We are Part of a Pattern about to Unfold

Hello friends,

Everyone I know and care about in central Florida is safe and sound for like the millionth time this year. Much rain, many wind, Hurricane Matthew, WOW, we're all good here. It's pretty cool to be here for park history though; we've only been closed something like four times since we opened in 1971. I'm enjoying my lazy time, although I wasn't supposed to work today anyway. 

Moving on. I know it's been awhile. Let's blame the hurricane for this one, and bless it for giving me the time indoors to work on it. At least, that's what I'm going with. 

Yesterday (October 6th), the (Disney) world was preparing for the onslaught of the hurricane, and I was preparing to say goodbye to my lovely friend Laura, as it was her last day at Hollywood Studios. Nicole had moved her into All Star Music that morning (long lines everywhere, #hurricaneproblems) before meeting me at Hollywood Studios. The parking attendant driving the tram reminded us that all parks were closing at 5pm as we put on our rain gear for the fourth time that day. No matter. We still managed to do Toy Story Midway Mania one last time (neither of us could beat our current scores), as well as Rockn Roller Coaster and arguably the best Frozen Sing-Along I have ever witnessed (and we all know I've seen it frequently). We also got PB&J milkshakes at Prime Time Cafe before saying goodbye at 4pm, when Laura headed back for possibly another bonus night at All Stars, as her flight to BC had been delayed. Safe travels, Snow White, say no to apple slices on the plane.

Pre-Hurricane Princesses taking on Toy Story

Nicole and I spent the entire evening indoors with more snacks than were absolutely necessary, and basically it just rained all evening and we woke up to a lot of wind this morning. We're now allowed to leave our housing complex if we so desire... but I don't.

The highlight of my day before the storm (October 5th) was braving Target after work with fellow merchie Nick. About half the customers in Target were in their Disney work costumes like us and it was basically super chill, except there wasn't much bread left. You should've seen the Walmarts and Publix though. Eerie. I also was a champion and filled my car with gas while it was still cheap. So clever, so prepared.

Times are tough in Target.

October 1st, for those in the know, is a rather important date around here. Magic Kingdom, and Disney World as a while, opened its door for the first time on October 1st, 1971 (Disney history is the only history my brain retains), and 11 years later, Epcot opened on October 1st, 1982. Magic Kingdom was celebrating its 45th anniversary and Epcot was celebrating its 34th (does everyone remember my picture for Epcot's 30th? I do.). Magic Kingdom had a whole hullabaloo going on, but Epcot was celebrating too. Costumed Cast Members were permitted to proudly sport the Magic Kingdom 45th anniversary button, and sneaky costumes CMs like myself also wore Epcot anniversary buttons. I'm not saying 34 is a particularly big number, but you better believe every year is worth celebrating. There were cupcakes available for us but sadly every merchie I knew started work well before distribution.

To be fair, Disney Look says we can have two
additional prices of flair...

September 30th was Princess Laura's last day at Animal Kingdom. I met her and Emma there for two more rounds of Festival of the Lion King (three rounds for them, I slept in), too many more rounds of Expedition Everest, and one last Finding Nemo: the Musical (quite possibly the most underappreciated attraction at that park). Expedition Everest though. I'm glad I'm capable of doing it, but it doesn't mean I have to like it.

Laura and I in the second row, Emma behind us.
Moose antlers frighten Yetis. 

On September 28th, I spend an day unexpectedly bonding with my adopted attractions child, Emma. We went to Magic Kingdom mostly for show purposes, as Emma is an excellent photog and Mickey's Royal Friendship Fair, as well as Festival of Fantasy, is her jam. More unexpectedly, Harmony Barbershop had an empty chair when I checked in upon arrival, so I got a bonus haircut and more pixie dust than anyone (even me) could imagine. Emma got it too, and as far as I know it's still in her hat. We then spent some time being basic Magic Kingdom girls in the hub grass with our pixie dust and Starbucks, before round 1 of Mickey's Royal Friendship Fair. There's a new Fall song and Fall-themed costumes, so beautiful. If you want to see actual good pictures of it, here's Emma's instagram. Go nuts. Emma experienced the joy that is Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room before the next MRFF presentation, but sadly it turned into a sing-along due to inclement weather. We rode the People Mover twice (rerides are my favourite) before seeking out a location for Festival of Fantasy. There weren't much to be had, and the weather was creeping up on us (as it does in Florida), but we still enjoyed it from Main Street. We then decided Florida Mall was a great idea for some reason, but I did need a Lush run and we just had to check out the Disney Store, so no regrets. 

