The Start of My Internship

Today, I went to get a jump start on putting my internship portfolio together. Since I had the day off, I went over to Hollywood Studios a little early to do some shopping and check out the show times for Beauty and the Beast. I decided that for my internship portfolio I would do some job shadowing at different theaters and shows around Disney World. I was familiar with a couple of the people at Beauty and the Beast, so I started there. After sitting through the show, I waited for the theater to clear and went over to the tech booth to talk to the crew. The stage manager just happened to be there-how convienient! I explained to them what I needed and who I was, and they were very helpful. The stage manager gave me the name and number to the head stage manager and informed me to call and talk to him. I called him about an hour later, and he was very eager to help! We both agreed to meet on Wednesday, my day off, and he would allow me to job shadow him at the theater during the day. He said I would be in a variety of locations for different shows-backstage for one, onstage for one, and with the crew for one. He also told me that he would set up a time where I could talk one-on-one to Belle and Gaston, the only miked singers in the show. How cool!! I can't believe I have these kinds of opportunites to fulfill an amazing internship. I can't wait!!

First Day of Class

We had a great time in Mexico! Olay!

Just keep swimming...

Here they are-cokes from around the world!

I've never been here before! In EPCOT, you can sample Cokes from around the world!

The front of the maingate building where all of my classes will be held.

Since most of the participants in the College Program are taking a semester off of school, Disney has a great way to help students earn college credit in the process. They are called the Disney College Program Development and Professional Series, and a variety of classes are offered to every participant. I have officially finished all of my college credits, but I looked into the idea of taking a class just to boost my resume and network. I was accepted into a special Entertainment Show Production class only available to theater and film majors (somehow I got in!). We had our first day today and took a bus to a building called Maingate. This is where we will have our class weekly. It is an important building that holds confidential meetings for Imagineers and Entertainment executives working on upcoming Disney projects. We will be able to meet many show producers and learn step-by-step how a show is developed from the beginning to the end. It will be very beneficial, and I will be able to meet and and network with many people in the entertainment segment of The Walt Disney Company. What a great opportunity! To top it off, I won a special prize for being in class today-only two of us out of the 100 students won! Yay!

Tonight, my roommates and I went to EPCOT to be together and get out of the house. We had a great time walking around and doing some of the smaller rides around the World Showcase. I treated myself to a funnel cake since I never order one when Joe was here. Bad idea. I ate it all myself. And I wonder why I am gaining weight.

A Magical Weekend: Day 3

Our day started a little late, because we had to get Joe settled into his new room for the night. Once we got on our way, we were ready to take on Magic Kingdom. As we walked in, a park greeter saw our special anniversary pins and gave us special pixie dust to throw into the air and make a wish at the Castle. Joe thought of a great idea-to have a photopass photographer take our picture as we threw our magical pixie dust in the air. I can't tell you what our wishes were-if I tell you, they won't come true! :)

We were very efficient with fast passes and riding all of our favorite attractions. We rode almost every single ride offered in Disney World. Seriously. Joe and I know how to do Disney. We had a great time running around like little kids. I think between the two of us, we ate all of our favorite snacks at Magic Kingdom (mickey ice cream, rice krispie treats, blast-off slushy, goofy sours..etc.) and rode our favorite attractions (Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain Railroad, Teacups, Philharmagic, Peter Pan, Pirates, and Haunted Mansion). We even found time to see Minnie and Mickey! It was very nice being able to make a mapped plan and do exactly what we wanted to do all day. More than anything, it was nice to just experience it together.

We headed over to Tony's for dinner around 7:15pm. It was absolutely excellent! The atmosphere was great, and our waiter had our food out extra fast in time for the fireworks display, Wishes. We were out just in time, and found a great spot to watch my favorite thing in all of Disney World-the fireworks at Magic Kingdom. I must admit, my wish for a while has been to spend time with Joe in Disney World, and I cried a little as I listened because it had finally come true. I am so blessed to have a wonderful man like him in my life.

