Holiday season!

So I've been pretty crap at updating the blog recently... however life has been pretty hectic and full on and I'm usually too exhausted to do anything with any spare time, except from face planting my couch!

Work is cray-cray busy right now. We are in the middle of Candlelight, which is very full on. During December there is a show called the Candlelight Processional and its basically the story of Christmas, told by a celebrity narrator with a big choir that is made up with cast members. It's a free show, however if you want a guaranteed seat then you need to pre-book a Candlelight package, which includes a 3 course meal at one of Epcot's table service restaurants and a ticket for one of the three shows a day. It means that the restaurant lunch time is now from 12-2:30pm, instead of 3pm because we need to reopen at 3:30pm for dinner service. And we are now open until 9:30pm every day as the fireworks are pushed back by half an hour. And with Extra Magic Hours on a Friday night, we stay open until 10:30pm. It can get crazy busy very quickly and we are all trying to get people their three courses and back out the door as quick as possible so they can go get in line for the show. Guests can be really rude and it can get pretty stressful, especially when food isn't coming out quick enough. The Candlelight guests then all leave and then we just have all of our regular guests... it can feel like it's never going to end! I haven't even been to see a show yet because I'm so tired!

Sooooo.... again I'm just going to randomly talk about different things that I've been up to!

Thanksgiving has been and gone! I was due to work an am shift but called in... awkward. Wasn't feeling good at all and then I had a really horrible, home sick, bawling my eyes out on the couch moment. Ended up sleeping on the couch for most of the day and just watching tv. In the evening my American roommates cooked themselves a Thanksgiving dinner and then I made a British style roast dinner. Then headed to the mall for the sales!!! Myself and some friends went by car and bumped into a lot of people that we knew who were doing the same. Got myself some decent bargains so I was happy with that.

I've been doing A LOT of Christmas shopping for presents to send home... think I've spent around $1000... lol! I've shopped a lot for myself at the same time. And FINALLY got a new phone!!!!!!!! Life is good again!!!!

It was my friends birthday this week so a group of us went for dinner at Boma at the Animal Kingdom Lodge and then a few of us stayed at the hotel. I love that place, it's so nice... however it's still the only place I've stayed at so I need to branch out a bit more!

There's been the usual nights out, although less than usual as we are all so tired all the time! Podium is pretty short on staff at the moment, it's the complete opposite to how things were when I was out there. So those guys are all tired as well. It's good for the money though so we all deal with it! I personally like to get as many tables as possible when I'm working, I like to be kept busy. There's been several times now when I've served the most guests, because I will keep turning my tables all night long. 

I'm at a blank to think what else I've done! It's been work intensive. I haven't done anything Christmassy yet, so that is what I'm going to try to catch up with over the next week until Christmas itself.

Where to begin?

So the last few weeks have passed like a blur!

Having my friend here was pretty cool, especially as I had the time and money to do whatever we felt like! I stayed at her hotel pretty much every night for the two weeks that she was here which was a nice change... although I didn't enjoy the early mornings when I had to get a taxi back to the Commons, to get my work stuff and then rush back to hers after!

We ended up just doing the Disney parks... Lesley told me she hated roller coasters and I didn't realise how bad this was until after I took her on Space Mountain... during the ride I shouted back at her "are you ok?" cos she was very quiet and she went "no I hate it!!!!!!!!" and then screamed quite a bit. I'm a bad friend for laughing. I managed to get her onto Big Thunder Mountain, but she had decided by this point she was going to hate it, and she did... lol. She initially really wanted to go to Sea World but then CNN kept showing "Blackfish" (the documentary film, mostly about the whales at Sea World) every night. Usually late at night, most usually when we were drunk... and every time we would be planning our protest by the end of it. 

The first day that we went to Magic Kingdom, Mickeys Not So Scary was on so we had to be out the park by 7pm. So we got lots done and then headed to Downtown Disney and had a wander through all the shops and had dinner at Planet Hollywood before heading back to the hotel. There was one night in the week before Christmas that MMNSS wasn't on, and we had been at Hollywood Studios that day, so we did all we needed to do and then headed to Magic Kingdom to watch Wishes. It was insanely busy as it was the only night not requiring an extra ticket, but we still managed to find a good spot pretty close in front of the castle. I took Lesley's camera from her and got plenty of photos for her, so that she could just enjoy it. Needless to say, she was crying by the end. I know how much coming here has always meant to her, so it was a big moment just to watch her taking it all in.

As I said, we spent a day at Hollywood Studios, seen all the shows... including a couple that I hadn't actually seen since being here. We also did a day at Animal Kingdom and I finally saw the Finding Nemo show which I hadn't seen yet! Was totally not what I expected! And of course... we did a day at Epcot. We did the Finding Nemo attraction and Spaceship Earth (cos you have to know what is inside the "golf ball!") but I knew that with Lesley's fear of heights, Soarin' was not for her and Test Track would be hit or miss... and Mission Space would have probably put her in an ambulance. So we pretty much spent all day going round the World Showcase, seeing the different shows and trying some of the Food and Wine stalls (and a fiesta margarita, cos it's like the law, or something...) I also took her on a walk down to the Boardwalk area and then we headed back to the World Showcase and got ourselves some really good seats in the beer garden area at the UK pavilion to watch Illuminations. 

