Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!!!
I am so very blessed to have friends and family in my life you love and support me. It is very strange that here we are, Christmas Eve, already. For some reason it doesn't feel like Christmas time for me, here in Florida. Maybe it's because I am working, or maybe that it has been so hot the past couple days, that I have been sweating my brains out. Either of those would suffice, but I think the real reason is because I am 2,495 miles away from those whom I love. My life at Walt Disney World has begun to pick up pace, so most of the time I don't realize the empty space in my heart which comes from not being home for the holidays. One very important thing that I have learned, is that one must fully embrace life wherever he or she may be. Since the last time that I wrote a blog post I have kept very busy! I was able to successfully visit all four parks in one day :) 
In the morning I began with my very own park, Disney's Animal Kingdom.
There are about 1,500 animals in the park and DAK is apart of the, "Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Basically that means that DAK is officially considered a zoo. The main attraction in DAK is called, Kilimajaro Safaris. It is an actual safari ride that is so large it can fit all of Magic Kingdom into it, with about 30 acres remaining. I have spoken with guests who have been to Africa and done a real safari and they said Kilimajaro gets pretty close to the real thing! A couple of fun fact, Lions sleep up to 20 hours a day and hippos can out run humans on land.

Next I traveled to Magic Kingdom to get my graduation ears embroidered. Surprisingly, the park was not as busy as I was expecting so, I was also able to meet some of Storybook Circus's star characters. The characters included The Great Goofini, The Astounding Donald, the All Seeing Daisy, and Minnie Magnifique. For those who may not know, Storybook Circus takes the place of what the Disneyland goers know as Toontown.  

After visiting the Magic Kingdom, I traveled to Hollywood Studios. Out of all of the 4 parks, this is the one that I have spent the least amount of time in. I decided that I should go on the ride, "Studio Backlot Tour". It was actually pretty neat. Not as cool as the Universal Studios Backlot tour, but still interesting. My favorite part of the ride was when we drove through a building where all of the Disney costumes are made. Working in that department, must be so awesome!! 

The final park for the day, was Epcot. This very day happened to be beautiful, so I was able to walk from Studios to Epcot. These are the only two parks that have a walking path between them. It is not a short walk, but if the weather allows for it, the walk is very enjoyable. Upon entering Epcot, the timing was perfect, I was able to meet Mary Poppins and Bert! This was part of "limited time magic" because of the movie, Saving Mr. Banks, coming out the same week. Not only did I get to meet the two characters, but I also got a movie poster as well! There is also a group of entertainers that Epcot has near the center of the park during the Holiday Season. The group is called, "Joyful". They are a gospel choir, and all of them are very talented :)

 

In addition to visiting all 4 park in one day, I have visited each park separately as well. One evening I spent a few hours in Magic Kingdom, so that I could see the lighting of Cinderella's Castle before I left Florida. It was truly magical and I was reminded once again why I love Disney! On the same evening I had the chance to meet Tinkerbell and her sister Periwinkle, as well as Princess Tiana and Naveen. 

I have also had the opportunity to meet Christmas Mickey and Minnie in Animal Kingdom as well and Santa Goofy in Disney's Wilderness Lodge. Goofy is my favorite original "Fab 5" character! Before I could even say anything he began to Waltz with me =D It was SO much fun!! 

 

















The same evening that I danced with Santa Goofy, I also closed down Magic Kingdom (1:00 am). Surprisingly, the park ended up being pretty empty, so the lines for everything were very short! I met the Storybook Circus characters again and The Great Goofini proposed to me! lol. Also, that evening I had my very first Disney caramel apple. It was very tasty and very filling. The flavor that I decided upon was apple pie. It was first covered in caramel, then white chocolate, then another half layer of white chocolate with gram-crackers stuck to the outside. Delicious!! Oh, and I cannot forget to mention that I met my boss as well :)

 


















Last but not least, I finally got to meet Belle in Epcot! Last princess to check off my list. She was very nice and even complimented me on my crown :) The same day I met Santa and Mrs. Clause, because what is Christmas without seeing Old Saint Nick? After Epcot I went to Disney's Animal Kingdom and met Rafiki from, The Lion King as well as, Pocahontas and her friend Meeko. Both Rafiki and Meeko were hilarious!

Now that all of you are caught up on my adventures from the past 10 days, I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! In addition to Christmas, tomorrow marks 1 week till my final day of employment at Walt Disney World. This adventure of mine is quickly ending. Though I am miles away from home, being in Florida is incredible and I could not be more thankful that I had this opportunity. 
Blessings to you this Holiday <3