After the fireworks we did some shopping for souvenirs and things we couldn't live without. Of course, with Joe and I, this is almost everything. However, to my surprise, we only spent about $150 between the two of us. Pretty good! For our anniversary, I got Joe two pieces of art called Gallery of Lights, and we were excited to already add to our collection. Magic Kingdom had extra magic hours, meaning that the park was open only for resort guests to ride the attractions with little or no wait. It was great! We ended the night with a final ride on Joe's favorite attraction, Splash Mountain. Needless to say, we both got soaked. What a great end to the weekend.

I was very sad to see Joe leave. It gets harder everytime I have to say goodbye. However, I am so thankful for the amount of time I was able to spend with him. Even though we don't know when he will be down in Disney World again, I already can't wait to see him! I know we have some amazing memories from this weekend that I will never forget.

A Magical Weekend: Day 2

Waiting for Illuminations!

Our amazing dinner at France. This was taken by our waiter 10 seconds after Joe and I both burned our arms on the candle.

Same spot where we had our picture last year!

Props to Photopass!

Voice of Liberty-Joe will be the future star in this group!

In the UK playing Kim Possible!

Finding Nemo, Joe's favorite!

We have the same picture from last time...just thought we would relive the memories.

No, we are not Asian-we are just celebrating our two year anniversary! Happy Anniversary!

On our second day, Joe wanted to go to EPCOT. The older I get, the more I like that park. Between the two of us, we figured we had been to about 7 out of the 10 countries in the showcase. Crazy! We rode the Saratoga Springs bus (to make it easier) to EPCOT and arrived around 11am. Since this year's theme for Disney World is "What will you celebrate?" they hand out buttons according to what event you are celebrating by going to Disney. We decided to go get Happy Anniversary buttons, even if they are meant for married people. All day long we were receiving compliments and congrats from cast members when they saw our buttons.

We rode just about all of our favorite rides in EPCOT, including Soarin', Spaceship Earth, Finding Nemo, Turtle Talk with Crush, Test Track, the American Adventure, Norway, and a new attraction, the Kim Possible Mission. It was so much fun! Once signing up for a mission, you report to a station to receive your Kimmunicator (its a cell phone specially designed). As secret agents, you are responsible for saving a certain disaster from happening in one country located in the World Showcase. We were given the UK. The Kimmunicator would tell us where to go, and certain buttons we pressed would unlock icons and reveal clues on how to complete the mission. It was really cool! It was also a great way to find out more about that country. Unfortunately, we only had time to do one, so we will have to do more next time. We also watched the amazing vocal group, Voices of Liberty. We decided Joe would be perfect for something like that. He is so talented and that group would be blessed to have him and his abundant talent.

For dinner, Joe made reservations at a new resteraunt, Les Chefs de France, in the country France. It was INCREDIBLE. I had a roasted chicken with basil mashed potatoes and tomatoes, and he ordered a beef tenderloin with au gratin potatoes and green beans. With our meal plan, we were also able to order desserts-so I ordered a cinnamon apple crape and he order creme brule. Our waiter brought us the desserts with candles in them to celebrate our anniversary! We both agreed it was one of the best meals we had ever ordered. After dinner, we took a stroll around the world showcase and found a great spot for the Illuminations fireworks. They were great, as always. We both had a wonderful day and were excited to sit down after a long day of walking.

A Magical Weekend: Day 1

Rarrrrr! We loved our meal!! (just to preface: we know we are dorks, we are well aware. this is our attempt to add a little variety to the traditional "couple poses" that everyone always has.)

Megan: "What? I'm just trying to make some money and have a little fun! It's not my fault."

Joe: "I can't believe you live here. You...You little stinker."

