Week Forty-Eight: Mine Train Fire Alarm + INSANE WEEK

December 18th (Monday): I had physical therapy in the morning, then went straight to Disney Springs to meet up with two of my friends to see the Last Jedi (the new Star Wars movie)!!! We all thought it was really good, kept us on our toes the whole time for sure. When I came into work we were posting 200 minutes, and that's when I knew it was going to be one of THOSE days. We got up to a FOUR hour wait at one point, and it was so crazy that they extended park hours from 11pm to midnight. SO we all got force extended...yippee. Luckily I ended up pulling great positions, so it was okay. Just a stressful work day. I think I worked from 4:30pm - 1:15am?

December 19th (Tuesday): I went to Magic Kingdom in the morning with my circus friends, Peter, Chris, and Alex. We went and saw Hall of Presidents which just reopened, and rode Dumbo and the Mine Train. Then we went and did an escape room, which we failed to escape from, got Freddy's for dinner, and ended our night in Epcot! We got to see Neil Patrick Harris' Candlelight Processional (standing room, but great view), ride Nemo, and see Illuminations from the FP viewing area! It was really good, I'd never seen it from the FP location and it's so much better. Also we got ice cream from Ample Hills on the Boardwalk.

December 20th (Wednesday): I had an awful night's sleep with coughing fits all night, then had the CRAZIEST day of work. My shift was 2:45pm - 1:45am. It was a 180-minute wait when I came in, so we're already really busy, then around 9pm our FIRE ALARM goes off. And granted, sometimes when the fireworks go off and the wind hits just right, this will happen, however, this had never happened to me. So we're doing our thing when all of a sudden the lights come on and our emergency lights start flashing and we just start dumping people through the door. Cycled out the trains and basically kicked everyone out of the line. Of course we had guest recovery, but since it was an emergency, we couldn't hand out fastpasses until after guest relations came (maybe 10 minutes after we dumped?). People were AWFUL though!! Demanding fastpasses as we're getting them out of the building, like they'd rather have a fastpass then get everyone out safely. It's ridiculous. The second we all leave we're bombarded, not even a second to breathe. Luckily there was no fire, and after guest relations came, the worst guests left, and everyone else was pretty understanding. What sucked though, was when we were resetting, everything kept going wrong and we'd have to start over. My coworker had to walk the track and reset the ride FIVE times. So we were down from about 9:20pm - 1am (close). Terrible timing, because the extra magic hours guests didn't get to ride at all during EMH. So yep that day was nuts. On the bright side we hit a near record for guests riding in an hour so EFFICIENCY! YAY!

December 21st (Thursday): I had a rough start to my day, trying to do laundry only to find out the card reader was broken, then I locked myself out of my apartment, and had to wear a dirty costume to work. But luckily work went really well because I never had to go outside or go to merge! YAY! BLESSINGS! It was also an 2:15pm - 8:15pm day. Also the card reader was back up and working that night so I got to do laundry.

December 22nd (Friday): I worked from 10:45am - 7:15pm and I started my day by pulling tower, then pulling tower again after rotation came, so that was a great start. The only time I pulled an outdoor position was during the Christmas party when I got FP, so that was super easy! It was our last Christmas party of the year, so it was fun to be able to work it. Also I took the wrong bus and was late to work by two minutes, but my coordinator fixed it so I didn't get penalized :) THANKS BRANDON!

December 23rd (Saturday): It was the day after Martia's 24th birthday, so I took her out to First Watch for breakfast. It was super busy but we got seated immediately because they had a party of two no show. Also during breakfast we booked our cruise excursion in the Bahamas which is going to be ATLANTIS!! That super cool water park resort thing. So excited. After breakfast we went home and started packing/throwing away stuff, because we move out in just over a week. Felt good to at least start organizing. Work is a bit of a blur, but I know it was insane because we had (allegedly) 82,000 guests in the park. I worked from 4:45pm - 1:14am and I closed station assist and got to join my coworker on our nighttime ride through! Fun end to the night!!

December 24th (Sunday): CHRISTMAS EVE! I had a really easy 2:30pm - 8:30pm shift and I had good positions but the day DRAGGED on. We had another busy day, posting 240 minutes at one point. Also we had a LOT of international guests with a language barrier, so it was a little less efficient than usual. After work I went home and changed, then picked Martia up from work and we went on a hunt for a Christmas Eve church service!! Well the church I found was dark when we showed up at 10:45pm for their 11pm service, so I might have made a mistake somewhere. So we drove 40 minutes both ways to Winter Garden to basically drive around and see Christmas lights. So not a complete waste, but quite embarrassing hahaha. Then we went home and ate food. 

Week Forty-Seven: 77K in Magic Kingdom + Rough Week for Positions

December 11th (Monday): I had a crazy (but awesome) day off with my friend Jennifer! We had one day to do three parks, so we started at Hollywood Studios where we were able to do Rockin' Rollercoaster, Tower of Terror, Star Tours, and Frozen Sing-A-Long all before 12:30pm. Then we went to Epcot where we got a DELICIOUS caramel filled salted pretzel with vanilla ice cream, rode Test Track, and Living with the Land. Then off to Magic Kingdom where we rode Mine Train, Dumbo, Space Mountain, Winnie the Pooh, Big Thunder Mountain, the People Mover, and maybe one or two others that I'm forgetting. We lined up at 8pm for 9pm fireworks, Jen saving our spot and me getting us Starbucks. Well it was about 50 degrees out, so the line for Starbucks was FORTY MINUTES LONG. Yes, I waited. Yes, I knew it would be long. There is no shame. But it worked out perfectly because I got back to our spot with ten minutes to spare, and our area wasn't too full so I had no problem finding her!

