I know this is long overdue, but my family came to visit last month!! It was so amazing to be able to take a few days off work and have a little vacation with them, although they left me wishing that they could have stayed a few weeks longer!
Day 1:
Beach trip! We drove to Clearwater Beach, which is the same one that I went to with my friends before. It is on the Gulf of Mexico, and it has the most beautiful sunsets, fine sand, and of course, clear water.
Day 2:
Animal Kingdom and Epcot! I think Animal Kingdom was the favorite out of all of the parks. We got to go on a Safari ride and see real elephants, lions, giraffes, crocodiles, and more. Also, I took them to see a play called the Festival of the Lion King, which is filled with fun stuff--gymnastics, ballet, fire juggling, etc. Oh, and we met Pocahontas! No big deal.
Day 3:
Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. We only had time for a brief tour of Magic Kingdom, so I could show them where I work, but we spent a while at the Studios riding some thrill rides, as well as going on Star Tours, meeting some characters, and watching Fantasmic. Mom wasn't a huge fan of the Tower of Terror (but I was excited that she even went on it!!), but the boys loved Rocking Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror. And of course, who doesn't love Star Tours?!
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Saying Goodbyes
Ok, so obviously I’m really bad at this blog thing, and Emilee and Janelle won’t stop giving me a hard time about it so I figured I would write one more time before we leave… in two weeks!! It’s really hard to describe everything in one blog post but I’ll try. Right now I sort of feel like I’ve come here and created this whole new life and now I just have to leave, and a lot of these people I won’t see again! I’m pretty bummed, but at the same time ready to be done with work (I’m sure you can ask any CP that and they would agree). No matter how much you love a job here it requires a lot of hours and some difficult people to deal with.
Since I’ve written last I was deployed to a buffet restaurant for a couple weeks called Hollywood and Vine. It has character dining with the playhouse Disney characters for breakfast and lunch. Brief synopsis of how it went down. I get in my snazzy little costume and enter into the back door where I am thrown into the abyss of the kitchen. I find some workers who send me to the manager’s office. The manager didn’t know why I was there. I said I was deployed so she sent me to the front and to have Nick teach me the table numbers. I walk into the restaurant where thousands of children are suddenly running and screaming and jumping and singing (ok and laughing) everywhere I go. There’s also a scary yellow bear called Oso walking around, and a kid puking. I’m taught the numbers and seat people as fast as I can, all day. Yes, there actually is such thing as hell and I experienced it firsthand. Ok it wasn’t that bad after a while and it actually was fun to watch the characters sing and dance with the kids but I was more than happy to head back to my home at the derby where we are like a family J
And the best part is being off work! We turn pretty quickly into vacation mode when we all happen to get the same days or times off. We’ve been to all the parks many times, ridden most the rides and seen all the shows. The shows are my favorite and still give me the chills!! Also, one of my favorite things to do is character hunt. It takes work and some good timing but it is SO FUN. I’m kind of like a little kid when it comes to seeing the princesses and what not. I’m still determined to see Peter pan and Pocahontas before I leave. I discovered this love for character hunting when Janelle, Emilee and I went to MK dressed as tourists! It was such a blast. Everyone treated us extra special with our "1st Visit," "I'm celebrating" and "Happy Birthday" pins. (The pins are a big deal at disney!!) It was hard keeping our story straight when we made friends while waiting in line though. We still laugh about that day and how we kept almost blowing our cover. Here is exhibit A, where Emilee told Tiana her real name on accident instead of her name on her Birthday pin! (long story, and sorry emilee ;)
