Cruises, Peter Pan and painful shoes

Ouch! I'm in pain right now! I've just been "breaking in" my new "Disney Look" work shoes. I bought them nearly a month ago but the stupid Shoes For Crews show place sent me the wrong ones. My friend, Emma, exchanged them for me while I was on the cruise (thank you, Em!) so today I had the fun job of trying to make them feel comfortable. I wore them to Downtown Disney and they were on my feet for about two hours. By the end I was walking with a limp. It's not so bad at the front of the shoe, it's the back. I've rubbed my heels raw, especially as I refused to "let the shoes win" by changing out of them. I have to wear them for work so I've got to get used to the little buggers. Besides, you can't return shoes once they are filled with your blood! That's frowned upon. At least I can still retain my sense of humour about them. I bet after tomorrow's twelve hour shift I won't be so cheerful! New shoes for the sake of ten more days....Sometimes I really hate Disney and it's stupid inane rules! My Nan always used to say putting soap on the heel of the shoe softens the leather. I'm not sure if this is true but I've done it anyway. My friend, Kev also suggested sticking them in the tumbledryer so I've tried that too. I even went online and there's an actual serious suggestion of running them over with a truck. I'm not going to try that but the little buggers deserve it!

I didn't mean to start this entry with such a grumble but as my feet are screaming right now, it was the first thing that came out.

Right, so the last time I blogged was graduation. Graduation was so much fun! Straight after graduation was our arrival groups "eleven month anniversary". Unfortunately, I was foodrunning that day so I was the last one to join the group. Nicola had done a little tea for everyone. There were only leftovers remaining when I arrived but they'd put aside a plate for me. It was more important that all of us were there to celebrate our last anniversary (we're all done by our year anniversary). Lauren P and Rhys finish before the rest of us because they are on someone else's visa. Lauren P and I got chatting and she said how she'd like to do a cruise. I had some holiday time to take so we booked another cruise! Then I had nine days off in a row.

I spent my days off well. On the 3rd July, I met up with Louisa and we went round MK. They were doing the Independance Day fireworks on both the 3rd and 4th of July so we went to see those. We spent the whole day in the parks. Louisa is alot of fun to hang out with! In celebration of the day, we both bought headgear. I had a Peter Pan hat while Louisa had some 4th July Mickey ears. The park was actually quite quiet during the day. I guess people assumed it would be busy and stayed away (until around 7pm when they came in for the fireworks...) We took advantage of the short lines and rode all the attractions we wanted to. We even went on the Peter Pan ride as we got fastpasses for it. We met Peter Pan (yay!) and I got a photo which will be my Facebook profile picture for a while!

I've never really explained my Peter Pan fixation. People normally just take it as one of those weird quirks. Peter Pan, to me, is the spirit of youth. He's arrogant and innocent and cocky. He has no responsibilities and his world is restricted only by what he imagines. Plus he can fly. That would be really cool. The idea of never having to grow up appeals to me. Staying young at heart is important. Living without fun is what makes you old! That's why he appeals to me so much! Plus, he wears my favourite colour which is not a bad thing. The original story is amazing and I can't wait to tell that story to Izzy when she's a little older. Disney made Peter a little brash and harsh but the live action one was done brilliantly. He's just a great character.

Louisa and I stayed in the park for the Independance Day fireworks. They were brilliant! At one point they were all around us and they were red, white and blue. When they exploded they were stars! The finale was truly breath taking! I felt a little weird to be British and celebrating a time when we got our arses kicked in a war but at that time I wasn't even alive. I believe a country SHOULD have the chance to decide it's own governments and ideals. If they wish to be independant, they should be. The park was really crowded after the fireworks and it took us ages to get home.

I didn't work Independance Day. I'd booked it off because it was earmarked as the day "I was most likely to be termed". I tend to be sarcastic and sometimes I can come out with things BEFORE I've had the chance to think "should I really have said that?" My mum has the same affliction and more than once I've said things that I really shouldn't have done. We were warned that the Americans like to visit the UK pavillion on Independance Day and gloat about how they beat the English (because apparantly they all fought in a war 200 odd years ago!) I didn't trust the things I might have said. I've had one guest once say how "you'd be speaking German if it wasn't for us winning the second world war" and I was extremely frosty to him. My grandad fought in that war and just because the Americans joined in doesn't mean they swayed it. Besides, they only joined because the attack on Pearl Harbour, they were quite happy to ignore it 'til then. Herbert Hoover did absolutely nothing until......I'm not getting into this. Suffice it to say, I'm glad I was off!

The day after Independance Day was the day of the cruise. I can't believe I've done the cruise twice in less that a month! Still, it was worth it! I had a great time. I went with Lauren Parkin which was fun because she's up for anything. On Nassau day, we did the segway tour. It was brilliant. It was a two hour journey through the forests of Nassau. The ground was uneven and rocky and full of tree roots and hills but it was better like that. I was really nervous and tentative at first but by the end I was happily driving without hands!



If I ever win the lottery, I'm buying a Segway!

Castaway Cay day was also alot of fun. We spent the day just relaxing on the island. Lauren sunbathed while I "shadebathed". I don't trust the sun and I avoid sitting in it as much as possible. On the island we met Jack Sparrow. He was brilliant! He had the voice and the mannerisms and everything! I was wearing a Tinkerbell T-shirt and he made me cover it. I explained that I didn't really like Tinkerbell, I prefer Peter Pan and he got all offended! There's a picture of me, Lauren and Jack and he's shoving me out of the photo! He was great.

That night was Pirate Night and everyone dressed up. Lauren was a pirate, complete with hook and hat. I was Peter Pan! I know he's not technically a pirate but someone has to fight them, right? It was so much fun running around the ship as Peter Pan. I had people coming over and asking for autographs and two people took photos of me (no doubt those photos will end up online titled "saddo on the Disney Wonder") We also met Jack Sparrow again and he remembered us. He told me to "fly off, Peter Pan and don't come back!" I was laughing so hard I could barely stand!

