WDWCP: Honorable Mentions

As hard as I tried, I couldn't condense my entire Walt Disney World College Program experience into one month's worth of daily blog posts. But that's good, that means I have many more memories to carry with me in life. I've decided to have this Honorable Mention post... basically some fun photos that weren't shared, and maybe some quick stories to go with them!

Let's start with night 1! Looking at these next two photos you wouldn't probably think this was the night we all arrived. I think the Puerto Rico contingency already had known each other prior to arriving, but I'm not entirely sure. This first photo is a typical example of life with Zaira... she HATED being in photos! This is the work that would go into trying to get her to cooperate. I feel bad because I don't remember the name of the smiling girl, but the guy in the hat is Alejandro, and then my dear David on the far right.

Later that night it was our first almost pajama party. We started out looking like the cool kids that would probably party a lot. Looks can be deceiving! After this mini-party ended David and I spent hours on that couch talking about anything and everything. The start of a beautiful friendship!

Jamie and I unintentionally ended up spending a day at the Disney-MGM Studios with the PR gang... below you will see Juan and David, with Maria and Brenda... Jamie and I being the pale ones. Man, I loved those Winnie the Pooh overalls! This was at the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids playground, another thing that does not exist anymore.

Everybody knows the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, right? That ride is so darn cool, and even better now than when first checked into the Hollywood Tower Hotel. I think it was love at first drop for me with that elevator ride!

We were total tourists on that trip to the Studios, hitting up every photo op. Below you can see us in front of the Great Movie Ride, sadly ANOTHER thing they got rid of. Don't even get me started on that. Okay, so I do think it is cool there will be a Mickey Mouse ride, BUT... this was such a classic that you could always count on being there as your air conditioned break off of your feet. I miss it already and it only just left.

Can we talk about my shoes in that photo above? I freaking LOVED those. And I got them free!!! Remember the Pepsi points you could get from buying Pepsi? Yeah, my awesome Tevas cost me $0.00. I wore those until a dog chewed them up I think.

One of my favorite places to eat in all of Walt Disney World is the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater. I love the atmosphere so much. (I'm not one that picks places based on their menu since I am the world's pickiest eater and I eat off the kids menu.) You eat in cars in the setting of a drive-in theater. Totally cute and I recommend getting some dining reservations if you would like to eat here. During this trip I had my kid's meal and it came in a glow in the dark Frisbee that I of course still have and only just recently (last week) took down and put in a safe box with my other Disney collectibles!

Here we are eating in the car... and we were excited to have one with Oregon plates!

I love me some Muppets, so of course Sarah and I had to get cozy with the cranky old men!

Aww, remember when it was the Disney-MGM Studios?

Do you remember my story of New Year's Eve and waiting backstage? This photo with Bossi is the same place we sat forever just waiting for our bus, which is what we are doing in this photo as well!

This was my favorite part of the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids playground... the sniffing dog nose!

Here we are at Pleasure Island, Jamie and I, with Germane and Gianni - fellow Cast Members from Pecos Bill Cafe

Every. Single. Day. of work.... 3 o'clock... the parade. It started in Frontierland and I swear you wouldn't really need a watch because you could count on hearing "When you wish upon a star" promptly at 3 o'clock for the start of the Remember the Magic parade. I have that entire parade memorized, and even found a mp3 of it online. You'd think I wouldn't want to hear it ever again after this, but no, I love listening to it!

Here's a random shot of a bunch of us from the Frontierland food area. We had some sort of meeting and don't we all look so happy? There are familiar faces here that have been in the blog already. Back row we have Rebecca, Ann-Laure and Christina. The front row we have Erica, Jamie and myself. Holli is in there in her chef jacket as well. She is a fellow Oregonian that I also can't track down anywhere

On Main Street USA you could visit the 25th Anniversary Welcome Center. This is where we would get our buttons and posters that I swear every single apartment in Vista Way had plastered on their walls!

I had no problem going to the parks by myself. I still enjoy alone time with just me and my camera. On the day of the photo below I was just hanging out and getting some photos of friends and the area we spent all of our time in before my program came to an end. I had waited around and spent time with Vinny during his lunch break. As I was leaving, stupid Joe tossed a cigarette at me, which stayed on my back-pack. Fortunately someone else saw and came and flicked it off. So Joe apparently had a crush on me. He told me this one night when he was driving me home. I did not have those same feelings, as obviously Vinny was my main squeeze. I guess this was his childish behavior since I had come to have lunch with Vinny and not him. In my journal I even said that if I see him again he might not be able to ever conceive children after I was done! I did some therapy shopping after this and got myself a cute little Christmas Winnie the Pooh doll, that I nearly lost in the San Francisco airport on my way home.

Check out the train station.... 25 candles!

This is a photo of the Disney University. I have been here many times - for a new ID card, classes, shopping, doing my electives for my Mousters Degree. It was a pretty cool place!

This is another shot of our Traditions group. Where the heck is David?? Maybe he took the photo. Our scavenger hunt started at the Polynesian Resort, which is where this was taken - at the Monorail station to be exact.

Something I have always enjoyed, and not just because it is FREE, is to go resort hopping. Vinny and I did that a lot. It is a cool way to get all the Disney feels without feeling your bank account get smaller and smaller. In these next two silly photos we were at the Wilderness Lodge. I always enjoyed the Wilderness Lodge because it helped me feel I was back home in the Pacific Northwest... if the PNW had insane humidity and tons of tourists in fanny packs and lycra. Oh! That Winnie the Pooh I talked about is in the photo below actually! I got the tiny one, not that really tall one that probably cost more than my frugal ass would spend.

Remember the Masquerade Ball? I'm just adding this photo because we are freaking cute!

Here is my part of Vista Way. My little corner... new stuffed animals, my airplane blanket, the dresser I got my first concussion on, and a No Doubt poster and that 25th Anniversary poster I just mentioned. The other corner had my Romeo & Juliet poster. Who wouldn't want to look at Leonardo DiCaprio every night before bed??

And lastly .... a trip to Typhoon Lagoon with Miss Jamie! In this first photo you can see Miss Tilly (the boat) behind her, and a massive wave about to crush down on Jamie!

This water park has serious waves. I mean look at me?? I shouldn't even share that photo below, but it is so awful that it is hilarious!

Plugging your nose is Key!!!

That poor little girl in that man's arms!! This couldn't have ended pretty! At one point I had an entire person land on me underwater!

And that is it ladies and gentleman! There is only one post left to follow this one, but this really is the end of the stories! I hope you enjoyed them, I enjoyed writing them!

See ya real soon! °o°