When you wish upon a star . . . makes no difference who you are . . . anything your heart desires will come . . . to . . . you . . . I make a wish and do as dreamers do . . . and all our wishes . . . will . . . come . . . true . . .
Totally aced my assessment! Haha, win J And that’s in spite of the fact that my throat is so remarkably raw it feels like I’ve been swallowing glass. So happy that I now get to fly Star Speeders for a living, eep!
Plus my assessor, Steve, was really cool. Like he only really wanted to see me in each role for about ten minutes, so after the written assessment was over my day was just a series of rotations and breaks. Excellent day in all, which I should definitely anticipated as my day started when The Guy (which he shall be known as from now on) woke me at 7am with a text. Call me crazy, but I thought that was pretty cute! Especially as it was all, ‘Wakey wakey, sleepy head, good luck in your assessment’ or whatever. Already when I think about him I smile and just go, ‘Mmm.’ J
Once I’d finished at work I came back to the flat and did what I always do when I have a little time to spare... I took a nap. When I woke up, Joe and Vikki wanted some din-dins so we decided to head to DTD to get some Earl of Sandwich in us. By the way, Earl of Sandwich is one of the few quick service places which I would say is ACTUALLY worth going to. You get a massive sandwich for just $6 plus we get a CM discount of 20% there, which makes it totally good value for money, particularly if you aren’t a big pig and are able to save half of your sandwich for another meal. Naturally, I did not do this as my Hawiian-themed sandwich stuffed with turkey, ham, pineapple and barbecue sauce was JUST TOO GOOD TO SAVE. Nom.
After eating to the stage where I nearly wanted to vomit, we went to watch and participate in the kiddie dance party. Seriously, the American’s have a dance routine for virtually every song. I finally got to grips with the one for Cotton Eyed Joe... I think. Me and Vikki pounded it to Tik Tok by Ke$ha which was fun as we were dancing right in front of the sexy DJ man; quite hilarious as I was wearing incredibly inappropriate knickers considering the shortness of my dress, the enthusiasm of my dancing and the force of the wind. I spent most of the night clutching the bottom of my skirt and trying to make out that it was just part of a new dance move I was trying out. Also, I definitely took out a three year old with my aggressive dancing... woops.
Anyway, as usual, I am exhausted so I’m going to get some shut-eye. A good idea I reckon as I have an epic 15 hour shift tomorrow starting at 10.30am. Oh Lord. So my 4th of July will be great. NOT!
Definitely had the best couple of days ever! Yesterday after blogging, I napped for a couple of hours then once Vikki and Heather were ready we went to meet Kathryn, Lucy, Leanna, Kristian, Sexy Rich Elliot, Katie, Nisha and probably some others that I can’t quite remember at EPCOT. We did us a bit of World Showcase eating around the world... I have half a portion of fish and chips from England and a Werther’s caramel covered strawberry from Germany. Yum, yum, yum! We rode the little boat ride and took stupid sombrero pictures in the Mexican pavilion, so some of the others decided they wanted Mexican food, but when they realised that you can’t get fajitas at the quick service restaurant there, we decided to just head over to the Electric Umbrella in Future World. I kind of feel for them really as the food wasn’t very good... think rock solid burger bun with grim rubbery burger inside. Yuk.
We were able to just about catch Illuminations from the Future World entrance to World Showcase (again a great spot, particularly for seeing the video clips on the globe...) before deciding to head home as Leanna wasn’t very well and some of the others had work the next day. HOWEVER, once Kristian expressed that he wasn’t quite ready to go home just yet, I suggested we went over to the Magic Kingdom to hang out for a little while and whadya know, it was a good idea! We jumped on the monorail and actually managed to see Wishes while we were riding which was just amazing. I’ll literally never forget how beautiful the view was.
Once we got into the park, we managed somehow to convince Vikki to do Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (she’s scared of adrenaline rides) and I think she kind of enjoyed it. God knows I did. I spent the whole ride trying to make her laugh by hollering this ridiculous guttural scream from the back of my throat. Once I got off the ride, I literally could not get a single sound out of my mouth. On the plus side, Vikki laughed a ton which took her mind off the imminent death which people with speed-fears and the like usually cower from. Great success.
After all that jazz, we watched the Stupid Main Street Electrical Parade, as I fondly refer to it. I don’t like this parade as I much preferred SpectroMagic as the music was better and the characters were WAY more recognisable. Like, what relevance does Pete, from Pete’s Dragon or some nameless rabbit whom I didn’t even recognise, have in today’s society? None, so there really shouldn’t be a parade dedicated to it, even if it is to commemorate such-and-such-an-amount-of-years-of-Disney. I have spoken.
