I can tots fit into this gown!

 Hey, hey, hey.

So I just wrote out a super long post about how things are going, then my computer spazzed out and deleted it. Sigh, I will try again, only this time I am typing it up on Word, then will just copy and paste it to the blog because I do not have enough time to tell you everything I want if its just going to keep deleting my posts on me. Here we go again…

Ok, so I know it’s been a while since my last post it’s just been work, work, work. Since my last post, we have had three Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween parties, and guess what? There’s another one tonight! At least tonight’s I can kind of understand, you it only being a month before the holiday and all that jazz. When I wasn’t working, I was getting ready for work or sleeping. But I did manage to snag a day off on Wednesday, so I’ll tell you kids about that adventure.

Wednesday (9/29/10) I was supposed to meet up with Amanda from work. Our plan was to call each other when we woke up and from there decide where we were going to go. Unfortunately our phones had a little tiff and decided they weren’t going to let either one receive messages from the other, so our day didn’t get started until 1pm. When we met up we made the grand choice to venture forth to the Kingdom of Animals. Just want to let everyone know that I thought it was going to rain as it had rained been raining for the two days prior to this event, hence the sweet red rain boots!

Welcome to the Animal Kingdom!

 There we did some meet-and-greets with the characters. Some of those characters included: Winnie the Pooh, Eeyore, Tigger, Koda (from Brother Bear), Terk (from Tarzan), Pocahontas, Goofy, the boss man (Mickey Mouse), and his lovely lady, Minnie Mouse. 

Look at how cute Donald Duck and I are!

 We also went on the show/ ride “It’s Tough To Be A Bug!” which is a 4D event inside the Tree of Life. Things I will say about this ride, its gross and I will probably never go on it again. For starters, it had spiders fall from the ceiling, the audience got “stung” in the back by a hornet, a dung beetle let one loose, and some sort of insect spit “acid” on us. Not an enjoyable experience. The most offensive part of it was the end when they were telling us to leave the theatre, and you felt “bugs” under your seat rushing toward the exit, gross.  

Eww...what a gross show!

 
We left just in time to watch the Animal Kingdom parade “Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Expedition.” Now that I work parades over at the Magic Kingdom nothing really compares to them. There is a nice order to them and the floats are awesome. Unfortunately, since Animal Kingdom is all about conservation most of the floats were man powered eco-friendly floats. Also, the people who were working the parades were just random cast members from locations along the parade route who set up and broke down the parade route. It was odd to say the least, but it made me glad that I work at the best of the parks.  

As you can see, this man is moving that bird. That bird is considered a "float" at the Animal Kingdom.

Since most of the animals are all tuckered out by 4pm, the park closes at 5pm and with its closing we left to return to Vista. To then leave again in search of finding a movie to see at Downtown Disney. We chose “Easy A” because it looked funny and neither of us had seen it yet. Also, we were waiting for some of our fellow co-workers to meet up with us when they got done with work, but they decided not to come. So I did what it seems like I do every time I have off, I went to the Ghiradelli Chocolate store and got ice cream. Not just any kind of ice cream, I got a peanut butter sundae, but after leaving the store and making it to the bus stop that is when I realized my peanut butter sundae was completely lacking in the peanut butter department. Sad day!  

Hey, where's the peanut butter?

 The next day was Thursday (9/30/10) and yesterday. Since I didn’t work until 5:45pm and had heard rumors of free food at the Cast Member Preview for Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival, Hilary and I went onwards. Similarly, Catharine (who I work with) was also going to be there with her roommate and we were all going to meet up. And that’s exactly what we did. We rode Test Track, and then went in search of food at the World Showcase. First we went and tried some different pops from all over the world. Some were good, while others left a foul after-taste. Unfortunately, there was no free food. But I was swayed by Ireland to get a cheese platter, while the others met Pooh and some of his friends. Then the group split up when Kristen showed up and they wanted to go meet characters we had already met. After the split, we met Belle and the Beast, and Marie (from the Aristocats). Again, I was swayed by the Belgium stand to get a waffle. I am so excited to meet some real Belgians and get to know their true foods, not just the ones Epcot displays. Anyways, after that stop, nachos in Mexico stopped me again. Yummy! For my last thing at Epcot we went to the Innovations area and played the Waste Management game to realize how much I waste and how I can reduce my carbon footprint and what Waste Management is doing to reduce it as well.

Epcot's 15th Food and Wine Festival

NOM NOM NOM Irish Cheese

NOM NOM NOM Belgian Waffles

Then it was time for me to find myself over at the Magic Kingdom, but I gave myself way more time than needed. In that free time, I got my winter coat since apparently the ones in my department run out quickly. Similarly, even though I am from Minnesota and can deal with the cold, I work outside so would like one when the weather goes down. Then again, it is October 1^st and in the high 80s…

After picking up my coat I went to Cast Connections, where they sell damaged Disney goods at ridiculously low prices. There I got some postcards and a child-sized medium Belle gown. Don’t ask me about the dress I thought it was a good idea and will elaborate more as the night progresses.

