My First Shift in Magic Kingdom!

     So as a Photopass Cast Member, I have the really neat opportunity to work in every park. Once we're fully trained we're able to pick up shifts everywhere, which is pretty awesome! Last Thursday, I had my first shift in Magic Kingdom and I loved it! I was in Adventureland and Frontierland, mainly with characters. I started my day taking pictures at the exit of Haunted Mansion, which is a pretty fun spot to shoot in. I loved seeing what people did for a scared pose! Some were absolutely fantastic, which definitely made up for those who do nothing or just started walking away.

     After that, I got to hang out with Aladdin and Jasmine for a few hours. It was so much fun! I loved watching them talk to and interact with the guests, especially the little kids. They're always so excited to meet them, it's wonderful! The two of them are also really cute together, and Aladdin is a hoot! He's a huge jokester, and makes silly faces at the camera all the time. So, yup, they were pretty great!

     I also got to hang out with Peter Pan at the very end of my day, and that was probably the most fun! Wendy is currently back in London, so unlike with Aladdin and Jasmine who have each other for banter, Peter mostly bounces ideas off of the photographer and his attendant. Hanging out with him was such a perfect end to a great day!

     My first time picking up a shift in another park was a definite success, and I'm so excited for my next one! Which will actually be today, as I traded for a shift in, again, Magic Kingdom. This time I don't know where I'll be, as this is one of those shifts where I will be wherever in the park they need me. I'm so excited! MK is really exciting purely because it has so much variety, and it's fun being able to see and/or hear the different shows and things going on throughout the day. I love it!

    Thank you so much for reading, and have a magical day!

-Christie

Finally, A Fully Fledged Photopass Photographer!

     Hi everyone! I am so sorry for not posting for so long, but the good news is I'm back now! The first thing I wanted to tell you all about is how WONDERFUL it feels to finally be fully trained! On the 3rd, I had Night and Camera Center training. Both of these occur on the same 8 hour day, with the first half focusing on how to assist Guests in the Camera Center. It's a very exciting place, as not only do we help Guests choose which photos they'd like to print, we also have an array of borders, overlays, and signatures that can be added to (almost) every photo (signatures are only for meet and greet pictures, and must match the character). Besides all of the options available, it can also be challenging to work with Guests who speak a different language. Most of the time it's a fairly relaxed area (that includes air conditioning!!!0), but busy times and language barriers definitely keep me o my toes. I know the skills I adopt to work in those situations will be extremely helpful as a doctor, although the knowledge of how to turn on an iPhone flash in any language probably won't be as useful. Mandarin? Portuguese? Extremely rapid Spanish? No problem!

     The next half of that day is dedicated to learning how to take Night shots. I really enjoy these, mostly because Epcot is just such a beautiful park at night! Spaceship Earth is illuminated with purple and yellow lights, and it always looks amazing! The only thing I don't really enjoy about working in Epcot is that, unlike in Magic Kingdom, we never really get the chance to see any shows (I'm mostly referring to parades and fireworks) while at work. I know that can also be frustrating, because I'm sure there is a limit to the number of times you can watch Wishes and still enjoy it, but I really do wish I had that opportunity too! We do get to see the fountain shows while we're shooting behind Spaceship Earth, but I would love to be able to tell people to wait just one more second, so that way I can capture the fireworks I know are coming behind them.

     A little over a week later, I had Character training! It was so awesome! We started with a presentation about how to photograph Character interactions, and then pretty soon we were actually out in Epcot to practice! We started with Pluto, which was really fun and he is super cute to work with, and then we went to Mexico to take pictures with Donald. Both of them have very entertaining personalities, although while Pluto's leans towards adorkable, Donald is straight up sassy. Which is justified I suppose, since he is #1! Finally, we spent a little bit of time with Mulan and had a great time there. The added challenge with Mulan and other princesses is capturing shots while both the character and the guest have good facial expressions, which can be difficult! The silly faces are definitely fun, although possibly not what people would want to put on the mantle.

     And that was that! As I walked back to my car, I pulled off my Earning My Ears ribbon and now I'm a full, official PhotoPass Cast Member. Yippee!!!

     Thank you so much for reading, and have a magical day!

