Chatham Square 3 Bedroom

I realised I’ve never really posted about our apartment over here! We lived in apartment 28303, a 3 bedroom in Chatham Square. Luckily through Dorms we could pick our roommates, so I got to live with my best friends. I don’t really know what to say about it other than I miss our little apartment so much. Believe me when i say it was never as tidy as these photos haha! I miss coming home from work and flopping on the living room floor, us one by one coming home and each flopping! Our balcony, near the end, also became the home of an evil wasp which me and Rachael tried to scare away…with Rachael's pencil stick…yeh it didn't happen haha!

Chatham is a lovely complex to be honest! Our place was a 2 min walk from the main gates/bus stop and right in front of the pool/mailbox. The beds are pretty un comfy and squeaky, you get used to it, although mine wasn't half as bad as Hayley’s (fun memory: when she was in the bathroom I went and jumped in her bed and pretended to sleeps). I roomed with Jennifer while Hayley and Rachael roomed together. I miss it more than anything.

You can see some more pictures here and a brief video clip here.

xox

Disney ICP 2013 Graduation

July 31st marked the day of our Disney graduation! The event is held at Chatham Square on the field by the pool which was conveniently right outside our apartment block. There’s food (although not many veggi options), music, games and meet and greets with the fab 5 (plus daisy). It was such an amazing time seeing all our British friends and meeting my room-mates work friends.

We got a few goodies from Disney including a certificate of completion, an ear hat and a cute little box.

After the event we headed off to Magic Kingdom where we watched the castle show, danced away at the Move it Shake It parade and the Tomorrowland Dance party then went on Buzz. Rachael managed to get reservations at Be Our Guest that evening so at 8ish we headed off to the restaurant. Having been there twice before I decided on having the Leek and Potato Soup starter as my main and a desert, the chocolate cake is so freaking amazing there. After a little meet and greet with the beast and a ride on the haunted mansion we headed off to our favourite frontierland haunt to round off the day watching ELP.

It was lovely to have all of us hanging out together! Work schedules sometimes clashed (although we were pretty lucky with getting similar days off). Graduation marked 9 days until our program end so a bittersweet day in all.

xox

Walt Disney World Shows & Parades

One of my favourite things to do in Disney is watch the shows and parades. There are so many amazing ones in Walt Disney World that i simply couldn't pick just one favourite. Lets start with Magic Kingdom shall we! I’m not going to cover every single one, just the favourites while giving you an ICP memory.

Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade, also known as the 3 o’clock parade (when is the 3 o’clock parade?) is the one I got to walk every day while parade vending or have front row seats while regular vending. I’ve seen it so many times that I can sing every word to the soundtrack and do all the dances. My favourite place to watch this from (while working) is the top of main street. It’s not too crowded so I got an amazing view from Popcorn 1.

Dream Along with Mickey is the castle show which is on a few times throughout the day. I watched this one a lot as a guest and also while working. I used to park my cart on the road bit in front of the castle and sing along. I had so many guests ask me how many times i’d seen the show haha! I wish I would have kept count.

Electric Light Parade we watched every night as guests in Magic Kingdom! My roommate Jen did costuming for ELP so it meant a lot to her, plus it was awesome seeing the characters run up to her in the crowd having recognised her. I must say it most definitely grew on me and its now one of my favourite things to see in MK. Our spot is usually outside Country Bear Jamboree for the 11o’clock parade. The area is practically empty so lots of character interaction.

Celebrate the Magic i believe is limited time magic, but its in the top three of my favourite shows. It’s basically a visual show accompanied by a badass sountrack projected onto the castle. The end bit, when Walt appears and says the famous “It was all started by a mouse” bit gets me every time. I basically got paid to watch this and Wishes at popcorn 2/MSB whenever I worked main street as we never got guests wanted to be served during it.

Wishes. This deserves a post of its own. How can I even describe Wishes. It’s just Disney. It’s magic, dreams and belief all intertwined into a marvellous night time spectacular. I’ve watched this from all over the park plus from a distance at the Polynesian and the roof of the Contemporary hotels. By far the best place to to watch it from mainstreet/infront of the castle. As I said above, I did practically get paid to watch this every night, even if I was in a different land, so probably saw it from every location in the park! Fantasmic may be my favourite show, but wishes will always be a first night and last night kinda deal.

Saving the best for last, Fantasmic! This was my all time favourite show at Walt Disney World. During the 9 weeks I was there I watched it 6 times and then once in Disneyland California. Just everything about it is perfection. The story, the soundtrack, the visuals. I liked the Hollywood Studios arena better than in DL but the show across the country had a better story (and Maleficent Dragon).

