Walt Disney Studios Tour

Hello everyone! Long time no speak!

This week, the college program had the opportunity to take a tour of the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank. Unfortunately, I didn't get to spend as much time there as I would have liked but it was still awesome to be there! 

When we got on property, we met near a little store decorated to look like the Monsters University campus.

We then walked around, looking at all of the buildings where they worked on different movies such as Peter Pan and Lady and the Tramp (two of my ALL TIME favorites). We went into one building the had a tunnel underground to another building, so that artists didn't have to bring their work out into the sun or rain and ruin their work when they needed to transport it. 

This is Pluto's corner. Over near the fire hydrant, you can see his footsteps on the ground! How cute!

This is the theatre they use to do cast previews and screenings and to test out the sound systems for the movies in an auditorium setting. 

We then went into the Disney Archives, which had a lot of cool memorabilia, vintage merchandise, and artwork and props from movies.

Mr. Tumnus!!! From The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe (they also had the wardrobe here)

This room was amazing to be in and see everything that was in here! Another highlight of the tour was seeing the iconic Team Disney building. 

Many of the Disney Legends have their hand prints on the walls around the courtyard near the Team Disney building. 

Roy, Minnie and I

Brittany and I reenacting the Partners statue!

I am so grateful that I got to tour this amazing and historic place. I just hope I'll get to come back some day!

Monstrous Summer!

Most I apologize for the lateness of this post. It was a couple of weeks ago, but Disneyland (and I believe Disney World as well) hosted a 24-hour event. The parks were open from 6am Friday to 6am Saturday. My shift that night was 5pm on Friday to 4:30am Saturday. Now, surprisingly this shift went by very fast for 11.5 hours! I got to work and it seemed like a normal day. A few hours later, the storm hit! I was working at Royal Street Veranda, which is next to Pirates of the Caribbean. Our line was past our patio, and halfway down the bridge to Adventureland for most of the night! 

By around 3am I started to crash. But I was proud of myself for holding up all night, and for being in such a chipper mood for my whole shift! 

To thank us for hard work and dedication, my work location managers and leads put together "survival kits" for the night! We got "Uncrustables" pb&j sandwiches, snickers or starburst, an apple or an orange, trail mix, Oreos, and a monster every drink or apple juice. Also, every cast member that worked the 24-hour event received a special crispy treat! 

Most guests that night were very nice, excited and understanding. Although a few were cranky and complaining. Especially when we ran out of clam chowder at 3 in the morning! 

Overall, it was a lot of fun to work that night. I had fun working in Veranda with my co-workers and friends! 

Thanks for reading! Talk to you soon. 

A Nice Break From Work!

A few weeks ago (once again, I am sorry I procrastinated), my mom, Devin and Zach came to visit me in Anaheim. They came on a Friday afternoon and I got them into the park, but I had to work a four hour shift that night. While I was at work, they visited me and ordered some clam chowder and gumbo!

The next day we went into the parks bright and early! Zach and I took off in the middle of the day to Downtown Los Angeles for a date. I surprised him by taking him to the Peterson Automotive Museum.  He was stoked, to say the least.

Here he is next to the original Batmobile.

This is the "Batcycle", which he was also very excited about. 

And here he is next to the Mach 5 from Speed Racer. "Go Speed Racer Go!" Aren't I the best girlfriend ever?

We then went to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). This is us in front of Urban Light, an exhibit right outside of the museum. You may have seen it in the movie "No Strings Attached". It is so beautiful at night!

We didn't have very much time to see the exhibits inside because we had to go back to Disney to meet my family for dinner at ESPN zone. 

Yummy! Then we went and finished off the night at California Adventure!

Here we are in line for Radiator Springs Racers. This was there first time going on the ride and going to Cars Land.

That night, Zach and I went to Carthay Circle Restaurant, the brand new restaurant on the brand new Buena Vista St. in California Adventure. It is very fancy and very expensive! We got there early and sat in the lounge/waiting area. We went to the bar and Zach ordered a drink (because he is 21 now!) and the bartender didn't even ask for his ID! Zach was a little upset about that...

The restaurant from the outside is designed like The Carthay Circle theatre that Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was premiered at. On the inside, it is very old fashioned and themed like the theatre. There are pictures of Walt Disney and other celebrities all over the restaurant. We were seated upstairs at a lovely little table and our server was so nice. Unfortunately I didn't take pictures of the inside. For one, it was very dark, and two, Zach and I wanted to keep our phones out of sight. 

For starters, we ordered the Carthay Signature Fried Biscuits. They have cheddar, jalepeno and bacon inside and come with an apricot butter for dipping. They were definitely not what I expected, but wow they were good. They are small and round and the filling inside is delicious. The apricot butter compliments them, which I wasn't expecting. 

For the main dish, I ordered Cavatelli Pasta with Tuscan-style Braised Lamb. It was tasty, but very rich and I'm not used to such fancy foods. Zach ordered the Santa Maria Braised Pork Pot Roast, which he loved. I tried it and the meat was very lean and soft. 

For dessert, we shared the Pear Pie with salted caramel ice cream. It was fantastic. I could not get enough of that stuff.

Because we ate at Carthay Circle, we got a special viewing spot for World of Color. 

I could never see this show too many times! 

The next morning, we had breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen! Words can not describe to you how much I love Goofy's Kitchen. Here are the characters we got to meet:

Goofy, of course, because he is the head chef, and a good one at that!

My girl Cinderella. We go way back. 

Baloo!

This is the sidekick of the bad guy in Pinnochio..... His name is Gideon but I didn't know that before I just now looked it up. 

And of course Pluto, the sous chef of Goofy's Kitchen!