We saw alot of characters round the ship and while waiting in line for Mickey, I spied the real Peter on the deck above. I practically flew up the stairs. Peter Pan loved my costume and I got a special Peter hug! We saw Peter on the last night too and he signed my new Peter Pan bag that Lauren bought for me.

I would have thought the first cruise would have spoiled the experience a little but it was just as fun the second time. We did different stuff, including a "pamper night" in the Vista Spa. That was weird. It included a facial, back massage, head massage, foot and ankle rub, champagne and strawberries. I don't do the girl thing well and while we lay there being massaged, all I could think of was how much trust we were placing in the therapists. If they had chosen, they could have stabbed us and we wouldn't even have seen it coming! I'm pretty sure that's NOT what you're meant to think during a massage. I actually found myself grower tenser and preparing to fight. I don't think I'm destined for the lady of leisure life....

Now I'm back from the cruise and I only have twelve days left until I finish at work. I'm actually a little nervous. I worry about getting termed (fired). I've come close to it before for the silliest things. Disney refunds your flight at the end of your contract so if they can term me first, they'll save themselves alot of money. I've had dreams where I wake up convinced I've been termed for some small dumb thing or another. I don't know where this fear has come from as I know I'm good with my tables. The positive guest comments attest to that. I can't be "got" on Disney Look with my new shoes (read evil devil shoes!) and I'm always over an hour early for work everyday so lateness shouldn't be a problem. I never call in sick unless I'm actually sick so I'm okay there.... Yet it's something I worry about. I'll be glad when this fortnight is over.

People are leaving in droves now. Kevin left today and I was surprised at how much I cared. Kevin is arrogant and obnoxious and no one can push my buttons the way he can and yet I find I'm actually going to miss the git! He's been a very good friend out here and I always kind of took it for granted that I could pop across to his for a night of Wii or a movie. I missed all of his timecard week as I was on the cruise so his leaving crept up on me really suddenly. I wish he'd been in my arrival group but he was the one before. He's a great guy and has more energy than Tigger on prozac, things will seem weird without him.

Right, you're up to date again now. I've got a normal week of shifts and then I start something called "timecard". This is your last week and you're not allowed to get guests on the Dining Plan or that you have to add a gratuity to because you've already got your final paycheck and grat comes up in that. It also means you must do the hours set. Normally we're scheduled until a set time but if you finish earlier or later it doesn't matter. On an AM shift you're normally scheduled until 5.30pm but the latest you're done is around 4.30pm. On timecard, you have to stay until your time. That means sitting by the clock in machine with a book. Sounds okay to me!

In my last week I have our throwout to look forward to (that should be the 21st) and then last meal. Then I'm done with Disney and I have a few days on International Drive to relax before I'm "leaving on a jet plane". I just hope I make it through the next fortnight....

I've truly earned my ears!!!!

I am now a Disney International Program graduate!!!! We all graduated yesterday and it was brilliant! I cannot believe our entire arrival group has lasted out the year, no terminations, no self terming....

Vikki, Lauren N, Nicola and I spent the night at The Swan which is a really nice resort. We were upgraded to a room offering a view of the Tower of Terror. We all had a fairly early night (after a meal at Garden Grove) as I made everyone get up at 5am the following morning. With four girls and only one bathroom, I knew we'd need all the time we could get. Turns out I was the only one up and about though, the rest pulled themselves out of bed about an hour later.

Once we were all dressed, we went down to the lobby and took photos by the fountain. Then we caught a taxi over to the Coranado Springs where our graduation was being held. We arrived twenty minutes early but most people were there so we all mingled and took photos. I must be in at least 20 different peoples pictures. At 8am, they let us into the ballroom. It looked amazing. There were lots of round tables all set up with balloons and graduation hats and there was a full buffet breakfast. Everyone was going round taking photos with everyone else and to be honest, I barely ate a thing as there was so much else going on. Over in one corner were about 15 caricature artists and everyone got a caricature for free. Mine was okay; the artist drew me as Peter Pan so I was pretty happy but some of the pictures were awful. It was like the artists decided to choose the thing you were most self conscious about and accentuate it.

Over on the other side of the room was Mickey and Minnie. For the first time, you had to have a photo with them seperately which was a bit of a bummer. I queued for Mickey but I'm not a big Minnie fan so I didn't bother with her. Mickey was wearing green too so it was a pretty "green" picture!

We were all given our graduation ears which I wore for the rest of the day. Our arrival group managed to get a photo together which was important as I'm really proud that we've all finished our year. So many times I expected one of us to leave. Poor Rhys was very homesick at the beginning, twice I've come close to being termed, Pippa's grandfather died and Nic's had a major operation...It's quite an achievement that we're all still here. All the other arrival groups are missing at least two people. Some are down 50% and I know of one that had only one remaining person at the end!

We were given a speech by someone but to be honest, I really wasn't listening. I was too busy having pictures and giving hugs. Alot of people were graduating at the same time so there were alot of friends to congratulate. There were about 25 UK's and I also had to congratulate my Norweigan mates (particularly Rene, Iselin, Siri and Vader!) and a few Mexicans, Germans and Canadians that we have come to know. Our leaders were there, including Rachid who was reassigned a while ago. I was very happy he came!

As the graduation was winding down, I went back to my table and did a quick change. I put my blue dress over my head and shimmied out of the green right there in the hall. It's bizarre that there were 500 people and no one saw me do it. When people came back to the table, there were some confused looks about how I was wearing an entirely different dress! I wasn't being a diva though, there was just no way I was wearing two and a half inch heels round the park! Plus, I didn't want my green dress ruined. I love that dress!

We all stole the balloons from our table and then headed off into the parks. I went to MK with Vijay, Vikki, Nic, both Laurens, Rhys and Andy. We stole the balloons from our table and had one each. I got the blue green one which was very apt with the dress change! It's tradition after graduation to go round the parks all dressed up and wearing our graduation ears. We had the obligatory photo taken at the castle and then Vijay and Vikki went home. Vijay had work and Vikki was hot. The rest of us took alot of photos and then watched the parade. We also headed over to Toontown where we all got our graduation ears embroided with our name (something Disney lets us do for free!) Andy had had the foresight to make reservations so we had lunch at Tony's, the Italian restaurant on Main Street. I actually really like that restaurant, I'd never been before.

