#icp2014

    I was really excited about today because I had a reservation for one of my favourite restaurants and plans to hang out with Meg after work, so it definitely helped me suck up the really early start.     Both my friend Luke and I had 8:30 shifts today so I wasn't alone on the bus! ICPs often don't get scheduled for AM shifts so a lot of the time I wouldn't see anyone I knew on the bus to work. We were both exhausted from IHOP the night before but we each had our tea and were hoping it would get us through.     We both got placed at Music, and I was Lukes bump so we got to be at the big pool together. This was a bit of a tougher shift, it was really hot outside and I had to do the constant rove stand three times, and it's often in full sunlight. Luke did have to jump in once, but the kid was wearing a life jacket so I think it was more of a panic situation than actual danger. Luke also forgot to call his OA (operational alarm) over the radio, he just yelled OA! out loud and then jumped in. So I called it for him, trying very hard not to laugh over the radio!     Once my shift was done I got myself all purdied up and headed to Epcot, where Meg and I arrived at pretty much the same time! She'd gotten bumped off work early which was awesome. We went and rode Maelstrom, which had a painful 30 minute wait (I'm so used to a walk on) but we both love it and anything else would have been an even longer wait. We walked around the rest of the showcase to Japan for our Tokyo Dining reservation. I am so glad that Meg agreed to go with me, I was thinking I wouldn't get to go. She is a good friend!     I decided to splurge on an adult beverage, so I got the Mt Fuji, which had tequila, blue curaçao, pineapple juice and lime juice. It was really good, was a pretty blue green colour and came with a cute little umbrella in it. Then I got the Shibuya platter which had shrimp and chicken tempura, beef rice, cucumber and pasta salads and some tempura vegetables. Meg got the vegetarian platter, which had both sushi and tempura. The food at Tokyo dining is always so pretty, as well as delicious!     We then wandered around the showcase to France, where Meg got ice cream and I got another macaron ice cream sandwich, this time the vanilla one that I couldn't get before. The girl working cash recognized me from earlier in the week...oops!     We ate our ice cream and then found a spot for Illuminations. It was busy so it was hard to find a good spot, but I was just glad to be there. I may or may not have had a little bit of a cry at the end. I don't want to say goodbye to my beloved parks! We had to go back to the front of the park because I'd gotten a locker for my backpack, and we found a 2012 Tower of Terror fastpass underneath my stuff! It must be good luck, so of course I kept it.

    Today was a bit of an early start because it's my last PM for a couple days, so I had some stuff I needed to get done! I grabbed a cab to Walmart because I needed to pick up another suitcase and/or duffel bag to take all my Disney swag home in! The bus to Walmart doesn't start running until 11 which would really take up the best part of the day. I got the last duffel bag that I wanted and I picked up a couple of makeup stuff that I was running out of. It's so cheap in the US!     Once I got home I packed a couple of things into my new bag, packed my lunch and then headed off to Magic Kingdom! When I got there a lot of things had pretty long waits but I got on Pirates in pretty good time, then did Haunted Mansion, and then managed to make it back to Adventureland in time to meet Peter Pan! It was probably the best meet and greet I've ever had with Peter, he called me Rapunzel because of my braid and told me I needed to find my frying pan, because I owe him pancakes!     I grabbed a Dole Whip just as it started to pour rain in the park and then ran out to the buses to get to work.     The storm didn't last so we weren't closed for all that long. I know it's starting to sound repetitive but I guess my job is repetitive: nothing happened tonight. I think maybe there was a crazy tour group situation at Fantasia but I was all the way over at Sports where it was fairly quiet. There was a short but intense storm in the middle of the night but it basically only lasted over my break. Boo. At least Tangled was the movie of the night at Sports and I got to work with a really awesome group.

    Today was another day off, hurray! I decided to have a bit of a late start to recover from our late night the night before. I made lunch at the apartment and then headed over to Epcot to do a couple of things I hadn't done enough. I hopped on Spaceship Earth for the last time and did single rider on Test Track just because it was short and I'd only done it once. I still think the old version was way better. I also made a quick stop at the Epcot Character Spot, because I hadn’t met Mickey in his classic costume yet, and then I also got to meet Goofy and Minnie. I usually don’t get hugs from characters, I can’t remember if I’d mentioned that before, so I was so excited that I got a big hug from Goofy and he was super friendly. Goofy and I have always been pals it seems!     It was pretty hot out so I decided to go and get some ice cream from France. I meant to get the profiterole ice cream I'd had before, but then I noticed that they had a macaron ice cream sandwich and I knew I had to give it a try! I had wanted a vanilla one, but all they had was chocolate. It didn't really matter though because it was SO good. I think I may have found my staple treat at Epcot, though the cronut is up there too!     I wanted to take the boat from Epcot over to Hollywood Studios, but because of lightning the boats weren't running. The driver told me that I could catch a bus from Yacht and Beach, but when I got there there were no buses running to Studios. Thanks a million dude. So I waited in the lobby until the storm passed and then got on the boat.     I got over to Studios and did Tower and Great Movie Ride. My original plan had been to get a Turkey leg for dinner, but then I had spotted a lobster, shrimp and scallop roll at Beach Club that looked way better. So I grabbed a Frozen themed drink called Let it Glow (pineapple juice, ginger ale, grenadine) and then took the boat back to Beach Club for dinner. I'm really glad I decided to do that because the roll was AMAZING and I got to sit by the pool and look out over the lake to Boardwalk. I do miss the Beach Club a lot.     Then it was back to Studios where I did Star Tours and Muppets, then found a spot for fireworks. I may or may not have shed a tear during the fireworks. While I do miss home, I’m definitely going to miss my home away from home and it’s beautiful nightly fireworks displays!