In addition we’ve got lots of friends from the awesome ward here. We like to play volleyball and we’ve even made it to the beach a couple times! We have lots of fun together going to dances and different church events or going to do stuff at the parks. Luckily a lot of them go to BYU-Idaho so it won’t be goodbye at the end of the program. We’ve already got a Disney reunion planned!
Altogether I’m excited for the changes coming and I’m ready to leave. It’s just hard spending time with all these people I love here when I don’t know if I’ll ever see them again. I feel like I’ve grown so much here and.. I may never be back. Wow this is way too depressing haha. Just gotta have faith in the future and know that everything always turns out the way it’s supposed to! I am so grateful for life!!
Until next time
Heidi
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Beaches and Mansions (Janelle)
Last Tuesday a whole bunch of us took the day off and drove to Clearwater Beach, which is about an hour and a half away. It was so beautiful! The sand was white and the water was so clear that I could see my feet when I was standing in the water (I guess that explains the name. duh.) There was about fifteen of us who went, and we all chilled on the beach, tossed a football around while playing in the ocean, played beach volleyball, and got tan (or in my case, sunburnt, but just in spots I missed with the sunblock!). It was awesome to see the sights and to just relax and enjoy the views! And to top it off, on the way back we stopped at Steak n' Shake and got some yummy food and shakes, it was divine :)
This morning I got up and got on a bus at 5:39 so that I could go on a backstage tour of the Haunted Mansion! A bunch of my coworkers and I got to go two hours before the park opened and learn about all the tricks and history of the ride, as well as get to be the first people to ride it once the park opened. It was so neat! I love how Disney puts so much detail into everything--even things that no one but cast members would ever notice. So worth losing a little sleep this morning!
This morning I got up and got on a bus at 5:39 so that I could go on a backstage tour of the Haunted Mansion! A bunch of my coworkers and I got to go two hours before the park opened and learn about all the tricks and history of the ride, as well as get to be the first people to ride it once the park opened. It was so neat! I love how Disney puts so much detail into everything--even things that no one but cast members would ever notice. So worth losing a little sleep this morning!
Friday, March 2, 2012
There has been a lot of playing going on lately! But it was definitely needed. Don't worry,
I worked some too :) The other day was leap day! So it was an "extra Disney day" and the magic kingdom was open all night and all day! We most definitely were not going to miss that! So Heidi, Janelle and I rode the bus over at 11 pm and played all night! We even got to meet Jack Sparrow at 3 am! It was such an awesome night but really exhausting! Who wouldn't want to g
o on Splash Mountain that early in the morning?! It's a once in a lifetime opportunity!
The next day, the other CP's that work at Crystal Palace with me, a
nd I, all went to work... but not to work. To EAT!! We made a reservation and went in to the buffet and let me tell you, it was good food. I don't think I've ever had breakfast that good before (except Mom's cooking of course). We actually got to spend some time with the characters and get more hugs from them! It was so much fun, we were all so tired from the night before but it was so worth it! We had such a blast!
Then,
Tyler from sc
hool came to Florida and I was able to spend
time with him! It was so great to see him again; we hung out a lot during school and whenever a semester ends, it's always so hard to say goodbye. To anyone! Because there are such long breaks between semesters for us so it was so fun to see him and spend time playing at the parks with him all day lon
g, which is what we did! We went to Hollywood Studios and rode rides and we saw Fantasmic
and went on the Indiana Jones stunt show! Then headed over to Animal Kingdom for everything there. We also were able to go to Magic Kingdom together and see the Wishes fireworks show and "The Magic, The Memories, and You" castle show. I love Disney World!!

