All of the Things...

Oh hey blog. 

Long time no see!

I've thought of you often over the last month or so since I last posted, but its been a struggle putting in the effort to actually post something.

Now that I'm back momentarily, I have no idea how to describe where my life is at on my Disney journey, or how to put into words the amount of fun I'm having. All I can say is that life is ridiculously good right now, I'm still having the time of my life and I can't believe I've been here around three months! It feels like a lifetime ago that I was checking in on my first day, but at the same time it feels like yesterday. The people I've met here are my Disney family and I can't imagine what my life would look like if I hadn't started this adventure!

So with the mushy stuff out of the way, here is my life update in photos...

 We're smack bang in the middle of Holiday season here at Disney, first up was Halloween. Richmond, Struan, Claire and I attended Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween party and got into the spirit by dressing up as Pikachu, Wendy, Clark Kent, and Little Red Riding Hood. There we are hanging out at Struan's home, The Haunted Mansion.

I went to my first American Halloween party, again dressed as Wendy, with a bunch of my fellow Vacation Planners and Claire. They really are the best part of work, so much fun!

Disney pointing up at our boss, Cinderella's castle in the background. This is our life now!

Vacation Planners meeting the boss!

Taking advantage of Fall/Autumn decorations before we move onto Christmas.

Spent yet another day at Universal Studios with Struan. We also conquered Halloween Horror nights, zombies and all! I swear I only screamed a little...

We've made the most of Epcot's Food and Wine festival, drinking and eating around the world!

Nights out with the girls, all the food and drink we can handle!

Still not sick of the parks! The rides will always be awesome! But we obviously needed a nap...

Still in awe over how gorgeous the parks are. Magic Kingdom has my heart!

Last week Disney transitioned into the Holiday season, its officially Christmas here!

So there you have it, a small glimpse into my crazy Disney life. I promise I'll try and update more often, although now that the Holidays are hitting us, things are going to get even busier! I have a lot coming up, including Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, my first ever Thanksgiving, more trips to Universal and the Disney Parks, and anything else I can experience while I'm here!

Um... Wow.

So I promised myself I wouldn't be one of those Disney bloggers who finally gets to Florida and stops posting...

Totally working out well...

I have been so much busier than I anticipated I would be. Whether it be with training for work, or playing in the parks, I have had no time or energy to sit down and write anything. Until right now.

So catch up, where to begin? I left of after our housing meetings, and our trips to Walmart. I'm far too behind to write everything down in order. So I think I will write a few posts themed around certain aspects of my time here.

First up we have fun... Because that's what it's all about...

My lovely flatmates getting our Princess on.

I hung out with my flatmates at Downtown Disney, Disney's free boardwalk type area. We browsed the stores, looked around in awe, and ate dinner at Raglan Road, a great Irish restaurant where a fantastic Irish band was playing. It was a fabulous bonding evening.

I have played in the parks. Oh how I've played!!

I had my first Magic Kingdom experience during Traditions (which I will talk about later) and it was magical. Such a strange feeling to be walking around in front on Cinderella's castle knowing I will be able to pop in whenever I want for a whole year! I've been back many times since!

We hung out with Pooh and Tigger at Animal Kingdom. They are too adorable! But its strange knowing you may know the person who is "friends" with them that day.

We partied at Hollywood Studios, which is now my favourite park!! The film buff in me gets excited around every corner! Plus the rides here are awesome! Rock 'n' Roller Coaster being my favourite so far!

I did also make it to Epcot, Disney World's fourth park, but was only there for dinner and the fireworks, so have no photos. I have plans to explore there next!

All in all I have having a fabulous time. I'm making great friends...

And I'm attempting to see and do as much as I possibly can!! 

It's so hard to put everything I have been up to down in words, but I am loving life.

Work on the other hand... Thats a story for another time.

Disney Check-In...

Monday morning brought our first actual encounter with the Disney program. We met at one of the complexes called The Commons, we went in, handed some of our forms and our passports over, and received our welcome packets which let us know where we would be living for the next year!

I found out I would be living in Vista Way, the oldest complex and the one with the party reputation, and that Rachel would be living in Chatham Square. So all of a sudden we were swept off to different areas, and that was that. We were alone to discover our new homes.

Lucky for me I found one of my roommates as I was exiting the first meeting and it was one of the girls I had met on the flight over from Auckland. Without really discussing it we decided to share a room, and we aimed to get there quickly and claim the one with the en suite. We are in a 3 bedroom, so there are 6 of us. And so far we all get along so that's a bonus!

After arriving at our apartments we were free to do whatever we wanted for the rest of the day, so we made a trip down the road to Applebee's for lunch where I got something called "Potato Twisters" thinking it would be like curly fries. It wasn't. It was potato crisps twisted up. The sauce was good though. We then continued on to Dollar Tree which may quickly become my new favourite place. Unlike in NZ dollar stores, everything there is actually $1. Winning!