December 12th (Tuesday): I worked from 11:45am - 11:45pm, my first 12-hour shift in SO LONG. It was awful because our wait time kept posting 40-60 minutes when it was actually 120. We kept calling and changing it, but it would change back, which was dreadful. Because ANGRY guests. I also pulled two of my least favorite positions THREE times. Thankfully I ended in tower, so a nice way to end the night.

December 13th (Wednesday): We were doing really well with FastPass until like 2pm, then it got crazy backed up. Naturally I had to be out at FP, a position I absolutely hate, just in time for the mob to come. Yippee. I ended the shift at unload assist, a mostly useless position that just waves and tells people where to exit. So easy end to the day! I had an easy 9:30am - 3:30pm shift.

December 14th (Thursday): I worked from 7:30am - 4pm, and put in for an ER I was convinced I was going to get (because they normally give out like three ERs at least and I was second in line), but didn't get one. Of course I didn't pack a lunch because I thought I would get my ER, so jokes on me. I pulled FP twice (I know, rough week for me on positions), and merge once. We started out with great staffing, so that was nice, but it got crazy real quick.

December 15th (Friday): I started my day off with physical therapy, and treated myself to a papaya boba tea on the way home. I worked from 2:45pm - midnight and I pulled FP twice AGAIN but it was fine because it was a Christmas party where there is minimal FPs. When I was at FP I had a family who got evacuated off Peter Pan's Flight and were having trouble with their recovery FPs, so I accommodated them, and they were super grateful. It's just really nice to know that some people appreciate you when you do nice things for them. They were super sweet and I could tell it was an honest mistake, so I let them through and let them keep their recovery FPs, and they thanked me multiple times and made sure they knew my name and everything, so that was incredibly sweet :) I also had lots of fun working with one of my coworkers, who was in a really good mood. He's the kind of guy that people either tweet about because he's so good, or take to guest relations because he's so bad. Like, he's SUPER animated and dramatic, so when he's in a good mood he's TONS of fun, but he can be SO rude when he's in a bad mood. So he was in a good mood and we had lots of fun with the guests!

December 16th (Saturday): IT WAS SO BUSY. We had 77,000 people in the park today which was NUTS, and pretty close to our park capacity. My shift was 5pm - 1am, and we had a FP line out the door and around the corner basically the whole day. At one point our standby line was 3.5 hours. Yeah, awful. So that was a JOY, but for the most part my shift went well. We had lots of trainers and coordinators helping us out with efficiency, so we were moving the line the best we POSSIBLY could, which felt nice. I love efficiency haha.

December 17th (Sunday): I was off! Yay!! I went to Magic Kingdom in the morning to meet up with my old roommate, Alyssa (AHHHHHH!), and we got to ride Space Mountain with a FP my leader was kind enough to give to us!

Unfortunately that was really all we were able to do, because I had to go meet my second cousins for lunch! Which was also really nice. We went to Columbia Harbor House and I got to catch up with them (who I haven't seen in years), so that's cool. After that I went to Epcot and got snacks from Japan, walked the World Showcase, and waited in line (for 1.5 hours) for the Candlelight Processional! Trace Adkins was the celebrity narrator, and it was beautiful as always. Then I went home and now I'm here writing this!

Also I only have 2.5 weeks left of work and that's insane. Where has time gone?! AND my roomie Martia and I booked a cruise to the Bahamas!!! So excited. It's January 8 - January 12 and we're so pumped. $360 including taxes through Royal Caribbean for a 4-night, 5-day cruise. WOOOOOO! Can't wait.

Week Forty-Six: MORE VISITORS!

Surprise, surprise, I had another full week of strictly mine train.

December 4th (Monday): So we had SEVENTY of Dan Cockerell's (Magic Kingdom Vice President) colleagues ride the mine train through FastPass, so that was absolute nuts for a while. Work itself was pretty good, I had a solid mix of positions but was still feeling a little under the weather from the stomach flu. On the bus ride home I actually thought I was going to throw up, but luckily I was able to keep it together. Also one of my coworkers came and visited on her day off, so here's a candid she got of me at work haha:

December 5th (Tuesday): It was my day off, but nausea woke me up at 6:45am and I spent the morning throwing up. After FIVE days of this weird stomach bug not making me sick, I threw up on the last day of it. But I did feel better afterward. I also went to physical therapy, I didn't want to call and cancel because I had done that on Friday...probably should have but oh well. I was too scared of throwing up to eat all day, so I had Gatorade and two bowls of applesauce to last me the entire day.

December 6th (Wednesday): It was a struggle of a day. We kept having issues with crying/screaming kids refusing to ride, guests too large to fit in the ride, and all sorts of mayhem that killed our efficiency. And when that happens, we end up with a 2-hour wait. Joy. I did get an ER though, so that's a plus ;) I know I should be keeping my hours since I'm poor, but let's be real here, I'm weak. They offer me an ER and I'm like yes ok can I leave now.

December 7th (Thursday): Another weak day with me taking another ER. Whoops. I was supposed to work 7:30am - 4pm, but ended up going home at 11:30am. Awesome for me, awful for my paycheck. Work was easy, I pulled positions I don't really like, but since it was the morning it was easy. The later the day gets, the crankier people are, and the more $&!* they try pull on you. In the afternoon I completed a job application for when I come home from Disney, then at night I went to Disney Springs to meet up with a friend from my spring program! She came down to visit, so we hit up Blaze pizza, ate ice cream, and walked the Christmas tree trail.

December 8th (Friday): I had PT in the morning, then went to MK in the afternoon with my circus friends! Cassie and Gerri from my spring program were both visiting, so it was fun to hangout with them. We rode Mine Train, Splash Mountain, Dumbo, Barnstormer, and Buzz Lightyear.