-Christie

The Making of a Galactic Hero

     So the other day, my friend and I went to the Magic Kingdom after I got off work, and we had a marvelous time! It started out as a beautiful day, but by the time I got off of work it had turned pretty dreary. It was rainy/drizzly, and pretty cold. Not great weather to wander Magic Kingdom in, but it made for some fantastic lines! We went on Space Mountain, Peter Pan, Seven Dwarves Mine Train, Pirates, Tea Cups, and a few others, all with either very little or no wait. We rode Peter Pan as a walk-on, it was awesome! Seven Dwarves, by the way, isn't nearly as fun when there's a cold rain. As quite a bit of it is outside, that basically means you're getting pelted in the face for almost the whole thing. We also went to Princess Fairytale Hall, where we met Elsa, Anna, Cinderella, and my personal favorite, RAPUNZEL!!!

Meeting Rapunzel, my current favorite character!

Wishes, I just love the colors on the castle here!

These bright white ones are my favorite fireworks!

And all our Wishes will come true :)

    Besides those rides, we also took at least 5 rides on Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin! The goal, of course, was to reach Galactic Hero status. And on our second to last ride, I did it!!! I am officially a Galactic Hero!!! And as of this point, I'm a Galactic Hero three times over. My roommate and one of my neighbors and I all went to Magic Kingdom the other night, and I reached 999,999 two more times :) So, I now feel like an accomplished human being and I think that's the second thing I'm crossing off my bucket list! The first, of course, was watching Wishes and Illuminations in the same night.

Officially a Galactic Hero! I'm probably a little more proud than I should be, but it was pretty fantastic!

     Thank you so much for reading, and have a magical day!

-Christie

The Details of PhotoPass!

     I know it's been a while since my last post, and for that I do apologize. I've been a little busy! Usually when I get home from work I have a million other things on my mind, and usually my roommate and I will watch a movie, or we'll go hang out at the parks, or do something else fun. Today was my 5th day of working alone, and I am absolutely loving it! I adore how much guest interaction I have, and the relative independence. I also really enjoy that we are obviously there for the guests, as we are expected to take as many pictures as we can, with the hope that our guests will buy them, but if people want me to only use their camera or phone, that's totally fine too. I'm also fairly certain that tour guide should become an official part of the role description, because since we're out in the field directly interacting with guests, we spend a lot of time directing people to wherever it is they want to go. So yeah, PhotoPass pretty much rocks!

     For future DCPer's or anyone who is curious, I also wanted to talk a little bit about the training process for PhotoPass. Since it is a lot of information to absorb, our training takes about a month. First, we learn how to use the cameras in general, and more specifically how to shoot Icons. Icons are basically things that in some way represent the park or an area of it, or as I like to call them, "things guests commonly stand in front of for pictures." In EPCOT, our main Icon is, of course, Spaceship Earth. However, we also shoot at other locations around the park too, such as in front of Nemo's Garden and on the International Gateway bridge with the Eiffel Tower in the background. After a week or two of shooting Icons, we then receive Night and View training. With this, we can work in the Camera Centers of the various parks, as well as, you guessed it, take night shots! I'm actually really excited for this one, I haven't been a fan of waking up early and I am certainly over having to wear so much sunblock! A week or two after Night and View training, we move on to Character training, which I think I'm the most excited for. I can't wait to capture those moments for the guests that I have the opportunity to meet!

     So overall, PhotoPass is amazing, and I really do think that it's one of the best roles I could have gotten. I am in love with it. I've taken pictures of babies (and gotten them to smile!), families, couples who just got married or just got engaged, and even a few Make A Wish kids. This weekend, I've had a ton of runners due to the Princess Half Marathon. I even got to watch some of them this morning as I walked in, and they were so inspiring and had the best outfits! On my very first day of on location training, I had one of the most magical moments I'll probably experience, when I got a perfect picture of a Make A Wish child. I also get hugs from small children every so often, which is pretty sweet! The other day, I told a family, "All right guys, now give me a big hug!" and the kids apparently thought I meant for them to come and give me a hug, not that I meant for the whole family to hug. So they dashed at me, and hugged me. It was awesome! PhotoPass definitely isn't easy, and there are moments where it can be frustrating. But rather than bad days, I think there are just some that aren't quite as fun as others.

     As always, thank you so much for reading my blog! Have a magical day!

-Christie

More Fun Times Before Real Works Begins!