We spent a day doing the Iride, going allllllllll the way from one end, to the other side and hitting the outlets. Spent. A. Lot. Of. Money. Then on the way back up we stopped for food at TGI's which was nice, apart from our server feeling the need to explain tipping and gratuities to me. I may or may not have left a note on the back of the cheque explaining that while I am British, I am also a server in this country, and do not appreciate being lectured on tipping etiquette. We also did the outlets at this side and I brought Lesley to Lasses with me :) It was our Halloween Lasses and so we got our costumes on and then joined the Lasses at a big international party. 

I was sad to see Lesley go, but I was also exhausted! Regardless, it's been back to work and business as usual. I have missed the last three Lasses now, due to sheer tiredness and this past week, sickness. Sad face. Means I missed the chance to see the last group of Lasses initiate but my days off have changed, meaning I no longer have the luxury of a Tuesday off, instead I have a 10:45am start. Yuk. However my schedule is pretty good as I have Sunday and Monday off, work an AM shift Tuesday-Thursday, and then have PM shifts on Fridays and Saturdays. So it's been nice to get finished in the afternoon and come home, eat a proper meal and just chill out a bit more. There's been so much going on... I need to try and blog a bit more :)

All of the celebrating

Soooo I may have embraced the server lifestyle with very open arms haha!! Been out so much in the last week!

After writing my last blog post I headed over to Epcot to do some Food & Wine with a few people after they finished work. It was CRAZY BUSY!!! Met everyone over at Germany and got myself a grapefruit beer at The Brewers Collection stand which sounds bizarre but is actually pretty amazing! Then we went to China and I got the chicken potstickers and a Happy Lychee cocktail that had vodka and tequila in it. Then we finished off at the Dessert and Champagne stand with a glass of Moet and Guylian chocolate truffles. We all then decided to leave early and make plans to go out later. Then that night a small group of us went to Howl at the Moon on International Drive. Never been before but it was good! Kind of like Jellyrolls with piano playing, but better drinks and more atmosphere! I got a cocktail that came in a bucket and had 68 ounces in it... Defo to blame for the next days hangover!

On Sunday I nursed my hangover and then went back out again that night. Instead of going to House of Blues like normal, I proposed going to Downtown Orlando instead. We went to Ibar but it was pretty quiet and there was a few messed up incidents, like one of the girls nearly having her bar stolen... luckily she realised it had gone and we saw the guys with it before they ran out the door!

On Monday I had the day off again thankfully, and spent the majority of it sleeping! Decided not to go to Lasses that night as I knew I would be mega ill the next day and I had my first shift as a proper server in the morning. 

On Tuesday I headed in for my am shift and had a good little indoor section, managing to turn my tables a couple of times. Boyz II Men were playing as part of "Eat to the Beat" during Food and Wine so a group of us decided to go see them after as we had a change of clothes with us. We went to Italy for dinner and then headed over to the American Adventure and got our seats. It was sooooooooo good! A bit cheesy but not too bad. Knowing they have been around for 22 years makes me feel old. They have a residency in one of the hotels in Vegas at the weekends so it's not too shabby seeing them for free. After the set, we went back to Italy and sat outside drinking Rosa Regale (yummy sparkling red wine) and chatting. Then we left before Illuminations started and it got crazy busy getting out of there.

On Wednesday I had my second am shift and had an indoor section but it was much quieter. I did have a weird incident with two women though! Twin sisters that were about 60 years old at a table together kept asking me weird questions and then one of them asked if the pub had a ghost. I was like "ummm.... no?" She then told me that she could feel a presence and then felt something touch her, that she has a guardian angel but this was different as her angel is a woman, and this was a man. The whole time, the other twin kept giggling and telling me how friendly he was, and the two of them kept telling me not to be scared... not scared, just think the two of them were mental! It was the last day for one of the servers so after the shift a group of us sat outside the pub for a few drinks. Also went to the Irish stand and tried the seafood and lobster fish pie and the chocolate cake with Baileys custard. Another country ticked off! Most people were then going to see Boyz II Men again and then do more drinking but I was feeling tired so just headed home. I had said that I would meet them later but I ended up going to sleep instead.

Yesterday I was really excited for my friend Lesley arriving!!!! Had another am shift and had a lower deck table for the first time. The weather has dropped and its getting much cooler at night, so it makes a difference to where people want to sit. Yesterday was pretty cool so I had a lot of people wanting hot teas and coffees. When I finished up I went home and then went to Walmart to get some bits and pieces for Lesley and then went home to wait for her to land! She got to her hotel about 9pm and I got a taxi over there, laden with stuff. Had a big catch up and did a fair amount of drinking! I have no idea what time we went to sleep, but I felt a bit rough this morning. I was working a pm shift today so packed up, got a taxi to work and then ran around like a crazy woman on lower deck all night. Home now and I'm exhausted, nearly all the PM's went for food and drinks but I just wanted my pjs and my bed. Tomorrow I have another PM shift and then I'll be heading back to the hotel as I won't be back at work until Thursday. Can't wait to have Disney adventures!