Vikki, on the other hand, went crazy for that parade. She likes the cheeky snails that make a bleeping sound. But again, I have no idea what these snails have to do with Disney. I’m sure they are there for a reason, but they really aren’t very iconic. Unless you are Vikki.
Seriously, the best part of the whole parade was getting a personal performance of Heather Marsh’s incredible miming skills, in the flesh. She mimed the entire opening segment of the parade and Kristian, Vikki and I were really rather impressed, especially as we have watched her miming videos on YouTube since she made them first available to view... it was like meeting a celebrity! If you haven't see the videos before, check it out:
After the SMSEP we came home.
Today was awesome. A Gabbi, Vikki, Kristian day to remember! We started the day off bright and early (well, it was like 10.30am, but you know how I like my sleep...) and headed over to Animal Kingdom. We collected Fastpasses for Expedition Everest (I still don’t know why Vikki agreed to it...), caught poachers on Kilimanjaro Safaris, rode Everest (and I did my screaming again... I really can’t talk much anymore), watched Finding Nemo: The Musical, got terrified on Dinosaur (especially Kristian... I feared he’d ACTUALLY pooped his pants when I saw the look on his face in the picture afterwards... he hadn’t as it turns out, HIGH FIVE), saw the wonderful Festival of the Lion King (really wish I could perform in that show!) and caught the Jammin’ Jungle Parade. Exceptionally productive visit to the park! Nearly got into a row with some fat pig, because he was stood RIGHT in my way. I asked him politely three times to move, when he didn’t, I shoved his leg and said something like, ‘Just because you’re a fat pig doesn’t mean it’s ok to blog everyone’s view.’ His mom shot me the vilest look ever and swapped places with him. Luckily, she was marginally less obese and didn’t obstruct my vision QUITE so much as her fat bap of a teenage son. Seriously, obesity is an epic problem in this country.
Once I’d finished causing trouble, we got the bus to Animal Kingdom Lodge to have a quick mooch around, as Kristian can’t decide where to stay when his boyfriend arrives here in September. I really love that hotel and so did the others. We made the decision to explore more of the resorts during our stay here as they are just as nice to look around as the theme parks!
When we’d had a bit of a relax we got the bus to Hollywood Studios (yes, four theme parks in two days, HOLLAAAAAAAA!) We didn’t do too many attractions as we were mainly going to see my favourite night-time thing ever, Fantasmic! But we managed to slip in a quick go on Star Tours and Tower of Terror before grabbing some very average ‘Italian’ sandwiches at Rosie’s All American Cafe. To be honest, I’m getting kind of sick of crappy quick service food. I mean, don’t get me wrong, some places (like Flame Tree Barbecue in Animal Kingdom where me and Vikki shared a pulled pork sandwich earlier on today) are amazing, really tasty. But seriously, most of them just have the same things on the menu... burger, pizza, chicken tenders, variations on a turkey sandwich and ceasar salad, followed by chocolate fudge cake, key lime pie or marble cheesecake. Boring. Seriously, if you could count how many quick service restaurants in Disney World offer those items, you would be shocked. I’m really craving a full-service Disney meal right now to remind me of the excellent quality and tastiness of the food. I just need more money, that’s all.
Oh, and you know the handsome guy I mentioned a few days ago? He gave me his number today! He wrote it on a Fastpass, bless him J I really like that he went out of his way to be brave and give it a go. I’ve already texted him and we’re having a bit of flirtexting right now. Mmm. This pleases me greatly.
After finishing our average sandwiches we followed the crowd to Fantasmic. The theatre was rammed, no joke, absolutely rammed. We were going to have to sit in the crap seats round the side when I spotted Jasper out of Jasper and Lobert! You know, they Dutch guys from my airplane! They both work Audience Control so he was able to hook us up with VIP seats RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE STAGE. No joke, I’ve seen that show about 15 times in my life, and never have I had such amazing seats. I am eternally in Jasper’s debt and I have texted him my thanks since. Bless his little sexy pants! J
Anyway, I am absolutely exhausted and I have my assessment tomorrow (well, today) which should be a lot of fun as I have NO voice whatsoever. My spiels are going to be a joke. Anyway, wish me luck J
So jeez two days of early starts! 7.30am but luckily I was only in until 2pm, just having a quick run through of the assessment that I will have to do on Sunday before I am officially certified to fly Starspeeders for a living. There is going to be a written paper of about 50 questions, then my assessor Steve is going to watch me in each of the positions to make sure
Also, I met a guy today J He’s really cute and flirty. He has a killer smile and I think he likes me back. Who know what might happen! Watch this space.
