A "Shocking" Adventure

Today I went to Hollywood Studios with my friends, and it was super fun! Upon our arrival we decided to take pictures with a balloon guy. He accidentally punched Jamie in the face, so he told her she could have a FREE BALLOON! Obviously, she didn't want to carry it around all day, so she said she would get it later. And guess what: we ran into him on the way out of the park, and he made good on his word! She got a cool light up balloon (retailed at 15 buck-a-roos). Unfortunately, she also got hit on... hard. So hard. It was kind of really funny. Here is our picture with the balloon guy:

(Jamie has the sunglasses and Laura is in the blue tank top)

After we met the balloon guy, we decided to go to the Tower of Terror. There is talk that one of the levers in the boiler room of the Hollywood Tower Hotel will shock you if you touch it. Naturally, we tried to find it. We looked like crazy people the way we were touching anything and everything that we thought may be considered a lever. People were staring at us, but that's something we are getting pretty used to as we do weird things often. Just as we were nearing the elevator, I reached out and touched a rather unassuming lever, and, low and behold, it shocked me! I was so excited; I yelled, "It's this one! I swear. Touch it!" Laura and Jamie refused to believe me for the longest time, but neither would actually touch it. Finally, Jamie grabbed the handle with a wince; nothing happened. She touched it again and again, and, still, nothing. Laura touched it. Nothing. They thought I was just tricking them, but I swear upon my bunny, Thor that I was shocked! My fingers tingled for at least two minutes afterwards! 

These didn't turn out so hot...

But this did:

(Photo Cred goes to Jamie)

We then rode Rockin' Roller Coaster, which is always a.... scream. We didn't get to ride it together though, so no fun pictures of that. We did the "single rider" line in order to bypass the insane wait time. Then we just walked around, took in the American Idol Experience, and sang in the rain a bit...

Laura left us after a while (she had to work super duper late last night, so she wanted to take a nap), so Jamie and I ventured further into the depths of Hollywood Studios to find food. I had been dying to go to either the 50's Prime Time Cafe or Sci-Fi Diner, so we decided to check wait times. Usually those restaurants don't have wait times at all.... because it's entirely reserved out. We walked into the Prime Time Cafe and asked what the wait was. Well, the hostess didn't tell us; she asked for my name and told us to go sit down in the living room until it was time for dinner. We didn't even have to wait five minutes until we got our table! Yay! The food was awesome. The atmosphere was great! The waiters and waitresses act like your family (specifically a 1950's mom). They make you eat ALL of your vegetables, yell at you to use your manners, and basically treat you like a kid. IT'S SO MUCH FUN! Oh, and we had a really cool ice cream sundae. It had popcorn on it.

She was checking out the dessert menu...

After dinner, we went on Tower of Terror again; I was determined to prove that the lever DID shock people. We figured that perhaps it was timed or didn't shock every time in order to keep people guessing. We nearly walked onto the ride, despite it being listed as a 60 minute wait. When the moment of truth arose, I was sure I would be proven right. Jamie grabbed the lever and pulled it down........... and nothing happened. No shock. Zilch, Nada, Zero. I was so sad :/ However, I maintain that I WAS SHOCKED. My fingers tingled! Oh well, another time.

This happened though:

We are in the top right corner of the picture.

Bastille Day

So, yesterday was Bastille Day. For those who aren't quite sure what that is, I present, a lesson in French history.

             Bastille Day is, essentially, the French equivalent to Independence Day in America. In 1789, the lower classes of French civilization stormed the fortress prison known as the Bastille. This act of rebellion against the French monarchy became a symbol for the looming French revolution. 

Now that we all have a basic idea of what Bastille day is, I can get on with the blog! As you all know, I ride the bus to Epcot nearly everyday for work because of all the interesting international encounters I get to have. Well, yesterday, I was pleased to see that many of the French people got really decked out to celebrate their country. The girls all had red, white, and blue clothing, make-up, and hair extensions, and the boys carried French flags around their shoulders. I'm not sure why, but I was really proud to see how much they loved their country; maybe it's because I can relate. Anyways, I worked for a while, but I was off early enough to do something other than collapse in my bed. My good friend from work and I decided to go to France for the day; it seemed only fitting! Upon our arrival, it seemed that the French also had that idea. I spent Bastille Day among the French, eating pastries with a good friend. It ended up being quite a good evening! 