What an amazing weekend. I had such a wonderful weekend with Joe. We shared lots of memories and enjoyed just being around each other. We both commented that it was the best weekend we have ever had together. What an awesome way to celebrate two wonderful years together! The more time I spend with him, the more I am thankful for him. I am so blessed to have him in my life and can't wait to see what the future holds! Here are a few of the highlights from this weekend:

Day 1

Joe arrived around 7:30pm, and I was soooo excited to see him. We quickly got his luggage and were on our way. We stopped by my apartment so he could meet my roommates and see where I live. After a quick hello, we went to check him into the resort. After checking-in, we got into the car and drove to Downtown Disney (which was just a few streets away). I wish I could have captured his face and reaction on a video. He was like a kid in a candy store! We ate in the new resteraunt T-REX and did some shopping. We had a great time just walking around together and being able to talk to one another. I know some people might take being together for granted, but I sure don't. I am just giddy with joy when I can talk to Joe in person, instead of on the phone! We had a great time, and it was a great preview for the weekend.

Auditions, Auditions, Auditions

Since I have been at Disney World, my mind has been intruigued with the idea of becoming a performer. There are so many opportunities available I can hardly wrap my mind around them! Whether God wants me here forever or not, I know this is where I am supposed to be for this moment. I can tell because of recent events and happenings. On Saturday, I auditioned for a panal of Disney World entertainment managers to sing the national anthem at the Atlanta Braves spring training games. I didn't really expect anything since I was practically running from work to the audition sight and was pretty much a hot mess. However, to my surprise, I received a phone call today telling me that I had been selected to sing the national anthem at a Braves game! Out of the about 80 people that auditioned, they chose 8 singers to lead the crowd in the national anthem. What an honor! I truly feel special and can't wait to experience this. He will be calling soon with a date to let me prepare for the event. Yay!



Also-just an FYI, I may not be up-to-date with my blogging for the next couple of days because Joe will be here this weekend! I am sooooo excited to see him, and I want to spend as much time with him as I can. Time with him is very precious because I don't spend very much time with him. I can't wait to see you Joe Joe!!!

The Next Rachel Ray

My roommates have taught me well!

The final product-green beans with lemon herb butter sauce and roasted garlic cheesy mashed potatoes (and of course a cherry coke, my favorite!)

The next Rachel Ray? Ok...maybe not. However, since coming to Disney World, I have become quite the cook. My roommate, Jackie, is a big cook along with all of my other roommates. I feel like I have more time to cook now than ever-maybe because I don't have lots of homework or late night rehearsals. I like to bake things, but I have become very experimental in the kitchen. I really like using garlic, lemons, basil, olive oil, lots of herbs. Today, I decided to use a bag of red potatoes that I bought a while ago (before they started to grow things on them...) and snaps. The final product was roasted garlic cheesy mashed potatoes and green beans in a lemon herb butter sauce. Whew! My excitement quickly diminished when I saw the huge pile of dishes in the sink. And then I remembered why I like going out to eat all the time.

Toy Story Midway Mania

Pixar Place!

A talking and interacting Mr. Potato Head!

Excited to ride the ride!

Demonstrating how to operate the trigger.

Megan and I on the ride, ready to go!

Even though I worked early this morning, I found a way to have fun this evening to celebrate my day off tomorrow. During our meetings at work, my manager has been advertising a night of fun from 9pm to midnight at the newest ride at Hollywood Studios, Toy Story Midway Mania. The managers at the ride needed cast member volunteers to ride the attraction in order to "test a new loading procedure." I think that the managers were attempting to allow cast members to ride it without guests after park hours without having to wait hours in line. Usually, the wait time for this ride hovers around 120 minutes and fast passes are gone for the rest of the day before noon. This was definitely a great opportunity! My roommates and I headed over there at 9pm and rode the ride a couple of times in order to get the hang of it. It is so fun! The ride is in 3D and designed like a carnival of games. A cart takes you through a variety of carnival games, and the object is to shoot different objects to score the most points. It is a great ride for kids, and I can see why the wait it always so long. I have been waiting to ride this attraction and am so glad Disney opened it up for cast members to have a night of fun!

