My Dad and Katie came to play with meeee!!!!

I have been having so much fun lately! My dad and Katie came to have fun for free in the parks with me. I have a pass that lets a certain number of people in, and they flew down here to take advantage of it! I am happy to report that they had a fabulous time, and I am going to post some pictures from our wonderful trip!

Katie was like, "stop taking pictures! We haven't done anything yet!"

In the car on the way to Magic Kingdom. Dad is excited....

And so is Katie!

We took a lovely ride on the Magic Kingdom Ferryboat! It was wonderful. See the castle back there on the right?

The castle is between our heads haha!

So fitting, "Let the memories begin!!"

BOO! Haunted Mansion ghosts make me happy.

Hands up on Splash Mountain!

This is one of my favorite pics I have from this trip. The sun was bright and our faces: priceless!

Not only that, but a dumb bird was perched right on Walt's hand! tee hee

All three of us got in this one. It's one for the scrap book!

Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin sure was fun, but our faces were more fun. I lost, sadly.

Dad won in his car though! (He rode alone....)

Ah yes.. This is what happens when you go to Disney World right after Superbowl Sunday. The huge endorsement of Disney is being earned right here by Eli Manning. To me he looks more nerdy than football star but hey, it was a close game right? JK

My heart: Jack Sparrow. He is my favorite and I was just a tad starstruck haha.

Monsters Inc. Laugh floor is really funny. It's all improv but so hilarious I could go on it over and over!

Ready for Hollywood Studios? Here goes Day 2!

Tower of terror first ride. Nice face, Kate.....

Ride numero dos we got the elevator all to ourselves! Dad wanted to be closer so he sat a row up. I like the back juuuust fine! Katie was brave enough to ride with one hand up.

Third time's a charm! I didn't quite get my hands up, though Katie and Dad did. I was trying so hard too!

Creepy Bellhop guy is pretty fabulous. Yep.

Rockin Rollercoaster take 1!

Aaaaand take 2.

Hollywood backlot tour. Great water spill, it was really impressive in person. TONS of water.

Also on the tour: Sewing rooms! I freaked out a little. This would be perfect for me. Maybe I'll work here someday!

Ready for Animal Kingdom Day 3, and EPCOT Day 3?

Here are some animals we saw on our African Safari!

Crocodiles!

Hippos!

Wildabeast!

Baby Elephants!

Cheetas!

And then we headed to EPCOT. Here is the big Sphere:

And some photos from our excursion inside that sphere: Spaceship Earth!

Test Track is SO fun and fast. It's amazing!

Oh yeah me and Katie are BOSS!

So Day 4 we went to Universal and Islands of Adventure.

And the WIZARDING WORLD OF HARRY POTTER!! YAY!

Hogwarts Express!

Of course I visited the sweet shop!

And Hogwarts definitely did not disappoint!!!

So day one we went to Magic Kingdom and had a grand time. We rode on pretty much every ride, snd then some again. We loved splash mountain, and rode it several times, and we only had to wait in about a 10 minute line as our longest of the day. We walked on to every ride and had a magical day. Katie was like, "I want to go on a RIDE ride", so we went to Hollywood Studios the next day. Magic Kingdom also has the amazing projector show "The Magic, The Memories, and You!" and I think that was Dad's favorite. I waited ALL DAY to show it to him. We finished off day one with spectacular fireworks!

Day 2 was all energy and adrenaline from Rockin Rollercoaster and Tower of Terror. I love those two rides! Dad and Katie did too, of course. We were kind of pooped after the morning though so we got some food and went to tons of shows after. Two stunt shows, one involving jumping cars and flames, and one all about Indiana Jones, and a Beauty and the Beast show, an Ariel show, and others. It was a really good day!

Day 3 was Animal Kingdom, with several rides on Expedition Everest and a trip on a wild African Safari. We went to the Finding Nemo show and the Lion King show (both amazing!) and rode on Dinosaur, the most underrated ride in the park! Then we skipped over to Epcot for a chill day playing with technology like Mission Space (Orange team!!) and Test Track. It was really fun to ride Soarin because i was reminded of the trip the three of us took a couple years ago to California adventure. We had so much fun then, and now we are making new memories!