As it was fairly hot, we decided to switch parks and enjoy the air conditioned bus ride over to Hollywood Studios. Once there we did Tower of Terror and the Rock 'n' Rollercoaster. I had a slight dress situation in that I nearly ended up flashing on the ride photo but it was okay. We also watched the Beauty and The Beast show.

By this time we were all flagging a little so we took a break at The Dolphin resort for a drink. Then we went back to MK for Wishes. Standing there watching the fireworks just reminded me of standing there at the beginning of this year thinking "wow, I'm a cast member". Now it's nearing the end.

I can't believe it's nearly over. It's been an incredible year. I've laughed and cried, stressed and played. I've floated home on Pixie dust and cried my eyes out in my room while begging to go home. I've enjoyed my time but I miss my family terribly. Every second I'm here is a second I'm missing with my little niece, she's growing up so fast. I've gotten closer to my sister in the time I've been away which is one of the best things to come out of this year and for once I haven't freaked my mum out with news of lightening strikes, hurricanes or spider bites! I've made some really good friends in Rene, David, Stephie, Vikki and Kevin AND I've even managed to go back on the cruise! In a few more weeks it'll be my throw out and I'll be heading out of the Disney bubble for good. In a way, I'm glad as there's only so much cheese you can take but I'll miss the pixie dust. Still, I may be going home and growing up but I truly believe you can still be a kid at heart. I intend to be like Peter Pan and never truly grow up. As long as there is faith, trust and pixie dust, your dreams can come true.....

Cruising!

It's been a pretty good few days since I last blogged. It would have been excellent except I've been ill for the last three days. Anyway, I left you last on June 8th just before my final AM shift of the week. That went fine and once we were done, Vikki, Nia and I went to the Florida Mall for the evening. I needed some shoes for my graduation dress, Vikki needed a dress and Nia just needed some retail therapy! We spent the whole evening there and I picked out a really nice blue and white dress that I thought would look good on Vikki. It didn't look good, it looked absolutely amazing! She is so pretty anyway but that dress really makes her look beautiful. I am so jealous! Still, I feel a sense of pride that I helped pick it out. Especially as it was the only one in the whole shop and it just happened to be her size!

We went on the cruise this week and it was brilliant. It felt really weird for me though. I never expected to even see the Wonder ever again but I got a huge thrill of excitement when I saw her in Port Canaveral. It was a strange mix of the familiar and unfamiliar. I knew the ship, I knew the procedures, I knew where everything was and the difference between forward and aft but I didn't know what the guests could do and I've never had whole areas of the ship that are off limits before. I can see why people would come on a cruise and decide "wow, I want to work here!" The guests are treated so well. Plus, there is just so much to do! We were busy from the second we came onboard.

Our first night we got onboard at around 1pm and had a buffet lunch at Beach Blanket Buffet (Deck 9, aft). Then we had a quick look round the ship and I said hello to the people who remembered me. We played shuffleboard out on deck 4 and then played the gameshow Mickey Mania. That was followed by the very impressive show, The Golden Mickeys and then dinner in Animators Palate. That is a great restaurant. It starts off in black and white and changes to colour throughout your meal. Even the server uniforms change! I ditched the boys for an hour while they went up to the hot tubs on deck 9 so I could go and say hi to a few friends. I spent an hour in Flounder's Reef Nursery (Deck 5) reminiscing with Neil and Yuri. Neil still tells a certain story about me to the new hires and it's my claim to fame on the Wonder (and the Magic as Neil told them too!) I can't repeat it here but I know for a fact, anyone on that ship knows what I'm talking about. Oh yeah, and Stephen? Say anything and I'll give your class full permission to attack you with Hannah Monatana CD's!

The second day was Kevin's 24th birthday. We docked in Nassau and Captain Henry gave the same lame "we've found Nassau" joke that I've heard a million times. I'd arranged for the cabin to be decorated for Kevin's birthday so we had to get Kevin out of the cabin as fast as we could. The poor guy must have wondered what the rush was!

AJ, Kevin and I had booked a shore excursion out to Blue Lagoon Island where we did the sealion interaction. It was great! We got to stroke, touch, kiss, hug and play with our sealion, Maggie. We even touched her tongue and teeth! I was a bit disappointed that you couldn't swim with them though.

Once we got back to the ship, we'd missed lunch so we ordered room service which is free on the ship!!!! We ordered so much food and relaxed for a while. Then Kevin went off to play Bingo and AJ went upstairs to sun himself on deck. I had a slight headache so I took some Resolve and slept for a while. When we all got together again, we went to see Toy Story The Musical - a new show for me too as it was Hercules when I was onboard. It was a decent enough show but not as impressive as the Golden Mickeys and not as Magical as Disney Dreams (my favourite). After the show, we had dinner at Parrot Cay (Deck 3). Our server brought over a cake for Kevin which was really cool. We finished the day by watching "Up" in 3D which is a really good movie but the beginning was so sad I was in tears!

Our final day we docked at Castaway Cay, Disney's private island. We had another very busy day! We hired bikes in the morning and cycled out to the observation tower on the island (I think that must be new, I don't remember seeing that before!) Then we hired floats and sat back on huge rubber rings in the ocean. The water was so warm it was like bath water. Salty bath water, anyway. Next we did snorkel lagoon which I wasn't too keen on. I love to snorkel but there needs to be something interesting to look at. All they had was sand. I ended up going right to the back to find something to see and then had to kill myself swimming back. Finally, we did the stingray encounter where we snorkelled with huge stingrays. It was okay but nothing spectacular. Still, we managed to get some relax time on the beach too so it was a nice relaxing day.

We missed lunch again so we ordered more roomservice (free?!?! I may have mentionned that before!) Then we went down to see my absolute favourite show, Disney Dreams. It's had a little bit of a makeover since I last saw it which was nice as it wasn't all exactly the same. Still, Peter Pan was still the main lead and the songs were all the same and I sat there watching it with a huge smile on my face.

