Hi Everyone!!
Another update from my life with the mouse. The last week or so has been filled with lots of fun stuff. Last week (Feb. 16-18th) Mom, Dad and Allie came to visit!! I was very, very excited to see them because I missed them a lot. Tuesday afternoon we had a delicious dinner at Sanaa which is the new restaurant in Animal Kingdom Lodge's Kidani Village Building. Sooo yummy! Then we checked into the hotel and I hung out until I had to go to work. So much easier just walking downstairs to go to work then to have to deal with the buses. lol. The next day Mom, Allie and I got up and went to Magic Kingdom where we met Larry and Donna and the munchkins. Daddy didn't come because he hurt his foot and couldn't walk around the parks all day. We spent the day walking around Magic Kingdom and bumped into a very suprising face, Mr. Kahler! Allie, Mom and I were on line for Tomorrowland Indy Speedway and as we were crossing over the tracks, Allie spotted him riding with his daughter. It was very funny and ironic seeing him there but fun all the same. lol At around 2 we went back to the hotel and met Dad for lunch at the hotel. When that was over Allie and I decided we wanted to go to EPCOT to ride Test Track and maybe Soarin' and then we would meet Mom and Dad for dinner at Citricos. Now this all sounded like a good idea until we got to EPCOT and saw that the wait was 110min for Test Track and 130min for Soarin'! We didn't even have enough time to ride and get back to The Grand Floridian for dinner. So instead we walked around and went on the Seas with Nemo and Friends and Turtle Talk with Crush and of course grabbed some candy from Mouse Gear. After that, we took the monorail over to the Magic Kingdom for dinner where we ran into some more friendly, yet less farmiliar faces, a pair of UMASS Band Parents. For all of you that know the UMASS show, it was Jack Sparrow's parents. =P So we spent the entire monorail trip over to the Grand talking about band and Ireland and all sorts of stuff. When we made it to our destination, we bid them farewell until Gameday and met Mom and Dad for an absolutely delicious dinner at Citricos complete with Wishes from Magic Kingdom. After dinner we were all tired so we went back to Animal Kingdom Lodge to hang out and go for a swim. Thursday we got up and hung out, packed up all our stuff and they took me grocery shopping. After shopping we went to Downtown Disney for lunch at Portobellos. Really good restaurant. Then it was time to say good-bye so they dropped me off at my apartment. =(
The rest of the week has been full of half work and half play. The Lodge is really empty this week so we've gotten a lot of time off which I've taken full advantage of by being in the parks. I spent lots of time in Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom and EPCOT and checked off some more items off my bucket list. I now have seen Illuminations from another country (Japan), had my Mickey Mouse Ice Cream, seen Fantasmic, watched Wishes from Main Street, taken a picture with Mickey and Minnie and ridden of Cindarella's horse on the Carousel. So it was a very productive week as far as the bucket list is concerned. lol. It's been a lot of fun. I love getting to go back into the parks since I don't do it as often as you might expect because I'm so busy. This weekend is ESPN the weekend so I'm hoping to get to Hollywood Studios on Sunday after work to see it. There are also a ton of celebrities here including a whole bunch of athletes and Johnny Depp (promoting Alice and Wonderland) so I've got my eyes peeled for them. I might just go hang out in the Grand and look for them although a couple are staying at the lodge. =P
Alright...I think that's all for this update. This week brings some more days off and the beginning of my Disney Heritage class. Yay!! I'm so excited to start the class. So more updates about that soon.
Love,
Jess
Friday, February 26, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
The Week in Review
Hi Everyone!
Another update on my wonderful Disney life. I actually have had a lot to say over the past week but just keep forgetting to actually write in the blog. I just got home from work about an hour or so ago and I'm laying on the couch watching the Luge so I figured now would be a good time.
So this past week I've been doing a lot of working but also getting to do some fun stuff. On Tuesday (2.9.10) I got to work and it turned out our entire computer reservation system was down. Actually, the resort wide reservation system had completely shut down. Now, for most companies, nothing could get done without the computer which makes me realize that Disney is truly in a category of its own. They had such an amazing handwritten system check guests in and get them tickets and do pretty much everything they needed without any real disruption to them. It was pretty incredible. And to make it even better, our big boss manager (the manager of the whole front office) Michelle, had decided by chance to spend that day in costume seeing the operation from our level. It was quite funny to see her out on the floor with her "earning my ears" ribbon. I love Michelle. She's so friendly and open to listening to you and your problems and really never makes you feel like she's above you unless she has to. At around 2 the system was finally up and running and everything was back to normal. And then the managers bought us pizza to thank us for making everything go so smoothly.
When work was over, I went downstairs and changed into "normal people clothes" and took the Downtown Disney bus to meet Ren for La Nouba!!! I got very, very discounted tickets from my managers for product knowledge so I can convince other guests to go and see it and tell them how awesome it is. So after grabbing a really delicious sandwich and the Earl of Sandwich for dinner, I met Ren (I got 2 tickets so she came with me) and we went to La Nouba. It was absolutely incredible! If you ever get the chance to see it, Go! It's such an amazing show which and I loved it. My favorite part by far were the little Chinese girls playing with the Diabolo. They can't be more than 8 years old and they are unbelievably talented. So yeah...go see it. You'll love it.
