Greetings from Canada! Today’s post comes to you from Barrie, Ontario as I sit roadside with my mom on my way to Camp Wenonah, waiting for CAA to come and change our tire! I cannot believe that I am actually home in Canada and that I have said my goodbyes to the sunshine state and the most magical place on Earth. Sorry that I was MIA this month but let me tell you, it was one of the best months of my life. It was filled with magical moments, endless laughter, friendships, family, smiles and tears. Now I could probably write the next great Canadian novel about everything that has happened this month but I will try to focus on the best parts. So without further adieu, here is a look back on my final month in Walt Disney World.
Going back to the start of the month, on July 5th, Hollywood Studios started a new event, Frozen Summer. Essentially, Frozen took over Hollywood Studios. For this, every morning there is a Royal Precession in which Princesses Ana and Elsa make their way down the main boulevard towards the hat complete with an Arendelle parade. Each night, there is a Frozen dance party followed by a Frozen fireworks display. Disney also opened a Frozen Funland and a Wandering Oaken's Trading Post. At the Trading Post, there is Frozen merchandise, such as plush Olafs, princess dresses and Ana and Elsa dolls. In the Funland, there is a place to build a snowman and AN ICE RINK TO SKATE ON! There is also a sing-along at the premiere theatre with multiple showtimes throughout the day. I was fortunate enough to have the night of the 5th off so got to go to the park on the first day of the event. My roommate Sam and I only saw the fireworks the first night we went, but we went back several more times to ensure we did everything. Did I mention that they also had Frozen themed food? I tried the Olaf carrot cupcake and let me tell you, it was delicious!
The next week was a hard one as ICP goodbyes started. Two of my really good friends at work, Terry and Chalie, who are lifeguards from Thailand were finishing their programs that Friday and another lifeguard, Jo, from the UK was finishing as well. It was horrible having to say goodbye to them but they were all setting off on travels around the USA so I knew they were excited to begin their adventures. Terry had a goodbye brunch at his apartment which I luckily got an invite too. It was not your typical North American brunch! There were burritos, chicken wings, a ground beef/mushroom/onion dish, tacos, sausage and my contribution, Ocean Spray juice. It was really fun, especially when we started playing Heads Up for a little bit. That night after work, I had to say more goodbyes as the POP/ART lifeguards all went out to IHOP to say goodbye to Chalie and Jo. We had a great time eating breakfast at midnight (#tswift) but it was still sad to say goodbye to some really great coworkers and friends.
The weekend of the 13th was a very exciting one for two reasons. Number one, on Sunday night, I went to House of Blues for the first time, which is a bar/restaurant in Downtown Disney that turns into a club on Sunday nights. It is free for cast members over 21 on Sunday nights so everyone goes and us underagers go too, but we have to pay $13. I went with my roommates Mercedes and Sam and their friends Matt and Katie. It was so much fun!! It was one of my first times going out since school ended and I was in desperate need of a night out. House of Blues nights are such a big thing that the bus system even has special buses direct to Downtown Disney on Sunday nights. The only downside to the evening was that it made me wish that I had started going to HOB on Sundays earlier, however my bank account appreciates that I took so long to discover it. The second reason the weekend was so exciting was because the Zuckennedy bunch came to Disney World! My dad, sister, brother, stepmom and two of my three stepbrothers all flew down on Sunday the 13th and spent the week at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort. Originally, I had not planned on staying with them at the resort because I did not get too much time off work and did not want to be inconveniencing them by coming home late at night but I changed my mind, packed up my suitcase and lived the resort life with them for the week. It was one of the best decisions I made all summer. Oh and did I mention I got to be on the Disney Dining Plan for the week? And did I mention I planned out all of my meals and snacks before they got there?
My family and I had a jam-packed week. On Monday, my dad, Connor, Jamie and I went golfing at Lake Buena Vista Golf, the course at Saratoga Springs. I was just a ride along passenger, as I had to go in order to utilize the cast member discount. However, I did play a few holes and always took part in the putting. The golf course was beautiful and it was a lot of fun to drive the golf cart and spend some time with the boys in my family. After our game of golf, we had lunch at the Artist’s Palette (for dessert, I had my first Mickey bar of the summer) and then I headed to work while my family went to Downtown Disney for dinner. After work, I convinced one of the lifeguards to give me a ride back to Saratoga and persuaded him to take me for a McFlurry on the way.
