3 Favorite Attractions: Hollywood Studios

Tower of Terror
     It's a classic, it is the new icon for Hollywood Studios, it had better not get turned into a Guardians of the Galaxy ride or I might cry. My DCP was my first opportunity to experience Tower of Terror and like most things, I will never forget my first time. Thankfully I have reached an age where the creepy theme and darkness that comes with the attraction does not effect me as badly as it used to, but its the feeling of falling that will always get me, and that it what ToT is all about. I was anxious and nervous the first time I rode, genuinely hating the feeling of free fall and knowing that each ride is random did not sit too well at first. But it was exhilarating, thrilling and always had me coming back for more. It is unfortunate that with the state Hollywood Studios is in now and was in while I was there, it made/makes the wait times for Tower super long during the day. Therefore I felt like 90% of my rides came early in the morning or toward park close, but I was okay with that. It seemed like if we were there toward park close, we could usually get two rides in back to back because you could walk on. But during the day, you better have a Fastpass.
     But this is another one of those rides that was graced by having a Photopass opportunity that you can bet I took advantage of every single ride. And after knowing the full ride sequence up to the free fall drop all the anxiety and nervousness was gone and this was the most fun attraction to go on. I loved messing around during that lead up sequence, and knowing the drop was random every single time kept me coming back for more.
     Some of my fondest memories happened on Tower of Terror as well, adding to the sentimental meaning this ride has for me. It was one of the rides myself and some of my Port Fam got to go on after we did our backstage tour of Great Movie Ride and took one the best Photopass photos from my DCP. Next was when I got to ride it with my family when they all visited for Thanksgiving and we just had way too much fun. I was a bit mean to everyone in our ride vehicle when the doors close into darkness the first time, I was that guy who screamed and got EVERYONE to jump and scream which, for me, was hilarious. And we of course managed to take some great Photopass photos as well since we rode twice. Overall, I have and always will love this ride, I have too many great memories to share that I will have forever.

Rock N Roller Coaster

     The reason I like Coaster so much strays away from sentimental value, great theme or being a classic Disney ride....I just really like roller coasters. Plain and simple. My DCP was my first opportunity to experience this attraction as well and I was pretty hyped about it. In terms of other coasters I have done in the past, I was not very nervous about what it had to offer, I just wanted to finally experience it first hand, and I could not have been more excited when I got the chance.
     It is unfortunate that when I had my first opportunity to ride I did not have Memory Maker because my first Photopass photo from Coaster was priceless. I could not have looked more excited, screamed any louder, had my eyes more wide open than I did when I first experienced that launch. I loved every second of it and throughout my entire program wished the wait times for this ride were never as long as they always were. It was rare this ride dropped under 45 minutes, it was usually up in the 60 to 90 minute range so I usually steered clear. But the rare times it had a reasonable wait time or I planned a Fastpass, I was pumped. The launch at the start gets your adrenaline flowing and then the whole experience after that is a ton of fun.

The Great Movie Ride
     Now GMR has some of the most sentimental meaning to me that any ride at Disney has. Which is funny when I think about how little I thought about this ride leading up to my DCP having never rode it. After my DCP though, this ride is one that I have fond memories of because I had the chance to do a backstage tour of it, and once you do a backstage tour of an attraction you realize all the detail that are put into all of these attractions that no one would ever notice. The one I remember most is in the scene from the movie Alien, there are monitors on the left side of the track with text on them, all of the names on the screens were Imagineers who worked on the ride, its was crazy.
     And doing that backstage tour is what gives GMR so much value to me. It was at a time where all of us at Port were becoming a lot closer, it was something special we got to experience together outside of work and that is something no one can take away from us. So whenever I get to take a ride on GMR I always think about all the interesting facts and details I learned about during my backstage tour, and everyone I got to learn those things with.

With Christmas Brings Crowds...Lots of Crowds

It can be a pain, but it is tolerable...

     With Christmas season brings tourists and I think we all know this if we are informed of Disney and it's peak seasons. That being said, it is something that we have to deal with when we are on our DCP and looking to have fun. Even with all these extra people filling the parks and resorts, do not let it thwart your will and desire to keep going to the parks and having the time of your life.

