I got photo of the week!

So the Pocahontas photo I talked about a few weeks ago ended up being one of the Photo of the Week winners! I just found out when I went to work yesterday! I'm really excited! I don't get copies of any of my photos as they don't actually belong to me, but it's nice knowing that I take good photos. :)
So it turns out that there is some sort of bug out here in Florida that I am allergic to. And it's not fun. :(( So touching on a topic I brought up a year ago, I know of two walk in clinics out here, one definitely more expensive than the other, but I feel like they paid more attention to what I was saying. Last year I went to CentraCare, which not only allows you to make appointments online, but will pick you up in a van (note: it's kind of expected to tip the drivers, much like a taxi). CentraCare is basically down by CrossRoads, but is usually busy and way expensive if you don't have insurance. We're talking around $200. I went to a different place today, a Walk In clinic closer to Chatham, I didn't have to wait, and was $110. However I didn't really leave happy. I was originally bit a couple weeks ago while walking across the Chatham lawn, and figured they'd go away. Last night, I was basically the open buffet in my bed. :( The doctor was only able to give me something to treat the reaction, and I asked housing to come in and spray my room, which they did. And I mean, they sprayed EVERYTHING! Very thorough, lol. We'll see how it goes, I'm a little pesimistic at this point, as I basically had the same problem last year, and the bites only disappeared when I went home to California.  ::sigh::
So the family recently came out and visited me! We had an amazing time and the weather was just great! Of course, the day after they left, I was FREEZING! The weather totally changed, we had freeze warnings and work was handing out hot pocket warmers (no, not the food. I just don't know the official name for them, lol). It got down to 24 degrees on Saturday night! We couldn't even figure out how to get our heating system to switch to heat. It SAID that the apt was 73, but it was LYING!!! My roommate and I only had a sheet and our comforter, so we slept in socks, sweatshirts, and put our beach towels on our beds in a desperate attempt to stay warm!  Since it's low season, we have some cool cast discounts going on, including for Animal Kingdom's Wild Africa Trek. I arranged for the family and I to go on this 3 hour walking trip, and it was the best decision ever!!! We walked for the first hour and a half, and it wasn't strenuous at all. There was a total of 12 people in our group, and 6 of them had to be over 60. We got really close to hippo's and crocodiles. We crossed 2 "rope" bridges (planks of wood) and then had an amazing snack lunch waiting for us at a picnic site overlooking the Savannah of Kilimanjaro Safari. Breathtaking. We also had our own private Safari ride, where our truck would stop for as long as we wanted as we took all photos of the wildlife. The regular safari's are only allowed to stop for like 10 seconds, but we got to camp out and just watch the Giraffe's and the Lion as the other trucks drove by. We also were given binoculars so as to better spy on the animals. Included in the price is also a cd of photos taken of us on our trek, as well as the animals from that day. Family agreed it was the best money ever spent. :)
On to random some pics! I have some real professional ones from the Wild Africa Trek coming, but I want to put a watermark on them. They came out amazing! So look for those :)

Before heading to Orlando, I stopped off to visit Traci at her college, New Mexico State.

Yay! I hadn't seen her since we left Orlando in August. I had the BEST weekend

Kelsey and I goofing around in EPCOT on our days off. She is now PT at DTD

My sister, Erin, goofing off (also in EPCOT. It's the place to be!)

Me and 2 of my 3 roommates at the CP welcome event. It was a Pirate theme!

Family's first ride on Rockin' Rollercoaster. I love my sisters face!

P.S. The artsy photo's were taken with an app on my iPhone, Hipstamatic (the paid version). I absolyutely love that app!