Thursday, we went to EPCOT and I took my family to my favourite spot, Club Cool to try the different sodas. However, they were more excited to go to Starbucks, especially Terri, as Disney and Starbucks are the two loves of her life. All sizes were a valid snack option on the dining plan and I am proud to say that I finished my entire venti iced caramel macciato. Needless to say, I was wired for the rest of the morning. We rode a few rides and had lunch in the Moroccan Pavilion before I had to leave for work. I wish that I could have had more time off with my family but I also wanted to make money. Luckily, I had all day Friday off to spend the entire day at Magic Kingdom with them. We got there pre-park opening to watch the characters arrive on the train and be first in line for Mine Train. My roommate Sam met us at the park for lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern and spent the rest of the day with my family. I guess you can say she substituted for Trevor. She even made it into the family photograph on Splash Mountain, which we rode three times in order to get the perfect photo. In the afternoon, Sam and I went backstage to Cast Connections to buy my sister and Terri pillow pets and to buy everyone a pair of Mickey ears. At CC, ears with embroidery mistakes are sold for $1 per pair, so I came back to the park with an assortment of “mistake” ears for my family. That night, we went to the Polynesian Resort to Luau Cove for the Spirt of Aloha dinner show which was so much fun! I have dreamed about going to the luau since two trips to Disney ago and my wish finally came true! The food was delicious (lots of pineapple, ribs, chicken, fresh salads), the sangria was fantastic and the show was great. There was a fire juggler and legit hula dancers (male and female) and other traditional Hawaiian acts. I even got to go on stage and do some hula dancing! To complete the last night of our family vacation, we went back to Magic Kingdom until the park closed.
I had my last IST for the summer, which was kind of sad. We did the classic CPR relay, played Steal the VAT and reviewed back boarding and spinals. As much as I hated waking up so early for IST (4am) I always had a lot of fun and found them very helpful to making me a better lifeguard. So thank you to all of my coordinators for some great ISTs. After work, I had thought about going to a park or getting some things done but instead, I ended up falling asleep at 7pm, rolled into my bed at 8:30 and not waking up until 5am. Guess I needed to catch up on my beauty sleep. I fell back asleep until 8:30am which enabled me to be well-rested to go to Downtown Disney with Sam and Anne. We went to Earl of Sandwich for lunch where I had the Thanksgiving sandwich (and bought a Coke with my name on it…stupid Coke marketing plot) and then Sam and I did Characters in Flight, a large mock hot air balloon that goes up above Disney property. From up in the air, we could see the EPCOT ball, the Hollywood Studios hat and all the way to the Grand Floridian and Contemporary resorts. The only thing we could not see was Cinderella’s Castle. It was really cool. Was the 10 minute flight worth the $15? Maybe not, but it was still a really neat thing to do.
Wednesday was a very exciting day. My roommates and I went on the Wild Africa Trek at Animal Kingdom and it was UNREAL. My friend Ashley had done it earlier in the summer and had tried to convince me to come but I had originally said no because it was kind of pricey. However, after she told me all about it, I had a change of heart and luckily my roommates agreed to come with me. On the trek, you start by walking on the Pangini Forest Trail and then go on to a private trail to get a close up view of the animals normally seen on the ride Kilimanjario Safari. The first animals we saw were hippos and we got to go out on this ledge and lean over to watch them have a snack. After the hippos, we went out on another ledge to look at some Nile crocodiles and then we walked over these two long bridges that went right over the crocs’ sunbathing spot. We then got a private, more in depth tour of the animals on the savannah before we stopped at a boma to have lunch and look out at the giraffes, elephants, rhinos and flamingos. On the trek, the two guides provided lots of interesting information about the animals. For example, did you know that a hippo can extend its jaw to 140 degrees? And a male has an open jaw span of 5ft meaning that I could walk through its jaw? Also, giraffes apparently only need about 30 minutes of sleep per day so I have decided that I want to become a giraffe. Another neat part of the trek was that the two guides also served as photographers and took souvenir photos of us and the animals throughout the afternoon and the photos were all included in digital form after the trek. The trek was about 3 hours and it was amazing. I learned so much and had such a great time and highly recommend that everyone, especially my fellow cast members go on the trek! You will not regret it.