On Wednesday I finished work early so me and Bethan, Vikki, Rich Elliot, Nipple-Target, Joe, Steven, Emma, Meaghan and Karyn all went to... HOOTERS!!! We had such a good time. It was ‘Wingsday Wednesday’ so I had super-spicy chicken wings with fries and blue cheese dip, followed by a killer piece of chocolate fudge cake. We got the bus to Crossroads which was really easy, but then we had to walk from one side of the strip to the other which proved quite a difficult feat considering the sidewalks were minimal. Following a rather dangerous stroll into some random swamp surrounded by bushes, we managed to find the way, and a whole two hours later we arrived at Hooters! Totally worth it though.
There are tons of restaurants round there, so I hope we’ll go more often. I saw a Black Angus and an International House of Pancakes (IHOP) which are just two of my family favourites, so I hope we can make a trip over there at some point again! As usual I only ate half my food, so I kept the other half for work the next day, where everyone was super jealous of my delicious smelling chicken. NOM.
Anyways, might head to Epcot tonight with Kristian and the gang... have a bit of a sleep first I reckon. I have the day off tomorrow and I don’t have any specific plans of what to do just yet, apart from have an epic lie-in. I’m pretty sure I’ve earned it with all this week of intense training. Oh and also, Katya took me to eat my lunch in the Great Movie Ride break-room which was just the coolest thing ever. Even though I’m starting to accept Star Tours I still am so jealous of anyone working over there. Oh well. If life gives you limes, don’t whine about them not being lemons... make limeade right?
Ok, so maybe Star Tours isn’t the worst thing EVER :D
I really enjoyed doing my spiel today. This is how it goes...
‘Hey guys, welcome to Star Tours! Could everyone in rows two through five please watch your arms and legs? I’m about to close the doors to the right hand side...’ Then I push the ‘Close-The-Doors’ button. ‘I’ll be right back!’ At this stage I have to go outside and close some doors with another button and press a button which photographs the whole cabin. ‘Right guys, we’ve just got a couple more cabin checks to run through before we’re ready to launch. So if everyone could give a quick tug on those yellow straps attached to your seatbelts for me, it would be great. We want to make sure everything is safe and secure as we are going into space after all!’ Then I check the seatbelt panel to make sure they are all locked. ‘It’s good.’ Then I have to walk up to the person on the left hand side (his/her left hand side) of the cabin whilst checking that there is nothing behind the doors on that side, before telling him/her that I’m about the close the doors to the left. ‘Right guys, it looks like we’re good to go. At this time could everyone please put on your flight glasses, may the Force be with you, and have a good flight!’ Then I launch the Starspeeder!
Love it. Today I got to go and stand behind the Calamari (these red monster things) and pretend to be looking at their computers. It’s not particularly a requirement of the job at all, but Katya thought it might be fun and all the guests were looking up at us which I thought was pretty cool.
I think I’ll be able to settle into Star Tours just fine. Fingers crossed!
Just a quickie for today guys as I’m absolutely exhausted! I worked from 2.30pm until 11pm tonight and my brain hurts from all the things I’ve learnt so far.
Spent the morning by the pool with Louise who had to vomit because of a particularly heavy night at House of Blues (bless her.)
I took the bus that got me to work about 30 minutes early and I was wearing my white T-shirt with my black sixth form skirt, my brogues and my brown woven belt. I wasn’t sure whether I had to dress all smart or not, but I figured that you don’t get a second chance at making a first impression, so I went the whole hog and topped it all off with a Big Beautiful Eye from benefit. This is how I looked:
When I arrived at costuming I met Katya, my trainer. I think I’m really going to like her. She’s from Puerto Rico and she is also a trainer at The Great Movie Ride! She’s only in her early twenties yet has already been made a relief co-ordinator which shows that she loves her job and that she works hard... definitely my kind of person.
She took me to get my costume which is rather ‘fetch’ if I say so myself. Ugly black 'sneakers', a pair of grey pants made of wool (!) with stripes down the side, plus a thick silky type shirt (probably polyester... the horror) in a bright blue with red and orange detailing. I actually quite like it, although the pants aren’t quite as tight over my ass as I would like. Then again, I guess they are fitted in order to keep within the Disney Look, so I’ll take it!