A whole new level of exhaustion!!

I've just woke up from a 10 hour sound sleep and have the next three days off.... relief! I have no plans what so ever, which is completely unusual! So catching up on some blogging before I go find something to do.

Starting where I left off, I said that my friends and I were going to go to Florida mall... we were too tired in the end so I headed to their hotel, we laid in the sun for a bit then headed to Hooters for a lot of food and cocktails :) After that me and Holli went and did the CSI thing on Idrive which is complete crap for the amount of money they charge but after a few cocktails we found the whole thing hilarious. Went back to the hotel and chilled for a bit longer before I needed to leave. Was pretty sad to be leaving my bestie so I had to just not prolong them too much or I would have been crying all the way back up Idrive, not ideal! This holiday will definitely be memorable for them as on the plane flight home, Iain proposed to Holli!!!!! He didn't have the proper engagement ring, instead he had a stand in.... a mickey shaped ring with a cut out love heart in the middle. So happy for them, can't believe my best pal is getting married! 

After all that excitement, it was time to get back to work for my food running week. I was scheduled to work 6 days of food running from 12pm until at least 10:30pm every night, then straight into a 8:30am start for service core training and then working from 11am-close for the next two days. Needless to say, this is more than slightly excessive! You don't realise how exhausting food running is until your actually in the middle of it, and with food and wine going on, the restaurant has been a lot busier. 

After a couple of days I was utterly knackered and completely sick from the amount of caffeine I'd been using to keep my energy up. It was my arrival groups 6 month anniversary and we had booked a stay in a Savannah view room at Jambo House at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. I was expecting to be working till late so had brought stuff with me. There was three food runners that day so I asked my manager if I could leave a bit earlier... he said I could go right then if I wanted! I wanted to earn a bit of money so said I would stick it out until 8pm but by 3pm I was fading quickly so he pretty much pushed me out the door! I went home, had a nap and then headed to the lodge to meet everyone. We brought a load of booze with us but actually didn't do much drinking, instead we went to see the animals, had dinner and then all fell asleep watching tv haha! The next day I packed up my stuff and headed back to work, feeling totally refreshed! There was five food runners scheduled for the Saturday, so I got given an ADO as well for that day :)

Sunday was a very early start with our core class starting at 8:30am. Our lovely trainer Laura arranged a taxi to pick us up from housing at 7:15am, and stopped by Panera Bread on the way there to buy us breakfast :) Got to work and we went through all the stuff we needed to know to begin serving tables, like the different sections, spieling, order of service and a bit of till training. Then we helped to set up the kitchen and went to pre-meal, which is where all the servers gather with the managers and chef before the restaurant opens and goes through information we need for the day. My trainer for the day was Stuart and I watched him serve a table and then took over and served the other tables in that section for the rest of the lunch shift. He kept close by at all times and would help me ring through the orders and watch me put through the million and one different types of payment accepted at Disney! Then we banked out and that was us done for the day.

The next day Zoe and I got there for 11am and had our wine tasting class. Basically it meant that we tried each of the wines that we sell while our trainers told us about them. Slight buzz to start the day off! I had Abbie training me and again she would watch over me serving tables and frequently stop me to ask what I was doing, and then would tell me if it could be done in a better order, etc. Had our lunch break and then we came back for the dinner shift. It was pretty busy, and apart from having a cockroach fall onto a little girl at one of my tables (the dangers of an outside table in Florida at night!), it all went well. 

On the Tuesday, we headed in early again, with our Lasses hangovers (yes, despite being utterly exhausted, I still managed to go to Lasses!!) for another core class. This one involved a lot of note taking, and learning all about the flavours, etc of the different wines and whiskys that we sell and about upselling. This is what was previously needed to pass the written service test, but at the moment they are using a pre service test paper for the service class. Ridiculous, as it means you are pretty much doing the same paper twice. It was good to do the class though as it made me feel a lot more confident about what we are selling. I love upselling, especially when it comes to alcohol, so I enjoyed it. We had a long lunch break and then headed back for the PM shift. Scott was my trainer and I had an outside section that was mostly filled with big tops. I had expected to be manic busy but it was actually completely chilled out and my big tops pretty much took care of themselves. We were KD that night, which basically means being last out as we have to check off that everyone's section is clean and their sidework is done before letting the servers leave. So it was quite a late finish. 

