i'm in JERUSALEM

hi all! it's been a bit but i am back!
i am here safe in JERUSALEM at the BYU center for near eastern studies. it is amazing. words can't describe it. pictures can't do it justice. i will try to tackle it later, but first, i will try to cover my journey here!
i started my longgg day of traveling more than 24 hours ago in salt lake city. it's now 5:35 am here (8 ish in Salt Lake) and i have been up since 2. hahaha. livin the dream. my dad walked me into the airport, i met my group, and slept the WHOLE WAY to new york. totally not intentional and i am paying for it now, but it was a dream. of course I walk out of my gate and right in front of me is the shake shack kiosk. fate? i think not. i resisted getting a burger and fries for dinner but did treat myself to a famous concrete before my flight left. it was so good and i totally recommend it!
we had a six hour layover in new york. sounds terrible, right? it really wasn't. the new delta terminal is amazing. it's like a great mall, complete with a jo malone shop and a MoMa gift store. totally not bad. i called some friends, my grandparents, facetimed christopher (hi christopher) and got to know some of the kids better. they are so so great and i can already tell we are gonna be lifelong friends. i am so lucky.
so, we get on the flight to tel aviv. it was unreal. crazy to think it was actually happening! i still can't believe i am here. there were tons and tons of jewish people on our flight. it was neat. throughout the flight i guess they would go to the back of the plane and pray out of this window. they had a special altar thing and everything. i don't know if delta set that up or if it just happened to work out, but either way it is neat to see people be so committed to something. it definitely makes you feel like praying morning and night actually isn't so hard.
i was a snob and switched my seat so i wasn't sitting by the group because i really wanted a window seta. (i know, i know, but i was just gonna sleep the whole time anyways!) it turned out to be a cool experience. i sat next to a young jewish couple moving from new york to jerusalem. they were both really pretty people and very sociable. they were also traveling with their 6 week old baby. this made me nervous but the baby was SO well behaved and the most beautiful baby I have ever seen. the lady asked me if i was heading to jerusalem for a birthright trip. i was surprised she thought i was jewish! i explained to her i was going with my school, a christian university, to study in jerusalem for 3 and a half months. all the flight attendants started to recognize us and became familiar with our itinerary because we were all wearing nametags. they really liked us and it was a cool experience overall.
again, i slept the WHOLE way to israel. i woke up over greece. i didn't even take  my sleeping pills. good idea? probably not. i will keep you updated. i woke up over greece and stayed awake as we crossed the mediterranean. one thing i noticed for the time i was awake on the plane was how family-oriented the jewish people are. it was really interesting. i felt like i was on a plane full of mormons because of all the babies/toddlers and modestly dressed women. i am anxious to learn more about the culture of both judaism and islam and hopefully connect it to my own social norms.
the airport in tel aviv is super nice. very clean. i felt safe. it smelled like shwarma which also made me really happy. i got hooked on shwarma in london and i am stoked to have it again here in israel.
so we proceed through passport clearance and go down to get checked bags. i guess i can't read the board that tells you where to get your bags because i went to three different ones before i got to the right one. i thought someone had stolen my bags. i had to go to lost and found to finally find out where they were. it turns out they scanned my baggage tag wrong and thought i was on another airline. i called my mom while i was waiting in line and thought i was going to have a huge emotional breakdown in the middle of this airport. everyone had already gone through to customs and i was the last one in the terminal. i tried calling provo and the jerusalem center and no one was picking up. i was a total mess. i was so scared. i prayed the whole time i was in line (which also ended up being the wrong line, oh wow) and i ended up getting my bags which had been placed on the wrong belt. thank you to my mom for calling the center to let them know i wasn't kidnapped, i just couldn't find my bags.