From there it was work, another Halloween party, then home. At home I made a silly choice. I thought it would be a good decision to try on the Belle gown. Yeah, I am in no way a child medium. Probably when I was that size, I wasn’t really even that size, but oh well. So I got it on, but then the dilemma became getting it off. That thing was on me and it was on me good. I tried to cut myself out, but that didn’t really work. I just had to wait until my roommates got back from the party and they had to cut me out, not without a good laugh. And there you go; my life is a joke!

Me stuck in the Belle gown!

 

 

Well kids,
Its been a while since I've updated this blog site of mine, so its probably in my best interest to tell you kids what I've been up to. Hmm...work and work and then some more work.

SO I just wrote out a really long post and it deleted it all, so I will try again. 

Gobble! Gobble!

Well folks, I've done it again. I've successfully made a fool of myself believing rumors of free food.
But enough about that, let's start at the beginning of this tale before I get ahead of myself!

Yesterday was my first and only day off this week since I decided to be a tool and pick up extra hours at work. And I knew that I wanted to do something fun. Some of the girls that I work with and I had made plans to hang out and go to Cast Connections, to buy some cheap Disney stuff. The only problem with this plan was that the night before (9/21/10) I had made the decision to stay up and finish all that is out of True Blood, now that's a lot of True Blood. But guess, when 4AM rolled around, I was finally up-to-date on the show. Now, when the next morning (9/22/10) rolled around, I was not awake. In fact, I awoke at 12:30PM to my roommate Brooke using my bathroom. What a lazy kind of day, good thing it was my day off!

This is True Blood. The show that I have become obsessed with, and am finally caught up on.

Anywho, so I got up, called my friends, and we met up. Indecisive people have a problem though, in that well they in indecisive; what I mean to say is that I took us about 2 hours to decide what we were going to do that day. In the end, we did something none of us had planned on doing, we went back to the place where we work: the Magic Kingdom. Things that I need to tell you about this group I was with, we are all a mess. A good kind of mess, but nevertheless, a mess!

It takes us about an hour to make our way to the kingdom while driving aimlessly about listening the Ke$ha and weird techno, but we made it. While there, we got to meet Pooh and Tigger, eat ice cream at Edy's on Main Street, ride Pirates of the Caribbean, and laugh our way through it all. Now if you recall from the very beginning of this post, I talked a little bit about Gobble, Gobble! This became our anthem for the day, as someone had told Dakotah that if you acted like a turkey, one of the turkey leg stands would give you a free (normally eight dollar) turkey leg. So, being the girl that I am, I jumped at the opportunity to make a fool out of myself for free stuff. Sadly, this rumor is not true. Do not attempt to get a free leg by playing turkey, it doesn't work. But, at least now I know what my Halloween costume will be...a turkey! Gobble Gobble.

Meeting the Greats: Pooh and Tigger

Ladies at the Magic Kingdom

Around the time of fireworks starting, we decided to peace out and head over to watch the fireworks display over at Epcot, Illuminations from Earth. Unfortunately, the monorail was having some technical difficulties, so we were politely told to get off. Instead of seeing fireworks that night, we ended up over at Downtown Disney. Downtown Disney is made up of a bunch of shops, arcades, musicians, Cirque de Soleil, an ACM movie theater, Pleasure Island, and some more shops. We walked around it for a few hours thinking of things that we want to do there once we have more money saved up. My favorite part of the night was when we saw a living statue. Now this man had been doing a superb job of not having moved at all until we decided we get our picture taken with them, then BAM there he was poking our necks, grabbing my hand, moving all over the place. It was quite entertaining! Eventually, we had to call it a day, but never fear I will return there to see Cirque before I leave.

Real Man Statue

Lego Woody at Downtown Disney

 

Practicing our jumps at Downtown Disney.

Things I Thought Were Myths About The South

So I had a rude awaking this fine morrow, as I walked into my bathroom and what do I spy with my little eye? A GAINT COCKROACH! '

No, this is not me holding the cockroach, but this is a google image letting you know how big it was!

Number 1, waking up with a cockroach in your bathroom is truely disgusting. Walking out into my apartment shouting obscenities, also probably not the best approach. Hearing that my roommate say it, but didn't want to do anything about for fear that she would wake me up, also NOT cool.  Now, I guess the problem that I have been suffering with is that I am from Minnesota, land of mice running around ones house, not cockroaches. Yes, I do have a cat thank you for asking. No, my cat does not kill mice, it will play with them and then the mice will escape; my cat equates to nothing more than a mangy little ball of fur. Now don't get my wrong, I will love that thing to the bitter end, but seriously Cat get your "cat" together.

