DISNEY COLLEGE PROGRAM - A Spring 2013 Adventure! *COMPLETE* 11/20

[koho]

Great Trip Report. I enjoyed reading about your job training. Maybe when we are down there in April we will see, however we are not staying at your resort. I hope you had a good audition.

 

[JessicaFaye508]

February 15th, 2013 (Part 1) - Disney's Animal Kingdom!

I drove to Animal Kingdom this morning to meet up with Mom, Nana, and Dea!

I met them at the Andapur Tea Company in Asia and we decided on eating at the Yak and Yeti quick service for lunch!

I have no idea why I have never eaten there before because it was REALLY good! Mom and I both got the Beef Lo Mein and it was DELICIOUS!

Dea got the Sweet and Sour Chicken (there was rice at the bottom of the container):

And Nana got the Honey Chicken! All of our portions were really big!

Once we finished eating, Dea and I had Expedition Everest fastpasses to use! It ended up being her favorite ride of the trip – it was so much fun! We had a great time.

We're the brave ones!

Group photo:

BE SCARED!!!!!!!!!!!! (Nana looks terrified, doesn't she? )

Then we started heading to DinoLand but we stopped to meet Pooh and friends first! There was THE CUTEST little girl in front of us meeting Pooh and she was so in love. She just kept hugging him and wouldn’t let go! Even during their family photo she was just hugging away!

I posted on twitter:
THE KIDS MEETING THE POOH CHARACTERS RIGHT NOW ARE LITERALLY THE CUEST THINGS I HAVE EVER SEEN.

I don’t blame her because Pooh was so adorable and cuddly! What a sweetheart!

Eeyore was next!

Our last character was TIGGER! I just love him. Like, I wish I could jump around with Tigger all day long!

Then we went over to Dinosaur! The line was 40 minutes long, so we grabbed fastpasses, which would be ready in about 35 minutes. So we just wandered around DinoLand and got a few things in the gift shop. Nana got my Uncle Craig a birthday present – a Star Wars mug!

We went back over to Dinosaur and waited for our fastpass time. Mark met up with us!! YAY MARK! I hadn’t seen him in two days and that was just TOO LONG! We have separation anxiety.

ROAR!

Nana didn’t go on Dinosaur so Mark got to use her fastpass! We went on and it was SO MUCH FUN. I was sitting in the back corner and it was just a blast!

After that we left the park and went to Wilderness Lodge! We were switching resorts today and we needed to get our new room keys for dinner so we could use our dining plan! Mark went with me to check in, we got our keys, and then we went back to the car.

Continued in Next Post
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[JessicaFaye508]

February 15th, 2013 (Part 2) - The Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show!

Then we drove over the Polynesian to hang out before dinner. THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE PICTURES OF ALL TIME:

We were greeted and given leis. YAY FOR BEING IMMERSED IN THE EXPERIENCE!!

The girls!

ALOHA!

Mark and I went to Captain Cooks and got some self serve dole whips. You can tell who has worked at an ice cream place before& (ahem, me.) Usually I would've filled mine up WAY more, but I had a big dinner to eat soon!

Then we went back into the lobby. Mark had to leave for work, and then we just sat around for a little bit. Around 4:45 pm we went over to Luau Cove to check-in for the SPIRIT OF ALOHA DINNER SHOW!

I was so excited about doing this. We got such a great deal on our dining plan that I figured it would be a fantastic use of two credits. We were seated near the back of the theater, but that didnt seem to hinder the experience. It would have been nice to have a better view of the show but we still had SO MUCH FUN!!!!!

Pretty Lei!

Our waiter was Manny and he was so nice! We got salad, a pasta salad, and a cole slaw dish for our appetizer. The salad was THE BEST. Oh my gosh, the dressing was just some of the best I have ever had.

They also gave us pineapple coconut rolls, which tasted AMAZING. We all loved those.

For our entrée we got chicken, pork, rice, and vegetables. My favorite was the pork and Deas favorite was the chicken. Everything tasted SO GOOD!

