Extra Thankful this Thanksgiving

In case you don't already know, I luckily had the opportunity to come home for Thanksgiving this year.  Since March, I've been preparing myself to spend Thanksgiving working in Orlando some 500 miles away from those I love with tens of thousands of strangers.  That was the plan and unless a miracle happened, that's what would be happening this Thanksgiving.  Just a couple weeks ago I texted my sister/partner-in-crime to ask if I should come home and surprise Mama and Daddy for Thanksgiving.  Of course there was a big "if" standing in my way...it would only work out IF my schedule allowed.  I got my schedule two weeks ago and had the usual Monday and Wednesday off.  I updated Sarah on my schedule and started prowling for someone to give my shifts to.  I knew I would need to give away Tuesday and Thursday to make it worth it, even if it meant driving on Thanksgiving.  First I gave away Thursday then Tuesday and I even found someone to give Friday to!  It was so hard keeping this secret from my parents since we talk almost every day.  Every talk I'd have with my mom, she would be in tears asking if the Mouseketeeria would be serving me a Thanksgiving dinner on Thanksgiving.  And after my mom put up the Christmas tree without me (first time that's ever happened), she was in more tears about how I wouldn't get to see it until January when I come home.  Little did she know she would be the one serving me a Thanksgiving dinner and I'd be seeing the Christmas tree soon!!  

I drove home Monday without much traffic, if only I'd be that lucky when I drive back, eeek!  I wanted to walk in to my parents getting ready for dinner but it had been a crazy day for my mom so she was out running errands.  I was at Target wasting time until she got home...and then she decided to come to Target!  Luckily Sarah was on the phone with her when she pulled in the parking lot and I had to make my way out of the store without seeing her!!!  I sat in my car waiting for her to leave the store so I could follow her home and surprise her!  (That's the creepiest I've ever felt hahaha!)  While I thought about surprising my mom IN Target, I figured too many tears would be involved to be in a public setting.  So finally I made my way home.  I had an elaborate plan but figured walking in the door would shock them just as much!  I pulled in the driveway with my lights off so I couldn't blow my cover at the last minute, opened the garage, ran up the steps and tried opening the door.  My key was struggling and wouldn't open the door but my mom heard something and saw the light on in the garage.  She asked my dad, "Glenn, did I forget to close the garage?"  As she opened the blinds, guess who she saw?!  MEEEEEE!!!!! She instantly screamed, "What are you doing here?!" Cue the tears!  My dad was still trying to figure out what was going on, I think, but made his way to the door!  We all cried and cried!!  I've never wanted to be home hugging my Mama and Daddy so much.  Of course one of the first questions was, "So how long are you staying?"  My original answer was to leave on Friday but asked my mom if she'd like me to see if I could give my Saturday shift away, so I did!!  I lucked out with a 6-day mini vacation that I couldn't be more thankful for!  Most of my friends at Disney didn't get this opportunity nor do they live close enough to just drive home, so I can't be feeling anymore thankful!

Even though I had been telling myself since March that working on Thanksgiving instead of being with my family would be okay, I knew it would be very difficult!  Thankfully, my family will be at Disney with me for Christmas so we don't have to worry about anymore holidays apart!  As it got closer to Thanksgiving, I realized just how badly I needed to go home this Thanksgiving if it was at all possible.  I guess you could say Thanksgiving's aren't always the happiest in the Fogle house.  My mom's worst car accident happened the Tuesday before Thanksgiving when I was in elementary school, I lost my best friend the Saturday after Thanksgiving in 7th grade, and then there was the Thanksgiving Break-up of 2009, a couple Thanksgiving's with Nana's progressing Alzheimer's, last year's ankle surgery was days before Thanksgiving, and all those memories were topped off with my sweet Nana going to heaven last year.  So while my family is such a thankful family, you could say we've had some painful and difficult holidays.  However, when we all get together, we couldn't be more thankful for our time together!  This year was no exception and I honestly can't think of a time where I've felt more thankful.

