Probably Getting Gorgeously Tanned in Summer

Hello friends!

I have a week's worth of adventure days to catch you up on.

My lovely friend Lesley (whom you may remember from the 29-time-on-Star-Tours day) was visiting this week. I knew she was coming and that she was coming to see me at Epcot after she arrived, but she still managed to surprise me while I was at the bar. Therefore, pictures were necessary. In retrospect, I regret not getting any of the two of us while I was in costume, but she's coming back in October so more fun will be had then.

Happy to be photographed, so-so about serving alcohol. 

We stayed at Pop Century resort and made a hard commitment to sleep in as frequently as possible. We made it to Hollywood Studios on our first day in time for our Rockn Roller Coaster FastPass at 12:15. It was also May the 4th, aka Star Wars Day ("May the 4th Be With You"... get it?), so Hollywood Studios was the place to be. It was also drizzly all morning so the park was not as full as we were anticipating. We were able to ride Star Tours with a minimal wait, we experienced Muppet Vision 3D, and just before we attended the Frozen Sing Along, we were able to have a surprise meet and greet with Olaf! It was one of his very first days in the park and we were able to see him with, again, a minimal wait. Sticking it out during rainy days has its rewards, people. Also, looking super cool in a poncho is its own reward.

Ponchos are totally rock and/or roll. 

We only stuck around til 3, because we felt a nap was necessary. When we returned, it was to Magic Kingdom, as we felt we needed to conquer it. We arrived when it was just bucketing down rain, meaning we made straight for Emporium to purchase and mail some postcards (to wait out the rain), and find my former coordinator and now leader at Emporium, Dave. We were at Magic Kingdom from 7pm until 1am, the end of Extra Magic Hours, in which we did actually all the attractions one needs when attending Magic Kingdom on vacation - Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, Monsters Inc Laugh Floor, Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, Mickey's Philharmagic, Voyage of the Little Mermaid and Mad Tea Party (we don't spin in the tea cups, we just sit in them). There was probably more. We felt very accomplished. And very hungry. So we made an emergency trip to McDonald's near the All Star Resorts, since everything else was closed.

Lesley, Ariel and I taking a "shellfie".
See what I did there. 

We obviously slept in hard the next day, then finally rolled into Epcot in the early afternoon. We had a leisurely day of wandering around World Showcase in our matching Epcot 30th anniversary shirts, checking out the the new band in Canada (they're called "Alberta Bound"), eating an entire baguette in France (and telling people where they can purchase said baguette), getting our own private boat for the Gran Fiesta Tour in Mexico, and generally having a wonderful day. We ended the day by going to Disney Springs for a late meal at House of Blues (despite all the eating, we were starving) and some shopping at World of Disney.

Cheers from the American Adventure!
See Spaceship Earth behind us?

Baymax selfies! 

Friday was our Universal Studios day. We had many adventures at Universal on my last program, so this park deserved its own day on our vacation. We were able to get there for 11, even though it closed at 6 (whyyyyyy though), we still got all the money's worth of fun. We started in the Universal Studios half with The Mummy, Transformers, ET Adventure, Men in Black and finally lunch in Springfield. We were evacuated off of Kang and Kodos Twirl & Hurl, although it never actually started so it was less of an adventure. But we were given an Express Pass (Universal's FastPasses) to use later in the park, so no big deal. Then we explored Diagon Alley and escaped from Gringott's Bank, before taking the Hogwarts Express to Islands of Adventure.

Clowning around with Krusty in Springfield

You have to pay for a picture with ET. Nope. 

We started with a quick single riders trip through Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, then moved along to Marvel Super Hero Island to use our Express Passes for Spiderman. Our passes were never taken from us, so we used them again in Seuss Landing to board the High in the Sky Seuss Troller Train Ride (that's the real name of the ride). We also did the Cat in the Hat ride before circling back through Hogsmeade to board the Flight of the Hippogriff before we had to leave. Universal Gradventure was that night, so there were tons of elementary school grads from across the country in their matching tees and it was terrifying.

