CRP | Staycation #2 Fort Wilderness Cabins

IWow! I suspected this would happen but time is flying past at a rate of knots and I barely have time to sit back and take it all in. That being said, I'm having the best time and trying to make the most of all opportunities out here. 

To celebrate our month of being out here, our arrival group planned a little Staycation in the Fort Wilderness Cabins. At Fort Wilderness, you can rent a cabin in the woods or being your own motor home for a spot of camping. It's a really cute resort that lets you feel surrounded by nature and took me back to my camping trips in the UK! 

The resorts always have so many free activities to keep kids of all ages occupied and Fort Wilderness was no different. After stopping by the shop to pick up BBQ equipment, those of us who weren't working went to buy marshmallows and toasted them around a campfire! It was so much fun; we toasted, set alight to, and generally gorged ourselves on sugary goodness. After that, the fun continued! We had a little campfire sing along with Chip 'n Dale! It's moments like that which make Disney World truly one of the most fun places on Earth! 

Fort Wilderness is sat on the edge of Bay Lake which means that you can sit on the beach and watch Wishes! I can now cross another location off my "where-I've-seen-the-fireworks" list!! 

The cabins themselves were also adorable and cosy! Of course, they were decked out with wooden panelling and had a very in-the-woods feeling. There's a double bed, bunk bed and sofa bed in the cabins which means six people can stay. Out the front, there's also a BBQ and the store sells all kinds of goodies so you can have a whole camping experience! 

I love staycations! 

CRP | Breakfast at 'Ohana

Eating is something we do an awful lot of here in Florida so I'm going to continue the theme here on my blog!  Last week we ate breakfast at 'Ohana, which is a restaurant in the Polynesian resort.  The best thing about breakfast at 'Ohana is that it's a character breakfast and you get to meet Stitch!  I love Stitch - he is probably one of my favourite characters!  

 Our reservation was at 8.35am so we hopped on the bus from Housing to the Polynesian and checked in.   Our table wasn't quite ready yet but we were able to relax on some comfy chairs outside the restaurant until we were able to be seated.  We were welcomed into the restaurant as a cousin - afterall, 'Ohana means family and everyone is part of the family at the Polynesian!  

As soon as we sat down, we were brought coffee and some of Lilo and Stitch's favourite juice (made from guava, orange and mango) and a delicious bread/pastry basket.  The breads and pastries are always delicious at WDW so I would recommend giving them a go!  This was quickly followed by a fresh fruit platter of melon, rapsberries and pineapple.  Dena nor I are really big fans of melon so we were then brought another little bowl of berries and pineapple.  These little touches always make Disney resorts and service stand out to me.

We then were brought our hot breakfast pan: crispy bacon, scrambled eggs, sausages, potatoes, and Stitch and Mickey waffles!  My first Mickey waffle of the trip, I was beyond excited!  We helped ourselves to plenty of breakfast, served with maple syrup.  I'm quickly becoming a fan of breakfast foods and maple syrup... especially bacon!  I think it's the whole sweet and salty mixture.

The breakfast was an all you can eat but we were both full after one platter so didn't want anymore.  It was so good, breakfast is definitely one of my most favourite meals here.

While you're eating, different characters come round for your meet and greet!  We met Mickey Mouse, Lilo, Stitch, and had a selfie with Pluto!  It's so much fun because you have as much time as you want with the characters and you don't feel rushed or pressured to spend five seconds with them.  The sittings are also really cleverly allotted so the characters are able to get round everyone, fair and square!

Towards the end of the breakfast, the children are given maracas and do a little conga dance round the restaurant with the characters and they all love it so much!  It's such an unforgettable experience for them all.

I was so pleased to meet Stitch too! He's such a grumpy and mischeivous character; he really reminds me of my cat!  I enjoy the character breakfasts so much I've managed to reserve a table in one at Epcot for when the family come out.  It really does bring out the big kid in me!  

CRP | Birthday celebration at Beaches and Cream Soda Shop

As I mentioned in my last post, Dena recently celebrated her birthday over here in Florida.  Unfortunately Dena had a lovely ten hour shift on her birthday so we had to wait to the very last minute to celebrate!  Most of our arrival group got together after work to surprise Dena with a trip to the Beaches and Cream Soda Shop - home of the famous Kitchen Sink! - at the Beach Club resort.

The weather wasn't very ice-cream friendly (think: torrential rain and thunderstorms) but after finishing at Epcot we took a Friendship boat over to the The Boardwalk and hurried round to Beaches and Cream.  We managed to get a table together after begging (they didn't take reservations for groups bigger than eight) and indulged in a lot of American ice-cream parlour goodness!  

Of course, we just had to go for a Kitchen Sink, which involves eight scoops of ice-cream, all the toppings (Oreos, peanut butter, Snickers, cherries, sprinkles, brownie, cake...) and lashings of cream.  Dena is lactose intolerant and they used non-diary ice cream too - Disney are so good at catering for dietary problems.  All twelve of us ordered some kind of sundae and we quickly devoured them with the jukebox playing fifties songs in the background - I felt like I stepped into Grease and it was so much fun.

You've probably guessed how much I absolutely adore Disney's theming since I talk about it all the time - and will probably continue to do so - and I loved the little touches that Beaches and Cream had: banana split signs, juke box menus and of course, chequered lino!

As well as ice cream, Beaches and Cream offer traditional American diner food, we ordered fries to complement our "meal", all washed down with pink lemonade or soda.  With all the fun going on inside the parlour, we were able to forgot about the awful weather and celebrate Dena's birthday properly!

Beaches and Cream is quite the treasure hidden away at the Beach Club and it was so much fun discovering another one of Walt Disney World's secrets!  

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!