Then I went off to work (a super easy 7:15pm - 1:15am) where we were short-staffed. But it was a party night, so it was easy. Also I had to walk all the way to City Hall to turn in $2. That's a solid 10-minute walk, but because someone left TWO DOLLARS behind. But exercise, right?

December 9th (Saturday): I spent the afternoon at Universal with my circus crew again and we rode Forbidden Journey (castle ride), Spiderman, and Mummy. We also saw Merry Grinchmas, a stage show version of Jim Carrey's How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

I left early and picked up my friend, Jennifer, from the airport! She came and visited me for the weekend :') We went and checked in to Caribbean Beach Resort, then went to Disney Springs for dinner. We were trying to get a sit-down restaurant but everything had AT LEAST an hour and a half wait. T-Rex was actually almost three hours. And it was 8pm! Crazy!! So we ended up doing Earl of Sandwich and getting Starbucks. We also walked the Christmas tree trail. Then back to the hotel where we watched Star Wars!

December 10th (Sunday): I only had one comp ticket left, so Jen bought a one-day ticket for Animal Kingdom which was used on Sunday, saving my comp for Monday. We got FastPass for Everest (twice), Dinosaur, and Kilimanjaro Safari. We also watched Festival of the Lion King, ate at Pandora, and got Starbucks (twice). We ended the night at Pandora, waiting only 40-minutes for Flight of Passage when the wait time said 140. Wooo!

Week Forty-Five: Treehouse Villa Staycation + Stomach Flu Woes

November 27th (Monday): I worked from 3:45pm - 9:45pm and it was a crazy day. Always the short days are the crazy days. I started off by only shaving one leg in the shower, and not realizing the other leg wasn't smooth until putting my socks on for work, so I shaved the other leg in the sink. Quite the start to a shift, right? Work was pretty awful, I pulled greeter twice (which I HATE because you get yelled at a lot and have to go to merge which I also hate) and we just weren't smooth. A kid peed in a row so we had to call custodial and re-group our rows so people wouldn't sit in those affected rows, but the cast members grouping kept mis-grouping so there was a lot of confusion and inefficiency. I did have two sweet moments though, one was a two-year-old and five-year-old princess both celebrating birthdays, and they were so excited to talk to me and give me high fives!!! I got to see them multiple times and their dad would always say "look girls, it's your friend!" so that was sweet. And we had two little boys, probably about six, walk down the ride exit after they rode chanting "WE ARE MEN! WE ARE MEN!" so that was pretty funny.

November 28th (Tuesday): I worked from 9am - 5:30pm and it was another weird day. I had to be merge by myself (THE WORST) THREE times, as well as FastPass (also a position I don't like) and a couple assist positions. OH and we had this lady that was so rude she made our COORDINATOR cry. Like she was vicious. Apparently she was mad about a miscommunication regarding rider switched, so my coord was explaining to her how it works and she just got pissed and starts (loudly) saying "just get away from me" and I guess it got nastier after I left because my coord ended up crying. THEN we went down like thirty minutes before my bumpout, so what a way to end the shift. The ride went down automatically because one of the intrusion mats (those things that stop the ride if you walk on them, they just looks like mats) went off. People were really nice about it though, I just helped give out FastPasses in the station.

November 29th (Wednesday): Off! Yay! I spent the morning at Epcot with Kasia and we rode Frozen Ever After and Test Track, then checked out Holidays Around the World! I got spring rolls from China, gingerbread gelato/ice cream (idk what honestly) from France, and iced spiced tea from the UK. All pretty good, but I think the ice cream was the winner. We also did the sake bar in Japan which I've always wanted to do! We both got the peach which was really good.

Then we went to Disney Springs and checked out the Christmas tree trail which is so cute, got Starbucks, and really just wandered aimlessly. THEN we went over to Saratoga Springs where our friend Peter booked us all a night in one of their treehouse villas! SO FUN! It was Peter's birthday, Michaelene's birthday, and Kasia's last night (her end date was November 30th), so we got a treehouse to celebrate! It had three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, and a living room with two pullouts. There were nine of us all together (all circus family), so there were a perfect amount of beds. Peter is adorable so he designed a homemade escape room for us to figure out, so we started the staycation off with an escape room. Then we had dinner (chicken and salad, THANKS PETER!), and went a roasted marshmallows over the hotel campfire. We played outdoor games like cornhole, then settled in for the resort's movie under the stars which was DUMBO! What are the odds?!

We got free popcorn and watched the movie, then went back to our treehouse for more games, and ended with a trip to the hot tub!

November 30th (Thursday): TWO DAYS OFF IN A ROW WHAT. We all woke up around 9am, Peter made us a homemade breakfast of eggs, bacon, and potatoes, and Alex and Caroline went off to work. The rest of us were off, so I went to physical therapy, then we all got back together to go to Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. MK we rode the Barnstormer and Dumbo, then got some slushies (I only drank 1/4 because I started to have bad stomach pain). MK was DEAD because the park closed at 4:30pm for a special event.

At studios we saw the Frozen show, got food (except for me because I started to feel dreadful), and got to see the new holiday shows! This includes the light projections on Tower of Terror, the Pixar thingy on the Chinese Theater, and Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM! They were all pretty good and there was tons of snow, but by the end I felt awful. I drove Kasia to her hotel and said goodbye (SO SAD) then went home.

December 1st (Friday): I was supposed to work this awesome shift from 2:30pm - 8:30pm but had to call out due to the stomach flu (we think). I also had to call and reschedule physical therapy. I was just in a lot of pain and sat in bed all day, except a trip to the vending machine to get a poweraid. I think I only ate a frozen waffle and some applesauce all day.

December 2nd (Saturday): I was supposed to work from 2:45pm - 11pm but had to call out again for another day of lying in bed with stomach pain. Anytime I ate food I would get these sharp pains, so I had another day of eating basically nothing.

