T-Rex Downtown Disney Review...

On our last trip Monika begged me to give T-Rex a shot for a late lunch. I thought it was a place for just kids but I was wrong. We were a walk-in reservation. We ordered 2 beers & they came to us in these huge frozen goblets!  The bar area was really cool with a rather large aquarium. We ate in the main dining area & there was an awesome ice cave room behind us. Every so often the mechanical dinosaurs would go off & the ice room would "shake" & light up. It was pretty cool!

I did not expect to find my favorite beer here plus in a HUGE goblet!

I got the chicken fried steak which was awesome while Monika got a burger. I wasn't expecting much but it was really good as was hers! It is very loud in the restaurant & some of the booths are next to the dinosaurs so beware of that if you have smaller children who would be afraid. Overall we loved it & would definitely go back!

So, what about Shanghai?

They haven't even finished Shanghai's Disneyland, but it appears that the Haunted Mansion hasn't been placed anywhere yet.  That was the same situation for Hong Kong's Disneyland, but it is now established that Mystic Manor will be placed in Mystic Point (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystic_Manor_%28Hong_Kong_Disneyland%29).  That continues the tradition of placing a Haunted Mansion-type attraction in a different area in every Disneyland/Magic Kingdom.

Disneyland - New Orleans Square

Magic Kingdom (WDW) - Liberty Square

Tokyo - Fantasyland

Paris - Frontierland

Hong Kong - Mystic Point

So, what about Shanghai?  Shanghai's Disneyland Park has some interesting departures from the design of other parks as noted at Screamscape (http://www.screamscape.com/html/shanghai_disneyland.htm).  Currently, the bits and pieces show Main Street is Mickey Avenue and Fantasyland, Tomorrowland and Adventureland are there though the latter two are in a reversed orientation with respect to their relative placement in other parks.  There is also an open "green area."  Screamscape also reported a "Toy Story Playland."  If anyone can resolve the more writing on the map (or read Chinese) be my guest (http://www.screamscape.com/html/shanghaidl_1.htm)

If one had to place a Haunted Mansion within the park without constructing an additional land, what's available and what's probable?  Fantasyland would duplicate Tokyo.  None of the other lands exist in the current configuration.  At present, that leaves Mickey Avenue, Tomorrowland, Adventureland and Toy Story Playland.  Mickey Avenue does not appear to have a location where the large show building could be placed and themed.  Toy Story Playland appears to be specifically themed in much the same way Cars Land is dedicated at Disney California Adventure.

We're left with Tomorrowland and Adventureland.  So, let's Blue Sky those.  

Tomorrowland could have a Haunted Station which has been taken over by scary extraterrestrials.  Space ghosts?  Disneyland has a "Ghost Galaxy" overlay at Halloween, so it's not unprecedented.  I do like the idea of redoing the three hitchhiking ghosts at the end.  They could be little blue holograms of Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Yoda trying to get back Star Tours.  I'm sure George Lucas will sign another licensing agreement, right?  

Adventureland could have a Haunted Temple.  Maybe it's an ancient tomb that's been found by explorers who released some ancient evil.  The precedent for that is the Temple of the Forbidden Eye at Disneyland.  I'm sure Spielberg will sign another licensing agreement, right?

- Jeff C.

The Top Ten Questions Cast Member Questions...

When people find out that I used to be a CM they tend to ask me a lot of questions. Be it co-workers or just random strangers. I thought I'd do a Q&A section of those questions. :)

1) Do you still get a discount? -Unfortunately no. All of my friends have moved on from working for the mouse. :) 

2) Did you ever get to see the tunnels? -Yes, I worked at MK & got to walk in them ever day. :) 

3) Are there tunnels under Epcot?- I know Epcot has a small tunnel underground one part of that park that I saw before but only once. :) 

4) Did you ever get homesick?- Working at WDW was actually my first time away from home. My mom used to mail me letters & boxes with mac & cheese,peanut butter,Captain Crunch etc... Whenever I felt homesick I would go to MK & ride Space Mt. then go see Mickey & that always cheered me up immediately! :)

5) Did you ever interact with adult guests at WDW? Some new guy at work asked me this & it confused me. Yes, WDW is for kids but a lot of adult guests go there w/o children as well. Of course I interacted with everyone be it child or adult. I loved meeting people from all over the world. He told me he thought it was weird when he saw CM's interacting with adults when he was there recently... It was his first time there so I'll give him some slack for asking it :) 

6)Is Vista Way a 24/7 party?- Yes, a million times yes! Living at VW was the best time of my life & I made life long friends there.

7) Did anyone get terminated that you knew?-My friend Kris got terminated for having an AMAZING party at VW. I'll blog about it another time. :) My neighbor's friend got terminated for getting caught trying to steal a little figurine from the World of Disney. How dumb was that?! 

8)Where did the interns go to have fun besides the parks?- Thursday nights were free to CM's at Pleasure Island. This was back in the day when PI was actually busy & fun! We had so much fun dancing & drinking. I remember the days of getting those jello shots in syringes or doing shots down the ice luge! It is so sad to see PI closed.

