Christmas time was here?

Another month has passed, and Christmas has come and gone. As I write this I am actually currently flying home from a 3 day trip home to visit my family. December, as to be expected, was a crazy busy month, so I apologize for not posting sooner. When I once thought I could post every two weeks, I now realize I may have to make it once a month. There is just always something to do, something to see, something going on and when there isn't I just want to relax and recuperate before the next big thing hits. However since my last blog post at the beginning of December, I have actually posted two updates but they are more specific to people who are interested in doing the Disney CRP program themselves. Feel free to give them a read, but they aren't as exciting as these ones where I just tell you all the fun things I get up to here in at Disney,

The last time I wrote, Christina had just arrived in Orlando for our little vacation together. I somehow got 5 days off when she was here, which was amazing because we got to spend so much time together but my paycheck the next week sucked so that was not so amazing (worth it though!). We did A LOT when she came to visit, which mostly included a lot of park hopping and spending a lot of time at Disney a Springs. Over the course of the five days, we tackled Hollywood Studios twice, Animal Kingdom once, Epcot once, Magic Kingdom twice, and Disney Springs three times. We did almost every ride and saw every show and even had some magic made for us! The Thursday of that week was actually Christinas birthday so that was a special day. Who can say they got to spend their best friends birthday win them in their favourite place in the world, Disney? I can! We started by going to Magic Kingdom and there we had breakfast at Be Our Guest. It was Christinas first time eating there and she was almost in tears when we walked in because it's so beautiful and magical. Then we spent a few hours at the park before heading over to Disney Springs for some shopping. We relaxed that afternoon back at the hotel and then that evening we went back to Disney Springs for dinner at Blaze Pizza (GO THERE IF YOU EVER HAVE THE CHANCE SOOOO GOOD) before going to see Moana. If you haven’t seen Moana yet, you must. It was animated so beautifully and the storyline is captivating. The movie had me laughing, it had me crying, it had me singing along to the amazing soundtrack. In fact, at the end of the movie I was just so overwhelmed with emotion that I couldn’t stop the tears from flowing! You just need to see it if you haven't already.

After Christina left. I had some more visitors from home - the dad and the two eldest children of the family I taught dance to before I came down to Florida. I was excited about them coming to visit because I was able to share the joy of Disney with them, since the kids had never been to Disney before. I loved seeing the looks on their faces as the experienced the Disney magic for the first time, and it really reminded me why I came to work for Disney. I was only able to spend one full day in the park with them because of work but the time spent with them was still special.

That same week that they were visiting, I also had some of the most amazing days since I’ve been here. On the Wednesday of that week, I began my day with a backstage tour of Fantasmic which was probably one of the highlights of my program/life. As you may or may not know, a Fantasmic is my favourite show so getting to experience Fantasmic from behind the scenes was a literal dream come true. I learned so much and got to do things I never in my wildest dreams imagined, like going atop the steamboat that the characters ride around on at the end of the show and pretending I was steamboat Mickey. After that tour, I spent a few more hours with the family I had visiting before heading to the Grand Floridian for my first staycay with Disney friends! It was Darien's birthday this day, so as a gift, Eileen, Melissa and I got the room for us all to stay in. The Grand Floridian is the most expensive and beautiful hotel on Disney property, and was honestly one of the best experiences I have had on Disney property. It was so nice just being able to relax and enjoy our time at the resort. We spent the evening enjoying the room before and after dinner at the Grand Floridian Cafe. Then we went to Jellyrolls which is the duelling piano bar at Disney’s Boardwalk resort. So much fun! There are two pianos on stage and the players go back and forth playing songs requested by the audience. We requested a Disney Melody and it was unreal! It's 21+ but I would definitely recommend it if you are looking for a good night out. The next morning we got a late check out for 1pm, and we ordered room service. Talk about luxury! I felt like I was on cloud nine, lounging in my bath robe and eating vanilla bean French toast in my bed. Although it was an expensive experience (even with a nice discount it's still expensive), it was definitely worth it.

After checking out of the Grand Flo, the four of us then went to the Magic Kingdom for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas party! The party featured Christmas cookies and hot drinks like hot cocoa and apple cider, unique character meet and greets, Christmas Wishes, the Christmas parade, and a special holiday show. To be honest, if you want to compare the Halloween party to the Christmas party, the Halloween party was better. I think in terms of overall experience, the Halloween party was more fun because it made you feel more like a kid again because you could dress up and go trick or treating. The Christmas party was definitely a fun experience, but in terms of the entertainment I also felt like the Halloween party was better. The Christmas parade was definitely amazing, but the Holiday fireworks just didn’t wow me as much as the Halloween ones did. Also the holiday show in front of the castle was just… Weird. You can't really understand how weird it was if you haven't seen in yourself but let's just say there was a whole song about texting and social media and that really made me and my friends scratch our heads.

Those two days were honestly some of the best I have had here at Disney so far. Once again I realized how lucky I am to be able to have the experiences. Who can honestly say that in the span of 48 hours they had a backstage tour of their favourite show, stayed at the nicest hotel on Disney property, and then spent 8 hours at the Magic Kingdom with their best friends? I can and that’s what I call blessed.

