When the Vacation Ends.

This is literally my third, count them, blog post in the last twenty-four hours. I have been so busy trying to play catch up it's crazy. Well. This is a post entirely related to my job, my training, and generally when all the actual work for the program starts. 
So I talked a little bit about traditions, but didn't really get into because it was supposed to be a super quick short blog because I had missed so many chances to blog. 
So 
Traditions: It is usually the Thursday after you arrive, in some cases it was Friday, all dependent on your schedule they give you at casting. In my case two of my roommates and I had the early morning traditions. We needed to be there by 6:55a.m! This is one of the only time that Disney provides a bus for you so that you do not need to use the main transportation buses and interfere with others going to work. So do not get on the normal buses. This is business professional, and I am not going into detail on that, but for those of you with tattoos refer to one of my two tattoo blogs. When you arrive they you the handy-dandy-booklet you got at check-in to split you into smaller groups and you are taken into different classes rooms. 
You spend a majority of the time listening to them talk and tell stories, there is some interactive play type games they do. And then you go on a tour of the tunnels (WHERE NO PHOTOS ARE ALLOWED TO BE TAKEN) Be aware, this will ruin some of the magic for you. The tour is short, then you go out in to MK and each group goes to a different location. My "class" went to the Story book Circus, and we had to split into smaller groups and then go and look for examples of the Four-Keys, which you will learn at traditions. After that you go back to the class room, they talk some more, Mickey comes into to deliver your name tags to the leaders, they pass them out and you leave. 
Traditions takes anywhere from 4-5 hours, and then travel back.
The times for my move in week were
Thursday: 6:55am. The class started at 8 and went till around 12:30
Thursday 1:35pm. The class started at 2 and went till around 7
Friday 1:35pm. The class then started at 2 and went until around 7

Friday I had my Operations course. That you take at Disney University, where traditions also takes place. That day I also had my introduction to Merch class.
Operations : Is basically the course where they teach you more on the four keys, you go through this "game" or "journey" through the land of the four-keys and you learn what is and isn't a good repersentation of them. You learned your zones(Green, Yellow, and Red) This is funny and I don't want to ruin the enjoyment for anyone so I will leave it at that. 
For those of you in Merchandise. The intro classes just shows you how the four-keys play out in the store setting and guest interaction. 

Saturday and Sunday were my days off so it was like a mini-vacation. 
Monday I had: 
Rolling Out The Red Carpet: This is usually done in your locations "Cast Services Building" Like in my case I had to take the bus to the All Star Cast Services building, where we sat in a class room learned about the history of the resort, the vision of the resort, and how they plan to make that happen. We then went on a tour of our location which took about 2 hours and they skipped a lot of things. We then went to costuming, like I mentioned before I had a bad experience doesn't mean you will too. A lot of other people have encountered wonderful experiences. 

My next day of training was Tuesday and it was a Tier 1 training day which meant we basically went back to our locations and explored some more. 
I had my first experimental training on the registers at DU, and then Yesterday had my first opening shift for Front Of House (FOH). I have a closing training shift tonight. 

It's a lot of fun. Even though it's work your leaders know that you are young and this is a journey. and it's Disney World, so they try to kept things interesting. My location had a dance party yesterday and encouraged us to sing to the soundtrack that was playing. We had so much guest interaction, which being in a hotel gift shop i wasn't expecting, but I talked to soooooo many people yesterday and made an impact in some of their lives. 

I hope this helps with some of your questions on what the training entails. If you have any questions feel free to comment/contact me. 

Have a magical day guys! 

My First Visit ( and more.)

So like I had mentioned in my previous blog my apartment JUST got internet Tuesday. After having lived here for a little over a week. Turns out that the phone-jack that the modem requires be plugged in was not wired to the wall. So, if you missed me that's where I have been. 