once i get through customs i get to this big open area with all these signs. again i am completely overwhelmed, and think the byu faculty have probably left me and think i am being sold into the slavery. oh my gosh i felt bad. then i see this nice white-haired man with a sign that says byu. he sees me too and starts walking towards me. i don't know if i have ever felt more relieved. i started apologizing profusely but all he says is "you looked like you were from byu. don't worry. there are still four more people behind you. you're ali right?" he knew exactly who i was and it was so comforting. he was so smiley. it's funny how people with the gospel in their lives really do have a light in their eyes. that man ended up being dr. woods, one of my teachers. so far he is my favorite person (i ate dinner with him).
we were split into two buses based on who our teacher for old testament is spring term. i have dr. belnap. the buses were so nice. the really nice mercedes ones. byu doesn't cheap out on anything. we waited for everyone to get through, then we were off to the center!
the drive was about an hour long and sadly it was pretty dark so we didn't see much. one thing we did see was tons of jewish people pulled off to the side of the road to say their prayers. again, how cool. i respect them so much for how devoted they are to their worship. they would get out of their cars and rock back and forth on their feet- just like you see at the wailing wall here in jerusalem.
another thing i noticed was 1) how green it is and 2) how modern it is. i guess i was expecting shepherds and nomads or something but that is definitely not the case. this country is very european. it has a light rail system and a clean bus system, nice looking cars, and everyone is very well-groomed. i feel bad for expecting less. another thing i noticed was how nice everything was. on the street lights there are these white/blue led fixtures. this is going to sounds dumb but it looks like something straight out of disney world. they are very ornate and sparkle like the castle does at christmas time. it was really pretty. the street lights are also covered in israeli flags, they are very patriotic. it was cool!
so finally we get to the center. it is between mount scopus and the mount of olives, right next to hebrew university, which is another great facility. we get out and all of the faculty is waiting for us- even though we were two hours late and it was about 10 o'clock at night. they were so sweet and everyone knew my name . big BIG shout out to hannah george, julia wheatley, and maddy gibby for making that happen. they were here last semester and told everyone who i was. they must have been OBSESSED with you guys because they won't stop talking about you. anyways. they took all of our luggage then we were ushered into the auditorium on the eighth (highest) floor. it is so nice. it would easily be one of the nicest concert halls in utah. the meeting was conducted by president whitchurch, the director of the program. he has done this four times. as he spoke, the giant curtains around him were opened, revealing the city. OMG. it was unreal. everyone talks about this moment and it was unreal. we had an organ piece by one of the senior service couples and it was very moving. she could easily play the organ for MoTab.
you guys. the center is so nice. i felt like i was walking into an oriental styled five star hotel. i can't even explain it. there are fountains and artwork, mosaics, and all this amazing detail. the architecture is amazing. we had a quick orientation with our teachers. for now i have belnap (old testament) and seely (ancient near east). we then had a quick tour of the building. all church meetings are on the eighth floor. this has got to be the nicest ward meeting house in the world. i am not exaggerating. the nursery meets in the bomb shelter on the 7th floor (lol) and our second bomb shelter is on the lower floors and has a laundry room. both bomb shelters have ping pong or fusbol tables, a typical public restroom, and some cots. one also has a filter for chemical warfare stuff. it has a backup generator as well as a handcrank. fun stuff.
somewhere in there we also had dinner. we eat in a cafeteria called the oasis. they had lots of vegetables, a nice salad bar some antipasto and interesting choices, bread and pita with nutella and peanut butter, brownies, a really good garbanzo bean dish, and three choices of meat. i had the chicken and it was so so good. i am stoked. we have a real chef and you can tell he really takes pride in what he makes for us. he was there waiting for us even though it was like 10:30 when we ate. there are also a bunch of juices and water outside. one of the choices is straight strawberry juice.
after all that we unpacked and "went to bed" i hardly slept, maybe two hours. the call to prayer started at 4 and lasted 30 minutes. it was cool! then there was a second one at 4:50. i think i will get used to it quickly. after a while i decided i would get up and just write this, so here i am! there is wifi in the common area just outside my room. i will try and describe the layout of the building better but it is really nice. wow wow wow wow. look it up online. i am gonna go eat breakfast now but i love you all!  i will be in the old city this morning but text me whenever, i will get it when i come home! i am safe and happy and well-fed! i miss you but i am happy to be here:) i will hopefully post more tonight! sorry this is so long! also i will try to get my pictures working:) much love!!

