I'm here!!!!

Well, I’m finally here in Florida! Yay! It’s so difficult to believe as I seem to have been counting down for absolutely ages. However, it’s true. I really am writing this while sitting at a desk inside apartment 1615 of The Commons!

Tuesday’s flight went fine. I got to the airport in plenty of time and met up with Tino, Lauren, Nic, Josh, Andy and another Lauren. We all went and had a drink and then we boarded the plane. The flight was a very long one. I was sitting next to Tino but time still went fairly slowly. The others were all sitting together, except for poor Lauren who was on her own, bless her. However, every time I went over, she was happily chatting with the people next to her. Finally, the flight was over and we all collected our luggage and made our way out of the airport. We hung around a bit because we were meant to be meeting Pippa but eventually we figured she must have gone on ahead so we caught a taxi to Vista Way.

When we arrived at Vista, Pippa was already there. We were welcomed by some cast members and given an envelope full of information, plus our room keys. We also had to watch a short video. It wasn’t very long, only about five minutes. After that, we were taken to our accommodation. The room numbers are four digits and the first two tell you which building you’re in. I’m in building 16 which is about smack bang in the middle. It’s only a short walk up to the clubhouse.

I arrived at my apartment and unlocked the door. Oh my goodness! The apartments are huge! I think I could play badminton in our bathroom! I made a video in which I sound hysterical but this place really is gigantic! I noticed some luggage in one of the rooms and I checked the luggage tag but there was no name. I noticed the letters PHL so I guessed my roommate was from the Philippines. I unpacked some stuff and then headed up to the clubhouse to catch the bus to Wal-Mart. Unfortunately; they don’t run the bus to Wal-Mart on a Tuesday so I had to get a cab. It cost $12 each way so it’s not a cheap way of doing things but I desperately needed bedding. I shot round Wal-Mart and then caught the taxi back.

When I got in, a very pretty blond girl came towards me. I remember thinking, “she doesn’t look very Philippino”. She wasn’t. Her name is Vikki from the UK (yes!) and she flew via Philadelphia (hence the PHL). She’s really nice and after chatting for a while, we went to bed.

Around midnight last night, I heard a noise in the front room. I came out to see who it was and met our other two roommates who had just arrived. Saudi and Nami from Japan. They’re doing food and beverage too. By this time I’d been up for 23 hours so I muttered an apology and went to bed.

I woke up early on Wednesday (I must still be on British time) and had a shower. The shower here is great; it’s so easy to use. I put my hair up because today we had to be “Disney Look” from the shoulders up. Then we went up to the clubhouse. We met up with everyone else and we also met Heather from the UK. She’s been out here for a while and had come to meet us. Next Wednesday she’s invited us all to a “get to know everyone” party which should be good.

The morning was spent doing boring but necessary paperwork. We had to pay the housing assessment fee and they take a photo for your Disney ID. They also go through the 1001 ways you can get terminated. Then we were let loose for the rest of the day. I went back to Wal-Mart to get some groceries plus some “roommate bits”. There are a few things the roommates share (such as toilet roll, cleaning supplies, bin liners etc.) We each put in $10 and I got it all while I was there. I took my suitcase along because there was no way I could have carried it all back otherwise. I struggled as it was. Still, we now have dish cloths and tea towels and all the other bits and pieces we need.

I plugged into the Internet in the evening. For the people coming out, you need to get a Cat 5 Ethernet cable for Internet access (if you have a laptop). You just plug it in and away you go. It’s quite easy. I was able to Skype my mum and let her know I arrived safely. For the rest of the evening, I hung out with the others and Andy and I went out for food. Then it was straight back to bed.

It's now Thursday morning and I haven't got any sessions until 12.30pm so both me and Vikki are catching up with home. That's all I have to tell you at the moment but I'll write again soon!