Thanking My Visitors

As my program comes to an end, I've been reflecting back on my entire 7 months here and all of the fun times I've had. One of the best parts of my program has been having people come visit me throughout my time in Orlando! I wanted to dedicate a post to all of the people who have visited me during my program.

My brother, Joey

My sister, Colleen, her friend, Katie, and my parents

Clemson friends Allie & Kaitlyn

My mom and dad

My friend from home, Emily, and her mom

My sister, her friend, Jenn, my mom, and my dad

My best friend from home, Sara, and her family

The Panzer Family

The Todaro Family

All of these visits really made my time here so much better. It seems like every time I was down in the dumps or needing a pick me up, it just so happened that someone would come down and visit, and it completely turned my whole week around. I want to dedicate this post to all of the people who have come to visit me at Disney World these past 7 months. You all have no idea how much it means to me that you wanted to spend your vacation with me! Thanks to all of my family and friends for the support during my Disney College Program, and I can finally say, see you real soon!

Goodbye, Megan

This is a hard post to write - my roommate Megan, who some of you may also know as one of my best friends on this program, left this morning to return to Texas and end her college program. Megan's managers granted her an early release from her program because she had a lot of things she needed to get done at home before she left to go back to school in the beginning of August. I've known Megan was leaving early for a while now, but to be honest, it still hasn't really hit me that she's gone. I'm still expecting her to come home from work later on tonight and ask me about my day! It's sad that I had to say goodbye to such a great friend and a wonderful person, but honestly, the two of us are so close that I know there's no way that this was actually goodbye.

To celebrate Megan's last day, my other roommate, Allie and I agreed to spend the day with her doing the 4 park challenge. Unfortunately, I had to work in the morning, so I only made it to three parks, but it was still a great last day! We went to Hollywood Studios, Epcot, and Magic Kingdom, met lots of characters, went on all of Megan's favorite rides, and ate a nice dinner at Crystal Palace in the Magic Kingdom with Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, and Piglet!

We came home, helped Megan finish packing, and then said our goodbyes last night and early this morning. I was so sad to see Megan go, but as I said before, I know I will definitely see her again. I'm excited for all of us to move on to the next chapter of our lives, but it's extremely sad to close this chapter. I've made lifelong friendships on this program and I know for certain that these people have changed my life for the better. Megan, I miss you already and you are forever in my heart of hearts.

As I say goodbye to lots of people and places around Disney World, the lyrics to "We Go On" in Illuminations stick in my mind:

"We go on to the joy and through the tears, 

we go on to discover new frontiers, 

moving on with the current of the years, 

we go on moving forward now as one, 

moving on with a spirit born to run, 

ever on with each rising sun, 

to a new day we go on."

Update on My Deployment

I just wanted to update everyone on how my deployment to Hollywood Studios has been going. I am still doing the same thing as before - handing out Olafs at the main entrance of Hollywood Studios. As I stated in my previous post about HS, the job is somewhat boring and mindless, but I have grown more accustomed to it. I do certain things to make my day more interesting and to pass the time. I really like talking to people, so if at all possible, I try to engage people in conversation about the park, Frozen, etc. instead of just handing them an Olaf and having them walk away. The little kids are also really cute, and it's fun to see how excited they get when I give them an Olaf and tell them all about the Frozen Fun events. The coordinators at the main entrance are all really nice and try to be as helpful as possible; one coordinator even gave me a Four Keys Card the other day to thank me for all of my hardwork and helpfulness. All in all, it's a job that I have to do for two more weeks. I'm trying to make the most of it, but I would be lying if I didn't say that I really do miss my old job at Nemo.

The good thing about my deployment is that it has made it easier to transition to the end of my program. I don't have the connections or emotional attachment to the people or park of Hollywood Studios that I did at Animal Kingdom and Nemo, so it's not going to be as hard to say goodbye in two weeks. I've received my final workweek schedule and my family is arriving for their last trip this Friday, so I'm excited to see them and spend time with them. Although my program is coming to an end and I am going to miss my friends and being in Disney World so much, I know that my time to leave has come. I've learned so much during my DCP and I'm ready to go back home and then back to Clemson and get back into the "real world" and put my skills that I've learned here to good use.

So, for the next two weeks, if anybody happens to be at Hollywood Studios, stop by the Main Entrance and get an Olaf from me! As always, keep on dreaming!

Opening Day at Diagon Alley in Universal Studios

So, let's take a break from my depressing posts about leaving Nemo and handing out Olaf and talk about something super exciting I did last week: OPENED DIAGON ALLEY AT UNIVERSAL! On July 8, Universal Studios had its grand opening of Diagon Alley and King's Cross Station. My friends and I took the day off and decided to go to Universal to celebrate opening day with all of our fellow Potter fans.

Opening day at Diagon Alley

Gringotts Bank (The dragon breathed fire)

Inside Gringotts

We arrived at 6:30 AM (the park didn't open until 9) and did a lot of waiting around. Luckily, we arrived early enough that we were among the first few hundred people to get into the land. At 8 AM, they opened only Diagon Alley, and did a fun opening ceremony where they shot off fireworks. Even with being some of the first people there, we still had to wait 3 hours to get on the ride inside Gringotts Bank. It was a long three hour wait, but finally we got inside Gringotts and onto the ride. Honestly, I found the ride to be disappointing. It definitely was not worth the three hour wait and certainly not worth the 7 hour wait it was later on in the day. Part of the problem may have been that we stopped in the middle of the ride, which took away from the experience, but it still was mediocre at best. Personally, I prefer the ride inside Hogwarts.

Diagon Alley

Although the ride was a slight disappointment, Diagon Alley, King's Cross, and the Hogwarts Express were all really impressive. It was a lot of fun to look around the stores in Diagon Alley, and the ride on the Hogwarts Express was really cool. It was a unanimous decision that the best part of the day was the Butterbeer ice cream (AMAZING). If you're a Harry Potter fan, I definitely recommend checking out Universal Studios and all of the Harry Potter fun there. It was a great (but exhausting) day, and I am so glad that I could have this experience with my Disney friends!

Butterbeer ice cream

Ride selfie

Our new Gryffindor souvenirs 

The First Few Days at Hollywood Studios

If you read my last post, you know that I'm currently working at Hollywood Studios. My official title is "Main Entrance Support" and by that, they really mean handing out Olafs at the main entrance. I was deployed from Animal Kingdom to help out with the Frozen Summer Fun Event. In all honesty, the job is not the most exciting thing in the world. I literally have 6-7 hour shifts where I only hand out Olafs to guests. The one thing I like about the job is that I have a lot of guest interaction; people are constantly asking me questions about the park, how to get places, and about the Frozen Summer Fun events. However, I hate having to be outside in the heat all day, especially since I'm both mentally and physically exhausted after my shift is over. 

With my new job I also have some new hours. I typically work one of two shifts: 9-3:30 or 3:30-10. I like the morning shifts because I finish and have the whole afternoon to do things, but I like the afternoon shifts because I can sleep in and I get to watch the Frozen fireworks at night. 

I am still really missing my job at Nemo and just working at Animal Kingdom in general. I still don't feel 100% comfortable with everything at Hollywood Studios, but I'm learning to just take it one day at a time. I have less than 20 days left in my program, so I know I can get through anything in that short period of time!

If anyone has any specific questions about my deployment, or about deployment in general, let me know!