There are others shows such as illuminations at Epcot, Mickeys Jungle Jammin Parade at Animal Kingdom, Move it Shake it at Magic Kingdom and many “attraction” shows, but these are just a few of my favourites and ones which have the best memories. Also all photographs in this post were taken by me!

PS. I know i sucked at updating this blog during my ICP of my day-to-day happenings but I’m getting there with the highlights.

xox

Jane, Craig and Daniel do Wet’nWild & Universal

For 2 of the 10 days that Daniel and Craig visited, we went to universal and it’s waterpark, Wet’nWild. Well, I say universal, we only actually went into Island of Adventure. Craig is a huge harry potter and marvel fan so they were our main hits. The first time there was abit of a disaster to be honest. It took us ages to get there and home as the I-ride is useless. We probably spent about 2 hours in the park as Craig wasn't feeling too well tackling forbidden journey, dragon challenge and food in the three broomsticks, before heading back. The second time there went much better. We spent the morning at Wet’n’Wild, which was alright but not overly amazing. Most of our time was used splashing around in the wave pool before heading to ihop for lunch. Hello pancakes!

Pancakes are probably one of my favourite things about America. Oh how i love them. Anyway, that evening in Island was so much better! It was practically empty so we walked onto lots of rides including Jurassic Park, Flight of the Hippogriff and Ripsaw falls (I don't think I've ever gotten so wet on a ride inn my life). I’m glad I got to see Craig's happy little face when we entered Hogsmeade but its such a pain to get to universal when staying on Disney property! I would recommend staying on I-Drive instead if you are planning on going there for a couple of days, or rent a car.

I did vlog the days a little so if your interested have a gander below.

xox

Walt Disney World’s Pop Century Resort

When Craig and Daniel came to visit me in Florida, we all stayed in Pop Century Resort, a budget Disney hotel themed around popular culture from the 60s to the 90s! We got 2 separate rooms in the 80s section, connected by a door at 50% off for Craig (as I was staying with him) and 40% off for Daniel with my cast member discount. The rooms were decent sized although a bit on the small side compared to Port Orleans Riverside (which was huge). What can you expect from budget though really? Beds were comfy, the room was clean and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay there. The only downside was that the resort was full of Brazilian Tour groups. Not pleasant when you want a quiet dip in the pool before bed and there's tonnes of Brazilian teenagers banging drums and singing loudly at 11pm.

The food court was quick service with several different counters for different “types” of food with three beverage stations. The food served was standard QS Disney food with some added extras that changed around depending on what time it was. My favourite thing to eat there was probably the breakfast. I love me some breakfast, so pancakes or waffles were on the table every morning without fail. One of their specialities is the Pop Waffle which was delicious and pretty huge. Omnomnom! I also really enjoyed the desserts (of course i did, its me!)

I reckon when we visit on holiday in the future we are going to go for a Moderate hotel, as having stayed in both brackets, there is certainly a difference in what you get. If you are on a budget though, this is a perfect place to stay, especially if you have kids! In fact I would highly recommended this if your visiting with kids. As its just us two, we would rather have somewhere more “grown up” in the future.

xox

The Boyfriend and Best Friend Come to Visit

July 8th was a date I had been looking forward too for quite some time. It was the day my boyfriend and best friend were coming to visit! We had booked to stay at pop century resort (more on that in an up-coming post). I managed to get quite a few days off work, traded away shifts ect, so I got to basically have a little holiday in between my program (apart from working the odd days). On the first night after a little explore of the hotel, we popped to downtown Disney for a wander and a meal at the Rainforest Cafe! The food was alright, nothing too mind blowing but it came very quickly which was a nice surprise, as when I last dined at its sister restaurant The T-Rex Cafe, service was shockingly slow.

The next 10 days were definitely some of the best of my summer. Getting to spend time with Craig and Daniel in one of my favourite places on earth made it even more Magical! The first full day we spent in Hollywood Studios and Epcot, riding rides, exploring and meeting a few characters. The second day was Universal Island of Adventures time, day three I was in work then day four Wet’n’Wild and more Island of Adventures (separate post about that). Finally on Saturday we ventured to one of my favourite parks, Animal Kingdom! The Festival of the Lion King, Nemo the Musical, Kilimanjaro Safari and Everest were the main hits with some other bits thrown in before the normal 4pm Florida Thunder Storm hit (although the first of their visit so far!)

