Epcot's Food & Wine Festival

        Last week for the first time I got to enjoy Epcot's Food & Wine Festival for the first time! It was so exciting to do something new that I've never done at Disney World. I went to the festival with Zach & Anthony, so not only did I get to taste the food I bought, but I got to taste what they bought as well. I tried to take pictures of everything I tasted, but some things I devoured before I could think to take a picture...

^Australia: grilled lamb chop with mint pesto & potato crunchies

^Scotland: Cranachan with raspberries, toasted oats, and whipped cream (YUM)

Scotland: Seared Sea Scallop with spinach-cheddar gratis and crispy bacon

^Hawaii: Kalua Pork Slider with sweet & sour dole pineapple chutney & spicy mayonaise

^Desserts & Champagne booth: Dessert Trio: Passion Fruit Coconut Creamsicle, Bluberry Lime Cheesecake Roll, Chocolate Expresso Opera Cake

^Anthony being the face for Food & Wine

^France: Tartelette aux Escargots: Escargot Tart with Garlic, Spinach, Bacon & Parmesan

^Brazil: Pao de Quejo: Brazillian Cheese Bread

Belgium: Belgium Waffle with berry compote and whipped cream

^Taking a break to watch Smash Mouth perform. My inner 90s child was GEEKING OUT.

China: Chicken Potstickers, Beijing Roasted Duck in Hoison sauce

^Mexico: Shrimp Tacko with fried shrimp, pickled habanero pepper and onion on a flour tortilla

Key West....Paradise? Not so much.

      On Monday (after working a 9 hour day) at midnight Zach & I embarked on a trip to Key West. I drove for the first two hours until we found a Denny's to eat at. After that I pretty much slept the entire ride while Zach drove....my hero!!!!!
      We arrived in Key West after stopping at a few of the other Keys at about 9 AM. We checked into our hotel (they had a room ready for us, thank goodness) ate their continental breakfast and napped until a little bit after noon. We then set out to explore Key West.
      We were in for a bit of a surprise... we had imagined that Key West would be a tropical beach paradise. That's what we had heard, at least. Instead, it seemed to us to be a town where washed up people go to get drunk and act like idiots. The beach that they had was very rocky, and not so attractive. We swam at the beach and explored the town some more before going to Mallory Square to watch the sunset, which was beautiful but overshadowed by street performers and drunken guitar players. We made the best of it and went to a delicious dessert place which seemed to make the whole day worth it.
      The next day we slept in until 9:30 and got some breakfast before going back to sleep until our late checkout at noon. We had booked a snorkeling trip for 1 o'clock! We were headed out to America's only coral reef. I told Zach there was no way I would snorkel for longer than a few minutes. I was terrified, especially when they made the announcement that it's jellyfish season and they would be abundant.
      I ended up staying out in the water snorkeling with Zach the whole time. In fact, we were two of only about 10 people who stayed out the whole time (there were 49 people in total on the boat). It was so fun! I have to say, I was terrified of the jellyfish, and every time I saw one I totally freaked out. However, it turns out that I was so scared of getting stung that I didn't even realize when I did get stung. All of a sudden I said to Zach, "my arm stings a little....did I get stung??? maybe I'm just being paranoid." But when I got back on the boat one of the crew confirmed that the sting on my arm was from a jellyfish, but they had ointment that I could put on it. So, that's right folks : I got stung by a jellyfish, survived and didn't even cry. I've never been so proud.
      After the trip Zach & I tried Key Lime Pie at two different places, got Five Guys burgers and embarked on the trip home. I drove the first 3 hours while Zach napped. During this time I lip synced to old Glee songs and songs from the 90s. I even drove over the 7 mile bridge that connects the Keys by myself. This was just a trip of adventure and bravery for me.
      The drive home ended up taking us about 7 hours (we stopped multiple times for stretching and snacks). We were so tired when we got home we went right to bed.
      While Key West was a disappointment, I had an amazing time exploring and adventuring with Zach and am so glad that we went. I can't wait to go on another trip, just this time a little closer to home.