Going into my adventure at Disney, I knew big lessons would be learned.  One of the biggest I've learned so far has to be thankfulness.  While its very hard to be thankful daily in my job, getting this opportunity to come home and reflect reminds me just how thankful I am for everything in my life!  I am so very thankful for my family!  They are the core of who I am and without them, I'd be nowhere!  Im' thankful for my sweet friends spread out across the whole country!!  Knowing that no matter where I am, I have people who love and support me makes life so much more enjoyable!  I'm so thankful to have a job, even if it wasn't what I would have chosen for myself.  I'm thankful for the adventure I'm still living out in Disney World, and thankful I still have about a month left to ride out this dream of mine!  Who knew dreams could come true?  If nothing else, I'll never stop dreaming and following my dreams!  I'm thankful for so so much in my life right now and I know I wouldn't be who I am without the love from the Lord above!!  He is far too good to me and I can't complain!  The best feeling of all is when I fall asleep at night thanking God for all He has blessed me with and the list just goes on and on and on!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!  This Thanksgiving has reached a whole new meaning of thankfulness!

What's Next?

It's that question people couldn't help but ask throughout my senior year of college, and I suppose it will be the question that's always asked.  What's next?  What are you doing after this?  So, what's next?  Hmmm...good question! 

Last spring when I found out I was accepted into the Disney College Program, I had an answer for everyone's questions.  I didn't have to worry.  I had a job, a place to live, and something to do with my life!  Granted I didn't know where my job was at and I didn't know where I'd live or who I'd be living with, but I knew it would all be provided for me in time.  I knew I wouldn't have to worry about what's next until January 3.  To top it all off, I was getting to live out a dream of working at Disney World!  I came into this experience thinking I would stay at Disney forever.  I left Irmo in August thinking I'd never live there again.  Honestly, I had every expectation to be a Disney Cast Member until I retire and I was so excited about this being the opportunity that opened that door!  I knew that I was made to work at Disney World and in my mind, nothing was going to stop me.  If you know me at all, you know I'm a planner and the plan was to complete my program in January and soon after start a Professional Internship that would hopefully land me a job in May.  While I applied for some Professional Internships when the applications came out in September, it didn't take long for me to realize my heart wasn't in those internships no matter how much it made sense to just stay one extra semester.

To say this experience didn't turn out to be what I expected is an understatement.  I have been looking forward to doing this program for 10 years since I stumbled upon the DCP website in 2003.  The expectations and hopes that you create over 10 years can easily be shattered by the reality of the hard work that comes with this program.  I'm not even entirely sure what all I anticipated on happening, but I know this experience is nothing like what I was expecting at any point during those 10 years of dreaming.  I was given the role of Quick Service Food and Beverage and placed at the Columbia Harbour House.  To say that wasn't the role I was hoping for is definitely an understatement.  I have experience in food and the last thing I wanted was to work at a restaurant again...even if it was at Magic Kingdom.  

The first month of work was good.  Yes, there were hard days, but I didn't ever let them get to me.  In my mind, I was still planning on having that Cinderella story of working my way up from the very bottom.  I just kept reminding myself that one day this would all make for a great Disney story.  (All the Cast Members high up have one!)  I told myself that I was there to prove how hard of a worker I was and that the day would come where I wouldn't have to do anymore trash or deal with hungry, complaining guests...and it would all be worth it in the end!  Like I said, the first month was great!  Everything was good and nothing could stop me from living out this life-long dream!  Shortly after being here for a month, the reality set in.

Hi, my name is Rachel and I work at Walt Disney World, the one place I've always wanted to work.  I have a college degree and I'm supposed to be a teacher right now and yet here I am taking out trash, dealing with disrespectful Guests, and working at the bottom of the totem pole.  I am a teeny tiny fish in this humongous ocean that is Walt Disney World.  And although I love people more than anything in this world, I've developed a strong dislike for the human race based on the people I deal with on a daily basis.  And to think, I work at the Happiest Place on Earth...in the Magic Kingdom for goodness sake!