Thursday, I hung out with another lifeguard from work and checked another item off my Disney bucket list when we went to Be Our Guest for lunch. Be Our Guest is a restaurant in Magic Kingdom that is inside the Beast’s (from Beauty and the Beast) castle. They have a quick service lunch option, which is what we went for. You know in the song when Lumiere sings “Try the grey stuff, it’s delicious, don’t believe me, ask the dishes?” Well, at Be Our Guest, you can try the grey stuff. We had it on top of the Master’s Cupcake. Personally, I was not that impressed, it just tasted like icing to me. I found out later from a coworker on the culinary program that it is icing mixed with oreos to make it grey and a bit sweeter. Maybe mine needed a bit more oreo. We sat inside the Beast’s chamber to eat which was really cool because there was a wilting rose and a portrait of a prince that every few minutes changed into the Beast. So as good as the lunch was, I guess when I go back to Disney World I will have to try the full service dinner.
Friday, Sam and I went to Universal Studios to go to the new Harry Potter World aka Diagon Alley. We got on the very first I-Ride of the day and were in the park by 9am and headed straight for Gringotts. Diagon Alley is so cool - there is an Olivander’s Wand Shop, the Weasley Brother’s Joke Shop, an ice cream parlour, a robe store, a quidditch store, a quill store and a currency exchange. There is also a Leaky Cauldron restaurant and a passageway to Knockturn Alley. The first thing we did was ride the Escape from Gringotts, which was a 3D simulator ride through the bank. It was so cool! The standby line was 210 minutes but we did single rider and only waited an hour. We shopped around in the shops and I got butter beer soft serve ice cream, which was delicious. We rode the other rides in the park, such as Men in Black, Rip Ride Rock It (my favourite of the day), ET, the Mummy and Minion Mayhem. They had a lot of the same rides from the Universal in LA which was kind of cool but they did not have a backstage tour, which was disappointing. We ate at Leaky Cauldron for dinner which was really cool before catching the I-Ride home. I have to say, as much as I loved some of the rides and enjoyed Diagon Alley, I think that I preferred Islands of Adventure. But I would still highly recommend checking both sides of Universal out!
I spent Saturday with a fellow lifeguard, Rogelio who is a part timer that lives here in Florida. He is actually one of the first lifeguards I met at work, solely because he was stuck at the same stand at me during a rain closing my very first night at work. Anyway, he had promised to let me meet his dog and see his campus, which is what we did on Saturday. In the morning though, we had to let his family into Hollywood Studios, so I got to meet his mom, dad, brother and sister. They were so lovely and so excited to be at Disney! I felt bad stealing Rogelio away for the day, but after we let them in, we took the boat over to the Yacht and Beach Club and went to the Captain’s Grill for lunch. Rogelio is not a big Disney fanatic, so it was his first time at the Y&B Club and he had also never been to the Boardwalk so I made him walk with me around the resort area. We then took the boat back to Hollywood Studios and went back to his apartment for a swim. He lives right near the University of Central Florida in affiliated apartments with some of his friends from school and his adorable dachshund puppy, Brody. After we swam, he took me on a campus tour and my oh my is UCF gorgeous! The buildings are pretty, there is a giant fountain, the cafeteria resembles an all inclusive resort buffet and it was just beautiful to walk around. Following our tour, we went back to his place for a bit and then we went to Steak and Shake for dinner (I tried the Birthday Cake milkshake) before he dropped me off at my apartment. It was so different being away from Disney but I had a really great day and would like to send a huge thank you to Rogelio for showing me a part of Orlando that I might not otherwise have gotten to see.
Sunday, my friend from work Alyssa and I went for a pool date at the Patterson pool to catch up and then we went to Starbucks for frappucinos before heading to work for the night. We had to go for a quick jog with our drinks to catch the bus but my green tea frappe was worth the exercise. Monday morning, Anne, Sam and I went to Hollywood Studios to skate at Frozen Funland. I did not know what to expect with the skating and I was certainly not expecting to be given hockey skates to wear! It was so weird not having toe picks! Sam and I must have looked like a couple because we held hands the entire time (for balance). I never thought that I would be able to skate in Walt Disney World but I did and it was awesome. Unfortunately, we only got to skate for half an hour but I loved every minute of it! Now, I want my next job at Disney to be the skate monitor on the rink!