The next day, the other CP's that work at Crystal Palace with me, a

Then,





Monday, February 27, 2012
Today was interesting. I worked another morning shift so it was slow and our computer system was down so we had to do everything manually which caused a few problems but we all worked it out. When I work mornings, there are times when it's slow and there's no one on the porch waiting to be sat or else it's busy and there's 30 waiting but at one point, it was a really slow time with a few people outside waiting and one old man in a wheel chair starts singing to all of us seaters! We loved it because people don't usually sing to us! He was so sweet and funny. I love working with people like that! Later on, when it was turn-over time which means that we are changing from breakfast to lunch and so people are leaving but no one's coming in to be sat, the characters got a little bor
ed. They are so crazy when they have nothing to do! Tigger and Piglet sit at a table and pretend to eat together or else they come up to people (mostly Tigger because he's crazy) and mess with their hair or things like that. Today Tigger grabbed hold of the vacuum cleaner and started vacuuming up the floor! Then one of the seaters proceeded to chase him around the room trying to get it back. It made us all laugh... and then we had to go seat some more but I snapped a picture of the seater and Tigger together after their race. Another thing that happened today was as I was on hula hoop duty so I stand outside and hula hoop with lots of little kids or trade pins or just talk to people and answer questions. I love when Latter Day Saints come up to me and tell me they are Mormon. It makes my day to know that we're all over the world! Whenever I do see them, it makes me feel like I'm seeing family or something, people I understand and know that they understand me. It's a great feeling and I love being a part of the gospel!

Sunday, February 26, 2012
Work has been insane the past few days/weeks (sorry I haven't blogged in awhile!) I love working in a restaurant! It is really hard sometimes because people don't always treat you very well but for the most part, people are nice and love to tell you about their great day at Disney World. I have now been trained to do more at the Crystal Palace and so I'm not just a "seater" but I can update the floor and I can check people in and make reservations and direct them places and recommend other places to go if they haven't made reservations (I mean, come on. You come to Disney World expecting to get in to one of the 4 table restaurants in all of magic kingdom without a reservation??!) Working at Disney World, we are expected to be the happiest people all the time and I love that but who knew what hard work it is to be so happy! But I love being there and making others happy. I helped make a "magic moment" the other day. I was on door duty (standing outside making sure that people don't come in who aren't supposed to and directing people to check-in and helping them get to where they want to be) and I heard one of the little girls inside say that she just lost her first tooth a few minutes before! A few coworkers and I got together and went to her table. We asked the little girl what her name was and then told her that Tinker Bell had talked to us who is in league with the tooth fairy of course and that she had told us that she lost a tooth that day. We gave her a pin that said "I'm celebrating loosing my first tooth!" and she lit up as we all clapped for her and prinkled pixie dust on her table telling her that it came straight from Never Land just for her. She was so happy and I couldn't believe that I get to make those little moments happen every day if I want and look for the opportunity. I also love being able to watch the Wishes fireworks every single day. It is so amazing to see them. They are a million times better than any 4th of July show and I feel so lucky to be able to have this experience in my life to look back on throughout my life.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Magic Moments (Janelle)