The final day I had with them we went to universal and went on every single ride! It was fantastic! I also got to go to harry potter land and I was freaking out around every corner! Katie and dad were not too impressed, but I don't even care. It's HARRY POTTER!

I did have to say goodbye after that though, because Friday i had to work, but I let them in to the Hollywood studios again so they could have a thrilling last day, and I said goodbye. I was sad, but not for long because hey, I live and work in Walt Disney World! I LOVE IT HERE!!!!!

"Work" So Far at the BBB

My days have been very full lately. I have been getting up at around 5:30 am and getting ready, then going to catch the bus at 6:20. On the bus, we go to a stop called West Clock. This is the stop to go to Disney University (if I were taking classes which I'm not) and the VIP bus stop as well. I get off the "A" bus from the apartments and get on the VIP cast bus. It's only called the VIP bus so that guests that see it are still immersed in the "show" aspect of Disney, and it also makes us feel important.

Anyways, the VIP bus takes us to the back end of the Utilidor (the underground tunnels) so we can go to our lockers, the Mouseketeria, and up three flights to the surface so we can go to work. Yes we have to go back down and up when we go to lunch. It's a workout! The Utilidors pretty much just look like the inside of Costco but with shorter ceilings. The walls and floor are concrete and the ceilings are pipes and hanging lights. It's not too special.

I usually drop off my stuff at my locker, then go straight up, because I will spend plenty of time in the Mouse later during "tea time" (break). I go up and clock in, then get my assignment and start doing it. I will most often get hair, but there are three podium jobs, and those are actually really easy to do, just hectic. Checking people in, helping people choose sizes and escorting to the dressing room, and gathering the dresses and setting up the dream dressing room are the tasks of the three podium people.

Sometimes we get backed up because the dressing rooms are full (we just have 2) and little princesses are super picky and indecisive. Oh well, they are paying a lot to be that way.

The hair chairs have three hairstyles, Fairytale Princess (tiny bun and tiara right on top of their head), Disney Diva (a rat's nest of fake hair and curls on top of their head absolutely doused in "pixie dust" (not glitter!), and finally Pop Princess (ahuge explosion of ratted multicolored synthetic hair on top of four difficult twists and mickey clippies). These are all pretty simple to do, though the twists take a little practice. Here they are: (In order from left to right: Diva, Fairytale, Pop)
But anyways, I do a princess, remember all the 500 steps and rules, and little things like no combs on the table, lift the face shield when spraying, pick accessories first, don't forget the sash, work fast, and keep talking and asking questions and telling stories.

Pop is the hardest to entertain because it takes a long time and I run out of things to say. My favorite is the Fairytale because it is so easy and fast, it uses their real hair, and there is no rat's nest on it anywhere! I love those little buns. So precious.

We get all sorts of people. Tons from Brazil because it is their summer holiday right now. They are easy because the kids don't speak a word of English, and I can entertain them by just playing around with them.

Yesterday when it got super backed up, they pulled the trainees off the floor, and we just went around and buddied, which is just helping with makeup and nails. Easy peasy stuff. But I am no longer a trainee, and I am actually getting good with the hair by now, just not as fast as the veterans. I have been doing it for several days. Today is my first official non-trainee day.

I am very happy with this job. It is fast paced, rewarding, pays well, and has amazing perks. Not only do I go to the magic kingdom every day, but I get to play in all four parks whenever I want. On a hard day, I could just pop out after work is over to see the fireworks or go to downtown Disney, or one of the other parks if I want and just feel better. It is so wonderful here at Disney,a nd I love all the kind, sweet people I work with. I am realy happy to be here. It is amazing. I got the best job ever. It's true.

