Beach & Food

Today, I went to Blizzard Beach!

I wish I had pictures. But I don't. Because it's sort of dumb to carry electronics at a water park. So I'm going to link to some pictures from the web.

Here's Summit Plummet. It's a body slide with what I guess is a 12-story drop. Yes, I went on it. The wait was scarier than the actual drop. But it is really really fast.

This is the Slush Gusher. It's right next to Summit Plummet, but it's shorter, so we figured it would be a good practice run. It was not fun. The Summit Plummet was better. Slush Gusher was painful and I actually caught air... which is terrifying on a body slide.

The Lazy Creek was pretty fun and relaxing.

The Toboggan rides were awesome. This pic is of the Racers ride. The Slalom one was pretty awesome, but it's hard to get good pics of it.

Runoff Rapids was also fantastic.

Team Boat Springs was pretty fun. We got put in a tube with some guys from the UK, because there's a minimum of four people per tube, and we only had three.

And that's pretty much it for Blizzard Beach! We got a Sand Pail, which is ice cream with lots of toppings in a little plastic bucket. One of my friends took a picture of it, so I'll post that when I get it from her.


Later today, I went to Epcot for food! Here's some pics:

I went on The Seas with Nemo and Friends for the first time! It was pretty adorable, but the area at the end is even better. It's like a small aquarium, with lots of observation areas. I saw lots of different kinds of fish, including sharks. I also saw manatees! I couldn't get a good pic of them, though. I did, however, meet a cast member who is involved in animal research here at the parks.

Then I went to Argentina for a beef skewer. I totally forgot to take a picture, but trust me, it was fantastic.

Then I went to China, where I got this:

Black Pepper Shrimp with Sichuan Noodles! This was soooo yummy, and almost a meal by itself.

Then I went to Italy:

This is my second chocolate cannoli. SO FANTASTIC. I couldn't walk by Italy without getting it.

Then Belgium:

What else? A Belgian waffle. This was basically heaven. Strange thing about this photo... it looks sunny outside. It was actually really dark.

And finally, on my way out of the park, Australia:

Lamington! It's yellow cake with chocolate and coconut flakes. It's wonderful!

And that was pretty much my day. But I've been promising pictures, and here they are! Though they are all of food. Sorry about that. But I'm sort of a fan of the stuff.

Not So Scary

Guess who went to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party? This girl! That's right, I broke down and got a ticket for it. I went with a group of two people who I knew and four people I didn't. I didn't dress up, but major props to those who went to the park in full costume in that humidity. I got off work at 7 that night, along with a friend of mine form Facebook(that's right, we first met on Facebook. Let's not be judgmental about that). After I changed, I went back upstairs and got my wristband- it was that easy. With the wristband came  a bag that I could fill with wonderful goodies. Which I most certainly did.

We met up with my friend's friends(she's been here for three weeks longer than I have) by the Haunted Mansion. They had just come off it, and so we decided to go on the ride ourselves and meet up with them in the line for the Seven Dwarves. The Haunted Mansion was pretty cool- the cast members there were in more costume than usual. Zombie makeup and all that. So we went on the ride. Sometimes that ride stops. It happens. Unfortunately for us, it stopped while we were in the Attic, which is the creepiest room ever. We got stopped right in front of the bride... so yeah, that was terrifying. 

After the ride, we joined the rest of the group in the Seven Dwarves line. We took turns holding our spot in line- normally I don't feel okay with that, but since we were all taking a picture together and not seven separate ones, I felt fine with having someone hold what was essentially one place. When we weren't waiting in the (long) line, we went on Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. We walked onto both of those rides. And by walked, I mean we entered the standby line and walked with nobody in front of us until we got to the log or train. That NEVER happens, especially on Splash Mountain.

The Seven Dwarves were totally awesome. I need to get the picture from someone I went with, and then I'll post it here. After we met them, we ran over to the Hub(the middle of the park in front of the castle) for the fireworks show and the Villains' show. Both were awesome. Then we went on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride(also no wait) and watched the Boo to You parade. Also awesome. After that, we trick-or-treated and gallivanted about the park until midnight, at which point we went home.

So on a more serious note: Work. I enjoyed my Glow Cart training. I have a Glow shift tonight, so I'll let you know how that goes. To be honest, I'm kind of nervous, because I'm going to be by myself for the entire shift, responsible for a cart full of things that have a nasty habit of walking off. People, please never make jokes about stealing when you're in front of me. Don't come into the Crow's Nest to buy water and joke about how you're distracting me so someone else can steal a bunch of other waters from the water cart outside. Please don't pretend to walk away from my glow cart without paying. You will make me very nervous and you will most likely not be getting the best of service from me. Why? Well, at Disney, Safety is the top priority- it even comes before Courtesy, which is what Disney is really known for. Even a joke about stealing is essentially a threat, and threats make me as a Cast Member feel really unsafe, especially if I'm all by myself. I'm also concerned about the safety of other guests. If you're the sort who would openly threaten to steal, then who knows what other sorts of laws and rules and general codes of social conduct you're willing to break? So save it for someone who will actually enjoy your joke.

