A Taste of May and June

This was my first time seeing this parade

Traditions!

The castle during my Welcome to Entertainment class

This is the tale of Captain Jack Sparrow...

Teacups... we weren't moving yet.

The Magic, the Memories, and YOU!

They burned the castle!

Welcome to the Jungle... of the Moon of Endor.

Can I call you Ani?

Belle

Aurora

Snow White

Let's All Jump Into Our Delorean

Yes, I know.  I am bad at updating things.  Ask my mom... I can start so many different projects with good intentions, but finishing them is not something I am excellent at.  So let's pretend that it is June...

Patterson Court (aka- Home Sweet Home)

This is where I live- Patterson Court.  We have a pond that is facing our window and we are within easy  walking distance of the pool and laundry.  When I say we I am talking about me and my five other roommates.  Each of them have different quirks and personalities and so far we have all hit it off really well.  Many of them were involved in theater so we are a bunch of "drama queens", but not in the negative sense.  My suitemate is pretty awesome and I was lucky enough to meet her in line during registration.  We all like to talk in the living room and watch movies and go to the parks together.  Some of us even became famous...

The picture in the upper-left hand corner is me and three of my roommates at the Very Unbirthday Welcome Party, which appeared in our monthly CP hand-out.

We all have nicknames that have been bequeathed to us by the guy who lives across the hall (who just so happens to be going out with one of us) and mine happens to be "Legs".  I am yet again the tallest girl that I know, but it is okay because the only people that like to point it out are guests.
This leads me to work. 

Me in my Character Attendant finest

Disney is pretty cool.  Everyone knows what the parks are like either through personal experience or through pictures or movies.  I never realized how much I didn't know about the parks or Disney until I got this job.  As a character attendant I am expected to watch over my assigned character(s) and make sure that guests are lined up and informed.  Training for this job was only one week, but it was like being thrown into the lions' den.  Not that it was hard or dangerous, but it was mortifying.  There I am, standing with the one and only Mickey Mouse and I have to quell the masses and morph the blob of excited children and parents into a distinguishable line.  Oh, the adrenaline rush! 
Outside of training was not quite as intense.  Being with Princess Aurora or Marie or Mulan wasn't too bad and was pretty fun.  Getting to talk to the guests is very entertaining, especially  when the child is as into Disney as I am.  Then there are the times you hang out with Belle and Beast or Aladdin and Jasmine and you get a different perspective.
As a guest before I had never focused on the characters (I had even been frightened of them on the first trip to Disney World).  Now I am witnessing first hand how important characters are to people and it is over my head!  Sometimes people will lie, sometimes people will beg, sometimes people will try to scare or frighten you.  We are the blue shirts of animosity.  This doesn't take away from the job, in fact it makes the day go by because things are not as monotonous, but it sure creates a shock factor to Disney World that I have never experienced before.  This is especially concentrated in lines for popular characters such as Belle and Beast (yes, Belle is in her blue dress and she likes to wear her gold dress for special occasions) and Jasmine and Aladdin (they have to catch up with Magic Carpet and fly back to Agrabah now). 
Nevertheless, I have what I would consider the best role and the best roommates and I am pretty much having the best time.

[Insert Travelling Pun Here]

I finally made it to Orlando.

Window Seat!

I am not trying to be artsy or clever.  I am legitimately entertained by looking out the window of airplanes for two hours.

And look who greeted me!

Like a lot of the CPers (college program interns) that stay the night near Disney before check-in, I stayed at the Holiday Inn Resort Lake Buena Vista.  If anyone who plans to do the Disney College Program and stay at this hotel stumbles upon my blog, please note:  MEARS TAKES YOU DIRECTLY TO THIS HOTEL!!!!  That was my problem, finding a way to get from the airport to the hotel.  My driver was pretty awesome, too.  He was a retired Greyhound driver and gave me tips on what roads to know and where important Orlando landmarks are.  There were also two women who were kind enough to entertain me.  So disaster averted thanks to a handful of people that aren't me, including my mother and father who had to look up phone numbers and directions. Thanks.

