Curiosity keeps leading us down new paths

So it's been almost 6 months since I finished my CRP and as you can see, after November, my blog posts stopped. No, I didn't quit or get termed- I continued to live what was the best 12 months of my life.  Like so many before me have said, I just didn't have time to keep my blog up to date/ was too busy living life (but I know my excessive updates on Facebook and Instagram more than made up for it).

For anyone thinking of applying for the CRP... DO IT! It's a life-changing experience that you aren't going to get working anywhere else.  For anyone currently applying, feel free to fire me over any questions you have.  I love chatting all things Disney and will happily share my tips/ knowledge/ thoughts :)  And for anyone about to embark on their own CRP adventure - have the best time, live every day to the full, and remember... it's your program!

So instead of rambling on... here is my personal summary of a year in the life of a CRP:

After finishing my program in August 2016, I then decided to travel through Central and South America for 3 months with friends from Scotland.  It was an incredible experience and I could have easily started a whole new blog to document my adventures! (maybe that's something for another day?!) Alas, I made a surprise trip back to Orlando at the end of October, which proved to be the perfect end to my fairytale journey.  Returning home at the start of November, it was amazing to be home for Christmas after being away for so long, and I quickly settled back into 'reality'.  Life continued as it had been pre-Disney; everything looked, smelt, sounded, tasted and felt the same as it had done a year and a half previously.  As cheesy as it sounds, I knew in myself that I'd grown as a person.  I met some amazing people who have greatly impacted my outlook on life, seen places I never dreamt I'd see, and above all, made friendships and memories that I know will last a lifetime.

Now that I've been home for a couple of months, I've had time to reflect on the experiences I had during my year in Florida, which I hope to expand on in another blog post.
But for now, who knows what 2017 has in store?! I'm excited to see what it throws at me :)

Hold on Holy Ghost.

How is it November already? Time is seriously flying.
Food and Wine Festival is almost over, so looking forward to getting my 2 days off back again... until Candlelight begins in a couple of weeks and Epcot becomes busy once more!







We definitely made the most of our Universal Halloween Horror Nights tickets and went after work at any opportunity we could!

Had to say goodbye to a roommate... Valentine, you will be missed <3

Katie and I had another magical day off together, consisting of a trip to cast connections, Art of Animation for a look around, Magic Kingdom to send a postcard... a boat trip over to Fort Wilderness for all-you-can-eat buffet at Trail's End, and a glittery night at Lasses.

 

Another magical day off was also spent with Sophie and Caitlan, making use of our 40% off holiday discount!

In a place where they celebrate Halloween for a solid 2 months of the year... the big day finally arrived (although we had our celebrations a day early.. and again 3 days later)

 

 

Remember, remember the 5th of November.

Guy Fawkes Day didn't go unnoticed either...

Free food at work and the Union Jack Mickey pin <3

The food and wine marathon weekend also saw a group of us sign up for a 12hour night shift. After eating our body weight in chicken, ribs, pulled pork and mashed potato at Whispering Canyon, we made our way to Epcot. After the park closed, the first few hours were super quiet, allowing us to have a dance party out on the promenade of the UK pav and congratulating the first wave of runners finishing. From 2am it began to get busy, but the team pulled through and survived... feeling very broken by the end.

 

And as soon as Halloween was over... the Christmas festivities began!

October has been quite the month. Thanks to all who have been part of it <3

Na Na, Honey I'm Good!

It's now half way through October and Epcot's Food and Wine Festival is in full flow.  The World Showcase is filled with extra kiosks, selling food and drink samples from cuisines around the world. Epcot has been especially busy at the weekends, meaning long shifts, 6 day weeks and lots of extra hours! But this hasn't stopped us having fun at work and on our days off.   The food on offer is DELICIOUS... so of course I've had to sample some of the offerings.

Katie and I attended the 'Train the Trainer' class, meaning we are now fully qualified trainers and can wear our new Jiiminy Cricket pins with pride! Even though it feels like we only arrived yesterday, my arrival group will be training the newbies from the next arrival group which is pretty cool :)
We also took out our winter coats from costuming... which definitely look like something straight out of Hogwarts! Talking of Winter, it is finally starting to cool down. I wore long trousers yesterday for the first time since getting here :L I also managed a 10mile outdoor run the other morning without dying in the humidity... 3 months to go until marathon day!!

I also had a lovely breakfast at Be Our Guest with Joe (which we discovered was coinciding with our 2 'ear friendiversary on Facebook - all the more reason to celebrate!)

 

We love a good breakfast, so to celebrate being here in Florida for 2 months... we had a celebratory breakfast with my whole arrival group at Captain's Grille at the Yacht Club. All you can eat buffet and a 'tsunami of cheese' went down very well.

Back at work, the hilarious American guest comments continue, although there has been a sudden influx in Scottish guests due to school half term holidays. Some Scots have been questioning my Scottishness, (which makes me worry that i'm losing my accent)... but with the continual comments about my accent from American guests, its safe to say that I'm not losing it anytime soon. I've also had the chance to do a couple more 'magical moments' for the first time since my first week of work, where I get to pick a child in the restaurant and with the aid of Mickey's magic wand (and our magic ice cubes in one case...), help blow out the flames around the world showcase and set off the fireworks! 

