Month 3: Goodbye ESPN, Transfers, and Seattle!

Is it September already?! The Halloween decorations are all put up in Magic Kingdom, which means it is officially fall. August has been a very eventful month, so let's hope I can remember most of what happened!

First of all, I had my last day at ESPN, and all of my friends are gone. This is what absolutely sucks about extending your program. Although I've made new friends in my new location, it's nothing compared to the summer full of memories I have with my ESPN family. However, there is a bright side to this situation. I have officially decided to travel after my program to visit some of my friends abroad! I will be going to Scotland, England, and Thailand so far. I have not bought a plane ticket from Bangkok to anywhere else yet, as I can't currently afford it. But once I save up, we'll see where I decide to go next!

 

I completed my training at ODF (outdoor foods) in Magic Kingdom, and it's not half bad. I mostly do mobile vending, so I'm that person with the food cart that walks in front of the parades. It's a very independent job, so I don't interact with my coworkers as much as I did at ESPN. I do like it though, because there is a lot more guest interaction. My time at ODF has definitely helped me to improve my guest service skills, as well as my ability to communicate across language barriers.

One of my seven costumes at ODF!

In mid-August, I took a week and a half off to visit my family and friends in Seattle! August is my favorite time to visit home because all my friends are actually home from college and in the area. Plus, I was able to see my best friend who just returned from his mission in Brazil! It was such an amazing week, and I miss it already! Luckily, we all have an excuse to get together again next summer, as my other best friend is getting married! July couldn't come any sooner!

Green Lake Park in Seattle

I also had the opportunity to go to Universal Studios. It was so much fun, as I had not been there in over a year. Hogwarts and Diagon Alley was just as amazing as I remembered it to be. And boy, did I miss actual thrill rides! Disney rides are great and all, but they do nothing to appease my craving for a full-on adrenaline rush. The Hulk, on the other hand, does just that.

The next day, I ended up going to the doctor and finding out I had tonsillitis. This was probably one of the most painful things I have experienced. They put me on antibiotics, I took three days off work, and I am just now starting to feel normal again, almost two weeks later.

Other than this, not much has happened. Its been a busy month, so I haven't spent much time in the parks. I have some big plans in store for this month, though, so stay tuned for my Month 4 update!

Universal Studios

As college students, we strive to spend the least amount of money possible. However, I strongly advise you not to stay completely true to this philosophy while participating in the Disney College Program. If you consistently stay at home in an effort to save every dime you make, you will not have a great time. I spent about 90% of the money I made on trips, concerts, and food. I don’t regret it one bit because I had the most life changing experience while on my DCP!

So buy next piece of advice to you: buy a Universal Studios annual pass! I know, we all love the Disney parks, but sometimes I felt like I just had to get away from it all and trade in Aladdin’s flying carpets for a roller coaster that makes your head spin! Not to mention the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, the Hulk, Halloween Horror Nights, Transformers, and so much more! The pass is only a little over $100, which sounds like a lot, but it pays for itself within two visits. I bought my pass halfway through my program in October, but I wish I had bought it sooner. I ended up visiting Universal about four or five times in the last couple months of my program.

With that said, buy the annual pass! Especially if you are an adrenaline/roller coaster junkie or a huge Harry Potter fan like I am, you will not regret this purchase. Actually, now that I mention it, I think I'll try to make another visit to Universal Orlando before my pass expires!

Hello Internet!

It's been a while, hasn't it? With a friendly push in the blogging direction from my best friend back home, I have decided that it is due time for another update from the wonderful world of the Disney College Program. With it being a month and a half since I last blogged, I will skip over the monotonous day-to-day items (wake up, work, hang out with friends, sleep) and detail the only-in-Orlando events that I have experienced!

Life In Color  This is a giant outdoor paint party that features a few DJs, and is in downtown Orlando. I went with a few friends from work, it was ridiculously expensive, but was definitely worth it! It had a huge party atmosphere and was so much fun. Even after six hours of dancing, paint covering every inch of the crowd, and lost voices from screaming, I wasn't ready to leave! Luckily there is another Life In Color in Miami at the end of December that we're all considering going to. And even better, this one is 11 hours long! Fingers crossed that this actually happens!

