Airport Funtimes, Part 1

I haven't gone to Orlando yet, but I recently took a trip to Salt Lake, and here's what I wrote regarding my airport experience on the first leg of the trip:

Wow! The Portland airport is amazing! It started at the security gate. I have never met nicer TSA agents anywhere. They were remarkably efficient, but even while they were doing their jobs, they were all being so incredibly kind and patient with the passengers. I myself forgot to remove my belt prior to passing through the metal detector, and the agent just smiled and didn't act irritated at all when the detector beeped. This has NEVER happened to me before. The TSA agents typically act rude or impatient if I forget my belt or wear a hair clip that sets off the alarm. When I was done, a TSA agent saw me pull my empty water bottle out of my bag and kindly directed me to the nearest water fountain, assuring me that the water was filtered(which is not a huge priority for me, but I know it's important to a lot of people).

The kindness continued even as I was browsing the shops(I arrived very early). The employees were all very kind, and when I was looking for a book in the Powell's shop, the employee made sure I found the correct one. It turned out to be in the other Powell's location in the airport, and he made sure I knew exactly where to go to get there quickly. It was Divergent, by Veronica Roth, and I highly recommend it.

The Delta agents at the gate were also among the nicest agents I have ever met. The only ones who were nicer were at the airport in Anchorage, Alaska, and my aunt worked there at the time, and they knew who I was(so it doesn't count). In short, the Portland airport was FANTASTIC.

On the way back... well, the Salt Lake airport isn't awful, exactly, but it's not that great. Getting through security is terrible. The wait in the security line was longer than I would have liked, and the people there weren't particularly pleasant. They do have a full-body scanner(millimeter wave), if that's a concern for you... I went through it, and it isn't all that bad. The agents working it seemed really tense though... I definitely could have done without that. According to a release by the TSA, "Participation in the body scanning is voluntary. Signs tell travelers they don't have to participate and TSA officers are also instructed to tell people it's voluntary." I didn't see any signs, and nobody told me I could choose another lane. While I'm not bothered by the idea of full-body scanning, I was never informed that I could opt out if I wanted to, and that DOES bother me. Basically, the TSA is telling the public one thing, while doing essentially the opposite. That does offend me, especially since the rest of the security experience at the SLC airport was so unpleasant and almost seems designed to confuse and disorient the traveler.

There are a lot of eating options in the SLC airport. Check the map when you get there! It's not worth your time walking around trying to find something to eat. Some things are in more than one location, so you can plan accordingly. Also, I only saw one drinking fountain in the whole airport, and I had to ask a TSA agent where that was(it was sort of hidden). There aren't as many shopping options as in the Portland or Seattle airports... but that's not a huge deal. It just makes the place seem a little more generic.

Anyways, that's my assessment of those two airports. I'll be flying through three more airports on my way to Orlando in a couple of weeks here, so I'll post my reviews of those airports as well. Happy traveling!

Flight Plans

So... I purchased my ticket to Orlando a few days ago! For some reason, this made the whole thing that much more real to me. Before, it felt more like a nice idea and a cool conversation topic. Now that I know exactly when I'll be leaving Washington and entering Florida, I'm a lot more nervous. I'm still excited, but... yeah. Nervous.

But you know what makes me feel less nervous? Knowing exactly what I'll be doing when I arrive. The CP website is helpful, but reading the blogs of current participants has been even more so. This one in particular has made me a lot less nervous about Day One. See, I'm the sort of person who likes to have every detail ironed out. When I go on a trip, I print up maps of where I'll be. Before I go out to eat, I download the restaurant's menu and choose what I want beforehand. When I went to Disneyland, I kept Alyssa with me(because she knows that place like the back of her hand), and we planned out what we would do each day.

And usually, I end up having more fun that way. I'm spared that awful moment of being lost in a strange place, or the awkward moment of indecision when the waiter asks if you're FINALLY ready to order, because this is the third time he's come by. During the Disneyland trip, some of our friends decided to leave our group so that they could go and be spontaneous... only to end up rejoining our group later on because we were actually getting stuff done.

So while my contributions to this blog will be about my own experiences, I'm going to make a point of including as much useful information as possible, so that the next set of interns will also be able to have fun without worrying. :)

An Introduction: Kayleigh

Hey, all! I'm Kayleigh. I'm going to be a Merchandise Cast Member at Walt Disney World for the Fall 2011 session. I'm a 20-year-old LDS girl from the dry side of Washington state, though I was raised in Alaska. I have an associate's degree in biology from my local community college. I currently work as a customer service manager at a grocery store. I'm the oldest person in my family. I love chocolate, peaches, the color orange, and orangutans. I want to work in wildlife and wildlands conservation in some sort of public education sense, possibly at a zoo.

My first, and so far, only, major Disney experience happened when I was sixteen. My high school marching band went on a trip to Disneyland. It was the best week EVER. I had never been to a theme park before(there's a tiny waterpark in Anchorage, but... yeah... doesn't count), but I had been to fairs and carnivals. Disneyland was such a far cry from any of those that it doesn't feel right to mention them in the same paragraph. Disneyland was so clean and perfect... everyone was nice... even when we were backstage doing a band clinic or getting ready for a parade, everything was neat and shiny and wonderful. When we left, I promised myself that I would be back soon.

Why did I apply for the program? Well... long story short, I got rejected from my first-choice transfer university, and in a fit of pique, I applied to Disney World. I went through the application and online interview process, and scheduled a phone interview. It was sort of on a whim... but when people heard that I hadn't gotten into my top school(which was the only school I had applied to), I told them about my upcoming phone interview so I wouldn't seem so pathetic. And, well, I started getting more and more excited. My phone interview went well... and a week later, I got my e-mail welcoming me into the program. By that point, I was looking forward to it so much that if I hadn't been accepted, it probably would have been the end of the world.

And so far, that's my Disney story. I don't know much about Orlando- I've never even been farther east than Chicago. I'm sure the heat and humidity will join forces to make me miserable, but right now, I don't really care! I can put up with anything for a semester, ESPECIALLY if Disney World is involved.