Less serious: Epcot's Food and Wine festival is going on! I went the other night(for the food, of course). It was AMAZING. Seriously- the food is the best of the best. I had a sausage in a pretzel roll from Germany, a chocolate cannoli from Italy, and escargot and a crepe from France(though the crepe wasn't from their Food and Wine booth). They were all amazing. I'm excited to go back and try food from other countries.

So that's pretty much it for now! Have fun!

I earned my ears! And other miscellaneous happenings.

So yesterday was my first official non-training day! I worked the Pirate's Bazaar, which is the shop that guests enter as the exit the Pirates of the Caribbean Ride. That meant I got to wear my Pirates costume. Since it was my first day alone, I decided to leave my red ribbon on. When you're training with the Mouse, you get a little red ribbon that you stick to the bottom of your nametag that says "Earning My Ears." Nobody gets it except for other cast members, but hey- at least they cut you some slack, even if guests don't. And you know what? It's totally the guest's right not to cut newbies any slack. Guests are not always right, but they are still our guests.

And guests are usually incredibly nice. I've only seen a couple who weren't nice. Most people are so incredibly thrilled to be in the park that they can't imagine being less than nice. Even the people who have annual passes are nice- the park is their playground, and when they find out that you're training, they feel like they've been let in on a little secret, and they get the awesome feeling of having more park experience than an actual cast member.

Speaking of the park as a personal playground... I love being a cast member! I went to the Animal Kingdom and Epcot today. I didn't see or do everything, but since I have (mostly) unlimited access to the parks for the next few months, I didn't feel guilty for deciding to skip the fireworks show at Epcot and go home instead.

The Animal Kingdom was pretty cool. The first ride I went on was Dinosaur. There wasn't any wait, so we were able to get right on. This ride is NOT FOR CHILDREN. Let me repeat: NOT FOR CHILDREN. It's a really intense ride, and probably one of the scariest I've been on. I went with a girl who I met briefly last week. We've talked for maybe 30 minutes prior to today. So basically strangers. I spent that ride hugging her, that's how crazy it was. And I am not a stranger-hugger. It was terrifying. I'm totally going to go on it again, but still... terrifying. There's a shop at the end of the ride, and as we left, I looked back and saw some little kids in tears as they exited the ride. And they were not crying because the ride was over. Older kids should be fine, but little kids do not belong on the ride. This ride is outside of the Magic Kingdom for a reason, folks.

After Dinosaur, we went on Expedition Everest, which is now probably one of my favorite roller coasters. Just... you have to go on it. It's worth a 30-40 minute wait, less if you don't actually enjoy roller coasters. But the queue is pretty interesting, and fans are placed somewhat strategically throughout.

The ride we went on after that was Kali River Rapids. We had heard good things about it, and it was a hot day, and you pretty much get soaked on that ride. The fast-pass wasn't available for the ride, but we still wanted to go. It had a 40-minute wait, but we decided to stick it out with the promise of a fun water ride.

Wait for it.

It stank. It was so not worth the wait that it isn't even funny. It's short, only has one proper drop, and you only get soaked once. The queue isn't that entertaining, and it's hot. Most of it is outdoors with no fans. And the ride itself was pretty boring. We spent most of the time anticipating a plunge or a splash of water, and nothing happened. Seriously, if the wait time is anything longer than 15 minutes next time I'm there, I won't even bother. If you want to get wet, there's a nearby fountain area for kids to play in that would do a better job in less time and with less disappointment.

The next ride we went on was Kilimanjaro Safaris. It's a 20-minute safari. There are actual animals, and it's pretty cool. Not much to say about this one, except it's different every time, and you should definitely go on it.

After those four rides, and general irritation still left over from Kali River Rapids, we decided to head over to Epcot, where there are more indoor rides. We went on Spaceship Earth, Ellen's Energy Adventure, Living With the Land, walked through the World Showcase, got food at the Werther's store, went on Maelstrom, and then, last but certainly not least, Soarin'. Spaceship Earth is definitely a must-do. Ellen's Energy Adventure was pretty fun, but I love Ellen Degeneres, so I may be biased. Living With the Land was a pretty interesting ride. It takes you through the greenhouses at Epcot, where they actually do agricultural research. The World Showcase is pretty cool, especially if you come with the intent to shop or eat. We didn't, but it was still fun to see. The Karamell-Küche, which is the Werther's shop, smells like happiness. I got a caramel apple oatmeal cookie, and it was amaaaazing. Plus, cast members get a discount, so it was win-win. It's in the Germany section, and it's right on the corner, so you can't miss it. Then we went on Maelstrom, which is in Norway. It's sort of like the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, but on a Viking ship and with trolls and two drops instead of one. I liked it a lot. After we finished walking through the World Showcase, it was time for us to go to Soarin'(we had Fastpasses). Let me tell you- Soarin' is AWESOME. It's probably one of my favorite rides in Disney World. It really did feel like I was flying over California.

And that's pretty much all there is to report. The water is still as nasty as ever. There's no way to accurately convey the misery of showering in water that actually SMELLS disgusting. Otherwise, Central Florida isn't bad. The humidity... meh... but they say it should be cooling down here soon, so that will help. Adios!