Over Halfway!

Hello Everyone :)
So today as I was looking at the calendar I noticed that I am over halfway done with my Disney College Program! It was a very sad realization. I have been here in Florida for 2 months and 20 days and I move back in 2 months and 9 days. It is the weirdest thing that I will be leaving what feels like so soon. I hope that the rest of my time here is as magical as the first part.

It is a wonderful experience to be a part of the DCP. I am incredibly busy still, but I think that that is a good thing. I work on average 30 hours a week and I am still taking the three classes that I think I have talked about before.

Last week in Heritage we took a field trip to Magic Kingdom to talk about how the Company went from Disneyland to Phase I of the Florida Project: Magic Kingdom. It was a very awesome field trip. The teacher made a point to talk about a whole bunch of the little accents around the park that are actually really instrumental to the Disney Heritage. For example: How Roy and Walt's statues are the same and different (they were sculpted by the same gentleman, but have very different postures. Walt is standing and looking out in the Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow because he was the Visionary of the duo. Roy is seated and his hand is supporting Minnie's. He was the financial support of the duo and the one more grounded in the realities that they brothers faced), the different windows and their meanings, some of the hidden mickeys and why they are there (the why is the same for all of them. Imagineers couldn't really sign a building or an attraction that they worked on, so they create the hidden Mickeys as their way of being able to point out their contribution to that aspect of the parks and resorts. Mickeys can be found all over- I'll post a picture at the end of the Steamboat Willie Mickey outside of the new Journey Under the Sea with the Little Mermaid ride! It's the coolest thing ever!), and I now know where the Castle Suite is inside Cinderella's castle! It was a very fun class.

This week in Heritage, we talked about Phase II of the Florida Project- EPCOT. It was beautiful to see all of the things that went into planning the park where I work almost everyday! The buildings of the World Showcase were beautiful even half finished! I loved it! Also, the dedication ceremonies were something to behold. What. An. Event!! haha :)

My Experiential Learning class is still going well. We are working on a group project now about how different companies are Learning Organizations. It should be a pretty fun time. I'm looking forward to talking about it and hope that my group mates are as excited as I am. It's weird to have homework for a Disney class, but it is on the more fun side of homework. It could be worse :P

Last but not least, my Truman Internship credit class is going well. I am now done reading the background sources for the presentation, I just have to decide how to fit it all together and what I want to add to the discussion! Yikes! But, I think, still manageable :) I'll let you all know if I find something riveting. So far, it's a little sad. A lot of sources about Disney are quite mean about the whole company and Walt and so that's rough to read. But, it's a good start to a discussion, I suppose :)

I just signed up for my classes at Truman next semester (which is what prompted my look at the calendar). I currently have 13 credit hours and am deciding between the last two classes to see which I would prefer. I've sent an email to one of the teachers and am hoping that they can help me get into the one that I'd like. We shall see! But so far, my schedule is delectable. I am pretty excited (although I am still unsure how I feel about leaving Florida).

For my friends in Missouri (which I bet is a majority of my readers), I hope the weather isn't too harsh there. I've heard scary stories of tornados and like 50s for temperature. I am so used to it being 70 all night and 85 tops during the day that it will be a rough transition in January. I'm a little worried, actually. But it's something I can work with :) I can't wait to see all of you again. I miss swing dancing, too, so that'll be great when I get back.

I love you all :)
Hope you're all well.
Shoot me a text or something if you think about it.
No, I don't have Ebola yet. Don't worry.
TTFN! (Ta Ta For Now!)
Have a Magical Day!

(Be on the lookout for pictures from Mom's visit soon!! Or remind me to do that if you don't see them)

Mom's Visit- IllumiNations!!

The last thing we did together on Sunday was go back to EPCOT for IllumiNations! I love that show! The crazy thing is that as I upload these pictures, I know exactly what part of the show it is! :)

Here is where I live, by the way! 

IllumiNations! <3

Look who was off of work in time for the show :)

This is where I work, by the way :)

Have a Magical Day! :)

Mom's Visit- DHS

So, then, on the third day we had together, we spent the morning at Disney's Hollywood Studios (DHS). We did a couple of the rides, The Great Movie Ride and a couple of the shows, MuppetVision, the Little Mermaid, and the Beauty and the Beast! We thought about coming back that evening for Fantasmic, but ended up not finishing dinner in time. Instead, we went to see Illuminations at EPCOT (Those pictures are on a different post). 

Here are our pictures from DHS: :)

The beloved Sorcerer's Hat! :) Take a good look now! 

Part of the MuppetVision 3D Props!

Look! Katie in Nature! (Part of the Indiana Jones queue line)

Great Movie Ride Queue line

The Family at the Hat! 

The Beauty and the Beast musical :)

After that, we left DHS. It was nap time for me, having worked til almost 1AM the night before. Mom and my Grandparents just hung out and/or napped, I'm not terribly sure. Then, we went to dinner! :) Have a Magical Day! 

Mom's Visit- DAK

After Breakfast at the Grand Floridian, we went to Disney's Animal Kingdom (or DAK) to play around! We did the Kilimanjaro Safari, saw the Lion King musical show and the Finding Nemo musical! It was a pretty chill day, but still plenty of fun! We did all the things we wanted to do at DAK in time for me to be able to leave for work that night!

Main Entrance to DAK!

Mom with a water feature :P Surprise, Surprise! :)

The famed Animal Kingdom Tree of Life! It's undergoing major renovation right now (see the gates in front of it?) They (the Imagineers) are replacing every single leaf with an LED light. Rumors of a night time show coming to DAK are abound, but no official word on the theme! 

Kilimanjaro Safari Tour animal pictures! 

The Lion King Musical Show! We were shown clips of this during our training days. It was incredibly emotional to see it in person after seeing what we did at training. Really Beautiful show. :)

Look! Simba!

Me and Pumba! 

Selfie with the King! 

Selfie with Pumba... blurry though! :( lol

...self explanatory, I believe. 

Just like the actors, after this show, I had to bow out! I headed to work (park clear that night. I park cleared for like two or three weeks after that. What an adventure!) Mom and my grandparents just went back to the hotel and played cards and took a nap. Have a Magical Day everyone!