December 3rd (Sunday): I worked from 3:30pm - 12:15am. I felt a little better, but was on and off with the stomach pain. I mostly pulled positions I don't like, but they went smoothly so it was fine. It was also a Christmas party night and I got to see the fireworks which was awesome! Oh and we had this funny family of four who waited in line, got on the ride, had their lap bars checked, and THEN asked if this was a rollercoaster. My coworker says yes, and they say they don't like rollercoasters and all get off. Um what?? You just waited an hour for a ride that you're not going to ride? Crazy. Then I ended my night by going home only to realize our locks were changed and I had the wrong key. So security had to come let me in.

Week Forty-Four: Happy Thanksgiving!

November 20th (Monday): I was off, which was funny because I had a week off then worked two days then was off again. But I had a pretty chill day off after a busy week of fun. I went to Splitsville in the afternoon with some coworkers (Splitsville is the Disney Springs bowling alley), then we checked out the Christmas Tree Trail. The Christmas Tree Trail (I think that's the correct name?) is a trail in Disney Springs with fake snow and a bunch of Christmas trees with different themes. So obviously we took pictures with the Snow White and Dumbo trees.

We also got to see Alex's sister at work which was pretty cool. She works at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, turning little girls into princesses! After the Springs I went to Walmart to get my oil changed, and went grocery shopping for the first time in a month. NOTE TO SELF: WALMART TAKES TWO HOURS FOR AN OIL CHANGE.

November 21st (Tuesday): I was scheduled to work from 7:45am - 4:15pm, but got an ER for 2pm! We were so overstaffed that we had no fewer than SIX greeter positions up for the first half of the day. Work itself was great, I got picked up by a training group at merge, so I got to only do a half rotation at one of my least favorite positions, and I ended my shift in tower!! SO nice to end in a seat. Also there was a weird lady who wanted to talk to a manager because she wanted to go through FastPass without a FastPass. Obviously our coordinator didn't let her through, but that was weird. So I got to home early from work, went to Michaelene's house, then carpooled over to Jenna's place for Friendsgiving! Everyone brought something, and it was a solid mix of store-bought and homemade. We had all the classic dishes (turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, stuffing, etc.) but our friend Michelle also brought some classic Puerto Rican dishes which was super fun. We had so much food. Also a ton of people brought dessert, so we had apple pie, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, brownies, coconut pudding, and I think there might have been something else in there too. A really awesome night though (thanks Jenna!!).

November 22nd (Wednesday): I started the day off with a physical therapy appointment, then I WAS IN THE CIRCUS FOR THE FIRST TIME IN ROUGHLY FIVE WEEKS. WHAT. So nice to be back. I worked from 2:30pm - 11pm and I had some awesome families at grouper that I got to chat with, including a couple from Scotland, and a few families with really sweet little kids. I was #blessed with pulling wheelchair assist TWICE, as well as Barnstormer grouper and main panel, all positions that I really enjoy. Then I pulled Dumbo rotation twice which is also positions I really like! So overall a great shift. Super busy though, we had an hour wait for Dumbo.

November 23rd (Thursday): I slept in super late, then had a Mine Train shift from 3pm - 9pm (DREAMS). I pulled FastPass twice (ew), but also pulled tower twice, so that made up for it. I had a few families wish me a Happy Thanksgiving, and we had a potluck at work which mostly consisted of cookies. Work was good, and after work I made Guinness stew! I forgot how long stew takes, however, so I had to stay up until 1:45am to finish it.

November 24th (Friday): I had another PT appointment (which I'm still sore from) in the morning, then I worked from 3pm - 12:45am in the circus. We were so understaffed that we had to close the play tent at like 7pm (cue angry mob). It was another BUSY day with Dumbo posting an 80-minute wait at one point. Also we had THREE lost kid situations, but we ended up finding the parents in all three situations, so all was well. I was at Dumbo the entire shift, and I got to close Dumbo with Kasia. Her end date is November 30th, so it was our last shift together ever :'(

November 25th (Saturday): Day off! I was off by myself, so I slept in until 1pm, which I haven't done in ages, then took my nice camera to Animal Kingdom! I actually missed the bus so first went to Epcot for like twenty minutes, then went from Epcot to DAK. I did Festival of the Lion King, Gorilla Falls, got a FP for Kilimanjaro Safari, and got a FP for Rivers of Light. Then I ended up on the same bus home as Jani, my roomie who works at FOLK!

November 26th (Sunday): BEST DAY EVER. I was supposed to be at the mine from 7:30am - 4pm, but I put in an ER for 12:30pm because I was exhausted and only got like four hours of sleep. The morning was rough though because Mine Train was ready to go, then something caused a non-resettable AKA the ride went down right before park open and we had a delayed opening. So people actually couldn't get in line until 8:35am instead of 8am. But people were really kind about it which was a pleasant surprise. I just did wheelchair assist, then worked a console, then went home. DREAMS PEOPLE. I went home and napped for three hours, then walked to Publix to pick up some groceries I forgot to get last time, and spent the evening in Disney Springs with the roomies! We went to Earl of Sandwich for dinner, then went and saw Coo that night. IT WAS SO GOOD. The whole theater was crying. It's fine. And yeah! That's about it.

Hopefully the busy week is over and we can have a breather before the crazy Christmas crowds :) Happy belated Thanksgiving!