volunteering with make a wish

hi all! this post is terribly late, but last week i got the opportunity to go volunteer at the give kids the world village here in orlando and work with the terminally ill children that get to come to disney world thanks to the make a wish foundation! 
so every sunday and wednesday the college program buses kids over to the make a wish village to spend about 4 hours with the kids and their families. i went on a wednesday, so the activity was 'kids night out'. the parents drop off the kids (the sick kids and their siblings, whoever wants to participate) at about 5 o'clock for a night of fun. they get to pick a 'best friend' for the night (one of us 'voluntears') and we have lots of fun! 
so we first arrived at the village and it is amazing. the families stay in these brightly colored cottages on perfectly manicured streets surrounded by fairytale themed amusements. mini golf, a princess spa, remote controlled boats on a little lake, unlimited ice cream parlor, it's amazing. there were about a dozen 'voluntears' from the college program, and about 20 other adult volunteers that we combined with. i think they were just tourists visiting the orlando area that took time to serve, because they were from all around the country. we were briefed about what was going to take place that night, then taken to the recreation room to meet our new best friend! 
the process of picking a best friend is a lot like picking gym teams in elementary school. it is pretty funny. so all the kids walk in, and if they see a volunteer they like, you get picked! if you don't get picked by a child you serve food the whole night. kind of funny. but either way it is a great way to serve!! i got lucky and was picked! i didn't think i would be picked. it was adorable to watch the little kids come in. you can tell who some of the sick ones are, with their fragile little bodies or they shiny bald heads, but some kids you can't tell! and we aren't allowed to ask, this is their time to get away from the hospitals and questions, so the whole night you might never know if you are with a healthy kid or not! kind of crazy to think about, but it is for the best i think. that way you treat every kid the same! i didn't know for a majority of the night but it turned out that my best friend, hannah, was actually here because her 5 year old sister, JanaRae (cutest little thing ever) has critical heart problems. 
Hannah was great! she was a spunky 13 year old from Montana who dont talk english so good. hahah. she was funny! so first we just do whatever your best friend wants to do in the rec room. they have lots of arcade games, bumper cars and boats and trainsets and lots of stuff for little ones like puzzles and plushes. basically anything a kid could dream of. pool, big screen tvs, etc. Hannah wanted to play on the xbox so we did some car races for a while. as we were sitting there she really started opening up to me. it is funny to hear the heartaches of a 13 year old girl. she loves her boyfriend. she hates her mom because she doesnt have a cellphone. her best friend isn't talking to her because she has a crush on her boyfriend. all of lifes most complex problems :) i think she just wanted someone to listen so thats what i did! some good girl talk. 
after that we had dinner! it is all inclusive and they had tons of stuff. we had chicken nuggets and fries and they of course had the unlimited ice cream bar available. this is when i got to meet hannah's little sister, JanaRae, and her older sister, who was best friends with my roommate Brittany for the night. they also had two little brothers who were participating. they were all so cute. 
after dinner was my favorite part of the night, village idol! all the kids had the choice to sign up to perform a talent of their choice for everyone. it was adorable. the kids who didn't want to perform got to be judges and gave the cutest feedback. ah. it was just adorable. anyways. Hannah was really scared, but about halfway through she decided she wanted to sing! there was a BIG catch though, she would only do it if i did it too. hahaha. how do you say no to that?! those of you that know me well know that i am not a stage performer, let alone a singer. i was soooo not down to do this. but this is make a wish, you can't let them down! so you best believe i got up there on stage and sang selena gomez like a boss!! hahaha. she did great and you couldn't really hear me so i'd say it was a success! and she was super happy that she did it, and everyone was really encouraging to her and said she was gonna be a rockstar someday... anyways it was great. the kids loved loved loved it! 
after that we delivered the kids back to their parents! it was a great night! i know this was a terrible summary, i am pretty delirious right now (i am so sick, nyquil is my bff at the moment) but i am so glad brittany convinced me to go. there's some quote about how serving someone really is more beneficial to you than the person you are serving, and it is so true!! so basically, everyone go out and serve someone today!!! and if you have the opportunity, make a contribution to the make a wish foundation! they are amazing! 
love to all :) 

2 weeks away from "home"

hello all!
so these past two weeks i have been away from my "home" of fantasyland! last week i was in UTAH! and this week i have been deployed to work in downtown disney!
so last wednesday i texted my dad to say that i missed him and i hoped that he had a good day at work. pretty soon after i sent the text he called me and said "when can you come home?" so i am guessing he was missing me just a little :) i said that i wasn't really sure... it is pretty hard for me to get work off. he said that this weekend (now last weekend) would be great because it was amanda's birthday, he had work off, and he was going boating. always the boating. hahaha. but anyways, i knew that a lot of part-time people were really fighting to get hours, so i said i would call him back in a little and see what i could do. ten minutes later i had five days off and a potential plane ticket! and by 10 am the next morning i was in salt lake! THANK YOU DAD!
I had an amazing week back home and i seriously miss utah so much. i had gotten over the homesickness but now it is definitely back. poop. haha. Me and dad weren't able to pull off a plan so that we could surprise mom, but i did get to surprise amanda! her last region tennis match was at roy the day i got to utah so she saw me for the first time in the stands for her last high school game! i was worried i would throw off her groove but she played so good and ended up winning! go amanda! i also got to see her play in her region tournament which she did so well in... i am so proud of you amanda! i am so glad i got to see her play tennis because i missed all of her varsity time last year even though i was just in provo. for her birthday we spent the night at the grand america and shopped at city creek! we had so much fun! i freaking love the grand! we have stopped going at christmas but i think we will start again after this trip :)
the night we were in salt lake was also miss mackynzie's birthday party in provo so i drove down there and partied with my BYU ladies for a night! oh my goodness... I MISS BYU! I cannot wait to go back there in January! i just love the people there and the atmosphere and yeah. judge me! i love it! back in logan i got to see all my friends, eat betos, wear cozy clothes and not sweat to death.. it was the best! one of my very favorite things was the last day i was in town me and amanda drove up logan canyon to get raspberry shakes. it was so beautiful. oh my gosh i want to cry when i think of it. we made a stop at beaver and it had just rained a little bit... it smelled so good, the weather was perfect, and the leaves were sooo pretty. i have decided logan canyon is seriously my heaven on earth. i miss it like crazy. oh! almost forgot. i also got to go to the logan high homecoming game. super senior? never! go grizz! it was great :) (we won, duh.)