     Get to the parks early or go late, going during the middle of the day is just torture. Especially at MK, once the fireworks end, the park begins to clear out and wait times for most rides drop drastically. So you can hit a ton of rides in that short period of time until park close. If you go during the day though, make sure you have Fastpasses and once you use those enjoy the parks for what they have to offer other than the rides. Often times I found it just wasn't worth waiting an hour for rides like The Little Mermaid and Buzz Lightyear. And make sure you keep your expectations during this time of year realistic so you don't disappoint yourself. Know the wait times will be long, don't let that surprise you and this is the best time of the year to just people watch. There are so many people from so many different walks of life that can just entertain you for hours, trust me. Lastly, this is the best time to spend your days resort hopping. With all the Christmas decorations up, each resort has a different feel and some of them have unbelievable decorations. I'll say the must sees are Grand Floridian, Wilderness Lodge and Yacht and Beach Club, they do not hold back for the holidays. At the end of the day, the Christmas season is a double edged sword, but it's easy to thwart the negatives and enjoy the positives while you are on your DCP.

The Candlelight Processional

Another one of those "don't miss" events...

     Once the schedule of celebrity narrators was released, I looked down the list and made my decision on who I wanted to see and when pretty quickly. I passed over the A list stars since I was not looking to deal with the mass of attention they would draw and chose Chandra Wilson, an actress from one of my favorite shows, Grey's Anatomy. I got real excited when I was talking with one of my friends at work one day talking about The Candlelight Processional and the guest narrators, we hit it off when we both said we wanted to see Chandra since we were both huge fans. Right there we started planning out the day and how we would attack it from beginning to end, and right there a true friendship was created.
     When the day came, we were starting reasonably early and knew we would be going for a full day of park hopping. We started around 10 AM and kicked off at Magic Kingdom, and both started kicking ourselves when we got out of the car and it was raining and NEITHER of us had any rain gear to fend it all off, but we just did not care. This was one of those days where very little could bring us down and ruin our day so we just powered through. Kicking off our day we rolled over to Space Mountain and used our first Fastpasses, moved over to Buzz Lightyear, next headed to Fantasyland for Mickey's Philharmagic and The Little Mermaid then wrapped up with the Haunted Mansion and Splash Mountain. It was a little after midday at this point and we still had plans of doing EPCOT for the candlelight and then going to Hollywood Studios afterwards. So we stopped at Starbucks on our way out of MK to grab some Frappuccinos for a sugar/caffeine boost and stopped to watch the Dapper Dans on our way out.
     Got back to the car and drove to EPCOT and had lunch out in World Showcase before waiting in the single rider line for Test Track. We waited long enough for Test Track that we had a little more than an hour before the candlelight began, so we went back to the amphitheater to wait in line. In retrospect, we could have wandered around a bit more before getting in line but we were not going to put that risk in play. So we were finally allowed in to be seated and the performance was incredible. This is an event at Disney that you CAN NOT miss, no matter who you see narrate or when. We LOVED it and had a blast watching it, so you will have the same experience. Between the narration and the choirs singing, it was unbelievable especially if you enjoy and appreciate excellent choir music.

     Upon the conclusion of the candlelight, we went to the International Gateway to take the Friendship Boat to the Boardwalk Resort. We grabbed some food there before walking to Hollywood Studios to round out our day. When we got into the park we went straight for the Osbourne Lights and just took our time enjoying them since we had a lot of time until Fantasmic started, which we were planning to see as well. After we finished at the lights we went single rider for Rock N Roller Coaster and then went to see Fantasmic. I have heard a lot of mixed opinions on Fantasmic, but in my opinion it is a great nighttime show to see, although the fireworks I will admit are preferable, if you are at Studios, seeing Fantasmic at night is no pushover of a performance.
     Once Fantasmic ended, we were BEAT! Both of us were struggling to function since we had been going nonstop ALL DAY. But we had no regrets, we had the time of our lives and were ready to call it a day and headed back to Chatham.

Star Wars Madness

The Force was been Awakened...

     I had the blessing of being in Disney during what is the beginning of the Star Wars takeover. It seemed, as the premiere of The Force Awakens got closer and closer, the more and more Star Wars we saw around the parks. On Main Street, you started seeing BB8, Rey, Finn and Han Solo balloons next to the Mickey balloons. Star Wars toys and tee shirts lining all of the shops, even I caved in and bought myself a Star Wars hat.

