Gustav, Hanna and ER Baby!

I've been seating for the last couple of days at the restaurant. I really enjoy seating, you get to talk to the guests and it's not exactly a difficult job. I've been working six hour shifts but today I got ER'd at 4pm! ER stands for Early Release and when there's too many staff on, the managers go round and ask if you want to go home. I only had a couple of hours left but I jumped at the chance anyway. It was great! I like being ER'ed. As I left I kept saying, "ER, Baby!"

The big news at the moment is Gustav and Hanna. Hurricane Gustav is an extremely dangerous hurricane. He is currently a category three storm but looks like he may become a five. Five is the worst you can get. I feel really fortunate in a guilty kind of way because it looks like it will miss us and come barrelling up through New Orleans who are only just getting back on their feet from Katrina who hit three years ago. Katrina was a category three storm so a five is really getting attention. Everyone is watching Gustav like a hawk, just in case he swings to the east but it's unlikely. I feel so sorry for New Orleans. They are very badly situated to deal with hurricanes of any strength, let alone one with winds up to 155mph! They are strongly suggesting the evacuation of New Orleans and that will become mandatory tomorrow morning at 8am. These photos above show Gustav at the moment. It hasn't even hit yet. I really feel for Louisiana and I hope everyone gets through it unscathed up there.

The second storm is TS (Tropical Storm) Hanna. She's quite a way off at the moment and all that's happened is she's made a rather dangerous undercurrent rip off the coast. At the moment, it looks like she will hit the Bahamas and run out of energy before she reaches Florida but once again, we're keeping a weather eye on her, no pun intended. It really looks like this year will be a very active season. It's only August, the middle of hurricane season isn't until September and already we've had eight storms (Arthur, Bertha, Cristobel, Dolly, Edouard, Fay, Gustav and Hanna). The next one will be Ike, followed by Josephine and Kyle. If it's just tropical storms, it won't be too bad but surely one of them will be a hurricane? Still, I'm not too worried. Obviously, I'm slightly nervous but I honestly believe that Disney is one of the safest places to be when a hurricane hits. The people of Florida are so used to hurricanes, they know what to expect and when. They take all of them very seriously, even "diva storms" like Fay (that come, make alot of noise, promise alot worse and then fizzle out). One thing that made me smile is the name for the 20th storm of this year. That will be Hurricane Vicky. My roommate is called Vikki and back home, my mum and little niece both call me Vicky. I can imagine the headlines! "Vicky threatens Florida!", "Bush declares state of emergency from Vicky", "Florida is unprepared for Vicky".....

I'm assigning again tomorrow. I'm hoping I'm only training as I have asked for extra training but it looks like I may be flying solo. I don't like that idea but I guess I'll find out tomorrow.

Oh, one last thing before I go, we've finally got a TV here at 1615! Yay! I got a DVD player at one of the throwouts so I'll set that up in a minute. I cannot believe how long we've gone without TV. When no one's home, the apartment feels so quiet. I turned it on today but I forgot how dire Amercan TV really is. They make an episode of Friends (22 minutes), last an hour due to adverts. I think I'll be using the DVD player most.

Culinary Day

I had a day off yesterday so I made sure to get the heck out of the themeparks. I was just sick of guests and Disney in general so I caught the I-Ride trolley to the opposite end of International Drive and I spent the day getting on and off it at whatever looked interesting. International Drive is quite an interesting place. Obviously, it's all built up around the themeparks but there is more than enough to keep you from getting bored. I had lunch at the Ponderosa and looked at a few of the gift shops. I went out to the mall and I passed Sea World and Wonderworks. It was great to just relax and I went back to work today in a much better mood.