Pixie dust: check, Starbucks: check...

Purple wall: Check.
Want a great purple wall picture? Be Emma's mum.

On September 25th, I returned to Blizzard Beach for the first time since the Spring. Shane, Louise and I were there mostly for lazy river and tanning purposes, but we did sneak in a few rounds of Teamboat Springs, and Shane braved Summit Plummet without us. We packed up when it started to rain. It's always starting to rain.

It's been several months and this hole still hasn't been fixed...

On September 23rd, I went to Disney University to attend a Disney Ambassadors session. Basically our current 2015-2016 ambassadors are on their way out, as 2017-2018 ambassadors have been selected, so they're giving weekly or twice-weekly talks at Disney University for fun. This one was entitled "We Create Happiness" and basically it felt like Traditions crammed into an hour. It was magical. It was nice to be reminded of why I was there, and it was nice to get a selfie with the ambassadors (the one visited our pavilion for Canada Day, so it's my second with him).

Basically, the Ambassadors were psyched to meet ME. 

On September 22nd, I was so briefly reunited with my dear Anastasia from Ottawa and from my last program. We were supposed to attend a Mickey's Not So Scary Party together on the 20th but alas, Food and Wine means shifts longer than one can imagine, and I couldn't attend. Regretfully, we forgot to take a picture, but we did have a great time buying ALL THE THINGS at Cast Connection. Welcome back to the Blue ID club, Asia!

September 20th was Kara's last day of work with us in merchandise. Coincidentally, earlier in the week she regained a proper nametag with her actual name on it, as well as her one-year Steamboat Willie pin, as she got a glorious month-long extension. Her farewell celebration/funeral was super low-key the way she wanted it, and sadly all of us were doomed to stay at work well into the evening, because Food & Wine.

Kara puts the FUN in FUNERAL.
(Did I use this last time for Kevin?)

Shall we stand like Irish dancers?
Yes, please!

Luckily, the day before, we were able to have a half-proper last Magic Kingdom all together. I mean, it was bucketing down rain as it usually is, but we had dinner, we rode a few rides, we caught like half of Wishes since they were delayed, we got a bunch of great pictures, and we didn't have to be at work to be doing it.

On September 18th, I spent quality senior citizen time with Shane. We went to Olive Garden way before even the early dinner crowd (because buy one, take one Olive Garden is life), and we went to Universal. We made it with probably two hours left at Islands of Adventure, but it's ok because this is what annual passholders do. We still rode Hulk twice, Jurassic Park once and Spiderman once, then when we got kicked out we went to the new restaurant on City Walk called The Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savoury Feast Kitchen (basically it's what you'd imagine a chocolate factory ought to be like) for milkshakes containing probably more calories than your human should consume in a day. Not to worry. Neither of us could finish.

The Hulk does great things for your hair.
Shane is lucky he had a hat.

I also went to Universal on September 17th, because why not, and also I was with Matt, who had celebrated a birthday the day before! We attended the Barney stage show for the first time each, because obviously it was raining, and we explored Fievel's Playland for the first time for me. I was always under the impression that it was exclusively for children, but it turns out there's a waterslide in there for kids of all ages, and these kids were already damp from rain so we didn't mind at all.

The sign says something about "Wet Britches" and is correct. 

You better believe we were the first two in line.

Fingers crossed for the end of inclement weather!

See you real soon!

Lindsey

Magical Moment: When Emma and I were at MK, a Photopass photographer approached us and gave her a few times about her fancy pants camera. This was all well over my head, but he did take some great hub grass pictures for us as well!

Pixie Dust to: Everyone from the homeland (or otherwise) who checked on my well-being during the hurricane. It's a pretty weird thing when Facebook asks you to check in twice in as 'Safe' in less than a year. 

An Enchanted Moment, and It Sees Me Through

Hello friends. I know what you're thinking. I didn't die, I was just very very busy. I always was terrible with the procrastinating.

Since my last blog post, I celebrated my six-month-iversary on July 25th with my arrival squad Justine, Sarah and of course Nicole. Nicole and I were able to book the day off, so we went to the Japan Pavilion to Tokyo Dining for a delicious and filling (and 50% off!) sushi lunch. We even got more sushi for dessert because we could. To walk off our fullness, we found Justine at work (we got our own boat - we know people) and Sarah at work, we visited Anna and Elsa at the Norway pavilion, we rode Spaceship Earth, and we had some Photopass pictures taken to commemorate the occasion. We collected Sarah and Justine after seeing Star Trek: Beyond and had a late celebration dinner consisting mostly of Domino's and snacks. We already have squad plans for our next month-iversary - next week. When did that happen?