so after a lovely flight in first class (thank you delta american express!) and some held back tears on the cache valley express i was back in orlando. as soon as i got to wdw property i headed over to downtown disney costuming! had to get 2 new costumes for the shops where i am working which are D Street and the Disney Quest Emporium on the west side. oh my goodness. they are ugly. hahaha.
so D Street is like the hip adult apparel store. we have lots of art and star wars and marvel and stuff like that. it's also the headquarters for the vinylmation collectables. i had no idea what i was doing with those because i am only familiar with pin trading in fantasyland, but it is pretty similar. they come in sets... but there's a lot more mystery to it. there is also a lot of one-of-a-kind vinylmations. but yeah so basically it's really expensive and i would not suggest getting into it. there are some people that FREAK out about it. right when i came in for my shift one girl came in with this fancy shoe holder thing she converted to a vinylmation holder.. she had 48 in there! and these things aren't that small! so yeah we have a little mystery cupboard we trade with and there are all these rules cause people try and cheat the system and yeah. good stuff!
at d street there is also a cart i have to work, not too bad. my favorite position was probably the "create your own" table. we give little kids blank pieces of paper in the shape of a vinylmation and they color it. simple, but they really like it. when they are done we have them sign their name and hang it up on the wall for everyone to see! good stuff.
oh i almost forgot. this weekend in downtown disney was the frankenweenie weekend. it's the new tim burton movie coming out. d street was also the headquarters for all of that shiz so we had some super weird people coming in. sorry to be stereotyping but a lot of people who like that stuff are straight up scary. hahaha. but they had a meet and greet with jack and sally, so people were FREAKING out. it was the hugest line i have ever seen for a character, and i've seen lots. also there was a picture spot in some fake pet cemetery and special screenings at the AMC of other tim burton movies. so yeah. woo hoo.

so today I was in Disney Quest! Disney Quest is the interactive theme park located in downtown disney. the "emporium" is the exit shop for it. today. was. so. slow. and i worked for 10 hours! that is the longest shift i have ever had! oh my goodness! but i lived. there is nothing too interesting about it, except i did get rotated up to the 'gallery' once. i wasn't supposed to but i guess they were short or something? the gallery is actually in disney quest and you have to help with the rides a little bit. so as i said they are interactive so you get to create almost everything you do. so at the gallery you can boy a toy you designed, buy a dvd of you riding a ride you created, burn a cd of a song you made, or buy the drawing of a character you learned to draw in our little lessons. it was cool, but i literally sold one thing the whole time. so slow. but i guess it does do pretty well? i just had a slow day. while i was working there i met this really sweet lady named Patty. unlike so many people that work at disney on the 'front lines' she actually had a career and went to college. she was actually the CFO of a big company! she is a certified personal accountant and really successful. she now just works at home a little and has become a stay-at-home mom. well sort of. she picked up a part time job at disney to get all of her kids in the park! she was so cool to talk to. you could tell she was really bright and ambitious and now that she had achieved all of her goals she was ready to be a mom. we were good pals.
so overall working at downtown disney hasn't been that bad. by the way, being deployed means i am only there for a week! basically they are overstaffed and needed to move us out. downtown disney is SO different though. obviously they dont have tunnels and they dont really have backstage areas.. so i can walk through all of downtown disney in my costume and not get in trouble. that blew my mind. also, they call breaks 'breaks' here! and you can talk about them onstage! as well as going to the bathroom, when you get off.. etc. we would get in big trouble for that! yesterday one girl whipped out her phone during a slow time, i'm pretty sure my jaw hit the floor. hmmm, we also have to clock out on the dot here, in fantasyland we clock out 12 minutes early... thats about it! basically its tons more laid back and super, super slow. very different.
one more funny story before i sign off! so when i was working d street last night there was this guy walking around like all day. he was in funny bedazzled shorts, a rockstar button up shirt with some chest hair showing, and a nice little european looking hat. he looked like he was looking for something... i asked another cast member what was going on. i guess this guy literally comes like every weekend and just dances everywhere in downtown disney. wherever there is music, that's where you'll find him. later that night i was coming off my break at this underground scary place called nick's and he was dancing away with some drunk european ladies! it was so funny! so yeah, lots of crazy locals come to downtown i guess. good stuff!
hope everyone is doing well! happy 41st birthday to walt disney world today!

hallowishes

it's halloween here in disney world!

our first halloween parties in magic kingdom started last tuesday, and they are so much fun! if you are ever visiting a disney park in the fall when they are offered, GO! I love working them so far. my favorite is seeing all the costumes! I will keep you updated because i've only done one so far. the best costumes are the homemade ones! and here at disney all the costumes are family friendly, no gore, no sluttiness. love it. but anyways i have seen lots of UP costumes which are my favorite! I love seeing Carl and Russell trekking around, and my new favorite couples costume is Carl and Ellie. I have also seen the three hitch-hiking ghosts from the Haunted Mansion which is officially one of my favorite rides. Did you know in Disneyland they completely deck it out in Nightmare before Christmas for Halloween? Here at Disney World we don't do that because we can't afford to shut the ride down for a whole month, since most of our guests aren't local season passholders like California. It's a bummer. so to replace it there are actually hidden Jack Skellington's all throughout Disney World's Haunted Mansion! Kind of cool right? That ride has so many stories. I love it.

Speaking of the Nightmare before Christmas, there are also some great costumes I see from that movie. Never was a fan of it, but now I am really starting to appreciate it. Also- rumor has it that Downtown Disney here in Orlando is about to be completely Nightmare Before Christmas transformed! For the first time ever! This is hot news right off my manager so you heard it here first, folks! Haha. So come and check it out! Apparently they are keeping it that way till the end of the year!