Today was my Culinary Day. That's a day everyone gets in which they work in the kitchen all day. It's a really great way to understand what goes on with preparing the food and how the kitchen really works. It also helps you to learn the menu because you get to prepare and taste the food you;ll be actively upselling to the guests. I started off in the pantry putting together the appetizers and desserts. It was hard to remember what sauce went with what or how much of one item you serve but I got it in the end. I also had the opportunity to try some of the items, such as the creme anglaise and the onion jam (both really nice). I worked all morning on various positions and then I was allowed to go upstairs to the chefs office to try some of the items. I really liked the pork in tamarind sauce and the cottage pie. I wasn't keen on the bangers and mash because the sausages didn't taste like English sausages. Still, I didn't HATE anything, I just preferred certain dishes. In the afternoon, I was preparing the main entrees and it was really hot. I was standing with my back to the ovens and I could feel the sweat rolling down my back. I have nothing but respect for the chefs that manage to work in that heat day in, day out! In the end, I couldn't stand the heat any longer so I volunteered to go into pot wash. I helped out there for twenty minutes and then the day was over.

The weird thing about Culinary Day is you either love it or hate it. I loved it. I enjoyed the break from the normal routine and I really felt I learnt alot. My roommate, Vikki was the other end of the spectrum. She hated it and was glad it was over.

I'm back on regular duty tomorrow. I think I'm seating but it's a six hour shift which is nothing! In fact, I have an easy week of it. I seem to be doing six hour shifts for a while. The only day I'm doing more is when I'm assigning.

I've started proper studying today. I really want to get into service so I've started looking at the menu and learning what I can. It's a little annoying as I know the menu is changing next month but I really want to start.

Anyway, it's getting late! It's already 1.45am and I want to study a bit before bed.

When they are good they are very, very good but when they are bad they make you want to kill yourself!

So, I've abandoned you guys for quite a while recently but I've been caught up with work and stuff. It's been pretty busy and I've been doing extra training for Assignor, plus I had my first Lasses. I've also had my worst night since I got here as well as a couple of moments when I've been deliriously happy! What this is doing to my blood pressure is anyones guess.

Assigner training has been rather difficult. My trainer, Nathan has been training me at the same time as another trainee (Gary). It really hasn't been working out so well as you have to take it in turns so instead of three days of solid training, I've had a day and a half while Gary's had the other day and a half. I was meant to finish with assignor training today but I've told management that I don't feel ready to fly solo. I'm training on it again after my day off.

I had my first Lasses yesterday. Lasses is UK Lasses and its all the girls from the UK pavillion. They get together once a week (on Monday nights) and (from what I can tell) get drunk. I had to be initiated so they mixed up something called a "Death Drink". My God, it was potent! It was basically all the alcohol they had in one drink! Plus, they make you down it (the drink is a pint). Next was a drinking game involving a huge bottle of wine. You just had to down it as fast as possible. I was in a team of five and once that game was done, I was hammered! I sensibly decided to go home but had to stop and ask directions about four times. I don't know how I escaped being hungover this morning.

A couple of days ago, I had a "magic moment" with a guest. We do a regular "Magic Moment" in the Rose and Crown where we choose a child to "start" the fireworks. We give them a magic wand which they wave at the right moment and Illuminations begins! We then have them "direct" the fireworks by pointing the wand at the right moment. The kids honestly believe they are directing the show! I chose a little girl called Lucy and took her down to the waterfront. She loved it! Her face was so lovely to see and I think I saw tears in the eyes of the adults around her. At the end of the evening, Lucy hugged me and I went home feeling like I was covered in pixie dust! It was an incredible feeling!

Yesterday was Colin's birthday and he was at work. I was seating a couple of times in between assigner training and when I seated a couple of women in his section, I let them know it was his birthday. Later, as I was walking past, the family called out to me. They wanted to do something for Colin. I went to Marcel, our manager but he was no help so I went to William, the chef. He arranged a "best wishes"slice of cake which I snuck out to the guests. Then I got together a few servers, plus Colin and we went out to the table where we sang Happy Birthday to Colin and presented the cake. He was so happy he was near tears! I nicknamed the two women "the Lovely Family" for the rest of the night.

Today seemed to be in direct contrast to the last few days though. It has been a terrible day!!!! Absolutely awful!!! The restaurant has been really busy with huge parties of people. I haven't been able to take walk ins all day. A guest came up to the podium where I was greeting and demanded to know why he wasn't being seated instantly as he "made his reservations months ago". He came back throughout the night to complain. He wanted to sit inside, then he wanted to sit outside, then the restaurant was too crowded...the list went on and on. At one point, he came up and screamed, "this is fucking ridiculous, it's a fucking joke. It's nuts." He had a proper go at me and to make it even worse, he added halfway through "I'm sorry, I know this isn't your fault but...." and continued to swear at me. All I could do was stand there apologising and to be honest I don't know what I was apologising for. If you know it's not my fault, why the hell are you yelling at me!?!? I had a completely blank face and I just kept on apologising.

