#dcp 12

Oh boy. 

My Disney name tag. I’ll never forget the day Mickey handed these out to our group of new Cast Members, and when I excitedly held it in my hand for this first time… or when I pinned it onto my first costume on my first day of work… I still have it, in a special little box where I keep a lot of my Disney trinkets.

Long time, no talk. Been reblogging a lot of Disney/Star Wars related stuff, but not much else on this blog, hehe.... Well, to "update," my Disney College Program is over, I came home last week, and I had eleven months of experiencing working at Walt Disney World. Pretty awesome, right? ^_^"

Everyone's been telling me to record all my experiences and thoughts and emotions while down here in Florida, but.... either I am not doing that enough or am too stuck in my Facebook "geeking out" posts to remember. Maybe both. I do still have my journal, naturally, as well as a bazillion photos (and as they say, a photo speaks a thousand words), so I'm not a complete failure. Well.... 

All I'm saying is that I'm sorry I am not loyal to my blogging enough (and am also wondering where the hell I am going with this...), and that I'm too persistent on the world of Facebook, when clearly Tumblr is more convenient for lack of people "knowing me." Plus, there's my "other blog," which I dedicate my actual Disney knowledge/geeking-out stuff to.... 

Okay, I am clearly losing track here. But there you go: proof that I get distracted WAY too easily to stay true to my "weekly/monthly/whenever-the-hell-I-want" blogging rules. Is it because I'm not happy here and rather not complain and be sad on the Internet like so many countless poor souls in this virtual society? Well, no. Quite the contrary. 

Walt Disney World is my haven. When I'm not working, I go and "escape" to one or more of the Parks for the day, each visit with a different purpose. Maybe I just want to go one a bunch of rides. Maybe I just want my character meet-and-greet photos and autographs done. Maybe I want try new (or old-favorite) foods. Maybe I just wanna walk around. Maybe I want to try on silly hats. Maybe I want to flirt with my boyfriend while he's at work. Maybe I want to see favorite or new shows. 

Every time I go, there's always something new to do, even if I didn't plan it. And that's what I love: the variety of things to do, places to see, food to taste, etc etc. It's Disneyland ten times over; my childhood spread out to more magical and more memorable parts than I ever imagined before. 

Sure, I sometimes share little "Magical Moments" on Facebook (or merely "geek out" at a new Disney-related thing), but so many little details are left out---or taken care of by use of photography.

I love the Magic Kingdom for being so similar to Disneyland (but I still think Disneyland's better :P), for having a GORGEOUS castle, for "Mickey's PhilarMagic" show, for the Sorcerer's game (where you can collect character cards and defeat evil villains throughout the Kingdom), for having those awesome special events (only been to one: Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party), and for the beautiful journey via ferryboat. 

But most of all, I love EPCOT (Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow) for... well, being EPCOT!!! Future World is great for science geeks, or even merely as an introduction to the whole park. Epcot is huge and gorgeous and has my favorite visiting spot: the World Showcase. Despite working at the American Adventure pavilion (the "host" country and right in the center of the eleven countries), I adore coming back and visiting the Showcase as often as I can.

- Canada, I admittedly usually skip over (but I HAVE seen the movie), but still looks pretty. I only tasted their food once, as an appetizer from the Food & Wine Festival, but doubt I could afford eating in their expensive steak restaurant....

- The UK is lots of fun when the World Showcase Players come out and re-enact Shakespeare, King Arthur, etc. Plus there's an ADORABLE tea shop (*SQUEE*), and you can meet Alice, Mary Poppins, and Winnie the Pooh characters! Admittedly, the fish and chips were not my favorite.. =_="

- France has the BEST pastry shop ever (I still need to try everything...) and is a lovely spot to relax, write, and (if you're an artist) draw or sketch something. Plus, you can meet Belle or Aurora (sadly, they moved the Beast and Marie to the Magic Kingdom ;_;). And the film dedicated to France is beautiful, serene, and reminiscent of Beauty and the Beast's soundtrack ;)