Not every day will be magical

The truth is that not every day is going to be as magically awesome as some of your other days, but it's going to matter how you keep yourself motivated. Today was veerrrrrry long for me. While nothing went wrong, it was just a day where I wasn't feeling the magic. Despite this, I was always trying to watch how I interacted with the guests, how I talked to them and helped them find their way around the park. I also had to be aware of my facial expressions, as I was kind of in a sour mood...lol. The day really culminated in getting to the security gate after work and realizing that I had left my car key back at base. It felt like I was never going to get home, lol. It was only a five minute walk back to base, but all I wanted to do was get home.
My roommate has definitely been having a hard time as well. Basically everything that could go wrong, did. From not getting cleared for Traditions til like a week later, to getting incorrect info, to costumes that don't fit right, to the A bus not showing up when it's supposed to, and finally, not getting paid because her payroll got messed up.  It has definitely been a struggle for her to keep going, and I'm really glad that she's pushing through. She's been late twice to work this week because the A bus either didn't show up, or left early. We're not sure which, but I know that she gets to the bus stop 10 minutes before the bus is supposed to be there, so we're not sure what's going on. She's quick service at an MK resort, and its' gotten to the point where she's leaving for work about 2 hours before her shift because she's had such a hard time with the bus.
Having my car here has been REALLY nice! (If only her work was by mine!!) My car officially came and I have taken it to work almost every day. I had planned on not using it to get to work, but the J bus only comes every 30 minutes, and it takes about 40 minutes to get home. So if I just happen to miss the first bus to come home, I won't be home til over an hour after I get off.
Work hasn't been terrible, though! I love my coordinators, and really I have gotten along great with all my other cast members. I already have some favorite character attendants; some even greet me excitedly when they see me coming! Due to the way that DAK is set up though, I don't work with characters here as often as I did at EPCOT. There's a lot of places where you shoot The Tree of Life, so I should be getting really good at that soon. (hopefully...) The Tree is definitely different than Spaceship Earth. I know it's a mental thing, but I'm having a hard time getting my framing right for the tree. I suppose I should give it more than three weeks though... ;)
Last night was fun, as I picked up a shift at EPCOT and got to see a lot of my friends who I hadn't seen in six months. I ended up at Goofy for about 3 hours and shot 1009 photos. It was really weird to work there, as all of my shifts at DAK are day shifts, usually 9-5:15, while the EPCOT shift was 6:15pm-00:15. I've gotten used to going to bed early and waking up early.
Sunday is my last day of work for a few days, as the family is coming in to visit! I was able to get Monday-Friday off to show them around. When they came last time, we hit up EPCOT, Universal: IOA and DAK, but missed Studios and MK (mainly because MK is VERY similar to Disneyland). We will not be missing any parks this time (but we will be skipping Universal). I can't wait! Especially since they're coming out while I still have my holiday discount for merchandise. I'll be the favorite daughter for a while :)

Same Dance, Different Song

I think.
I finished Day 3 of work today at DAK and it's pretty much been amazing.  I wasn't sure how I would feel, having had the last five months off from work, but I really feel like I never left and picked up right where I left off.  I found myself thinking today that I feel like I can see more now than last time. I mean, I see more photo opportunities. Before, I would see the full timers moving around and grabbing these pictures from all sorts of angles, but not doing that myself. Yesterday I was behind the characters, in front of them, zooming in and taking pictures of just faces, just lots of different angles that I didn't do before at EPCOT. At the same time, I'm more conscious of what angles to avoid. Also what's in the background (signs, trash cans, etc). I feel like it's really coming together. :)
So I had Daklimation on.... what day is it? lol Saturday! I had Daklimation on Saturday and it went from 8:30-12:30 (exactly). I then had 30 minutes to eat lunch, run to base, change, and clock in for work. I was not happy with this short of a change over, but it worked out in the end (sometimes, that's all you can ask for). I then worked from 1-7pm in Camp Minnie Mickey. The first character I pulled was actually Daisy!! I had only ever worked with her once at EPCOT so I was super excited for this chance, and sure enough, she was amazing. At 2, she left and Donald came out and was really on it. I eventually worked with Goofy, who I absolutely fell in love with. He was such a charmer that day! I shot just over 1,000 photos that day. Yesterday (Sunday) I was with Minnie for my first two sets, before ending with Donald, and I shot apprx 1,200 photos. Today I was back in camp from 10-5:15 and actually got to start the day with my two favorite nuts, Chip and Dale!! I LOVED working with them at Studios last year, and I can happily say, they were just as crazy in DAK as at Studios! I laughed sooo much! I was able to work with a cool Attendant named Brian, and together we were cracking up with C&D. At one point I looked though my lens to see Chip holding a guys arm straight out and gnawing on it like a corn on the cobb.  I yelled out, "Chip! What are you doing, you can't eat him!!" Chip (still holding the guys arm out) pointed to the guys shirt, which read, "HERSHEY." I responded, "Chip, that's a shirt! He's not ACTUALLY a Hershey bar!" Chip then pantomimed unwrapping a bar of chocolate and pretended to eat it. I reassured Chip again that the guy was indeed, not made of chocolate. Chip spent the rest of the morning gnawing on guests that came up and I would have to yell at him. Chip also tried to escape a couple times today, to go harass Donald who had come out to mingle. I yelled out, "Brian! Chip's trying to escape!" and Brian went running over to grab Chip and shove him back towards his area. Dale thought he could succeed by putting a kids autograph book over his eyes, and side stepped his way towards Donald, but Brian was smarter than that and caught on quick.
After lunch I actually got to spend the whole afternoon with Pocahontas, who just recently was assigned a Photopass member. This was amazing, as I really haven't had much experience working with characters who can actually talk back. I had two shifts (I think) with Belle in France, but that was it. Pocahontas was AMAZING!! I feel like she and I really got a system down, and I could tell when she was going to give someone an extra special hug and was able to really take some fabulous photos. There was one girl who came through today that I think had cerebral palsy. She was in a wheel chair and spoke only Spanish, but her mom was able to translate for her. Pocahontas spent quite a while withe her talking and just really being down on her level. I was able to capture this great moment when Pocahontas leaned in and kissed the girl on the cheek (which she NEVER does) and the little girls face was just lit up with such joy. I really can't believe that I get to experience these moments and capture them for families. (It's also amazing I don't cry more, lol). I ended the day just under 1,000 photos.
I'm off Tuesday and Wednesday, and Thursday I'm in DAK south, which is the bridge area, entrance and Boat Dock (where Pooh and friends are found). I'm the only CP so far at DAK, but I've heard talk that we should be getting some more in February (which is really right around the corner). I'm really going to be spoiled as since I'm fully trained, and the new cp's won't have character training for a while, I'll probably end up with most of their shifts. Once they're trained, I'm going to be really sad to not have as many character shifts, lol.

