Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Prime Time- so exciting!

27th January 2011

Today was a late start which was lucky, I only had something that started at 1.30pm and went for just over half an hour. It was pretty much more paperwork which they are absolutely obsessed about. I think I’m nearly done with the majority of it which is good because we have to carry it around in a huge envelope and it’s a pain. I found out today exactly where I’ll be working, I’ll be at Prime Time. I have been told it’s amazing! Also I might end up being on TV because whenever they film anything for Disney they always film stuff there. That is how amazing it is! I can’t wait to find out what my costume will be (costume is what our uniforms are called). I think it will be like a real costume because of where I’m working though. I think I will find out on Friday. After that I didn’t do much at all because I think I’m getting sick. I had a nap and felt heaps better after that. Since then I have lazed around the apartment because the weather is disgusting.

Oh yea and there was a tornado warning.... not a big deal.... Then they spotted one at Magic Kingdom, not really sure exactly how far away but it’s pretty close to where I am. We got told to stay indoors, hide in a closet and barricade the doors. I freaked out for a bit but nothing has really happened so it was like a waste of freaking out energy. We haven’t been told if the tornado has passed but there really hasn’t been anything to worry about.

Hollywood Studios

26th January 2011

Today we had our first official day of Disney stuff, starting with an early morning. I’m so glad I wasn’t hung over like most people were. It was kind of boring but we found out roughly where we were working and filled in a tonne of paperwork. I’m working in Hollywood Studios which will be so cool! That was basically what we did all day so we went back to Walmart and I finally got a cellphone. It’s really cool! For $40 a month I have unlimited texting and calling within America. The plans are really different compared to what I’m used to and nothing is really cheap which sucks but it’s good to have calling.

Going out and making friends

25th January 2011

I haven’t written in a while so I have a lot to update on. On Sunday my roommates and I went to Walmart again (apart from today I have been there every day), when we got back we had a massive struggle with our groceries because we got too much. A nice guy named Adrian offered to help us take them back to our apartment which is on the other side of the grounds. He was really nice and hung out for like six hours. He told us we should go to the House of Blues because Sunday nights have a cast member’s night and if you are under 21 you can still go just not drink. We decided to go so we got all dressed up and went to get red bull from across the road. When we came back in some guys started talking to us and invited us to go hang out with them beforehand. They were basically all Australian but that was alright. We bussed to the House of Blues and it is the most amazing bar I have ever been to! We are going to make it a regular Sunday night thing as long as we don’t have work. The guys we were with were really cool and we have hung out with them since.

Moving in and Walmart- best store on the planet

22nd January 2011

Today was the day that we moved into the Disney apartments. After freaking out because I slept in, Josh and I got ready and met the others for breakfast after checkout at 10am. It was good getting to know these other people and it meant there were nine of us arriving together.

We arrived at Disney and it was so exciting! We got welcome packets and then got a short seminar on life at Disney. After this we got taken to our rooms. All of us are at the Vista Way Apartments which are in the oldest complex and known as the “party” apartments. This could be interesting considering I’m not 21 yet and not legally allowed to drink.

No one was here when I arrived so I left my bags and went to find everyone else. We were off to Walmart! I can officially say my life is complete after going to Walmart. It is absolutely amazing! Think everything you need, all in one store, for ridiculously low prices. I got everything except a proper food shop for just over $100. This included a hair dryer, duvet, containers, everything! Getting our stuff back on the bus was an absolute mission! I have hopefully learnt my lesson and buy less next time.

We got back and I started unpacking my suitcases, it will be great to not live out of them anymore! I met some of my roommates then a group of us went to Wendys. They have baked potatoes there but it was impossible to find out if the filling were gluten free because the girl couldn’t understand a word I was saying. I opted for the safe option of hot chips instead. It seems as though I will be cooking for myself a lot rather than eating out. This probably won’t be a bad thing because I have a better chance of eating healthy this way.

Best steak ever!

