Home is where the heart is.

Hello there!

So this is just a quick post about my shift today at JTA. I got to go back home to ICON just for the night and I got to work with Dustin as he was closing TA coordinator, DVC (David Van Cleve) who was closing coordinator for Idol, Melanie and Manuel. It was a perfect team to be closing with and I was super excited when I discovered it was all of them who I would get to work with!

When I got to studios I was a little early for my shift so I went and hung out with Sweetums for an hour and also got to see Zak and Fransisco while I was there which was exciting as I hadn't seen either of them in a while, then it was off to clock in. I got rotation which I knew I would get as it was 1:45pm, I went and got to watch the remainder of the first show, and just as the second show started at 2:20pm we had a sudden downpour of rain which meant the show was cancelled and it turned into a Meet and Greet! I had been there less than an hour and I was heading up to the top of Star Tours with my best friends! I WAS EXCITED! Best start to a shift ever!

It was pretty much very standard from there on out and before I knew it, it was 8pm and time to clock out. I had a super fun day an it was exciting to go home to the dark side after being away for so long. I managed to snap a few photos which I will post below.

Until next time,
Stay Magical
xx

Best Closing Group

DVC and I 

Dustin and I 

He is sitting don and I'm just taller than him

Compared to Dustin and DVC I'm TINY! 

Manuel and I 

Dustin and Manuel and Me of course! 

Piggy back?

I miss working with him! 

Even when i stand on a bench I'm just taller than him!

Do or Do Not There is No Try.

Hello!

So it's been a while since my last post. Again its because I have been busy working but also from laziness. I apologize. Not a lot has really happened work wise, it's really the same old thing day in day out, with random bits of stuff happening here and there.

This week on Thursday I went to Blizzard Beach with Allen in the morning before I went to Magic Kingdom for the night with Alison. It was a lot of fun and we both enjoyed our night. Magic Kingdom has been transformed with Halloween decorations which is awesome as Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP) starts on the 11th.

Below are our photos from that day.

Alison with her Avengers shirt

 We had a whole monorail to ourselves.

We are way too alike

Superheros!

Space Mountain

 Splash Mountain 

Dream Along With Mickey 

Alisons Pixie Dusted Hair

My Pixie Dusted hair

Both our hair

Cinderellas Castle before Wishes 

When You Wish Upon A Star

Wishes

It was a fantastic day and I'm heading home to ICON tomorrow for a JTA shift. I'm super excited!

Until next time,
Stay Magical
xx

Photo Update

Hello.

Just a quick photo update with randoms from my day at Animal Kingdom with Cassidy. 

Until next time 

Stay Magical 

xx

Well Howdy there Partner!

Hello!

So it's been a while since I posted and I will admit this one wasn't because I was working heaps (although I have been!) it's because I have just been really, really lazy, and couldn't be bothered to really post anything. It has taken just under nearly 8 months though for me to hit that mark, so I did better than what I was expecting to do.

So we left off at the end of July where I had moved roles and was about to move apartments. Surprisingly a fair bit has gone on in the past 2ish weeks. So I will try to remember as best I can.

In the words of my favourite character; Here we goooooooooOOOOOOOOooooo!

So on the 31st/1st I moved apartments, now you may remember in my last post I was meant to move on the 4th so I bet you're curious as to why I moved early. I was talking to Calyn at work and mentioned I had to move apartments because all my other roommates were going back home and she said move in with us, we have a spare bed. So The next day I went down to housing and I requested to move in with them, it was granted and my move date was pushed forward. Amy helped me move my 2 suitcases and some little bags and then Calyn drove us back to 14305 and we loaded her car before I said my farewell to Amy and began my new adventure.

I mainly unpacked that day and got settled, my roommate Allison S, was away staying at a resort because her Mum was in town, but I heard all about her and she sounded (and is) amazing. Then there is Alison R, who I first met when I started to move in because she was awake. I met her roommate Lena (who is really good friends with Mickey Mouse! I was so excited to meet her! And I've now lived with Pluto and Mickey, not many people can say that!) I got to meet Catie who is a barrel of laughs especially when her Texan accent comes out, and then there is Calyn. So it is a good group of girls I live with now. They enjoy wine, which is perfect, they cook, they clean, and the best thing about them is they made me feel welcome to the family.

So now fast forward a bit, I worked A LOT! I did some doubles, I had days off where I slept, I worked some more and I made magic, followed by even more work. I have been working a lot of 2pm-1030pm shifts and this past Saturday and Sunday I had 5pm-130am, not the best shifts, a lot of stuff that could go wrong with guests did, but we survived and I went back on Monday.

I went out to dinner with Zak on the 7th and he took me to Outback, it's a wannabe Australian restaurant and trust me when I say this - I was the most AUTHENTIC Australian thing in there. There menu was funny though and I got a good laugh, everything was either Bloomin' or On the barbie, which is funny because it's not like that at home. I had fun and depending on the person I could possibly return there just before I leave.