Exploration: DAK

Hello! So I'm going to have to change the description of my blog, as I'm no longer an EPCOT photopass member; I'm now an Animal Kingdom Photographer! That's right, today is my third day (second day since check-in) and I have officially been placed at DAK. I have to say that I was a bit disappointed to leave EPCOT as I'll always consider it my home! I find it funny though, that I was placed in the one park that I was too afraid to pick up shifts in. It's as if Disney knew... What was it I said about stepping outside of my comfort zone...? I take it back!! The one thing I really remember from my roommate working DAK was that she had looong work weeks, and always came home tired. So I'm a little apprehensive. Well, at least I don't have to worry about a lack of stuff to write about!
The last few days have been CRAZY. I checked in on Wednesday the 18th, and people began lining up at 3:45am. Wow. What a difference from my last group (6:30am). By the time I showed up at 6:30, the line was around the corner and to the bus entrance. Probably a good 150+ people. I will admit, I totally saw someone I had been chatting with on facebook at the front of the line and wormed my way up there.  I went in without any roommates this time and was pretty nervous, but I knew that I wanted a 2 bedroom in Chattham this time. This was a last minute decision as I really liked being able to walk everywhere from Vista, but I really didn't want to live there this time. I wanted someplace nicer. And I am super glad everything worked out. Just like last year, the Chattham rooms went really fast. I really think that since I was a single, I grabbed one of the last 2 bedrooms, because I know my friend Jasmine was a bit behind me and they were gone by the time she got there with her roommates. There were however, 2 bedrooms in Patterson and Vista. Anyways!
I am not going to bore you with details, but things have not really gone smoothly with my checkin. It's nothing that I could have done, just miscommunication between departments, but it made for some stressful days as people had different information regarding me. This will not happen to you, and I think it's only happened because I was seasonal and didn't get switched over til last minute, but everything is fixed now. Because my last program ended in August, I am still certified in all my areas and did not have to go to any trainings!! I did not have to go to Traditions, or Welcome to Entertainment, or any camera trainings. As such, I just had to go to my park specific training today and am jumping straight into work. This is both a good thing and a bad thing. Good because I will immediately be making money (yay!) Bad because I feel like i'm not really getting to meet any other program participants. (boo). Everyone is bonding over training or going to the parks, and I have 10 hour work days already!
The days have not been without fun though! And the people I have met are all amazing! I really like my roommates. They all came in blind as well (without roommates) and it's worked out great. They're all from the Chicago area, which is weird....
QUICK THINGS!! I LOVE my Chattham apartment. It is SERIOUSLY better than Vista. Don't get me wrong, i loved every minute of living in Vista. There were not that many parties, and I found it quiet and still quite social. Chattham is sooo much newer though, it's great. I do already miss being able to walk places. If I want to go to Cici's or Wal-Greens, i have to take the bus to Vista and make sure to be back inside Vista by 9pm, or else security won't let me in to catch the bus. However, I have actually also shipped my car out this time. It is currently on a truck in Georgia and should be here sometime next week. I plan to still take the bus a lot to save money on gas, but still. I will have a car!! :) More later.
Shoutout to Samantha and the other girl (I'm sorry! I forgot your name! x_x) I met today who read my blog!

