[gingita]

I will definitely try my hardest to keep this thread up to date with new things I find out or experience. A lot of the days are very repetitive though, so I only like to post interesting or quirky stories.

Today's topic: Give Kids the World (aka Make-a-Wish)
Wow, my emotions run so deep when I interact with these kids and their families. They are so sweet, but you know the pain they have been through. I always just want to hug them and keep them at Disney World forever. And I want to make their vacation even more magical--at least in the ATT area. I really want to volunteer at the Give Kids the World center sometime, but I don't know if my emotions can handle it. But it would be such a rewarding experience, so I will most likely do it before I leave the college program.

So that's what I was mainly thinking about today because I was able to meet so many Give Kids the World families. Other than that, it was fairly routine today. I only had to work 6 hours, but 1.5 hours of that was "bridge duty". I think I wrote about this before when I have to direct people out of the park starting at the bridge between Adventureland and Splash Mountain. Once SpMtn and BTMRR areas are clear, I move to the Diamond Horseshoe, once that is cleared I move to the Liberty Square bridge where I stand for about 1 hour directing and keeping people out.

It's lonely, but it also gives you lots of time to notice the little things, especially being right next to the castle. And there is hardly anyone in my area coming out, so I watched the castle change colors. It's such a beautiful sight. And I got to hear the closing announcement, which I have never heard before. It was really touching as well. And then I proceeded to sing along with all the songs they played because no one was around to hear me singing loudly. Ahh, it was so much fun! And it was a really warm night--no coat required, just short sleeves!--so it made for a good time.

Have a magical night everyone! More tomorrow since I have two days off now-Wednesday and Thursday. Yippeee!!! It's play time! A few of my roommates and I are visiting the cast member stores tomorrow and then we are hitting the parks. It will be fun for sure--better charge my camera batteries!

[Princess Tessa]

oooh thats awesome! I wanna know all about the cast member store!!!

I'm hoping to volunteer at the make-a-wish foundation when I'm there too, let's do it together in april or something

[The Goof Father]

Originally Posted by gingita

I will definitely try my hardest to keep this thread up to date with new things I find out or experience. A lot of the days are very repetitive though, so I only like to post interesting or quirky stories.

YAY! And repetitive shmeepetitive! I'll read it! I dream Disney dreams and I will never get tired of them!

And I agree with Tessa... Tell us about the store...

[dhoughton]

Ginger--I think you should post your schedule weekly so we know what to look forward to!! Can't wait to meet you in February!

[tiggerfan74]

Ginger, it really sounds like you are enjoying every moment. Thank you so much for sharing with us. It is really cool to read about what you ahve done everyday. Enjoy your days off. (By the way, what is and where is the CM store?)

[gingita]

Oh. My. Gosh. I spent WAY too much money today! Just two words why: Disney Pins

Yes, I have finally been sucked into the world of pin trading and collecting...and I absolutely love it!

But I will start at the beginning. Brenda, Amy, and I (we are roommates) started out our day off at the Company D store located inside the Disney University behind the Magic Kingdom. It sells cast exclusive merchandise, so I bought myself a t-shirt and my first pin--one made for cast members. So that is where the addiction began.

Next we headed to Cast Connection, which is another cast member store located behind the Magic Kingdom. Anyone can go there, but you have to go with a cast member. It sells tons of current and discontinued merchandise at a significantly discounted price. Missed your Easter 2003 pin? You can probably find it here! They definitely have lots of dated merchandise, but lots of good stuff. Bought a bunch of postcards (starting at 9 cents each) and a few odds and ends. While waiting for my roommates, I started looking at the pin collection. Five pins later, I finally left.

Side note: Can anyone tell me the difference between Disney auction pins and regular pins?

Next stop was Property Control located next to the Cast Connection. This area sells damaged merchandise, overstock, and lost guest items. Most of the items are close to or are junk, but I found a section of new pin lanyards. Everything in the store is a standard 75% off the original price, so my lanyard cost one whole dollar. It's the exact same one I almost bought the day before in the parks. Again, anyone can go here, but you have to be accompanied by a cast member.

We were hungry at this point so I recommended Earl of Sandwich for lunch since neither of the other girls had been there. So off we went to Downtown Disney. They loved it of course! Has there ever been a bad review for that place?!?