Later on, another guest had a go because they had a reservation but hadn't checked in to say they'd arrived. They'd been waiting for ages, apparantly.

Marcel sent me to Chippie in the evening to restock the condiment cart. I started it but got called back to podium. Then Marcel rang to demand why I hadn't finished in Chippie! By this point, I'd had enough. I went out the back of chippie and just cried my eyes out. Nothing I did seem to be right today. Not once did anyone even notice the million things I did RIGHT, no, it was all about what was wrong. I seriously questionned what the hell I'm doing out here. To my horror, Ashley came out of chippie and caught me crying. Damn! I like to keep up a "tough guy" expression to other people, I fall apart when I'm on my own and no longer have to hold that mask in place. I quickly dried my eyes and got back to work.

After work, we had a "meeting". Read that as "bollicking". They called the podium team into the office and basically told us we're crap and we had complaints and its all our fault. I was ready to grab a steak knife and slit my wrists. I was so quiet in that meeting. At the end they asked for suggestions and I felt the depression lift to be replaced by a spark of anger. I told them I was fed up with no one noticing the 100 good things we do everyday. I said I was fed up with it always being negative, with no one even saying thank you. I think I got my point across.

At the end of the meeting, a server told me a guest wanted to see me in the bar. I sighed heavily, prepared myself for a complaint and went down. To my delight, it was little Lucy, back again for another photo and a hug. Smiling, laughing and talking with her helped alot but once she'd gone, I quietly got my bag, closed my locker and left.

It's our one month anniversary today for my arrival group and I'd planned a party. The "bollicking" went on for an hour so I was late home and everyone was ready to leave. I came through the door, grabbed a pillow and screamed into it. Let me tell you, it does nothing to muffle the sound. I came out of the bedroom with my "mask" on, like nothing was wrong and while everyone had heard the scream, I was so convincing, they thought it had been someone outside. I'd made a video for my group and we all watched it together. We were laughing out loud at some of it and it really helped my mood. I guess everyone has off days. It's just so strange to think little Lucy and the Lovely Family have anything in common with "Swearing Arsehole" and "Mindreader Man". They are all guests but I know which ones I prefer!

I've got tomorrow off so I plan to forget about work for a while. It was a "Jonah Day" in the words of Anne of Green Gables but as she said, "tomorrow is another day with no mistakes in it".

Days off, newbies and Christmas shopping!

I've had the last couple of days off work and it's been brilliant! Just the fact that I don't have to be anywhere or doing anything at a specified time is amazing!

On Thursday, they run a bus from The Commons to the mall. I decided to catch that one but we waited and waited and it never came. The buses here are really unreliable. As there were a group of us, we decided to get a taxi to the Florida Mall instead. Then, when we arrived, we all went our seperate ways.

I spent loads of time at the magic stall. It's alot cheaper than Magic Masters at Downtown Disney but the products are the same. I've stocked up on a few magic tricks so I can keep entertaining the guests. I also spent rather more than I meant to in the Body Shop and Waldenbooks. Plus there are so many clothes shops.....it's a pretty decent mall and I had a great time. They have this one shop which sells weird gadgets and I found something really cool which I bought for my little brother for Christmas. I'm not sure if he has my blog address so I can't say what it is but I know he'll love it. It was on sale so I had to get it there and then. I cannot believe I'm Christmas shopping in August! However, I've really got to start watching the money now! Oooppps!

On the way home from the mall, I called in at the Premium Outlets behind the Commons. They have these weird cakes that are just giant chocolate chip cookies. I bought one and got it iced with "Congratulations Nicola, from all of your friends". Nicola got her university results yesterday and she got a first! We threw her an impromptu party in the evening. Lauren N and Pippa sorted out some food and we all went round to congratulate her. I think she had a good night.

