These siestas are getting chorter and chorter

Oh man...less than 2 weeks left here. Part of me is dreading it, while the other half is SO excited for what is to come. The people I have met here have been some of the most passionate, intelligent, caring, and hilarious people I have ever experienced. Plus, they all love Disney just as much as I do.

But I don't need to go into any goodbyes yet...I still have about 80 hours of work left here. :)

Last week we had our CM Christmas party, DCP Prom and Graduation - all events that I had a blast at.

Every year Disney takes 2 days in December, closes the park early, and allows to Cast Members to come in and party with their family and friends. Food is discounted (churros for 2 dollars!) and cast members who are on the job are allowed to do things in costume that are normally against the rules. Basically, it rocks. Jessica and I spent most of the party hunting down characters for her autograph book, and we had an amazing time.

Prom was held at the Paradise Pier hotel in one of their ballrooms - they had another photobooth and free mickey pretzels/rice crispy treats. I was excited to say the least.

Graduation happened in the Grand Ballroom at the Disneyland hotel. Some people made a really big deal out of it (parents flying out from the east coast and such). I must say that after my college graduation in May it seemed a little ridiculous to ask my parents to come down for this as well :) It was short and sweet though. There was an adorable skit at the beginning, two speeches that described our program very well, and then the presentation of the "diplomas". (Even at Disney graduation you just get an empty folder)

Afterwards I received my "Mousters" degree and a certificate of completion for the program. Gotta be honest - those are probably going in a drawer somewhere. Nonetheless it was fun to get the mouse ears with the tassel and dress up and sit with my friends.

The next 2 weeks are going to be packed with work, friends, and packing. I work until 2:45am on the 31st (gasp!) then have all day on the 1st to move out by 9am on the 2nd - and that includes emptying my storage unit and moving all my furniture to Lauren's new pad! It's gonna be hectic, but at least it will keep me busy so I don't get super sad about leaving all these amazing people.

That being said, my road trip with Lauren Gutierrez/Fernandez/Sanchez/Gomez/etc is all planned and I am STOKED. More details on that when it gets closer to go time, but it's gonna be epic. Then I start a new adventure in Florida...can't wait!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

I love Disneyland at Christmas!

Some imagination, huh?

Another blog post so soon? I know, you're all shocked.

Well it's the week of Thanksgiving and I must say, the Disneyland Resort is a bustlin'! Here's a quick tip, avoid Disneyland on holidays at all costs. Seriously. You will wait at least an hour for almost every ride, and it's impossible to even walk around without smacking into someone. Go for the off season days - and spend the holidays at home on the couch the way they're supposed to be enjoyed. :)

That being said, I'm loving how busy the parks are! Working those 69K days makes the 8 hour shifts go by so much faster. I have endless guests to answer questions for, spiel at, get on and off the astro orbitor as fast as possible, pin trade, and most importantly, people watch. Busy Disneyland is miserable for a guest, but so much fun for me as a Cast Member. That's not usually how people see it...but hey. I've never been one for tradition. I'm enjoying my 8 days in a row of work (including an 8 hour closing shift on Thanksgiving) and I'm excited for the upcoming events! Here's a list:

Tonight: Fantasmic! shift!!! I'm so excited...I've wanted to wear that yellow bomber jacket since I was 12

Tomorrow (11/25): Tangled with Julie!

Wednesday 12/1: Touring the Disney Studios in Burbank. I'm stoked to see all the behind the scenes goodies over there. Plus, the Burbank store will have pins available nowhere else...I'm such a collector

Saturday 12/4: My friend's 21st birthday!

Saturday 12/11: World premiere of Life is not a Musical: the Musical at Pepperdine. Can't wait to see how the film turned out!

Tuesday 12/14: Cast member christmas party!

Wednesday 12/15: DCP Prom and potentially CLUB 33!!!!! (I seriously have the best friends ever)

Friday 12/17: DCP Graduation

And that's not even the end of all the good stuff that's coming up! I can't wait to see what Florida has in store, but I'm fully enjoying the end of my time here as well. :)

My family came to visit!

All dressed up for Harry Potter 7.1

My beautiful roommate and I played dress up

Bo frickin Burnham!

To see how Jack has wrecked our halls, kindly drag your bodies away from the walls

Yet again I waited a ridiculously long time to give you all an update, but it's because nothing much has been happening until now. The last month has been a lot of the same - work, play, sleep, love life...general goodness. I officially have some big news though!