The view from my window

So what is a person to do when they have an afternoon to themselves in Orlando, FL?  Examine their room and then promptly fall asleep to Marlon Brando trying to sing Luck be a Lady.  I know... wild and crazy, right?  To be honest, I was exhausted and that Diet Coke at the airport had already gone through my system.  Plus, look at those pillows!

That is a hippo on my pillow

Tomorrow is my first day and I am somewhere between apprehensive and really excited, but I can't wait to get those Mickey Mouse name tags I keep seeing everywhere!

Ghosts of Disney Past- 1992 to 2005

So I got lazy and just threw the rest of them together. 
In 2005, my family went to Europe and went from England to France to Belgium to Italy.  It was awesome, but halfway through we (meaning me and my little brother) were museum-ed and history-ed out.  We were in Paris and staying at a really awesome hotel that was castle themed that was on Disneyland Paris and everyday we walked by the parks to go to Paris.  So mom caved and let us go to Magic Kingdom on our last day.  It was cold and overcast, but we were thrilled (or at least I was).  Come to find out that Europe has pretty nifty rides in their Magic Kingdom like the Indiana Jones roller coaster and a upscale Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion as well as an upgraded Space Mountain. 

Sleeping Beauty's Castle at Magic Kingdom Disneyland Paris- Supposedly Cinderella's Castle was off limits because it was based on a castle in Germany and that presented a problem.  I would what Prince Phillip thinks of his home being entirely pink and robins egg blue?



The most excellent Space Mountain 2 that shot you off into space and twisted and spun you everywhere.  It is a step up from the Disney World one, but the only downside is you have to listen to annoying people bash the USA in English just because they know they can speak the only language you know.



Indiana Jones ride, which also took you upside down

... and Teacups!

 In sometime during middle school and before my first band trip, we went as a family to Disney World to fully appreciate it before my brother was too old for it.  I clearly never grew up because I am going back down in ten days!



Teacups again, but in the USA

Mom and I were excited to see Belle, but Kyle wasn't so much.

 Before that we went in 1995 because I had an uncle get married and you can't take an enormous amount of young cousins to Florida without making a pit stop at Disney World.

Me and my cousins waited in line just for Mickey

So I reach the first time I went to Disney World.  I know that I went out of order and backwards and that is just weird.  I searched through my mom's photo albums to find these last pictures so it was necessary.  It was 1992 and I was little.  I don't remember too much about this trip besides what I am told.  Supposedly I was sick at one point and was frightened by the trolls on the Norway Pavilion in Epcot so my parents were plagued with riding "It's a Small World" over and over again.  Plus, I was terrified of Mickey and pretty much anyone that was dressed up.

Me, my mom, and some scary 'dog-thing'

Let's ignore the fact that I had an imaginary friend called Minnie, but suddenly she is huge!  At least dad is having fun.

To be honest, I think the reason I got the Character Attendant role was my story about being terrified as a child of all the characters.  How is that for irony? 

So that is all my Disney World memories.  If I were to actually say all of them I would be still typing on January 3rd and no one really wants to read about all that. 

Ghosts of Disney Past- 8th Grade Trip

Done with my undergraduate year at Indiana University.  That feels really weird.  High school seemed to go on and on forever and ever, but college evaporated into thin air in a snap.  It felt really nice though to have a legitimate answer when someone would ask me "What are you doing after college?"  I would answer, with a smile on my face, "I'm going to Disney World!"  That probably got old fast.  So to prove that I really graduated...

Unfortunately, I still have not received either of my diplomas yet, but here is me and my cousin outside of the great Assembly Hall after commencement.  So, now I am trying to be productive... packing and unpacking, cleaning, plotting (I mean planning), watching Daily Show and Colbert Report, etc.  I have a hotel and a plane ticket.  Now I am going to reminisce some more.
Middle School was the closest to hell I have ever been, but there was one nice, shiny light at the end of the tunnel:  Disney World and Universal Studios.  Marching band gave me my first trip without parents (it would give me several other opportunities like this).  It was scary and frightening, but really it was just awesome.  Below are some really bad quality pictures.  They were taken with a disposable camera and then photographed with an ipod touch... yeah, they are bad, but I like them.