That's my mentality.  That's what I feel every day.  I'm at the place I've always wanted to work and yet I can't wait to leave this place most days.  Most of my days are far from magical and the only reminders that I work in Magic Kingdom are the hilarious Disney outfits, swarms of Brazilian tour groups, outrageous numbers of Mickey ears, and tons of Guests with celebration buttons.  The thing I love most in this world is people and I work in a park with 50,000 new people daily!  You would think I would be on Cloud 9 getting to talk to all of these people from around the world.  Instead, I've kind of lost my hope for humanity.  I don't see manners, I don't hear "thank you's", I hear screaming, I see parents who hit and kick their children, I see disrespect, I hear complaining, and I don't like any of it!  Its all negative and I can't stand it!  These aren't the people I love.  These people don't have any love in their hearts, and if they do they're doing a really good job of hiding it.  I'm the girl who always smiles and some days its hard to smile!  I'm optimistic and yet I can't seem to find the positives in this day-to-day life.  Where's the magic?  Where's the happiness?  How can people be so mean at Disney World?  I've had Guests yell at me, argue with me, literally scream in my face, and I have even had a child spit on me.  And while I can't wait to be an educator and I pride myself on being able to discipline children, I especially can't handle it when I find myself in a position of wanting to discipline a child because his/her parents don't know how to.  Don't make me discipline your child!!  Do you let your child run circles around your dining room table?  Why should they run around mine?  Do you let your kids stand on chairs and sit on your kitchen table?  Why would you let them sit on ours here?  I know you don't let your children run around like wild animals at home so why is it they get to at Magic Kingdom?!  All of these questions will never be answered and I'm okay with that but I knew not long after starting this job, this wasn't the place for me.  The biggest problem is...

I don't love who I am here.

I've never felt like this.  I loved PC and all that it was for me.  I loved my life at PC!  Between ADPi, Admissions, being a CA, my best friends, my sweet residents, the incomparable community, and the love that is at PC, there were never days of doubt that I was in the wrong place.  I loved my summers at Lake Junaluska and I loved the person I get to be at the lake.  I love getting to tell youth how awesome Jesus is and I love the life they can fill a room with!  I love getting to see Jesus at work and I never doubted my place while working at Lake J.  But here is different.  I don't love me here.  I know I can't stay here because I can't be the best me that I can be while I'm working here.  And that's the most disappointing realization I hope to ever have!  The one place I've always wanted to be is just no good for me!  Why is this so different?  I don't have my family, my church, or my community.  I have some friends and I enjoy the people I work with but nothing can compare to the community I had at PC or the loving family that misses me at home or the awesome church family I have at Union UMC!  Nothing can compare with the community who made me who I am.  And I want nothing more than to be back in Irmo and get back to being the me that I love!

While its somewhat relieving to know that I don't belong here and that I do belong somewhere else, its so heartbreaking at the same time.  I remember standing in front of Cinderella's Castle during Wishes when I came to Disney World for Spring Break of my freshman year of college.  With tears running down my cheeks, I dreamed to one day work here.  Its that same feeling I get every time I watch Wishes when I realize this is my wish coming true!  I'm literally following my dream.  All those Walt Disney quotes about how fun it is to do the impossible things the rest of the world tells us we can't do, I'm living them out!!!  And now I'm leaving.  I feel as if I'm letting myself down, as if I'm giving up on my dreams, as if I'm going back to doing what the world says I should do and forgetting what I want to do.  That's the biggest battle I have with myself.  Am I giving up on the one thing I've always wanted to do?  Quite possibly, yes.  But I have to pray that this is the right thing.  I pray that this gut feeling I have that this is not where I belong is true.  I pray that God has bigger and better dreams for me, I just haven't discovered them yet!  I still have big dreams as far as being a teacher and one day being a principal!  I just have to get out of Walt Disney World and into the world of education before those dreams get to become a reality!