After the show it was dinner at Tritons followed by a few meet and greets with the characters. Then we watched "Til We Meet Again" which is a short goodbye and then headed for bed.

The day we disembarked the ship, Captain Henry was at the gangplank. He not only remembered me but he knew my name! Even after all this time! I felt quite special!

We got a taxi back to The Commons where I slept for a few hours and went to work. Work was pretty good. I had one five top that were especially lovely. Their meal came to $95 and the tipped me $65 on top! That's the best tip I've ever had and I was really grateful for it.

The last three days I've been in pain. I won't say why as it's not very nice but it's been a nasty three days. I've had to call in sick at work, pretty much one of the first times I've done that! Still, I'm feeling alot better now. So glad it's sorted.

So, once again, you're up to date. I've got a few days of work (and I'm hoping to pick up some mids) and then it's graduation! Guess that will be my next report!

Guess what? It's raining.

It's been raining solidly for fourteen days now. Twenty six more and we've got ourselves a bible story! Luckily, it's beginning to look like it's coming to an end. I feel really sorry for the people out on holiday at the moment as all it's done is thunderstorm and try and drown them. Still, the bad weather has led to me being offered a few ADO's which I have no problem with taking. Not that I can do much, as the rain makes you want to stay indoors.

There's not really much going on to report except my manager, Nick, really upset me the other day. We were all in preshift going over the stuff we needed to know for the day and Nick asked "who's on lower deck?" As I was assigned 707, I put my hand up and he said "well, that's not good. You freak out doing discounts! How will you handle it if it rains?!?" I was devastated but I laughed along with everyone else. After the meeting, I went into the office to talk to Nick. He wasn't there but Dave Taylor was and asked me what was wrong. To my horror, I broke down in tears! I've always thought I was a good server. I try my hardest and to have Nick put me down and encourage others to laugh at me, really hurt. For the record, I don't "freak out" doing discounts! Discounts are done by management and sometimes they take their sweet time getting to the kitchen to sort it out on the tills. Sometimes they take ages and it keeps my guests waiting so maybe I'm a little terse when they finally get their butts in gear. I took Nick's little comment as "oh, Tori's a bad server" and it hurts to work your arse off at something only to find out people think you're rubbish at it. Dave must have filled Nick in on my feelings because he called out to me next time he saw me. I carried on past but he called me back. I told him to hurry up as I had guests I could be serving badly. He apologised and said he never meant it that way but the damage has been done. Nick thinks I'm a bad server.

The following day, Nick was on duty again and I needed a discount. Still hurting from his comment, I called him over. He asked how things were going and I answered, "well, I'm probably still being terrible but who cares? I'm out of here in eight weeks!" He then told me "you need to get over that! You're an amazing server. I didn't mean it that way." Well, tough. Damage has been done. Now I know his opinion, why should I bother? It's really disheartening to think you're doing well when others think the opposite.

Aside from that, there's really nothing new. Well, nothing I can put on a public blog as I don't think it's official yet. Maybe next time I can mention that.

Today I was off so David and I went over to Hollywood Studios for the Star Wars weekend. They had celebrities from the films and everyone dressed as characters. As I only like the first three (or rather, the last as they're number 4, 5 and 6), I didn't know any of the celebrities except Peter Mayhew who played Chewbacca. Still, it was fun to see all the characters and things.

Right, that is really all I have for now. We're nearly into June so things will start getting faster as work will pick up, some of my friends are finishing their contracts, it's Kevin's birthday and then graduation....before we know it, we'll be in July....

My Birthday

It's been a odd couple of weeks since I last blogged. First of all, everyone (and I mean everyone) has been ill recently! There's a really nasty 'flu bug floating around and everyone seems to be out with it. Plus we've got a couple of cast members out with gallstones and wisdom tooth ache so The Rose and Crown isn't very healthy at the moment.

On April 6th, I felt really ill as soon as I got up. However, I never call in unless I'm actually sick (which makes me a complete idiot as everyone else does it so why not take advantage?). I went into work but I ached all over and I felt really hot. Half way through my shift, I went to Jamie and asked to be cut because I really didn't feel well. She said it was a bit inconvienient so I struggled on with service. When Jamie tried to seat me an 8 top, I just gave up trying to keep the illness at bay. I had to sit down in the kitchen (where I threw up in the trash can - ewww!) and I literally couldn't get back up again. I felt like I was going to pass out and kept gasping in air. Of course, that did nothing good and I ended up really light headed. The long and the short of it is, Alisha called the medical team who checked me over and sent me home. I then had to call in for the next two days to try and get my feet back under me. I spent the time sleeping and resting and I never even left my apartment but I finally got over whatever it was I caught.

Work has been weird recently. It's Easter at the moment and all our guests seem to be British. I have nothing against the Brits, in fact, I am one but the worst part is they don't tip. In England, even servers are included with the minumum wage but out here, servers are expected to get tips so our basic wage reflects that. When you work your butt off for a table, you find it really hard when you cash it out to find that they haven't tipped you anything. It's really hard not to take it personally. I always tip when I'm in the States but that's because I understand it. Oh well, it's the start of the summer season now she I'll hopefully get the Yanks back. They tip. They tip well!

On Tuesday, it was my birthday. I turned (inaudible) so I lied and told everyone 22. Most of my friends know I'm really four years older than that but we all went along with it anyway. I'd arranged a day at MK and we all agreed to meet up at mine at 10am (early, according to David!) At 10am, the skies opened and threw down one of the most violent thunderstorms I've ever seen. I stood out on the balcony and watched it. That is, until the wind started pushing the rain sideways. Then I came in. Luckily, it stopped at around 10.30am and soon Vikki and I were joined by Kevin, David, Rene and Iselin. Rene and David apologised as they'd ordered something for me that hadn't arrived so David said he'd sent me the rain and Rene claimed credit for the thunder and lightening. Kevin got me a bottle of Baileys and Vikki got me a bottle of Creme de Menthe so I can mix up a Green Goblin, my favourite cocktail (Baileys, Creme de Menthe and milk, sometimes with Kahlua).