So those are my "not so scary" Halloween updates. I also wanted to make sure to blog today because I had two really great magical moments today. It's funny because even though it's my job to make the magical moments, I think I often get more magic out of them then the guest. I love it! So first I was working in Castle Couture. The cutest little girl came up to me with her dad and you could tell he was really proud of her and was letting her get whatever she wanted. she had a big toothy smile and was a sweetheart! not a spoiled kid like so many kids i see in that store! but anyways after making her purchase she was very excited and asked if she could get an "I'm Celebrating" button for her and her sister. As i pulled them out of the drawer, I asked what she was celebrating. Turns out her family had come to Disney World (they live about 3 hours away) because she had learned how to ride her bike without training wheels! It was seriously the cutest thing ever. You could tell she was so proud and her family was just cute and happy and it was great.

the next magical moment happened later today in Fantasy Faire, where we sew the hats. a group came in with a 'no strings attached' coupon which basically means they get something for free because a cast member was made aware of a special situation. I wasn't really paying attention and started sewing their two hats, a bride and a groom one. I thought maybe they had lost theirs on a ride or something and were getting them replaced, but I asked what their status was so i could get them buttons, and it turned out he had just proposed to her! I didn't even notice how she couldn't take her eyes off her ring finger until then! it was so sweet. so i got them 'just engaged' pins and made a big fuss and they were so cute and happy. it's so cool to be a part of people's special moments just because you work at disney.

so today was a good day! hope everyone is doing great.

the mad hatter

helllooooo from dinny world!

it's been a while so i have lots to update yall on, but i'll keep it to short summaries.

1) i have officially survived my first hurricane! hurricane isaac was technically a tropical storm and we didn't even really get hit by it but we did get some heavy rain and the temperature dropped about 20 degrees. i lived. i am pretty proud of myself.

2) i have learned how to sew! okay not really. i know how to work the embroidery machine in fantasy faire, which means i can now officially embroider names on mouse ears! pretty exciting right? it is my favorite thing to do now. i love it!

3) i have discovered orlando malls, and they are amazing. seriously, it is impossible to get bored in orlando. i have gone to the florida mall twice, one by the convention centre where i saw dark knight in iMAX... and a couple of outlet malls and i haven't even scratched the surface. anything you can dream of, orlando has it!

4)taylor turned 20. one of my roommates birthday was this week! i made a chocolate cookie dough cheesecake that i personally thought was really yummy even though it was super ugly. we went to t rex at downtown disney and had a little dance party with a bunch of 5 year olds! haha t rex is really great, it's just like rainforest cafe but with dinosaurs. we all dressed cute and it was lots of fun.

5) new fantasyland is slowly being revealed! they moved part of the wall and you can see a lot more now! and beasts castle is lit up at night :) it's beautiful! i have had multiple guests literally choke up. hahah. also we have now closed seven dwarves mine! which is a real bummer, because now we are stuck at pooh's when it rains! also on september 30 we will lose the casey's cart (hallelujah) when storybook circus opens.

6)character sightings- last night i saw the famous tinkerbell that flies across magic kingdom during wishes! she looks nothing like tinkerbell, she is hired for her size and athleticism, nothing else. she wears a helmet that doubles as a wig and lots of equipment. if you saw her up close you would never guess she was tinkerbell! i have seen a lot of ariel and eric around lately. i also saw rapunzel for the first time today! also there is a lot of belles running around for the new experience in fantasyland so the other day i saw five at a time. hahah it was the weirdest thing.

also, i am doing a character audition october 5! wish me luck! i am not sure if i will even get work off, and even if i do the audition might only be for positions for next spring/summer, which i am not planning on doing... so just keep checking in! i'll keep ya updated!

7)i have been able to go to church every week so far! it is great! i feel like i am right back in provo, which is actually really entertaining. i am in the lake buena vista YSA ward. also along the lines of religion, this weekend is the 'night of joy' parties at magic kingdom. its a contemporary christian rock festival that lasts two nights. lots of crazy i love jesus bible people. i was working with my friend nick, who is very obviously gay. i am very obviously mormon because my nametag says BYU. sooo we were getting a lot of nasty looks. so we decided to make the best of it! we linked arms and posted up at the exit to pooh's, which was really busy, and were overly happy and perky and disney-ish. it was funny.

hmm, i know i am forgetting something. oh well! hope everyone is doing well :) special shout out to my DAD who rides Lotoja tomorrow!

ta ta for now, much love!

PS- no pictures temporarily. apparently i have exceeded my limit and must now pay to buy more storage space. any donations to the picture storage space account are greatly appreciated :) have a magical day!