     Leading up to the premiere, Hollywood Studios started getting into the mood as a new planet was added to Star Tours and Star Wars Launch Bay opened up where the Animation Academy once was. Inside you got immersed in Star Wars fandom with props from the movies, replicas of the different vehicles even characters from the films. Jawas would roam around aimlessly, pin trading with guests and there are two meet and greets, one for Chewbacca and another for Darth Vader. At the end of the walkthrough attraction, the store they have is all Star Wars gear. I have to say the coolest piece of merchandise they had for sale was a Lightsaber umbrella where the shaft lit up at the push of a button.

     Finally the movie premiered and it essentially became a race to see the movie. If you didn't see it within the opening weekend you were the thorn in the side of everyone who had because we could not talk about it. The first thing most people asked each other when they returned to work was, "have you seen it?" so not to spoil it for anyone. But after a while we stopped caring and talked about it nonstop, regardless of who had seen it or not. To promote the movie they even gave Cast Members exclusive The Force Awakens buttons to wear during the first week the movie was out. It was a genuinely cool experience to be in Disney as all of this was happening because everyone on property was getting hyped up and excited as the movie came closer and closer.

Why Memory Maker is 1000% Worth It

You won't regret it...

     This was probably one of the best investments I made throughout my entire program. Even though we all have our phones that take great pictures whenever we want them. Being able to utilize all the Photopass Photographers and keep all my ride photos throughout nearly half of my program was incredible. I have nearly 400 Photopass photos that I am able to look back on and just reminisce on the best 4 months of my life.

     Memory Maker is about $170, and it is good for 30 days. Therefore from when you activate it, you can capture and download photos for 30 days and then it will expire. One nice aspect, any Photopass pictures you took and linked to your My Disney Experience before purchasing Memory Maker, you can download as well, as long as they haven't expired. So I didn't purchase mine until mid November, but all my pictures from some of my early visits to the parks and the Halloween party I was able to download which was awesome.

     I timed my purchase specifically so I could have it when my family and friends were visiting, that way we didn't have someone from our party taking the pictures and we could get the best quality pictures to remember our vacation by. I definitely recommend getting Memory Maker if you end up at the parks very consistently and want to be able to remember all of your DCP. It may be a hefty investment, but if you take full advantage of it, I promise it is well worth it.

My Thanksgiving Extravaganza

10 days, 5 parks...

     It only took mere hours after telling my family and friends I got accepted to my DCP for the plans to visit to start forming. Within days my family decided they were coming down for Thanksgiving and before we knew it we were getting everyone plane tickets and booked our reservation at Tusker House for Thanksgiving dinner. I was beyond excited when all of this started coming together and I was planning the days with my family out in my head for months.

     Next was friends, and one of my best friends knew she was not gonna not find a way to visit me no matter the cost. All summer she kept asking around for people to come with her so they could split a hotel room together and she managed to find two friends and before we knew it, it was time to book a room. Once I got to Disney and could book discounted rooms, I gave them the call and made sure we were all set and it all started coming together. 
     It was set, my friends were coming from November 20th to the 25th and my family from the 25th to the 29th. 10 straight days of fun and as you can imagine my immediate concern was getting the days off from work, so I put in the requests to work and prayed.

     A few days prior during a training class at Disney University during one of our breaks I went on over to Company D to purchase all the passes for my family and friends. 12 in total, a mix of park hoppers and single park passes, all for a variety of different days and then linked everything to My Disney Experience account to book everyone's Fastpasses. Contrary to popular belief, getting Fastpasses for most rides on short notice isn't that difficult, the only rides you will struggle for are Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Toy Story Midway Mania and Soarin. Other than those three rides I was usually all set for most other rides, whether it was for myself or in this case my friends and family.

     My schedules came out for the days of everyone visiting. I got scheduled for a few days during that time, but managed to switch shifts around with fellow cast members to only need to work twice throughout their visit and it worked out perfectly. So I was all set, they'd be arriving soon and my excitement just kept growing and growing.