21st January 2011

When I eventually woke up again at 11.30am I slowly got ready to start the day and explore Orlando. The exploring only really ended up being walking up the street then back down again and only going into three places on the way. Everything was just so supersized! The shops seemed huge and they were all the same things; souvenir shops, steakhouses and supermarkets with a few random shops in-between. 

During our exploring we got some lunch at a steakhouse. It was absolutely amazing!! We paid less than $20 for an all you can eat salad bar, a piece of steak and a massive drink. And by massive, I mean massive! I would definitely go back there.

That night I met up with a whole lot of Kiwis who had just flown in and were staying at the same place as us. I already knew a few of them but it was good to meet others. After helping them find their rooms, it was time for bed.

Friday, January 21, 2011

Thunder and Lightening

21st January 2011

There was the most incredible thunder storm last night. I was trying to get to sleep but I kept seeing flashes, even when my eyes were closed. The thunder does not even compare to the stuff we get in New Zealand! Next time there is a storm I will try to take some pictures.

We were hoping to get breakfast this morning but we woke up half an hour after the end of breakfast. It sucks because I was really looking forward to my omelette! It is insane though, if you add up my sleeping hours it comes to about.... 21 and a half hours! I don’t think I have ever slept that long and it feels really weird. Hopefully this means there is no jetlag although it does mean that I haven’t eaten in over 24 hours which can’t be good!

Fly time!

20th January 2011

Our flight was only 4 hours but it was overnight so I tried to sleep, not very easy at all! It was good to finally arrive in Orlando because this meant no more planes for a long time, but arriving at the airport at 7am doesn’t give you many options. We were both exhausted and just wanted to sleep but we had to wait. I tried to keep myself awake but it was basically impossible and I kept dozing off.

We got to the hotel at about 12.30pm and checked in early, I went straight to sleep and didn’t wake up until 2am. I can’t wait to explore.

L.A.

19th January 2011

So I made it!

After 6 hours on a bus, 4 hours waiting and 12 hours on a plane, I finally made it to L.A.!

Getting through immigration wasn’t even close to as bad as I thought it would be, even after thinking I had lost one of the extremely important papers I needed for them to let me into the country. Customs was a breeze, all we had to do was show an officer the immigration card and he said “have a good trip.” Here I was thinking it would be horrible and as it turns out customs in Dunedin is more intense.

Josh and I had booked a tour of downtown LA the day before in Brisbane airport so our first mission was to find out how to get to the pickup point, this took a good hour and a lot of walking. Our tour was with Starline Tours in association with VIP Tours and we had the best driver called Eddie. He gave us inside information on the places we went and sites we drove past. We had 4 stops overall with the first being at Venice Beach, it was incredible! The street was filled with little shops, all selling the same things; sunglasses, bongs and weed. There were also a few tattoo/piercing parlours but by the state of the general area I wouldn’t go near them with a 10 foot pole. We went for a walk down to the beach as well but had to keep our shoes on so we didn’t stand on needles. A slightly scary thought but we got away needle free.

Our next stop was Rodeo Drive, seeing shops like Gucci, Dolce & Gabana, Chanel. It was honestly just like you see in the movies, everything was bright, shiny and oh so pretty! If only I could afford it....

We stopped at a place called Farmers Market for lunch which was basically a whole lot of different food places then shops on the other side. The last stop was the Chinese Theatre where we saw the Hollywood stars, hand and foot prints in the ground, Madame Tussoes Wax Museum and tons of people trying to rip you off. I had a woman come up to me who was dressed up and made me take a photo with her then wouldn’t leave till I gave her a tip. We also had heaps of hopeful rap artists trying to sell us their CD’s. It’s crazy how different it seems in comparison to what you imagine being the centre of Hollywood. Oh I can’t forget, we also took photos of the Hollywood sign.

So after the tour we headed back to the airport and basically just mucked around until our flight which was at 10.30pm. That was about 5 hours waiting, at an airport, with nothing to do. Lucky I came prepared with my laptop and magazines.