I had Wednesday and Thursday off, on Wednesday I went to the outlets and finally spent some of my hard earned cash! Bought a bunch of new clothes and then headed back to housing to lie by the pool for a couple hours, as the weather is unseasonably hot right now. Like over 30 degrees and sunny all the time! Went out that night to downtown Orlando with a small-ish group of people and let my hair down, knowing that I could enjoy my hangover the next day! On Thursday I just chilled, studied, and made a trip to Walmart. I also finally got my rank bathroom floor replaced... and I slept through it haha! My roommates were a little bit shocked that I could sleep through that, as it was pretty noisy, I was just so tired! I had a new roommate arrive early on Tuesday morning... very early. Of course she walked in the door to me, hungover and trying to sleep after Lasses... she may as well get used to it. She is Japanese and is friendly, but extremely timid and her English isn't great. I have to keep telling her to make herself at home but she still will ask if she can use crockery, knocks the bedroom door before entering, etc. Hopefully she settles down after a while.

Yesterday was the big test day! Had to be over at Epcot for 9am (another early start, eugh) and went to do my written test which was freaking the life out of me. I hate written tests!! Thankfully it was not as horrific as expected and I passed! Yayyy! Then I headed over to the Rose and Crown to do the other half of the assessment. At the moment we aren't doing a test table (where a manager, chef and core trainer sit at a table and you need to treat them like normal guests). Instead you just work a section and a trainer and the managers will observe you. I loved my wee shift, all my tables were nice and even though I got triple sat (by accident, the assignor didn't know I was being tested), and had a table with a million allergies, it all went really well. So I passed!!! Yay!! Newest server at the Rose and Crown :):)

Everyone was hungover from a big night out the night before so there was nothing going on last night, instead I just chilled out, had a nap, read my book and then slept for what felt like eternity! My friend Lesley is arriving on Thursday for a two week holiday, more excitement!! I've managed to get some time booked off so I can't wait!!!!

Birthday Week! And more....

Been so busy recently that finding the time and energy to blog isn't the easiest so here it goes....

As I said in my last post, a group of us had booked tickets for a hockey game at the Amway Center. We had a bit of a crazy trip there, crazy traffic meant that we went a really weird detour and pretty much seen most of Orlando but we finally made it. Our seats were pretty high up but we still got a good view and could totally see what was going on. And we got really into it! I defo think hockey is my game lol.... loving the fights, broken hockey sticks and was just upset there was no blood! Afterwards we went to a nearby bar for some cider before the taxi came to take us home.

Before the hockey game I went to Magic Kingdom with Charlotte to check out the Halloween decorations and have some park time. It did mean that there was a bit of a rush to get back on time to get the taxi downtown but I managed!

On the Friday (the day before my birthday) I was told that we were going to Raglan Road for drinks and I went round to Charlotte's apartment, to be surprised by a bunch of friends dressed up in costumes with a ticket for me to go to Mickeys Not So Scary! Luckily I did bring my Minnie costume with me so that was another sprint back to my apartment to quickly change and get the taxi. If you don't know what it is, it's at Magic Kingdom from 7pm on certain nights and you need a seperate ticket. They play music from spooky Disney films or attractions, have a completely different parade, special fireworks, a villains stage show, different meet and greets.... and lots of candy! You get a bag as you go in and then make your way around the park, stopping off at different locations for trick or treating. A lot of American chocolate and other stuff... and Craisins...?? I had a very full bag by the end of the night! We did a couple of attractions, watched the parade which was amazing, met a few characters and then watched the fireworks. Then we headed to do some more stuff and the final thing was going on Haunted Mansion, where I turned 29. Not a bad birthday at all and I really appreciate the effort my friends made.

On my birthday I had the day off again so I laid out at the pool for a while then headed to the outlets to buy something to wear that night then went to Walmart and then coloured my hair again. Then began getting ready to go out!  A bunch of mates came over to pre-drink and then we headed to downtown Orlando to go to Wall Street which is 8 bars on a closed road that you can wander about. I believe I had a good time haha, there's a lot of blurryness!

The next day I got through my hangover and then got the Iride trolly to my friends hotel. Was so good to see my best friend after so long! We went for some food and then back to their hotel to get my stash of Cadburys and to make a plan of action. On Tuesday I met them at Animal Kingdom and we got round all of that and then went to Hollywood Studios. Which was a bit of a let down! They packed the Indiana Jones show with guests then told us they could only do the first scene because the staging wasn't working. Then Fantasmic was completely rammed full, never seen it so busy and the heavens opened, it poured it down and that got cancelled! My friends were getting picked up from the TTC so we headed back there and it had stopped raining so I took them to the Polynesian beach to watch Hallowishes. The next day I met them at Epcot and we did all the attractions and walked round World Showcase. Glad we did that before Food and Wine hit and it got crazy busy! I was completely exhausted after all of this so headed home to sleep!

