Broadwalk in a large dance hall. After having a few drinks in a bar called Jellyrolls, where two many play the piano and sing requests, we headed over to the ball. It was really busy and everyone was having a good bogey! The queue for the bar was quite big so we headed upstairs to find a table. Someone noticed Bruno Mars (sing ‘Billionaire’ and ‘Just the way you are’) standing nearby. When it looked like he was about to leave we subtly wondered over and asked for a photo. He was really lovely and obliged, but quickly left afterwards! The evening before we had also met one of the Backstreet Boys, AJ, in a bar on International Drive!

I had three days training at work, learning how to open and run the fish and chip hut (they are really good!) and how to use the tills. It is constantly busy from 11.30am to 9.30pm. A lot of the costumers are actually English, even though they can get fish and chips at home too!  Everyone that works in the UK pavilion seem really friendly, the chefs are good fun.

Merry Christmas!!!

From Florida with Love

Emily

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Our House

I’m definitely starting to settle in, although it will be a while till I get used to how big it is here! You can walk to an outlet mall and the local supermarket from my apartment but you need to get a bus everywhere else. There are free buses to all the Disney theme parks, shops, restaurants etc. practically 24 hours but they do take ages! Taxis can be quite cheap if there’s a lot of you so sometimes it’s easier to jump in one.

The complex where I live is really lovely, surprisingly quite with so many people living here. My roommate, Marie, is French and she speaks very good English as she has lived in Canada and Australia before. So far everything has been alright as we’re not in much and are both quite heavy sleepers! I’m also living with a German, Italian, Japanese and another English girl, Tori. My bathroom is en suite, shared with another bedroom. I need to make sure I remember to lock both doors before having a shower! I haven’t actually cooked dinner here yet but the kitchen seems well equipped and there are two massive fridges, so enough room for everyone! We don’t have a TV but I can watch most things on my laptop. We’re having a X factor night tonight to watch the final while eating Chinese! We have a wireless router but it doesn’t seem to be working at the moment so I have to be in the living room to get online which is annoying!

We’ve had a few VERY boring days, filling out paper work and listening to people going on about rules and regulations. I did get to meet Mickey on Saturday though! I even got a hug as I answered a question correctly J He was very excited to see us! My arrival group also got to go “backstage” at Magic Kingdom to see how all the magic happens. We had lunch in the cafeteria and saw Belle, Snow White and Cinderella! I’m going to Epcot tomorrow to have my “Theme Park Orientation Day”, hopefully this means we just to get to test out all the rides and restaurants!

I’ve already managed to do a lot since getting here. On Thursday night I went to Downtown Disney with a group of new people from the UK and Canada. We ate in the House of Blues and had a few cocktails (Happy hour - $2 a drink!). We all had a day off on Friday so a few of us went to Florida Mall then to Sea World to watch the evening show! I saw the Manatees, baby Dolphins and the Killer Whales. The Show was really good, the whales were amazing! Last night we went back to Magic Kingdom to watch the fireworks and the evening parade. The fireworks were fantastic, they kept getting better and better! We had been up from 5am yesterday morning though so I was absolutely exhausted by the time we got back at 1:30am. I got a long lie in this morning though!

I get my work schedule tomorrow for the next two weeks so I can get a bit more organised. I’m looking forward to starting work but I know we will be thrown right in the deep end over Christmas. I hope all your holiday plans are going well and you're keeping warm!

From Florida with Love

Emily

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Beyond the Sea

There is already so much to say, not sure where to start!

Despite leaving my passport behind when we left the house the first time, I got here safely!  The journey was fine, it went by quite quickly.  I watched 3 films, had two meals and one glass of wine! I managed to have a bit of a nap too.

I got to the hotel at about 4pm US time but it was already 9pm in my head! My room was really lovely, big TV an HUGE bed. It was wider than it was long! I met up with the other British people who are starting work at the same time as me and we went for dinner. We went to an Irish pub called the Tilted Kilt, where the waitresses wore tartan bras and kilts/belts, very classy! I wasn’t too hungry so ordered nachos. I have never seen a plate so big! I tried to wrestle my way through it but I barely made a dent. By 10pm (3am to me) I finally went to bed. It was actually quite a cold night, apparently it was the coldest day in Florida for about 40 years! Typical, it should be getting hotter by the weekend, fingers crossed.

We got to the Disney reception at midday on Tuesday and then they took us to our apartments. I’m sharing with 7 other girls though none of them were in when I arrived, my roommate still hasn’t moved in yet. We headed off to Wal-Mart to buy bedding and some supplies for the next few days. The food is sold in ridiculously large portions, everything’s massive! They had a small English section where a tiny jar of marmite cost over $6, I don’t think I’ll be eating much of that. When I got back It was a bit of a struggle trying to work out how to put all my sheets on in the right order!

The next two days are orientation, filling in lots of paperwork and learning our way around. I will hopefully meet Mickey soon!

From Florida with Love

Emily

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