     My friends and I were staying at Coronado Springs for the duration of their visit, so they were able to take the Disney Magical Express (DME) bus from the airport to the resort. They were arriving late at night so I was able to prepare for their arrival all day and meet them at Coronado as they got off the bus. I couldn't have been happier to see familiar faces from back home, as much as I love all my friends I was living with at Disney, seeing those who matter from home and being able to share the Disney experience with them is the best feeling in the world. I brought them back to the room and called it a night, the following day we had no plans of going the parks.

     We woke up and I took them to Walmart to get food for breakfast and other various items so they wouldn't have to eat every meal at the parks and could save money on that front. It worked out beautifully, so I brought them back to Coronado to settle back in and I'd meet them at the pool a little later after I went back to my apartment for a bit. On my way back to Coronado I ended up getting a flat tire which really got me going but took a breath, threw on my spare and kept rolling along, there was no way anything in the world was stopping me from enjoying these upcoming days.

     After spending most of the day relaxing by the pool allowing them to recuperate from a long day of flying the day prior, we went to Downtown Disney for dinner and to walk around. We were downtown for probably 3 hours having dinner then going through all the stores letting them get immersed in everything Disney and get them all jazzed up for the days to come. It was nice to finally have the opportunity to share what I've been enjoying for the past two and a half months with the people who haven't had the same privilege as me and watching them enjoy it so much was awesome. The next day we were starting the marathon of getting little sleep and going hard at the parks, so we got back to Coronado reasonably early in the evening so we could all get a decent nights sleep before going to Universal the next day.

     I slept back at my apartment that evening so I could pack a bag with all the clothes I need for the next couple days to stay at Coronado, grabbed coffee on my way to pick them up and we were off. I couldn't wait to see how they'd react to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and they were just as excited. We only got the one park pass to Universal for financial reasons and general lack of energy/interest to do both parks. Once we got in the park we hit the ground running with the Hollywood Rip Ride Rock It, moved on to The Return of The Mummy and Transformers before ending up at The Simpsons Ride. At this point we had made it to the back of the park near Diagon Alley, we rode Men in Black and then finally made it to Diagon Alley and it was great to see the look on their faces. We spent plenty of time exploring the various stores they have, grabbed some Butterbeer and eventually went to ride Escape from Gringotts.

     By now we were all feeling pretty burnt out and hangry. So we finally departed Diagon Alley and headed back toward the entrance of the park to grab something to eat. Now that we were satisfied and feeling slightly re-energized we walked to ET for an easy, relaxing ride to keep us going then finished off our day with Despicable Me Minion Mayhem. This was hands down the longest, fullest day I had ever done at Universal, we left with the sun down, physically drained but ready for day 2 which would be even longer...Magic Kingdom.

     We all basically passed out once returning to Coronado, I woke up extra early to go out and grab coffee for us all, returning to everyone getting ready to head out for the day. We left Coronado as early as was humanly possible for everyone to wake up and be fully functioning since we knew MK would be packed...and it was. We got there about 30 min after opening and just the lines for the bag check were unreal, but regardless we made it in and I immediately let them know just pick what ya wanna ride and regardless of what it is we are probably gonna have to wait a decent line. Throughout their time with me I kept telling them it's your vacation I'm here to do whatever you guys want, I can do it all whenever I want.

     We immediately started with our castle Photopass picture with our ears and moved over to Tomorrowland to use our Space Mountain Fastpass, rode The People Mover and did Monsters Inc Laugh Floor. We moved on to Journey Under the Sea with The Little Mermaid and Mickey's Philharmagic then moved over to Haunted Mansion, we unintentionally timed it perfectly to catch the Festival of Fantasy Parade at 3 while eating turkey legs for lunch. We watched the whole parade from the nearby Hall of Presidents and by this point it was time for our Splash Mountain Fastpass. We hit that and then headed out to go back to Coronado to recuperate before heading to Hollywood Studios at night.

     After an hour or so at the room, we went to Studios so they could see the Osborne Spectacle of Dancing Lights, since all three of them LOVE Christmas and I can say I'm no different. But seeing the look on people's face when they saw these lights for the first time was the best, just pure joy and awe...I remember the first time I saw them and felt the same way. They are so overwhelming in the best way.