Number 2, I think the worse part is that I don't even know anything about cockroaches. I have been having nightmares recently ever since a co-worker told me about her apartment having them, and I thought to myself "Geez, I hope that never happens to me." Karma, kids this is karma. Now I have to spend my time up until work today freaking out and learning all that I can about these gross critters. For instance, I don't even know what they eat! Uh oh.

Number 3, coming from the Midwest to be honest, I kind of thought cockroaches were a a myth, now I know. Its like hurricane season, I had no idea that was such a real thing! Oh no, looks like we'll just have to wait and see how this all plays out. Wish me luck and cleaning supplies.

Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party!

Hey there kibbles and bits,
So last night was our second not-so-scary Halloween party, that's right we start early here in the Magic Kingdom! Reasons why the not-so-scary party is different than general admission to the park:
1. There is a Headless Horseman.
2. And he is the start of a different parade than you would see during the day. Its called Mickey's "Boo-to-You" Halloween Parade. Which is pretty stellar, it stars a lot of the villains from the movies and has grave diggers from the Haunted Mansion do choreography with their shovels that makes sparks on the ground!
3. There is a special fireworks display: Happy HalloWishes.
4. All 7 of the 7 Dwarfs are out for meet-and-greet.
5. I get to wear a different costume, which is super cute!
6. You get to go trick-or-treating with all your favorites, and favorite villains.
7. As of now, there are way less people going to the party than the average amount that go to the park each day, so the lines for the rides are pretty short.
8. The rides are open until midnight, so once you get your not-so-scary on, you can get your scared on some of the rides.
9. Overall, its just a spooky, not-so-scary night. The park goes all out with decorations to make it feel like it really is Halloween.

Me all dressed up to the nines after the party.

More about my days off!

Ok, well now that I've filled you in on the fun times that I had with my family. I suppose I can fill you in on what's happened since they left.

I mentioned in passing that I went to Typhoon Lagoon and work, but both of these things have a bit more background than just that. Went to Typhoon Lagoon with my roommates since I hadn't seen them in what seemed like a long time, but in actuality was only three days. Anywho, I left like I had been missing a lot by not having seen them, so I went along to the water park. Which was pretty cool, we got to go down some sweet water slides, go snorkeling with sharks and sting rays, and have the experience of high waves that one would get at the ocean in the contained safety net of Disney.

After the rain began, we departed from Typhoon and went home where I then got ready for work. Then I worked and worked until the 15th rolled around, basically my next day off work.

On that Wednesday, Hilary convinced me to go to the Magic Kingdom, so we did the Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor, Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, Swiss Family Robinson House Adventure, Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride, the Country Bear Jamboree, Splash Mountain, and Big Thunder Mountain. We also met some characters like Buzz Lightyear (Toy Story), Ariel and Prince Eric (Little Mermaid), and Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen (Princess and the Frog). After all these meet and greets we decided to go meet our good friend Cast Member Brooke at the Confectionery and buy some sweets! I got some Halloween themed-rice krispy treats and a Mickey Mouse pecan caramel cluster. Mmmmhhmmm....yummy! When the clock struck nine, Hilary and I were ready to watch the fireworks display of Wishes then went home.

Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin

Eric and Ariel

Tiana and Naveen

 The next day was Zhuoyang's 21st Birthday, so in celebration we went to Norway in Epcot to have lunch with the Princesses at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall. We once again had a splendid meal where several of the princess came to our table to wish Zhuoyang a "Happy Birthday" and were kind enough to take some photos with us. The people we met were Belle (Beauty and the Beast), Ariel (Little Mermaid), Mary Poppins, Aurora (Sleeping Beauty), and Jasmine (Aladdin). After our nom noms we meandered over to Germany in hopes of meeting Snow White, but alas she was done for the day. So, instead we took a few pictures in China and had Zhuoyang tell us about it. Eventually, we left Epcot and changed into people clothes and went to the Magic Kingdom. We arrived at the Magic Kingdom just in the nick of time to see the Celebrate a Dream Come parade, and from there we got to meet the Queen of Hearts and the White Rabbit! Once again in my quest for characters I met some twice, like I re-met Belle, Cinderella, Aurora, Tiana, and Naveen. But then came the hardship of the day, waiting in line to meet Woody and Jessie from Toy Story. After about half an hour of standing and watching the workers put up Christmas lights on Cinderella's Castle the time came, and we finally got to met them! After meeting them, we moved right along to the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh ride and then to the Dumbo Ride. Since the Main Street Electrical Parade was occurring this night, my roommates all wanted to watch it, so I got to view it for once not from the PAC perspective, but from a regular guests viewpoint. Its pretty cool to see I have to admit! After that was over, we stayed for Wishes and returned home once that was over.