For dessert we got chocolate macadamia nut mousse volcanoes. I LOVED THESE. I ate mine as well as the rest of Nanas. It just tasted SO GOOD. I wished they were bigger!

And to finish it off, they brought us warm chocolate chip cookies!

As far as the show, it was ADORABLE. They had a few Lilo and Stitch songs there as well as some really rich Polynesian culture.

I posted on twitter:
It must have been extremely convenient for the Polynesian when Lilo and Stitch came out.

The dancers were AMAZING and every act was very entertaining. There was singing, lots of hula-ing, fabulous costumes, dancing, and tons of talent!

They invited audience members us on stage to learn the hula and it was so cute! I was just looking at everyone and smiling because it was such a great example of immersing guests in the experience at Disney. Everyone was enjoying themselves, laughing, and having a great time!

There was also a fire dancer at the end of the show and he was INCREDIBLE. Oh my God, I just wish I knew how that worked. He put the fire in his mouth, on his feet, on the floor, etc. It was just crazy!!!!

I posted on twitter:
I will never understand how fire dancers do what they do. #AMAZING

We left Spirit of Aloha very happy. We all had a wonderful time and Im so glad we got to go see that together. Dea really really loved it so Im glad I incorporated it into her first trip!

We drove back to Wilderness Lodge and went to go find our room. Bell Services transferred our luggage over from the Beach Club so they would bring it up to us in a little bit!

Our room was on the 6th floor and it was very far from the elevators. However, it is 100% worth the walk because we have THE BEST ROOM EVER.

Towel Minnie:

What a BEAUTIFUL headboard:

THUMPER IS ON THE PILLOW!!!

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[JessicaFaye508]

February 15th, 2013 (Part 3) - Wilderness Lodge!

CUTEST DECORATION EVER:

Even the light fixtures are AMAZING:

DEER!!!!!!!!!! This room is meant for me.

YAY BUNK BEDS!

Not only did we have an INCREDIBLY GORGEOUS ROOM but.... OUR VIEW WAS ABSOLUTELY UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!!! I chose a courtyard view and THIS IS WHAT WE GOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I posted on twitter:
I think we literally have the best view in this entire resort. WOW WOW WOW!!!!!!!!!!!

Bell services brought our luggage and then all of the sudden we heard some booming outside. WISHES WAS GOING ON!!!!!!!!!! So we watched it right from our balcony.

I posted on twitter:
WE CAN SEE WISHES FROM OUR BALCONY HOLY GOD THANK YOU.

Then we went down to Roaring Forks to get our refillable mugs and some food for me for work tomorrow! We got some sweet snacks too!

I took lots of pictures on the way:

It's SO pretty outside:

This is definitely one of my top favorite resorts:

I traded a pin at the pin station and then we went back up to the room. I was typing up my journal and then all of the sudden I heard the ELECTRICAL WATER PAGEANT MUSIC. I seriously could not believe my life.

I posted on twitter:
AND NOW THE ELECTRICAL WATER PAGEANT?!?! Oh my God, my life is too incredible.

So I watched that for a little bit and then it was off to bed! I had an early morning ahead of me!

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[LifeIsDis]

I can’t believe how many people were at the audition! That’s nuts. I am sorry you didn’t get picked!

I LOVE your AK crewneck!

Awww your pics with Pooh, Tigger, and Eeyore are so adorable. I JUST LOVE THEM.

THE RED MONORAIL!!!! How I missed thee.

MMMMM the food looks amazing at Spirit of Aloha.

YOUR ROOM AT THE WILDERNESS LODGE HOLY CRAP. WL is my FAVORITE resort and it just so happens to be our DVC home resort! It is always just my mom and I so we just get a studio, so I have never been in a one bedroom villa or anything. I would LOVE to have a room like you guys had!

THAT SHOWER. Oh my god, SO CUTE.

Excuse me while I DIE over your view.

 

[JessicaFaye508]

YOUR ROOM AT THE WILDERNESS LODGE HOLY CRAP. WL is my FAVORITE resort and it just so happens to be our DVC home resort! It is always just my mom and I so we just get a studio, so I have never been in a one bedroom villa or anything. I would LOVE to have a room like you guys had!