     That was all we did at Studios though since wait times for everything were so long and I wanted to make sure we caught Wishes. As we were parking at MK walking toward the TTC I heard fireworks begin going off, it was only 9 pm and couldn't figure out why. But it was Wishes going off an hour earlier than I was accustom to, so rather than watch them on Main Street we saw them from the TTC which was just as magical for them having never seen them before. Once they wrapped up though we took the monorail back into MK to catch some more rides before they closed and all passed out from exhaustion. We managed to ride Buzz Lightyear, Big Thunder Mountain  Winnie the Pooh and Pirates of the Caribbean before calling it a night. All of us were ready to pass out by the time we finally made it back to Coronado. Everyone passed out once we got back and the next day we had Animal Kingdom and EPCOT to attack.

     I woke up extra early again to get coffee for all of us, returning to the room with all them just about ready to leave. Once we were ready to go we headed to Animal Kingdom arriving just after park open and having a great day ahead with Fastpasses for the major attractions. We started off big with Expedition Everest, one of my favorites, and then went straight to Dinosaur hitting them back to back. We moved on from Dinoland, trekking across the park to Africa to watch The Festival of the Lion King and then ride Kiliminjaro Safaris. We had hit everything major at this point and we were ready to head out, but snapped some obligatory pics in front of The Tree of Life first.

     This was a crazier day for me than the others since I was spending the first half with my friends, then dropping them at EPCOT so I could meet up with my family who landed that morning and then I had to work that night from 3:30 to midnight. I was up at 6 and in bed at 1, needless to say it was a long day for me but well worth it.

     The next morning my friends were taking the DME from Coronado back to the airport at 7 AM, so I woke up early again to get them coffee for their ride back as well as see them off. I gave them all a hug and told them how great a time I had with them during their visit, and went straight from Coronado to Magic Kingdom where I would be meeting my family. The park opened at 8 and I got to the main entrance just before they opened and FINALLY got to see the opening ceremony before entering the park. My family wasn't arriving for another hour or so, therefore I had a decent amount of time to myself to catch a few rides, as well as just have some alone time which was much needed. And by happenstance a previous co-worker and DCP alum was at Disney for Thanksgiving as well with her family, so I planned on meeting up with her at MK too. Being at MK so early I was able to ride Space Mountain twice in a row and then Buzz Lightyear once before walking back to the main entrance to stand atop The Main Street Train Station watching for them to enter. Just standing up there getting to look out over Main Street and see everyone entering was awesome, and finally my family came in and we were ready to get the day started. We kicked off with Buzz Lightyear, still had a short wait time as it was still early and as we got off I met up with my friend who I hadn't seen in over a year.

     At this point I split off with her and told my family to go do whatever they wished and my friend and I headed off on our own. Having the chance to do MK with another Disney fan who knows the park just as well is a blast. Both of us were smiling with elation and headed to Mickey's Philharmagic, a personal favorite of mine and hers as well. Next we hit Haunted Mansion then the Little Mermaid. My family was on there way to sit down and get lunch where I'd meet them shortly. But first we were stopped by a Photopass Photographer who snapped a great photo of us. We had to make a pit stop at Main Street to get the photos moved over to my account to download. At this point she went back to her parents and I met up with my family at Liberty Tree Tavern to eat.

It was a much needed break in the day and a great time for my family to ask me all about my time doing the program so far. I mainly had to explain what Magic Bands were and how they worked to them since I had mine on, and also got my cousin hooked on pin trading which was great. When we finished eating it was time for our Splash Mountain Fastpass and we managed to pull of a killer ride photo. Following this we watched The Hall of Presidents where I promptly took a much needed nap and then got positioned for the Festival of Fantasy Parade. Once the parade ended we hustled across the park to Space Mountain for our last Fastpasses of the day. On our way out we stopped for some pictures in front of the castle and finally departed for EPCOT to have dinner and round out the day.

     As we got to EPCOT we took some more photos and went directly to Mouse Gear so everyone could do a little shopping. Once everyone was geared up we headed to World Showcase for dinner, we decided on Morocco since it is my favorite place to eat in EPCOT and no one argued against it. I got my usual plate of lamb schwarma and devoured it as fast as I could. Once I finished eating I had to leave to pick up my cousin and his girlfriend from he airport since they were flying in that evening. I left my family to enjoy EPCOT the remainder of the evening and would meet them back at the hotel.