After work I take the bus home and go to bed early. I eat lunch at work (the Mouse, or Mouseketeria is a really awesome caf with everything from subway to the grill and build your own pasta. Everything is pretty much under $5 so that is really good). I get 2 days off a week and have really awesome hours now. I got up early for training, but now that I am official, my days are pretty much from 2pm to 8pm. I love this! I get sleep and energy. That has pretty much been my life since I last wrote, and I'll write again soon with more stories and experiences here in Florida!

Love you all!!

XOXOXO

Amber

Training and First Day

I am now officially a fairy godmother in training! I got my outfit and hat, and I do look fabulous if I do say so myself.

I started my training with a larger tour and some history about the Magic Kingdom. It is truly amazing the amount of detail that is included in the making and planning of it! Little tiny things that no one would ever notice, but if they weren't there, it would feel incomplete.

Everything here is changing and growing, becoming more and more awesome as the minutes pass. We walked around for a bit (it was actually really chilly, I wasn't ready!) and then we went inside to watch a message from the VP of the Magic Kingdom. It was cheesy and over-the-top but cute, and we got to know a little more about the park.

Then we split up and went to our specific areas (technically I am merchandise because we sell things, but entertainment has just as big a hand in our job.) So me and Khira (another CPer from BYU-I) are the only ones for now in the BBBoutique from the CP, all the rest of the workers are permanent.

So we just got our costumes (Yippee!!!) and then went on the computer to learn about some pretty boring stuff like where the books on hazardous chemicals are kept... Yeah lame. Anyways then we were done for that day (Friday).

We went back this morning to do on-site training and learned podium. I was going crazy learning about it. It is hard, but basically like Xpressions (the salon I worked front desk at) without the phone ringing. It is actually easier than that job, because there are 3 people working podium at any one time. The person checking reservations, the one helping find sizes for princesses, and the one setting up the dressing rooms for the little ones.

It is pretty simple after doing it for hours. It didn't take me too long to figure out. Tomorrow we get to do doll hair! I am actually really excited to try out the styles! It will be really fun when I can work on the hair! I still have to learn cash wrap though, and that will probably be rather easy because I have done register before. No prob.

I just can't wait! I have a very busy schedule of work hours which is good, but I am the luckiest girl alive because my job is one of the highest paying CP jobs, and we get split tips, which means I am making money even when I am not working! I know people tip too, because three people asked me today if it was ok. My trainer said they split it all at the end of the week and we can get it every Saturday after close. Horray! I am very happy about this! It also gets split by how many hours we work so I work a ton and will get a ton.

I am really happy about this job. I got to be super girly and frilly today, and watch all the little girls just light up at the way we act. They drop the shy act within 3 minutes usually. It is so rewarding, and I used to work harder for less reward. To top it all off, when we take our little hair info class we get a limited cosmo liscence and can get the discount at Sallys Boo Ya!!!

Today is a good day, and this job might just be the best I have ever had. I love Florida, I love Disney more and more every day, and I LOVE MY LIFE. I am super happy right now, and I just got home from a very long shift. If that isn't the way anyone would want to live, they don't know w=how to live. Well all, I will be sure to keep you updated, and more info to come on my visits to Animal Kingdom and EPCOT soon!

Love you all!

XOXOXO

Amber

More Magic Kingdom Pics

Here are some photos I didn't add earlier. My friend had them on her sim card and I didn't get them until now :) Here is the Monorail entrance to the Magic Kingdom! Yay.

From the Monorail you can see the whole entrance, but not the Castle-yet!
The entrance way to the Bippidy Boppidy Boutique! I work here!
One of my favorite rides is even better in Disney World! The Haunted Mansion! This is my new friend Jaime.
Another ride I ADORE is the Jungle Cruise. Super fun-and funny! Me and my roommate Paige.
Third to go is Pirates of the Carribean. It is so different than in California, though equally AWESOME.
The oh-so-famous Dole whip. Paige and I both got one, but mine had pineapple juice in it. Yummy.
More castle photos. I ask you, can a girl have too many?



No she cannot. I end this photo montage with that!