We headed into the park and started off in Adventureland where we did the Jungle Cruise in the rain. Really not fun. Then we did the Tiki Room and Pirates as both were indoors. Fortunately, the weather kept most of the crowds away though the line for Peter Pan's Flight was STILL nearly an hour (we didn't go). We spent the whole day playing on the attractions. We tried to see Peter Pan but the weather must have made it difficult t fly over from Neverland.

In the afternoon, we were joined by Laura (Mitzy) and Stephie. Mitzy pulled me into a little shop in Fantasyland and the cast member noticed my birthday badge. She got me to ring a bell and when I did, lights flashed round the room like Tinkerbell had flown in. She then appeared behind the till before flying off again. It was really sweet. Then the cast member got me to close my eyes and I was "pixie dusted" (covered in glitter). She told me not to think any happy thoughts or I'd end up flying but I did and I never flew. Oh well.

We ate at Cinderella's Royal Table, right inside the castle. It was really good. You start off having your photo taken with Cinderella and then you go upstairs into the banquet hall. The decor was amazing and the stained glass windows looked up and down mainstreet and fantasyland. We were visited by the mice from Cinderella as well as the fairy godmother. Kevin (bless him) had arranged a cake as a surprise so I got a huge chocolate cake with candles to blow out! One of the most amusing parts of the night was when we were all given fairy wands or swords, depending if we were guys or girls. I was opposite Rene and I picked up my wand, he picked up his sword and without a word we traded them. I'd much rather be a knight than a princess and Rene is a fairy anyway! Hee hee!

All in all, it was a really nice day out. The weather could have been better but it didn't matter too much. At the end of the evening, I caught the end of Spectromagic and got to see my Peter Pan at last!

Anyway, gotta go. We have inspection on the 20th and there's a stupid new rule about nothing on the walls so I've got to take it all down. Boo!

Talk to you all soon.

Scary changes at The Rose and Crown

Things have been changing rather radically at The Rose and Crown due to cutbacks and the economy. About a week ago, the servers were told during the AM shift that we had to stick around for the pre-shift meeting before the PM shift. We were all really nervous. The only time the managers get us all together is to yell at us for some reason. We couldn't think of any reason why we'd be in trouble but this is Disney and I long ago came to the conclusion that Disney hate their employees and wants them dead. However, I wasn't expecting the news we got.

First, let me explain the hierarchy at work. We have our area manager, Rachid who overlooks the entire UK pavillion. Then there's Christian, the head chef. Christian is in charge of the kitchen (and the world in his opinion). Anything Christian says goes. If he yells at you keep your head down and agree with whatever he says. He can make your life hell if you upset him and he will. Next come the managers, Alicia, Jamie, Dan and Nick.

Anyway, we were told on Thursday that Dan would not be coming back to work due to the economy. It's horrible. He went on his days off and then got told he'd lost his job. He wasn't even able to come and say goodbye! I really hope he'll get a decent redundancy package as the economy is so bad, he's going to need it. Everyone's looking for work at the moment. Dan was a decent bloke and he didn't deserve to lose his job. Everyone was really shocked and it was difficult to concentrate on the shift. However, we were told that this was the only change they were doing.

The following day, I get into work and guess what? There's ANOTHER full team meeting. We all got together and learnt that Rachid (our area manager) was being reassigned to Ohana (the restaurant in the Polynesian Resort) and Chef Christian (the Demi-God) was being sent to Mama Melrose in Hollywood Studios. The UK is now merged with Canada and we have the same area manager (a woman called Christina) and the same Head Chef (Chef Nick). It was alot to deal with at once. Especially as we'd never met either of the two leaders and all we had were rather frightening rumours!

That was a week ago and we've had Chef Nick in every day. Obviously, I don't know him well but so far I'm really impressed. Firstly, he treats everyone with respect in his kitchen. He doesn't have a God complex and will actually listen to you and treat you like a human being, unlike Christian. Another thing he's done that impressed me was he asked the servers what we would like to see on the menu. He realises that we are all British and the stuff we eat at home is what he needs to see on his menu. This is a change for us all as I once told Christian that we don't eat Blood sausage in the UK and he tore me apart in front of the entire pre shift meeting. Chef Nick has got some terrific ideas and while I don't agree with them all, I'm willing to give them a go because the man knows what he's doing AND he treats us with respect. So far, Chef Nick is a huge improvement to the Rose and Crown.

Losing Rachid has been a bit of a blow though. I always found Rachid to be a little vacant (the guy once told me I wear too much make-up despite the fact I never wear any!) but it felt like he was on "our side" for alot of things. He's going to be missed. I've met his replacement, Christina, once and she seems nice but I haven't spoken to her enough times to form a proper opinion yet. I hope she's a good manager.

All these changes have set the staff on edge at work. Morale is down and the full timers are all concerned for their jobs. I feel like they resent us a little because they know we're immune to the economic breakdown. We're sponsered by the government to be here and cannot be fired just because of the economy (we can still be termed for just about everything else though). Work is full of uncertainty right now.

As if to usher in this new time of change, we've had alot of thunderstorms recently. I absolutely LOVE thunderstorms! We had one at 6am the other morning and I crawled out of bed, sat on the balcony and watched it! It reminded me of home which is weird because we're not really prone to lots of thunderstorms. Rain, yes, we have lots of that but we don't tend to have anything as energetic as thunderstorms very often. Still, whatever the reason, I loved watching it. Now we seem to be having storms every couple of days. In fact, as I write this, I can hear the beginnings of another one! Brilliant! If it comes any closer, I may have to abandon you in order to watch it.

What else has happened recently? Oh yes! We had our eight month anniversary on Sunday. We've been out here for eight whole months now. Nicola got our arrival group together and we all enjoyed breakfast before work. Nic had put alot of effort into it. We had strawberries and melon and grapes and toast and cereal and bagels and jam....she'd even decorated! It was great for everyone to get together (except Pippa who overslept). Most of us haven't been in the same room outside of work since our three month anniversary! Only four months left now and that will fly by!