So, what's next?  January 3 I'll make my voyage back to Irmo, South Carolina, the sweet town I miss so much.  The town where I can get anywhere I want within 10 minutes and not have to worry about toll roads, traffic, or being on the wrong side of the median.  I'll be in the town where I know where everything is, and I know all the back roads to take me exactly where I want to be.  Irmo is where my heart is for sure, not Orlando!  I'll be reunited with my loving Mama, my funny Daddy, and my best friend of a sister.  I'll get to see my sweet Aunt Laura and I'll get to worship at my favorite church in the world.  My friends will all be within driving distance (except for my bestie Taylor in Phoenix!) and for the first time in months, I don't have to automatically exclude myself from any plans my friends might make!  I'll hopefully be substitute teaching in my home district, the district that raised me, and the district that I hope to be teaching in come August.  After January 3, I don't have a clue what exactly my future holds but I know who holds my future!  I'm so thankful for this experience and I know its such a "God thing" as my mom would say that I'm even here living out my dream!  I know for a fact that I would have regretted not doing this program, so know that I am still so grateful that this was even an option for me!  I'm so thankful for this time and the many lessons I've learned throughout my 5 months here.  (Brace yourself for a funny blog later about all the funny things I've learned while working at Disney!)  While its my daily goal to be more and more thankful to the Big Man Upstairs for bringing me on this journey, some days are harder than others!!  But I am so very thankful that He has a plan for me and that He knows where I belong!

Homecoming

Its been the one thing I've been counting down to for months...PC Homecoming!!  The first day I could request time off at Disney, I put in for PC's Homecoming weekend knowing that I couldn't miss my first Homecoming as an Alum!  Not to mention this would be my first opportunity to see most of my friends since June/July!!  I decided to make the most out of the weekend and make it last as long as possible!  I always have Monday's and Wednesday's off and got approved for Friday-Saturday off as well.  All I had to do was give away my Thursday shift and I magically had a 6-day mini vacation to South Carolina lined up!  Wednesday I drove home stopping at the first Bojangles I could find!  (Sorry I'm not sorry...)  It had been over two months without Bojangles and that's just something I never want to happen again hah!  I made it home in 7 hours which was great timing considering I stopped twice!  Wednesday night was spent at home with my sweet parents.  Thursday I went out to lunch at DiPrato's with my mom, one of our most favorite lunch date spots!  Then I made my favorite stops around Irmo knowing it would be a while before making it back!  While I've learned my way around Lake Buena Vista/Orlando in my almost three months here, its always nice to go home and know exactly where everything is and not have to worry about silly toll roads getting in your way!  

Seriously, home has never looked so good!  Especially with the leaves in the yard and the fall air!!

I headed up to PC Thursday afternoon to make it in time for Zumba with Lucia!!!!!  I walked in Springs and had people running up to me from all different directions.  Seriously the best feeling ever having people so excited to see me!  It was a night of hugs and a full heart!  I made some stops around campus to my favorite people just getting to catch up on life!

My favorite people still at the Presby!

Friday came and brought Anna with it!  We went to one of our favorite lunch spots in Clinton, Jitter's for a lunch with sweet friends!!  Finally got to see Abby too and catch up on all the adventures life has brought us since this semester started!  I couldn't be more proud of my besties and the work they're doing these days!  We saw even more people at lunch and I got lots of "Wait, you're not supposed to be here!"  Such a good feeling being back in a community that loves and cares about me so much!

Jitter's!!!

This is seriously my fave sandwich...and one of the things I crave when thinking about South Carolina food!

After lunch, Anna, Abby, and I headed over to see Mani and Grace's house!  Seriously still mind boggling they're busy being married adults and I'm just playing at Disney World most days!  But it was awesome seeing their humble abode.  We made stops at the bookstore (to stock up on Alumni stuff, duh!), picked up our official Homecoming Weekend packets (hah!) and Bi-Lo for tailgating food!

Getting so official!  And I got a free koozie and a nametag I never put on!

