Grad Nites 2011

For years Walt Disney World has been running special Grad Nite events for high school seniors around the time graduation occurs. They are usually run on Friday and Saturday nights over 2 weeks. This year it was April 29-30 and May 6-7. I had the first 2 nights off with my family here, but was scheduled to work the second 2 nights, which were the final Grad Nites ever as Disney is no longer going to run these events. 

The Magic Kingdom park was open to general guests during the day but closed at 7pm, the Grad Nite event then started at 8pm and went through till 4am the following morning. I worked 2 x twelve hour shifts - 4:30pm till 4:30am.

Because the park was officially closed for an hour with no guests, the Mansion cast were treated to a special 'out of area' ride. On the first night we got to ride Peter Pan in Fantasyland with the lights on, and on the second night we rode Big Thunder Mountain in Frontierland with the lights off! Other cast from other areas were also able to ride the Mansion with the lights on as the managers and co-ordinators manned our ride positions. It was a really nice treat and we were also given bags of candy floss (a sugary bribe to help us through the long nights with masses of screaming teenagers!).

The hour also provided an opportunity to take lots of photos in costume which is not normally allowed.

Mansion crew outside



Mansion crew inside



Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in my Mansion costume,
I had to hold onto my bat hat so as not to lose it on the ride!

Although there were nothing but teenagers in the park they were fairly well behaved and we had no real problems. There was also an awful lot of security around so that was a big deterrent for any mischief. 

At one point during the first evening I was positioned out in the queue area, basically directing foot traffic, when a snake decided it was a good time to slither up the path towards the Mansion (and me). I nearly had a heart attack and flagged down a passing co-ordinator and security guard. They took a look at it and told me it was just a corn snake (apparently harmless) and not to stress. I told them it's a snake and I'm Australian, we do not think any snake is harmless! The security guard then picked it up with some trash pickers and threw it over the fence by the Rivers of America and I went inside to work somewhere else!



A Corn Snake

 Towards the end of each Grad Nite there were hardly any people around, as a lot of them had to be back at their buses between 2 & 3am. This meant we were opening the doors to 2 or 3 people at a time when normally we would run a stretch room for 60 to 90 people!

It was pretty fun though and the music they played in the park for the night made the time seem to go a lot faster too. I was pleased to have been a part of the final Grad Nite ever.

Have a Magical Day (with no snakes)!

Cirque Du Soleil with the Earl of Sandwich

On the evening of the same day my classes finished I met up with some friends and we went to Downtown Disney, to have dinner and see the Cirque Du Soleil show 'La Nouba'. There was a Disney cast discount of 50% for the evening performance which actually made it affordable!

Before the show we went for dinner at the Earl of Sandwich, which surprisingly has very good sandwiches! They are more like a high class sub type sandwich and you can also get soups and salads. This was the first time I had been there and I really liked it (cast discount again) so I have been a few times now.

'La Nouba' was amazing, the music was great and the acts were unbelievable. My friends and I sat gobsmacked through most of the show! At one point these little asian girls (probably Chinese) who looked about 6 years old were doing acrobatic stunts while playing with huge versions of those toys that are like a cotton reel spun on a string between 2 sticks (sorry can't remember what they are called). They were brilliant but a bit creepy with their permanent big smiles!

Sarah & Loren

Have a Magical Day!

Final classes

Two days after my family left I attended my final 2 classes. The morning class for Guest Services was basically a wrap up and feedback exercise, where I was given my very own Mouseters Degree and a perfect attendance certificate.

My second class, the Creativity & Innovations class, was a lot more work. We were required to do a group presentation on a new product, store concept or demographic trend. Our group presented on an iPhone transportation app for the housing buses that a member of the group had envisioned (a really good idea). The group had been reduced by one as the only other Aussie in the class decided she'd had enough and went home the week before the last class.

Fortunately I was able to use the photoshop on David's computer to put together pics for a powerpoint while we were in Miami, but other than that since my family were visiting (and the other group members were not really that fussed in getting organized) we only really had one day to get sorted (and I got called in to work early too!) Basically I just told them all what they needed to do, they did it and in the end it worked out really well. I even had someone else from the class (who I hadn't spoken to before) come up to me after the class and commend me on my presentation skills and tell me she wished she could be so confident in front of people! I still felt nervous but I think Disney has really helped me with my fear of public speaking. Yay.

The results for this class came out a week later, and since I had handed in some optional extra homework for extra credit I was awarded 100%. I was also given my Ducktorate Degree as well as another perfect attendence certificate. 

The best part of the Creativity & Innovations class was by far the energy and encouragement I recieved each week from the teacher Tricia. I also really appreciated the focus the class gave me each week and I miss that now that it is over.

Narelle & Tricia

The thing is to never stop learning, write a 'To Do' list and get on with it!

Have a Magical Learning Day!

Kennedy Space Centre, Dinosaurs & Goodbye

Our visit to Kennedy Space Centre was amazing, the shuttle had been scheduled to take off the day before we were there, but technical difficulties had prevented this, so we got to see the shuttle sitting on the launch pad (admittedly it was 3 miles away but it was still there and we could just see it!)

We also got to see one of the shuttle crawlers, that take the shuttle from the hanger to the launch pad. These are not usually on display but since they needed one nearby in case they had to put the shuttle away, we were able to view it up close (from the bus). The shuttle hanger building is enormous!

Shuttle crawler

The older rockets are also enormous, and we got to see lots of older space stuff as well as an original launch command room with all the ancient equipment.

It was amazing the amount of wildlife we saw at the Space Centre too, there were bald eagles, osprey, alligators, manatees, dolphins, and lizards.
We went to see an IMAX film about the International Space Station, which I'm sure was very interesting but I was so tired I went to sleep almost as soon as the lights went out (I think the kids did too!)