Spaceship Earth and two of its biggest fans.

Squad. Goals. Achieved.

I have also been to Universal TWICE since my last post.
I went on July 29th with Kristin and Shellby for Kristin's last Universal trip (for now) and I went on August 12th with Rachel because we wanted to. This is how you win with an annual pass, people. Kristin's trip involved a very specific itinerary - lunch at Leaky Cauldron, Escape from Gringott's, train to Hogsmeade, Forbidden Journey, Hufflepuff sweater purchase, Butterbeer purchase, and home in time for dinner. We accomplished all the things.

THAT's why they call it "The Leaky Cauldron"!

On a scale from 1 to 10, how much do we love HP?
9 and 3/4. 

The dinner we couldn't miss was at probably my number one restaurant on property - Ohana. It was wonderful to stuff ourselves silly on all the protein and watch the rain fall from the Polynesian. This is the stuff you can't put a price tag on (but somehow Ohana manages). Feeling too full to move anywhere, we decided the best course of action was to mellow out with a hilariously themed beverage from Trader Sam's. Since we were so close and dinner was so early, obviously we had to end the evening at Magic Kingdom. We watched Wishes from Fantasyland such that the fireworks were everywhere and there wasn't a huge crowd wanting to leave after the finale.

We had someone take an actual photo but my selfies are better. 

Rachel and I made our triumphant return to Universal on August 12th. We have very little park time together, all things considered. We left at the crack of 9, cuz Universal busies up in the afternoon and we're efficient. We hit up the Mummy twice, E.T. Adventure, Kang and Kodos Twirl & Hurl, The Simpsons Ride (our bodies hate it), Men In Black and finally to Diagon Alley for an Escape from Gringott's, followed by Leaky Cauldron lunch, Florean Fortescue's ice cream for dessert and a train ride to Hogsmeade. Out time at Islands of Adventure was cut short by the inevitable daily downpour. We rode Forbidden Journey before hoofing it out of there only minutes before we would have been soaked. Good planning, us.

Where we're going, we don't need roads.

August 2nd was a very sad day in the Canada pavilion, as it was the last day of work for magical Canadian Cast Members Kristin and Clifford. Our day started out, as final days often do, in the UK for a little goodbye ceremony wherein certificates are presented and tears are shed before the World Showcase opens for the day. I honestly don't know how they expect us to proceed with our days after starting with such sadness. But we keep calm and carry on, as our UK friends say. Of course, not every Cast Member is an opening Cast Member, so a few of us spent time in the DVC Lounge again before lunch at Sunshine Seasons and then we started work.

Canada Merch selfie, including Micayla on the iPhone.

One more pose in plaid with Kristin.
Did you know we have been mistaken for each other?

August 3rd was Clifford's last full day on Walt Disney World property. Naturally, I was working, but I was able to join the merry band at Magic Kingdom for frolicking, character-meeting, and mad tea-partying before Clifford's last Wishes. This is why I have to see Wishes more frequently, people. I always associate it with people leaving and it makes me sad. Ta ta for now, Clifford, see you in Brockville eventually!

Minnie personally selected the gentlemen for her arm candy. 

On August 4th, I assisted moving Kristin out of Patterson Court (a very unceremonious activity, thank you very much, housing) and into Art of Animation for a few days. We swam in the Big Blue Pool while the thunder rumbled and our fingers pruned up, at which point it was time to head to Magic Kingdom for the evening with Sarah and Shellby for another tragic round of last Wishes. The next day, after a gorgeous sleep in a Little Mermaid-themed room, we headed to Animal Kingdom so Kristin could indulge in Festival of the Lion King a few more times. I think at the end she had seen it 43 times (correct me if I'm wrong). Girl. I had to nap but the party moved to Hollywood Studios later, where I joined Shellby, Kristin and Rachel for a Frozen Sing-Along, and later most of the loyal merchies for Kristin's last Fantasmic - I believe she has now seen it 31 times. Girl.

Me, Kristin and Shellby being attacked by a wild Brer Fox
at the entrance of Animal Kingdom. 

Is this Canada? Snoap, it is the Frozen Sing Along.