     The next day was Thanksgiving and we were doing Animal Kingdom...all day. Another early rise as we were getting to AK right around park open. A nice advantage to AK is it was much less crowded than the other parks on the holiday, so although wait times were long, none were astronomical and we had Fastpasses for the big rides. We kicked off the day with Killiminjaro Safaris and afterwards did the Pangani Forest Trail. Our grandparents were arriving a little later than us, so we headed to the entrance to meet them before going to ride Everest. Next up was Festival of the Lion King, followed by It's Tough to be a Bug and then Dinosaur. At this point we still had a few hours until our dinner reservations at Tusker House, so after we saw Finding Nemo The Musical some of us did Everest again while others went to watch Flights of Wonder. We eventually met up again at the Maharaja Jungle Trek before going to Tusker House to eat.

     Once dinner ended we made it back to the front of the park for everyone to browse some of the shops and make a few more purchases. And, since this was the final year for the Osborne Lights and no one in my family had ever seen them before, we chose to end our day at Studios. Upon arrival we immediately went to the lights and took them in, enjoying the sights and sounds. Since it wasn't too too late, we had time to catch some rides so we went and rode Tower of Terror twice and then ended with Star Tours. At this point everyone was pretty wiped out and ready to head back to the hotel. I, on the other hand, would be going to MK to meet with my friend again since I have no issue losing sleep to hit the parks. So I drove over, met my friend and managed to hit some rides; Buzz Lightyear, Splash Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean and Jingle Cruise and at this point we were both dead and needed sleep. We walked back out of the park, said our farewells and returned to our respective places of sleep.

     So I finally got back to my apartment, got a few hours of sleep and the next day was Universal with my family. We arrived shortly after park open, got the two park passes since we are all major Harry Potter fans and got to having fun. We started with Rip Ride Rock Rt, moved over to Transformers then headed to Springfield so I could fan girl over it with my brother while we also grabbed a bite to eat. Unfortunately the wait for The Simpsons Ride was super long so we skipped it and just made a few merchandise purchases. Then we finally dove into Diagon Alley and I just sat back and allowed them all to explore. We checked out Ollivanders, hit Escape from Gringotts and then took the Hogwarts Express to Hogsmeade. We arrived and started with Dragon Challenge, afterwards grabbed the obligatory Butterbeer and our final ride was The Forbidden Journey. We exited the park around mid afternoon and it was much needed since I got back to the hotel and took a MUCH needed nap before dinner.

     That night was my farewell to most of my family except my one cousin and his girlfriend who arrived a day after everyone else. Therefore, they were going to EPCOT and then Magic Kingdom and I met them at MK when I was finished with work at 5. I changed and drove straight over and met up with them and we had dinner at Casey's Corner, each taking down a pulled pork hot dog. Then we finished off their evening with Mickey's Philharmagic, Splash Mountain and Wishes, concluding their vacation and mine. I brought them back to the hotel, finally returned to my apartment and with a day off the next day, I happily slept and recovered from the marathon of fun I just endured.

     At the end of all of that, it was some of the best time I had during my DCP. It was one thing getting to experience it all, day in and day out with your friends who are doing the DCP with you, but getting to see the joy and happiness it brings those who are not as fortunate is amazing. I loved having the opportunity to share it with the people who mattered most to me and had the time of my life with them!

Transition from Halloween to Christmas (What's Thanksgiving?)

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

     As October ends and November begins in Disney, the atmosphere stays magical but you'll begin seeing less orange and more green and red. Although gradual over a week or two, the transition to Christmas seems like it happens overnight. And being there to see it all happen is something else.

     First off are the resorts, and from my personal experience, at Port Orleans. Now, being a moderate our decorations are not quite as hardcore as the deluxe resorts but they do their job of setting the resort in the Christmas spirit. It was fun getting to close on the night they brought in all the Christmas decorations and watch the beginning of the transformation. Big wreaths and all sorts of Christmas decorations to transform our hotel. And overnight our hotel goes from standard Port Orleans and jumps into the Christmas spirit.