Week Forty-Three: Family Visiting + IRATE Guests

November 13th (Monday): My family and I got up early to go to Universal, and spent the day there until we had to leave (around 2:45pm) to drop my sister off at the airport. Luckily Universal was pretty slow, so we had fairly short lines for all the rides. We started off at Universal, riding Gringotts and the Mummy, then took the Hogwarts Express to Islands of Adventure. At Islands we rode Spiderman, the castle ride (Forbidden Journey?), and Cat in the Hat. We ate lunch at Mythos and got a Butterbeer, then took the Hogwarts Express back over to Universal so we could check out both legs of the train. And that's about it! We took off to bring my sister to the airport to fly back to California.

After dropping Brita off we went back to our hotel to get ready for dinner at....get ready for it....VICTORIA AND ALBERTS. If you don't know what that is, it's the AAA five-diamond restaurant in the Grand Floridian. Fancy enough that it has a dress code. Basically one of the best seven course meals you'll ever have. I'll have to make a post just on the restaurant, but here are a few photos! We chose to add wine pairings, and it was the BEST meal I've ever had in my entire life. ALSO we got "free" valet parking and roses so we were feeling REAL fancy.

November 14th (Tuesday): My parents and I started our day off (I think?) in Animal Kingdom. We had FastPasses for Kilimanjaro Safari, Expedition Everest, and Na'vi River Journey. We also rode Primeval Whirl, watched Finding Nemo: The Musical, and watched Festival of the Lion King.

After DAK we had reservations for Sanaa (Animal Kingdom Lodge), where we got the Indian bread service, chicken, and desserts. SO filling but really fun food. Plus I got to use my 40% discount coupon! Tuesday night was late night Extra Magic Hours for Epcot, so we went to Epcot after dinner and rode Soarin' and Frozen Ever After.

November 15th (Wednesday): We started the morning off at Hollywood Studios, where we had FP's for Rockin' Rollercoaster, Tower of Terror, and Star Tours. When we were in line for Tower, it had some technical difficulties causing us to wait roughly 35 minutes instead of 10-15, but they gave us a free FP, so we also got to do Toy Story Midway Mania with a FP. So we did all four rides that Studios has right now. We also watched the Little Mermaid show, checked out the Launch Bay theater, and saw the Frozen Sing-A-Long (always a good one). After Studios we went to MK and rode Pirates of the Caribbean and it's a small world (why is this ride title always lowercase?), and tried to ride Haunted Mansion, but it went down. We also did Mickey's Philharmagic, the very first guests in line after the attraction came back from a downtime. After that we got some yummy Sleepy Hollow waffles for dinner, and got a nice bridge spot for the fireworks! The first night we watched them, on Saturday, we were squished together and people blocked our view, so even though this view wasn't technically as good, it was much more enjoyable. We also stuck around for Once Upon A Time, which is really nice because no one stays for that show so the crowds are minimal.

November 16th (Thursday): This was our chill day since we had such a busy park schedule. In the morning I took my mom to Cast Connections, the cast only discount store, where we found a few GREAT finds. Then when we got back to the hotel and met up with my dad, we walked around the lake, checking out the other hotels (Yacht & Beach Club borders both the Swan & Dolphin Resort and the Boardwalk), and also got to check out our hotel pool. It was a great pool with two waterslides, two hot tubs, a mini lazy river, some waterfalls, and lots of different pool areas. After the pool we went to Disney Springs and got a salted caramel sundae from Ghiradelli, then went and saw Thor: Ragnorak, which was really funny. Then off to the Polynesian for an 'Ohana dinner! Dinner was good as always but CRAZY busy. We took the monorail to Magic Kingdom then transferred there to a bus back to our hotel and an early-ish night in.

November 17th (Friday): We spent most of the day in Magic Kingdom, doing the rides we didn't get to cover before (including SPLASH MOUNTAIN up from refurbishment!!). So we rode Peter Pan's Flight, Space Mountain, Winnie the Pooh, Splash Mountain (twice), Big Thunder Mountain, the Barnstormer, Mine Train, the PeopleMover, and did Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor where my dad was chosen to be Mike. Go dad! On our way out we got to run into my good friend Michaelene, killing it at Main Street PAC, and we also got to watch the Flag Retreat. A great sendoff to our day in MK.

We went to Epcot after that, and we shopped around the worlds a little bit, spending more time in the showcases than we had before. After Epcot we got cleaned up for dinner and ate at Yachtsman Steakhouse in our resort, obviously getting steak for dinner (REALLY GOOD filet mignon). The ambiance/atmosphere was really beautiful, and clearly ship-inspired which is totally my family's vibes. So we really enjoyed dinner, along with some drinks, and a couple desserts. Then a short walk back to the hotel!

November 18th (Saturday): We got breakfast at the Boardwalk Bakery, which was a great find, then walked a little around the lake again, stopping in a few places. The Christmas stuff went up, so we got to see the Yacht Club Christmas tree and train set, as well as the Beach Club Christmas tree and gingerbread carousel! Fun to see our resort totally transform without our noticing. We packed up our stuff, then I said goodbye to my parents and made my way home to get ready for work. I worked from 4:15pm - 12:45am and had a pretty good shift! It was hard going back to work after such a wonderful week off, but I kind of need to afford my rent, so off to work I go! I was Mine Train like always, and the day was uneventful, except the very end where I had this IRATE guest who wanted free FastPasses because our queue fans made him cold. Interesting, right?

November 19th (Sunday): I was at the mine again from 4:15pm - 12:45am, and I basically worked the same bits of rotation the entire shift. So I kept pulling the same positions after breaks, which then rotate to a different position (but a position that always comes after the first, so basically I worked four positions for my entire shift). We had this nasty guest situation though, where my grouper was measuring a girl who was too short to ride, but the family was PISSED and said she passed it out front and had ridden the ride twice already (she did, they had pictures). So that SUCKS for the family, but for safety reasons we can't let her ride, the height requirement is there for a reason. So my grouper is telling them this but they're livid (rightfully so) and want a manager, so I get to stand with them while we call my coordinator and they were awful. Well my coord comes by and talks to them and measures the kid and they're like "so she can ride right? She already rode it" and my coord is like "uh she's not even close". Hahaha. Of course he said it nicer than that and was really apologetic, taking them out front to re-measure and everything, but this family was NOT having it. They were saying our height sticks are different measurements, which is not true because we have to measure them both every morning. Well anyway, they made my grouper cry, but she was only doing her job. That's pretty much it! I closed merge, so I got to see the last guests in line and close out the queue, then head home!