As we were leaving EoS, you can probably guess what we saw...the pin trading station! So we had to go look and I ended up buying two more pins here, plus a lanyard medallion thing that hangs at the end. It's Sorcerer Mickey and it's so cute!

We also headed into the World of Disney store and had fun trying on all the different hats and took lots of pictures. Don't worry, I will post them here soon!

We decided to hit Epcot next and tour the World Showcase and take pictures. Brenda remembered about the special photosession for Disney Visa cardholders, and since she has one, we decided to go check it out. The whole presentation of it seems so exclusive, it's fun. We had no idea what to expect going in because none of the castmembers would really tell us who or what was inside.

But inside was Mickey and Pluto! And wow, did they ever have some energy! It was so much fun and they were so cute and playful! There was music playing and we had a great time and took tons of pictures. We got a certificate for a free photo, but ended up not using it since the line was so huge at the Photopass center. Besides, we can just come back and do it again some other time. Plus we have lots on our personal cameras, so I will be posting those later as well.

Next we headed to Soarin', Figment (my first time doing it--it was cute), tried the different flavors at Club Cool (I think my favorite was the watermelon one--didn't try Beverly since I was too scared after reading about it on here), and then headed into World Showcase.

Now I absolutely love the different countries and I love the Mickey shaped pins with the flags, so I decided that was going to be my first pin collection. So as we went around the world, I bought the pin for each country, except Germany and Japan were sold out, so I will have to look for those later. I love to look at them, so with my 40% discount, I saved a lot (but still spent a lot).

We started at Canada and I took lots of photos for you Tessa. It was a really beautiful afternoon and the crowds were really light. Next stop was the UK where we met Winnie the Pooh and Tigger. There was no line at all! It was great. We also wandered around the perfume shop (mmmm, it smells so good there!). But better perfume awaited us in France. First we stopped by to take pictures with the Beast who was outside in France then headed into the perfume shop there. Wow, that place is amazing and I found out my discount applies there as well. I really need to hold back now.

In Japan, Brenda did the pearl thing where you pick the oyster and they cut out the pearl. Her's ended up being a 7mm pearl and it's really pretty. I am not into pearls, but it's so fun to watch the process. And the Japanese girls doing it are so cute. It was really entertaining.

Wandered some more, then we stopped at the Liberty Inn for a light dinner and chatted there for awhile. We decided we were tired (of course, this was decided at the furthest point from the exit ). So we just walked through the rest of the countries quickly, stopping only for pins and an extra lanyard for my World Showcase pins. But I think I might get one of the cool display boards for those because I want to show them off in my house when I get back to Utah.

We left around 7:30pm and headed back to our apartment and then it was off to Walmart for the weekly groceries and a few bonus items like a back massager and better shoe insoles for my work shoes. Standing so much all day has been really hard on my lower back and feet (specifically my arches), so I splurged today to make life easier for me. And it was oh, so worth it!

So that was basically my day--between Disney and Walmart, I think I spent around $200! But oh well, I need to buy all my souvenirs while I get such a great discount. And it was the most fun day I have had since I arrived and left me feeling great. So it was worth it. And now I am also an official pin trader (but more likely just a collector). I only like to buy ones that mean something to me.

And now, onto the pictures!

[gingita]

Pin trading station in Downtown Disney where my love for pin collecting was sealed.

[gingita]

Crazy hat time at the World of Disney Store. This was my favorite one and I think I might end up buying it as my hat. We decided we would each buy a crazy hat and I think this one looked the best on me. We are going back soon to get them because we had to look everywhere before deciding on one.

[gingita]

This hat was also very cool and I liked it, but it was a little tight on my head.

[gingita]

They were showing Little Mermaid clips at the WOD store, and it got me really excited to buy it whenever it comes out again. Plus they were showing my favorite scene, so of course I had to take a picture.

[gingita]

Mickey, Pluto, and Me at the Disney Visa character meet and greet.

[gingita]

Mickey, me, Brenda, and Amy with Pluto down in front.

[gingita]

And a Canada picture to get you excited Tessa. It's such a beautiful area there!

[gingita]

Hanging out in the UK with Winnie the Pooh and Tigger!

[gingita]

Us and the very cute Beast Beauty and the Beast is my favorite Disney princess movie, so it was fun to meet the Beast.