CRP | Old Key West Staycation

It's Dena's birthday this week and after getting our schedules, we realised we wouldn't be able to have a staycation on her actual birthday.  So we decided on the next best thing and had a mini staycation in Old Key West, which is one of the Downtown Disney-area resorts.  Dena met me after work and we hopped on a guest bus to the resort and of course, it was beautiful.  You think by now I'd realise that if Disney are doing something, they do it well but oh no - each new thing I come across blows me away.

Old Key West is massive - we didn't get to explore much of it as we were only there for one night - but it's tranquil and peaceful.  I loved the look of all the 'houses'; they were painted soft pastel colours sitting between leafy palm trees or along a calm river.

One of the nice things about Old Key West is you can take a Friendship boat to Downtown Disney; there's something magical about travelling around Disney World on a boat -I think it's because you automatically relax a little bit more, you can't rush around so much!

We stayed in a villa in the reost and it was so big!  The villa was equipped with everything from coffee machine, washing machine and tumble dryers to a jacuzzi spa bath!  The bed was so soft and comfy - a million miles away from the Disney Housing bunk beds! Again, I love the detail and thought that is put into the decorating of the resorts; a cast member once said to us that everything you see in WDW is like that way for a reason and it's certainly evident in the resorts. Everything fits meticulously into the room and doesn't look out of place.

We also had breakfast in Olivia's, which is the on site restaurant.  I didn't fancy anything too heavy as I had to work later that day so I opted for the Southernmost Continental platter.  It was a delicious selection of pastries and fresh fruit (the kind of balanced breakfast you want in the morning!) and washed down with plenty of coffee!

Staying in Old Key West has got me so excited for our next staycation - our arrival group is planning to have a get together on our monthiversay so that'll be a great opportunity to explore another resort.

CRP | Resort hopping part 1

As you may or may not know, Walt Disney World has so many great resorts and hotels that you can stay in.  It's on my Florida bucket list to try and stay in as many as possible and last week, we partook in a bit of resort hopping to experience a couple of them (and make me want to stay in them really bad!).

We first had a look around The Grand Floridian, which is a beautiful resort, styled in a Victorian seaside theme and is one of the hotels that I really, really want to stay in!

The Grand Floridian also has a spa - oh, how I want to have a massage there! - and is home to the wedding pavilion which we managed to get a sneaky look in.  It's so beautiful!

After that, we strolled along to the Polynesian, another deluxe resort, this time themed on Hawaii (Lilo and Stitch - yay).  On the beach of the Polynesian, you can watch movies under the stars and when it's time for the Wishes fireworks, you can grab a spot overlooking the lake and it's so magical.  I've heard lots of great things about the Ohana restaurant there so can't wait to go back!

To celebrate our one week of being in Florida, we went to the California Grill on top of the Contemporary resort.  It was amazing, the food was incredible and the view was spectacular.  We ordered a selection of starters (two flatbreads and pork belly sushi) which were so so good.  The California Grill is a fine dining restaurant and when Disney say fine dining, they really mean fine dining.  The quality of food is well worth it.

As the restaurant is situated on top of the hotel, you can go out onto two viewing platforms and watch the fireworks.  This is probably a controversial opinion but so far I've found myself enjoying Wishes more outside Magic Kingdom; it's so much more chilled out and you don't have to fight your way out of the park.  

There is so much to do and explore on the Walt Disney World properties... hopefully we'll be able to make it round as many as possible!

CRP | Traditions

After the exciting-and exhausting-few days of arrival, check in, and theme park fun we had a few days to just relax, go shopping and find our feet a little before the first day of our training. If you’re reading this because you’re a giant Disney geek, you’re probably aware that the first day for new cast members is called Disney Traditions. If you’re not a giant Disney geek, then now you have a bit of information to impress other people with, win pub quizzes and suchlike.

Disney Traditions is a big deal; or at least it’s built up to be with rumours being floated around, threats of being sent back home if you don’t have the Disney Look and those kinds of things. Ultimately, it’s way more relaxed than anyone makes it out to be so if you’re lucky enough to get to here, don’t panic! Every single person we have come across have been so helpful and lovely that nothing will ever be a huge problem.