9)When was your first visit to Disney?- I was born in Orange County,CA so I grew up going to DL all the time. My first time to WDW wasn't until I was in 8th grade for spring break.

10)Did you "know" Mickey Mouse.- I lived next door to Mickey. :) 

Please feel free to comment or email me more questions & I'd love to answer more questions for anyone. :) 

Disney Makeup & Snow White Tutorial

Me & my makeup from my last WDW Trip :) 

disney.com Tote 

If you know one thing about me you know that I love makeup! Even when I travel to WDW I bring a hefty amount compared to most people. It is my favorite hobby other than Disney.

Disney is coming out this August with a Villains makeup collection! I got sucked into the MAC 2010 Disney Villians Collection as well. Link here for that collection: http://yohoyohobloggerslifeforme.blogspot.com/2012/06/disneys-venomous-villains-macmakeup.html

I'm excited to try the eyeshadow palette the most! Such gorgeous colors so I hope the quality is good.

Disney.com

disney.com nail polish collection coming out! 

Here is a tutorial on my version of Snow white Makeup. You can always use similar colors that you already have. It is my very first tutorial EVER so give me some slack. Friendly feedback/Tips Wanted :)

Products Used:

Lancome 24 hr foundation
Laura Mercier Loose Translucent Powder
Dior Strawberry Sorbet Blush
Wet & Wild Walking on eggshells trio
L'oreal liquid liner
MAC Plushlash mascara
Makeupforever 2c l/l
MAC Cyndi l/s

Part One 

 http://youtu.be/e1rnaIefCpM

Part Two 

http://youtu.be/thcc6cd7oRQ

Disney Recycles Everything!

Courtesy of Jim Hill Media Website


Every night WDW has SO much leftover food. Disney either donates food to the homeless or turns it into fertilizers. When I worked at All Star Music Food Court they were HUGE on recycling every last drop. It was great to see all that product was not being wasted. Jiminy Cricket is even the "Spokesperson" for the program. :) So do not fret when you are at WDW thinking about all that food! :)

Image from www.carsforprostatecancer.org

Getting Your Family Crest At WDW

My last trip to WDW I realized they replaced the old chess gift shop in England at Epcot  with a gift shop where you can look through a binder to find your last name.It is across the street from the fish & chips stand. If you find your last name the CM will pull up a picture on the computer to show you the story & family crest. You can also get this done at the Raglan Road gift shop in Downtown Disney. You can get just the print out on one piece of paper of the crest & story or get different variations of it nicely framed. You can also get a nice size frame with crest on one page & the story on the other like I did. For Christmas this past year I got my dad the print out and framed it myself. The print out cost $30ish & they put in a sturdy poster carrier for you. I bought the larger frame for myself & it was around $120. They also have a version where you can link yourself & your spouse in the same frame but since it is a huge frame it costs over $250! Mine took about six weeks to be delivered & looks awesome on our mantle. It is really a unique & easy gift to get someone. I have a unique maiden name so was surprised to find it in the book so take a look next time you are at WDW!

WDW Brown Derby vs. NY Brown Derby

Me & Monika @ Brown Derby in HollyWood Studios

WDW Brown Derby

Albany, NY sign

Me at WDW Brown Derby this past November

I've had the pleasure of dining at both Brown Derby restaurants. This past Month I was in Albany,NY to discover the restaurant was next to our hotel! It is much smaller than the wdw restaurant but still very nice. The waiter overheard my hubby& I guessing who was on the wall so he dropped off a chart for the wall.

Lucille Ball pic @ WDW oh how I LOVE her!

NY version of a Peachtree

WDW PeachTree is AMAZING!

I remembered an amazing peach drink I had at the WDW B.D. & was disappointed that the NY one didn't have it so we looked up the drink recipe & gave it to the waiter & I had it with no problems. It is called a Peachtree. If you like peach drinks you will LOVE this one! The one at WDW is huge & so worth it. By far my favorite alcohol drink anywhere on the planet!

My hubby with all of his tea elements at Albany,NY

Filet Mignon at Albany,NY

The food is different but both are excellent. I had the filet mignon at both restaurants. The NY one was encrusted on the sides & had blue cheese on the top while the wdw one was cooked in a wine sauce. Both very good but I think the wdw wins by a hair. The service was good in NY but our waiter at WDW was by far superior. He was very attentive and very professional & funny. We didn't see our waiter too much in NY but I think he might have been only one of two waiters there. I was disappointed w/ the creme brulee @ NY. It had little to no vanilla flavor but the strawberry sauce on the plate as a garnish was amazing.               I didn't have dessert at the WDW one to compare. My hubby got tea in NY and it was quite a production! HA. All in all both places are great but WDW is slightly better. If you cannot make it to the FL one the NY one is a great alternative!

Filet Mignon at WDW

Monika's Lamb at WDW She said it was excellent ;)

The Phrases Of The Magic Kingdom...