Blessed

I love you! Thank you so much for the gifts!!

All the wonderful treat I received for Valentine's Day! (that is an empty box of mint meltaways-I am on box #2!!)

Over the past week, I have made many trips to the front desk of the apartment complex. At the front desk, we are able to pick up packages sent to us through the mail. I have so many wonderful friends and family members that have sent me valentines wishes and packages. I absolutely love getting mail, whether it be a package or simply a card to say hello. With all the technology now-a-days, a card through the mail is pretty rare. Each card and package I received reminded me of how blessed I am. A day like Valentine's Day allows me to re-evaluate my life and recognize all the ones I love so dearly. Even though Valentine's Day is over, I wanted to express how much I love all the wonderful people in my life. You are all so amazing, and I am so blessed to have such a special group of people that surround me. I am so honored by your presence in my life. I love you all!

Special Meaning

Joe and I this past Christmas 2008 at Yuletide

Joe was named the best Seussical fan! He came to seven out of the eight shows. Another reason why I love him so much.

At Katie and Adam McDaniel's wedding, June 2008

Snow White and her Prince Charming! Halloween 2007

Christmas 2007, right before Yuletide!

A visit to see Joe in Indiana after he came home from Italy in August 2007!

Joe came to visit me in Pittsburgh after I came home from a Scandanavian tour in May 2008!

Our first formal-Anderson University March 2007

Our first picture together. We went swing dancing for our third date. Notice the "coming attractions" sign above us! January 2007.

Even though Valentine's Day is a day to celebrate couples, it holds a very different and special meaning to me. Two years ago, today, Joe came to visit me and officially ask for me to be his girlfriend. It was pretty snowy outside, and he probably shouldn't have driven all the way to Anderson (sorry Mimi!!), but I am so glad he did. We had been introduced by Joe's cousin, Katie Drake McDaniel, who suggested we would get along quite well. She was right. On a Saturday in January he took me out to dinner, and we have been together ever since. When I think back about my college career, it is hard to think of a time where Joe wasn't there. He is a huge blessing to me, and I am so lucky to have him. He inspires me, uplifts me, encourages me, and most of all, just loves me. I couldn't have asked for a better boyfriend, or even a better best friend. He truly is the most amazing man I have ever met, and I am thrilled to celebrate this anniversary with him. I miss him terribly and have not seen him for two months. I absolutely estatic to see him soon. Happy Anniversary sweetheart! I am SO EXCITED to see you down in Disney World in 5 days!!! I love you all the world!

American Idol Motorcade

This was by far one of the most amazing days I have had so far at Disney. Since I work at Hollywood Studios, I got the inside scoop about a special event happening today. In order to debut the brand new American Idol experience, Disney was showcasing a day of huge events and parties. The day started early in the morning with ABC's Good Morning America taping a performance by David Cook and David Archuleta at the new American Idol Experience. In order to get into that event, you had to have a special ticket. Darn. However, my roommates and I arrived at 10am to see the Studios decked with Glitz and Glamour. A long blue carpet with American Idol emblems ran on Hollywood Boulevard from Crossroads (the beginning of the park) to the Sorceror's Hat (near the Great Movie Ride). Special event cast members were everywhere, and since it was a special day, many more characters were seen at the Hat for pictures and autographs. I saw Pocahontas, Snow White, Belle, Mary Poppins, Mr. Penguin, Minnie, Eeyore, Pooh, Chip and Dale, Tigger, Goofy, and many others. There were also rumors flying around that Bob Iger (President and CEO of the Walt Disney Company) and other bigwigs in the company were at Hollywood Studios. We were able to ride many rides today because we had a friend with us that worked attractions at Tower of Terror. He tooks us backdoor and we didn't have to wait in line for any ride! It was great! While we were there, we heard Carrie Underwood was backstage. Crazy!