     The parks of course get the royal treatment and imagining the crew of people that decorate each of the parks overnight is mind blowing. One day Magic Kingdom is full of Mickey Pumpkins, the next it's full of wreaths and lights. Each park gets its own massive Christmas tree decorated in theme with the park. The Dapper Dans and Main Street performers' outfits change from their fall colors to Christmas colors and start jamming out with Christmas songs. Best of all the castle goes from getting just the spotlights at night to drowning I'm Christmas lights, it's incredible when you see it for the first time, and seeing it for 2 months on repeat...it's just amazing and hard to imagine it without them. Let us not forgot the merchandise, you'll be swimming in it. Christmas essentially pukes all over Disney property and it was wonderful, I personally loved every second of it and as long as you aren't the grinch, you will too!!

After Traditions...Before Work

The honeymoon phase...

     It's too real, you have so much freedom for a few days I knew I could not contain myself. After my first night at Magic Kingdom after Traditions, I had nearly 4 full days of freedom with the exception of one, 4 hour class. During these 4 days, I can confidently say you have the opportunity to either make the most of it, or waste it away but that depends on who you are. For me, I went to 4 parks, 1 water park and am pretty sure I cemented some pretty solid friendships in the process.

     As of now I lucked out with roommates, we are getting along swimmingly, both in and out of the apartment, and I could not be happier! Likewise I have a few friends that I met through Facebook prior to the program, friends of friends who I finally had a chance to connect with and my Australian/New Zealand girls who live on the 3rd floor of my building who are loads of fun!

     Friday started slow, all of my roommates had class that day, I did not. Got away with a late start, hit Publix with some of my new friends from down undah in the AM and then rolled over to Magic Kingdom in the afternoon with one of my roommates who finished at 12:30. Spent a few hours there having a blast then picked up my friend from school after work (she was on Main Street), met up with another roommate and went to Hollywood Studios for a few rides and the Frozen Fireworks. Fireworks were UNREAL! I thought Frozen was good, I enjoy the music but the fireworks Studios put on were over the top incredible!

     Saturday was the day with 1 class at Disney University, but it was in the morning so I had the entire latter half of the day to have fun. Therefore I made the most of it, some of my roommates had training, one had laundry, I was ready to get out and do stuff. So I agreed to take one of my friends to work and then just spend my time at EPCOT after I dropped her off. Although I was alone, it was immensely relaxing to have nothing tying you down and being able to do whatever you want. For about 4 hours I just wandered, did a few rides, explored some of the pavilions and then my roommates met me that evening to watch Illuminations. My biggest recommendation is do not be afraid to go the parks alone, you have the chance to do WHATEVER you want with no one stopping you and you can just relax, it is great!

     Sunday we planned all too well, hit Animal Kingdom in the morning, head home for a pre-nighttime nap, pick up our friend from EPCOT then hit Magic Kingdom for Wishes. That is exactly what happened, Animal Kingdom from open until 3ish, with breakfast at Tusker House, solid hour and change nap, throw in the curveball of hitting EPCOT at 8 to get a ride on Soarin' (10 minute wait....WHAT WHAT!) and run out and catch Illuminations. Grabbed our friend at 9:15, walked through the entrance of Magic Kingdom at 9:45, caught Wishes, grabbed my first Dole Whip then enjoyed the attractions until midnight when they closed.

     Monday wasn't quite as packed but goodness did we have a blast. Typhoon Lagoon in the mornin', did all the slides, wave pool and lazy river in 3 hours, murdered it. Came home to relax and rest our feet, then went to Studios that afternoon to catch the final showing of the Frozen Fireworks...not gonna not. It was the most enjoyable, amusing night ever and I feel like the group I was with bonded real well. We all grabbed ice cream of various types (Mickey Bars was the majority) ended up dancing like SAVAGES on Hollywood Blvd. for a solid 45 minutes leading up to the fireworks at 9. When you are at Disney, let it all hang out, no one will judge you, it is Disney, everyone is there to have fun, so HAVE FUN! We watched the fireworks, loved every second, and now I have entered reality where I have work all of the upcoming 4 days. I am ready, I am excited and cannot wait to get into the work groove at Port Orleans!

