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My first few days in Orlando...

Wow, what a whirlwind! A very long car ride, a total blast playing in Magic & Animal Kingdom, and a very sad goodbye later, I now live in the happiest place on earth. Walt Disney World. Now, to share a little bit of what’s going on this week.

January 12, 2011:

Its move in day!! Jordan Keiff arrived at our resort the night before and neither of us could sleep due to nerves and excitement! We packed up, headed over to Vista Way Apartments and sat in the 40 degree weather while waiting impatiently to check in. Jordan and I both got assigned to live in the Patterson Apartments, which we were pretty pumped about! Only 2 years old, and absolutely GORGEOUS, these apartments are referred to as the “nursing homes” due to their quiet nature, but to me, that’s a perk!! After a very long check in and a total maze through the casting area, we found out where we will be working. I will be a character attendant who will be moving from park to park and Jordan will be selling food and drinks in Typhoon Lagoon (until it gets warmer, he will be in Hollywood Studios). We were both thrilled and left to unpack and get settled into our new apartments!! Once back at the room, Luke, Emily and Shane had already done a great job bringing all of my junk into the apartment. I don’t think I could have moved in without them!! And one by one, the roommates came in!! We have Kayla and Rachel from Michigan, Sam is from California, and Janelle is from New Mexico. We are still awaiting the check in of Laura, from Atlanta, who is still snowed in…yes, in ATLANTA! So anywho, we all began the unpacking process and I prepared to say goodbye to the Holloway/Houston bunch. Saying goodbye was absolutely miserable…and once I finally stopped crying, I got a call from Luke which went a little something like this: “Hey, surprise, we are staying in Orlando one more night and we get to do this whole sad awful goodbye process again tomorrow!” Which honestly, as hard as I knew that would be, I could not have been happier…I wasn’t ready to be alone just yet!! So that night we went out to the Universal Studio boardwalk and spent time together, came home, and fell asleep to Aladdin…

January 13, 2011

The next morning began the Disney experience. Boring meetings and a whole day to do whatever we wanted, like take random scary cabs to WalMart. I can already tell that this program will be anything but boring.

Sooo.. the next day…

January 14, 2011

Traditions began! We woke up bright and early because apparently, Disney likes to do EVERYTHING at very unreasonable times like 5:45 am. My roommates dad began referring to Mickey as “Nazi Mouse”. But in all seriousness Traditions was a really amazing experience and worth the early wake up. Traditions is basically the beginning of the program. You begin to learn more about the company and some of the very coveted secrets of Walt Disney World. I’m not quite sure how many secrets I am allowed to expose about the Disney training process, so if you want to know any secrets about the company, I’d say google would be a fabulous source! After a long day of traditions, my roommates and I enjoyed the night at downtown Disney. And let me just say…working for Disney has some awesome perks. Discounts and no lines at planet Hollywood? Yes please!

Aaaaaanywho, moving right along….

January 15, 2011

Today was another very early morning and a loooong day of training, filled with more fun, new friends, and even more information and secrets about the company!

I can’t even explain how much I already love living here and how excited I am to begin more training… But I do miss home. However, I’m not going to lie, I’m not quite sure that the reality of the situation has fully hit me yet. As much as I miss my home, my family and friends, and just my life in general, I feel like I’m just here playing for a few days or visiting for a long weekend. It hasn’t really hit me yet that I actually LIVE here and I’m not going home for a long time. 5 months is so short, but at the same time so long. As excited as I am to be here, I do have apprehensions. I know there will be good and bad days, however, I do feel a peace about my decision to live, work, and play here. I know that the Lord has huge plans for my life and I have already seen Him working and moving!! I know this program will teach me a lot, and I am more than ready to begin this new chapter of life!!

Until next time…