I'm trying to squeeze alot into my last few months so I was up early this morning to do the backstage Tower Of Terror Tour. These are backstage tours offered by the Programs office. They do two a month and each time I try to get on them but they are always fully booked. This time I went along on the off chance that someone wouldn't show up. I am really glad I did! It thundered this morning while we waited for the bus so alot of people didn't come which meant I was able to go along! Yes! Louisa had told me the times and I was so grateful to her!

The tour was really interesting! We got to go round the lobby and our guide told us things that alot of people don't know about the attraction. We got to see all the furniture and were told stories about where it came from and how it was selcted to be in the attraction. Over on one side of the lobby is an abandoned game of Mahjong. This is an actual game, stopped in the middle and the tiles glued down so anyone familiar with the game can see it's a real game. This is out of sight of most of the guests! That's how seriously Disney takes it's theming! A few of the tiles are missing though. Stolen over the years by cast members and guests.

Behind the front desk are cubbies containing keys to the different rooms of the hotel. In one is a photograph of an old man. He was a guest who loved the Tower of Terror. He used to ride it every time he came to Florida and when he passed away, his family came back one last time, ducked under the rope keeping guests out and threw the photo in one of the cubbies. It was found by cast members but they kept it there in memory. The guests never see it or even know about it so it doesn't hurt anyone. It was such a sweet story though.

Once we'd looked around the lobby, we were taken behind the scenes and shown the backstage areas. We saw the huge lifts that guests ride in and were taught how they work and move around. We saw the camera room that watches the whole attraction all the time and can stop the ride instantly if a guest does something stupid like jump out. We saw the cast areas (which look exactly like every other cast area I've seen!) and then we got to ride the attraction with the lights on! That was bizarre as we got to see everything that most guests don't see. I can't tell you much about that, I've probably said too much already but it was really cool!

I cannot wait for the next tour. I'm hoping it will be The Haunted Mansion (my favourite attraction in the Magic Kingdom). You get to go into the ballroom where the dancing ghosts are and see how it's done. I definately won't be able to put that in my blog but I'll be able to say a little bit about the whole experience.

After the tour, Louisa and I got together with Kevin, Stephie and David and we went to Best of British for some real food. Then we had a quick look round the Florida mall. Now I'm back at The Commons feeling a little disappointed because the storm never developed into anything. However, it may still come back. Talk to you next time!

Huge Update!

Arrrgggghhhhhhh! No! No! No!

I just wrote out a huge long update and then this stupid virus appeared and it's all gone! Now I'm going to have to write it all out again! Stupid virus!!!

Anyway, here we go again....

I've abandoned you guys for a whole month now but due to numerous requests (Stephen) and death threats (Peter!), I though I was due for an update. So, my last blog was from the middle of February. Work continued to be slow for the rest of the month which meant the staff had alot more time on their hands. Being a mischievious lot, it's made way for quite a few pranks and server jokes.

One favourite is when a server comes into the kitchen and tells another server, "table 307 (or whatever your table is) has asked for three waters (or more bread)." You take out what they've asked for only to learn they never ordered it in the first place. You end up looking like a complete idiot. However, the one time you ignore someone who tells you your table needs something is the one time they'll be telling the truth!

Another fun one was one I played on my roommate (sorry Vikki). I told her guests that it was her birthday and they had to be nice to her. You should have seen her face when her tables sung her Happy Birthday!!!! She looked so confused! I was laughing so hard I could barely stand!

Another thing servers seem to enjoy doing is hiding little green army men all round the restaurant. They're only four centimetres tall (about one and a hlaf inches, mum) so they blend in really well. Management really don't like it but we all enjoy sitting in the pre-shift meetings silently pointing them out to each other. When one is found by the managers, it's removed, we get told off and there's a new one hidden in the restaurant by the end of the day!

Another good thing about the restaurent being slow has been the free time we've all enjoyed. A group of us went out for Nia's birthday a couple of weeks ago and Stephie, David, Kev and I went along to the Sleuths Mystery Dinner Show last month. It was so much fun. It's a murder mystery and you have to solve the murder. I really got into it, writing notes all over the napkins. We came up with a brilliant theorey. Unfortunately, we were brilliantly wrong but our table decided we liked our theorey better than the real one anyway.

On my day off last week, I was able to fufil an ambition of mine and I went hang gliding. I've always wanted to do that but something has always stopped me. Either the instructor was ill or the wind was too strong or it was raining.... This time, however, nothing went wrong and the glider was towed up to mile high with no problem. The instructor cut the cord and we were flying! It was like being Peter Pan! We cloud surfed (bumpy) and did a couple of corkscrew turns and steep dives but the best part was when we were just gliding. We went through the clouds and I saw the shadow of the glider on the cloud, surrounded by a rainbow circle. It was brilliant as not many people get to see that. I even got to pilot the glider on the way back down. I loved it and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

We've had a few throw outs recently. I've explained throw outs before but just in case you weren't paying attention, I'll explain again. Throw outs happen at the end of people's year program. All the crap they've accumulated over the year, posters, ornaments, soft toys, CD players, TV's, foot spas, Christmas trees....they get everyone together and give it all away. Everyone gets in the one apartment, the item is held up and whoever yells "shotgun" first gets it. A few items are reserved for personal friends and it's always sweet to see those being given out. It's always something like "I'm throwing out this wine glass to Hayley because she was there that day we got so hammered we left our underwear in the bushes..." or "this teddy is for Sophie because she let me cry on her shoulder when I was homesick". Getting a personal throwout makes you feel really good. I got three from Amy's throwout, all soft toy cats because "Tori's missing her cat so much, she's trying to kidnap the strays".

Talking of the strays, there's a really cute little cat here I call Tails and it's true, I have been trying to kidnap him. For a stray, he's very tame and I've taken to leaving food out for him. If housing found out I'd be so beyond terminated! I nearly got busted the other day when we had inspection. They saw a tin of catfood out on the counter and asked about it. Thinking really quickly, I told them it was from a throwout as everyone knows I love cats. They did it as a fun thing and I said if they wanted to check, they'd see it was years out of date. Luckily they didn't call my bluff so I got away with it this time. Ooooppps!