Our room at the Key Lime Inn

Getting our picture taken by a lady who asked us to take her picture standing up there to prove to her kids that she's adventurous!

Sunset at Mallory Square

Braving the jellyfish sting. Look how proud Zach is of me!

Coronado Springs!

      For the past 2 weeks I have been deployed to work at Coronado Springs which I have to say has been my favorite deployment so far. The resort is beautiful and easy to navigate, and I find the people I work with to be so kind and willing to help each other. It's also really fun because I get to work with a lot of other college program participants. The resort has about the biggest convention center on property so I work with a lot of guests who are here for work and then need assistance planning their vacation time, which is super fun!
      I was hoping to be deployed here for another week, but next week I am off to Port Orleans Riverside, which is a resort I know nothing about.... we'll see how that goes!

^ The only downside of Coronado Springs is the costume. I can barely breathe in it!

My Trip Home!

      On a whim at the end of August, I decided to request a few days off in September to go home. I figured the chances of it getting approved were slim, but I figured what the heck! The days ended up getting approved the next day, and next thing I knew was I was booking a trip home.
      Zach was great and drove me to the airport at 5:30 in the morning before he had to go to work. The plane I was on was barely half full so I got a whole row to myself, laid down, and slept the whole way. I was greeted at McArthur Airport by my mommy who I was so excited to see again. That day we went home and I got to see my dog Peder! I was so excited to see him, he ran up to me and was excited for a moment and then nonchalantly walked away....okay....cool.
      That night I got to surprise my two favorite girls (my nieces) who didn't know I was going to be home. It was great to see them but also a little sad because they seemed to have grown up so much in the 4 months I have been gone. It was fun to be able to have conversations with them about school and the new things going on in their life.
      The next day I went to visit my dad in his new house and meet his new dog Lola. Lola was way more excited to see me than my own dog was. I love his new house and am excited to spend more time there when I come home in January.
      That night I went out for Sushi with Leah, and then went to the mall... That seems to be our go-to whenever we're together. My favorite thing about Leah is we go months at a time without seeing each other and then when we're together again it's like nothing has changed.
      On Wednesday Mom& I took a spontaneous trip into the city to see Cabaret. The tickets we got were $25 each and the show was AMAZING. I was not a fan of Michelle Williams but Alan Cumming was phenomenal and made the entire show.
      On Thursday I spent downtime with mom and then got to see Jules & Maddy again. Later on at night I took a spontaneous trip to post and got to spend a short time with my friends Katelyn & Gabby there before meeting up with my roommate Emily to catch up. We ended up doing what we always did at Post- laying down in the dorm room talking back and forth for hours.
      On Friday I spent time at the Shack and got to see Jennie. Kathryn ended up driving home from SUNY Cortland that morning so I got to spend a few hours with her before I left for Florida which was the best present ever.
      My trip home was great, but perhaps the greatest part was that although I was sad to leave, I was not dreading coming back to Florida. When I used to go away to school, or even when I just went to school on Long Island, every time I left home I left with dread. Feeling at home in two places is a wonderful feeling.