Unmatched shirts today.
We're lucky no one got lost. 

Hogwarts Express, and somehow the Hulk coaster.
#badshow

Mandatory castle picture. You can kind of see the castle...

We went back to our hotel, dined, then changed into our newest matching shirts and went to Hollywood Studios at 9, which had extra magic hours until midnight. Basically we're park champions. We met Olaf again, watched the Star Wars fireworks, rode Star Tours again, braved a stampede for Great Movie Ride, rode Rockn Roller Coaster again and ended our day with a small wait for Toy Story Midway Mania, already showing signs of expansion (another track is happening soon-ish).

We match Olaf's carrot nose!

It was fantastic times, and my Fitbit steps were through the roof. Vacation is the best exercise there is.

See you real soon,

Lindsey

Magical Moment: Our new friend Hayden at Rock'n Roller Coaster totally played along during the preshow and personally asked Steven Tyler for backstage passes "for the girls in the orange shirts". Thanks bro! Also to that one American Adventure CM who IDed me and did a double take at my birth year. I don't care if you do that every day, it made me feel awesome.

Pixie Dust to: My mom! For making sure Lesley's Magical Express info got to her in Woodstock, although it was mysteriously sent to Perth.

EDIT: Lesley made a video of our brief but memorable vacay. You can see it here!

Fall Apart in my Backyard

Less than three weeks between posts? I know. Craziness.

On Wednesday, April 27th, the early-rising merchies (myself included) gathered outside at the cart to say "See you real soon!" to our friend Eva, whose program has come to an end. Basically all the positions were covered by leaders and coordinators so we could all be together to watch the leaders say nice things about Eva and give her certificates for having been a trainer and having completed the program. Then we posed for pictures and we were all moose. We had our reasons. Shellby and I didn't work til later that afternoon, and Kristin and Micayla didn't work at all, so we went around to the attractions to see Colin, Terrie and Mel on their last days as well. We also accidentally got into a moose picture for the departing Le Cellier cast members. It was a big group leaving us this week.

The moose of merchandise.

Food & Bev Moose featuring merchandise.

On Thursday the 28th, I took a record-breaking FOUR modes of transportation to get to Magic Kingdom. I drove to the parking lot. I took a tram to the Ticket & Transportation Center. I took the resort monorail to the Grand Floridian. Where I was evacuated and had to take a bus. Magical? Anyway, believe it or not but I hadn't been to the Magic Kingdom since my trip with the Shank family two blog posts ago, so I was happy to be back. I had to send some mail (some of you will be getting MK mail!) and do a few other errand-y type things (yes, errands at Magic Kingdom are a thing), then I met my friend Patrick for random fun times at the most magical park in the most magical place on Earth. We were able to secure some pretty solid Fast Passes for Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion and Big Thunder Mountain, and to be honest the park wasn't busy. We also visited Tom Sawyer Island, a part of the park I just never got around to exploring. It's (you guessed it) an island in the middle of the Rivers of America full of paths and bridges and forts and fun. It was also probably 10 degrees hotter than the rest of the park. That was probably the abundance of stairs though. We didn't stick around for Wishes, but we did go see Keanu at Disney Springs. I always enjoy movies with kittens.

Go away Guests, this is my island now. 

On Friday the 29th, I had my first Universal Studios adventure of this program. I acquired my annual pass and I'm ready to go until I leave (and after, my pass will be good til April 2017). I went with Matt, who was celebrating starting a new big kid job on Monday. We started in the Universal Studios half, under Matt's guidance (I haven't been in four years, I forgot everything), at the new Transformers ride, then onto the Mummy and Men In Black before heading to the (recently?) expanded Springfield area for lunch at Krusty Burger. I had a ribwich, and it was like a dream come true.

Universal Studios or Duff Gardens? 