faith, trust, and pixie dust

i didn't expect to be blogging so quickly but i had a lot of stuff happen today so here i am again!
so today was my first day of training! i was a little nervous, of course.. and of course my bus broke down and i was late! so i might already have a 'point' against me! not good! i was supposed to meet my trainer at costuming and i get there... and there is no trainer for fantasyland merchandise! hahah. so i had to tag along with a trainer for main street usa for a bit. so of course i didn't get one of my costumes and she only had me check out one! we can check out five at a time.. so i will have to head back and get mine. okay i didn't explain that at all so you are probably wondering whats going on. so each park has it's costuming building and its HUGE. literally racks and racks of costumes for each land/position. they are very picky about how it fits you and are not nice at all. using your ID you check out your costume and voila!
my costume is the traditional fantasyland costume, it hasn't changed since the park opened in 1971! its very german looking, with a patterned floral blue skirt they call the 'chicken' skirt and a button down white blouse with some tulip looking blue green yellow and red flowers. very euro. then we wear black dress shoes that have to be polishable leather. wahoo. so anyways i met up with my trainer in the utilidoor finally! her name was andrea and she is from puerto rico. she was a really good trainer but i think she was only like 21! but she has worked in fantasyland since she was 16. so she knew a lot. we spent a ton of time in the utilidoor getting oriented. that place is crazy. its only in magic kingdom and really creates a unique work environment because you can see everyone. my favorite is seeing face characters (look alikes) i seriously can't help but stare. since i am in fantasyland i see a TON because they do meet and greets there and our utilidoor hall is right next to entertainment. today i saw wendy, peter pan, alice, the ugly stepsisters and stepmother from cinderella, snow white, sleeping beauty, cinderella, belle, and merida! it's crazy, i literally had lunch right next to sleeping beauty. when they come down to the utilidoor on break they stay in full make up and keep their wigs on but just strip down to their underclothes which is old fashioned bloomers and a cami or a big shirt so its really funny. the face of a princess and the body of a normal person!
we did some e-learning classes that we are required to take before we start and they are terrible. they are like 30 minutes long and you basically watch a slide show with some narration. yuckkky! but we did get to go onstage for about 2 and half hours and it was the best!!! so we toured all the shops that i will be covering. if i remember all of them it's fantasy faire, castle couture, sir mickeys, the dwarves mine shoppe, two carts which are enchanted grove and casey junior.. and pooh's corner! which is the exit shop for the many adventures of winnie the pooh. because of the expansion of fantasyland and storybook circus, storybook circus is temporarily a part of fantasyland so we are covering a HUGE amount of area! it's nuts. our costume looks super out of place there.
i learned a lot of fun vocab today! so instead of saying we are going for a break, we say we are taking our tea. when we have to go to the bathroom, we say we have to go to the grotto, and when we are bumping out we say we are going to neverland! it keeps with the show a lot more. i also learned how we create magical moments today! so in castle couture we have a pixie dust wand. when we are on the merchantainment shift (wandering around the store making sure everyone is okay) we can ask little girls if they would like pixie dust! then we wave it over their heads, covering them in pixie dust, saying a little poem about faith, trust, and pixie dust. isn't it cute! people started swarming us because they all wanted pixie dust. we even pixie dusted a dad today! hahaha good times. castle couture is right next to bibbidi bobbidi boutique so tons of little girls come in in their princess outfits, it's so cute. we also got the intro to pin trading! it was so interesting. i always thought cast member pins were so boring but it turns out all the cast member pins are not available in stores! so people really want them! they release collections of about 9 pins twice a year, in january and in the summer. they are called 'hidden mickey' collections and literally have a little silver hidden mickey on every pin. some of the collections are so cool. for instance one of the more recent collections is the orange bird which was just reintroduced to magic kingdom, and they have a london collection which i want SO bad! then some of them are ugly and random. you can trade two pins per guest. cast members with green lanyards can only trade with guests under 12. i have a black lanyard! when your pins start to get boring or if you have 2 of the same you can go to pin replenishment during your break and trade for new pins! cool right?
my favorite moment was today we were telling a british family about our special deal going on right now with a pin starter kit and lanyard. if you spend 40$ you can get it super cheap, and its really smart because even if you dont like the pins you can trade and get ones you like. the cutest little girl really liked a cruella de vil pin i had so she bought the lanyard basically just to trade with me. while she was waiting in line she kept checking to make sure i was keeping it for her. then as soon as her mom bought it for her she ran over to me and started tearing the box apart so that she could open up her lanyard and get the pin. she was so cute. i hope it will be a memory for her because she was so excited, it was her first time at wdw (disney world) and i think she really wants to get into pin trading. anyways so cute.
anyways then we went back 'downstairs' to the utilidoor and did more elearning and shiz. i learned so much today i feel like my head is gonna blow up. i met one of the managers and he seems really nice.... yep! i think that about wraps up my day in the park
so i got off at 6 and headed back to vista and worked out! i have to say the little weight room here is a crack up. all the boys are super dweeby and weird but obviously are trying to be all macho. i hate working out in public places cause it's such a meat market. whatever. also there are a TON of ASIANS. hahaha they are so funny! they come in in their little jean shorts and name-brand flats and start working out on the treadmills. so weird! it's dang funny. and they travel in little girl-posse herds. very entertaining.
that's all i can think of for now! hope everyone has a magical day ;)

your once upon a time... is now!