I had the most wonderful week with my family and I was SO SAD to see them go, but I'm really glad I got to have the quality time with them that I did :) Love you guys, see you in January!! Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas!

Week Forty-Two: MRI, Famous People, and Family!

Another week full of the Mine Train.

November 6th (Monday): I had to wake up SUPER early to get an MRI on my ankle for an old injury that's been flaring up. My appointment was at 6:50am, so that was rough. After my MRI I met up with Martia for breakfast at First Watch which was really tasty (eggs benedict, yum!!). Then I went home and took a nap before work (naturally), and had a great day at work. I pulled tower three times (bless, a chair and no guest interaction), and didn't pull greeter or merge at all!!! We also had to emergency stop the ride and go down for like an hour, but luckily all the hard stuff happened while I was on my lunch, and I got off lunch just in time to go reset the track! Fun stuff!

November 7th (Tuesday): I woke up early, made cookies, and had a pizza bagel for breakfast (I really need to go grocery shopping). At work I pulled a lot of busy positions, which is fine as long as guests listen to you and follow direction. I also got to see a bunch of circus friends who rode Mine Train!! So fun seeing them. We also had Fifth Harmony ride, but they rode in small groups to attract less attention.

November 8th (Wednesday): Everyone and their mother forgot their cellphone on the Mine Train, or dropped it outside the vehicle, so that was fun. I also had a bad headache, our kitchen in the apartment was an atrocious disaster, and my breaks came early. So not such a fun day. Also people kept exiting on the wrong side of the mine car, like people there's a barrier there for a reason, not to mention cast members spieling "please exit to your right". Luckily I pulled lots of console positions, so not super stressful positions.

November 9th (Thursday): My NINTH day in a row of work, so I was pretty burnt out and exhausted. We had Holly Madison on the train (the famous Playboy bunny), so I guess that's cool? Also I worked for forty minutes before I realized I forgot my name tag, so that was awesome. AND we were posting a 40-minute wait when it was actually 90. So that wasn't so fun.

November 10th (Friday): I went to Universal in the morning, then went and picked up my parents from the airport. We stopped by my apartment, so they got to see where I live, and we spent the evening in Disney Springs. We got dinner at Homecomin' Kitchen, which is a really fun restaurant in Disney Springs. During dinner, however, we heard that my sister's flight was cancelled due to an exploding bag in the Orlando Airport (overheated lithium camera battery), so we had a few hours of STRESS where we had to book her a different flight through an airline that was still flying to Orlando (everyone but Frontier apparently), and figure out her SuperShuttle thing. So stressful. But thankfully she made it on a flight, even though it was delayed by like four hours, and she got to Orlando at like 10am. We stayed at Coronado Springs on Friday, then the Yacht Club all the other days.

November 11th (Saturday): We met my sister at the Yacht Club, then spent the day in Epcot for the Food & Wine Festival. We tried the Greek nachos, beef and potatoes from Belgium, Thai chicken with peanut sauce, and a few other things. We also rode (via FastPass) Living with the Land, Spaceship Earth, and Soarin'. Then we headed off to Magic Kingdom and rode (mostly via FastPass) Dumbo, Mine Train, Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, and the PeopleMover. Maybe one or two others as well. We also watched the fireworks, and though we had a spot with a good view, it was INSANELY full of people and super stressful.

November 12th (Sunday): We got up nice and early to go to Animal Kingdom before park open and get in line for Flight of Passage. We got to DAK around 8:35am, the park was scheduled to open at 9am, but they were already letting people through. I'm guessing people were starting to get backed up behind security and so they opened to park to help with crowd control. That's just a guess though. We ended up waiting about an hour for FoP, and when we got off they were already posting 200 minutes so PHEW. After that we used a FP for Everest, then went to Festival of the Lion King where my wonderful roommate hooked us up with front row seats and a cast meet and greet!! THANKS JANI!!!! SO AMAZING. My dad was chosen to lead the elephant section, so that was fantastic.

We also rode Kilimanjaro Safari and Dinosaur with FP, and walked both the Maharaj Jungle Trek and Gorilla Falls trails. After DAK we went to Epcot for Food & Wine day two, and got the spicy Ethiopian lentil stew, potstickers from China, a cocktail and beef and potatoes from France, and beer cheese soup and filet mignon from Canada. We also rode Nemo and got to close out the park on the Frozen ride! We waited maybe 20 minutes for it.

Fantastic weekend with the fam!! More on our family vacation to come :)

Week Forty-One: "Where do the dwarfs poop and pee?"

I was at the mine all week again, remember when I worked in the circus? I kind of miss the circus but they won't schedule me there at all, so that's a bummer.