After a busy afternoon in Clinton, it was time to head towards Greenville...TO GET MY TATTOO!!!!!!!!  Can't even tell you how excited I was!  I'm not usually someone to get nervous so my excitement was pretty huge!  Altogether, we were probably in the tattoo parlor for 30 minutes.  We walked in, met Jamie (the tattoo artist), showed him what I wanted, he drew it out, shrunk it down, fixed it up, and we got to work!  I had 7 of my sweet friends there to cheer me on and I think most of them were more nervous than I was!  Lucia was holding my hand and squeezing my hand!  She kept reminding me that I could squeeze hers...but I didn't see a need haha!  There were times that were unpleasant like at the bottom of the tattoo where my nerves are in my foot but the top half was fine, no pain!  Also my friends didn't believe I had a high pain tolerance...I don't know what it will take to make people believe me when I say that?!

Jamie getting my ankle prepped

The "unpleasant" look

So in case you don't know...which apparently a lot of people don't...I've literally always wanted a tattoo!  I don't remember a time not wanting a tattoo, it was just a matter of figuring out what I wanted and where I wanted it so I could still get a job!  After my ankle struggles last year, I had decided this was what I would get and I knew my right ankle was the perfect location seeing as that was my ankle with all the problems for half of 2012!  I decided on the tattoo in the summer and my sweet grandlittle Jamie told me I needed to be settled on the tattoo for a year before getting it, and it'd been over a year and I figured I needed to bite the bullet and do it!  Homecoming weekend couldn't have been a more perfect time!  So what is it?  Well its an anchor with a heart on top and this comes from my favorite Bible verse:

"There are three things that last forever:  faith, hope, and love.  But the greatest of these is love."  

1 Corinthians 13:13

The faith is represented by the cross in the anchor, the hope is the anchor itself  (Hebrews 6:19 says "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure."), and the love is represented by the heart on top of the anchor and its on the top because its the most important!!!  This is my absolute favorite Bible verse and I can't think of anything better!  I'm still so obsessed with it!!  Can't stop looking down at my ankle for this constant reminder!

Thanks Jamie!!!

After leaving Ink Works, we headed to dinner in Greenville before heading back to the Presby for the night!

Before going out with my bestiessss

Only my fave roommate in the world

While at the houses, I saw Lauren Park aka Lo from my first summer at Lake J!  She's best friends with a bunch of ADPi's and came up for Homecoming with them!  It was so fun watching two worlds collide and so fun getting to see an old friend!

Chidapi til we die!

Saturday it was time for the game!!!  It was kind of depressing knowing this was my ONLY football game of the season!  I don't remember the last time I've only been to ONE football game in a year...maybe some time in middle school?!  Yikes!  Well before the game, my friends and I had our first tailgate planned all by ourselves!  Usually we have parents at the games who will plan everything but this was our first time as alum!!  

As I was getting everything set up, guess who I saw?!  SARAHHHHHHH!  MY SISTERRRRR!!!!  My friends surprised me and they got me good.  I had figured I just wouldn't get to see Sarah on this trip home since she had a busy weekend and I wouldn't be driving past Greenville, but she surprised me!!!  Keep in mind, I've only been surprised ONCE before this and this just rocked!  I was in tears as I hugged my sister and can't even express how thankful I am for such a loving sister in my life!

Mimosasssss at the tailgate

Before the game, I knew Maggie and Lucia were in Top 5 and figured they would place Runner-Up and Homecoming Queen between the two of them so I made sure to get my picture with them both before everyone else in the world would!  So thankful for my favorite seniors!!!

My Queens

With precious Grace...who needs to stop growing up ASAP!  But loved getting to spend the day with the Carson's!

And the Homecoming Queen is.....Maggie Carson!!!!!

And my favorite Runner-Up is...Lucia Leahy!!!

After the game, we all went to Senor Garcia's...only my favorite Mexican food in Clinton!  Sarah had to leave after dinner but we snapped an Irmo picture before she left...of course!

Pinkies up!!

Can't leave without a cat picture. 4 generations of cats!
#catraining

Saturday night was fun...especially seeing all the old people at the houses for Homecoming!  Now that I'm one of those old people, its super weird!  It was extra weird walking around and seeing so many people I didn't know.  At PC, you know everyone so seeing freshmen who had no idea who I was was a weird feeling.  