My roommates and I with Princess Belle at the Akershus Royal Banquet Hall!

NOM NOM NOM

Putting up the Christmas Lights in September.

Getting a delectable snack at Edy's Ice Cream

And BAM! You are caught up on my life and I am caught up with my blog!
Oh side note, I got to jump rope today with Chip and Dale. Hate to admit it, but my life is pretty cool.





 

The Family Makes There Way Down South

By the time September 4th rolled around, the Geis family decided to make their way to Florida! This was also the day of my Park Greeter Assessment, so a lot happened that day. I got done with the assessment, aka I passed! And then got back to the apartment and waiting for my family to get their stuff together and find my apartment. They found it after getting a little lost and we went out to dinner at Shoney's. Then I gave them a tour of my apartment, and said goodnight since I had to work the next day and they had gotten up early for their flights.


So before I went to work on the 5th, Joan thought it would be a good idea to go to some dodgey place called ShellWorld because they had a coupon for a free shell necklace. Well we went, Jason slept because well, we couldn't wake him. Now again, this place was sketchy! So shady in fact that the woman working there convinced my mother to hold her hand which she had filled with many a ring to her heart and had my mom hold her other hand perpendicular to her body to see if she was allergic to the metal. Joke. Needless to say, we got out of there without buying anything and with our free shell bracelet, since apparently they no longer gave out necklaces. Then I said good day to my family, they went to Cocoa Beach to visit the Ocean and I went to work.

Joan and Coconut Man at ShellWorld

The next day, we met up to go to the Magic Kingdom, but since my main entrance pass had not yet come it was a bit of a fiasco. It was also Labor Day meaning that I wasn't able to buy discounted tickets. Just as we were about to give up and go to Epcot to buy tickets, someone helped us out and my family got to go to the kingdom. I wish you had all seen my mother's face, I had never seen her so happy! She got to meet the choir director of Main Street USA who made me sing, what fun! We were luckily enough to meet the Ugly Stepmother and stepsisters and the Fairy Godmother. Plus, we got to view the Move it, Shake it, Celebrate it Parade. From there, we rode took Mom on Space Mountain, which she did not like, turns out its a roller coaster that is all mostly in the dark! Anywho, we had lunch and I ran, yes literally I ran from one end of the park to the other and back again, to get to work on time! While I was doing this, my family left the park to venture forth to the land of Epcot.

Jason, Mom, Joan, and I at the Magic Kingdom

Jason trying to get the sword from the stone

Jason, Joan, and Mom at the Dumbo Ride

Cinderella's Family

All Aboard!

The next day was something that had become habitual to me. We drove to Tallahasse to visit Jenny, and since I had spent about 4 days in a car with her driving from MN to FL, I was pretty used to long car rides, so this one seemed like a breeze. We got to Tallahassee just in time for lunch and we went to the ever classic Barnacle Bills. After the meal, Jenny proceeded to give us a driving tour of the capital. Then it was nap time for some, so Jenny, Joan, and I went to Old Navy and got some clothes, came back to the apartment to find the others still sleeping. Sadly we awoke them for a delicious meal at Bonefish. Yummy, it was a great day for seafood lovers, sorry Jason! A tour of Florida State University and Tallahassee Community College followed the meal, and then Joan, Mom, and I went back to the hotel, swam, and went to sleep.

Looking Good at Barnacle Bill's.

Yep, this is my family minus Dad.

When we awoke the next day, we went on to tour more of Tallahassee. To be honest, there's not a whole lot there, but it was still interesting to hear Jenny's perspective on it. Jenny had to run a few errands so we found ourselves at my favorite, Target. And right next to Target was Sonney's where we dinned for a splendid southern bbq meal. Needless to say, when I eat out, I am going to eat out at good places! Since the clock was still a ticking, Jenny had class to attend, so we dropped her off and split ways as we continued back to Orlando. In Orlando, the question of what to do arised, and somehow watching Fargo came out. It was quite enjoyable to watch a movie about Minnesota with my family who was on vacation in Florida.

Saying Goodbye to Jenny in her apartment with Murrs.

 The next day was the best yet! We went to the Kennedy Space Center. As Buzz Lightyear would say, "To infinity and beyond!" There we met a real astronaut and got to hear his story about flying in space with Sally Ride and two international men. We also got to see the launch pads of past launches and see artifacts from the rockets and space explorations. We even got to touch real moon rock! The flight simulator was too much for Mom, but when I got done I felt like a real astronaut! All in all AWESOME!

Astronaut Mom and Joan

US Space Rockets

At the US Astronaut Hall of Fame

One of the numerous launch pads

 

 The next day, the 10th, was a sad day for me for my family had to return to the land of 10,000 lakes. They left and a few hours later I went to Typhoon Lagoon the water park. Then, went to work for Night of Joy.