October 30th (Monday): I worked from 3:15pm - 10:45pm. I did laundry in the morning before heading off to work, and work was weird. I pulled FastPass twice (my least favorite position), and that was a bummer because it was NUTS. The end of the month gets like this because Guest Relations (and some other Cast Member positions) will hand out paper FastPasses as a form of guest recovery if a guest is having issues with their FP media, or is just complaining a lot. These paper FP's are good for the month, so they expired October 31st. Well since it's the end of the month, people are cashing in on those paper FP's (which there are a lot of because they've been circulating all month, and there's a lot by the end of the month). So anyhoo, the FP line gets crazy backed up, which is not fun. ALSO I had this psycho woman at the end of the night. It was Extra Magic Hours (for Disney resort guests only) from 9pm - 11pm, and starting at 9pm we scan people's magic bands before they can enter so we know that they're staying on property. Well this lady grabs her kids and tries to push by me, so I ask to scan a magic band and a kid lets me do it and it says "no current resort reservation" so I'm like "oh, are you staying on property?" and the lady says "oh COME ON" and I'm like "I'm sorry, EMH started 10 minutes ago, the park is now closed to day guests. And she is like "ARE YOU SERIOUS" and I'm like "yes" and she just grabs her kids and pushes past me to get in line anyway, so I say "ma'am, the line is closed to day guests, it's for resort guests only" and she keeps ignoring me and gets in line, so I say "ma'am, I WILL call security" at which point she finally turns around and gets in my face and is like "are you being serious with me right now?!" and I was like "yes, I'm sorry, but the park is closed to day guests" and she stomps off yelling how unmagical her day was. Well, next family in line is like "you handled that SO well, that family actually pushed in front of all of us so we're so glad you turned her away". So that was crazy!!! But I feel good about how I handled it.

October 31st (Tuesday): Day off! For some reason a bunch of us got Halloween off, so we started the day at Epcot and did Colortopia in Innoventions, rode Soarin', the new green Mission: Space, and Test Track. And of course ate around the world for Food & Wine. Then we went to Magic Kingdom and rode Mine Train, Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain, and Dumbo! And watched Mickey's Royal Friendship Faire, which I had never watched beginning to end.

November 1st (Wednesday): I worked from 7:30am - 4pm. We had Extra Magic Hours in the morning and it was SO slow that we actually sent a few empty trains! Amazing, right! I ended with positions I liked, so it was a good day! Also, I got some compliments from our efficiency Cast Members (trainers who were scheduled to help us hit our numbers), so that felt nice.

November 2nd (Thursday): I worked 1:15pm - 9:45pm and they completely changed our grouping line on us without telling us. So surprise!! We used to have an odds line and an evens line, so we would pull roughly ten people from each line, and could fill every seat in the train. Now we have one line, so it's easier to group, but harder to fill a train. Because we used to pair odd parties, but now they're all mixed together so you have an empty seat here and there. But I think it's actually a little easier. Also I had a family come through with a kid that had no shoes, and when I said they needed shoes to ride, they told me that they lost them. How do you lose a pair of shoes? So that was weird. Oh, and I had a billion wheelchairs when I was in charge of our wheelchair guests, so that got a little hectic.

November 3rd (Friday): I worked from 2pm - 10:15pm and had the CUTEST little girl come through. I was a FP and a family came up and was just like "we couldn't find a FP, can we come through?" and I was like "sure, why not, let's make a little magic" and when they came back out the little girl came and gave me the biggest hug. She was SO CUTE!!! I mostly pulled positions I really like, and my bump out came SUPER early, so my last half hour I got paid to sit in the break room. Great day.

November 4th (Saturday): I worked from 10:15am - 9:45pm. I was supposed to be bridge support from 7pm - 9:45pm, but they pulled me to mine because they were short. THANK GOODNESS because I hate bridge support. Work was pretty good, I got more compliments from our efficiency team at grouper. Also, we had a VIP tour group waltz on up the exit, which means they were high profile apparently a group of Disney Channel stars (but I didn't recognize any of them). There's also a possibility it was Nick Lachey and crew. I don't now, I don't recognize any of the famous people. And I got to stop the ride at one point because a lady sprinted back into the station while the train was moving to grab her popcorn bucket (insert major eye roll here, what part of that seems like a good idea).

November 5th (Sunday): I worked from 4pm - midnight, my first real closing shift! I closed grouper so I got to end my night with a ride through, which is wonderful :') I also had a guy come up to me that apparently graduated from my high school back in 2011, two years before my graduation! So that's a crazy small world. I also had the FUNNIEST little boy come up to me in line (he was probably four or five years old) and he's like "excuse me I have a question" and I'm like "sure, what's up?" "where do the dwarfs pee and poop?" HAHAHAHAHA this kid was concerned that he would see dwarf pee and poop on the ride! SO FUNNY AND CUTE. His mom is like "I'm sure they have bathrooms" so I went along with it and told him that dwarfs wanted to keep the ride nice and clean for the guests. That was probably my favorite question I've ever been asked. AND THEN (funny stories continue) I was at a console where you check lap bars and send the train and I had a guy with a prosthetic leg that couldn't fit both knees (because of the prosthetic) under the lap bar. He asked me where the exit was so I pointed, assuming it was because he was going to exit. Then he tells me "I was just asking because I'll fit fine if I take off the prosthetic" so I'm like yeah for sure, do what you gotta do, assuming he'll just take it off and ride with the prosthetic, because people do that sometimes. Nope, he hands it to me to wait for him at the exit. So here I am, marching down to unload (the exit), holding a man's lower prosthetic leg, tennis shoe and everything to tell that Cast Member "this is for the guest in train 6, row 4". My coordinator had to leave the station, he was laughing so hard. And the man was SUPER nice about it, it just looked ridiculous, me holding this leg. But he fit and got to ride, so all is well!

And that sums up my week! MY FAMILY COMES ON FRIDAY AND I AM SO EXCITED!!!!! I got EIGHT days off in a row BLESS.