The Food and Wine booths had been up for a little bit but it was weird to see them finally open. They did a soft opening on the Thursday and then it properly started on Friday. Friday and Saturday were crazy busy! We're also open an hour later on Fridays and Saturdays during F&W so its long days! I've had fairly long breaks at work so I've been bringing a change of clothes so I can go try food on my break. So far I've been to Scotland and Canada twice, Brazil, Argentina, Morocco and France. Saturday was my last podium shift and I cannot explain how happy I am to not work out there anymore! Was tired on Saturday night so went to the cinema after work for a late movie.

Sunday was my first day of training and me and I was doing it in a different order to what we normally get. The first day was culinary so I had to check out chef whites and work in the kitchen all day. Was a good day, learnt a lot about the different dishes and ate sooooooooooo much food! They make you a big sampler plate with lots of different things to try, I struggled! The next day I had my first day of food running which went well. The day after I had my bar day which I think was my favorite day of my whole program so far! Felt so good to pout drinks again, but it's a whole different way of doing it as they don't measure out the drinks like we do. The night flew by and I was told by my manager that I should get a bar pack so I can do my bar test once I'm properly in service. Wouldn't get in the bar till January, but it would be another wee shake up. Wednesday was my first tipped food running day, yayyy! And I worked freaking hard for that money! It was a tragic shift and we got really busy so I pretty much was running! Didn't get out work till 11pm and still managed to get into the taxi going to Ibar by midnight, result!

I'm now off for four days and then doing 6 days of food running next week which is around 60 hours! My friends leave soon so today I met them at Magic Kingdom and did loads of attractions and watched the parade. Because Mickeys Not So Scary is on we had to leave at 7pm but we got everything done before then, just a shame they couldn't see the fireworks properly! Tomorrow I'm going to meet them at their hotel and then off to Florida Mall :) Think I've summed up everything as well as I can for being completely exhausted!

Best News Ever!!!!!

My birthday is coming up this Saturday. It's fair to say that I've been kind of dreading it as I'm going to be 29, last year of my twenties and another huge reminder that I'm a lot older than a lot of people doing the program (or reading this blog!) I'm still not the oldest though :) My only real plan for my birthday were to give away my shift and plan a big drunken night downtown. However, I then got a message from my best friend telling me that instead of her and her boyfriend coming to visit me in late October, they were actually coming in 8 days... MY BIRTHDAY!!!!!! Best friend ever!! They've never been here so I'm so excited!!! This of course means that I need time off to actually see them... everyone has been amazing and had a million offers to pick up my shifts, however, every single one of my requests to shift swap have been denied! So I will take them to a manager on Thursday and see what they can do for me. Pretty sure I can get some extra time off as work is DEAD at the moment... people are constantly getting ADO's and ER's. The first week they are here is my last week of podium, the second week is my first week of food running so I really need to get time off in the first week to see them! With my other friend coming out in the last week of October/first week of November, I have so much to look forward to :)

Right now I'm the most senior on podium.... which does mean that I've had a lot of nicer shifts recently. Pretty much every shift for the past two weeks has been chippy filling or beer cart and as they are my favourite jobs I've been happy with that. Next week I have four seating shifts and my very last shift on podium is a pm beer cart. So I want to keep the beer cart but will happily give away all those seating shifts lol! I cannot freaking wait to get into the kitchen. With so many of my friends in service, I just want to be reunited with them.

On Sunday night the UK gang headed to Fort Wilderness for The Hoop De Doo Musical Revue. If you haven't heard of it, it's a dinner show. Normally its its about $60 per person, but we get really good cast discount, making it $34, including gratuity and tax. It's held in the Pioneer Hall and has a cast that sing, do little skits and do a lot of guest interaction while you eat and drink. Very pantomine-ish but good fun.... especially while you're drinking! They bring out big buckets of ribs, fried chicken, mash potatoes, etc to the tables to eat and those over 21 can drink unlimited sangria or bud light. So with 29 of us there over various tables, you can imagine that we enjoyed as much as we could!

I'm off today and tomorrow :) I didn't go to Lasses last night which is the first I've missed in a long time but I was so tired that I would never have enjoyed it. Very weird to wake up on a Tuesday at 9am feeling fresh! Going to go lie in the sun for a bit and then see what the rest of the day brings. Tomorrow night there are twelve of us going to see a hockey game at the Amway Centre. Very first hockey game, excited! Will also be extremely weird to see ice after over five months of sunshine!

My arrival group had our five month anniversary... but for the first time we didn't do anything for it! We tried to make plans but both Scott and Harriet were on trips away and trying to fit something around all of our schedules just wasn't happening. Just need to make up for it next month.

Just a 'lil bit of change...

 a few changes....

New roommates!

Last week we finally had a full apartment again. Three American girls have moved in and will be here until January so threat of moving any time soon! My actual roommate leaves in a couple months and I'm kind of looking forward to it as I want to make several changes to my room! She has the bigger side of the closest but I have way more clothes so that will be the first thing to change! It's a bit awkward to move into a room with someone who has been there a while as you just need to fit your stuff around theirs if they aren't the most welcoming. The girls that have moved in are pretty nice and brought tv's with them so we have a working tv in the livingroom again, yayyy!