     Hold on tight, guys. This is going to be one long post! On Sunday, I went to Downtown Disney with a friend to take advantage of our holiday discount before it's over. We had a great time, and I got to go to Earl of Sandwich! I absolutely love that place, they make such good sandwiches! Parking there is an absolute mess right now, but Disney is working hard to make it better and the new parking garage is beautiful. After DTD we parted ways as she had to get to work, and I headed to Epcot. It was already pretty late when I got there, but I still got to go on most of my favorites! I rode Nemo, Soarin', and Spaceship Earth, and beyond that I just wandered around both Future World and World Showcase. While in World Showcase, I also found a good spot and watched Illuminations again! After that, I went home and went to bed, ready for another day of fun in the parks on Monday!

Spaceship Earth is so beautiful at night!

Illuminations, from a much better vantage point!

     On Monday, I went to Hollywood Studios as I continued my park-a-day adventure. Although a little eventful, it was still wonderful. I went on basically everything, except Midway Mania because the line is somehow always ridiculous! I'm going to have to get there right at opening or have a Fastpass for it. I also skipped Rockin' Roller Coaster, because the line was just too long. The first thing I did was go on Tower of Terror, which was totally awesome! It's the only ride that still makes me nervous, I love it! After that, I saw the Beauty and the Beast show, which is fantastic. They manage to include all of the major songs and everything! Right after Beauty and the Beast, I walked out of the theater to find that the nice, sunny day was gone, and suddenly it was gray skies and cold rain. Of course, I managed to forget my coat, so I ran into the closest store and bought a poncho. I would've waited it out, but I could just tell that it was the kind of rain that comes and stays for a while. Besides Tower, which I also rode again later, I also went on Star Tours I love how they've added other storylines, so it's a different ride every time. The Great Movie Ride was also a lot of fun! Before leaving, I also took the time to go through One Man's Dream and watch the show, it's a really interesting exhibit. I really enjoyed the opportunity to learn more about Walt and the making of Mickey and the gang, and how one small idea led to all of this. After that, I headed home with the intention of getting to bed early enough to get to Magic Kingdom early the next day!

The remains of the hat. Although huge, I still loved seeing it and I'm very curious what the main icon will be now.

The Tower of Terror! Such a fantastic ride!!!

This ride terrified me when I was little. I blame you, Dad :) Great theming though!

     Although I got to bed at a decent time, I still didn't make it into Magic Kingdom as early as I'd hoped. I explored alone for a little while, but unfortunately it was an incredibly crowded which I wasn't expecting at all, since the crowd projection wasn't too bad. I went to Monsters, which is always a joy, then met up with some friends. Right after getting together, we decided to head out of Magic Kingdom because all of the lines were just too long. So, we caught a bus over to Animal Kingdom and played around there for a little while, as it was the exact opposite of Magic Kingdom. The waits for both Kilamanjaro and Everest were less than 20 minutes, it was amazing! At least with Everest, it almost felt too short. I've always loved looking at all of the details in the queue itself, it's amazing how dedicated the Imagineers were to portraying the Himalayas in an accurate manner.

I've always loved the okapis, they're just the coolest animals!

The big male elephant along the Kilamanjaro trail!

And the rhinos, of course! The name white rhino is actually from a faulty translation, which I thought was pretty interesting.

     After Kilamanjaro, we went to Hollywood Studios for a little while where we had an awesome time! The lines were also incredibly short there, except for the usuals... Toy Story and Rockin' Roller Coaster, which were both crazy. We went on the single rider line for Rockin', and unfortunately it also took forever. But, it was totally worth it! It always feels a little too short, but it's definitely still a great ride. Finally, we went on the hunt for a cream cheese pretzel (we were foiled in that plan), and along the way managed to find Cinderella's carriage for the new film! Which inspired us to watch the preview for it, and it was  excellent! I'm so much more excited to see the movie now, it looks like it'll be pretty good!

Cinderella's carriage! It is absolutely gorgeous!