While Kristin was boarding her Tragical Express back to the airport, Nicole and I were rising with the sun for a very special tour - The Walt Disney: Marceline to Magic Kingdom tour, beginning far before park open. Marceline to Magic Kingdom is described as a tour that tells you how key events in Walt's life lead to the creation of particular attractions and features of Magic Kingdom. You know how I like to be in the know, so it was right up my alley. We were accompanied by fellow keeners Sarah (from the arrival squad) and Leanne from UK merch. It was so magical and just the distraction I needed from the constant stream of departing cast members.

Nicole, Leanne, our super guide Kelli, Sarah and I.
I blend in with Carousel of Progress.

This past Thursday, the 11th, I braved very early and very hot Magic Kingdom to do something I've never done before at Walt Disney World (yes there is still such a thing) - Witness the welcoming of a new princess into Magic Kingdom! Princess Elena of Avalor was warmly greeted by Prince Charming and Cinderella in front of Cinderella Castle after being accompanied around the hub by a horse-drawn carriage and many many very lucky girl scouts. Princess Elena sang for us and told us how happy she was to be here. No word yet on when actual meet and greets can occur. It was very magical. You may or may not know that I was back from my first program for about a month when Merida's coronation took place. I could not have been more pissed to have missed it. But I got this one!

Katrina is elated to have found her prince
in the crowd behind her.

Emma's totes profesh photo of our newest princess.

I meandered around Magic Kingdom for a few hours with Shellby, Emma, and official princess stalker Katrina. We sat through Hall of Presidents because Katrina wanted to, and we met Belle because Katrina has Memory Maker at the moment and therefore has access to a special meet and greet location. We were joined by my friend Anna and Anna's magical friend Marie, who were also thrilled to meet Belle in her yellow dress.

I like how we all more or less are coordinated with Belle.

I have saved the best part of my last two weeks, and definitely one of the highlights of my program so far, for last.
On Saturday, July 30th, Matt and I travelled to Port Canaveral because we had been invited onboard the Disney Fantasy Cruise ship! My new forever friend Alex (with whom Matt completed his second cultural representative program) invited Matt and a Guest (which was ME this time) to join her in the brief few hours between two of her shifts, in which rooms were being prepared for new Guests, and early bird Guests were being greeted for their one-week Caribbean cruise. Eventually I will be so lucky, but I feel genuinely thrilled to have spent any time aboard at all. After a somewhat scary security process than involved surrendering my ID, having my bag checked three times (once by a dog!), and constantly displaying a "VISITOR" badge, we entered the ship through the crew entrance and into the glorious Atrium Lobby. The Fantasy's lobby is described as being inspired by Art Nouveau, which I totally get now. The Welcome line had already started, so obviously I was doing all the clapping. Alex was able to take us through most of the onboard restaurants, bars, the theatre, the movie theatre, the children's lounge, the nursery (much to Matt's delight), the teen zone, all the pools, and even the cast mess hall, rooms, and bar. Alex very graciously answering my thousands of questions about Cruise Line life over our complimentary buffet lunch, and saw to it that Matt and I were reunited with our former leader Jamie (also hailing from Canada), who is most definitely Alex's current leader. If I wasn't vaguely considering Cruise Line life before, I'm definitely thinking about it now. Who needs a real life when you can live on a ship?! Matt and I eventually did have to disembark, as the ship had to conduct a safety drill before its departure. We sat and sadly watched it sail away without us. Next time, Disney Fantasy, next time.

Minnie Mouse is the icon of the Fantasy.
I'm smiling so hard I can't see.

Let's discuss how even the washrooms are magical.

Mandatory porthole window picture! 

This is Andy's Room, part of the kids' Oceaneers Club. 

I'm in a Bippity Boppity Bootique. AT LAST. 

This is my new best friend Alex and an almost empty pool. 

I believe this is also a mandatory cruise line shot. 

[Not sure if anyone noticed, but I'm actually wearing a Disney Cruise Line shirt I had purchased for SO cheap at Cast Connection. Now that I've been on a ship, it's not a lie.]
As some consolation, we went to Universal (for actually the THIRD time this blog post) to check out the nightly fireworks and have some dinner. Passholder privileges.

We also saw a Horror Makeup Show.
I'm good at waiting for things.

See you real soon!

Lindsey

Pixie Dust to: My new friend Alex, for being the best tour guide a Cast Member could ask for. I will send you so much mail.

Magical Moment: Before Kristin's last Fantasmic, we witnessed many magical moments. We were fantastically amused by a glow merchantainer by the name of Andrew. Many videos were taken, and we even got a group shot with him afterwards. Two PhotoPass photographers were kind enough to mark the occasion with many shots of Kristin and her merch posse celebrating her last day... they even gave her a bunch if magic shots on her own camera. This is why I work here.