Halloween Horror Nights Me being afraid of every little thing that involves blood, gore, or things popping out at you, I was set on not attending this event at Universal Studios in Orlando. However, a bunch of people from work were going and they finally convinced me to pay $40 to get the living daylights scared out of me. Luckily it was still daylight when we got there, so I was confident and ready to go! However, the sun soon started setting, and the walkers came out. What's a walker, you may ask? Well let me enlighten you! Everyone is casually strolling about Universal when a white van pulls up in the middle of the street. Out of the back comes a man with an AK-47, which he pounds on the side of the vehicle. Suddenly the lights come on, and you see that the van is full of people. No wait, those aren't people. The back doors fly open and zombies come pouring out and begin chasing innocent victims through the streets. Those are walkers. I nearly peed my pants. But anyway! The main part of Halloween Horror Nights are the eight haunted houses that they have around the park. We had time to go into six of them. As the night drew on and my tiredness set in, I got more and more scared, but was surprised to notice that I wasn't as scared at the beginning. Despite this, I was still anxious to get out as soon as possible as to avoid the walkers, but all in all, it was a great night!

Mickey's Not-So-Scary This Halloween Party was a nice change of pace from the one at Universal Studios, and is held every year in Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom. Normally a firework and castle show, Wishes, occurs every night in this park. During the party, however, we got to see Hallo-Wishes! It was so cool to see them project different images onto the castle, in sync with the music, fireworks, and narration as well. Brilliant! Then my roommates and I patrolled around the Magic Kingdom looking to collect as much candy as possible. I think it was a successful night seeing as I nearly filled up my entire backpack! At the end of the party, we saw the Halloween parade. There was waltzing zombies, scary floats, and the Disney Villains came out to play! Loved it!



Epcot International Food & Wine Festival I have been to this event twice now, held in Walt Disney World's Epcot park. The world showcase normally features stores, attractions, and food from different countries around the world. But for just over a month, additional stands are set up in each of these countries, offering specialty food and drinks specific to those locations. And to finish of your night right, you can watch the fireworks show at Epcot, Illuminations! For future reference, the best spot to watch it from is in Mexico!

Disney's VoluntEARS Disney helps to set up a variety of service projects, which I think is so awesome! A group of us from work recently had the opportunity to go and volunteer at a dog shelter. It was a very small facility that housed dogs that were abandoned and/or injured. Each person was given a dog to go on a walk with. There was about twenty dogs, and it is hard for every single one of them to get in the exercise they need, so they rely on volunteers like us. Most of the people went off with their dogs to play together, but the dog I was given, Sicily, had only just arrived in the shelter. You could tell she looked so sad and scared, I couldn't believe someone would just abandon her like that. After only a half hour walking in a secluded area away from the other dogs, Sicily began to warm up fast to me - even the manager at the shelter noticed! I just wanted to take her home, she was so cute!

 The Wizarding World of Harry Potter This park is located in Universal Studio's Island of Adventure. Let's just make it clear that I am one of the biggest Harry Potter fans, and it has been my dream to visit this place since its construction was announced. Never have I though that I would actually have the opportunity to visit this place, and can I just say it was amazing! Universal quickly became my favorite theme park in the world. (Yes, more so than Disney World). When I walked through the first archway into Hogsmead, I could feel the tears welling in my eyes. Pathetic, I know. Good thing I was wearing sunglasses! If you go, be sure to try the frozen butterbeer - it is to die for! And all the rides are so good! Dueling dragons is definitely for adrenaline junkies like myself, so I absolutely loved it! But the Forbidden Journey is the first one you have to ride when you go - they did such a great job with the visual and physical effects! And luckily, I purchased an annual pass, so I can visit this place as much as my little heart desires until October of 2014!

Universal Studios How could I not go ahead and explore Universal Studios after visiting Harry Potter World?! When I went to Halloween Horror Nights, I wasn't able to ride the attractions here, so I thought I would take advantage of this opportunity. And oh my god! The rides are SO much better than Disney World, just saying! The roller coasters are bigger, faster, and scarier, and that's all I could ask for! I mean, the Rocket went straight up. Straight up! And the Hulk was the craziest roller coaster I have been on in my life! Universal did not fail to impress, and I will return very soon with my annual pass!



So that about sums it up. It's safe to say that my life has pretty much been made - it's crazy that so many of my lifelong dreams have been coming true since I started my college program, and it's stuff that I had accepted would never happen. But look at me! Disney World, Universal Studios, Harry Potter World, a real college experience! And not to mention next Friday I leave for New York! It is all seriously a dream come true and I don't think I've ever been as happy as I am right now. I love my job, I love my friends, and I love my life!