We decided to find a spot around 3pm for the American Idol motorcade. We happened to sit right near the first American Idol emblem on Hollywood Boulevard. This turned out to be a great spot. Around 4:45pm, the motorcade began with Kimberley Locke, a season three contestant who was going to be interviewing every celeberity for Entertainment Tonight right in front of us! About 24 American Idol celeberities appeared in the motorcade, and each one was driven onto the blue carpet individually in a GM convertible. A few of the celeberties were Carrie Underwood, Paula Abdul, Taylor Hicks, David Cook, David Archuleta, Ruben Studdard, Jordan Sparks, Fantasia Barrino, Diana DiGarmo, Brooke White just to name a few. We were able to get amazing pictures very close-up because of where we were standing. What an amazing experience!

After the motorcade was finished, we left the park to go to EPCOT. I still had some shopping to do at a huge store there, because our cast holiday discount ended today. I sure will miss that great discount. If you are interested, check out ET tomorrow night, Friday, February 13, (either at 7pm or 8pm) to see the segment about the American Idol experience. It should be great!

Magic Kingdom

We have all become obsessed with finding Hidden Mickeys (hidden images of Mickey found in architecture, attractions, and other things in Disney World). Here is one we found on Splash Mountain. Can you see it? Mickey is laying down in the cloud!

Splash Mountain!

We needed to ride Thunder Mountain Railroad again to give it the stamp of approval.

First time on Thunder Mountain Railroad. Hold onto those ears!

The Dreams show in front of the castle with all of the Disney characters and princesses!

I love this ride!

Katie, Jackie, and I on Winnie the Pooh!

Since I have been visiting EPCOT and Animal Kingdom on my days off and I work in Hollywood Studios, I feel as though I have been neglecting the pinnacle of Disney World, Magic Kingdom. I have also been waiting for a sunny day off so that I could sit by the pool and soak up some rays. During the morning, I layed by the pool with my roommate Jackie until the late morning and then ran some quick errands before getting ready for the day. Before going into the park, Katie, Jackie, and I stopped by a store that we had heard about from other cast members called Cast Connection. It is a huge warehouse full of Disney toys, clothing, figurines, housewares-basically anything Disney. There is also a section of damages and overstocks that contain items that have been slightly damaged or overstocked in the park stores. Most of the time, you can't even figure out why the item is damaged. The great thing about this store is that everything is at least 75% off! Some examples of things I bought-Mickey ears=$0.25 each, houseware cups=$1.50 (usually $10), and a Disney houseware bowl=$3.00. All in all, I ended up spending about $20 and bought 5 Mickey ears, 4 cups, 1 bowl, a few stuffed animals, and a couple other items. I think I have found my new favorite store!

We went into the park after shopping and began with riding Space Mountain. Wait for lines were not long at all. At the maximum, we waited about 20 minutes for a ride. In about 3 hours we rode Space Mountain twice, Thunder Mountain Railroad twice, Splash Mountain once, Winnie the Pooh once, ate dinner, and topped the night off with ice cream. It was such a gorgeous day. I wore shorts and didn't even need a jacket after the sun went down. Yet again, Wishes was beautiful, and I can't wait to share this experience with friends and family that are coming down to visit soon!

Popcorn and a Movie

Ready for the movie to start!

The roommates outside of AMC theater in Downtown Disney

I apologize for not having time to blog yesterday-I got home late from a fun night! I worked in the morning until the afternoon, and spent the majority of the evening running errands. Most of my roommates had the night off and Wednesday off as well, so we decided to make a night of it and go to the movies. We had all been talking about seeing the new movie "He's Just Not that into You" because Katie had read the book. Being a Disney employee has its perks, because we got discounted tickets for the AMC theater in Downtown Disney. We arrived at the movie theater around 9:45pm and got snacks for the show. I have been on this huge popcorn kick lately-I eat it with everything! The movie was absolutely darling, and it really made me miss Joe. I would recommend the show to anyone!