Seriously I can’t go over everything I learnt today as it was just TOO intense. Bits that I can still remember are learning how to operate the simulators (pushing a lot of buttons), reading about Safe D (and how it Begins with Me), I got a little practise at Welcome Agent which was pretty cool as I liked measuring kids and letting them know that they are tall enough to ride, I memorised about all six fire exits (Exit 1? We’ve just begun. Exit 2? It’s in the queue. Exit 3? Ewok Trees. Exit 4? Break-room door. Exit 5? Perimeter Drive. Exit 6? Muppet bricks.) AND I got to see the Pixar Pals Countdown to Fun Parade, the Jedi Training Academy AND the sexy ass Storm Troopers without their heads on. Nomnomnom. Definitely on my to-do list: Make out with a Storm Trooper.
In all it was a good day considering I was worried I might hate it. Not sure what tomorrow will bring... I’m working the same hours again and Katya says that she wants me to actually launch a flight by myself, including all the little spiel bits I have to say... Kind of nervous but really looking forward to it!
Just a quick update as I start work tomorrow (don’t start until 2.30pm, but I still want to be relatively fresh for it!) Sorry I haven’t written much... well... at all this weekend. It’s simply because I’ve just been taking it easy and relaxing!
Yesterday I had a lie-in until just past ten, then me and Vikki decided to head to Walmart. Seriously can’t believe I’ve been to that place three times in one week, but I have! Had to pick up a variety of miscellaneous items including shampoo, bobby pins, lunch bag, sandwich things etc. Ended up spending about $75 but I’m glad because I should be set for a week or two now I would have thought. I hope so at least as $75 is no peanuts!
We decided to head to Downtown Disney for dinner at Wolfgang Puck Express and before we knew it we were being joined by Bethan, Johanna Glass-Doors, Jayne, Kat, Emma, Taryn, AJ and Steven which was nice as it’s very true that, ‘The more, the merrier.’ Unfortunately, while most of us were eating, Taryn, AJ and Steven decided they didn’t like the look of the menu so they left us for a bit to go to TREX.
Wolfgang Puck was really nice! I had a kiddie pasta which was nearly too big for me to finish... I managed it though, don’t you worry. It was in a kind of tomato sauce, pretty lush. After we’d finished eating we went for a mooch around the World of Disney and mused over all the pretty things we can afford with our merch discount enforced by our lovely Disney ID’s. Most of the girls seemed to want the charm bracelets that me and my sister used to have when we were younger. My sister lost hers, but mine’s in a jewelry box in England. With all the charms it must be worth at least $100 now. Anyway, I think I’m going to start collecting Disney pins. Like, a pin per week I’m here. Some of them are really cute... it would be an investment... but I think I like them enough to make them worth it. We’ll see.
We also looked in TrenD which is a really cute shop selling cool girl clothes. There’s a top in there, a slouchey thin wool one with Minnie on the front, off the shoulder which I’ve definitely got my eye on.
Once we’d roamed for a while and been to the toilet about 20 times (Kat is pregnant so the baby must have been kicking her bladder or something, I don’t know...) we walked to the bus stop. Steven, Taryn and AJ were there. The boys looked like they were about to vomit. No joke. Their stomachs were puffed right out like those starving people in Africa and they were in actual food comas, really dopey. I’ve never seen anything like it. It turns out they’d ordered a main each PLUS a ‘side’ of ribs, which naturally is massive as we are in America and everything is. Because they are boys and boys never want to let down the side, they’d eaten it all and were really ill. Haha. Hilare.
Went to DTD again today as it was Kathryn Martin’s birthday, hooray! We went to TREX, but I’d already eaten so me and Sexy Rich Elliot just had dessert. I was thinking about going to House of Blues afterwards with Louise and some others. However, Sexy Rich knocked an entire glass of ice cold water all over me, in the ice-cold air conditioned restaurant and as I was wearing denim, I didn’t dry off at all L My bum is still freezing cold now, even though I’ve had a hot shower and are in my pyjamas. I only let him off because he’s so sexy.
Anyways, we all got home safe and I’m going to jump into bed now so I’m fresh and ready for work tomorrow. Wish me luck!
Well, I’d better go ahead and spit it out. I didn’t get GMR. FML. I got Star Tours, the stupid Star Wars themed, boy ride. L
I’d better start at the beginning. I caught the bus at the crack of dawn this morning with Kylie in my smart business attire all hopeful. I had on one of my old Sixth Form skirts so it was black with a sheer, grey, silk blouse tucked in with my brown belt holding it at the waist like a paper-bag skirt, my brown brogues and a white t-shirt under the blouse to maintain some kind of dignity.