Later on, we all decided to go on to Bennigans as most of the UK were there. It was late and the next bus wasn't for ages (plus, it probably wouldn't have shown anyway) so we walked! It was quite a distance but luckily the rain had stopped and it was a peaceful evening. As TS Fay has dumped so much rain, there are loads of deep ditches next to the road and we were all really nervous about alligators maybe being in them. We gave them a wide berth.

Bennigans was great! Loads of people were there and they were all in a good mood. It was like a regualr bar but you know everyone in there. It was alot of peoples last nights so we gathered around for a "last song". What happens is you make a circle round the people leaving and then sing the Greenday song, "Good Riddance". It was actually really moving and all the people in the middle were in tears. Most of them told me to really enjoy this year as it will fly by so fast. It was a fantastic night and I didn't get to bed until about 3.30pm.

This morning, I called round to the newbies apartment. We have two new girls for UK Food and Bev and unfortunately they are both called Lauren! That brings our running total to four Laurens! They are gonna need some nicknames! Still, they seem really cool (though I only met one of them). I'm not a newbie anymore! Blimey!

The hurricane that never was

Hi everyone,

Well, yesterday was a pretty eventful day. We've been on tropical storm watch here in Florida with the advancement of Tropical Storm Fay. All day yesterday, people have been saying, "she'll be here by 8am" then it was "she'll be here by 10am" and so it continued at 12 noon, 2pm and 4pm but all we got was alot of rain. Alot of people were almost excited to experience a tropical storm and I suppose we should all be grateful that she never really put in an appearance but it had been built up so much we were at least expecting something. We were told to pull our beds out from the windows in case the wind shattered them in the night and everyone had to pick stuff up off the floor in case of flooding. However, aside from light drizzle, we had nothing from Fay. One newspaper called her "a damp squib" which I agree with. Still, a few papers are signing off with the cheerful "we'll consider Fay a practise for the next one". That's nice to hear, huh?

Yesterday was the throw out for a few people in our pavillion. Throw outs are great fun for everyone involved (unlike Throw In's that seem to be fun for everyone except the people being thrown in). It's when people get to the end of their year here and call everyone together to get rid of any stuff that they can't take home with them. The people going home hold each item up so people can see it and the first person to yell "shotgun" gets the item. There was all sorts of stuff being thrown out last night; fancy dress costumes, pillows, bedding, ornaments, hats, TV's, DVD players, CD players, books, posters...basically all the crap you accumulate in a year. I managed to get a DVD player for our apartment as well as a small plastic set of drawers, some books, a Tinkerbell ornament and an Ariel costume. The good thing is that at the end of my year, I'll throw all this stuff back out to people coming in! It's almost like recycling, in a way. It's a great idea.

I've been out here for three whole weeks now and I'm no longer considered a "newbie" because yesterday we had a whole bunch of "newbies" arrive. No one has met them yet and we don't expect to see them for the first few days because they'll be training. I'm looking forward to meeting them though. I feel a bit sorry for them as the weather is awful. I'm looking out of the window right now and it's drizzling. If it wasn't for the fact I can see palm trees, I'd think I was home in England. When they get time off to go to the parks this week, it'll be in the rain. Still, they'll be out here a year so they'll get their share of sun.

I've got one more day left in the Chippie and then I have two whole days off! I'm planning on visiting the Florida Mall tomorrow as that's indoors under cover. As to Friday, I haven't yet decided. If the weathers okay, I might head for Seaworld but I'm not sure yet.

Anyway, until next time....

Training, flattery and hurricane season

I've gotta be quick, I'm out the door in a few minutes and I'm not even in costume yet!

Anyway, I've completed all my podium training now and I've sat the test at the end. It wasn't difficult as your trainer is right next to you with the answers if you're unsure. I had my two days off and I went to MK (Magic Kingdom) and EPCOT. I swear, I was even more tired after my days off than I am when I'm working! It was fun though.

I now have six days of training in the Chippie. That's the fish and chipshop here at EPCOT. You have to wear the "dead jellyfish" hat which I hate with a passion but the time really flies by. I'll be learning the till today which would be great if I could talk. Unfortunately, I seem to have picked up a sore throat and blocked nose from somewhere. Still, it will pass.