But, alas, I forgot my camera at home, so I have no pictures of the events. Please enjoy this instead:

My lovely best friend working.

And then us doing fun stuff:

And then this:

REEEAAAAALLLLLY Long Post

Ughhhhhh blogging is so hard! I'm going to give you a run-down of things that happened and stuff. I wish I was a more consistent blogger, but there are so few hours in the day when you're a College Programmer!

July 4:
The Fourth of July was a pretty great day here in Walt Disney World (mostly because I had the day off and didn't have to manage the ungodly amount of guests). For most of the day, I just relaxed and hung out at the pool with friends.... and we were the only Americans. In the evening, however, I ventured out with my friend and roommate Sarah to experience the firework extravaganza! We decided to go to the Magic Kingdom because they were doing a 360 degree firework spectacular. Everyone else and their second-cousin-twice-removed had that same thought process, though. When we attempted to go into the park, we were informed that the park had reached its capacity, and we were not able to gain entrance. No matter, Sarah and I went to Epcot instead. And, let me tell you, I'm so glad we did! While it was still insanely busy, it was an excellent choice. We ate our Fourth of July dinner in China and watched fireworks from Canada. I've never seen a more brilliant firework display, either! It began with the nightly display affectionately entitled Illuminations (get it?), then launched into a full on American-firework-patriotic-USA-fest. It. Was. Awesome. The American Adventure pavilion, which is in the center of the World Showcase, was all aglow in red, white, and blue lights while a multitude of star-shaped fireworks lit up the sky behind it. It kind of looked like it was exploding. While all eyes were trained on American Adventure, dozens and dozens of fireworks launched in the center of the lake, exploding in an amazing display of light, color, and sound. I could feel the fireworks in my heart; it was really cool.

Oh, and the Star Spangled Banner played the whole time. I may or may not have gotten choked up by the sheer American-ness of the whole spectacle.

Buuuuuut... then it took us an hour and a half to get home. That's a trip that usually takes less than ten minutes. The moral of this story is: take the bus to the parks for major holidays and people from Florida are the worst drivers of life (sorry if I offend anyone).

This is not my video, but please enjoy it anyways!


http://youtu.be/a2SP55iCF88


July 8:
You may be wondering to yourself, "July 8th? Why the heck is she going to detail July 8th?" Well, my darlings, I'll tell you why. July 8th was my 20th birthday. And it was the first birthday of my life that I didn't spend with my family, which was kind of hard to deal with emotionally. But! We persevere! At midnight, my wonderful best friend, Rebekah, surprised me with a delicious homemade ice-cream cake, Mickey Mouse shirt, and this month's edition of Cosmo. It was great. I also received a torrent of birthday wishes from my wonderful friends, both from Orlando and my real life. On the actual day of my birthday, I worked scooping French fries for hundreds of hungry guests, but I got out early enough to do fun things in the evening. Immediately after work, I went to Steak N Shake with a couple of girls that I work with, which was fun because we really got to talk and know each other outside of the Electric Umbrella. Then Rebekah and I went to Magic Kingdom where she bought me a BIRTHDAY WAFFLE!!! It was the best waffle I've ever eaten ever. It was huge and soft. It was also smothered in Nutella and topped with a mountain of fresh bananas, strawberries, and blueberries. We devoured it as we watched Wishes (the nightly firework display at the castle). We also spent about 45 minutes dancing. Yep, dancing. In the middle of Tomorrowland in Magic Kingdom. It was so much fun. My birthday was so simple, but it was really just what the doctor ordered. A few days later I received a few cards from family and an AMAZING package from my sweet friend Trish!

