First journey to the parks

Last week the interns and I went to Magic Kingdom. 3 of 15 of us had NEVER been before and I had so much fun sharing the Disney Magic with them. We went in through the main gate, complete with monorail and everything and it was MADDNESS. You had to wait in a line just to get on the monorail. Definitely going in through the cast entrance next time, but it was important that the first timers get the full Disney experience. We went on Big Thunder RR for our first ride and it brought back so many good memories of riding it with my family, especially my dad who always is down to go on a roller coaster with me :) After that we went on Splash Mountain. To this day, that ride still gets me all worked up until you get to the big drop where I scream my face off.

The interns and I on Splash Mountain. It was Val in the red, Ethan in the stripes and Sohil in the blue's first time at Disney

The day after Val and I decided to hit up Animal Kingdom for an hour and a half after work, they close early at 7pm. We rode Everest 3 times and LOVED it. We would have gone again but were walking a little crooked after our last ride. The next morning Val and I went to the Hollywood Studios the next morning and spent ALL DAY there. We saw pretty much every attraction; Great Movie Ride, the new Star Tours, Lights Motors Action, Rock 'n Roller Coaster etc. The only thing we didn't make it on was the new Toy Story ride that I didn't even know about and had a ridiculously long wait; next time. Val LOVED Tower of Terror, she had no idea when the big drop was coming and it we laughed so hard after. We worked the Fast Pass system and ended up riding it 4 times! The last thing we did was the Indiana Jones Stunt Show, which is still the same as always only you have to get there really early to get seated. I always remember when dad was selected to be a participant in the show and how cool that was.

Val with funnel cake topped with soft serve, a tasty treat we split while waiting for Indiana Jones to start

Although it has been rainy here the last week or so thanks to Debby I managed to snap some pictures on my way back from our apartment gym on a nice night. Hoping that this weekend the sun will come back out so I can work on my tan some more.

View from our back porch, where we like to lay out and get sun

Pool at sunset, wish we had a hot tub

Entrance to our apartment complex

Clubhouse at our secure apartment complex

 

Work hard and play hard... or just relax at the beach

What a whirlwind these first couple weeks at work has been! I have jumped right into the mix and have learned so much. We have our first event coming up this weekend and I am so excited to see all the little ballers! We have a lot of international teams so it will be a good opportunity to brush up on my espanol. I have been sorting through copies of birth certificates and passports from all over including Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic. I can't wait for them to get here and have a magical time here at Disney.

I have been doing a lot of 'Meet & Greets' with different people in the office to learn more about their role at Disney Sports and hear about their career path. I work with some amazingly talented and successful people! And I am making great connections, I even wrote thank you notes and baked cookies for everyone that I have met with. Word is getting out that if you meet with me you get cookies, haven't had anyone turn me down for a meeting yet!

Our first weekend here the roomies and I went to beautiful Cocoa Beach where we lounged in the sun, waded in the Atlantic Ocean, and visited Coconuts on the Beach, a true beach bar with live music. We then visited the original (and HUGE) Ron Jon's Surf shop. They had everything you could ever want for beach and water sports and apparel.

The Atlantic Ocean is much warmer than the Pacific

Bucket of beer on the beach, done!

Feet in the warm sand, beautiful blue skies ahead

 

 

 

 

 

 

Should have bought this bottle opener, looks like someone I know lol

 

One week down, many more to come!

WOW what a great first week it's been! I have settled in to my new place, new routines, and new life. And got some sun :) First day of work I got my Disney name tag, representing Eugene, Oregon.

 

I am one of the lucky few interns who has my own 'cube' at work. When I arrived they had already decorated it with Duck stuff and my favorite Disney character Jasmine (this quiz told me I was most like her)

My office is not in the actual complex itself but in the 'Clubhouse' which is only about 5 minutes away. I will be at the complex often when we have Disney Created Sports events. Most of the events are Baseball but we also will do a big 'Spring Training' event where there will be a lot of Field Hockey, Softball, Lacrosse, Track & Field etc teams. They are looking for ways to increase their Tennis business so I'm hoping to be able to help with that.

Entrance to the complex

The globe at the entrance

Braves spring training facility. Exact replica of Turner Field, including the direction it faces, only less seating.

Best night of the week!

 This week has been a lot of learning about my new position and office stuff. We get free crystal light and coffee (including a fancy coffee dispenser) and tea at work. Keeping me caffeinated! And of course always a good excuse to get up from my desk, go take a walk around the office, and see who I bump in to. It's so nice that everyone wears name tags because I am terrible with names and faces. I have already created a whole list of people that I would like to do 'Meet and Greets' with to learn more about their role with Disney Sports. I am going to ask my Mentor/Boss tomorrow to help me arrange some of those meetings.

All in all I am so happy here right now! The sunshine is filling me with life, work is going to be great (not too stressful), and I will have the opportunity to network by volunteering to help out with all the events that go on at the complex. I am so excited and confident that I made the right choice coming here.

I live in the sunshine state

I am HERE! Currently sitting in the sun on my screened in porch eating guac and drinking a margarita, my first and last day of summer break lol. I can't believe I actually made it across the country with all my stuff. I had great help from my wonderful BF DJ Jackson who packed up the entire house all by himself. He really stepped up his game and I owe him big time for his help, I also left him with a full Uhaul and he moved all our stuff into the storage unit without my help. #1 boyfriend!

I got to see my dad and DJ's sister Dani for dinner at RAM in Wilsonville before heading to the airport and had such a great time. I got the Buttface Amber (giggle giggle). Almost was late to the airport, but everything worked out and I had plenty of time to get to my flight. I decided to check 2 bags because my 'carry on' was WAY too full, I figured I would probably get rejected anyways and didn't want to try and fit in the overhead bin. Turns out my 'carry on' was 41 lbs and my big bag was 71 lbs, 21 lbs overweight! The lady at the desk was like 'can you move some of your stuff to get it to 50?' I laughed cause both bags had the extender zippers open and were stuff to the point of popping. $90 later (ouch) my bags were checked and I was on my way through security.

I slept most of the flight from PDX to ATL, then transferred early morning to my MCO flight. I certainly knew I wasn't in Oregon anymore when the news was featuring camera shots from New York and there was a Coca Cola drink dispenser next to a Chick-Fil-A. I arrived to balmy and stormy Orlando, the first day was cloudy and rainy but oh so warm, where my roommate picked me up. I told her 'I am the one wearing a black maxi dress who looks like she just flew 3k miles and is towing her life behind her', she had no problem finding me.

Oh how I have  missed your tasty chicken!

I arrived at our condo which is exactly how I hoped it would be. All the girls are nice, mostly from the midwest, and everyone has plenty of space at the house. They all brought their own cars (much more reasonable drive from where they were) and I am so grateful that they have been willing to drive me around and one of them even let me borrow her car to go to Walmart last night. I really hope it's going to work out that we can all carpool cause while I have save money to buy a car if necessary it would really be such a pain to do so.

Home Sweet Home! 1284 South Beach Circle, Kissimee FL 34746.

Today has been lovely, I got to lay out by the pool and get some sun. I have been organizing my room. Spent a lot of money at Walmart last night lol, which apparently is very busy at 11pm. Still confused why there were children out... I need to start my 2pg journal summary for Global Business so better stop blogging for now. First day of work tomorrow, I should have a lot to report then!

The pool at my complex. Was able to get some sun today, hope to be brown by the time I leave.