    Finally, we headed back to Magic Kingdom so that my friends could head home, as they were feeling pretty tired. I stayed for a while longer because I really wanted to ride Seven Dwarves Mine Train, and I was hoping that waiting until during Wishes or something would be helpful. Sadly, it's still new enough that that doesn't help very much. I did end up biting the bullet and braving the wait, and although it took about an hour it was a really great ride! It still felt a little short, but overall it's well done and beautifully designed. And, a lot of fun! When I got off, I noticed that the line didn't look nearly as long, so I rode it again. I sat next to a lady who talked to me the whole ride the first time, which was nice but a little frustrating, so this time I was by myself and I enjoyed it quite a bit more! Besides Seven Dwarves, I also rode Space Mountain and Big Thunder with nice, short waits.

And of course, it seems right to end with a picture of the castle :)

     Overall, it was a fantastic four days of playing in the parks! I've been training and working ever since, which I'll write more about in my next post. Thank you for reading, and have a magical day!

-Christie

A Wonderful Day at Animal Kingdom!

     So after heading to Vista and getting my account on the Hub all ready, I headed over to Animal Kingdom for a few hours! It is such an amazing feeling to be so relaxed in the parks, knowing that I can come back any time. There's no rush, I can wander and explore and it's totally fine! With the new events and attractions coming to Animal Kingdom, there's currently quite a few construction walls up. I can't wait to see everything when it's done! Although I didn't realize it at the time, apparently the area right in front of the Tree of Life recently had some construction walls go down and now it's a perfect spot for pictures! So, of course, I had to stop and ask a fellow Photopass cast member to take mine!

The Tree of Life!

     Afterwards, I headed over to Expedition Everest, which is one of my favorite rides! The theming is so incredibly impressive, and the coaster itself is fantastic. After that, I wandered around the Maharajah Jungle Trek. With such a bright, sunny day, it was fantastic for taking photos. And, as always, the exhibits are phenomenal! The habitats themselves are always so beautifully maintained, and the animals appear very healthy. The paths around and the various murals and things are also totally amazing, and as far as I know they follow the local art.

I was so intrigued by the neck of this lizard! It's so incredibly long, but you know it has the same number of vertebrae as other reptiles.

Beautiful habitat, and one very healthy-looking tiger!

 

The Maharajah Jungle Trek has amazing murals along the way!

     One of my goals for yesterday was also to see the Festival of the Lion King, since I've heard so much about it! It was so cool!!! I'm absolutely amazed by how realistic Simba, Pumba, and the giraffe and elephant are. Especially Simba, he lifts his front legs to dance and everything! My favorite part was the monkeys, I loved watching all of their acrobatic tricks. I wish I could be that talented! If you go to Animal Kingdom, absolutely make some time to go see the show. It's worth every second!

Festival of the Lion King!

I loved the look on the stilt walkers face! I would love to learn how to use those, it looks so fun!

     I also wanted to go and see Finding Nemo, the Musical. I love the song Just Keep Swimming, and last time I saw it was a while ago. The musical was fantastic! The songs themselves are great, and the way they perform the show is really creative, I especially love how Dory seems to interact with her actress along the way, and I was blown away by the different sets and things. Nigel especially is quite cool. I couldn't get any good pictures during the show, so I guess you'll have to come and see it for yourself!

 

Finding Nemo, the Musical! Such a great show!

     After Finding Nemo, I went on the Primeval Whirl and took a spin on DINOSAUR. Then I headed out of the park, stopping along the way to get some souvenirs, and went home. Today I'm planning to do some shopping and go to Epcot, so I'll post that update sometime soon! It's still so cool to think of Epcot as my new home, I know it'll be long hours and all but I'm so excited to really start working! Not that I'm wishing away this time, at all. It's pretty awesome to have some time to play! Thank you for reading, and have a magical day!

-Christie

Setting Up An Account on The Hub

     Yesterday morning I set up my account on the Hub, which is Disney's main website for various cast member things. I mainly wanted to get this done in order to change my address to that of my apartment at the Commons so that my Main Entrance passes will get sent to the right place! Setting it up is normally pretty easy but for some reason the computer gave me a little trouble. I went over to the Learning Center at Vista (it's in the clubhouse) to get it all done, and they're very helpful! They'll walk you through the whole process.

     I also wanted to set it up as soon as possible in order to request days off in March for a medical school event, and to see my family. The earlier you request days off, the better, so I'm crossing my fingers that those will come through! Thanks for reading, and have a magical day!

-Christie

Welcome to Operations, and Specifically Entertainment!