HELLO from walt disney world!!!!!!! 
okay so i'm not really on disney property right now, but i'm dang close! sorry it has taken me so long to update. and yes, i am missing my blogpost from the last day in london. and it was definitely one to remember. i did write a short draft though so i just need to organize it. i will publish it eventually!! 
so i guess i should start from the beginning! after a quick 3 days in logan i was off to orlando with my mom! i am so glad she came with me! we spent the night in the hyatt that is in the orlando airport because we got in way late tuesday night. i had early morning check in the next day! we were planning on getting there early so that i could get into the nice apartments, chatham or patterson court, but that fell through. we were so tired! but we didn't think it would be that big of a deal... so we rolled in about 15 minutes before check in was supposed to start and come to find out chatham and patterson are already full?! what the heck!? turns out people had been lining up since 11 pm the night before and the cp (cp=college program) kids weren't moved out all the way from spring yet. so yeah, i am living in the infamous vista way!! almost everyone i have talked to has said to avoid vista at all costs because it is gross. i thought this meant cleanliness, so when i first walked into my apartment i was pleasantly surprised. it's really not bad! except the shower. the shower could be better. but yeah i think they meant nasty in another way. i was talking to my roommate the other day and apparently, according to playboy, vista way is the number two easiest place in the COUNTRY to get laid. yeah sorry. that was a little blunt but i didn't really know how else to put it. hahaha. so yeah thats where i am living!! definitely not in provo anymore eh?!
speaking of not being in provo, i opted not to match up with BYU roommates so i'm not living with any members! it's definitely different from anything i've ever done but i think it will be a great experience. my roommate's name is Brittany and she is from a tiny town in texas and goes to school in san antonio! she's great! we get along really well. i think i might come home with a texas twang though! she has a pretty strong accent. my other 4 roommates are from all over the east coast. so far the only kids i have met from the west coast are other byu kids. i am also surprised how many people doing cp have never been to disney world before! but back to roomates, Cassie is from Maine, goes to school in massachusetts, and works in entertainment! she is "friends" with some familiar characters you might know! Donald, minnie, mickey... sound familiar?  she has a very fun job! her roomate, margaret is from massachusetts and works in transportation. in the other room is Taylor and Alexis. Alexis is from Pittsburgh and works quick service (counter service) food and beverage at the all-star resorts. Taylor is working slow food (sit down restaurant) at the animal kingdom lodge! and then Brittany is working front gate at Epcot. so we have a lot of variety! alexis and cassie both turn 21 while we are here and alexis was talking about how smashed she was gonna get on her birthday so that will be interesting hahaha. i live in 'wellness' housing which is for the kids under 21, so no alcohol. but there are a lot of smokers here. it is definitely different but i think it will be good for me because this is what the real world is like. the real challenge for me right now is the language. lots of swearing makes it hard not to get those words stuck in your vocabulary as well so yeah. 
okay so the first day! so i got in line here at vista to get my assignment and whatnot. they are so crazy efficient here it's nuts. in one line i probably went through like 7 stations and got so much information... i got my id, where i was gonna live, signed my life away... etc. etc. twas great. they had a little holding area for the parents so i went and met my mom over there. before i continue i need to stop and make an observation. everyone here is HUGE. fitness is not a concern. it is terrible! alright  back to where i was. i moved in a little, met the roomies, went shopping at good old wal-mart. it was grand! then i had a meeting with my ysa ward! there are quite a few people from byu and byu-i here. i met my bishop, the rs pres, the elders quorum president and some more... most of them work for disney so that is cool. sadly they got kicked out before they could really get to know us. security here are nazis. the elders got in for about ten minutes before they got kicked out. i guess the landlord said they can only be here if they are in an apartment teaching a lesson. so that was sad. then they kicked the rest of our ward out... i'm not really sure why to be honest with you. so that was sad. definitely not utah eh? after that i went and stayed with my mom at her hotel, the pop century! what a funny place. it's a value hotel. it's honestly still really nice but it had some very interesting people. and by interesting i mean white trash to the max. it's the largest hotel in the country! so of course we got lost. but in the process we found a possum!! hahahah. we had a good time chasing that around. my roommate thought it was funny we were so excited by a possum. 
i forgot we also had casting! we were all bused out to the casting building to find out what role we had. luckily for me i already knew, fantasyland merchandise! the best! but this building was nuts. the whole theme is argyle... which seems random right? it's to match walt disney's socks! yes, even in the cast member buildings disney doesn't lose any detail. oh and by the way, in disney lingo, cast member means employee! we are all part of the 'show' so we are cast members :) in the casting building we did all of our background checks and formal stuff. they had to take my fingerprints and everything! it was long and kinda boring but necessary. after that was more shopping with mom and a night at the pop century! 
okay the next day was thursday! this day we had our housing meeting at this other apartment complex called the commons. it is way nice. made me realize why people say vista is nasty. oh well, i guess. so we walk into this meeting thing and it is literally like a party! there was fog machines and super loud music and a light show! definitely had some disney magic going on. the 'teacher' was more like an emcee and he was super good. he was a recent cp grad and now words full time for the company. it is really reassuring to learn that almost every cast member started out with the college program! but yeah so we did more boring stuff there, basically were told not to drugs and don't drink if you're not 21. the basics. after that me and my mom went to downtown disney! we ate at the crab house on the big steam boat and it was super good! nom nom nom. we also shopped at the surf store i really like in there. it was a winner of a day. 