Colin and Sam's throwout was actually quite sad. There was a personal throwout to me ("this huge crate of books is for Tori because everyone knows she's the bookworm") but the worst part was knowing Sam and Colin are leaving. Before, it was just people I worked with but never really got the chance to know very well. Now it's actual friends that are going. People I will miss. Plus, it's a big reminder that my time out here is going fast. There's always a speech at the end of a throwout and they always say "your year will go really fast". I've always thought they were lying but it's so true. Time is passing by so fast, I want to stop the world, just for a minute and really appreciate where I am and what I'm doing. It's been nearly 8 months! I go back to England in another 4! That's crazy!

In a way it's good as I do miss things about home. I miss my mum and my brother and my little niece, Isobel and my sister (who luckily isn't very computer savvy so will never find out that I said that). I miss rain. Stupid, I know but when I'm feeling low, I love watching the rain fall. It rarely falls out here.

I miss cheese and pickle sandwiches, my workmates, Canterbury, people actually knowing what a banger is (no, it isn't a firework you dumbarse guest, it's a sausage!), my cat....so in a way, it's good that my time is going by. However, I know when I get back, that's it for me. No more travelling. Just working to pay the rent. I expect most of my money will go on bills so life will not be fun when I get back to the UK. Therefore, the idea that time is flying by so quickly scares me.

Okay, you are now up to date with life over here. It's weird. A few paragraphs sums up my activities for the past month. However, I don't end up telling you the little things like trips to Walmart or ending up staying up really late talking or evenings spent at Downtown Disney. You only ever get to hear the big stuff.

Just a couple of the "small things" that happened that I'll tell you about before I abandon you. I had a table the other night consisting of a middle age couple (early 50's). I was chatting to them for ages and I was really enjoying myself. They're Florida residents so they've promised to come back and eat but by the end of their meal, they were telling me all about their son, Greg and how he'd love me. They told me "he loves brown hair and brown eyes" and then asked how tall I was! They finished by saying "Greg will make an excellent husband and father" so I guess I'm getting married soon! I didn't pay much mind to it as servers are seen as fair game out here. I've been given a couple of phone numbers (including one from a woman!) and I've got a business card from a minister if I want to get married out here.

Another one is my roommate, Vikki went to California for a few days and she posted a postcard as soon as she arrived to see if it would beat her home. It didn't quite manage that but we just went down to our postbox and it's there, all the way from California!

See, sometimes the little things are worth a mention!

Catch up

Hi Guys,

Well, they weren't kidding when they said that February would be a quiet month. Work has been really dead. Still, it's given the staff a well needed rest and we've all been using the time to go out to places we've been meaning to see since we got out here. I have a list of things I want to do that I haven't got round to yet.

One of the major ones was Medieval Times. I've been once before wtih my family but that was quite a few years ago. So, a couple of days ago, I got together with David and Stephie and we all went to Medieval Times. It was brilliant! It's a dinner and show and you eat the food (with your hands) while cheering on your knight. We were supporting the red and yellow knight which I was disappointed with because I like green. However, neither our knight or green won so it didn't matter. The blue knight was cute though! It was great to sit there cheering on your knight while you were served by "serving wenches" and watched over by the King. I was in my element. Everytime the server came over, I had to smile because I can remember my little brother, Peter at Medieval Times clicking his fingers are yelling "wench! Wench!" with great delight (he wasn't being rude, they ask you to do that!)

David, Stephie and I paid a little extra to upgrade to the "Royal Package". It gave us front row seats, a program, a DVD, a banner to wave and a free photo. The photos were hysterical! They take your picture and put it on the body of either a lady of the realm or a knight. All the guys were knights, all the women were ladies which upset me as I wanted to be a knight. Knights had so much more fun.

In the gift shop outside, they had all sorts of knight memorabilia. They had swords and shields and statues and all sorts. We found some knight tunics so somewhere there's a picture of me, Stephie, David, Kevin and Danny (who joined us later) wearing the knight tabbards in the shop. I really wanted one! There's something romantic about knights. Imagine going round the country fighting for justice and honour and truth and courage. Sounds good to me. Only thing was, they were expected to fight for God. Hmmm, an athiest knight? Weeelllll....

I managed to get a week off work recently as I had a friend visit from England. We spent the time visiting the parks but nothing special. I've done the parks so many times now that I'm a little bored with them. That's why I'm trying to get the money to go to Cancun next month. I really want to see Mexico.

A few days ago, it was Rene's birthday so we snuck into his apartment one morning and surprised him with a cake. We also threw him into the pool fully clothed! That was fun. We also went to Japan for his birthday meal. The food was cooked right in front of us by the chefs which was cool!

Well, that's all for now. I'll write again soon!

Bad days and good days

I had a REALLY awful day at work the other day. It just seemed like everything went wrong. I had some really evil guests who weren't pleased no matter what I did for them. Someone backed into me in the kitchen and I dropped a tray of nine drinks which set me behind for the first seating. I went out to the table and explained that I'd be a couple of minutes and they answered, "why should we have to wait because you're @~!#ing incompetant?!" That's always nice.

Towards the end of my shift, a table was sat on 505. I had section 501 which includes tables 501, 502, 503 and 504 so 505 wasn't my section. I carried on serving my tables. Twenty five minutes later, the guest comes over and yells that he's been waiting for ages. I went over to the table to check who was meant to be serving and guess what? Apparantly, it was meant to be me! It wasn't my fault, no one had told me that was my table but I didn't want to give excuses to the guests. They wouldn't understand so all I could do was apologise and tell them it was all my fault. Of course, they were angry and everything I did just seemed to make them madder. They ordered the pub burger which is cooked to well done and takes at least 20 minutes. I explained but they were already pissed off. By the end of my shift, I went upstairs to the toilet, sat on the floor and cried my eyes out. I know, pretty pathetic, huh? Still, I cried it all out and I felt so much better afterwards.