First of all, it’s an early start! A getting up before the sun does early start because you have to be there by 7:30. Which brings me on to my second point: it’s held at Disney University. Yes it’s a thing and yes it’s as awesome as it sounds. The walls are full of original posters, mini odes to Imagineer legends, Walt and old movies. Best of all are the future plans for the company which the public aren’t privy to yet!

When we arrived, we were herded into a classroom and had little stickers with our names on; the first couple of hours were full of learning about the history of Disney: how it all began, the vision and the aim of the company and the new attitudes we would now adopt being cast members. As cheesy as it sounds, it really was inspiring to hear about Walt setting up the company and his quotes about what he wanted to create give you a determination to be an asset to the company and complete his mission. Before this class, I think we still had the surface view of Disney; but after the first couple of hours on this Saturday morning, my opinion of the Walt Disney Company changed to respect and admiration .It’s not just a face they put on for the public-Disney genuinely aim to create magic and happiness for every single guest. A perfect example is how they are called guests and not customers; we were encouraged from this moment to do everything within our power as cast members (not employees!) to do what we can to make everyone’s holiday a magical one and we have free reign to make those decisions and create our own magical moments with guests from all over the world.

Geeking out a little; so moving on. After all the interesting history and mission statement etc, we were finally given our ID badges which was very exciting. The afternoon was a little different to the normal traditions class because usually there is a surprise (which I won’t ruin for those of you who get here!) so we just had an hour or so of asking questions and hearing some more stories from the trainers. To be honest, we could tell it was biding time but some things were useful all the same. Just before we were due to finish we were presented with our name badges!! What we had been waiting for all day long to be honest and they threw in the best surprise of the day for this!

All in all, it was a lot of fun! Yes it was long and at times many of us just wanted more coffee, but I think it was the circumstances of ours being a little different. The things we learned about Disney as a company and our role in the upcoming year were so exciting and the major thing we took away from it?

We create happiness for every single guest who comes into contact with us. And I can’t wait to start!

CRP | Two days in...

We made it!  I'm writing this blog from sunny and very hot Orlando, Florida!  Since arriving it's been crazy busy and very tiring; although every now and then I have to pinch myself to believe that we're finally here!

We arrived after an pretty uneventful and average flight from Stansted and luckily breezed through immigration, baggage reclaim and customs.  We met our shuttle and went to the hotel for a couple of hours before heading straight down to Downtown Disney.  The first port of call was food and revisited one of our previous favourites House of Blues.  Downtown Disney is currently having a massive overhaul to become Disney Springs which means there are a lot of boards up around the place and can be a bit of a maze to navigate through.  It was super busy too so we weren't able to take it all in as we were meeting a few of the other guys from our arrival group.  

The following day was check-in day, where you find out your accommodation.  We headed over to the Vista Way Welcome Center and queued for a couple of hours before receiving our housing IDs, keys, and itinerary for this week.  As for housing, we got Chatham Square (which is good) with a 6 person 2 bedroom apartment (not so good)... This meant bunk beds.  It was a little disappointing because a triple occupancy room was last on our preference list.  However, our rent is super cheap and the apartment is nice so can't really complain too much.

After settling in to the apartment, we had to go to Walmart to buy bedding, towels, router etc.  IT WAS SO STRESSFUL.  The Walmart is massive and there were 1400 other arrivals that day... the majority of which had to go to Walmart to buy all the aforementioned items. It was such a relief when we were finally done and could relax!

Our second day, today, we headed straight to Universal Studios and picked up our Florida residents' annual pass and spent the day there on the rides and exploring Diagon Alley.  It was awesome and the Gringott's ride was incredible.  The theming and detail in the Harry Potter section was perfect and even rivalled Disney for its attention to detail.  You felt as if you were stepping into the film or the books.  This evening, we're heading back to Downtown Disney for a Ghiradelli's ice-cream and perhaps some souvenir shopping.  This is the life!

Hoping to vlog very soon so watch this space!  