Sunday morning I said goodbye to Clinton with breakfast at Bojangles and then I was Irmo bound yet again.  As much fun as I had this weekend, the goodbyes just make everything more complicated.  Starting on Saturday, I started getting really sad about having to say goodbyes to all my favorite people.  Its one of those times that's very hard for me to live in the moment because I know that goodbye will be here sooner than I know it!  I only wish my time at PC could have been longer but it's always good to know I will feel like home in Clinton!  

I swear the skies are bluer and life is sweeter here!

I drove back home, down that strip of I-26 I know so well, to surprise Aunt Laura (and see the rest of my family)!!!!  My mom made chili, our usual Halloween tradition, and got to see my favorite people.  We spent the afternoon out running errands, ending with a stop at Starbucks!  Again, the sadness was sinking in of saying my goodbyes but I tried and tried to stay positive!

It's funny (or not) because when I left in August, I didn't shed much of any tears at all in my goodbyes!  I was excited more than anything and couldn't have gotten out of Irmo sooner!  Now that I have to think about not seeing any of my family for almost two months, things get a little more difficult!  I don't get to come home for Thanksgiving and my family will be in Orlando December 21.  I'm trying to remind myself this will be the only Thanksgiving and Christmas that I'm away from my family, but it doesn't make the sadness go away.  It will be 2014 before I'm back in Irmo and with my family again!

  I learned some important lessons this weekend in catching up with people...

1.  Lots of people keep up with my Disney adventures which I totally love!  People continually referenced my pictures, statuses, snapchats, and blog which totally rocks!

2.  I'm really good at making my experience seem really awesome and wonderful!  Don't get me wrong, my time at Disney is a great experience but no where close to perfect.  There are hard days and I don't love what I'm doing every day.  Before leaving for home, almost every day had been a pretty bad day so staying positive was a little difficult throughout the weekend!

3.  I long for the community I left at PC!  I don't know if there will ever come a day where I get to feel that sense of community I felt as a student at PC.  Its something that really can't be matched.  I know forever and ever, I'll try to create a community that can live up to my days at PC, but those are some pretty big shoes to fill!


I couldn't be more thankful for my time at home and I look forward to seeing my friends and family again!  I'm daily trying to live in the moment and appreciate this experience!  While every day isn't magical, I have to remember this is a job and its at the Happiest Place on Earth!!!  Forever and ever I get to say that I worked at Disney World and I never want to look back and regret how I spent my time here.  If you would, keep me in your prayers for a positive attitude and a thankful heart during my last two months as a colonial woman and I just need continual guidance as to what to do after January 3!  Thanks for following my adventures!! :)

Favorite Weekend at Disney!!!

As soon as I got this job, I told my mom she would be bringing Laura to experience Disney!  I told my mom I didn't care who came to see me, but Laura better be one of them!  And my mom kept that promise.  Laura along with my mom, Sarah, and my Aunt Debbie all made their way to Walt Disney World Friday, October 11 during Sarah's Fall Break!  We started our time together with dinner at the Old Key West Resort at Olivia's Cafe.  My family ate here during one of our trips and remembered it being good, so we figured it would be a fun place for our first dinner!  Again, real food for a whole weekend makes seeing my family even better!!!  After dinner, we headed to Downtown Disney for some shopping and I had to pick up a special gift for Laura!  I got her her very first pair of Mickey ears, with her name on them!!  Laura loves anything with her name on it and these were no exception!  I knew this gift could go either way.  Either she'd love it and wear them non-stop, or she wouldn't wear them at all!  Luckily she fell in love with them and wore them all weekend (except for our last day!)

So excited about her ears!

I got a big kiss for her present!!