Outside Magic Kingdom (I am the blurry person, second on the left)

Hollywood Studios phone box with friends

He was totally going to jump us as we sailed by.  Don't be fooled by their happy song!

Ghosts of Disney Past- Senior Band Trip

I have only a handful of days left in Bloomington, IN and while I will miss my friends and certain things about this town, I just want to pack for Lake Buena Vista.  So I found old pictures of Disney trips.  Since I am not at home for the earlier pictures I decided to go in reverse order.

Spring Break 2007!

Ready... Set... Go!

Yeah, so I had the opportunity to go on two band trips with my high school marching band.  I am spoiled.  What else can I say?  This is from our senior year trip over Spring Break.  These were "top of the line" transportation vehicles.  At least they did not break down at any point during our trip.

We got to stay at a Disney World Resort:  Disney's All-Star Music Resort.  Luckily, our band got to stay in a good genre's building... rock 'n roll!  That is me at the foot of the 'jukebox'.

I shared the furthest (cleanest) half of the room with my friend Greta.  Cathrin and Lizzy shared the messy half.  I was tempted to put of picture of waking Cathrin up on here, too.  Unfortunately, I think she would have killed me so this will have to do.

These were the fine people I walked around with... in Narnia.

 

Research

This is my kind of research, watching movies.  

General
Which Disney Princess film is your favorite?:  Beauty and the Beast (1991), Princess and the Frog (2009)
Which non-Disney Princess Disney Film is your favorite?: The Great Mouse Detective (1986)
Which Disney film makes you cry the most?:  The Lion King (1994)
Which Disney film makes you the happiest?:  Enchanted (2007)
Which Disney film has the best music?:  Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)
Which Disney film has the best love story?: Enchanted (2007)

Characters
Who is your favorite Disney Princess?:  Belle, Beauty and the Beast
Who is your favorite Disney Prince?:  Prince Adam (aka- the Beast), Beauty and the Beast
Who is your favorite Disney animal sidekick?:  Raymond, but you can call him Ray, The Princess and the Frog
Who is your favorite Disney main character animal?:  Basil of Baker Street, The Great Mouse Detective
Who is your favorite villain?:  Professor Ratigan, The Great Mouse Detective
Which Princess is the prettiest?:  Belle, Beauty and the Beast
Which Prince is the hottest?:  Aladdin, Aladdin

Music
What is your favorite Disney song?:  Belle (reprise), Beauty and the Beast (Alan Menken, Howard Ashman)
What is your favorite Disney villain song?:  Hellfire, Hunchback of Notre Dame (Alan Menken, Stephen Schwartz)
What is your favorite Disney animal song?:  Let Me Be Good To You, The Great Mouse Detective (Henry Mancini)
What is your favorite Disney Princess song?:  Almost There, The Princess and the Frog (Randy Newman)
What is your favorite Disney Prince song?:  One Jump Ahead, Aladdin (Alan Menken, Howard Ashman, Tim Rice)
What is your favorite Disney Prince/Princess duet song?: True Love's Kiss, Enchanted (Alan Menken)
What is your favorite Disney love song?:  Once Upon A Dream, Sleeping Beauty (Sammy Fain, Jack Lawrence)

This or That
Anastasia or Drisella?: Anastasia
Maleficent or Lady Tremaine?:  Maleficent
Jack or Gus-Gus?:  Jack
Iago, Abu, or Raja?: Raja
Magic Carpet or Genie?: Magic Carpet
Flotsum or Jetsum?: Flotsum
Flounder, Sebastian, or Scuttle?: Sebastian
King Triton or the Sultan?: King Triton
Jasmine's Palace or Cinderella's Castle?: Jasmine's Palace
White Rabbit or Cheshire Cat?:  Chesire Cat
Flora, Fauna, or Meriwether?:  Fauna
Rita or Georgette?:  Rita

Marie, Toulouse, or Berlioz?:  Berlioz