After this we hopped on a bus to every new Disney Programmers must-do. Walmart. It was MASSIVE! Think two Warehouses and a supermarket shoved together. We had no idea what was going on, but managed to pick up some bedding and a few necessities. 

As we were leaving Walmart we heard the tell-tale thunder that meant a Florida rainstorm was on its way, we hopped on the bus and managed to get our stuff upstairs into our apartment before it started pouring down, ruining our plans to go out for dinner. But we were all pretty tired so we accepted it and just hung out instead. At about 11:30pm we had a knock on the door, and a somewhat tipsy american guy came in to introduce himself, he ended up staying for a couple of hours. He knew nothing about New Zealand and was then bombarded with facts and questions about America. Poor guy.

Tuesday we had an afternoon welcome meeting so we took it easy in the morning, going out a couple of times to buy a few more things. I can't quite get over the heat here. Every time you go outside its like walking into a wall of thick hot air. It's insane. 

We ended up having an early night as we were all exhausted. Only Claire and I were woken at what seemed like 4am by some loud drunken people next door. We were all ready to be pissed off and report them... until I looked at my phone and it was only midnight. Oops.

In Real Life...

So here we are.

My very first Vlog ever. I'm very apprehensive about posting this, I feel like I come across weirdly on video haha, and my accent seems bizzare when I'm used to watching Americans Vlog.

But never-the-less here it is. Be nice x

(Obviously I filmed this yesterday then didn't post it. I LEAVE TOMORROW!!)

Let me know what you think :)

A Little Goodbye...

Saturday night was mine and Rachel's leaving party. We had a fabulous night with all our friends from high school, and I only got a tiny bit emotional when it came to saying goodbye (I swear). 

It was the best thing ever hanging out with all these ladies after quite a long time apart. I still can't quite believe it was the last time I will see some of them for over a year. Lucky for me a few of them are coming to the airport! 

We decided the party would have a "No Cups" theme. Which basically meant you couldn't drink out of anything that was a cup, bottle, or official alcohol dispenser. We encouraged everyone to get creative...

Which resulted in this

Me and my little sister Deahn. And our vessels a gumboot and a VCR case.

Some of the gang. I rocked that bow all night long!

One if my besties. Love you Mermaid!

We discovered Lauren's vessel had other uses.

We feasted on USA themed cupcakes all night.

Beer Pong was the only exception to the no cups rule!

All in all it was the best leaving party a girl could ask for. And in 4 short days I will be flying away and leaving them all behind. Thank goodness I have Rachel coming with me, or I think I would be ready to stay behind! Friends are such an important part of life, and I know when I get back in a year, everything will have changed, but nothing will have changed. I love these guys.

Bits & Pieces

So we have hit single digits. And I'm starting to freak out. 

via

Not necessarily because I'm leaving in 9 days, but because I only have 9 days left to do what feels like a hundred things. 

Today is my last day at work, so I'm looking forward to that being over. I do quite enjoy working in retail, most of the time, and I love trying on our sunglasses whenever its quiet. But the issue is, it's quiet pretty much all the time, our shop is tiny, and we don't have room for a seat. Which means tonight I get to stand for 7 hours attempting to convince people to buy sunglasses in the middle of winter. Fun times right?

Saturday I have a leaving lunch with my dads side of the family, and then my leaving party that night with my friends. I'm really excited about it! Most of my friends live in different cities for University, so we don't get to hang out too often, and obviously now I won't see them for over a year :(

After that is a week of getting ready. I still have a few things left to do, maybe not a hundred, but it sure feels like it sometimes. I need to

• Sort out my money. Organise my travel card, and exchange cash
• Find and organise all my documents. We need a whole bunch of forms to be let into the country, so it might be time for me to find them all...
• Pack. How am I supposed to pack a years worth of things into one suitcase? And I know I will be buying lots of things over there, but I still need to bring a huge amount of stuff with me. What a mission.
• Buy last minute bits and pieces
• Pack up my room. So my left behind things are not exploding all over the room as they currently are
• Freak out and have about 500 heart attacks... Yip.
• Vlog? I'm still psyching myself up into doing my very first vlog for you guys. Just introducing my real-life self, and talking a bit about the Disney program before I'm off on the whirlwind adventure. What do you think? Would you be keen for me to buck up and make one?

Whelp, I'm off to work now. Here's hoping I sell a bunch of sunnies on my last day :D

Byee for now my loves.

Farewell Cash Monies...

So we have officially reached freak out level on the countdown. 19 days now.

You Guys!! What is going on?!

I finally paid for my medical insurance the other day, after putting it off for weeks. Damn America, why does being medically insured have to be so expensive?! I ended up paying around $1500 for 12 months coverage. And if I'm not even entirely sure what I'm covered for. We had three options to choose from, nothing in the plan descriptions made any sense to me. So I picked the middle option so I will be middle-y covered. Seems legit right?

Either way I am feeling significantly poorer. Poor piggy bank. And I only have one more pay day from work! Bummer.

But look at this face. How can I be bummed when this is coming my way?

*19 days loves*