Playing in Hollywood Studios

Ok, so I should let you guys know that I will not continue to be doing blogs as frequently as I have been doing them because I start working on Wednesday morning. But anyway, let me tell you about my day.
I went to Property Control and Cast Connection today (Disney merchandise stores for Cast Members) and decided that I need to limit the amount of money I can spend when I go to those stores. The same thing goes for the stores in Hollywood Studios, but I'll talk about that when I get to it. Anyway, I got back to my apartment and saw that the two packages that my mom sent to me last week finally got here today. So I let her know I got them while I was unpacking them. Then my friend Jessilyn from the singles ward here and I went to check out the Animal Kingdom Lodge where I'm going to be working. Dude, that place is SO nice! You feel like you are in a completely different place when you are in the lodge! And the pool area is amazing too. We kind of just wandered around the hotel, mainly because we were trying to find our way around, but it was fun exploring too. We went down to the first floor where The Mara, the place where I'm going to be working, is located. I think I am going to like working there. It's quick-service food and beverage, so its not really a sit-down-and-people-take-your-order place. Its more like you come to the counter and look at the selection that is available to you and then eat where you want, whether it is inside or outside by the pool. It is a very nice place and I am looking forward to seeing what I'm going to do while working there. While Jessilyn and I were wandering around, we looked out one of the windows and saw some kind of animal with horns (it looked kind of like a bull or a buffalo- it was hard to see from where we were) and then we saw the back of a gazelle. It was just kind of cool to be able to feel like you were living in a safari in Africa while staying in the DAKL (Disney Animal Kingdom Lodge). Anywho, after we were satisfied with how the place looked, we left and went to Hollywood Studios. We were planning on going on both Rockin Rollercoaster and Tower of Terror, but the wait for Rockin Rollercoaster was 70 minutes long, so we went on the Tower of Terror. Good golly, that ride scared me so badly, but it was really fun. It was quite exhilarating to be dropped from the top of the Tower and then bounce back up again to just go back down and feel your stomach go into your throat. It was fun though. So yeah, after that, we were thinking about going to Rockin Rollercoaster cause the wait went down to 60 minutes, but we looked at the map again to possibly find something else that we could do. Well, there's a new Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian ride, so we went and checked it out. We were originally not going to meet Prince Caspian when we were standing in the line (you have the choice of just going on the ride, or meeting Prince Caspian and then going into the attraction) but the more we thought about it, we decided that we did want to meet him. Jessilyn and I are so glad we did! We were planning on things that we were going to say, but when the guy let us in to go see Caspian and he started talking to us, we forgot everything we were going to say. Prince Caspian acknowledged us by calling us "Two beautiful princesses" using that adorable Spanish accent he uses in the movie. The guy didn't look exactly like Prince Caspian, but he was quite charming with us. First, he asked us what land we came from and then he asked us if we "flew in by Griffin or use the war drobe?" Jessilyn said she flew in but I said I used the war drobe. We were planning on getting a picture of both of us with him, but I think were both so flustered that we totally spaced it and we just got individual shots with him. When I took my turn to get a picture with him, he noticed my POTC locket and asked if I was a pirate instead of a princess, but I told him I was both. He asked me if he could hold my hand and I think I told him "I would love for you to hold my hand!" hahaha I am such a dork! So yeah, we got our pictures and then waited in line for the attraction to start. You basically just get a feel for the movie by going into a room with a broken great stone table and then you see the basics of the movie. Its actually a pretty cool attraction. After we left the Narnia attraction, we decided we wanted to try to make it back in time for FHE, so we started heading toward the bus stop. Well, it was thundering and 'misting'- it wasn't raining, there was just a mist in the air. At least, it was up til the point when we were almost to the entrance of Hollywood Studios. Within about 20-30 seconds, a huge downpour happened that lasted for a very long time. The rain was coming down in buckets and people were getting soaked right and left because ten minutes earlier, it had been sunny and hot and no one was thinking of rain. Well, we were trying to decide where to go to find our bus stop while standing under the cover from the rain. Jessilyn had a poncho, but I didn't. I suggested we just go out to the place the guy told us to go to, even though I had nothing to cover myself with. I told Jessilyn that I didn't care if I got wet, so we ventured out into the rain. Yeah, I was soaked head to toe, clothes and everything, within 10 seconds after going into the rain. The rain was creating little rivers and huge puddles on the ground, so while we were running, I almost lost my flip-flop because it was just floating in the water down the little stream. I just decided that it'd be easier to take my flip-flops off and run in the rain barefoot through the puddles. It was pretty fun, but I was concerned about my stuff getting wet in my bag. We finally did get to the place that the guy told us would be the stop for cast members, but we found out that it was the bus for the All Star Sports hotel. The bus had pulled up and we were debating on whether to get on it or not when a gigantic lightning bolt struck somewhere really REALLY close. I think it might have been somewhere in Animal Kingdom because my roommate that works there told me that she actually heard the lightning bolt where she was. I think maybe a milisecond had passed before there was a cracking KABOOM that I swear could have made me deaf if it had been even the smallest bit louder. Anyway, that all happened within one second and so I looked at the bus and I was like "Let's get on that bus! I don't care where its going!" So we got on it and got dropped off at the All Star Sports hotel. We were thinking about taking another bus back to the Magic Kingdom, but the only buses that were coming were just dropping people off, so we couldn't take them. We were kind of worried about catching a Cast Member bus and were going to call to see if one could come get us when one just randomly drove up like it had been an answer to a prayer. So we got on the bus and headed home. It would have been a lot more pleasant of a ride if it wasn't air-conditioned. I was totally soaked, so when you combine water with cold air, it causes a person to get a little cold. But anyway, we met a nice young married couple from Logan on the way back to Chatham who were also LDS, so we became instant friends. And there, my friends, was my night. Well, unless you count me watching Monsters Inc with Jessilyn afterwards. But yeah, that was my day! Very eventful, I know. Hopefully I will be able to have just as much fun tomorrow and the rest of the week as I did today, just without any kind of hurricane-like weather. That I can do without. I did learn a very valuable lesson though: when in doubt, BRING AN UMBRELLA WITH YOU. Even if the weather is 100 degrees outside and its really nice, don't underestimate Florida weather. It can turn on you faster than you can say "Kaboom!" Believe me, I experienced it first hand today. Alright, that's all I've got for now. I'll continue with more when I get more.