London Food | BRGR.Co

Inbetween all the crazy Disney planning and organising, we managed to squeeze in a mini trip to London to see Benedict Cumberbatch in Hamlet. Of course, we decided to make the most of our stay in the capital by eating at some interesting places!

If you've read my blog for a while, you'll probably know that I love afternoon tea and it's almost become a bit of a tradition when we visit London.  This time though, Dena uncovered a gem and that was afternoon tea at BRGR.Co!

We had a reservation at the Chelsea restaurant, which sits prettily on Kings Road and if you can grab a tablet outside, it's a perfect spot to people watch (I love London for that very reason!).  I didn't spend much time inside but the restaurant looked modern with an open kitchen/bar area which is reminiscent of 'real' American diners.

What really made this meal special was that it was afternoon tea with an American twist... The perfect way to get in the mood for the upcoming move to Florida!  No finger sandwiches or scones here, you get a selection of typical American dishes.

To start off with, we ordered drinks - an iced tea and homemade lemonade (deliciously sour) - and then we were brought the tea part of our afternoon tea which was a fizzy bellini cocktail.  It was fruity with a touch of alcohol, not too overpowering and perfect to enjoy in the London sunshine.

The main part of our afternoon tea was so much fun.  I loved the twist on this essentially British tradition.  Instead of sandwiches you are served mini fries (as good as Five Guys fries), a cheese and beef slider, prawn and salmon slider and a southern fried chicken slider.  The cheddar and beef slider was to die for; the meat was juicy and succulent and the bun was lightly toaster.  My favourite though was probably the southern fried chicken slider; crispy bread crumbs, perfectly cooked chicken breast and lashings of coleslaw.  A million miles away from salmon and cucumber sandwiches but so light hearted and tasty!

Instead of scones and cakes, you're served a lemon tart, chocolate brownie, white chocolate and raspberry cheesecake and a mini vanilla ice-cream.  Once again, it was all so tasty.  The lemon tart filling was sour and complemented the buttery pastry and the cheesecake was served in a mini shot glass, with generous layers of biscuit and cheesecake topping.

Another great thing about this afternoon tea experience was that it was so relaxed!  Although I have very much enjoyed afternoon tea at The Ritz, it was great to turn up in jeans and a comfy top and relax.  It really gives off a fun-loving vibe!

The staff at the Chelsea restaurant were polite, friendly and attentive and we left feeling thoroughly full and satisfied.  I would definitely recommend!

Have you ever eaten at BRGR.co?





   

CRP | Medical Insurance

Oh, medical insurance, what a palava indeed!  We finally bit the bullet and bought our medical insurance with a whole five days left to spare before we fly.  In fact, I found the whole thing so frustratingly complicated and confusing, I got Dena to write about it.

Of course, again, this is not solid, you-should-100%-do-this advice so please don't take our word as gospel!  It's just the process that we went through and we would always advise you do your own research and go with a policy you are happy with.   Here's our medical insurance lowdown:

Say what you want about waiting times, rubbish GP’s and dirty hospitals; the NHS is wonderful! Medical insurance might have been one of the most infuriating parts of our magical Disney journey. Partly because it costs money and we are a little poor, but also because of making sure you are making the right choice for what you need and want. If you don’t need to worry about money, it probably won’t stress you out so much but there are a few things you need to know.

So, the wonderful United States has brilliant medical care-but it needs to be paid for. It’s expensive and without cover, the bill would be ridiculous if anything happened. Besides that, to work for an American company you need medical insurance; likewise for getting an American visa. In summary, you need it so get it!

Disney offer their own medical insurance for their employees; but only after 4 months of being there. As we arrive in the middle of a month, we had to get cover for just over 4 months as the Disney policy starts at the beginning of a month.

The confusion we faced was between travel and medical; when you go on holiday, it’s usually a two in one deal where you get suitcase cover to death cover. But as we are living in the States, we need full on medical and although travel might be handy, realistically it’s not necessary (who ever claims for a damaged suitcase really!) as we are living there, not on holiday.

Another problem you will face if you just look at the standard insurance websites (world nomads, go walkabout etc) is the lack of a return date. Many companies will not insure you if you do not have a return flight to the United Kingdom.