After taking all the pictures of all the new things, we went through London to Diagon Alley to visit Gringott's, in which the new(ish) ride Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringott's is located. It was gooooooood. The whole new area is maaaaaaagical. After exploring, we considered taking the Knight Bus to Hogsmeade but ultimately took the Hogwarts Express with all the other Muggles, taking us over to the Islands of Adventure side of the park.

# 12 Grimmauld Place, London.
Read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. 

Diagon Alley, featuring fire-breathing
dragon atop Gringott's bank. 

Making new friends with the Knight Bus driver. 

We rode Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey and I had Butterbeer to settle my stomach. Rides are getting hard, you guys. Aging isn't as easy as I make it look. We also got moderately damp on the Jurassic Park River Adventure before getting totally soaked on Bluto's Bilge Rat Barges. Like eyeliner everywhere soaked. It was like 39 out though so we needed it.

Goodbye real life, I'm going to Hogwarts now. 

Hello, beautiful Hogwarts Express.  

Standard Queen-of-the-Castle picture. 

We finished the day off with the Spiderman ride, since the line was short and cool, then headed out... when we changed and went to Steak and Shake, Do all my adventures end with Steak and Shake? Probably.
And finally, last night, my squad and I reunited for a late night viewing of the new live-action Jungle Book. It was just stunning. I highly recommend. Maybe not for small children who think tigers are big kitties.

See you real soon!

Lindsey

Pixie Dust to: My merchandise coworkers on Saturday. They have hearts of gold, if I haven't already mentioned it.

Magical Moment: I'm happy to be in a place where people leave me Thank You cards just for talking to them. It's really rough being the face of Courtesy in World Showcase West Merchandise for the week, but someone has to do it.

Courtesy begins with me. 

Good Things are Sure to Come your Way

Hello friends. It's been awhile. Right into it, shall we?

It's my Sunday night which means it's Friday for real people. I started my day with a breakfast of champions at Bob Evans, where I had not eaten on this program yet. Biscuits all the way. I needed the energy to return to Cast Connection, as I had not been given a shirt I paid for, when I discovered ridiculous sales on all the RunDisney merchandise. So if you see me in a RunDisney shirt thats many sizes too large... it was very cheap and you never know. I probably have walked that distance in a day. I made a routine trip to Walmart before heading home for the afternoon to relax. Nicole and I *gasp* LEFT the Disney bubble in the evening for a performance at the Dr. Phillips Center (not Centre) for the Performing Arts by the newly rebranded Opera Orlando. Nicole is a talented opera singer in real life, so it was her idea, but as I rarely see theatre I don't already know, I enjoyed it as well. Also I felt super classy because now I can say "Oh, I was at the Opera you see...".

Even the ceiling of the theatre (theatER)
is interesting.

Nicole where she belongs... 

...And me just enjoying being there.

On Thursday I started my day with a round at Cast Connection for no particular reason other than it had been awhile and I just got paid. Let's just say I acquired enough Disney trading pins to keep me afloat for the rest of my program (... hopefully...). I made a quick trip to Florida Mall to acquire a Baloo tsum tsum (he's so cute, it was worth the trip) and chilled (literally) at home until I rewatched Star Wars: The Force Awakens with Matt and Mike (they have a fancy projector. It's fancy). I may have swooned a bit for Kylo Ren, renewing my motivation to get myself to Hollywood Studios to encounter him again.
On Tuesday at work I had surprise visitors in the form of my friend Anna and her friend, and my new friend, Tina, who extended an invitation for hangouts and dinner later in the evening at Epcot. I miraculously had a short day so obviously this was going to happen. We rode Journey Into Imagination and Living with the Land before having a mini hair-braiding party in what used the be the waiting area for Soarin'. We then checked into our dinner at Garden Grill, which was legitimately on my bucket list of things to accomplish on this program. It's a slowly rotating restaurant in The Land which serves a feast consisting of a lot of things you'd have at Thanksgiving. Oh, and you meet Chip, Dale, Pluto AND Farmer Mickey Mouse. Basically it's great. Plus the scenery changes while you're not looking (because you're spinning!). We were obscenely full but so happy by the end of the meal, as we had had the most magical server ever and we rotated twice around the restaurant. Oh, and Dale proposed to me during dinner. Chip had previously proposed to Anna at another meal at Garden Grill so basically we're having a double wedding. Clear your calendars.