The Greenest State in the Land of the Free

Wingapo, friends, let us catch up.

Since it's officially summer now, although it's been summer in Orlando for months, this means lots of new things are happening at Disney World. On June 21st, Hollywood Studios got new Star Wars themed fireworks, entitled Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular, so a bunch of us wandered over to check them out (it's for product knowledge). While we were waiting, obviously we had to go do Toy Story Midway Mania. The fireworks really were spectacular. So much more than just fireworks. Oh we went to Magic Kingdom after, since Studios closed at 10 and that wasn't enough park for us. 

When a cast member saves you from yet another selfie.

 Another brand new thing to Disney World is the Frozen Ever After attraction in the Norway pavilion in Epcot. It replaced the Maelstrom boat ride, rest in peace. It also opened the 21st, and I through the wonders of technology snagged FastPasses for the 23rd. I brought Frozen fan Katrina and fellow merchie Eric, who was so new when FastPasses became available, he didn't even have his maingate yet. We were running early for the first time in forever (see what I did there) so we snuck in the Royal Summerhaus, also new, to meet Elsa and Anna before checking out their new boat ride. I suppose this would be an ideal time to reveal that World Showcase cast had been pulled from their work locations all week to help test the new ride. I was definitely one of the lucky ones who not only got to test the actual boat ride (instead of just the queue) but got to do several rounds before heading back to Canada.

Princess Anna and Princess Anna love
a queue with a couch. 

Official Summer Snow Day!

Animatronic sisters unlike any others. 

 Eric and I left Katrina in Norway so she could attempt to ride again, while we scampered off to Captain's Grille at the Yacht Club resort for lunch with Sarah. It was 40% off so we thought it was necessary. Also we felt very fancy. We slowly wandered back to Epcot with very full bellies, and decided ice cream from France was in order, and then we ran into a princess on our way back to Canada.

Sometimes us and Rapunzel have the best day
ever at International Gateway.

 Our purpose in hanging out at work while not actually working was the finally check out the new entertainment in Canada. They're an acrobat troup from Montreal called Les Parfaits Inconnus. We may have judged them a bit fast, since they start their act with paper bags over their heads while playing instruments and yeah that sounds totally weird. But we stayed for the whole performance this time, so we would know for our Guests what to expect. We could not have been more wrong. These guys are phenomenally athletic and talented and good-looking. We ended up returning for a second show, as we spoke with them after the first and they told us there's a different featured soloist each show.

This guy flipped backwards off an unsupported ladder.
The other guy just caught the ladder as it was pushed away.  

An All Canadian selfie! Basically I'm a fan for life.

Same day, post-laundry, almost every single merchie gathered on the Boardwalk to try another recent new thing, the Ample Hills Creamery (aka very fancy ice cream). Obviously we had to take shifts going inside and guarding our table, so I don't have a selfie with everyone. A proper group photo exists and I'll acquire it. With more ice cream. Because no regrets about that.

Me, Louise, Kara and Shane taking on Ample Hills
and their complicated flow charts.

On June 28th, we were summoned to the pavilion extra early before work (ok, so at 1030) so we could take a special early group shot of Canada, with a Walt Disney World Ambassador, to be used to promote Canada Day. While we were waiting for said ambassador in the store/air conditioning, we had a very special pavilion-wide goodbye for Micayla, who's extension and program had come to an end. Most of us, including Micayla, had to work that day, but Rachel and I didn't work til much later, so what were we to do but entertain ourselves at work for the morning. We went to the Land, rode the new Soarin' Around the World, and had early lunch at Garden Grill with Chip, Dale, Pluto and farmer Mickey. Dale was totally in his element and his antics were worth the price of Garden Grill. We were uncomfortably full of food and fun for the rest of the day. Oh I'm pretty sure the next time we ate was much much later at Steak n' Shake.

Dale and I are darling.
Remember we got engaged last time?

I think Pluto was distracting us while
secretly trying to steal turkey.

Dale notices that I've been all paparazzi on him...

...And has to check out our photos from the day. 

On June 30th, Laura and I had a chill yet very warm afternoon at Epcot, in which we attempted to complete a passport, but only got a third done, as we kept getting distracted around the World Showcase West area.
First there were acrobats again...

Can you do this in Florida in June? Can you?

 Then there was Laura's favourite princess hanging at IG again...

No one told us to pose like this. It just happened.

 And then the acrobats AGAIN...

His entire body weight in on his one arm. WHAT. 