Starbucks :)

Starbucks recently opened a store at Magic Kingdom and now have opened up at Epcot. For the soft opening, lots of cast members were given vouchers to go and get free stuff. The time I was given to go was three hours before I was due to start work so after my yummy frappachino I went and did Test Track and then Soarin. Not a bad start to the day :)

And thy name is....

So I am now a shirted UK Lass. My name is Ragebook Riot..... for my love of being raging, Facebook and being a drunken riot. I knew it would have something to do with at least one of those things haha. I love my shirt! So I was not happy when I had to wear the "Disney Dick of the Day" tshirt last night. Booooo :( I think that stupid thing is cursed as I then twisted my ankle pretty badly, cried a lot and have spent the day hobbling around with a stupid swollen foot.

Sooo many people!

The recent arrival groups have been friggen ridiculously large and it's too much! The parks are now pathetically quiet until Food and Wine so there's a lot of people and not a lot happening. ER's and extra days offered all the time and we're really struggling to get hours. With only a couple of people leaving and millions showing up it doesn't seem to make much sense right now. It's also getting increasingly difficult to get to know all the new people before the new group comes along. The people that are leaving are people that I've got to know so it's pretty sad to see them leave. On that note, another big group are arriving today so there will most likely be a throw in on Thursday.

Appearances..

I get bored with my hair really quickly so for me not to have coloured it for over 6 months is a pretty big achievement. It was really, really bugging me though so last night I finally gave in and dyed it a bit darker. Now it just needs cut and I'll start feeling more normal!

Ummmm...

Kind of drawing a blank here, clearly the brain isn't up to speed today. Oh, my little blogs now had wellll over 10,000 views... crazy! The pressure is on to entertain lol! I have had a seriously lazy day and haven't been to the parks other than Epcot in a long time so I was planning on going to one today but then I messed up my ankle :( So hopefully a day of rest and huge amounts of ibuprofen gel will do the trick so I can get out and about tomorrow! My best friend and her boyfriend are looking at coming out soon and my other close friend is coming out at the end of October, so exciting!!! Can't wait to show everything to my pals from home who have never been here before. I also really can't wait to get into the kitchen and start food running and server training... need money! Still never been to Universal lol.... 

Videos

So I've taken a lot of random videos during the last four months and never do anything with them as they generally take ages to upload. So it's raining, I have the day off and I have been searching through my files and uploading the bits and pieces that I find. If anyone is interested then you can find them over...

here!

Initiations, pre-service, big changes all around!

As usual it's been a bit crazy and I've kept thinking to myself that I need to update and then would find something else to do. So here's some of the stuff that's been keeping me busy....

Pre-Service Test
I always said that I would do my pre-service test as soon as I could... well that never happened and I went from being quite organised to just being in an utter state of doom over it. To get into service you need to first do a written test, which asks questions about service standards and testing your food and drink knowledge. Doesn't seem that difficult but it involves learning what is in every pub blend, cocktail, whisky flights, testing your knowledge on the wines we sell... and then knowing all the components and ingredients for the lunch, dinner and children's menu. I got all of the drinks learnt pretty easily (no surprise there) but just couldn't get my brain to switch on at all when it came to learning the menu. Meanwhile, people that had arrived after me were doing their tests and got dates to go into training before me... the whole thing was pissing me off and I eventually sat up until 5am one night and got it all learnt. I also told everyone the day before that if I didn't do it the next day they could punch me in the face, so that was motivation. I am useless at studying, I've always been a last minute crammer, that's the only time I can get my head around things! So the next day I went into work and then one of our managers pulled me aside and was like "DO IT!!!" No pressure or anything. Went for my break, had a wee last minute revision and then went off to do my test. Then got really impatient about hearing how I did as the managers were having a meeting and no one was free to mark it. Eventually it finished, but still wasn't marked and I was due to finish my shift so one of the managers marked it for me then and there. And I passed, yayyyyy. I will begin my service training at the end of September and I wish it was sooner as podium is driving me a bit crazy at the moment. Over four months of the same stuff is pretty tedious and more than anything, I cannot stand seating shifts. There is a "greeter" who checks the guests in, then the "assigner" decides which table to put them on, a ticket is printed with the guests name and table number and any important info that the server should know. Then the seater takes the ticket, pages the guest and assembles their party, brings them into the restaurant, hands menus and leaves the ticket for the server. It's not particularly busy right now so it can really draaaagggggg by. I'm always volunteering for any other job, whether its taking over as chippy filler or bussing tables, just to have something to do. And I have a 1pm-9pm seating shift on Monday.... the joys.....