Deployment

       At Disney World when there is not a high need for workers in your location, you get "deployed." This means that you are working at a different location for a week at a time. On your first day you get a two hour training for the resort before you are on your own. I got deployed for the first time two weeks ago to Saratoga Springs. When I found out I was terrified. I barely felt comfortable at the Boardwalk, how on earth was I supposed to work somewhere new? My only saving grace was that I've stayed at Saratoga Springs before.
       The first day I got there and unfortunately my trainer had called out so I got a mini session instead. Saratoga is such a big resort, so big that people drive and take buses to get from place to place around it. It was a little overwhelming when people would ask me how to get places. I usually ended up asking someone around me who worked at the resort regularly.
       Saratoga was only at about 40% occupancy when I was working there, so the days were really slow. Also there we get one hour long break and at the Boardwalk we get two half hour breaks, which is a nice way to break up the day. I did mostly check-in related tasks at Saratoga and only a handful of concierge related tasks. By the time I was on my second to last day and I had a really complex situation  to handle with I was excited with the chance to challenge myself.
       My second week of deployment was at the Grand Floridian. At first when I learned this I was scared to death because the Grand Floridian is one of the fanciest, best resorts in Disney World. I was afraid I wouldn't fit in and wouldn't be able to handle guest situations. On my first day I had a two hour training with a trainer who seemed to know everything you could possibly think of about the resort. She really prepared me well for my deployment. I ended up really enjoying my time at the Grand Floridian and would definitely pick up shifts there in the future. All of the leaders were fantastic and everyone was so helpful if I needed assistance. I met a lot of wonderful guests and had tons of memorable interactions with them.

 ^My costume for Saratoga Springs

^My costume for the Grand Floridian

The Beginning of September....

       September has been great so far! Zach & I celebrated our 4 year anniversary on the 1st. We got reservations at Be Our Guest for dinner and had the best steak I've ever had. It is without a doubt the best food I've ever had on Disney property.

       The very next day I went to 'Ohana to celebrate mine and my friend Lex's birthdays. It was an amazing atmosphere and the food was incredible. We had such a great night, but we were so incredibly full afterwards we were waddling around all night. 

       I've grown extremely close to the people in the pictures above, Lex, Tabitha & Anthony. They're my Disney 'Ohana and I'm so incredibly grateful to have them in my life. They are truly making my program.

       Last night, Zach & I went to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party as Disney Tourists! There were villains and special characters everywhere, and we trick or treated for more candy than I know what to do with.  My favorite part was the parade, and watching Celebrate the Magic from up close!

^ Zach as a Disney Tourist!

August Recap!

       So I have been really busy (lazy) lately and haven’t gotten the chance to write on my blog in a month. School started this week though, which means my psychology practicum has officially started and I am blogging for a grade, so I will be writing more often.

I’m going to do a quick recap of August!

       In the beginning of August, Zach’s family came to visit. They stayed at POP! Century where Zach works! I was able to see them on two different days. The first day we went to Epcot all day and finished off the night at Magic Kingdom. We ate at Biergarten which is a German buffet. The atmosphere was amazing, it made you feel like you were outside in the middle of Oktoberfest. There was live entertainment, and pretzel rolls that were to die for. The rest of the food wasn’t really my cup of tea but it was fun nonetheless. It was a little tricky to take pictures inside but I’ll post a few to give you the feel for it:

       The second day I spent with Zach’s family was at his aunt & uncle’s house in Deltona where they were holding a birthday party for Zach’s Aunt Jenny. It was super fun, but unfortunately Zach couldn’t get off of work so we had to leave early for his shift.

       

       Towards the end of August my mom came and visited me! We had such a great week together. On the first night we went to Cape May (our favorite!) and the Top of the World Lounge at the Bay Lake Tower Resort to watch the fireworks. That was something we've never done before and it was amazing!

^^The view from the Top of the World!

^^My strawberry lemonade with lime foam :)

       On the second day of her visit we spent the day at the Orlando Premium Outlets and ate at Big River Grille. On the third day we went resort hopping. We visited the Animal Kingdom Lodge which is somewhere we'd never been before. We ended the night watching Frozen on a big blow up screen on the lawn of the Boardwalk!

^The inside of the Animal Kingdom Lodge lobby

^The resort's resident Giraffe!

^Me on the big couch at the Boardwalk:)

       On Thursday we went to Magic Kingdom and ate at Be Our Guest for lunch! The park was empty, and we were able to go on all of the rides we wanted to by 7 o'clock so we decided to head over to Hollywood Studios for a few rides and the Frozen Fireworks!

       It was a great week with my mama and I didn't want it to end. We are planning a trip for her to come down in November though and I planned a spontaneous trip home next week!