Lets see...more fun stuff. Well, on Friday (2.12.10) Larry and Donna and the munchkins came down to Florida for vacation and I got to see them. I spent most of the day bumming around the apartment since I hadn't had a day off in 9 days but I met them all for Mariel's birthday dinner at Jiko in Animal Kingdom Lodge. It was delicious! I wasn't sure how much I was going to like it because I generally don't love African/Indian foods like curry and such but everything was phenomenal. I had lamb chops with cous-cous and a curry sauce that was so good and we had an olive and goat cheese flat bread pizza which I could have eaten as my meal I loved it so much. I highly recommend it if you want to spend the money. I also got to hang out with the munchkins and family on Sat (2.13.10) since I had off. So they picked me up around 10 and we went to Animal Kingdom for the day. It was a lot of fun although slightly cold during the morning. We went on pretty much everything including It's Tough to be a Bug which which broke down while we were there. While we were watching the show, Hopper never sprung out of the ground so they stopped the show and started it again and when they did neither Hopper nor Flik came out so they actually made it worse. It was still a fun show none the less. And I talked to this adorable 3 year old girl named Sydney for like a half hour while we were waiting for Finding Nemo: The Musical. She was so cute and telling me all about how she was going to have lunch with the princesses and how she was Belle for Halloween. It was really adorable. After we decided to leave the park we went back to Larry and Donna's timeshare so Donna could change and went to Planet Hollywood in Downtown Disney for dinner. There was a long wait for dinner so we walked around the shops and then finally got our table and had dinner. I had a Spinach salad which was really, really delicious. Then we went and got caramel apples from Candy Cauldron for dessert.
So today, well I guess yesterday was Valentine's Day. Now in the world of hotels, that means lots and lots of flowers being delivered to rooms, lots of check-ins and just lots of people. But honestly, it really wasn't that bad. I worked all day in the Vacation Club Villas so that made it slower then if I was working in the actual hotel part. And, to make Valentines day very cute, the boy across the hall left us a cake, flowers (well actually the flowers were from a few days ago) and a card with a poem in it on our doorstep. It was adorable of them. Both apartments like to leave gifts at the others doorstep, knock and run away. The funniest thing is that we haven't even really met all of them. Everything we sign is from "The Girls" and they are "The Boys". We've vowed to finally try and all hang out together so we can meet each other formally. It should be fun.
Other than that, I don't have to much to say. Mom and Dad and Allie come on Tuesday and I can't wait to see them!!! I should probably go to sleep now though considering it's 1:30AM. But until next time...
Love,
Jess
Another update on my wonderful Disney life. I actually have had a lot to say over the past week but just keep forgetting to actually write in the blog. I just got home from work about an hour or so ago and I'm laying on the couch watching the Luge so I figured now would be a good time.
So this past week I've been doing a lot of working but also getting to do some fun stuff. On Tuesday (2.9.10) I got to work and it turned out our entire computer reservation system was down. Actually, the resort wide reservation system had completely shut down. Now, for most companies, nothing could get done without the computer which makes me realize that Disney is truly in a category of its own. They had such an amazing handwritten system check guests in and get them tickets and do pretty much everything they needed without any real disruption to them. It was pretty incredible. And to make it even better, our big boss manager (the manager of the whole front office) Michelle, had decided by chance to spend that day in costume seeing the operation from our level. It was quite funny to see her out on the floor with her "earning my ears" ribbon. I love Michelle. She's so friendly and open to listening to you and your problems and really never makes you feel like she's above you unless she has to. At around 2 the system was finally up and running and everything was back to normal. And then the managers bought us pizza to thank us for making everything go so smoothly.
When work was over, I went downstairs and changed into "normal people clothes" and took the Downtown Disney bus to meet Ren for La Nouba!!! I got very, very discounted tickets from my managers for product knowledge so I can convince other guests to go and see it and tell them how awesome it is. So after grabbing a really delicious sandwich and the Earl of Sandwich for dinner, I met Ren (I got 2 tickets so she came with me) and we went to La Nouba. It was absolutely incredible! If you ever get the chance to see it, Go! It's such an amazing show which and I loved it. My favorite part by far were the little Chinese girls playing with the Diabolo. They can't be more than 8 years old and they are unbelievably talented. So yeah...go see it. You'll love it.