A bit of advice for any Brits coming over. Don't think that because it LOOK'S like Lemsip, it does the same thing. I took something similar to Lemsip and it made me really drowsy. Luckily I was off to bed anyway but I could have taken it before work accidentally!

I had a scary moment yesterday. Marcel, one of the managers, asked to see me. I was so afriad I'd done something wrong. You can get terminated ("termed") for stuff so easily over here. I actually thought, "what if I didn't smile at a guest or something? Or what if I didn't close the ice bucket all the way?" Luckily, it wasn't for any of those reasons. Marcel has asked if I want to train as assignor which is basically the supervisor of the restuarant. I was flattered but I can't help wondering why he's chosen me. I've only been here for a couple of weeks. Marcel went on the ask if I was also interested in being a GT (General Teller). That is the person in charge of all the money taken by the UK pavillion in a day. It's a huge responsibility and I'm once again wondering why he chose me. Still, I said I'd give it a go and he's going to arrange training for me. He really shifted himself because I checked my shifts this morning and BANG! I have three days of assignor training coming up!

One last thing to tell you. Hurricane Fay is on her way out here! At the moment it's just a Tropical Storm and everyone's keeping an eye on it. It should hit land on Tuesday or Wednesday but it's no biggie. Disney is one of the safest places to be during a hurricane. In fact, the local people head for shelter at the themeparks. It looks like the Florida keys will get the brunt of it. We might possibly get some bad weather but nothing more unusual than the storms we get practically every afternoon. I'll keep you updated on it though.

Right, I've gotta run. I need to catch the bus. Till next time then!

PS. Please keep the comments coming! I like knowing people are reading this!

First few days at work

I'm so sorry. I've neglected you guys for a whole three days but time has been flying by in chunks! It's bizarre! In the first week, time went so slowly that it felt like a month must have passed when it was only a week. This week has gone so fast, I'm not convinced I was actually present for it! We've been out here two weeks tomorrow. That's so weird to think about!

Okay, so I started work here in Florida. My first job was as seater in the Rose and Crown. It's fairly easy. A ticket gets printed saying the name of the party, how many adults and children and their pager number. All you need to do is page them, grab the right number of menus (kids and adults) and when then arrive you greet them with "hello, welcome to the Rose and Crown. My name is Tori and I'll be showing you to your table". Then you lead them through. The hardest part is learning the tables. They aren't numbered logically. Inside are the tables beginning with 1, 2 and 3. On the verandah are tables beginning 4 and 5 and by the waters edge are the 6's and 7's. So, if a ticket reads table 306, that's inside, nearest the outside wall and you count along to six. It took a while but I'm pretty comfortable with seating now.

I was the seater for two days and I'm pretty sure I've got it. When you're not seating, you can go out onto the street and chat with guests or play with the kids. Naturally, I make a bee line for any children. I love kids, they are so much fun! I made a new game where you draw a line on the floor and get some kids. You shout "Mickey" and they jump in front of the line. "Minnie" is behind the line. "Donald" is on it and "Peter Pan" is on the line with hands on hips. Then you just call out the names as fast as you like and watch the kids try to keep up. I make sure I play this in the shade but even so, it gets really hot. Good fun though.

Yesterday I was the greeter in the restuarant. That's a little more involved. You have to check people in using the computer. Sometimes they have reservations, other times they're walk ins. Practically ALL of the time they are unhappy about their table. If they are inside they want to be outside, if they're outside they want to be inside. Everyone requests outside from 6.30pm onwards to see the fireworks and obviously, not everyone can have a table outside so the guests get annoyed. By the way, if any guest ever says "we were promised an outside table" it's a load of rubbish as we stress that outside is not guaranteed.

I've had a couple of stupid guest comments. At the end of this year, I intend to write a book on dumb guest comments and questions. Not really, but I could. Over the last three days, I've been asked "What language do they speak in England?" and "How long did it take you to learn your accent?" I've had a guest tell me my accent doesn't sound anything like an English accent (which tickled me as I am English!) and another guest who refuses to believe we have red squirrels in the UK. She said to her son, "she's lying honey, no one has red squirrels". Oooo-kay!