But I FINALLY GOT TO GO TO WALT DISNEY WORLD. 
So far we have been too: Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Epcot. I have yet to do Animal Kingdom and it's breaking my heart. 
We went to MK right after traditions(5/22/14), with a new friend I had made during traditions. We had soooooooooooooo much fun. Even though we didn't get into the park until after 9pm so we walked around a little, got food. At a restaurant in Tomorrow Land. Then proceeded to go right Space Mountain, which was AMAZING.  The only other ride we were able to do on night one was The Haunted Mansion ride, which was still fun. We watched the electrical parade, which is currently my favorite because I haven't seen any of the others. 

The only princesses that were in it were Cinderella and Snow White (if I am remembering correctly). 
The next day was 24-Hour Day for Magic Kingdom, so we were unable to enter MK, we were also unable to enter Hollywood Studios because it was Starwars weekend(5/23/14)
 So, we went to Epcot. 
We did not do the world show case. But we did do: Spaceship Earth, Mission Space, the Test Track, The Sea and Friends ride(NEMO), Soarin', and Misson Space. 
Let me just tell you, I do not get sick on rides of any kind, ever...at all. Well, I think due to a mixture of not a lot of sleep, not a lot of meals, and even less water, Misson Space (Orange Instense) made me so sick to my stomach! It was tragic. 

So that was Friday, MK reopened to us on Saturday and was open until Midnight again, so we went there that night after roommates got out of work. And did a lot more. So much more. 
We waited in line to meet who was listed as Snow White and Aurora...Aurora was there, but the other Princess(es) were not listed and it was a complete and utter surprise when we walked in. 
So much that as soon as my roommate, Libby, realized who was standing there she burst into tears. 
I'm sure by now you have guessed who I am talking about? Anna & Elsa. It was adorable. They recorded a video message for me to send to my best friend back home to tell her how much I missed her and was thinking about her. 

I did get Pictures on my phone with Aurora, I apparently wasn't thinking when meeting Anna and Elsa to do so. 

 We have spent a lot of time so far in MK, not a bad thing. I love it there. 
But Hollywood studios has been my favorite so far I think, and we have barely done anything there. 
I had a little girls night thing with two of my roommates and we went and rode the Tower of Terror,  The Rocking Roller Coaster, and the Toy Story ride. 

I selfied with a solider. YAY. 

But my most memorable night so far, would have to be meeting Ariel. *Insert excited screaming and tears of joy*

It's a terrible Picture, But I don't even care I was holding back tears. 
She was literally so nice! We told her we were CP's and she was like "HOLY STARFISH!"
So on that note, I am going to end this abnormally long blog post, and apologize for it's length. 
Have a magical day everyone. 
Kayla.

Playing Catch UP.

I realized after I started blogging again, once my apartment got wifi that is, that I never told ya'll what my actual role was. 
Well, as I have stated several times I got the role of Merchandise, which means I could have worked in any of the; Carts, stands, shops, and stores in any of the four main parks (Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, EPCOT) Or either of the water parks (Typhoon Lagoon OR Blizzard Beach), any of the Disney Owned and operated hotels, or the board-walk. 
Well, my official titles is a Merchandise cast member in the All Star Resorts (Music, Movies, and Sports.) So I can bounce between the three gift shops (Maestro Mickey's, Donald's Double Feature, or Goofy's Gifts and Sundries) 
I started my training on Memorial Day, and it was really nice. 
We got our costumes that day as well, and I will tell you ladies (PLEASE TAKE NOTE if you are coming down or plan on applying) That Disney's sizing is REALLY weird. It fits true to size for men. But women, that's a whole other story, They say "be per pared to leave with a little less self-confidence." (Which I did)
I'm not lying to you when I say that the woman's clothing is TWO-too-THREE sizes larger than you actually are. If you were a size 0 you may be in a size 6 (witnessed this). We also had a not-so-nice cast memnber that decided because she was having a bad day that she would take it out on us. She sized almost everyone wrong, and made them feel horrible about their bodies no matter the size. 
Just because my group and I had a bad experience it does not mean all Costuming Cast Members don't care, because we did go back the next day after telling our leader about the incident and her deciding that we were not actually in the "Disney Look" and the woman that helped us find new costumes were the NICEST people I have met so far. 

