Mom & Kat Come to Visit

          Last Monday my mom & sister Kat flew down to stay with me for a few days. We stayed at Saratoga Springs and spent every second we could together. As soon as they stepped off the Magical Express I started crying because I was so happy to see them.
          We spent the first day swimming and then went to dinner at Beaches and Cream followed by Hollywood Studios. It poured raining about an hour after we got there. I was determined to do all of the rides though. We were able to do Toy Story, Tower of Terror, Rockin' Rollercoaster, and Great Movie Ride before we left. We were absolutely soaked despite my rainjacket and their ponchos.
          On Tuesday we took the boat to Downtown Disney. About 45 minutes after we got there we went to Planet Hollywood for dinner. When we left it was pouring rain. We got absolutely soaked and the boats stopped running so we had to go to the buses. The only problem was the buses were located on the complete opposite side of Downtown Disney. We were soaked to the bone and the bus was so cold!!!!!! We got home and dried off and then went to my apartment to show Kat and went to Twistee Treat which is a great family owned ice cream place down the road from Vista.
          On Wednesday we went to Epcot and met up with Zach. We got there at park opening and ended up staying until 6. We got to do Soarin' twice thanks to the kindness of an attractions cast member who gave us a fastpass after my mom didn't open her eyes at all during the ride. For some reason we were sitting front row in every ride. I don't know if anyone's ever sat in the front row for Ellen's Universe of Energy but let me tell you it is SCARY!!!! After Epcot we ate at Cape May. YUM! Afterwards we were able to watch the Frozen Fireworks from the parking lot.
          On Thursday we spent our last full day together swimming and being together. We went to Downtown Disney as well and did some shopping for souvenirs. At night we ate at Big River Grille at the Boardwalk which serves my favorite burgers on property. We watched the Frozen Fireworks again from the bridge of the Swan & Dolphin.
          On Friday it was time to say goodbye which was heart-wrenching. I didn't want them to leave at all. I wish that they were down here with me at all times. I miss them more than anything and I had an incredible time with them.

A Summary of July

          July was a bit of a roller-coaster for me. Transitioning into concierge was difficult because there is so much you don't know how to do until you've done it before and a lot of things don't come up in training. The first week I was on my own I was convinced that I was never going to get a hang of it. But now I am starting to feel that I am able to do a good job and make a difference in guest's vacations. I've gotten my first Four Keys card which is a recognition for doing a good job. I got one because in a guest's survey after their vacation they mentioned me and that I was a perfect example of the great service that you get at Disney World.

          Aside from work I went on a few adventures and ate a lot of food (like 10 pounds worth..see you at the gym). I explored the parks and went to a few restaurants around town and on Disney. Zach and I got our haircut at the Kingdom Kutters in the Magic kingdom. I visited Zach at work at Pop Century and had Mickey Waffles with my good friend Mickey. I went to Chef Mickeys with Zach, Anthony and Zahrie, Zach's friend who was visiting from Queens. I also went to Cape May a couple of times which is my favorite restaurant on property.

^Zach enjoying unlimited crab legs at Cape May.

Pop Century, where Zach works.^

Zach getting his haircut at the Kingdom Kutters.^

^Riding Rockin' Rollercoaster for the first time this year.

Meeting Minnie Mouse at Chef Mickey's! ^

Zach and his idol Goofy with Anthony.^

Concierge Training Day 1&2

Yesterday was my first day of on the job Concierge training! (It was also the fourth of July. Disney was a madhouse!) My trainer is awesome and I'm already sad I will have to part with her soon. She is great at her job and I'm so lucky to be learning from her.
I am loving the concierge role so far. No two guest situations are the same, so things never get boring. The days go by super quickly and I feel a great sense of accomplishment when I am able to assist a guest.
Just a quick list of things I've gotten to do so far:
       -Set up & change fastpasses
       -Create/change/cancel dining reservations
       -Print boarding passes for guest flights
       -Set up/change Disney's Magical Express reservations
       -Set up a My Disney Experience account
       -Link magicbands to reservations and tickets
       -Sell/upgrade tickets to our theme parks
I love that I get the chance to spend more time getting to know our guests and helping them plan their vacation. I can't wait to get to work tomorrow!

Clearwater Beach & The Third of July at Magic Kingdom

Zach & I both had Wednesday & Thursday off this week. We decided to go exploring again. This time we went to Clearwater beach! We had a ton of fun in the ocean and exploring the beach town. At the end of the day we ate at a restaurant called Frenchy's that my dad recommended to me. I got fried clams and a burger and pretended that I was home. The day was a lot of fun....but you would think that somewhere called "Clearwater" would have actual clear water.  Zach & I are in search of the clearest water in Florida. If anybody knows where we can find this, let me know!

The bad part of the day was that in spite of putting on a ton of sunscreen... Zach & I both got badly sunburned. My face is so burned it's almost purple. Pictures don't really do it justice but:

So instead of exploring another beach on Thursday as we had planned, we decided to stay indoors all day and then go to Magic Kingdom at night. That was probably the worst idea we've ever had. They had special fireworks for the fourth of July. Everyone in the world was there. There were so many people that they had to filter people through backstage areas to get them around the park. We watched the fireworks from backstage with about a million other guests.

The fireworks were beautiful (even though fireworks scare the absolute crud out of me) but I think next time I'll just watch them from a resort.

The castle was decked out for the fourth of July, the lights made it a little hard to take a picture but here's the gist of it:

Today is the 4th of July and I am off to work! It is my first day training on location as a concierge! Wish me luck!!

Homesickness

For the first month I was here it was smooth sailing and everything was amazing. I couldn't believe that I was given this opportunity and I was in heaven here in Florida. Afterwards when I got more settled in and started working more I got a little less comfortable here.
It's really hard to be away from home and out of my comfort zone. It's hard to work different hours everyday and sometimes go days without seeing a friend outside of work. It's hard to not be in my own house with my family and my dog. It's hard to see people's lives on facebook going on at home. It's hard to miss out on big moments. I missed my niece's pre-school graduation and her dance recital. I missed going to my sister's college orientation. I missed meeting my dad's new dog. I missed the opening of the restaurant I work at at home for the summer. I missed my best friend's college graduation party.
Some days these negatives are all I see. Sometimes I want to just come home. But then I get to create some magic at work, or I go on an adventure here in Florida. Then I remember how lucky I am and what an amazing opportunity this is here.
I'm writing this post not to be a downer, but so that other people who are doing the program, or who may in the future can read it and know that when they are having bouts of homesickness they are not alone. Sometimes you will want to pack up and go home, but just try and stick with it. It will be worth it in the end.

On The Job Training & Destination Concierge

So I haven't posted for the past month. I've been so busy and tired that I haven't even gotten around to blogging. Seeing as I'll be using this blog for a grade in the fall I am going to need to get into the habit of blogging weekly.
I've been working as a front desk cashier at the Boardwalk for the past month. I trained for 5 days and I worked by myself until last week. It's a huge role and more complex than I could have thought. It's been hard for me because it's something completely different than anything I've ever done before.
However, it is a rewarding job. I get to be the first interaction guests have when they begin their Disney Vacation. I get to make magic happen for people and help them start and end their vacations on the right foot.
I started my concierge classes at Disney University on Saturday and ended today. We learned all about what it is to be a concierge, and how to accomplish all we need to do. We learned how to utilize My Magic +, how to make dining reservations, and how to provide excellent guest service. There is a lot of responsibility and complexities involved with being a concierge, and I am excited to begin my on the job training this weekend.