July 11:

Ah, yes, July 11 marks the one month anniversary of my living in Disney. We didn't exactly do anything to celebrate, but Paige, Amanda, and I did go to Animal Kingdom despite the rain. The first thing we did was go to  the show It's Tough to be a Bug inside of the Tree of Life. It was awful! Not the show... the quality was really excellent... the CONTENT! BUGS! Ugh, I will not be doing that again. I never thought I really minded bugs until that show. In an attempt to stay somewhat dry, and also because it's cool, we decided to get a quick snack at the Rainforest Cafe,then watched the show Festival of the Lion King. It was spectacular. I was enthralled from the beginning to the end. I highly suggest seeing it, should you come to Disney. Finally, the girls and I went on a wild safari adventure! We thought we would be disappointed because it had been raining all day, but the animals were out in full force! I've never seen them putting on such a show!

July 13:

Paige and I both had the day off, and one of my favorite people from high school was coming to Orlando for a school convention called Renaissance. That morning I spent a billion years looking for a Regions bank to make my own. I successfully found a Starbucks and a Quiznos before I finally managed to find the darn bank. I then proceeded to blow all of my newly deposited money on food at Wal-mart because I roll like that.... JK, I've just been living off of water and noodles for the past two weeks; now, I eat like a king! Anyways, back to the interesting part of my day, Paige and I met up with Ms. Ladner, who was one of my absolute favorite people during my days at Hancock High School. While on our way to meet her, Paige and I ran into some of Aurora and Belle's friends backstage, and they were quite rude to us. I was quite shocked at their behavior! Just as we met Ms. Ladner, it began raining in the usual Florida fashion; I was so disappointed for her, but we trucked on anyways! We rode several rides and were nearing the front of the line for the Jungle Cruise when the sky opened up, and they were forced to shut down all outdoor attractions. Rather than be upset, Paige and I shared one of my favorite secrets with her... the magical Dole Whips! There is a place in Adventureland that sells the most refreshing, delicious pineapple floats in the world. We spent the rest of the evening exploring Magic Kingdom and catching up; it truly was wonderful to see her again!

AND that, my dear friends, is what has been happening in my life! So, until next post, have a magical day! 

A Bit of Catching Up

I'm such a bad blogger. Please don't hate me forever and ever. Here's a quick update on my Disney life over the past couple of days: work, work, work, work, work, and work. We're talking 10-13 hour days! While it's exhausting, and you all know I hate my job, there are benefits to it! I'm making dat cash monie fo da bank  like crazy, which allows me to do fun things like go see Magic Mike with all of my girls at midnight. I'm also learning to appreciate my job for the things it's not. It's not what I want to do for the rest of my life. It's really showing me how important it is to stay motivated to reach my goals. Working the long hours is not only showing me the stuff I'm made of, but it's also giving me the opportunity to bond with the people I work with. I've made great friends due to our mutual distaste for working in the fast-food industry as the lowest on the totem pole. I've also learned that I am going to be trained to work at the ice cream counter in the coming days, so I'm ecstatic about that! I can't wait to be in a guest hot-spot making magic for hot, cranky, sweaty people from all over the world! And I'm dead serious about that statement.

Outside of work, my social life has been quite interesting! A few days ago, I went to an audition for face character, but I got turned away at the door because I am in the College Program. Needless to say, I was devastated. Several of you probably got very distressing phone calls as a result. However, I put on my big girl panties, and went to Epcot. I needed a bit of perspective, so I went to my favorite place in the world (world showcase, that is): La Patisserie in France. I got a Cafe au Laite and a Croissant and sat outside reading my book in France. It was one of those magical Disney moments that everyone always talks about. As I watched the guests around me, I realized that they ALL spend thousands of dollars to be at the Happiest Place on Earth, but I'm being payed to do it. Just having that realization has made me a totally different person about everything. Work is work. I can't change that. But I can change the way I perceive it. It's not about the money I make; it's about the friends and memories.

Speaking of friends and memories, I've made some good 'uns. I may or may not have been on a date or whatever. It's no big. And it's always a good time when I can go to the pool/parks/Wal-Mart with my friends.