My costume is absolutely hideous, but it's still fun. 
So today I worked in Maestro Mickey's and had a blast. We had a dance party, and we were encouraged to sing along to the music playing in the shop. They have draws of some of the fun merch items we carry that the Cast Members actually play with on shift to show off the merch. 

Only down side is because I have been working a lot of early morning shifts I haven't been getting up early enough to cover my tattoo's so I had to choose the long sleeve option which is a coat.....so I have been melting at work. 
Not to mention the costuming lady told me if I get any make-up on my costume I have to pay for it and I could be termed for destruction of property (not entirely sure if this is true, and I haven't asked my leaders yet, but just to be on the safe side I haven
t tried it) 

I FINALLY met Ariel last night, and my god was she perfect! 
I did get pictures, I just haven't had a chance to upload them yet, but they are coming soon. 


If you are currently a CP and know your location comment below and tell me how ya feel about it. 

Have a Magical Day! 
Kayla.

Home sick.

I said 100's of times before I began this journey that I wouldn't get "home-sick". That I would be so busy with work, and great friends, and going adventuring that I wouldn't have time to stop and think about all the things I am missing back home.
But it sinks in when you are least expecting it, like a light switch getting flipped on. So, how do you turn it off?

I'm not an "emotional" person. But today as I explored Hollywood Studios for the first time with two of my amazing roommates, I just kept thinking about all the things back home that I am missing a lot right now.
My mom.
My Fur-babies.
My Friends.
Everything.


I'm not going to lie, your first week will be a blur, all the fun and excitement you will have will be all you can think about. But week two starts and it's training, and working, and sleeping. It's only day one of my second week here and I have hardly slept. DAY ONE.

But I am having the time of my life.

Have a Magical Day!

A New beginning, and my first few days.

Check-In Day:
So after the whole airport mishap I was finally in Orlando. It was finally really happening, I was going to be working for the happiest place in earth.
It was surprisingly fast, it took about an hour and it was a fast process. It wasn't as stressful as everyone said it was going to be, but then again I don't think anyone really remember check-in after you've gone through it.
It took an extra 20 minutes to track down our apartment. It's really cute! All we heard up until move in day was that "Vista Way is the Ghetto."
Our Apartment is tooo fricken cute!

I had this whole blog all planned out in my head, since I was going to blog every day it was going to be a series of short ones about Traditions, and training. But since I haven't had internet for the past week I am scrambling to remember what's been going on.

We visited Down Town Disney the first night, 5 of the 6 of us.
We took super cute group photos

 

 

We are already a tight little grouped family.

This first week has been really exciting. For my first ever visit to Disney world, It's been one magical moment after another.

Have a Magical Day !

It's not goodbye, It's see you later.

As promised here I am to write about my amazing journey down to Disney World. Well, that journey hit a bump in the road. 

My original flight was supposed to leave out of Syracuse at 3:44pm and land in Orlando at 6:33pm. A direct flight, since I would have so much luggage with me. 

Well at around noon my mom couldn't check us into our seats our flight had been cancelled with no notice at all, and rescheduled for Monday morning with a landing time in Orlando at 11:33... That wasn't going to work. 

So we had to drive an hour and forty-five minutes to Rochester Airport and fly to JFK. We landed here, yes I am blogging from the airport, at around 4:45pm and my connecting flight to Orlando does not leave here until 8:30-ish pm tonight. Set to land in Orlando at 11:21pm....
It's been such a long day. 

Full of goodbye that were oh so hard to do. But It's not goodbye, right? It's see you later.
So far the hardest "see you later" I have had to do was with my bestfriend. 
Might as well be my sister.

We stood like this for so long, and I honestly didn't want to let go. She's been my backbone since we met five years ago, and without her I don't think I would going and doing this. Beside my mom and older brother she's my next biggest supporter. These next nine months without her are going to be a struggle. But we can always video chat, and I know it's not the same, but it's something. 

I love my family dearly for all the support through this crazy journey so far. 

And I wanna thank each and everyone of them for being so supportive. 

I love you guys. 

Have a magical Disney day everyone. 