The bus journey was totally uneventful, but when we arrived at Hollywood Studios I found Jasper, Robert, Kathryn and Marianne so I knew we’d have a good time! A really sweet lady named Mary Virginia introduced herself to us and told us that she’d be our guide. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take any photographs at all, even in the park as the park was not ‘show ready’ but the tour was amazing. It was just a case of looking at the hidden secrets behind the details to the park. I learnt loads of back-stories to why things are the way they are... For example, Sid Cahuenga’s One-of-a-Kind store is a shop selling various film and television memorabilia but it didn’t start out that way. Sid and his wife retired to Hollywood just before it became the Hollywood we know today. Once film makers began setting up their scenes and using shots of the landscape etc, they asked the old couple to move house as they really wanted the space. Sid and his wife refused but during all this, Sid had an idea. In the USA once you throw something out in the trash, it’s officially no longer yours. So when the film directors threw out their old props or costumes, he went to collect them in his car. Eventually, he figured he could make some money by selling the things he found from his Hollywood bungalow, and not the store stands in his honour. Of course, if you’re in on all things Disney, then you know that the entire story I just wrote out was complete and utter bull, invented by the Disney Imagineers in order to maintain the theme of the park and hence the show!
Anyways, we went around the entire park learning stories like this for a whole two hours. It was pretty hot out too so it was nice to roam the area without any guests there (yes, we started our tour at about 8am before the guests had arrived. Bare early.) When we finally made our way to the Great Movie Ride, I went out of my way to nose at the things the girl outside was doing. You know, for just-in-case. It turns out Mary Virginia works on GMR so I immediately wanted to pick her brain over it... whilst of course maintaining professionalism at all times.
We stopped at Take 5, the Cast canteen, for a fifteen minute snack. I had some ‘Garden Salsa’ flavoured potato chips. Seriously missing Walkers Prawn Cocktail crisps right now. Take 5 is pretty cool really. They have a great salad bar, hot food area, Subway sandwich stall and just basically loads of choices of things to eat.
We went back to a classroom and watched a couple of Disney Traditions-Style videos, all about Making Magic and what not before Mary Virginia left us with this other guy. He told us we’d be doing some E-learning and that we’d find out our actual locations at the end of the session, before out of nowhere he just gave us some pieces of paper with our location training schedules on. Idiot.
That’s when I thought, ‘This doesn’t say Great Movie Ride on it.’ No, chick. No, it doesn’t. It says Star Tours.
I was fine. I just worked through all the E-learning without thinking then very calmly took the guy to one side and asked him if my request had been received. He explained that he wasn’t sure, but that he knew Star Tours have recently had a bunch of staff leave for elsewhere in the company, and since it has been completely renovated, management expect they’ll need tons of staff and so I might have initially been held for GMR, Star Tours may have pulled me due to ‘company needs’. Still I was just like, ‘Oh, ok no problem, thank you.’
See how happy I look? NOT.
It wasn’t until after I’d finished the E-learning that it kind of hit me. I know NOTHING about Star Wars. I have no interest in it. How am I supposed to make ‘magical moments’ when I don’t even understand the concept myself? Also I was being really childish, but I just thought, ‘It’s a freaking boy ride. I’m never going to see any little girls.’ My eyes kind of stung with tears for a little bit as we were walking back to the bus stop, especially as we walked past Star Tours. Luckily, Kathryn and Marianne were gutted with being placed at Honey I Shrunk the Kids play ground, and you know what they say about misery loving company? We just whined to each other all the way back to Chatham.
When I got in I left a message for the Icon area manager, Scott, just quickly outlining my desire to be cross-trained for GMR if possible and jumped into bed for a nap. Everything is better after a nap.
So how do I feel about it all now? Well, I’ve realized I need to grow up, firstly. We don’t always get what we want right? Not to mention, I’ve been placed on a brand new attraction with a rather snazzy space-related uniform. It really won’t be that bad, I’m sure. Just because it’s not what I hoped for doesn’t mean it can’t be just as good. So, being the optimist I am, I’m going to grin and bear it.
Also, I’m so full of food. We went to Cici’s for dinner. It’s a pizza buffet over near Vista but we had to get a taxi from Vista even though we could have walked because the rain was absolutely pelting it down. I was so glad when Craig had a towel with him at the bus stop as I was actually a drowned rat in a denim playsuit. Kind of cute I reckon.
So I particularly liked the macaroni cheese flavoured pizza. It was all-you-can-eat PLUS a drink is only $4 with our Cast Member discount. That’s like £2.75 or something. Unreal. So naturally I ate until I felt sick and am now paying for it. Bleaughhhh.
Anyway, I have the weekend off before starting at my Star Tours training on Monday so by then I should be feeling much more positive about it. Just thought I would keep this blog as honest as possible. It is a bit like a diary after all!