Pirates of the Caribbean

CAUTION- SPOILER ALERT IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE PIRATES MOVIES!

Ok, I know I said I was going to bed, but I've been thinking about Pirates of the Caribbean a lot since I got here. My cousin asked me which one of the Pirates movies was my favorite and I had to think for a minute to decide. I really liked all of them. I don't think I really enjoyed one more than the other- there were just things in each one that I liked for different reasons. The first one was a classic and it was the one that inspired me to learn about Johnny Depp and to basically change my attitude about my life. That is why I am so passionate about these movies. They aren't just movies to me. They are a reminder to me and a part of why I am the happy and giggly person you all know today. The second one was the one I most anticipated. I didn't really pay attention to the advertising of the first one, but it took about 3 years after the first one came out to make the second one. I was SO incredibly excited for Pirates 2. I went to the midnight showing and I watched it about four times in the theaters before it came out on DVD and then I went and bought it the morning it was released both when the 2nd and 3rd one came out (I didn't have to worry about the 1st one- my dad bought that one for me himself). And just a little side note about when I got the first movie- I had my dad for Journalism my senior year and he knew how much I absolutely loved Pirates, so like I said, he bought the 1st DVD for me on the morning it came out before he came to school. But relating to my Journalism class, he surprised me by telling us that we were ahead of our deadline and so he allowed us to take a free day and watch the Pirates of the Caribbean DVD he gave me!!! Obviously we couldn't watch the entire thing, but still! Could I have a cooler dad?! I've been eternally grateful of him ever since. Anywho, back to Pirates 2. I know there are a lot of plot holes in the movie and that its a bit random, but I was anticipating the movie so much that I really didn't find all that much wrong with the movie. I had the BIGGEST grin on my face when Jack made his entrance into the 2nd film because I'd been waiting for 3 years to see my favorite pirate and the man who inspired my positive change of attitude. Once again, it was a symbol of my happiness and how it came to be what it is. Now, I didn't anticipate the 3rd one as much because they'd filmed some of it when they'd been working on Pirates 2 and there was only 11 months between the release dates of 2 and 3, so I didn't get as worked up about 3 as I did about 2. I was very satisfied with the ending of 3, though. The story went full circle. Barbossa got the Black Pearl back and went on sailing the seas without being undead. Will and Elizabeth got married and even had a child, and Jack went back to sailing the seas by himself on his little dingy. Now, I know there was the whole twist in the story with Will getting stabbed and then having his heart put in the chest, causing him to become the captain of the Flying Dutchman, but I really liked that ending. He officially became a pirate, and a captain nonetheless! I know many people didn't like the 2nd and 3rd Pirates movies, but I did. It was more than just the storylines of the movies and the characters in them. Every time I watched the next movie, I had a rebirth of my attitude adjustment and I was satisfied and even filled with pure joy after watching them. Granted, I was a little shocked about the ending of Pirates 2. I refuse to believe that Jack actually died at the end of the movie when he entered the Kracken, even though he said himself in the 3rd one that he'd died. Jack had simply been temporarily detained in the Kracken. That's my story and I'm stickin to it! But anyway, my point is that many people just look at the Pirates movies as a fun and adventure-filled story about pirates. I look at them as movies with characters/actors that sparked my interest enough to learn about their past and the movies the actors did and then, after learning that you don't have to follow what everyone else does or even care what anyone else thinks about you, change the way I'd been living my life so that I was no longer miserable. Pirates of the Caribbean, Jack Sparrow, and most of all, Johnny Depp changed my life for the better and that is why they are some of my favorite movies. I really don't want to go into detail about why I was so miserable before seeing Pirates right now, but if anyone is ever really that curious about what exactly happened to me before and after seeing Pirates, feel free to ask me.