All in all, I'm really enjoying my job. The guests are generally nice and I get on with most of the people I work with. That's quite a bit of backstabbing and bitchiness but I expected that. I am working in a very female environment (most of the guys are gay and almost worse than the girls). Just let it roll off you and you won't have any problem.

Though I've worked alot the past few days, somehow (God knows how), I've managed to make time for play too. Last night after work, I went to Downtown Disney with Rhys, Lauren and Nils. I love Downtown! They have a huge Virgin megastore down there as well as other little shops. I'm quite into magic and there's a shop called "Magic Masters" where I go to get tricks. Rhys in particular is obsessed with my magic tricks and practically ever time I see him I have to have a new one on hand. It's fun.

Once we visited the Magic place, we had dinner at Planet Hollywood. It was bizarre to be eating dinner at 11.30pm but it was really nice food. We get a 20% cast discount too! Everyone passed out on the bus home though!

Right, so that brings everyone up to date. I'm at work at four tomorrow (afternoon) so I'll get a nice lay in. I'm only working until ten as well. Nice! I'll be able to catch up on my laundry. Trouble is, the washing machine is rather frightening. When you turn it on, it kind of "walks" across the floor. It bounces all over the place! Almost like the clothes in it want to get out. It's so noisy, you can't have it on at night. I'll have to film it at some point. It's so funny!

After tomorrow, I have two whole days off and I am SOOOOO going to enjoy them. Yay!

The Throw In

We had our "throw in", sorry, "meet and greet" last night. We had to all go round to Heather's apartment here at The Commons. When we walked in EVERYONE from the UK was there! There must have been about 60 odd people in that room! We were shut away in the bedroom while the main room was "prepared". It was extremely nerve wracking to be in there knowing something was going to happen but not what. A few of the others were majorly freaking out. I'm talking shaking and dry heaving, hat's how nervous they were. I figured they can't kill you or damage you too severely and as I'm pretty difficult to embarrass, I was quite relaxed. The door opened and Tino and Nic were selected and the door was closed again. We tried to eavesdrop but aside from catcalls and laughter, we heard nothing. I was next with Pippa. We went out and.....that's all you're gonna get. I can't tell you what happened but it wasn't anything too bad. It was a bit embarrassing for some of us but it was okay. Just go along with it, don't be afraid to get involved and relax. It's a great way to meet the people in your pavillion.

At the end, we were assigned "parents", people who look out for us while we're here. I got the amazing Dave as my dad and someone called Katherine for my mum. Afterwards Dave came and introduced himself but I never saw Katherine. I imagine we'll catch up soon though.

I had today off and I went to the Buena Vista outlet centre for my Disney Look shoes. I found some comfy ones and they weren't extortionate. I also got some tights (pantyhose) and trainer socks.

In the evening, I went to Downtown Disney with Lauren (Tigger). We had a good look around and I spent more than I intended too but luckily I was paid yesterday so it shouldn't matter. When we got back, we went to see Rhys and was surprised at how we found him! Apparantly, that's how he cooks!

I start tomorrow as AM Seater. I'm actually quite excited. I'm a little nervous but that's to be expected, right? So, tomorrow I start work at the UK Pavillion at EPCOT. If I get a chance, I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow.

Relaxing and Chillin' before work!

The last couple of days have been quite busy. We've done alot of computer training. We all had to pass the RVP (Responsible Vendor Program) before we could start. It's just about the age restrictions on alcohol and things like that. I scored 95% so I passed with no problems. Everyone did except for one guy who misunderstood all the questions. He re-did it and passed.

We were told that moving up to server is a priviledge that we have to earn. You can earn quite alot of money from tips in a service position so I've made my mind up to learn the menu as fast as I can so I can move up. It's not easy. You have to learn the name of the item, the prices, the allergy information and the ingredients. Then you have a test about menu knowledge and you have to do a menu spiel to three managers and a chef. Luckily, I thrive on study. I love learning things and actually regret the fact that homework stops when you leave school. I would love to help my little sister with her homework but she never asks. I wish she would. Oh well.