The training my first week as a CM was great. I got a behind the scenes tour of Space Mt, Haunted Mansion & a lot of other attractions. They gave us different phrases to say depending on which "land" you worked in. I worked in FantasyLand so we used words like Princess, whistle while you work & so on... I took pictures with a lot of sweetheart kids too. I had to memorize all the fire exits, locations on all fire extinguishers, spiels for all rides as well as emergency spiels, emergency evacuation procedures, on top of knowing all the plots,characters inside & out. It isn't just all fun & games.;) I needed an extra day of training to get it all down & actually had to study! I'm glad I did in the long run because that saved me later in the semester. I worked in a rotation of: Pooh ride, Meeting Ariel, Dumbo, Tea Cups, & Snow white's Scary Adventure RIP :( Plus we had other duties like sweeping,creating magical moments, & stroller duty was a HUGE one! Stroller duty was never a dull job ever! I'm glad I took the extra day of training because when I was working at the loading zone at Snow white it suddenly broke down for no reason. The other CP working the panel didn't know what to do so I took control & got the ride up & running within two minutes & made an announcement for guests to stay seated. :) Everyone clapped for me too it was great HAHA Awwww I miss the little things of my internship.

The Worst Guest I Ever Dealt with...

Old Pooh Panel from when I worked there in 1999. On my last trip I noticed it had been updated.

Me after closing on the Hunny pot @ Pooh ride :)

I only had one rude guest in the two semesters that I worked at WDW. I was working at the Pooh ride right after it opened. When it first opened they had NO safety gates so kids could jump from the platform on the hunny pots. Two Hunny pots would go into the load zone two at a time. This lady let her seven year old daughter ahead of her in line. They were standing in the second load zone from me where I was at the panel controlling the cars. The little girl jumped into the first Hunny pot & proceeded to ride up to load zone one. I was in shock of what had just happened. I don't understand to this day why an adult wouldn't stand in front of a dangerous area like that? I made an announcement over the system to please watch your children's safety at the loading zone needless to say and she proceeded to yell at me and tell me it was MY fault her daughter did this & called me a retard yes she called me a retard. I just  shot her a huge smile & I'm sure that made her mad I didn't show her that she upset me...Due to her daughter jumping they had to wait a turn to go on & you would NOT believe it but the little girl did it AGAIN!!! I made ANOTHER announcement that adults should stand in front of their children at the loading zone. My last personal vacation to WDW this past November I noticed they FINALLY added safety gates but I will ALWAYS remember that lady...

I want to leave my blog post on a lighter note so I will tell a magical moment I created on my day off. The guy across the hall from me always had the same days off  so we normally would go to MK on Mondays together. We headed for Space Mt. & the line was SO long. We ended up talking to a sweet couple in the line from NJ. My friend who worked at Space Mt. noticed me & offered to take us all through the exit so we didn't have to wait in line! We ended up taking the sweet couple through the exit to get directly on three times in a row! The couple was so happy we took them with us. We could've just left them in line but they were so sweet. It is all who you know at WDW. ;)

Life as a Quick Service Intern...

My geeky Costume :)

I was so ecstatic to be accepted to the WDWCP ( Walt Disney World College Program) I didn't care what job I had. I was a hotel management major in college.I ended up getting Quick Service at the  All-Star Music Resort. They have the most hideous costumes. My roommate laughed at my get up almost everyday when I left for work! LOL. It was great to be in AC all day! I was one of the lucky ones out of the heat. I normally worked 11-7. The ASM resort is split into a food court. When I was there in 1999 it was a Bakery,BBQ,Deli, Pizza/Grill stations. I normally worked in the bakery or BBQ areas. I hated working in the pizza shop. It was SO hot & stressful in there. Once I was working at the bakery & a guest asked me to put "jimmies" on his ice cream. I looked at him like he had three heads & he said "sprinkles!" HAH. You learn a lot of slang from all over the country let me tell you. :) Guests would always tell me I looked like Alicia Silverstone or Meg Ryan. I never really saw those it though? We were a tight knit CP (college Program) group. I still keep in contact with the two girls I worked with along with one of my managers.They were all very sweet people who worked there & I miss them all! Your job is what you make of it so don't fret if you get placed in QSM. You will make lifetime friends! I'm better friends with people who I met at Disney than from high school or college.

My fellow CP'er friend named Joe from Puerto Rico.

My mom in front of "M" at ASM resort while visiting me.

Cast Members NEVER say They don't know....

Picture Courtesy of http://whysoblu.com

Do you ever wonder where to go when you have a simple or odd Disney question? You can ask a cast member a question or they have these little kiosks set-up all over property so if a CM cannot answer the question they can just call the hotline to get an answer for you. The only odd question I got from a guest was if Eeyore is a boy or girl but I guess that really isn't an odd question? Most people quizzed us on Walt's birthday & death dates or facts about attractions we worked at. We had extensive training program. I had to learn all the plots,characters for Snow White,Pooh,Alice in Wonderland,Ariel,&Dumbo. I got asked what the name of the mouse was at Dumbo & also the mouse's name at Tea Cups. Without cheating do you know the answers? :)

Picture courtesy of www.proprofs.com

I'm Baccccck!

I just got back from Vacation last night from Arkansas & Tennessee so I apologize for the delay in my posts! I will be back on track tonight! :) My next vacation will be Disney for a week in October!!!

Talk to you soon! ºoº