P.S. SEE YOU AT CHECK-IN IN THE MORNING MAY 12TH ARRIVALS.

Kayla. 

"The time has come" The Walrus said.

Today is the day! My plane leaves today at 3:44pm from Syracuse and I should be in Orlando by 6:30pm. 
The last few days have been a roller coaster of emotions...Like I don't know what to feel anymore. At any given point of the day I am either crying, or talking non-stop about the memories I can't wait to make with the people I can't wait to meet. 

It's been stressful, when I walked out of my bedroom this morning I was flooded by emotion. (It's sounds like I am dying.) I'm not going to lie I've been pretty conflicted about going for the last few weeks, but I know that this is a really great opportunity and that I am going to have the time of my life. Once I get over this little emotional hump, that is. 

I am so thankful for all the love and support that my family has given me, and my friends. This journey is going to be so amazing, and I know that, I just have to get there and say my final goodbyes to my mom. 
This is real. I am not dreaming. In just 10 LONG hours I will be sitting in the Orlando airport waiting to collect my bags and call a taxi to take to me to the Holiday Inn located across the highway from Vista Way. 

 Are any of you nervous? Or feeling like this? 
I said a lot of my goodbyes earlier in the week, in-between combating finals and papers that were due. I can't tell you how glad I am that this semester is finally over..But I can tell you its a good thing that Disney doesn't look at our grades be of lord, I bombed this semester. 

I don't blame Disney that I bombed this semester either, which I have seen a lot of people posting. Yes, My excitement and concentration on wanting to get out of here did highly factor into. But by the time I was accepted into the program in March my grades were already to far gone. At that point it become a matter of just getting through the semester and accepting the grades that I made myself get. It's my own fault. 

So I decided that I am taking this coming semester off from school, I withdrew in April for the fall semester. So I will not be earning the upper division credits available to us, so I am just going for the experience and fun and memories. 

I don't know how to express what I am feeling about this big move, so I will leave it at that.
 If you guys have any; questions, comments, or concerns feel free to leave them in the comments below or contact me on my personal FB page. 

Can't wait to meet you guys tomorrow morning! Speaking of "Check-in" who else got a 'later-er' check-in time? Mine was 9-10, and Friday when they sent out that dorms email my time had been moved to 11-12pm which kind of sucks, but oh well. 

I may be posting a vlog/blog tonight about my airport journey and the hotel, meeting my roommates at dinner and what not. 

Have a Magical day guys! 

Kayla. 

Vlogging...What's that ?

So, I said in my previous blog that since I was given a new camera that I was going to consider vlogging. Well, I did. I made my first vlog post today, and if I am being honest with myself it is entirely horrible. I have never filmed myself before so it was a first for me, and I just got a new editor so that also was challenging. 

So here goes nothing: 

It's really not that good, It's a first attempt!  I also misspoke in the video and said my arrival date was May 12th, it's not. I wish it was. But it's really May 19th. Haha
But like mentioned in the video I do not plan to do it often, maybe every couple of times I go to the parks or Universal or on any adventure I will vlog some and post them both on my youtube channel and here to my blog. I am better at writing then I am at speaking into the camera.. Social awkward girl here. Haha Hi. 

Anyways guys. Check-in day is right around the corner. I am soooo excited. 

Have a magical day everyone! 
Kayla.

Is this real life?

First off, a big congratulations' to the May 12th arrivals! Although, I did expect too see a lot more photos up of your housing/role! I'm sure they will surface throughout the week. On another note, us May 19th people will be arriving in F-I-V-E days!! Which means in four days I will be landing in Orlando and meeting my wonderful roommates (Amy, Lex, and Tabitha) I cannot seriously not wait to meet these girls!!!

I don't know about the rest of you, but I am now getting to the point where I am thinking of all the things I will miss more than all the things I have waiting for me in Disney. It's like finally setting in I guess that I will be 21+ hours away from any one I know, living with a group of complete strangers, in an area I have never been too.

I'm not scared though, not at all...It's all excitement about the adventure I am facing! But I am really going to miss a lot of things back home.