THAT SHOWER. Oh my god, SO CUTE.

Excuse me while I DIE over your view.

We were actually in a standard room! It's just I the main building instead of DVC.

 

[cheekypoppins]

GASP!!!! I love your life too if you ever wanna trade for a day just let me know k thanks

 

[lovingeire]

Hooray for Wilderness Lodge! We are staying in a bunk bed room in August when we go! I can't wait! We're in a Woods view so I hope we can see some fireworks too. I have to call and put in room requests, but I need to research (aka stalk the WL thread here) a bit more.

Those face auditions sound crazy! I was keeping up on Twitter. I'm sorry you didn't get picked, but I do think that the Concierge experience will be incredible and very valuable in your future! And there will be more auditions so it will happen when he time is right!

I'm glad to see a positive review of the Spirit of Aloha dinner show. We're planning on going next January I believe, but I keep pushing it off because I've seen some poor reviews.

As always, thanks for sharing your experiences with us!

 

[quandrea]

Really enjoying your entries. I'm wondering if this is something my kids can do in the future. We are DVC members and visit at least three times a year. My daughter is homeschooled and this might be great for her.

 

[sue_88]

Your updates bring happiness to those who are living in a world of deep snow!

Wilderness Lodge is just wonderful! I would love to stay there. We stayed in a bunk bed room at the AKL before and it was very convenient!

 

[DnA2010]

Just found your report, loving all the great food, photos and experiences!!!

 

[Mariannekay]

I wasn’t really that upset because I KNOW how difficult it is to get through that audition. Also, I figure that everything happens for a reason. I have a wonderful role already, and maybe being Concierge during my program will benefit me more in the future. Who knows! I will definitely keep auditioning but I just didn't think now was the right time anyway.

" Have faith in your dreams and someday your rainbow will come smiling through."
Meanwhile, I'm glad that you're enjoying this fabulous experience! I'm also glad to see your pics from Yak & Yeti counter service, my son and I were just discussing the possibility of eating there during our upcoming trip! Your post was so timely! Looked great too, I've penciled it into our itinerary! LOL!

 

[merbobear]

Wow, several hundred girls all going for the same thing is...a LOT! But I give you a lot of credit for having such a great attitude about it. And you are right, things do happen for a reason. Right now, you are learning skills that will take you really far in the business world and also with Disney. It would obviously be amazing if you are ever cast to play Belle, Jasmine or any other princess, but regardless, you have a dream job already!

 

[Angeejoe]

I was having such a hard time finding pics of Hilton Head, and I happened upon your Hilton Head TR which was awesome! Then I read the rest of your TRs, you're a great writer! You should have you DCP published when your done! I can't wait to continue to follow your awesome journey! Thank you so very much for sharing all your Disney experiences!!!

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

I had the same view at WL in Nov on the 5th floor!!! It is a long walk from the elevator but it's a quick walk across the courtyard to the food court!

Sorry about Saturday!! I hope you had a good day working with Diannys I'm sure I'll be back at CSR soon!!!

 

[1000HappyWishes]

The Wilderness Lodge looks so cool! I've never seen Bambi, but I sure love Thumper! He is such an adorable rabbit!

 

[tiggergirl1007]

Love love love WL!!

 

[TropicalBacon]

Your so incredibly lucky.

 

[mrsksomeday]

I just got done reading your entire report. Thanks for the links at the end of every post. I am in awe of you, you are such a wonderful young lady. You are exactly the kind of cast member Disney needs. Your love for the parks, the resorts, and the company just shines through your posts. We love talking to CM's like you, your surprise for the little girl at CSR brought tears to my eyes. That was really sweet of you to do.

I can't wait to read more .

 

[LisaKeys]

Loving your updates! You always have just the right amount of narrative and photo's.

I have to say the photo from Dinosaur has to be the best one I've ever seen. Every single person in that vehicle had a priceless face on. You have to love the 2 kids in the front seat scared out of their witts!

I'm so happy the four of you are having a wonderful time. I know this trip will be something Dea will never forget.

As always, looking forward to reading you soon.