Tuesday was Mercedes’ 21st birthday so she and Sam spent the day at EPCOT and then I met them at Fort Wilderness to go to the Hoop Dee Do Revue, a Southern themed dinner and show. It was awesome, one of the best things I did all summer. The dinner was all-you-can-eat and included cornbread, salad, fried chicken, ribs, mashed potatoes, corn and baked beans with strawberry shortcake for dessert. The drinks were bottomless (lucky Mercedes was finally legal) and the show was hilarious! Mercedes even got a role in the show as the can can dancer, with a costume and a line and everything. The three of us had a great time and the only thing that would have made it more perfect would have been if Anne could have joined us! So thank you Mercedes for letting us help you celebrate your 21st birthday!
Wednesday I had my last shift at work :( :( :( but it was a really great last shift. I was scheduled to start at 6:30am but I was an extra on the schedule, in case someone called out from work but everyone showed up so I had “extra” jobs to do. First, I walked with my coordinator to the arcade and watched him carry money from the backstage area to the arcade. Then I got to ride the bike around to each of the different pools and organize the lifejackets. After that, I had my final evaluation with my manager Robin. I biked over to her office and we talked about my performance over the summer. It was overall very positive and I was given an outstanding rating for teamwork and courtesy. Oh, and I have a positive rehire status for if I ever return to the WDW Company. Robin was like a mom to me this summer so I was very sad to say my final goodbye after our meeting. I guarded for the rest of the day and enjoyed key lime pie and cheesecake on my breaks (thanks to National Cheesecake Day). After work, I returned all of my costumes and said goodbye to Art of Animation. It was a sad day in the life of Erica Zucker.
At midnight that night, I went out to IHOP with a bunch of the lifeguards as an end of program celebration. Two other lifeguards, Jess and Dan were finished too, so it was a bittersweet night for us all. As a treat, I brought a several packs of Smarties with me to share with all those who had never had Smarties before. The boxes were snatched up and eaten before they even hit the table! I want to send a big thank you to everyone who came to our goodbye dinner and send an even bigger thank you to my entire recreation team at Pop and Art. Thank you for letting me be a part of your family for the past three months. I had the absolute best time and would not have been possible without each and every one of the amazing people I had the chance to work with. :) <3 Thanks for everything!
Thursday, there was a big service celebration for anyone ending their Disney program so my roommates and I went together. At the celebration, we got our program completion certificates, our graduation ears, a shadow box and a free lunch. We also got pictures taken at the photo booth with all of the Disney props. Mickey and the gang were at the celebration for photos but the lines were over an hour to wait. Instead, we went back to our apartment to clean and finish packing and then took a taxi to Pop Century where we stayed for the night. We chose to stay in the resort so that we could have a stress-free last night and take the Magical Express to the airport and I am so happy we did that. We got a great deal on the room and had a lot of fun being guests on our last night in Disney. We went to Magic Kingdom after checking into the hotel, where we had our final Disney meal, Anne got a hair wrap and we all watched Wishes for the last time. Main Street was filled with CPs and ICPs wearing their graduation ears and many tears were shed that night. I am glad that I watched the fireworks with my roommates, the girls I started the summer with and the girls I ended the summer with. I could not have asked for a better group of girlfriends.
All in all, it was an absolutely fantastic summer and the only thing I wish I could change would be the fact that I am home right now and not still in Walt Disney World. I learned and grew so much and have returned with memories and friendships that will last a lifetime. Thank you to everyone I met and spent time with this summer - to the early morning times at IST to the late nights watching fireworks in the parks. I will remember every single moment of my time in Disney and cannot wait to return one day! As I have said many times, it will be hard to return to Disney and not have the cast member perks but I have no doubt that I will be back in the future! But now I am off on my next adventures, so Disney - see ya real soon!
All my love, Erica xoxoxoxoxxo