Remember that packing list I posted a few weeks ago? Don't follow it! haha, I know I sure haven't...although I think I am packing to much anyways! I have looked at some of the list the alumni have posted and none of those have helped either. I guess the way I am looking at it/ thinking about it is that if I bring to much it's not like I can't pack some of it into a box and ship it home.

We are so close to move in day that I have been trying to pack away things I don't need....Well last night I packed all my shorts, and the jeans I am bringing. Those jeans are my favorite jeans. Well I don't know what I was thinking packing those yet, I woke up this morning to get ready for my final and I was like 'Uhm...what am I supposed to wear?"

Has this happened to any of you yet?


I just keep telling myself I have two more finals to make it through.

See you guys in 5 days!

On a side note, I may start vlogging as well soon too! Yayyy!

Have a Magical day!
Kayla!

Tattoos once again.

Hey guys!
I have been receiving A Lot of Facebook messages asking me to go back and go into more detail on my tattoo cover-up routine. So I thought I would re-cover that subject right now, seeing as some of you are less than a week away from Disney.

First off, I am by no means a makeup artist, and I really have no idea what I am talking about most of the time. But this is my routine and it seems to work for me, considering I love makeup and am fairly good at it I have a lot of patience....if you don't I do not recommend this.

The products I used can all be purchased at Walmart. Or I am guessing any drug store, I know one brand is specifically Walmart and I will note that below.

Okay, so lets just jump right in.

First I take Hard Candy Primer(Found at Walmart only) and apply that lightly over my tattoos to even out my skin and create a nice base.
I then take a layer of Hard Candy GLAMoflauge(Found at Walmart only) ... This is where the process gets slightly annoying and time consuming. You just keep layering this brand of concealer until you get your desired coverage amount.  NOTE: This concealer is VERY thick, a little will go a long way...if you apply to much you will be sitting there waiting for quite some time hoping it will dry.

Once you have received the amount of coverage you want, and it is completely dry you then apply either a loose powder foundation in your skin tone, or a shade lighter(if the concealer is still wet it will darken and look like a bruise if the foundation is too dark) OR a translucent setting powder, these can be found at any drug store or Walmart. Once you do that I would apply a setting spray, if you don't have a setting regular hairspray will work just fine. This will ensure that the concealer will have a fighting chance of staying in place.

Now I live in a very cool area of New York, we are still in a wet rainy time, so other than wearing this to work a couple of times I have NOT tested how sweat proof this is. So try it and see if it works for you, It will save you soo much money in the long run if it does. I will post a picture probably right below this to show the results I got on my arm.

Like I said, if your powder foundation is too dark and you apply it to a not-completely dry

concealer it will turn bruise like, there is some evidence of that by my wrist. I couldn't wait any longer I was heading out too work!

 

If you guys want to see anything else, let me know. I have two other tattoos I could do a test on to show you. But it's pretty simple. It works just as good at the Kat Von D lock it long wear.

 

If you guys have any questions feel free to comment below, or contact me via facebook or twttier.

 

 

 

Have a Magical Night guys!

See you real soon!

 

Kayla

DORMS...YAY!

So yesterday I received my dorms email. *insert excited screaming here* Do you realize how close this means we are getting?!
In 11 days, and some odd amount of hours, we will be standing in line waiting to check in at Vista Way.... Well, those of us arriving May 19th! those of you arrive on May 12th have like 5 days...WOW.

So like I said, my roommates and I received our dorms emails yesterday and are now linked together! WooHoo.

It's so close to finals week and my departure date from New York *also insert excited screaming, and weeping for finals*
But I am so stressed and busy that other than a small party my family is throwing for me this Sunday I really won't get to spend any time with my friends and family. So when I leave it'll be a little bit bittersweet. I wouldn't change my mind about going at all. I can not wait!
I guess I am getting a bit nostalgic about leaving, I keep pointing things out...like "Oh this is my last Sunday shift." or "This is the last time I get to do this or that." 

Either way, 11 days guys.

That's all for now,
Have a magical day.
Kayla.