     This morning, I again woke up at the crack of dawn, but this time to head to Operations! This day of training is the same for all roles in the beginning, but how long it lasts depends on which division of Operations you fall under. Photopass is Entertainment, so I attended Operations this morning and Welcome to Entertainment this afternoon. Operations gives the in-depth coverage of the Disney beliefs regarding safety, courtesy, show, and efficiency. It's a little long, but the information is pretty important. The main focus here is safety, which I really appreciated. It's wonderful to work for a company who puts so much effort into ensuring the safety of both cast members and guests! After a few hours of this, we had a nice lunch break (bring food or money), then dived right in to learning about Entertainment! This part of the training was an absolute blast! I loved pretty much all of it. If you have the good fortune to be in the Entertainment wing of Operations, get ready, because I don't know how they could make a training more fun!

     After my training was over, all eight and a half hours of it, a friend and I picked up our costumes! The costume for Photopass is not exactly flattering, but I'm pretty happy with it overall! I especially love our vests! Finding the right size in a costume can be a bit of a challenge, so  it's best to assume that you'll need a little extra time to find everything, and get all of the correct sizes. Make sure to try the whole costume on, to be sure that it's just right!

     I magically have the next 4 days off before starting my role-specific training, so my current plan is to do a park a day! Tomorrow, I'm headed off to Animal Kingdom. I can't wait! Thanks for reading, and have a magical day!

-Christie

Tradtions and Fun Times at Magic Kingdom!

     So although I actually had Traditions yesterday, I was incredibly tired after all the events from yesterday, and I had to get up incredibly early this morning for Operations and Entertainment training, so I am a little delayed. But, it's all good! Traditions itself was wonderful! I was a little nervous when I woke up to pouring rain, but cleared up decently well by the time we got there. My class took four and a half hours, but I've heard it can take much longer (up to 8 hours!), so be prepared to bring food. There are several surprises along the way as well, so make sure to wear shoes that look professional, but are also comfortable to walk in. The main point of Traditions is to introduce new cast members to the Disney way of doing things, which emphasizes safety, courtesy, show, and efficiency, in that order. Disney really wants all cast members to understand and be comfortable with these concepts, and how they apply to every role. There is also a pretty good amount of other, more general information. For future DCPer's, make sure to participate! Answering various questions, from trivia to general interest and understanding, can earn you prizes. Today is also the day that you will be able to enter the parks (for free!). Enjoy!

Disney University, where Traditions and Welcome to Operations are held, among other things!

Participation awards and MY NAMETAG!!!

     After Traditions, I ran home and changed out of my business casual clothes, then headed over to join some of my friends at the Magic Kingdom. It was an awesome afternoon/evening!!! The very first thing we did was watch the Festival of Fantasy parade, which is marvelous! It's very upbeat and happy, and I was excited to see the Beauty and the Beast and Tangled floats! It's colorful, engaging, and has great music. After, we rode Big Thunder, It's A Small World, Buzz, Haunted Mansion, and a few others. Splash had almost no wait, but it was still a little chilly so I'll save that one for a sunny day. Unfortunately, I haven't gotten the chance to ride the new Seven Dwarves Mine Train yet, so I'll save that for next time! Finally, we watched the Main Street Electrical parade, then found a great spot for Celebrate the Magic/Wishes. Celebrate the Magic was awesome, and it was fun to see that it's changed slightly since the last time I went to Disney! Wishes was, as always, fantastic! It evokes such nostalgia and happiness for me, I love it!

Beauty and the Beast on Festival of Fantasy!

Rapunzel and her frying pan, with Maximus and Flynn in view as well!

Maleficent making her way through the parade. I loved the creativity of this float!

And, last but certainly not least, the boss himself!

The Main Street Electrical parade!

     After Wishes, we headed out of the park and I hopped on the monorail to get to the TTC, and then connect through to Epcot. Just for future reference, for myself and others, there is no direct monorail or bus between Epcot and the Magic Kingdom. Oops! Parking at Epcot turned out to be a great decision though, because I was able to run in for the start of Illuminations! I missed the first few minutes, but I'm still crossing off my bucket list that I watched Illuminations and Wishes in the same night! It was really fun to see Epcot as my new home, as well!

And all our wishes...

...will come true!

 

The beginning (ish) of Illuminations!