Melanie and I went out to dinner to Olive Garden on Friday and it was fantastic, we just sat down, had pasta and wine and just talked about silly stuff. It was a lot of fun and I was glad to see her because she had been away for a week at her families, for birthdays and a hen's night. We then went out for dinner on Monday night to Planet Hollywood where we talked about nothing, and just enjoyed the atmosphere and our drinks! They were awesome. We finished the night by walking around Downtown Disney and singing to the songs that they play in the background. 

This brings us to yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Yesterday I spent the Day with Priscilla, we went to Magic Kingdom; rode Big Thunder, Space Mountain, met Peter Pan, the Mice and watched the 3:00 parade. It was fun, Priscilla hurt herself yesterday so she can't walk so I pushed her around in a wheelchair, can you say calories burned! After MK we headed over to our home, Studios where we saw Melanie at JTA, rode Toy Story x 2, went on Tower of Terror and Rock n' Roller Coaster before we headed home. It was a great day and it was good to spend time with her.

So far today (since it is only 9:48am) I have done my washing, reorganized my clothes so the coat hangers match and are colour coordinated and cleaned. I'm heading off to get a pedicure and exfoliation around lunchtime and then I'll be coming home and relaxing before I head out to Retro with everyone to catch up. I'm super excited, I love catching up with everyone especially since I don't get to see them everyday now.

Tomorrow I will probably just be lazy and lounge around the house and possibly go down to the pool, depends how I'm feeling and what I can be bothered to do, it's my last day off before I go back to work so yeah.

Since we last spoke something bad did happen. I dropped my beloved iPhone 3GS and it smashed to smithers and would no longer charge and the home button stopped working, so I had to make a quick trip to the Apple store to get a new phone, so I'm now the proud owner of a 4GS, who is in a very, very strong case and the new owner of a MacBook Pro charger seeings how my other one broke, again. So I dropped $740 in under 5 minutes. Yay for the Australian Tax return I had got back 2 days prior. Nay for now having little of it left. Oh well. I'll live somehow.

Aside from all that nothing is new and you are now caught up in the life of Jen. I have 4 months and 20 days until I head home! CRAZY I know, where has time gone?

I will leave you with some photos and until next time,
Stay Magical
xx 

Aloha!

Hello,

Long time no talk again. Whoops.

So we left off with me saying goodbye to ICON. It's been about 3 weeks since I left and I miss it like crazy. Front desk is interesting and so are the people but they aren't my Darkside or Sweetums.

My welcome to Front Desk was a very long one; 10 days straight totaling 80 hours. I was the only one in the training group who had the 10 days straight. I'm so lucky.. I started with my Aloha Day which was a welcome to the Polynesian and I went and got my costumes for my first few days. The next 4 days were spent at Disney University with 'Front Desk Cashier Training' those days were long, 8:30am - 5pm.

Once I finished that I was straight into the Polynesian for training, the first day I followed Bell Services around and learned exactly what they do and how they do it - it was interesting, but a lot of standing around. I also to to drive a pargo before i was informed that my Aussie Drivers License and International Drivers License didn't qualify and that was that. The next 4 days were Front Desk training and they were interesting. A lot of standing around doing nothing waiting to assist guests and just checking them in or out.

I then finally got 2 days off after my 10 days on, then I worked on Sunday and passed my assessment which means I'm a fully qualified Front Desk Cashier. Yay. I then had 3 days off which brings me to today - Thursday. It is my first shift without a trainer and it's 7pm - 1:30am hooray.. Not!

I have to move apartments on the 4th of August because all my other roomies are leaving due to their programs ending. Also this week a fair few Australians have left the program which is sad, but each to their own. Aside from all that not much has happened.

Brian Knapp got engaged so I'll be back here next September. So that's exciting.

But anywho,
Until next time,
Stay Magical
xx

The End is Here; well for ICON anyway.

Hello everyone,

So today I said farewell to all the people who have become my family for the last 6 months in the ICON area at Disney's Hollywood Studios. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, and I didn't cry which was a plus.

My day started by walking into Muppets and seeing my favourite coordinator Buddy was our opener, a brilliant start to the morning, especially since I hadn't got to work with him in a while because he has been living at EPIC. I also saw that Toni had made the orange cake I had requested which was even better! I knew I made the right choice in not bring any lunch to work today.

I then walked into the bathroom to get changed into my Muppets costume for the last time, and as I was leaving I yelled hi to Sweetums, today he was being kept company by Zak and Fransisco, two of my favourite people. I walked away and started work. Throughout the day while on breaks, or tasks I went and hung out with Sweetums and it was fun. Hours past and before I knew it it was 11:30am! I only had 3 hours left of my shift, had time really gone that fast?

I was walking out of preshow when who should I see other than Brian! BEST DAY EVER. I didn't really get to say goodbye to him yesterday so I was beyond excited to see him today. I went up and gave him a huge hug and asked why he was at Muppets on his weekend, and he said that he was helping out with the dark side today which was exciting because that meant that I would get to say goodbye to my Stormtroopers before I left work. I hung out with Brian for about 10 minutes before he had to leave and it was back off to work. Before I knew, it was 2pm - parade time.