 Until we decided to move on to greater things. Like dinner at Wilderness Lodge. We had a reservation at the very fancy Artist Point. Laura had a dining coupon left over from Christmas so we may have gone all out. We were very smart in wearing dresses so nothing would have to stretch. We chilled like none other in the lobby of Wilderness Lodge and darn near dozed off on the comfiest couches of life. We wanted to take a boat tour to Magic Kingdom but there was lightning, as there frequently is this time of year. So we took a bus instead. While on the bus, we decided the actual best course of action would be to go to Trader Sam's, the Jungle Cruise themed bar located in the Polynesian Resort. Who would have thought that there would be a bar that was so up my alley. It's delightfully themed to my favourite attraction of all time, it's small and cozy, and the drinks come with both the option of purchasing a clean, dry, signature cup and some magical moments. Enough said. It was amazing and I shall return.

Here's the part where I confess that I'm the bad Canadian who did not visit her pavilion on Canada Day. My bad. Justification - Amanda and her friend Merran were due in from British Columbia that day. I brought them to Target upon there arrival for snacks, healthy foods, and general fun American shopping. After they napped and unpacked, it was absolutely bucketing down rain but we went to Magic Kingdom anyway because, guess what, it buckets down rain every day now. The parks belong to those with ponchos and high spirits.

We don't need you, Photopass.
What you cannot see is my LOVE CANADA tee. 

On the 2nd, Merran and Amanda had an early start to their day, as vacationers do, at Epcot, so I met them in the early afternoon at Hollywood Studios. As is my habit, we got in a quick visit with out favourite snowman...

We are all meting because it's so hot!

Before heading to the Frozen Sing Along. Good times were had by all.

I don't even know how many times I've done this show. 

We left for the resort as the ominous storm clouds were rolling over Studios, and boarded the bus to Art of Animation (for lunch) as the daily rain hit. We were prepared, don't you worry. After lunching, snacking and resting (back at Pop Century where the girls are actually staying), we returned to Magic Kingdom for more magic and less rain.

Our girl Ariel in her grotto.
See my appropriate necklace?

 On the 3rd, Kara and I grabbed ERs from work and left for Art of Animation. I was using the pool while the others had paid for a room. It was so so hot but that pool is gorgeous. I braided four princesses' worth of hair before we went to Magic Kingdom. The 4th of July fireworks are also performed on the 3rd. I guess it's so Guests can see both MK's and Epcot's fireworks. It was very busy but we were very early so we were very comfortable waiting on Hub grass for the salute to all nations (but mostly America) to begin.

Even the castle is Star Spangled. 

We had to stay still for awhile after, since there was a mass exodus of the park, but we were able to snag a FastPass for Haunted Mansion. There was some screaming. It most definitely was not me.

If a ghost followed us home, he didn't show
up for the picture.

On the actual 4th of July, I worked but not all evening. I met Merran and Amanda for dinner at the Electric Umbrella before we found a very uncrowded spot in Canada for the special Independence Day edition of IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth. The fireworks and noise were an epic of epic epicness, plus there was a bonus of watching a fireworks tech control the show from on top of Canada the whole time. Not that anything was on fire... cuz it wasn't.

On the fifth, I met Amanda and Merran at Animal Kingdom in the evening. As part of the new summer offerings (called "Summer Awakens"... good job with that, Disney), Animal Kingdom stays open later into the night with its new fun things to do: A nighttime Kilimanjaro Safari, which is magical on its own and totally doesn't need to fake sunset or hippo noises, thank you very much, as well as the Tree of Life Awakens, which is a projection show on the Tree of Life and is actually amazing, and Jungle Book: Alive with Magic, DAK's nighttime spectacular along the lines of Fantasmic. There's few fireworks, but it really is gorgeous and beautiful and so catchy, due to Jungle Book songs. I'm sure Rivers of Light, the originally conceived but for now delayed nighttime spectacular, will eventually come to be.

I am both shiny and excited for a nighttime Safari. 

Unless you want to hear about my grocery shopping at Trader Joe's, then I do believe we're all caught up.

See you real soon!

Lindsey

Magical Moment: I got a selfie with the WDW Ambassador. He liked and commented on the picture on Instagram. IT WAS MAGICAL TO ME. Also I want to be an ambassador.

Pixie Dust to: This one Epcot Cast Services Cast Member. She was handing out Mickey ice cream sandwiches on Independence Day, and when she saw my costume, she wished me a happy belated Canada Day. Thanks for knowing and caring! And also for the ice cream.