The following day, Kevin and I decided we had to get away from Disney and guests and go somewhere quiet. What we needed the most was a national park but here in Orlando, national parks are a little bit rare. Instead, we went to the Wilderness Campground. It's a Disney campground but it's themed to a national park. There are trees and lakes and rivers and it's really quiet and peaceful.

We hired bikes and headed off the marked trails (oopps, naughty us) and into the forest. It was amazing! It was a really sunny day and I enjoyed the exercise. We saw deer and squirrels and rabbits and cranes and herons and a chipmunk. The best part was when we came out of the forest and came across an armadillo. Wow, are they weird looking! They're like armoured rats. This one didn't seem at all bothered by us and we took lots of photos. I was crouched down next to the armadillo and I was even able to reach out and touch its back. It felt like you'd expect it to feel. Like a hard shell.

We spent most of the day on the bikes but we also took the chance to sit by the lake side in deckchairs and just listen to the water lapping on the shore. It was exactly what I needed after my bad day.

There's not much else to report right now. Well, except they're asking for trainers at work. My manager, Alisha, asked if I'd be interested. I'm really not sure, I still sometimes freak out when I have too many tables. However, if there was some sort of position that trains people just on spieling and menu learning, I think I'd be quite good at that. That's book learning, I like that. There's a meeting on Saturday and as I'm on an AM shift I'll be at the Rose and Crown anyway so I may go along.

My only other bit of news is a group of us are planning a trip to Cancun soon. I've always wanted to go to Mexico. I nearly managed it once but something else came up. I really want to see the Mayan ruins and David wants to see the beach. I'm hoping to snorkel and scuba dive. There's a large group of us going and I'm looking forward to it.

Anyway, that's all for now. Talk to you soon!

Work, ice and Gay Lord!

Now that New Year is finally over with, things have really calmed down at work. I went in yesterday and was surprised to see how empty it was. It was reflected in the restaurant too. I didn't have a single table for my first hour and when I finally did get sat it was a two top! Luckily, it got busier towards the end of the night but it was never frantic or even busy, really. Coming right after the holiday rush, it made for a nice relaxing shift. They reckon it'll be like this for at least a month so that means a few extra days off for us. Yes!

I've been over here for five months now and I was worried to learn that I haven't really done any of the things I want to do. I know I have seven months to go but aside from swimming with the manatees and visiting Key West, i've done nothing! People had been talking about an attraction called Ice! over at some hotel so I looked it up online and found it ended the following day. I made a point of getting up early and going to see it and I am so glad I did!

The hotel is called "Gay Lord Palms". I am not making that up. It's actually called Gay Lord Palms. It's a really posh hotel too. In the middle of their atrium there's a huge waterfall. They have alligators you can look at plus over on one side is an area designed to resemble Key West. The bar is on a sailing boat in the middle of a small lake! All of this is indoors as well.

Anyway, as impressive as the hotel was, Kev and I had gone over to see the attraction Ice! It's a walk through attraction containing loads of ice sculptures made out of clear and coloured solid ice. They had an ice bridge you could actually walk on and one scene was of a moonlit lake where the swans were ice on the ice lake. It was beautiful. Further round, they had an ice gingerbread house you could walk through and a thirteen foot Santa who's knee you could sit on. The best part of it was at the end where they had ice slides! Slides made entirely out of ice that you could slide down. I went really fast!

The only drawback to the attraction was it was really, really cold! They provided us with parkas but eventually the minus 12 degree cold really got to us. When we got outside, I had to shake my hands to get the circulation going again and poor Kevin's fingers were red and swollen (he hadn't thought to bring gloves!) Still, I'm really glad we went. Now I can tick off something from my to do list.

Well, I'm working again today so I'd better make tracks! Hope everyone had a good Christmas and a brilliant New Year! I'll write again soon!

Happy New Year!

Well, it's now 2009! How weird does that look?

It's been a good few days but I am soooo glad it's all over. Work has been really busy and full on but things should start settling down a little bit now.

I had been dreading doing the PM shift for New Years Eve. For the last month, all the managers have been saying "it'll be really busy, you'll be weeded, it'll be tough" and basically freaking everyone out. Luckily, Matt decided he wanted to work the PM as everyone said the money was really good so I traded. I was an AM instead.

The AM shift was really busy and I felt so glad I'd traded. It turns out I made the right decision too, as I made more on my AM than Matt did doing the PM. After work, Kevin, Vikki, David and I got changed and exited the park. We were told that we had to leave and come in as guests. I thought it would be wayyy too busy but we got back in with no problem. Only trouble was it was 5pm so we had 7 hours to kill. The park was really busy so we didn't bother with any rides. We just mooched around. At 7pm, we went back to the UK pavillion and did a countdown to 7pm (which is midnight back home). Everyone that was at work came out into the street and we all hugged and wished each other Happy New Year. The Americans around us all thought we were nuts!

Later on, we decided to head over to Norway to see Rene. We got halfway round world showcase when we ran into a huge crowd of people. They were stationary and we couldn't move forward. We stood in the huge crowd for about 10 minutes then tried to back out of it. At that point there were people behind us as well. We couldn't move at all. I looked left...people, I looked right, more people...I'm a little claustrophobic in crowds but I closed my eyes and tried to imagine there was no one else there. Kevin tried to lead me out but as soon as he put his hands on my shoulders I shrieked, "DON'T TOUCH ME!" We couldn't move anyway. In the end, I couldn't handle it, I felt like I couldn't breathe. I lunged for the railing and somehow (I don't remember this part) got over it. Then I sat on the grass trying to get enough oxygen. It was awful. I sat there for twenty minutes or so, then security came and helped me backstage. Once I was out of the crowds, I was fine. I still can't believe I got over that railing. Kevin is over six foot and he had difficulty! Guess adrenaline did most of it!

At around 11pm, we were back in the UK pavillion. As a joke, Kevin asked if there was any availability in the restaurant. There was! Colin said if we didn't mind the cold, he'd take us on his section. It had been empty all night because it was cold outside. We were fine to sit in the cold so we had a table right on the waterfront for the New Years Eve fireworks. It was brilliant! I had a Baileys hot chocolate and we all shared lots of different types of food. It was a brilliant way to ring in the new year!