The next week was the week leading into Christmas and Eileen's family was here to visit! Meeting Eileen's family for the first time honestly felt like I was just seeing some family I hadn’t seen in a long time. They were so kind and I was so thankful for them making me feel like I was a part of the family, especially at Christmas time. Eileens fam rented a beautiful house off Disney property, so both Darien and I spent a few nights with them. On the Friday before Christmas, Eileen’s mom made us a beautiful Christmas dinner including a turkey with mashed potatoes, stuffing, corn, dinner rolls, and all the fixin’s. You don’t realize how much you miss a home cooked meal until you have one. The days around Christmas we all had to work, but we made the best of it. On Christmas Day, we didn't have to work until 2pm, so we woke up in the morning to find that Santa had paid us a visit and left stockings for us. We opened presents together then had a big breakfast together before having to go to work. Even though it was hard to be away from home for Christmas, I felt so lucky to have Eileen’s family there to take care of me and treat me as one of their own. It was the best Christmas you could possibly have away from home.

As I mentioned, being away from home for Christmas was definitely tough. To be completely honest, it really didn't feel like Christmas. Even though I much prefer the warm weather to the cold weather, the cold weather definitely plays an integral role in gearing you up for Christmas. It was really strange seeing all the Christmas decorations while wearing shorts and a tank top in 25C+ degree weather. It was really hard to even conceptualize. I felt so separated from the Christmas my family was having at home, that it was hard to imagine that it was even happening. But overall we here at Disney made the best of it and I knew I would be getting my own sort of Christmas when I went home a few days later so that helped get me through.

After Christmas, we began gearing up for New Year’s Eve. New Year's Eve is one of the busiest days of the year for Walt Disney World, especially Epcot. My shift on New Year’s Eve was 12pm-11pm and it was the longest shift I have personally ever worked at Disney. I was luckily in the restaurant so I was able to avoid most of the madness that was happening up on World Showcase promenade, but even the restaurant was crazy busy. After work, we were allowed to stay in the park to watch the Epcot fireworks and WOW they were amazing. They did extra perimeter fireworks around the world showcase to celebrate the new year from all the countries and the new year ending was absolutely mind blowing. Talk about lighting up the sky! Even though we were at work, it was really special being able to watch the fireworks with our Canada pavilion family and with my closest friends here at Disney. Also since I luckily had a shift in the restaurant I was able to leave work almost immediately after fireworks had ended and Eileen and I were home by 1am.

Prior to New Years, I had a few more special days in the parks with some close friends. Leading up to New Years we started getting some blockout dates, meaning as cast members we couldn't go to certain parks on certain days, but we took advantage of what we could go to when we could. On Thursday, Eileen and I went to Epcot to do some fast passes in future world, including Mission: Space ORANGE for the first time (well it was the first time for Eileen) and then went for dinner at Via Napoli which is in Italy in the World Showcase. I got inspired to go to this restaurant because a week or so prior to this I had a guest dining at Le Cellier who had left his hat at the bar there, so to “make some magic” for him, I went to get it. The smells and atmosphere of that restaurant are so unique, especially since they make and bake the pizzas right in front of you. Eileen and I ended up getting pasta which was so tasty but I would definitely want to go back again to try the pizza. Then on the Friday, I went to Animal Kingdom with my friend Taylor who also works at Le Cellier. We went in the evening and this was the first time I had ever gone at night. It was quite busy just because it was the holiday season but we had fast passes for our fave rides including Dinosaur and Expedition Everest. Also by the end of the evening it was getting quite chilly and many people were leaving, so we were able to walk onto the Kilimanjaro safari without a fastpass. The nighttime safari was so cool! Definitely would recommend if you ever have the opportunity.

After New Year’s it was time for me to go home! I was only able to get three days off, but I made the best of it. I flew home late Tuesday night after work, and as I write this is it currently 7:45am and I am en route back to Orlando before my shift today at 2pm. My days back in Canada mostly included a lot of visiting with family and friends and some relaxing at home too. I was so happy because Matt spent most of the nights that I was home with me at my parents and also was able to get Friday off work so we could spend the whole day together! My only complaint about the three day trip was HOW COLD IT IS. I got off the plane in Buffalo that early Wednesday morning and the chill instantly went to my bones. Going from four months of 25C+ degree weather to -1C was quite the shock. This morning when I got to the airport it was -14C!! Needless to say I am certainly looking forward to the warmer weather when I arrive back in Orlando.

Once again I have another really busy month coming up! Next week I have a Haunted Mansion backstage tour which I am very excited about, then in three weeks the real fun begins when my grandparents, mom, Aunt Rebecca and Peyton all come to visit the same week I begin training in the restaurant to become a server. Therefore, just a forewarning, you probably aren't getting a blog post update from me until the middle of February. But as always, if you have any questions about what I’m up to, or just want to chat about my experiences, feel free to shoot me a message! I am always available on Facebook and Instagram, and that's a good way to stay up to date on my adventures as they happen.

Until next time xoxo