It's my day off today. I started with a swim this morning and then a group of us went over to Hollywood Studios (the new name for MGM). We managed to catch the new High School Musical show and had a bit of a dance. It was great! Rhys and Lauren P. had a proper groove. Little did they know I recorded it (hee hee!)

Tonight is our "Throw In" though we're not allowed to call it that. It's a meet and greet. We get to meet all the other UK cast members which sounds great. However, there's normally some kind of initiation. In the past, they would throw poop, sick and pee over the new arrivals. Luckily Disney found out and clamped down on it. I can't believe anyone would think that was fun! It's disgusting. Still, while it won't be pee, something is going to happen. The really annoying thing (for you guys) is I can't tell you what happens! I'm pretty sure we end up sworn to secrecy. I only hope it's nothing too bad.

I'm spending the rest of today catching up on washing and sorting out of paperwork. I'll also give it another shot at menu learning. So far I know three of the appetizers and I'm confortable being questionned on them. However, there's seven appetizers! Then all the entrees, mains, desserts, kids menu and cocktails. I'd better get cracking. Wish me luck!

Oh dear! A jellyfish crawled out of the sea and died on my head!

Just a really quick one to let you know what I've been up to today. We had our "Discovery Day" at EPCOT. For those of you coming out, it will be your longest day ever! We walked and walked and walked and then we walked some more. We were shown our area and then taken to costuming. Oh dear God, what can I say about the costume? Well, it's not too bad if you don't include the hat. The hat is the most disgusting hat I have ever seen in my life. It looks like a dead jellyfish is sitting on my head! I think I'll be avoiding wearing that for as long as possible.

Here's a few photos from today for you. Warning, photos of the costume may cause unexpected vomiting!

Traditions on no sleep!

Yesterday was our training day. The Disney term for it is "Traditions". We had to get the bus over to Disney University where we were all shown into a room. We watched alot of presentations but the morning was broken up by various activities and team building exercises. We had to sit at a table with only two people from the same country on it so Vikki and I shared with Nils (from Germany - lovely guy!), Debby (from right here in Florida) and Martha (from Sweden). We had two minutes to introduce ourselves and then the trainers randomly chose people to go around and tell everyone who was at their table without looking. I did it and earned a "critter" for everyone at the table. A critter is a little Disney figurine, I got Snow White). Later on, the table had to nominate a Team Leader by doing the "Disney Point" (pointing with two fingers). I voted for Debby but everyone else voted for me. My task was to be the writer on the next team builder we had. We had three minutes to list as many Disney characters as we could. My hand was cramping by the end of it but we won with 48 characters! We got another Disney critter (Pooh). At lunch time we got a surprise. Our trainers took us over to the Magic Kingdom where we got to go down the Utilidors. They are a series of tunnels that run under the Magic Kingdom. It's a whole city down there! There's even a cafeteria (mousketeria!) We had lunch there and it was so strange to see everyone in costume. I saw a friend of Peter Pan without his full costume which was strange. I got really excited!

The afternoon was less fun. It was presentation after presentation after presentation. There was one that basically just showed Disney CM's saying "Safe D begins with me!" If I hear that expression one more time, I'm going to go crazy!!! However, at the end they showed a presentation about how dreams come true at Disney and I am so looking forward to going out and making "Magical Moments" happen for our guests. I really hope I'll get to do lots of them! It's going to be amazing!!!!!

We were given our Disney passes (and name tags!) today so we can now visit the themeparks for free. Traditions ended aat 5.00pm and at 5.01pm, we were ready for the Magic Kingdom! We have a couple of people in the group who have never been to Disney before! Rhys and Tino are Disney Virgins (DV's). We thought we'd start in the Magic Kingdom so they could see the fireworks. We went over there and took them round tomorrowland. We went on the Indy cars and the Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor. That was amazing. The monsters interact with you and they did a role play of the movie with Rhys playing Randall! His face when it appeared on the screen was classic! Vikki was very quick on the camera and caught Rhys' reaction to his first look at the castle. He looks so bowled over and excited!