Heather goes to Disney World!

Hi everyone! Sorry it's taken forever to get this blog written, but uh, yeah, its been an interesting week. The day I checked in to my apartment (well, my temporary apartment) was a day from Hell, so I wasn't able to focus on a lot of stuff but what I needed to get done that day. On the second day, I got my 'role' as a Cast Member in Disney World- I'm working at a restaurant in the Animal Kingdom Lodge in the Animal Kingdom. I don't start my training until Sunday, so I've been playing the past couple of days. On Wednesday after my Traditions class, I went to the Magic Kingdom for the first time and I rode the newly vamped Pirates of the Caribbean ride with my favorite pirate, Captain Jack Sparrow! It pretty much made my night to see him on that ride. Of course, it would have been better to see him in person, but I've got four months to get my chance to see him in character walking around the parks. As you can see, I found a pair of Mickey ears that fit me perfectly. They say "Pirate Princess" on the pink sash and they have a small earring hanging from the left ear. On the back of the hat, I had my name embroidered there, so my hat has been personalized too! It's been really fun checking out all the fun stuff in the parks. After riding POTC, my roomies and I went on the Haunted Mansion ride (it was ok) and Space Mountain (it ROCKED!). Today I played some more in the Magic Kingdom with my cousin Dayna and her husband Nate. Dayna and I went on POTC again, partly because she is as crazy about Pirates as me and I couldn't think of a better person to go on that ride again with than her. Then we met up with Nate and rode Splash Mountain and then the Buzz Lightyear ride. Tomorrow, I'm planning on going to Fantasmic with her in the evening at Hollywood Studios. I am so excited! In the morning, I'm going to a little shopping in Downtown Disney with my roommate Diane and then we'll probably make a Walmart run eventually. Anywho, now its off to bed!

The end in sight and a new adventure!

I have two weeks left of the summer semester here at BYU-Idaho and then I'll get to go home for about a month. I'm going to work as much as I possibly can at Days Market while I'm home so I can earn enough money to keep me floating for when I go down to work in Florida at Walt Disney World from August 18 until January 2. I won't get my first paycheck from WDW until about one or two weeks later, so I need to go down to Florida with about 3 or 400 dollars to get me by until I get a paycheck. I am so extremely excited for working in Disney World. At first, I was excited but terrified at the idea of being clear across the country for five months and not be with my family during Thanksgiving or Christmas, but as I'm getting closer to the end of the semester, I'm realizing that I only have about a month until I get to go down there and I'm getting really excited. It is going to be kind of hard on me to not get to see my family during those months that I'm in Florida because my sister-in-law Michelle is pregnant and she will be having her baby at the end of January. So I'll be leaving before she really gets much of a tummy and then I'll come back and she'll look like she's ready to pop. But the idea that I'm going to be in Disney World during Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas AND New Years is getting me pretty excited.