When Will My Life Begin

When will my program get here, the anticipation/expectations build

My trip in 2012. #Mexico

      Ever since I got accepted to the DCP, I have basically been counting down the days until my arrival date of August 31st. Even knowing how much I have to do from now until then between school and a summer internship, it doesn't help the fact that I am a Disney geek/nerd/call me what you want I love Disney! And, when I think about it, I have barely experienced all that WDW has to offer since I have only been 3 times in my 20 years of existence on this planet. My first trip was in 2000 when I was in kindergarten and I have a few vague, fuzzy memories from that visit; I went again in 2005 when I was in 4th grade, I have more vivid memories of that trip, primarily skipping Haunted Mansion with my Grandpa cause I was scared, getting a turkey leg and the going into the Hall of Presidents. And lastly, my most recent trip was in 2012 when I graduated high school and we did so much in such little time, I had a ton of fun but it was hard to enjoy everything because we were so rushed. Therefore, its easy to say that knowing I will have 4 months of free admission to the parks is filling me up with anticipation and expectations of what I could do and enjoy.

      In terms of these expectations, I can place them in 2 categories, work expectations and play expectations; let's start with the work ones:

• First things first, I understand that everyone who is accepted into the DCP is accepted to be a Cast Member and it isn't necessarily a, "vacation." So right away, I am prepared to work...A LOT! As DCPs we are basically the bottom the of the totem pole, I am prepared to get the worst hours and work a ton of those worst hours, but you also have to view it from a positive perspective. We are accepted to work and this work experience opens us up to learn so much and gain so much that it should not be taken for granted. I want to uphold those Disney standards, and, as a Cast Member at my resort, I will likely end up being the first face guests see when they enter Disney property, so I want to make those magical moments for everyone. 
• Next, I cannot wait to find out where I work! I discovered that the Value resorts do not have bell service so when I realized I will be at one of the Moderate or Deluxe resorts I was over the moon! I have only stayed on Disney property once, and it was back in 2000 at Port Orleans and I only have vague memories of it, so having the chance to work at one of these resorts will be awesome! Ideally, I'd want to work at a resort on the Magic Kingdom monorail loop (Grand Floridian, Polynesian, or Contemporary) but no matter where they place me, I'm going to be PUUUMPEDD! 
• Third, most of the money I make is probably going right back into WDW. It's true and I'm sure Disney knows this too, even though I'm gonna go into it with the intentions of making and saving money, I know that once I am there, I'm gonna end up spending most of my paychecks on food and various shenanigans at the parks. And after talking to one of my classmates who did the program before, she basically just cemented that for me. So yeah, the sooner I accept that the better. 
• Lastly, I hope to form strong relationships with my co-workers and supervisors. This is a goal I will have for all of my jobs but even more at Disney because it is a company I want to build a career with. I was extremely lucky this past summer to have built strong bonds with the front office staff at the Hyatt and still keep in touch with them today, so I hope to be able to do the same while I am working at Disney.

      When it comes to my expectations outside of work, let's just say I'm gonna aim REAL HIGH and know that it's unlikely everything will be met.

• First and foremost, I am super excited and super nervous to meet new people and make new friends. At the end of the day, most people are entering the program the same way they entered college, without knowing anyone, and that's me. I have met a few people through Facebook groups but that does not change that when I arrive on August 31st, I will be overwhelmed by the number of people and having to make friends all over again. But, its one of those things I just need to let happen naturally and try to not stress about. 
• Next, I want to go the parks, A LOT! Having only been to WDW 3 times prior to this, I want to make the most of having free admission for 4 months, so I want to get the parks whenever I can. It is my hope that most of the people doing the program will have the same anticipation, but I won't know until I get there.
• Avoiding being in my apartment a lot, besides just going to the parks just getting out and doing stuff in and around Orlando or participating in housing events. I am pretty sure there are intramurals for CPs; and if there are, I want to get involved! I have participated in athletics since I was 5 up until I finished high school and now I just go to the gym every day, I miss playing!

      At the end of it all, my excitement builds every day closer we get to August 31st. Like I have said, I'm sure my friends and family are sick of me talking about how excited I am but I don't care; this is who I am, this is what I love and this is my dream come true! Living vicariously through YouTube and every other form of media on the internet is all I can do for now, but my anticipation for this program will never die down, it'll only continue to grow!