Week Forty: Six Day Workweek, Devil's Den, and Hoop Dee Doo Musical Revue

October 23rd (Monday): I worked at the mine from 11am to 11 pm and it was pretty good! I had a few tough groups while at grouper and station assist (the positions that put people into their rows) but aside from that, positions weren't bad. I had a little boy ask if I wanted a hug (always yes) which was cute, and had some really cute families come through FastPass. I was out there at the end of the night and had a little more leniency to let families through, so I let a little girl and her mom ride who had tried to go ride Soarin' only to find out the little girl was a hair too small. They came back around and the little girl gave me a "princess hug" which was ADORABLE. Also it's a lot harder to say no to people when it's late at night and you're sick of getting yelled at haha.

October 24th (Tuesday): I only had one day off this week (the Sunday - Saturday work week), and that happened to be on Tuesday. I got up early and went to Devil's Den with Martia and some circus friends! Devil's Den is an awesome underground spring you can snorkel/scuba dive in about two hours north/northwest (I think) of Orlando.

So we did that then stopped at Olive Garden on the way home for lunch, and ended our evening at Michaelene's house playing games and watching Dance Moms.

October 25th (Wednesday): I was at the mine from noon to 8:30pm, DREAM SHIFT. It started out good, then was kind of bad, then ended good. In the middle of my shift I was grouping and was being watched by my coordinator who told me every time I did something wrong, so that was stressful and made me feel like an idiot but it all turned around after that! AND IT WAS COOL ENOUGH I GOT TO WEAR MY JACKET. Also we had this older man on the train who was SUPER cranky. He "asked" me to pop his lap bar ("hey release my lap bar so I can switch with my kid") and switched seats with this small child. He then starts to turn so that his legs wouldn't just be under his own lap bar, and my coworker says "actually sir, your knees have to be under the same lap bar" and this guy goes "well why didn't you tell me that before I switched seats, that would have been more useful to know" and rolls his eyes. He gets his lap bar down but looks EXTREMELY uncomfortable so I ask him "sir, are you sure you'll be alright for the two and a half minute ride?" and he just goes "I'll be fine just leave me alone" LIKE OKAY SIR. Super rude, but whatever. My coord saw the whole thing go down and was like you guys did everything you were supposed to.

October 26th (Thursday): I had a 9:15am doctor's appointment in the morning for some chronic ankle pain that's been flaring up (I have to go get an MRI next Monday) and went to Animal Kingdom between the doctor and work. My friend, Katy, from my first program (the one we stayed with on our road trip down to Disney in Louisville) and her family were here for a few days so I met up with them in the park! We rode the Kilimanjaro Safari together and basically just walked around for an hour, then I saw Festival of the Lion King by myself and got lunch :)

I had a treat shift from 6:30pm to 12:30am! Last one of the season for me. It was a really fun treat shift, my mine train coworker Remy and I worked the exit candy barrels with a Mermaid ICP from New Zealand and a merchandise ICP from Australia. We had people taking photos with us, and we were in a bunch of live streams and YouTube videos so that was super fun!! I had a lot more fun this treat shift, people were just nicer and less greedy than last time.

October 27th (Friday): I worked at the mine from 9am - 5:30pm and I was SO tired. It was an 8.5 hour turnaround from the night before, so I felt exhausted for my shift. It was a great shift though, I got to pull tower TWICE (you get to sit in this position and not talk to people) and it wasn't too busy. We had a TEN minute wait (yes, a true ten) at 5pm!! INSANE! Also I had some guests in FP that didn't have FP's but were giving me so much trouble I just let them through and told them "next time....blah blah blah". Well the next party in line was a VIP tour group that had seen me getting low key harassed and just come up and say "we appreciate you Marin" and I really appreciated THEM. We don't get a lot of appreciation, so thank you tour group! After work I changed and went into MK to meet up with Katy and her family again. We rode Barnstormer, Mine Train, and Peter Pan, and got Sleep Hollow waffles for a snack/dinner.

October 28th (Saturday): I was supposed to be at the mine from 9:15am - 5:45pm but got an ER to go home at 4:15pm instead! Work was nuts, we were posting 160 minutes as a wait time for a couple of hours, so it was a true 160 minute wait. FP was INSANE, my leader was actually out front helping us because so many people were there and we were getting backed up and no one in the FP line had valid FP's and it was stressful. But on the bright side it was cold enough to wear my jacket at work :) AND after work I got to go to Hoop Dee Doo Musical Revue (restaurant/dinner show at Fort Wilderness) with Jenna and Kasia! Small world, we ran into one of our leaders Katie, exiting her show! She did the 6:15pm and we did the 8:30pm. Hoop is super fun, it's an all you can eat, family style restaurant that has bottomless sangria/beer/wine/soft drinks, salad, cornbread, mashed potatoes, corn, beans, fried chicken, BBQ ribs, man and cheese (by request), and DELICIOUS strawberry shortcake for dessert. In between courses there are six actors/actresses who sing and dance and are super fun. They were a mix of a performer and a stand-up comedian. Cast Members get 50% off, so it cost $37 per person including tip, and we were seated on the second story balcony. Also I got a birthday shoutout so that was fun! I would definitely recommend it, it's super fun and well worth the cast discount. The food isn't incredible by any means, but it's worth a trip :)

October 29th (Sunday): I was off today :) YAY!! I went to Epcot in the morning/afternoon with Martia and we rode Living With the Land and Spaceship Earth. Living With the Land had a FORTY MINUTE WAIT. When is the last time you saw that?! Luckily we had FP's for both :) We also walked the World Showcase (I walked it twice) and got some lunch and snacks. Food & Wine ends in two weeks, so you gotta take advantage of it now! I got home around 5pm and now I'm just relaxing and keeping up on the Seahawks game. Go Hawks!!

I've got a pretty easy two weeks coming up then MY FAMILY COMES TO VISIT AND I CAN'T WAIT!!!! The only bummer is that I have to work eight days in a row, but that's okay :) Also I got back to the normal evening/closing hours. The mid shifts were fun while they lasted :')