Hurricanes, 4 parks in 1 day, Thanksgiving and more!
So as you can tell from the blog title, I have had an action packed two weeks here in Orlando! The first major thing that happened in the last two weeks is that I survived my first Hurricane! As many of you know, Hurricane Matthew moved north into Florida about a week ago and it was a pretty big storm that caused a lot of destruction in coastal cities. It was so big that Disney even decided to close it’s doors early on Thursday and close all day Friday! This is something that has only happened 4 times now in anticipation of hurricanes! Because of these closures, I ended up with two extra days off that week. Thursday we spent the morning preparing for the hurricane, getting some “supplies” (see pic below) (lol jk we actually also bought some real food and water) and also prepping our bedroom for the hurricane. At first we didn’t really think the hurricane was much of a big deal but as it got closer to Florida and the hype built up we began taking it a bit more seriously. As you can see in the picture below, Eileen and I used our box springs to barricade the windows and we slept on our mattresses on the floor that night. We also cleared out our closet in case we needed to seek refuge in there and filled our bathtub with water in case the power went out so that we could still flush the toilet. That night we spent together with a couple of our Canadian friends and we had a hurricane sleepover party! The next morning, we woke up around 11am to find that we had in fact slept through the hurricane and it was already up the coast in Jacksonville. By 2pm that day our curfew was lifted and things were starting to open up again and by Saturday morning things in Orlando were back to normal.
Saturday after the hurricane was a big day for me! My roommate Heather and I decided to tackle the four parks in one day challenge! (Unfortunately Eileen was sick and could not join us) We started in Animal Kingdom at 10am where we got some Starbucks for breakfast then went to watch the Festival of the Lion King show. This was actually my first time in Animal Kingdom since I have been in Orlando! I really love the Festival of the Lion King so it was a must do. Since Animal Kingdom is so big that is all we ended up doing there because it would take us so long to walk from one attraction to the other and we had a big day ahead of us and didn't want to waste any time. Then we took a bus to Hollywood Studios! There we had fast passes for Toy Story Mania and Tower of Terror, and we also did the Great Movie Ride and got a Mickey Pretzel for a snack. Next we took a boat over to Epcot, where we got another snack at the Food & Wine festival (I got the Chocolate Caramel Creme Brûlée from France and Heather got Szechuan Chicken from China) before meeting Lauren who joined us for the rest of our day. We went on Figment’s Journey Through the Imagination and Mission: Space before taking the monorail over to the Magic Kingdom. The Magic Kingdom on this day was quite busy so when we got there we first decided to get some dinner at Pinocchio's Village Haus then we decided to get a spot for the Main Street Electrical Parade. This was my last viewing of the parade and I cherished every minute of it! Magic Kingdom seems so bare at night now without that glittering parade. After the parade we of course watched Wishes and Celebrate the Magic, then went on the Astro Orbiter before heading home. By the time we got home we were feeling quite exhausted but overall we had a really amazing day!
Back home in Canada on this weekend, our families were celebrating Thanksgiving! It was weird being in Orlando over Thanksgiving because it is not a holiday here (well it is Columbus Day but I feel like it's not really a holiday?). I had to work both Sunday and Monday, but we actually had quite a few guests wish us a Happy Thanksgiving which was super sweet and thoughtful. On Monday, one of the servers at Le Cellier rented a hotel room and spent her day off cooking a Turkey dinner and invited all of the Canada Pavilion staff to enjoy it! It was really nice having a home cooked meal and I loved spending it with all of my new friends from work! It really made me feel more at home on this weekend where I normally would be spending it with family.