Illuminations and Wishes, in one night!

     So, overall, a pretty great day! I experienced Traditions (at last), and went to both the Magic Kingdom and Epcot. Thank you for reading, and have a magical day!

-Christie

 

Housing Meeting and a Day Trip to Universal, Oh My!

     Yesterday afternoon I went to the Housing meeting, which is basically just a way for Disney to inform you of what you can and can't do. It can get a little slow, but they really tried to make it fun! Overall, it wasn't too bad. For them, the main emphasis is safety, as they would like for you to return home at the end of the program in your original upright position. As I can't get in the parks yet (for free, anyways), after I hung out with a friend and then went to buy some essential pieces of my costume. Photopass requires all white shoes, and even though most roles seem to use black shoes or something extra special, the outlet malls across from the Commons still didn't have any white shoes in my size! So, I drove over to a different Famous Footwear and grabbed some, and since I was already out I stopped at a Walmart along the way and also got my ankle-length white socks and a watch with a black wristband. Sadly, a purple watch doesn't quite fit the Disney look! For any future DCPer's, only buy your shoes ahead of time if you know exactly what kind you need. For some roles, they provide shoes, and in others you'll need very specific ones. I'm looking at you, hiking boots at Animal Kingdom. For watches, you want one that looks professional with a black or brown band.

My new white shoes! They might need some white-out for the silver around the New Balance logo, but hopefully not.

     Today I had absolutely no responsibilities, so my friend and I went to Universal! It was wonderful, and we had a great time! We started with Islands of Adventure, where we rode Hulk and Spiderman, then we apparated over to the Wizarding World. We had the fantastic luck to get placed in the same bench from the single rider line, and after that we took a spin on both the Chinese Fireball and the Hungarian Horntail at the Dragon's Challenge. From there, we rode the Hogwart's Express to London.

The Hogwarts Express, pulling into the station!

     After food, we escaped from Gringotts and spent some time wandering Diagon Alley and taking pictures. We also rode the Transformers ride, Revenge of the Mummy, and Rip Ride Rockit. In the middle of Transformers, the soundtrack for the ride actually went out, which was a pretty funny experience! It was also very interesting, because I think we missed a critical point in the plot. However, it just means that we're going to have to go back sometime soon.

The Knight Bus!

My favorite Simpsons intro ever!

So excited to officially work for Disney TOMORROW! Yes, I know this is from that other park, but it does seem appropriate.

     Tomorrow morning I finally get to experience Traditions, at which point I will officially be a cast member and be able to get in the parks for free. Yay! Thank you for reading, and have a magical day!

-Christie

Check In At Last!

     Finally, after months and weeks of waiting, I am all checked in for the College Program! After waking up bright and very, very early at 6am this morning, I said goodbye and "See Ya' Real Soon!" to my mom and drove from Kidani over to Vista Way. It seems surreal that just last night my mom and I rode the monorail, explored the Polynesian, and ate at Ohana (yum!). Which, by the way, is a totally delicious restaurant. Everything has a very sweet flavor, and it is fantastic. Ohana also has a really neat view, as you can see both Wishes and the Electric Water Parade. They bring in the music from Wishes, and it is an amazing experience.

Looking out over the savannah at Kidani!

     So back to check in! For me at least, the process was painless and very speedy. The first thing you find out is your apartment information, and I am staying in a 1 bedroom with 3 people at the Commons. That's right, we have a bunk bed. And I'm the top bunk. It was a bit of a struggle to make my bed, but it all worked out. Fortunately, it's pretty nice to only share a fridge with 3 people. My roommates seem really sweet and I am excited to get to know them better! After learning about the apartment, I was finally told my location. Drumroll please... I will be a Photopass Photographer at Epcot!!! I am very happy about this, and I can't wait to find the best spots for pictures around the World Showcase. I'm guessing that by the end of my program, I'll know Illuminations inside out and backwards. The rest of check in is mostly focused on going over other information, such as when and where Traditions and the Housing meeting are, and filling out paperwork, such as the I-9.

My new home!

     I ended up having Casting right after check in, so I grabbed a banana (they provide very small snacks. I would bring some of your own, just in case) and headed over to the bus. The bus is actually a pretty fun experience, and our chaperone made it extra awesome! She had a great sense of humor, and kept up a running commentary, including corny Disney jokes, for the majority of the ride. We got on to "This Is What Dreams Are Made Of" from the Lizzie Mcguire movie, which seemed incredibly appropriate. Casting is just a hop, skip, and a jump away, so in no time at all we were there!