So in the end, we opted for a medical insurance because it covered everything we needed.

A decent insurance will cover up to $100,000 of appointments, treatments etc. A really handy website we came across was visitorscoverage.com. You put in your details and then a whole list of different policies come up where you can choose which plan you want and how much deductible you want to pay.

Eventually, we opted for Seven Corners policy which was $182 dollars for extensive coverage and $100 deductible. When we went into actually getting the policy, we were asked for a return date which panicked us a little as we didn’t think it was going to be a problem. I emailed one of the visitorscoverage workers and they emailed fairly promptly saying we can just use the date we need our policy to end as our return date. Don’t take this as a given for all insurance companies however, and make sure if you have any questions to simply ask! Insurance companies are strangely helpful when you’re giving them money rather than asking for it so be brave and just shoot them an email or phone call!

 When you look into the deductible, have a think about how you will pay it. Some companies ask for the deductible every time you need to see someone or claim; whereas other companies will only need it for the first time and then you can go back as many times as you need to. Similarly, you may need to pay upfront for your care and then claim back, or you can show your insurance policy and never have to pay a penny. This is definitely worth looking into depending on what you prefer.

There are also some amazing policies which cover you for absolutely everything, but then only pay for 100% of your treatment after you have paid the first $500 or something similar. Basically, be very aware of exactly what you will have to do if something happens-you may think it is very unlikely; you know, you’re young, fit, healthy. That’s what we thought in Mexico, and Danielle nearly ended up in hospital and spent a fortune on scans, blood tests and medication. So don’t be too complacent!

In summary, you need to make sure you know what you’re looking for and what you’re getting! Don’t try and be cheap but don’t go over the top and get some fancy policy which will cost you a fortune.

From reading other blogs, there are some policies out there which are specifically for the program we are doing or at least with our program in mind; but they are more expensive.

Our policy can also be extended once we are out there which is super handy because if Disney works out more expensive we can just extend the one we have for until we leave!

Four days to go :-)

CRP | One week to go

One week till we leave for Florida and believe it or not, it still hasn't really sunk in what I'm doing or when I'm going.  I still have lots left to do and I haven't really begun to think about packing.  I don't usually pack until the last minute but I usually have a rough idea of what I'm taking... Not this year!  

That being said, I've crossed a few things off my to-do list: 

I've ordered my dollars.  I wasn't sure how many to take but I've ordered a few hundred to hopefully keep me going for a few weeks.  I want to get my Universal Annual Pass pretty early on but that'll end up on my bank card I think! 

I initially planned to suspend my mobile contract for 6 months as I was able to do that for Mexico.  Since EE has taken over Orange, they've got rid of that option, which isn't so great but nothing I can do.  

We received our DORMS email the other day, which is the system Disney use to allocate housing amongst other things.  You put your housing preferences in as well as your roommate requests.  I'm not sure how likely you are to get your first choice but the only thing I feel quite strongly about is not getting bunkbeds and a triple occupancy room.  Fingers crossed!

I've also started rounding up various documents that I need.  My birth certificate usually takes ages for me to find but I've got it and am keeping it in a safe place (still a chance I might lose it!) and will put it together with the other wad of paper I need to take with me. 

What's left to do?  Well, I currently have three lists on the go: to do, to buy, to pack.  Everyone around me seems quite concerned that I only have a week left to sort everything out but it's fine!  It'll all be fine (famous last words).

I have yet to buy my medical insurance.  Oh what a nightmare that has all been, so many options, plans, small prints to read.  I think we're settled on the policy to go for but just waiting to hear back from the company to answer a question.  

Print off all the hire documentation.  Disney ask you to print and complete a few documents to make your arrival easier. 

Upload documents to the DOC Onboarding website.  Again, you need to upload various documents to Disney's website (Visa, medical insurance etc).

Book airport shuttle.  Disney provide you with a discount voucher to book your shuttle to the Vist Way Welcome Center.  However, we're staying in a hotel the first night and the voucher is with Mears, who have been quite expensive in the past when I've been researching for a past trip so we may end up going with Super Shuttle instead.

Oh,and pack.  

I've got loads of time!