Permanent Residency, here I come. 

So happy together.

Here's where I switch up my days to make things a little more understandable. On April 14, Laura and I had a big American breakfast at Perkins before a delightful round of mini-golf at Fantasia Gardens. This was also on my list of things to do this program, as I somehow never got around to it last time. I'll also get around to Winter Summerland, near Blizzard Beach. Fantasia is a wonderful 18-hole course all super Fantasia-themed, with all the music and various well-themed obstacles. Honestly, Laura and I did pretty well (or pretty well at not counting properly, whatever) and it was just unbelievably warm.

You get satyr music when you get a hole-in-one. 

Laura lamenting the adorable but annoying Hop Lo mushroom.

Have you ever seen a golf course like this? Have you? 

I'm not quite as good at golf as the hippo is at ballet. 

After golf and some packing, I went to Port Orleans French Quarter to make the most out of the time I got in this glorious resort, while keeping busy before picking up magical friend and CRP alumna Alison at the airport. We took a boat to Disney Springs (formerly Downtown Disney, if you'll recall) and spent the evening catching up over drinks and shareable appetizers at Jock Lindsey's Hangar Bar. Jock Lindsey was Indiana Jones' sidekick and pilot, so there's more artifacts and memorabilia in this bar than a standard fan could handle or would notice. Theming for days. Two thumbs way up for the bar and the spelling. We tried to squeeze in some shopping but couldn't get much done in the time we had left, having missed our last boat and getting to experience the bus back to Port Orleans instead.

Well-themed and under-photographed.
My phone died. Sad face. 

Six giant beignets, s'il vous plait. 

The next morning we had a hearty Disney resort breakfast of Mickey waffles (thanks, Alison!) before packing up and moving out of the lovely Port Orleans. Alison was continuing her vacation at the Walt Disney World Dolphin resort, which is not all the way owned by Disney (you can tell cuz they charge for parking and wifi), and I was continuing my day at Epcot. I met Matt at MouseGears and we got our own private boat on the Gran Fiesta tour in Mexico. Basically, guests think we're famous now. We checked out Norway for any apparent progress on the new Frozen attraction (maybe there's a new mountain?) before heading back to Canada, where I had a schedule bid appointment and where I had to check out our newly installed wine bar. We snagged a Fast Pass for Test Track, and I snagged my preferred days off, and we explored Innoventions East and found a previously unexplored exhibit called Colortopia. Basically you learn about how colour makes people feel before getting to paint a wall with coloured lights, all narrated by Ty Burrell. It was super! Afterwards, Mike and I were slaughtered in Monopoly but we generally fine with it.

Painting with colour and light! MAGICAL!

I've had a bit of a social lull this month but it's sure to pick up now that I'm over my second cold of my program. There isn't enough vitamin C and hand sanitizer on the planet to keep me healthy in this state. Between this post and the last, my only other social activity was attending Typhoon Lagoon waterpark on April 8 with seldom seen but much loved Sarah. I had doubt about how my impending cold would affect my ability to tackle giant waves, but with some gentle enouragement I did very well and split a sand pail (all the soft serve one can handle served in a plastic sand pail) with Sarah as a reward. We also thoroughly enjoyed the lazy river on more than one occasion and defeated the Crush'n Gusher. It was wonderful times, made even more wonderful by dinner at Sweet Tomatoes with Matt and Mike.

So excited for the sunshine and the company!

We are all caught up friends. Looking forward to my next round.

See you real soon!

Lindsey

Magical Moment: Our server Patrick at Garden Grill, singing our table a Sweet 16 song he had written to the tune of You'll Be in my Heart. I asked him to sing it twice, since I'll be 32 this year.

Pixie Dust to: My mom! For sending me a fantastic Canada shirt.