Over on the dark side, Horror Nights at Universal Studios have become a weekly occurrence. I really didn't think it would be something I would enjoy... but going along with a bunch of screaming Disney cast members turns horror nights into comedy nights. I bought a 'frequent fear' pass, meaning I can go as many times as I want. Some of the houses are pretty terrifying, but i've honestly never laughed so much in my life... watching my friends getting chased with clowns carrying chainsaws and creepy masked murderers :O

A great day off was spent with Katie and Joe at Animal Kingdom :) We took Katie to see Festival of the Lion King for the first time, the gopro came out to capture some great footage of us riding Everest, and we met up with Michael, Tom and Rachael to go on the Safari, meet some GOATS, and watch Finding Nemo The Musical!

And the nights out continue... from Grannies to Cowboys!

 

    

 

Adventure is out there!

It's been a while since my last blog post, but i've been crazily busy over the past few weeks as there's been lots going on! Here's a summary of just some of the highlights....

Celebrating our one month anniversary with our first staycation in the Cabins at Fort Wilderness <3

Jelly Rolls with the arrival group. Live duelling pianos and pint-sized cocktails :)

COWBOYS! Checked shirts, country music and line dancing!!

BECKY AND MARI COME TO VISIT <3 The wilderness explorers reunite!!

#wildernessexplorersreunion

It was super exciting to have my friends from my previous summer programs come out to visit!! Within 24hrs of Mari and Becky arriving, we managed to eat dole whip whilst watching Wishes from the Polynesian beach, see the sunrise from the monorail, eat breakfast with Mickey and the rest of the fab five, dance down Main Street, discuss with Mary Poppins how the new hub grass meets the standards of the four keys basics  experience the best meet and greet ever with our old pals Chip and Dale and walk arm-in-arm with them across Frontierland, have flatbread pizza from Pinocchio's, ride Space Mountain, Mine Train, Splash Mountain, Haunted Mansion, meet the boss with his magic tricks in Town Square... AND watch Festival of Fantasy Parade from start to finish (twice), be reunited with Joe, sample the mac and cheese from Friar's Nook, watch the Electrical Parade, Wishes again AND get free ice cream cookie sandwiches <3 Definition of a keeno day!!  Was so lovely to have other friends from our summer program - Rosie and Megan - join us for some of the day too :)

The most magical of all days <3

Joe began his program at the UK pav on Sept 14th, but flew out a few days early for a mini-holiday with us. Pago Pago at the Polynesian Resort became our new home for the next 2 weeks, and we had so many fun days playing in the parks and generally just being keen for life...

.... and of course, they had to come visit me at work.


Some other highlights of our magical vaycay....

 Breakfast at Crystal Palace with our old friend Winnie the Pooh

Dinner at the new Italian on the Boardwalk with Nat and Austin

Reunion dinner of old ICPs + friends at Trail's End!

Even though I was still working 5 days a week.... dancing down mainstreet, swimming with sharks, Ghirardelli, Earl of Sandwich, hairwraps, the double FOF run, hub grass photoshoots, Oh Canada, last minute dashes to Le Cellier, Be Our Guest breakfast, dinner at Ohana's, singalong car journeys, spiky pineapples, wilderness fanatic cards and 2am IHOPs with the most amazing group of people, made this the best holiday I could have asked for :D "Can we just go back to page one and start all over again?"

 

And then there's the main event.... Mickey's Not-so-scary Halloween party. Yes, its September and Halloween still seems like a distant date in the future, but Disney seem to celebrate it for a solid 2 months. So of course, we had to be there on the opening night... and who else could we dress up as other than the wilderness explorers themselves?!

It was an amazing night of meeting character, trick or treating, seeing the Boo to You parade AND Hallowishes fireworks. LOVED EVERY MINUTE.

To top things off... Joe's goal for the year was achieved, becoming instafamous from our photo that was reposted on the official Walt Disney World instagram account:

 

 

In other news, Mondays are still happy and Tuesdays are still tragic.

We even managed to fit in a day trip to Clearwater beach. Despite the lack of sun, Natalie, Katie and I still had a fun day escaping the Disney bubble :)

 




Also managed to meet up with my friend who was over visiting all the way from Hong Kong. Having worked with Judy two years ago on my first summer program at Disney, it was so nice to see her again and hear all about her current job at Disneyland in Hong Kong! Hoping we can see each other again real soon <3

So it may look like all fun and games, but yes, I do work at the same time!! Food and Wine Festival has just begun in Epcot and is now in full swing. The first weekend was MENTAL, with guests barely able to move as it was so busy. Because of this, our working hours have increased, which will hopefully bring some extra cash after what feels like a two week vacation of spending money!  The crowds seem to have calmed down now, but we're anticipating busy weekend shifts now for the next 2 months.

American guests amuse me a lot. I lose track of the number who tell me on a daily basis that their great grandfather was from Scotland, or try to tell me how in someway they are related to me.  

Lots of guests tell me they have visited Edinburgh and quite a few have told me they have been to the Fringe or the Tattoo. Most absolutely loved their visits, however one told me yesterday that he didn't like Edinburgh because he didn't like castles...

There are now a distinct lack of British guests in the park (yaaay), apart from a woman today from Aberdeen who had to stop talking to me mid-sentence as she was in shock that I had a Scottish accent. However, I've now been asked by two separate Scottish guests where in Ireland I'm from....

Hope i'm not losing my accent too much already.

For anyone who enjoyed my video montage of last month, September's video is in production and will be published very soon :)