[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!

...there was a little girl...

Why do we have to grow up? I know more adults who have the children's approach to life. They're people who don't give a hang what the Joneses do. You see them at Disneyland every time you go there. They are not afraid to be delighted with simple pleasures, and they have a degree of contentment with what life has brought - sometimes it isn't much, either.

-Walt Disney

So this is a story about a little girl who loved Disney.  Day and night she would watch the movies and sing the songs, play with the dolls and color the pictures.  It was a vicious cycle with which her parents had to deal.  One day that little girl did something absolutely horrible... she grew up!  The little girl became a not-so-little girl and then a big girl and then a big, big girl.  She still watched Disney movies, but now she liked other things like science fiction and ghost stories.  The big, big girl went to college and became interested in forensic anthropology and medical anthropology and archaeology and lots of things.  The big, big girl became interested in so many things that she didn't know what she was going to do when she left school.  "I am going to graduate school," the big, big girl would answer when anyone asked what her plans were, but in truth she did not really know much about what she would do at graduate school.  "I am going to take a year off," the big, big girl began saying when people would ask her about her plans.  So then the problem came to light, what would the big, big girl do during that year?  That big, big girl decided to think what that little girl would do and she found a solution.

In case it wasn't not terribly clear, I am that "girl".  I was accepted into the Disney College Program as a character attendant for the Fall Advantage 2011 season.  Basically, I am going to be away from my family and friends for seven months, working in Disney World.  Not that everyone will miss me, but I made a blog to post pictures and videos to my family and friends.  If they are really feeling up to it, they can read my rambles as well.  I also wanted to create a scrapbook that I can look back on after these seven months are over and since I am rubbish at actually scrapbooking, a blog seemed like the next logical option.

My first day is May 23, 2011.  Until then I have three final papers, two presentations, an eportfolio, three short responses, and grading/proctoring a test standing in the way of me and Disney, then it will be so long cornandsoyfields and hello Cinderella's castle! 

Disney Countdown:  28 days