I had previously asked if I could go to parade because it would be my last time, and it gave me the chance to say bye to people I wouldn't have otherwise seen today. So off Buddy and I went to parade. Now parade is a little sticky at the moment, it is going through these changes and now everyday we meant behind the Star Tours gate before moving out to our positions at 2:15-2:30 everyday. Now Buddy and I were standing there and I was talking to some of my friends who work with the dark side everyday, and its roughly 2pm, so they are halfway through a JTA show, and it's just about time for Darth Vader and his Stormtroopers to come out, and today we had a special guest there - Darth Maul.

Now this was Darth Mauls last show before he had lunch and it was about 5 minutes before he and Vader were due to go on stage, but there was a small problem. Darth Maul was no where to be found! Talk about people running around like headless chickens! Everyone was frantic and yelling, Mauls not here, Mauls not here! Shannon (one of our padawans) ran to the booth to tell the manager, but they weren't told in time, so next thing we all hear, Darth Mauls entrance music, but no Darth Maul! Not good! Darth Vader had to fight 30 kids instead of 15, he was not a happy camper.

Darth Maul was found a few minutes later, he had been getting touched up and rang the BASE to tell him that he wasn't ready to fight the younglings, and the BASE was meant to contact the manager but they never did. (Like I said in my posts last year, Disney really isn't up with the whole communication thing yet) It was okay though like I said, Darth Vader ended up fighting all 30 kids so no one missed out on their turn to fight the dark side.

After that happened it was 2:20 and time to go to my position for parade, I said goodbye to my Stormtroopers, with a smile which was hard and I was off. Before I knew it it was 2:50pm and time for my last ever bumpout at Muppets. I went back and said my goodbyes to Sweetums which was also hard to do, but I kept a smile on my face, I got changed and I was out of there. As I was walking backstage parade was still going, so I got to watch it from the Ratatouille float to the end which was fun. If you ever get the chance to watch a parade from backstage do it, it is amazing. Carl from UP again waved and blew me kisses before telling me to call him. (He did that to me previously also, and I really want to say hi to him now) Then I was out of there and I walked out of Studios as a ICON cast member for the last time.

Throughout today a lot of people asked me how I was feeling and for my thoughts so I will try my hardest to convey them for you below:

Today was a sad day, yes. It's hard to believe that 6 months ago I was getting trained here in ICON as a Muppet and then a Jedi a month later. I honestly couldn't have predicted how things were going to turn out or the friendships I would make. Over the past 6 months, I have created magic, laughter, smiles, tears from happiness and most of all MEMORIES.  

 

The friendships I have made with the people from ICON are ones I hope last a lifetime. In the last 6 months I became best friends with a Muppet called Sweetums and the Dark Side - they were something I never could have ever imagined happening to me. The people I met at not only my two roles, but the attractions that make ICON are just as special to me. They became my family. They helped me when I was homesick, they helped me when I sad, they were there when I was cranky and they made me laugh when I needed it, but most of all they have helped shape me into a better person and for that I am ever so grateful.

No I didn't cry today, not because I wasn't upset, but more because I will still see everyone for the next 5 months, the only difference is it won't be everyday. The tears will come in 5 months time, but not from sadness rather from happiness. I know they will come, because I will be leaving a magical family behind that I won't get to see everyday.

That is really my feelings about leaving ICON in a nutshell, I'm sure I will have more to say in 5 months time when my program is officially over, but until next time.

Stay Magical
xx

Time flys

Hello.

&& Just like that half of 2012 is over.

I have now been in America 6 months! Where has the time gone?

Leading on from my last post, not a lot has happened except I turned 21! It was fantastic!

I went to Chef Mickeys for breakfast with Melanie, Priscilla and Amy. I ate so much food it was ridiculous. I also got to eat breakfast with my boss, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto and Donald - and they then brought me out a birthday card which they had all signed! YAY.

We then made a walk over to the Magic Kingdom where we saw Cinderella, Belle and Rapunzel, followed by Mary Poppins and then last but not least Peter Pan! I mean who wouldn't see their favouritve character on their birthday? Peter Pan was amazing and made my whole day, he spent a good 5 minutes with us talking and hanging out and we crowed but the best part was is he broke character unintentionally when this little girl behind us said we all talked to much and he looks at me and goes "Did you hear that girl?" I don't think I have ever laughed that hard with a character. He made my day and I'm glad he spent a good 5 minutes with us.

Then it was time to farewell Amy as she wasn't feeling too well as we headed off to EPCOT.
I had 2 drinks in France, a beer in America and a Margarita from Mexio. Nothing to exciting but nothing too boring. After EPCOT it was time to say farewell to Priscilla as Melanie and I headed home for a nap and to get ready for the night ahead.

After our nap we woke up and began to get ready, I had a few more drinks and before I knew it we were at Downtown Orlando partying. Lots more drinking, some being ill and we were back home asleep. The next day I slept a little and began to eat around 3pm when I  felt I could stomach eating okay.

I worked on Monday, had yesterday off and now I begin my last 4 days hanging out with Sweetums before I move to Front Desk at the Poly. Sweetums was kind enough to give me a birthday present which kept me entertained the other night until midnight when I finished.

Until next time though
Stay Magical
xx