Apartment changes!
So most of my roommates are on college programmes and they were all gradually finishing up and leaving. When 50% or more of your roommates leave, housing will usually contact you to say they will move you. You then get put in with other people that have been living here for a while (usually with a similar arrival date), and then they make your apartment nice for a whole bunch of new people to move in. They sent an email saying I was being moved on the 6th of August and would need to be completely moved that day. Then with a couple days notice they sent another email saying the move was cancelled... then I had no idea what to expect. My German friend has recently turned 21 and needed to move out of her wellness apartment into an over 21 apartment and by sheer luck she got moved in with me! Yayyyy!!! So now there is us two, my actual roommate and three empty beds at the moment. It's nice to have a familiar face around here, we don't work together so we're not in each others faces all the time but we can chat and stuff. I was really getting on with the others though so it was a bit sad to see them go.

Initiation!
Initiations for Lasses were on Monday. Can't give out details but it was a lot of fun, disgusting at times and I don't remember anything after the actual initiations were over and we went to the bar. Woke up on my sofa the next day with practically no hangover which is pretty amazing but luckily I had the Tuesday off anyway. Not a bad thing when my hair was solid with dried in maple syrup, coloured bright purple and full of glitter. Will get my shirt on Monday and find out my Lasses name :) Cannot wait!!!

eeewwww

Allllllllllll of the new people!
At the moment I don't really know many people from the arrival groups and they are getting here every couple of weeks so it literally feels like you've got to know the last lot and then another big group show up! Had a group arrive on Tuesday so we had a throw in for them last night. Heard nothing of the throw in chat cos there was so many of us and we couldn't hear unless you were at the front but I'll get to meet them eventually. 

Four month anniversary
Four months... a third into my programme! Didn't go over the top for our anniversary, due mostly to our pathetic podium wages, so the UK lot went to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner on the 9th which is our actual anniversary and then two days later we went for dinner at House of Blues with a couple of Canadians. Both were mega tasty meals, stuffed!

Nights out.
The usual, Thursdays, occasionally Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays if I've still got money left over :) Tuesdays are for sleeping lol! 

Park life. 
Haven't really been to the parks recently, we've gone sunbathing at resorts (finally checked out Art of Animation and Caribbean Beach Club) but I've only been to a park once since my last post and that was just a couple of hours at Epcot one morning before going sunbathing. It puts me off when it's so busy and the lines are so long, when I know if I go when it's quiet I can get a lot more done. Feeling rather down and in a bit of a weird funk at the moment so I think I need to make a pilgrimage to Magic Kingdom and cheer myself up again. 

Royal Baby Fever
Feels like the baby was born agessss ago now but we had a lot of excitement about everything at the UK pavilion and a couple of days later we had a massive group photo taken in the morning, followed by a sort of baby shower, where people brought in stuff for a pot luck lunch. Something a bit different! 

Christmas in July
One of the full time staff invited us to her local British pub for their "Christmas in July" party.... one of the most random nights ever but bloody hilarious! Christmas decorations everywhere, performing Hillbillies, karaoke, lots of cider and a lot of dancing. Mad!

Two weeks is shortly right...?

So it's been a jam packed couple of weeks since my last blog post. Will just try and remember some of the stuff that's gone on... this may take a while..., 

*Being sick - 
I've managed to get sick twice in the last 3 weeks. Not fair! Last time was like a really bad cold... and working in chippy over the 4th July while you have to keep running out the back door is not a thing! Survived, but the cough that came with it lingered for a while. So you can imagine how I felt yesterday when in a few short hours I went from having a sore throat, to a headache, to being completely feverish and getting no sleep what so ever. Today I've spent all day in bed as I feel like I've been kicked repeatedly in the back, its 8:30pm and I've only just got the energy to start writing this blog. Luckily I had today off so I could spent all day in bed but tomorrow its back to work so I'm chowing down on medicine like there's no tomorrow and hoping for the best!

*Daytona Beach - 
On the 3rd July, myself and some friends hired a car and headed out to Daytona beach. Have to say that I prefer the beaches on the Gulf of Mexico but it was still a good day. We got caught in a heavy thunderstorm on the way there but as soon as we got to Daytona it had totally cleared up. There was a lot of singing in the car, jumping around in the water (which really contributed to me getting very sick the next day, woops!), walking along the beach and fun times before heading back home. I love trips to the beach, it's just good to get away from the Disney bubble for a bit and makes it feel like I'm on holiday :)

* Emeli Sande - 
Made a last minute decision to go see Emeli Sande at House of Blues with a bunch of people from work. Was a good gig but I was a bit raw from having my family just left and she's one of my mums favourite artists. With this and thinking about missing my nephews first birthday, there was crying and far too much alcohol involved. Befriended a random American couple and I don't really remember the rest but I have most definitely been told stories about the rest of the night. Awkward!

*4th July - 
I was doing a chippy filler shift on the 4th from 4:30-10:30pm. It was crazy busy! The line was all the way up the street heading towards the French pavilion and we just couldn't get the food made fast enough! At one point we had 4 chefs and 4 fillers and it was still crazy. Apparently we only took around $1000 less than the restaurant which is quite impressive! Instead of our normal 9pm fireworks, they started later and first did Illuminations and then did special fireworks for the 4th. All the staff that were working went out the back and watched the fireworks before heading back in to clean up. Never seen anything like it! So many going off! Was a really late night for us and the line for the buses was insane when we finally got back to cast services so we were really happy to get home.

