Last Family Visit

Last Tuesday the drama group from FCHS came down and Mama and Nathan came with them. I was able to give my Tuesday shift away, and that night they had their workshop. They learned the choreography for Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious and performed it. They did a great job. I wasn't able to give my Wednesday and Thursday shifts away but luckily they weren't until 5:30p and 6p, so I had the day to spend with them. I did get Friday off so that was good. 

This was Mama and Nathan's last trip for a while. Mama and I really enjoyed just relaxing and doing things that we hadn't done in a while and some of our favorite things. The whole group was so much fun. Mama and Nathan are going to have Disney withdrawals too, because they've been almost every month since I've been down here!

Stopped on Peter Pan and hoping for an evacuation...

Had to get a few pictures with my favorite skipper! 

Wednesday night I was really bummed about having to work. I was standing at the register and a man walked in with three girls and said, "You look bored. We're gonna give you something to do." I just laughed and asked them what I could help them with. The oldest girl, who looked to be in about fourth or fifth grade, was looking for flip flops. While I was helping her find some, the dad immediately struck up a conversation. He asked me questions about the parks, where I was from, the internship, etc. They were from Georgia too. I probably interacted with them for thirty minutes. During that time, an older lady joined them, and they called her Ms. Judy. However there was never talk of a mom. By the time I rang them up, it was like we had been friends forever. I told them I would be working the next night if they wanted to come in and say hello, and they said they would. I got the girls stickers and the dad hugged me and thanked me for helping them. I'm not a very emotional person, but when they walked out of the store I almost lost it.  

When I got to work Thursday they had already been in and I wasn't there. They came back after my shift started to purchase something before going to the parks. The girls were so excited to tell me about their day at the water park. They told me they would come in and say goodnight, and they did. They asked if I was working Friday. I wasn't, and they were leaving Saturday morning. They hugged me and wished me the best. 

Friday afternoon Mama and I were sitting on Main Street waiting for the parade to start. I looked over and saw three girls and a man having their picture taken. When they turned to walk away I realized that it was them. I got up and talked to them, and they met mama. We found out that Ms. Judy was his stepmom. Mama asked him what he did for a living and he said that he owned an electric company and raised his three girls. That night they went into the store and told one of my coworkers how excited they were to see me at Magic Kingdom. 

Before they left Saturday they came in and asked someone if they could give me something. Since we don't do applausograms (positive guest letters) in resorts, they wrote me a fanatic card. To say that this family blessed me is an understatement. Not only were they all so friendly and sweet, but it was also humbling to see the love that this dad had for his girls. I never found out the situation with their mom, but I do know that he did everything for those girls to make them happy. It's funny how a complete stranger can have such an impact on your life. 

I only have a month left and it seems like time is flying. I have such mixed emotions about going home. I miss everyone and everything, but I also know that I'm going to miss being able to go to the parks every day. I still don't have a plan for the fall so, as always, prayers are appreciated!

Backstage Tours, SeaWorld, and More!

Several weeks ago I had the opportunity to go on a walking tour of "Dinosaur," a ride at Animal Kingdom. A group from the Polynesian merchandise team went. It was mostly CP's and we had so much fun. We got to walk the track and learn about how it worked, and then we were able to ride it. After the tour, all the CP's went to breakfast together. They are such a great group and I love working with them!

If you're a Disney fan you've probably heard about the book series "Kingdom Keepers." The series is about five teenagers that fight of villains for control of the parks. I've never read any of the books, but Nathan has read them all. The author, Ridley Pearson, was here at Disney for two days for a book signing so I went for Nathan. The first day he was at Downtown Disney and I tried to get in there but the line was insane. I decided to go the next morning to Hollywood Studios and get it signed. Luckily I only had to wait about thirty minutes there, instead of several hours.

About a week and a half ago, I had a morning shift. If you know me, you know that I hate mornings. I don't really mind getting up if it's for something that I want to do, but I sure don't like getting up for work. I was originally supposed to work at 6am but thankfully I found someone to switch with me and went in at 7:45am. The nice thing about it was that I got off at 2pm so I had plenty of time to do things. The Gentry's, Michael, Melodie, Kade, and Kassidie, were here from home so I met them at Magic Kingdom to find out how their first visit was going. They are such a sweet family and I loved hearing the kids talk about their favorite things! I came in just in time to catch the new parade, Festival of Fantasy. The first time I saw it I didn't take pictures because I wanted to take it all in. This time I was in a pretty good spot for pictures as the floats rounded the corner. It's such an amazing parade!

The amazing fire-breathing dragon!

Logan had complimentary tickets to SeaWorld so last Monday he, Jordan, her mom, Meghan, Cassie, and myself went. I had never been so I was excited for a new experience, but a little worried about the rides. They are definitely more intense than Disney rides. We had a lot of fun and it was interesting to see the differences and similarities between SeaWorld and Disney. I'm glad I can mark SeaWorld off my CP bucket list. Next on the list is Universal!