We went back to the castle at 10pm and caught Wishes (the firework display). Seeing the fireworks explode behind the castle was amazing! I felt so happy to be standing there, knowing I was a Disney Cast Member and I'll be seeing those fireworks for the next year...well, it was Lauren's fault. She started crying first, then Vikki, then Nic and I...well, I got something in my eye and turned away for a bit. It was just so incredible! We left the Magic Kingdom pretty late and we didn't get back until gone 1am. We were all up for 5am! I think I got about three hours sleep, maximum. Still, it was worth it.

This morning we started food and beverage training. It was yet more presentations but we also registered for "The Hub". That's kind of like an internal internet system that lets you access all sorts of information such as your pay stub and training history, as well as park information. We also did all our online training. Now I'm free for the rest of the day. I'm kind of tired so I don't really fancy the themeparks. I think I'll head out to Wal-Mart to pick up a few bits and pieces and then maybe have a swim and get an early night.

Disney Day Off!

Here's the video of my apartment here at The Commons. I know I sound a little bit overexcited and hysterical but I had been up for 23 hours straight and hey, it's Florida!!!!

Right, where did I get up to? Oh yes, Thursday morning.

On Thursday, we didn't have to be anywhere until 12.30pm so everyone woke up in their own time and we all ended up drifting round to Tino's and Andy's. For some reason, that seems to be our meeting place! It was Nicola's 22nd birthday and Tino (bless him) had cooked her a cheesecake from scratch. Rhys brought over candles which they put on the cake before sticking it in the fridge. Weirdly enough, the candles wouldn't light! Still, we pretended they were lit and sang "Happy Birthday" and we'd all got her cards and presents.

We headed up to the clubhouse at 12.25pm where we had to sit through more meetings about paperwork. We also had an immigration talk but that had a cute presentation featuring pictures from Toy Story so that was interesting. My God, I'm such a child! We had the opportunity to sign up for Partners which is an american bank. I signed up so my paycheck will automatically go into the bank account and I'll be able to access it by card. It's alot easier than having to take the paycheck to Walmart every week and paying $2 to have it cashed. At the end of all the sessions, we had to pass the "Disney Look" table where a couple of CM's (cast members) checked to make sure you were "Disney Look". I passed with no problem but a couple of the girls were told they were wearing too much makeup.

Once we'd finished all the sessions, we all met up and went out to Downtown Disney to celebrate Nicola's birthday properly. We took the bus that they provide here and headed straight for the Rainforest Cafe. We were given a time to return (8.30pm) so we spent the time checking out the Disney Marketplace. I have seen so much stuff that I want to get with my discount but we don't get our discount cards until Traditions (Saturday). Still, the time flew and we were seated in the Rainforest Cafe. For those of you who have never been to one, it's a themed restuarant. It's like you're sitting in a rainforest and every now and then they're a storm and all the animatronic animals go nuts. The food was quite nice and as it was Nicola's birthday, Lauren told the waitress. She said Nicola could have a free sundae or a volcano (that's a dessert mountain of brownie, ice cream and cream). We went for the volcano becasue it sounded like it was free. Unfortunately, we were charged for it and when we questionned it, the waitress got really snotty. At the end of the meal, we noticed that she'd added $40 to the bill as a tip! That's about £22! Well, being British, we decided not to pay for rubbish service so we took the tip off, left enough to cover the food and scarpered! We didn't get back to The Common's until gone midnight! Still ,it was still a great night out.

It was our day off today but as we haven't got a Disney pass yet, we couldn't go to the parks. Instead, some of us went to Typhoon Lagoon and some went to Wal-Mart and some others went back to Downtown. I love the way we can all do our own thing when we want to but we still get together in the end. I spent the day at Downtown checking out the shops. There's a HUGE Virgin store here and we will eventually get a 15 - 25% discount there! There's also a magic shop and various Disney stuff, it's awesome.

It's Traditions tomorrow and we're all up for 7.30am so I'll sign off here. Thanks for the comments everyone! If you have any questions about what to expect when you get out here, let me know!

Nic's just rang. She's at Tino's with Rhys and they're ordering pizza so I'm signing off here to go and get some pizza with Vikki!

Bye for now!