Fireworks at the Polynesian - 
 While Hollywood Studios and Epcot only did special fireworks on the 4th, Magic Kingdom did theirs every night that week. So on the last night they were on, a group of us went to see them from the Poly before heading to House of Blues. Never watched the fireworks from there yet so was a nice change to sit back and watch them with a cocktail instead of being crammed onto Main Street. All the loungers were taken so we made a big giant square out of towels and watched them from there. Then headed off to HOB on the guest bus to get more boozy. Good night all round!!

3 month anniversary - 

It's always a nightmare trying to get everyone together at the same time to do something for our anniversary so we decided to go for breakfast instead for a change. We had heard about Olivia's cafe at the Old Key West resort and they are doing 40% discount for cast members so we got a taxi out there in the morning and had a nice breakfast and then had a walk about before some people had to go to work. I had plans to go sunbathing at the Polynesian after to go study for the pre service test while revising so got the guest bus to MK and then the monorail over to the Poly. Was only there a few hours but managed to get very sunburnt and I haven't stopped peeling since!

*Birthdays, birthdays, birthdays - 

So it feels like barely a day passes without it being someones birthday out here. We've had nights in with pizza, nights out in Orlando and a night at Raglan Road at Downtown Disney. All have been fun and with people getting really homesick on their birthdays, it's really nice when we all come together to do something for them. Add to this list, a collection of Lasts (last night out for people that are leaving) and lasses and its been pretty non stop round here. Probably explains all of the sickness! And on that note, I'm finishing up as I'm currently farrrrrrr too hot cos of this fever and need to cool down.

Stay-cation!! (part 2)

So the family are well gone but I've been busy/ill so will try to recap as well as I can!

After going back to work for a few days and doing the normal CRP life, I got picked up by the family on Monday night after I got home from work. Went back to the villa and had a bit of a munch before going to bed. Originally we were going to do Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios on the Tuesday but instead we decided to have the beach day on the Tuesday. Got up mega early on Tuesday morning, loaded up the car and headed out in the direction of Clearwater, but instead of the touristy beach we went further past to the Indian Rocks beach. There's small hotels and lots of amazing seaside HUGE mansions but none of the commercial stuff you get on the busier beaches. Was a really pretty spot and the weather was realllllly hot and sunny. Defo got a lot of sun and was feeling the effect for a few days (and my tummy is now peeling, booo!) Collected more shells which is always a way of keeping me entertained and went out in the water a lot as it is the Gulf of Mexico so the water temperature is amazing, and there's lots of sandbanks so you go out a little and then you hit shallow water again. 

The next day we were up super early again to do some more parks! Headed out to Animal Kingdom and it was already getting really hot for the morning. The car was telling us it was 100 degrees outside and I believe that! My burnt skin was not loving being in the sun so I was jumping into the shadows whenever I could. We headed straight for Everest and got fast passes which were for like an hour later which was really handy and then went over to do Dinosaur, have a wander in the shops and look about and then come back. My mum is not a fan of any sort of rollercoaster so I was impressed that she actually went through with it, although she did admit to feeling a bit sick after. We got fast passes for the safari and went off to watch Festival of the Lion King... they've seen the show in London and think this was a highlight for them. Got the jalapeno cheese  pretzels (well... the family did, I just recommended them as they aren't exactly celiac friendly)... and they also tried funnel cake.. not so friendly either. Then we went back and did the safari...a lot of the animals were hiding because it was so hot but did manage to see the elephants which I love!

After the safari we headed to Hollywood Studios and I knew that although my mum got through Everest, she could not handle Rock 'n' Rollercoaster so me and my brother headed off to do that while my mum and stepdad did their own thing. Caught back up with them as the Indiana Jones stunt show was about to start so headed in to see that as it looked like it was about to rain. Luckily it didn't! After the show we did Star Tours and then headed to see the Muppet show which is a favourite of my mums (it was a big thing for us on our first visit almost 21 years ago!) Went a walk and bumped into some of my fellow CRP's which was amusing then did a bit of retail therapy before heading back to the villa. We would of stayed for Fantasmic but my stepdad really wanted to leave to go get food so we headed off to Red Lobster (and of course, we had Lobster). Got back to the villa and went to their clubhouse for a margarita before calling it a night.

The next day we got up and packed up bags full of stuff for me to take back to my apartment (like my mums hair products that cost a fortune here and all their laundry supplies), and went to the outlets on the other side of International Drive. Bought lots more things for my nephew whose first birthday was the day after they got home and then they dropped me off. My mum got a bit emotional as I knew she would and I'm not big on the big goodbye as it gets me upset so I shot off back to drop everything back off at my apartment before heading back to work! Also got to speak to my grandparents for the first time since being here before getting back to the apartment so was good to briefly check in with them. 

Next blog post to follow shortly............