The Wednesday following Thanksgiving marked one month since I have been in Orlando! We didn't really do anything specific to celebrate one month but we did have a busy day! The day began with breakfast at Trails End at the Fort Wilderness Campsites with Eileen and Darien. I had never been here before but everyone raves about the breakfast buffet here so we had to try it out! It's quite a trek to get there, because you have to first go to Wilderness lodge and then take a boat ride over to the campsites, but it was an absolutely beautiful morning and it almost felt like I was back home in Ontario because the scenery was so beautiful. The breakfast buffet was absolutely amazing! It costs regularly $20 per person and that includes all you can eat plus drinks! We also happened to have a sweet cast discount so it definitely made it worth it for us! After breakfast Eileen and I went to Epcot for a few hours until I had to go to work at 4:15. Then when I finished work at 9:20pm, I hustled over to Magic Kingdom to meet up with Eileen, Rylan, and Steph for the last two hours of the evening. I got to MK just as fireworks were starting and then we of course watched Celebrate the Magic, before going to do Space Mountain (we had fast passes). This day really made me feel so lucky to be where I am! I really love being able to just hop over to parks whenever I want and to do things without feeling the pressure to get everything done that you might normally feel on a vacation. And even though this day was busy busy busy, it didn't feel that way!
Thursday this week I went to Typhoon Lagoon with Morgan! My friendship with Morgan began long before I arrived in Orlando because we met on Facebook in the months leading up to our arrivals dates (she arrived 2 weeks before me). Unfortunately though, with our busy schedules it took us a month to finally hang out together! We decided to go check out one of the water parks because we as cast members get free admission right now (usually we still have to pay to get in), and chose Typhoon Lagoon because we wanted more of a relaxing day. When we first got there we did all of the water slides, then we hung out in the wave pool for a bit (the best wave pool EVER) and then took a ride around the lazy river. We were only there for about 2 hours but that was enough time for us. We grabbed some food at Typhoon Lagoon and then decided to head over to Epcot to get a drink and wander around the World Showcase. We got a pineapple “dole whip” with rum (YES THIS IS A THING AND YES IT IS AMAZING) then took a walk through all of the countries. Some of the countries I had never actually took the time to explore in previous visits so it was awesome to see all that the pavilions have to offer! We also stopped in Germany to get a caramel treat at the Werther's store (chocolate caramel s'more YUM) before deciding to head home for the evening.
I also had Friday off this week, so Morgan and I hung out again and we went over to Cast Connections. Cast Connections is a discounted merchandise store only for cast members and their guests. It is massive! They sell a lot of discontinued merch or overstock for very low prices! They also have a random grocery section that has produce, bread, eggs and milk for cheap prices! It's my understanding that it's overstock from the resort or the “ugly” fruit and vegetables, so they sell it to us for dirt cheap. At Cast Connections they also have “Mickey’s Treasures” which is a cast member only room where they sell broken or returned merchandise for 75% or more off. I was able to get some really great deals on things! For example I got a pair of Minnie Mouse ears that are regular price $20 in the parks but I got them for $5! What was wrong with them, you ask? A tiny little fray on the bow that I easily cut off. Viola! Perfect ears for a fraction of the price. Going to Cast Connections was definitely worth it, even though it is quite the trek using our bus transportation.
Saturday was the beginning of a new work week for me (my regular days off are Thursday and Friday). Work yesterday was crazy busy because we are in the middle of the food and wine festival and it was a Saturday night! We had quite a few reservations at the restaurant but I really love my job, seating and greeting people. Yesterday at work I had quite a bit of guest interaction, including playing trivia with guests who were waiting for a table and also making magical moments! Making magical moments is one of my favourite parts about my job because it's an opportunity to make some one’s day better. Long story short, yesterday Eileen and I met a young family who were taking a break from the chaos from the day and we were able to put a smile on a young boy's face after he had clearly just been crying! It’s amazing how a simple Mickey sticker or a popcorn “on Mickey” can make a child or a whole family so happy!
Today is now Sunday and this week I already have tons planned and also my family is coming down this week! My parents, my brother and his girlfriend are arriving on Friday and will be here for a week! While they are here I have 4 days off so I can't wait to spend time with them in the parks. It's going to be awesome!
Until next time xoxo