At this point Magic Kingdom was blocked out for guests so unfortunately wasn't on the agenda, something we were all pretty bummed about. But, luck struck! It was announced on the Friday that the block was being lifted on Saturday 13th! Initially we didn't plan to go there until Monday as I was working a 9:30am – 22:5pm on the Sunday (ouch). Though my lovely managers, after I told them my boyfriend was in town, let me go at 4pm! Score! After nipping back to the hotel to refresh myself/change, off we went to Magic Kingdom!

The feeling of jubilation, walking through that tunnel into main street with Craig and Daniel nearly rivalled that of when I first entered Magic Kingdom a month before (not quite though!) That evening we watched Celebrate the Magic and Wishes after doing some rides and me basically giving them a tour of my home park haha! Even more lucky, Sunday meant extra magic hours! The park was open until 1am so we did some Tomorrowland rides and ate at Tomorrowland Terrace (the food there actually making all three of us a little nauseous to be honest).

I think we entered Magic Kingdom every single day after that until their departure on Thursday 18th July. Alot of character hunting entailed (a separate post on that will be coming) after that, mostly in Epcot and Magic Kingdom. Daniel was way too excited to fill up his autograph book ahha!

xox

The Four Park Challenge

Something we had planned to do since arriving in America was the four park challenge! So, on a joint day off we rose bright and early to begin our task. We didn't really have a set rules to be honest. The general idea was ride some rides, get an icon photo and get a fast pass. The plan was Animal Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood studios then Magic Kingdom.

They see me vloggin’…
Anyway, i think the challenge was quite a success overall. We ended the evening with dinner at the Plaza Restaurant and watching the 4th July fireworks (by the end of that week long show I couldn't wait for wishes to return!) I gotta admit, the day was exhausting. We were all well and truly dead by the time the fireworks rolled around.
Of course I vlogged most of the day which you can see below!

xox

Be Our Guest Restaurant

One of the things on my bucket list for the summer was to eat dinner at Be Our Guest Restaurant! The only problem, it gets completely booked up for months in advance. Luckily there are often stand by slots available if you head there at 4pm (possibly some later!) so I’ve actually had the pleasure of eating there 3 times in all three dining rooms (they have now opened up the rose dining room for dinner). The prices are decent but the menu isn’t that extensive. There is only one vegetarian main, ratatouille, which I did get on my first time there. In following visits I got a soup starter as my main.

The decor is beautiful! My favourite room is the ballroom, with it stunning chandeliers to the snowfall scene out of the windows. Be Our Guest also just so happens to be the only place where you can also meet the Beast or “master” as the Cast Members like to say!

I would 100% recommend this restaurant, more so for the atmosphere and theming (although I am left dreaming about the amazing deserts). If your celebrating a special occasion you may also be permitted to try “The Grey Stuff”, it really is delicious.

xox

1900 Park Fare - Character Breakfast at the Grand Floridian

A character breakfast was something I wanted to do while being here, so what could be more appropriate than a British themed affair. The Grand Floridian breakfast plays host to classic characters such as Mary Poppins, Pooh, Tigger, Alice and the Mad Hatter. They work their way around the room taking pictures, signing autographs and playfully interacting with guests.

The breakfast isn’t cheap at $25 a head (plus tip) but the food is actually delicious! It’s a buffet style with many choices for all dietary requirements. We also got tea! English breakfast tea! Major bonus points there.

I would 100% recommend doing a character breakfast in Disney, if only for the experience. I’d love to do another one before I leave next week (boo!) but time off and everyone having money is a thing. Ah well. Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day so this was perfection.

xox

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

One of the top hits on my bucket list for this summer was the Wizarding World of Harry Potter! I’ve been a huge fan of the franchise since I started to read the books at 10 years old. When I first heard of the new themed land in Universals Island of Adventure never did I think I would have the chance to visit it, not any time in the near future anyway. Honestly, it’s one of the main reasons I decided to get the annual pass (which is $261 for the preferred pass if you are wondering).

The land did not disappoint. Apart from getting pretty crowded sometimes, they really did a good job. From the castle looming in the distance to Honeydukes sweet interior. I’ve been there about 5 times now and rode the Forbidden Journey (amazing ride!) 7 times, it never gets old. I’ve even braved Dragon Challenge several times, which for me is a big achievement. I hate rollercoasters!

If you haven’t been before I really recommend checking it out. The rest of Universal is just a bonus, although Disney will always be number one. *grumble about express passes* If you get the annual pass going three times makes it worth it, hello Florida Resident discount. My favourite part has to be HoneyDukes and the castle, love love love.

xox