We spent the rest of the day at the parks and my family left the next morning before I had to go to work. It was a very sad goodbye because the days they were here felt like a family vacation. I felt like I should have been going home with them that day! But it's okay because my dad and brother are visiting in a few days!

Just an Update!

Hi everyone!

I apologize for not updating my blog for such a long time! I've been so busy and have been procrastinating as I do so well.

For starters, work has been fun. I am mostly spending my days working at Mint Julep Bar in New Orleans Square, or French Market, and the occasional day at Veranda and Harbour Galley.

Mint Julep Bar is fun because it's busy and fast-paced, and that makes the day go by quickly. We sell specialty coffee drinks, those tasty Mickey-shaped beignets and of course, the mint julep (which I think is absolutely grotesque). It is a "minty limeade" (which is what we tell guests when they ask what it is) which is way too sweet and Colgate-y. I have also been working a few shifts at the French Market restaurant. As a cashier there, I do not usually touch the food. I am sitting at a register at the end of a buffeteria (buffet/caffeteria style restaurant) line to ring up guests' food and take their money. French Market offers soups in bread bowls, salads, sandwiches, and cajun pasta, meatloaf, jambalaya, and chicken. I like working here because it is fun interacting more with guests than I get to do at Veranda, Galley and Mint Julep Bar.

As for my college program course, Corporate Analysis, we just finished up our research projects. Each student chose a part of the Walt Disney Company to research, write a paper about, and discuss as a group presentation to the class. I had the honor of studying Pixar, which was really fun. I gave a short summary on the company and their many achievements and had to identify how they exemplify the Walt Disney Company's three business priorities which are: technology, innovation and global expansion. I discussed the types of groundbreaking technology that Pixar has invented to help them create the amazing stories and characters they have. I also touched on how they are an internationally known and loved company and that their movies are worldwide hits.

My next big assignment in class is a paper on Corporate Culture, which is mainly about the Disney way of doing business, their priorities and traditions and how I am a part of that.

Well, I think that's it for now. Thanks for reading and I'll talk to you soon!

Fun Day at Disneyland!

Hi everyone! 

It's always nice to have a day off, and I'm lucky to get two days off a week. And boy, do I cherish those two sweet days! This week, Kellyn and I had our days off together and decided to spend one of them in the park!

We received special Family Holiday Celebration coupons from Disney exclusive to cast members only. They gave us free tickets to get three family members in and a bunch of coupons (most which I probably won't be able to use). One of them was for ESPN Zone. For $15, we get a burger and fries and $10 of games at the arcade. 

The burger wasn't the best, but the games were fun! I lost at this one but won for the others!

We then headed to the park. I've been and will continue to save all of my park tickets while I'm on the program. So far, I've gotten two Snow Whites, one Donald Duck and one Sully. This day, I finally got Mater! I was too excited!

We got a fast pass for Star Tours because we couldn't bear to wait the 30 minutes (we're spoiled now), then rode Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters. Usually I beat my opponents but Kellyn is good! And continues to beat me by thousands of points. We then headed to New Orleans Square, took some photos and wanted to ride Haunted Mansion but it was closed. 

We then headed to Fantasyland (where Kellyn works, operating attractions). Merida from Disney Pixar's Brave was there in her usual spot and I had to meet her. For some reason, I get really nervous when meeting my favorite characters, as if they are actually that character. I am so glad I finally got to meet her, and look how cute her little brothers are behind us! (sorry if you haven't seen the movie, I just ruined that for you).

We then went back to ride Star Tours, the ride that always makes me feel uneasy after. But it's one of Kellyn's favorites and I still think it's really cool. Kellyn was SO EXCITED because she finally was the Rebel Spy.... if you haven't been on Star Tours since they re-did it, the ride picks someone on it to be a Rebel Spy and shows a picture of them before the ride begins, saying that there is a Rebel Spy on board...

We then chased down Cinderella and her mouse and got to take a picture with them! So cute!

That's all for this day off! Talk to you soon!

First Day of Disney University!

Okay, okay, I know it has been a while since I've made a blog post. I've just been so busy with work! I've been getting all 8 and a half hour shifts! So when I get home from work, I want to watch a little TV (current obsession is How I Met Your Mother) and then pass out!

Anyway, work has been good. I am so glad that I was put into New Orleans Square because one, it's my favorite land in the park, and two, it's awesome to look out onto the Rivers of America all day! If I haven't already said this, I was going to request to work in New Orleans Square, but I never had the chance. I guess it was fate!

Now to the point of this post, I started my Disney College Program course "Corporate Analysis", which gives students a look at how The Walt Disney Company was started, is run today, and the direction it is going in as far as "EnvironMentality" (Disney's term) and technology. The course was held in a banquet room at the Paradise Pier Hotel. The instructor is awesome - very nice, funny and helpful. I can tell he genuinely wants to help us succeed in the program and in life. The class meets once a week, for three hours.

Being the first class of the course, we didn't really get to start any of the coursework. We did a little ice-breaker where students introduced themselves, talked about their workplace, education, an interesting fact, etc. Then we went over the components and assignments of the course. My instructor really likes fun facts so he told us some pretty random ones....

A blue whale's tongue weights more than an elephant....... WHAT?

And the one I still can't wrap my head around... onions don't have a taste. What you taste is the smell!
(I still don't believe it.)

At class, we were given fancy DCP binders, notepads and pens from the Paradise Pier Hotel!

 

Thanks for reading everybody! See ya soon!

My Costumes!

Hey everyone!

Check out my cute costumes!

Here is my costume for the Royal Street Veranda. This is for New Orleans Square, which is set in the 19th century. 

That one is my favorite.

This one is for Harbor Galley in Citter Country. 

Jealous? Could definitely be worse!!

Talk to you real soon!