The famous Casting building!

The Alice in Wonderland doorknobs, they're quite cool!

So beautiful! These are the statues you see when you first walk in.

     The Casting building is pretty cool from the outside and all business on the inside. It's not an extraordinarily exciting experience, as it's mainly about completing the I-9 form and getting background check and fingerprint information, among other things. All told, it took me under 2 hours to get through. However, it can take much, much longer. I was the second group of the day to go to Casting, and I sat in the very front of the bus, so I think all of that helped a lot. However, my roommate took 5 hours to get through everything. So the lesson here is, bring snacks!

     Tomorrow I have the Housing meeting, and on Thursday I get to experience Traditions :) I start officially training for Photopass next week, yay! I'll be sure to add more as the adventure unfolds! Thank you for reading, and have a magical day!

My schedule for the next few days, and important documents! Along with my Program Guide :)

-Christie

Exploring Universal, Day 2!

     This morning both Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure had early entry, so we took advantage of that to run to Forbidden Journey and ride it again today! We then rode both the Chinese Fireball and the Hungarian Horntail on Dragon's Challenge, which I think is the most underappreciated ride at Universal. Both tracks are great, with plenty of speed, twists, and turns! The Hungarian Horntail (formerly known as Ice, from when the ride was called Dueling Dragons) is my personal favorite, as I prefer corkscrews and loops. Inversions are friends, not scary :) Fun fact: The queue for Dragon's Challenge has some excellent spots to take pictures of Hogwarts!

In the queue for Dragon's Challenge, a perfect spot to make some memories!

Again, what a great view!

     Next up was Jurassic Park, and my mom and I both got a little wet. Basically, by 9 in the morning, my hair was totally ruined. It was pretty fun though, and I like how solid the storyline is. Next up was Marvel Super Hero Island, which is always a blast. Spiderman and Hulk were AWESOME as usual (Hulk is my favorite coaster), and Dr. Doom's Fear Fall was really fun and surprisingly gentle. The view from the top is quite spectacular. Finally, my mom and I were pretty hungry, and we'd been looking forward to Three Broomsticks! I love their chicken, and the roasted potatoes were delicious. After food, we hopped back on the Hogwarts Express for a quick and fantastic ride to Diagon Alley. It was really neat to see it again today, as it's so much easier to take in more detail the second time around. Our compartment buddies were also pretty cool.

Gringotts, the safest place on Earth... except for Hogwarts!

     Once back in Diagon Alley, we waited for a few minutes to get a picture of the dragon spitting fire. Listen for the growl, that's how you know the fire is imminent! The line for Gringotts was decently long, so we went for the Single Rider line this time around. I would absolutely suggest going through the main queue the first time, as you don't get the same story development in the Single Rider line. Just like with the Hogwarts Express, Gringotts is also a good one to ride multiple times! After that, we finally tried Butterbeer ice cream! It wasn't what I was expecting, but it was still delicious. Next time, I want to try the Strawberry and Peanut Butter!

Butterbeer ice cream, yum!

     We just couldn't resist going on Mummy and Rip Ride Rockit again, so we headed in that direction. Mummy was great, and then on the way to Rip Ride Rockit we passed the entrance for the Harry Potter Expo, so we decided to go inside! For the weekend Celebration they're doing various events and things that require a separate ticket, but getting into the Expo is open to all guests. Inside, we saw some of the props from the movies, such as all 6 of the intentional Horcruxes and Harry's outfit from the Chamber of Secrets. It was a neat experience, and we didn't stay long but I enjoyed stopping in to see it. Rip Ride Rockit was also great, and my only advice here is to make sure you choose a fun, fast song!

I never thought I'd stand this close to the sword of Gryffindor

The rest of the intentional Horcruxes

Harry's outfit from the Chamber of Secrets. It got a little messy!

     Finally, we went to the Horror Makeup Show, which was hilarious! Our last stop of the day was at Guest Relations, where I officially became an Annual Passholder. Overall, it was a great day at Universal. That's all for now, thank you for reading and have a magical day!

-Christie