Goodbye

Now that I'm home and I've had a few days to reflect, I can honestly say that the Disney college program was one of the most exciting and fun experiences of my life. Now I'm not saying that the program was magical 24/7. There were times that I missed my family and friends, times when work was super frustrating, and times when I was VERY over the drama that stems from living with thousands of college-aged students. But, overall, I made a ton of new friends and had an AMAZING time.

That being said, the part of the program that's the hardest is saying goodbye. One of my first good byes was to my coworker, Ashley. She left a few weeks before my departure, so Tevin and I joined her for a goodbye lunch at our resort's restaurant-- Olivia's 

Then, I had my last day at work. Yes, our costumes may not have been the most attractive, and yes, I sometimes had a 15 hour shift or shifts that started at 5AM...but I also had a lot of great times and got to work with some really awesome people.

Including the best manager around, Ali :)

Even saying goodbye to people working in culinary was hard...no more banana bread pudding (which is seriously the best dessert on the planet)

Then came my absolute last day in Disney. Check-out was at 11AM but I left much earlier than that so Meg and I could go to Magic Kingdom one final time. We were able to meet the Fairy Godmother

Peter Pan

And my LAST princess: Tiana 

Also had the opportunity to say goodbye to space mountain...

And......Disney food :.(

Then came the time when I had to walk away from Magic Kingdom for good.

I'm sure anyone who's done the program can tell you though, it's not the rides, food, or merchandise that you miss. It's the people that you've been able to play with for the past five months of your life. This program allows you to meet people from all over the world and it's so awesome!! I am so glad that I was given this opportunity and I wouldn't change it for the world.

Four parks/one day

For my last full day in Disney World, I wanted to do everything I could...so Krystal and I decided to go for the gusto--we visited all four parks in one day!! 

First we went to Epcot

We met Duffy

and Mexican Donald

Then, after we had completely melted, we made our way to Hollywood Studios

(Yes, you see right...I did indeed have a wardrobe change. (I overheated so I had to buy my first Disney shirt, haha))

We went straight down Sunset Blv

Where we got this bad boy (my first Disney cookie ice cream sandwich)

And we ate them in the line for Tower of Terror where we made everyone super jealous

I can honestly say that my last TOT ride was the best I've ever had! The ride actually broke down in the pitch black hallway right before the drop and it truly was terrifying...I LOVED it!!!

Then we drew Grumpy

And met the green army man

AND, thanks to some fast passes from my lovely friend Zackary, we got to ride Toy Story Mania!

 Where I TOTALLY won :) :)

Animal Kingdom was next

We didn't really have much we wanted to do...other than Mt Everest 

The line was only 5 minutes!! So, we may or may not have riden seven times ;)

And we also added Mitch to our party!

Last, but DEFINITELY not least, we went to Magic Kingdom

Where I viewed my last "Celebrate the Magic"

And "Wishes" :.(

I was sad, so I treated myself to a Dole Float

My first ever and it was aaaamazing

And, of course, we rode space mountain!

Then the clock struck midnight and we had to go home...I'm definitely going to miss this view :(

The End is Near

Only two days until my Disney college program is officially over :.( 

The good news is that I have gotten a lot accomplished this week!

First, I made it to grocery bingo! (if you win you get two reusable bags FULL of food and a laundry bag with detergent and toiletries) They haven't announced a Bingo night in forever so I'd given up hope...BUT, with the arrival of new participants, they started bingo back up! 

Unfortunately, there were a TON of people there, and they had it set up to be a dance party as well? So after each game you were supposed to get up and dance...

That being said, when I got a text from a friend saying they were letting cast members ride the new Seven Dwarves Mine Train, Meg and I ditched and went straight to Magic Kingdom

(Sorry it's blurry, but isn't Dopey cute?!)

We were able to ride five times and the last time we went on was during wishes!! It was seriously perfect.

When we got off, we ran over and caught the last few minutes of the show behind the castle (which I had never done before) and it was crazy how different it looked

On my next day off, Whitney and I decided we needed some intense roller coasters in our lives...

So we went to Busch Gardens!

And took lots of selfies on the rides

See the resemblance?

The only sad part was that the new "Falcon's Fury" ride wasn't open (you drop at 60 mph looking straight down!) 

(I'll admit, I may have shed a tear...or 12)

But I did lead a safari tour. 

(Don't I look so secure in my skills?)

And I found a man!!

Fabulous day 

Next, Krystal, Kristian, and I went to Universal

And took awkward pictures in front of hogwarts

And got butterbeer

We even got sweet new shades for the ride home!

(I know, try not to be too jealous)

Today, I had a lunch date with Marisa at the Wave. If you get the chance, try the fajita roll up--super tasty!

Also, if you're nice, they may even give you a Mickey straw :) :)

Now it's almost time for me to clock in for my LAST shift at Disney. So hard to believe that my time at Old Key West is over...but I can't say that I'll miss the coolots too much ;)

P.S. Check out the current featured cast member! 

(yeah, I know, she looks like a weirdo to me too)