Lets see...more fun stuff. Well, on Friday (2.12.10) Larry and Donna and the munchkins came down to Florida for vacation and I got to see them. I spent most of the day bumming around the apartment since I hadn't had a day off in 9 days but I met them all for Mariel's birthday dinner at Jiko in Animal Kingdom Lodge. It was delicious! I wasn't sure how much I was going to like it because I generally don't love African/Indian foods like curry and such but everything was phenomenal. I had lamb chops with cous-cous and a curry sauce that was so good and we had an olive and goat cheese flat bread pizza which I could have eaten as my meal I loved it so much. I highly recommend it if you want to spend the money. I also got to hang out with the munchkins and family on Sat (2.13.10) since I had off. So they picked me up around 10 and we went to Animal Kingdom for the day. It was a lot of fun although slightly cold during the morning. We went on pretty much everything including It's Tough to be a Bug which which broke down while we were there. While we were watching the show, Hopper never sprung out of the ground so they stopped the show and started it again and when they did neither Hopper nor Flik came out so they actually made it worse. It was still a fun show none the less. And I talked to this adorable 3 year old girl named Sydney for like a half hour while we were waiting for Finding Nemo: The Musical. She was so cute and telling me all about how she was going to have lunch with the princesses and how she was Belle for Halloween. It was really adorable. After we decided to leave the park we went back to Larry and Donna's timeshare so Donna could change and went to Planet Hollywood in Downtown Disney for dinner. There was a long wait for dinner so we walked around the shops and then finally got our table and had dinner. I had a Spinach salad which was really, really delicious. Then we went and got caramel apples from Candy Cauldron for dessert.
So today, well I guess yesterday was Valentine's Day. Now in the world of hotels, that means lots and lots of flowers being delivered to rooms, lots of check-ins and just lots of people. But honestly, it really wasn't that bad. I worked all day in the Vacation Club Villas so that made it slower then if I was working in the actual hotel part. And, to make Valentines day very cute, the boy across the hall left us a cake, flowers (well actually the flowers were from a few days ago) and a card with a poem in it on our doorstep. It was adorable of them. Both apartments like to leave gifts at the others doorstep, knock and run away. The funniest thing is that we haven't even really met all of them. Everything we sign is from "The Girls" and they are "The Boys". We've vowed to finally try and all hang out together so we can meet each other formally. It should be fun.
Other than that, I don't have to much to say. Mom and Dad and Allie come on Tuesday and I can't wait to see them!!! I should probably go to sleep now though considering it's 1:30AM. But until next time...
Love,
Jess
Monday, February 8, 2010
Princesses, Pools and Problem Solving
Hi Everyone!!
Hope this entry finds you doing well. Sorry it's been a while since I've updated. I've been busy with work and getting used to my Disney schedule. The last few days I've been working the night shift which is from 6PM-2AM. Normally you'd think that would be absolutely terrible but honestly, I don't mind it to much. After around 11 o'clock, it gets really mello in the lobby and you have the time to really talk to the guests that do come to you as well as chat with the other cast members that are working the graveyard shift. I've been very fortunate this week to meet lots of very nice families who I've really enjoyed talking to and like seeing in the lobby everyday. I've had some particularly cute children who love to tell me all about their princess dresses and plans to go meet Mickey and all the fun they're planning on having while they're here. It's fun to talk to them like they really are princesses and see their eyes light up.
Unfortunately, along with working the night shift you also have to have problem solving skills in high gear because that is generally when guests come to us and complain about anything and everything. Our main issue right now at the lodge is the fact that the pool is under construction and we get lots of guests that come to us upset about that and we try and recover the situation and make their stay as magical as possible. It takes lots of patience but I can already see myself becoming better at dealing with it and that my problem solving skills are improving. I can only imagine that those skills are going to be incredibly important later on it my career and in life.
Overall, it's been fun working at the lodge and I'm really enjoying myself. Tomorrow I'm going to see La Nouba with Ren and I am soooo excited!! I've wanted to see it for quite some time so I'm really happy I finally will. 4 more days of work before my days off on Friday and Saturday and Larry and Donna and the munchkins will be here! Yay!! And then Mommy, Daddy and Allie will be here next Tuesday!! I can't wait to see them. :)
Until then...
Hope this entry finds you doing well. Sorry it's been a while since I've updated. I've been busy with work and getting used to my Disney schedule. The last few days I've been working the night shift which is from 6PM-2AM. Normally you'd think that would be absolutely terrible but honestly, I don't mind it to much. After around 11 o'clock, it gets really mello in the lobby and you have the time to really talk to the guests that do come to you as well as chat with the other cast members that are working the graveyard shift. I've been very fortunate this week to meet lots of very nice families who I've really enjoyed talking to and like seeing in the lobby everyday. I've had some particularly cute children who love to tell me all about their princess dresses and plans to go meet Mickey and all the fun they're planning on having while they're here. It's fun to talk to them like they really are princesses and see their eyes light up.
Unfortunately, along with working the night shift you also have to have problem solving skills in high gear because that is generally when guests come to us and complain about anything and everything. Our main issue right now at the lodge is the fact that the pool is under construction and we get lots of guests that come to us upset about that and we try and recover the situation and make their stay as magical as possible. It takes lots of patience but I can already see myself becoming better at dealing with it and that my problem solving skills are improving. I can only imagine that those skills are going to be incredibly important later on it my career and in life.
Overall, it's been fun working at the lodge and I'm really enjoying myself. Tomorrow I'm going to see La Nouba with Ren and I am soooo excited!! I've wanted to see it for quite some time so I'm really happy I finally will. 4 more days of work before my days off on Friday and Saturday and Larry and Donna and the munchkins will be here! Yay!! And then Mommy, Daddy and Allie will be here next Tuesday!! I can't wait to see them. :)
Until then...
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