Yesterday I received a call from Disney World casting offering me a Professional Internship in Guest Relations! I applied for this professional internship back in September assuming I didn't have much of a shot and it probably wouldn't pan out. Since then I've kept it in the back of my mind as a possibility, but have been making plans under the assumption that I would not be asked to move out to Florida; however, the whole time I couldn't help but think that if I did happen to get the internship, I'd be crazy not to give it a shot.

Well, time to put my words into action, because I got the internship. My role will be working the Guest Relations desk at one of the parks in Disney World. Apparently I will be dealing with any guest issues including re-issuing tickets, making reservations, dealing with lost and found, and most importantly, handling any guest complaints. And you know what? I can't WAIT to spend all day listening to people complain. Crazy, right? Wrong. Because once I hear their problem, I get to fix it for them. I'm going to make so many magical moments for families from all over the world...dream come true.

So there's my big news. I will be abandoning pretty much everything familiar, driving across the country, and living in a place where I know pretty much no one for 6 months (at the very least). I can't wait to start this adventure (as long as the humidity doesn't kill me).

My next two months will consist of finishing up this Disneyland program, working way too much over the holidays and loving it, experiencing my first holiday season away from my family (but if I can't be with them, what better place than Disneyland?), moving back to the bay area for a few days starting January 2nd, then leaving for an epic road trip that will land me in Orlando by January 11th.

I just can't believe how incredibly blessed I am and I am so thankful for all these amazing opportunities God is sending my way. I am so happy to have the chance to get a different Disney experience and expand my knowledge of the company. And best of all? Star Wars weekends in May with guest appearances by Ray Park, Billy Dee Williams, and Peter Mayhew. What. Up.

For anyone who is reading this that's thinking of doing the college program- DO IT. It's been one of the best times of my life. I wouldn't change a thing.

Captain...there's something weird out there!

Seriously....I get an epic fail in the blog updating department

I have turned into one of those bloggers that annoyed me as I was preparing for the program. You know who I'm talking about...those people who drop off the face of the planet right when we've gotten to the good stuff.

But here is the face of the matter-

there's nothing new to say! I love my life, I love my job. It's basically the same day in and day out, but it's the same of something that I adore, and so I'm sickeningly happy.

To give you a bit more detail though - I went to Mickey's Trick or Treat party and had an amazing time. It was SO much fun to be able to dress up at Disneyland (a rare privilege for an adult!) plus there were practically no lines anywhere! DCA's newest party ElecTRONica is a kick in the pants...it's so much fun. Plus they're previewing a new TRON section of World Of Color tonight. I will be checking that out in the coming few days.

I've driven to Malibu more than I should be, but it's been nice getting stuff done out there (filming videos and such) and seeing old friends. Upcoming events include touring the Dream Suite, Bo Burnham concert, parents visiting, and a potential trip to Vegas next week.

I love my leads and my co-workers and my friends and my job...I have no idea what my life will be like come January, but it's ok because I'm obsessed with it right now!

Remember...Dreams DO come true

Today I was given a Great Service Fanatic card from the main lead at Captain EO. It recognized my theme phrasing and fantastic spieling at the attraction. I turned it into the Team Center and am apparently now entered in a drawing for the month where I could win movie tickets or something like that. Honestly, don't care much about the prize...mostly I'm just super flattered to get the recognition.

Tomorrow night I will be working EO during Mickey's Halloween party which I'm excited about because I'll get to see all of the fantastic costumes. I plan on attending the party at some point (most likely dressed as Belle), so tomorrow will give me my first look at what it will be like.

Knott's Halloween Haunt is coming up, along with Universal Studios (if i can make it over there). Life is awesome...I love it.

Captain...there's something weird out there!

Here's the smiling face you'd see if you came to Captain EO or the Astro Orbitor on most weekday mornings. It's certainly not the most flattering costume in the world (makes me pretty shapeless frankly) but it's super comfortable plus we don't have to tuck it in. always nice :)

Now THIS is what winning Scavenger Hunt team looks like! Chantel, Jessica, Patrick and I completely dominated at the College Program hunt, and as our prize we won a Walk in Walt's Footsteps tour! I'm really excited and I'll be sure to inform everyone about how awesome it was.

Meet Duffy, Mickey's bear and the newest addition to the Disney parks in California and Florida! Starting in October Duffy will be out and about in Disney California Adventure for meet and greets, and his merchandise will be sold exclusively in that park. Not gonna lie - I think he's adorable.

There have been lots of fun afternoon trips with new friends, this one in particular was to the Disney Soda Fountain in Hollywood for some pin trading/buying action.

The weather has been unbearably hot recently (we're talking highs of 113). What better way to cope with the heat than a lovely beach day at Huntington? (As well as marvelous company)

Pretty much...I haven't been this happy in a long time! I'd like it to last forever please!