friday was a free day! so me and mom went into the parks! wee hoo! first we went into magic kingdom to spy on my costume (more disney terms, it's not a uniform, it's  a costume!) it's a so-so one. could be worse, could be better. you will see it soon enough. we explored new fantasyland, did some random rides... just walked around mostly. then we went to my favorite... epcot :) oh  i love epcot. we went straight to world showcase and ate at mexico and it was really yummy. then another night at pop century! i felt so bad i wasn't staying with my roomates but oh well. they have 6 months of me. 
saturday was traditions, the first day we get paid! i was super stoked for traditions because i heard you tour magic kingdom all day and just get stoked to work but i think they changed how it works because we were hardly in there at all. we had to watch this horrible follow along lesson for like an hour and everyone was hungry and it was no fun. but we did go into mk (magic kingdom) and that was great. we were backstage for a lot of the time and we used the famous utilidoor!!!!! short for utility corridor. it's the first floor of the magic kingdom, yes, the park is the second floor! but the utilidoor looks and operates like a tunnel. it's super intense. you can't take pictures down there because if our guests were to see it would ruin the magic, but i might just sneak one in before i leave in january. just maybe. thanks to the utilidoor guests never see trash, or cast members out of place. for instance, you'll never see a frontierland cowboy in tomorrowland. that's just unacceptable! there are cafeterias and all sorts of stuff down there. a lot of people saw some characters and started freaking out. today i saw snow white with just hair and makeup done and it was so funny. hahah definitely something you can't help but stare at. but on our tour of the mk we learned about the four keys. 1- safety 2-courtesy 3-show and 4-efficiency. now you all know the secrets of the walt disney company!! so yeah we had that pounded into our brains. but in a fun way. we learned some key things about our role- like how we are always supposed to offer to take pictures of the whole family or get on eye level with a disabled guest or child. and of course, smile!! 
after that we headed back to 'disney university' to finish up the nitty gritty stuff. during our class, we heard a knock on the door. guess who it was?! mickey!!! he had brought a big present for us! it was our nametags! he was so cute and played a little trivia with us. i answered a question and got a little plastic mickey. he said our nametags still needed a little pixie dust and said he would come back later with them. so about twenty minutes later they roll in a big glass case on a velvet tablecloth... and inside were our nametags. this is corny but it seriously was a magical moment. i wont ever forget that! and then they open up the case and they're all resting on this gold glittery fabric that obviously supposed to be pixie dust. it was so great. seeing that name tag was AMAZING. highlight of this whole thing so far. 
then traditions was over so it was the last night with my mama! :( we headed over to epcot again and ate at france. it was good! gotta love the frenchies. then we said goodbye :( bye bye mama. 
and no we are at today! today i had theme park orientation from 7-11. i had to get up dang early because the buses take so long. i was up at 530! but i was in magic kingdom all day basically and learning a lot and having lots of fun! we went to every land except frontierland. we had two leaders, claire and joseph. joseph does attractions at liberty square and trains at haunted mansion so he knows EVERYTHING about it. it was cool. for instance, the gargoyle in the cemetery is actually a gargoyle from a european castle that was being torn down that walt bought! also he works the steamboat on the river and it can get up to 160 degrees up there in the summer! another cool thing, if you notice liberty squares pavement has a brown path in the middle. it's to match the time period! in those days they'd dump their chamber pots into the street, so the brown path is supposed to look like the sewer. also there are no bathrooms in liberty square because plumbing wasn't invented in 1783! let's see what else.. the shutters are all off-center because back in the day they would have used leather as hinges, not metal, so it would've worn out. the architecture also follows the geography of the US, starting with gothic pennyslvania at haunted mansion... all the way down to st louis something or other. then there's a bridge that symbolizes the mississippi and you cross over into frontierland!! it starts with the midwest, the south, colorado, then ends in good old bryce canyon utah! which is the setting for big thunder mountain railroad. our leader was also a skipper on the jungle river boats so he was way fun to listen to.  miss claire worked in guest relations at the front of main street usa. she was an older lady but she was neat, very southern and very knowledgable. she does VIP tours. we learned lot today. i know i am forgetting a ton. we were in the utilidoors a lot.. and got these little pamphlets called tell-a-casts which we are basically supposed to memorize every week so that we can answer guests questions. its mostly information on attractions, meet n greets, park closings and openings and all that stuff. 
after theme park orientation (which was technically a class, called 'your once upon a time... is now! hence the blog title) i met one of my trainers! i thought i was gonna do something worthwhile with  him but honestly he just gave me a schedule and said see ya tomorrow. so yeah! then i had free time. me taylor and brittany went to epcot and had a lot of fun!! i went on a lot of rides in future world that i have never been on before and it was great. Captain EO, the show with michael jackson, is hilarious by the way. i would also recommend living with the land! its cool although its super environmental and shiz. of course soarin and mission space were amazing as usual. test track is closed till late fall! so that was sad. and yeah now i just spent like an hour and a half writing this dang post and i should be sleeping. thanks for reading! i wont be posting as much as i did in london but i will try to do highlights :) have a great day everyone!!