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Fantasyland Costume! |
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Our New Life (Heidi)
Well, there is so much to say right now. Yep we are in Orlando and the best way to sum it up is that I love it!! I still think it’s weird sometimes that I get to be at Disney World where everyday is magical :D
Like Emilee said, I am working at the Hollywood Brown Derby. It's a signature restaurant modeled after the original Brown Derby in Hollywood where all the famous people used to eat, like Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Judy Garland, ...anddd a bunch of other older famous people I don't know. It is some dang hard work but the rewards definitely compensate for the crap I can get sometimes. I’m a hostess so my job includes making reservations, checking our guests in, and seating them. What they forgot to mention is that I am also the person who is supposed to know everything about Disneyworld, or Hollywood studios at least. Being the front of the house, or “on stage,” I get a lot of questions. People want to know where they can eat, how they can get there, what they can eat there, how long the wait time is, where they can get a coffee or a burger or a drink, and the list goes on! Then there’s all the questions about our food and what they can eat with different allergies and what not. I feel like a little knowledge base or something. It was so hard at first not being able to answer anything but now that I know the basics it is so satisfying being able to help people! Most of them are really grateful for whatever information you give them and they really trust your recommendations. Yay for feeling important!!
One of my favorite things to do now is just stand in front of the restaurant and hand out menus. I end up having the most random conversations with people and it’s really fun. We are also at the very center of the park where there is a nice big stage by the huge blue magic mickey hat, which means free entertainment all day at work. Disney Channel Rocks (oh man) plays every hour so we’ll just say I know camp rock, HSM, cheetah girls, and a lot of other songs by heart (and some dance moves to go with each song haha). It’s a love hate relationship. There’s also the 3 oclock pixar parade and the band that plays every night (my favorite). And of course, Disney is always full of surprises so one night we got a huge firework show and there’s always lots of other fun things going on.
To top it all off I have a ton of coworkers who are super nice and fun. Most of them have been there for over five years, and some a lot longer than that! We all joke with each other at work and we all love dancing a little to the loud music that plays outside. The guests love it too! When they see us dancing they always smile or join in. It is definitely a fun atmosphere if we make it that way.
One of my favorite things to do now is just stand in front of the restaurant and hand out menus. I end up having the most random conversations with people and it’s really fun. We are also at the very center of the park where there is a nice big stage by the huge blue magic mickey hat, which means free entertainment all day at work. Disney Channel Rocks (oh man) plays every hour so we’ll just say I know camp rock, HSM, cheetah girls, and a lot of other songs by heart (and some dance moves to go with each song haha). It’s a love hate relationship. There’s also the 3 oclock pixar parade and the band that plays every night (my favorite). And of course, Disney is always full of surprises so one night we got a huge firework show and there’s always lots of other fun things going on.
To top it all off I have a ton of coworkers who are super nice and fun. Most of them have been there for over five years, and some a lot longer than that! We all joke with each other at work and we all love dancing a little to the loud music that plays outside. The guests love it too! When they see us dancing they always smile or join in. It is definitely a fun atmosphere if we make it that way.
Whew! I can still think of so many more things to say but this post is already out of control. I guess just the biggest thing I have learned so far is that attitude is everything. I could easily hate my job and I already do come up with plenty to complain about, but every time I remember where I am and the amazing things I see and the awesome people I meet, I know I am so blessed. And I guess our whole lives are that way. Life is good my friends, no matter where we are : )
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Earned the ears!
Monday, January 16, 2012
Our First Week at Disney! (Janelle)
We are all officially done with our general training, and our first week here at Disney World! WOOHOO! We all have our costumes (yikes), park access passes, housing ID cards, and name tags. We are basically legit. This week we do our on-the-job training, so hopefully by next week we will all be into the groove of how things work around here... although maybe not the bus schedule. That thing is confusing! Give us more like a month on that one.
It is so cool how many international people work here! We meet tons of people from New Zealand and Australia, and we have also met people from the Dominican Republic, Brazil, Canada, Peru, Italy, and probably more that I cannot think of right now. There have been times where the three of us have been sitting on a bus and nobody except us is speaking English. It is really neat when the bus picks up a lot of people who work at Epcot, where they have people from different countries come and represent their cultures, because then we get to see all kinds of cultural costumes and try to guess where everyone is from. How awesome is that?
It is so cool how many international people work here! We meet tons of people from New Zealand and Australia, and we have also met people from the Dominican Republic, Brazil, Canada, Peru, Italy, and probably more that I cannot think of right now. There have been times where the three of us have been sitting on a bus and nobody except us is speaking English. It is really neat when the bus picks up a lot of people who work at Epcot, where they have people from different countries come and represent their cultures, because then we get to see all kinds of cultural costumes and try to guess where everyone is from. How awesome is that?
Saturday, January 14, 2012
It's Buzz Lightyear and me with Chip and Dale! I think Chip is the red nosed one? I might want to figure that out... we could be best friends one day! The other one is me and Janelle about to go into the 3-D Mickey movie! It was awesome. The Crystal Palace is where I will be working! More to come (cheesy outfits and crazy people wanting to eat with Winnie the Pooh!)
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
The beginnings (Emilee)

Janelle Burner, Heidi Corbridge and I have decided to take on a whole new adventure! We are in Orlando, Florida and are training to work at Disney World! We've only been here for a few days but it's been a crazy ride! We arrived on Monday and went through an intense check-in, received our ID's and went straight to casting where we went through all the paperwork and made sure that every

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