- Morocco is the most authentic pavilion, and no surprise: walking around the bazaar feels very much like you're IN a West African marketplace. From the geometrical mosaic work on the architecture to the crafts and beaded work.... It definitely feels like a magic carpet ride away from the rest of the world (speaking of which, Aladdin and Jasmine reside here ^^)

- Japan.... I LOVE!!!! Love, love, love, love the snacks/treats, the anime merchandise, the pearl "ceremony," the art exhibit, the kimonos, the sweet and polite Cast Members, the incredible Taiko drummers show.... EVERYTHING!!! <3 I swear, this country is both a blessing and a curse; a blessing for all its amazing attributes, and a curse for.... well... draining my money every single time I go there.... Hehe.... ^^"

- The American Adventure has the best seats in the house for any concerts we have (Sounds like Summer concert series; Food & Wine Festival; Candlelight Processional; New Year's Eve; and later on, the Flower & Garden Festival), plus if you're a patriotic citizen (or at least fascinated with history), you'll love our Spirit of America Fife & Drum Corps., the Voices of Liberty, and, of course, the American Adventure show itself. 

- Italy has two adorably funny interactive shows (Sergio the mime, and the Ziti Sisters) and just looks gorgeous, very reminiscent of the Renassaince. And if you're a lover of wine, this is definitely your spot: a whole wine cellar for tasting, a shop lined with wine bottles.... A true Italian's haven. ;)

- Germany has the. Most. Adorable. Costumes. EVER!!! Boys and girls... (*SQUEEE*) Plus their train set outside is wonderful and picturesque; and if you have a thing for chocolate or caramel, trust me, Germany is the place to go. Plus they have the best toy store (besides, maybe the one in the UK). 

- The Outpost, often mistaken for a country (usually Guests say "Africa," which is a continent, or "Australia," which is both), is actually known as Village Traders and is the "neutral territory" of World Showcase, having a mixture of all countries, with an African tone.

- China is just as cool-looking as Japan (if not more colorful), and has one of my personal favorite writing spots, which overlooks the pond. Perhaps because I'm more anime-geared, or perhaps because of my weakness for Japanese snacks, China is not too dangerous for me to sniff around. And there are plenty of awesome looking antiques; some also too fancy...

- Norway has the infamous "princess restaurant," but a very nice pastry shop as well. I've never actually purchased their merchandise, partially because I don't hold a particular interest there, and partially because I'm still debating on which "troll fairytale" book I should take home that won't bore or traumatize me. 

- Mexico should technically be my favorite pavilion, considering it's the one foreign country I've actually visited and I considered San Felipe to be my second childhood home. Well...... not exactly here. It's mostly focused on the Aztec history (which IS completely fascinating, don't get me wrong), so I can't relate in the same way, though some of the merchandise reminds me vividly of my Grammy's house down in Mexico...

~~~

I'm sorry I've been so behind!! I know some of my friends who don't have a Facebook must be wondering if I went through a freeze-zone or something with my Disney experiences. It's not that, just me getting too wound up in photo taking/uploading, reading manga or watching anime, keeping up with my old-fashioned letters, refraining from shopping too much (if shopping at all), fangirling over Disney, and of course, working exhausting hours at Disney World. ^_^ As you can imagine, keeping up with my blog traveled slowly but surely toward the bottom of my to-do list... 

But that is unacceptable! I made a promise to myself (and a few others) that I'd keep up at least SOME weekly record of my experiences in Florida, and so I shall! 

(I wonder if it would be easier to just copy and paste my Facebook statuses, and label each date....) 

But that would be lazy. Something I've been far too often, lately. :P

Anywho... the point is, I have over 3 months of catching up, but the least I can say now is that the days fly by faster than if they were hitching a ride on the magic carpet. Except for the photosets I've been posting, not much of my adventures have been depicted since early June.... Oops... 

All I can say at this point, is that my love for Disney still holds strong, and I'm having the time of my life working for this great company. I'm still struggling with containing my spending money, but have a tighter rein on myself than before, so I think I can get by. :) Every day, I learn something new, every time I visit a Disney Park I get a whole new experience, and every time I think back to where I was 6 months ago, before Disney hired me, I tell myself how incredibly LUCKY I am to be here.