Interview with a Vacation Planner

So I thought I'd interview my friend Tracy, who was a Vacation Planner during our cp. She was also an amazing roommate! :)

Name: Tracy

Role: Vacation Planner

Location: Magic Kingdom, TTC represent!

Were you excited when you first found out you were a VP? Kind of. I didn’t really know what it was until I got there. I thought I was going to be planning peoples vacations. Like hotels, tickets, Disney dining.

How long was your training? Oh god… I think it was ten or twelve days, with a day or two off towards the end. I think (the day off)  was right before my final assessment.

My training was in class training for 4 ou 5 days, with on the job training for another 4 or 5 days. My final assessment was being able to sell tickets the proper way we were trained. There is a four step process.

What was your favorite thing about being a VP? Probably the people I worked with. We were all really close since we spent all day in the booth together.

Least? Maybe not having the option of picking up more hours.

You were able to pick up PAC (parade audience control) shifts. What did you think about that? I loved picking up PAC. I loved being able to be at Magic Kingdom during Wishes! multiple times a week.

Did you ever work in any other parks? I did work in EPCOT for one shift cause they had a whole bunch of people call in sick. I was actually at MK partway through my shift and had to take the monorail over to EPCOT to work there. We had to take off our vest on the way over (So they weren’t in full uniform You are not allowed on public Disney transportation in uniform).

What would be your advice to any incoming VP’s? Start studying the parks now! Like what kind of rides and restaurants are in each park. As well as the water parks.

Did you get asked any crazy questions? I did have a really religious lady come ask me about if Disney was supportive of gay rights and lifestyle.  She didn’t want to buy a ticket from me until she knew more about Disney and their interactions with gay groups. I ended up telling her that we don’t discriminate from anyone coming into the parks. I also always got asked, “Where’s Harry Potter World?” or “Can I get a ticket to Universal?” 

It's a (photopass) picture post!

Apologies to people with slow internet.... :)

Jump shots; So cliche, yet so fun!

Those flattering shorts are part of my uniform! Worked a shift and then went straight to Donald's line.

Best guys to work with EVERRRRR!!! They're my favs. :)

Photopass members unite! From left: Rapunzel, Hillary - DAK, Kelsey - EPCOT, Flynn (duh)  Me, Traci - MK

Fly awaaayy!!

Traci and I found a Rover and made them do our bidding!

The caption says it all.

Once more with feeling

Oops... has it been two days already?? Ugh, in between Thanksgiving I got sick, and then logistically I hadn't really told my work the news yet, but it's not like they read this anyways.... but I have been accepted back to the WDW CP for SA 2012 for Photopass again!! I'm super excited, and actually pretty shocked that I got the same role! I mean, Photopass (from what i've heard) is really hard to get into, and the fact that they're letting me do it again, rather than a role like merchandise, is really kind of flattering. I need to set myself some goals this time, but I don't even know what park I'm going to be in! I was asked in my interview where I would like to work, and I said that I would LOVE to work in EPCOT again. I feel like it's my home, and I think the tone in my voice really showed my love for that park. At the same time, I said, it might be good to get out of my comfort zone and try a different park. As such, I said that I would love to work in MK as I feel like that's the epitomy of what people think of when they think of Disney World, and there's just so much magic that happens there. I think everyone loves their first park, but I have to admit that I would be kind of bummed if I got Studio's or DAK. I'm sure I would learn to love them, but i LOVE EPCOT!!!
Okay, so I got that announcement out of the way, and will try to blog more, but between finals coming up, not really sure how good that will be, lol. But I shall venture on!!