The day was a lot of fun, and then in the evening we went to T-REX at Downtown Disney. This is a dinosaur themed restaurant that is full of animatronic dinosaurs and mammoths etc., every 20 mins they have a simulated meteor shower, when the lights go crazy and the animals all make a lot of noise. The food was great, it was a lot of fun and a good place to be together for our final meal in the States.

The flight to New York the next day was scheduled for 10:45am so the family had to get a 7:45am Magical Express bus out to the airport. It was hard to say goodbye and I wished that I could have been flying with them. But instead I got to go back to work. By the end of my 10 hour shift in the middle of the night it felt like they had been gone for weeks and I missed them all very much.
Have a Magical Day!

Key Largo with Barney or Barry?

The next day we drove down to Key Largo in the Florida Keys. It was really pretty and, apart from being the location and title of a Humphrey Boggart film, also has another iconic resident connected to Boggie - the African Queen is in residence here. She is a little dilapidated and not exactly sea worthy (but apparently you can charter a trip on her!)

We didn't take a cruise on the African Queen but we did go out on a glass bottomed boat to view Mollasses Reef, which is part of the United States only coral reef strip. There was live commentary from a crew member on board the vessel as it glided over the coral beds. It was quite funny as she introduced us to a barracuda that they often see hugging closly to the bottom of the boat as Barney and then proceeded to call him Barry for half the trip! He really surprised her when he ate the blue fish she was pointing out to all the guests on board!

Barney, no Barry, the Barracuda

On the way back to Miami from Key Largo we stopped to eat at a Dennys which was actually quite good food for a really low price. We also got to see the Google Maps car whizzing by, not sure if it was taking pictures or not but we took a picture of it!

When we arrived back in Miami Beach we wandered around the art deco area and then ended up having ice cream at Ghiradelli's, which has the most amasing ice cream sundaes, milkshakes and chocolates.



Art deco building (not ghiradelli's)



Eating ice cream

The next day we drove back to Orlando (through more lovebugs!) and checked into the Pop Century resort where we would stay for the next 2 nights.

Have a Magical Day!



Miami baby, yeah!

The next day we packed up and, after taking a few pictures with the icons around the resort, headed down to Miami Beach.

The drive down to Miami was pretty good without any problems, except for the lovebugs that completely coated the front of the car, it was like driving through black rain! It took about 5 hours and we stopped at a Wendys for lunch. The beach itself is really long, we stayed in the area known as South Beach where all the art deco buildings and hotels are, it was really quite special.

Black lovebugs all over the front of the car

We had dinner on the main strip at a really nice Italian restaurant, David and I shared a wonderful seafood pasta that was way too much food even for two!

 Have a Magical Day!

Universal Studios was universally liked!

We hired a car for the next few days and so left the resort nice and early to go to both parks at Universal Studios. We tried to get there before the crowds in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter became unmanagable or the wait times too long. I made everyone walk really fast and cracked the whip a bit (much to Brittany's displeasure) but we got on the castle ride with only a 20 min wait, yes! 

 

The entrance to Dumbledore's study

We also got on the Hippogriff coaster with just a 10 min wait, that ride is so cute, and then it was frozen Butterbeers all round!

Once we had been all around Potter World and visited the various shops etc, and the girls & I had been to the bathroom to hear Moaning Murtle, we exited Hogsmeade and went to see some of the other areas of the Islands of Adventure park.
We had fun in Dr Suess Land and then got totally soaked on the boat ride in the Jurassic Park area!

We watched a baby dinosaur hatch in the Jurassic Park Visitor's Centre and then the kids were almost eaten by its mother!

After lunch we then headed over to the main Universal Studios park where we went on my favourite Mummy ride, the Simpsons ride, Twister, ET and the Jaws boat trip.

We saw some characters too and in all had quite a funfilled kinda day (even without the Disney magic!)



Must have been the wrong hat...

Have a Magical Day!

Hi Ho Hi Ho, its back to work I go...

The next morning I had to go back to Health Services to see the doctor again to get the all clear to start my 11 hour shift. I left the family to play at EPCOT & Hollywood Studios for the day, where they went on more rides in Futureworld and managed to see most of the other shows at the Studios.

While I went back to scaring people at the Haunted Mansion!

Have another Magical Day!

Elbows off the Table!

The next day was David's birthday and we had planned to spend the whole day at Disney's Hollywood Studios park. Due to my injury from the day before, I had to go Health Services to be seen by a Disney doctor. Health Services is at EPCOT so we went there first. The family got to do more of the Futureworld attractions while I saw the doctor. We were then able to catch the ferry boat over to Hollywood Studios which was fun.

At the Studios we got see most of the shows and we all enjoyed seeing the Beauty & the Beast show the best.

Because my neck/shoulder was sore (and I had done them before), I didn't go on any of the rides in the park but everyone else did. They liked the Tower of Terror so much they went twice!

In the evening we had reservations for dinner at the 50's Prime Time Cafe, which is a restuarant at the Studios that is set up like a lot of individual 50's kitchens, with a TV that screens black & white clips from early American shows like I Love Lucy, Leave it to Beaver etc. The waitresses all treat you like they are your mother and make you sit up straight and finish your greens. We all got in 'trouble' for having our elbows on the table! So when she left we all took pictures with our elbows on the table and she looked through the window and caught us doing it. It was really funny!

Because it was David's birthday she brought his dessert with candles in it and made the other guests and staff all sing Happy Birthday to him! It was a good ending to a fun day.

Have a magical day!