Only my favorite people, ever

 Also, Sarah decided when I got this job that she'd be visiting on Fall Break whether anyone came with her or not!  This was the first time we saw each other since moving her into her apartment a couple days before moving to Orlando!  We've never gone that long without seeing each other, but unfortunately we'll have to since we won't see each other until Christmas!  How lucky am I to have such a great sister that makes saying goodbye so hard!

Saturday, we started at Epcot!  We headed to Guest Relations to get Laura's 1st Visit pin.  Just like the ears, she had to make sure she kept her pin on all weekend!!  She wanted everyone to know this was her trip, in typical Laura fashion.

Love love love her!!!

Some of Aunt Debbie's friends headed to get us FastPasses to Soarin' (since we had been convincing Laura how much she would love it).  We found Pluto and decided this would be Laura's first character meet and greet!  Walking up, Laura says, "There's a person in there, right?"  Hahahah Laura!  She's smart, just ruining the magic!  She did good with her first meeting and we moved on to Spaceship Earth!

All the girls with Pluto!

We rode lots of rides and got to go to the Siemens Office at the back of the Epcot ball since Aunt Debbie works for Siemens!  They had a Magic Mirror and free drinks ha!  Laura wasn't a fan of the moving sidewalks (as we anticipated) or Soarin' (as we weren't anticipating).  Before getting here, we told Laura the rules were if you get scared to close your eyes, hold someone's hand, and scream.  She repeated these rules for us over and over but did she use them?  NO!  Soarin' was a struggle and no where near Laura's favorite thing!  We thought she was having a panic attack and she wouldn't close her eyes.  She just kept asking when we would be getting back on the ground.  Haha, what an experience it was Soarin' with Laura!

We had to snap a picture before leaving Epcot!

After leaving Epcot, we headed to Animal Kingdom!  We rode a couple rides and even convinced Laura to try "It's Tough to be a Bug!"  Bad decision.  She kept her head on my shoulder the whole time she wasn't screaming and swatting bugs away from her face!

With the Tree of Life

The main thing we were excited about doing at Animal Kingdom was the Festival of the Lion King Show.  One of the perks of working at Disney is having other friends who work at Disney and I'm just so lucky to have a roommate who works at the Lion King show.  She was so sweet to put us on the VIP List meaning we got to be front row and got extra special treatment!  Seriously can't thank Courtney enough for this experience as it was our first and probably most favorite Magical Moment of the weekend!  At first, Laura was asked to help make the elephant noise but she turned that down so Sarah got chosen to lead the elephants.  However, Sarah forgot what noise an elephant makes...embarrassing!!! Ha!  But the show got started and we had so much fun!  Laura was amazed by Simba...so much so that we had to remind her to watch the show!  The dancers and Tumble Monkeys were so interactive with us, it was an awesome show!  At one point in the show, the dancers choose children from the audience to dance around the auditorium with them!  Luckily, our dancer saw Laura's potential and invited her to dance!!  Oh man, if you know Laura at all you know how she lovesssss to dance!  She got a shaker and she went to work!  Laura was dancing all around and even took a bow when her time as the star of the show was up!  Classic Laura!  It was such a magical moment and leave it to the Fogle girls to start crying watching it happen!  

Laura stealing the show as always!

After our afternoon at Animal Kingdom, we headed to the Trails End Restaurant at Fort Wilderness.  We'd never been to this restaurant and I was more than excited.  Its a buffet with some gooooood food!  Between the ribs and BBQ and macaroni and cheese and cornbread, I was kind of in heaven.  Florida doesn't have southern food and this was the closest I've gotten in a while!  There was so much awesome food, it was hard to choose what all to try!  Okay, I'll stop being a fatty and telling you all about our food! But, you should check out Trails End!  It rocked!

Sunday started our day at Magic Kingdom!!  First thing we did was run to get Fast Passes to meet the princesses.  As Sarah and I went to the back of the park for those, the Haines women found Susie, a Cast Member in Entertainment walking down Main Street who could tell how much Laura wanted to go on the Carousel and she made some magic happen so that Laura could ride on Cinderella's horse.  In case you don't know, Cinderella's horse has a gold ribbon on its tail!  Laura felt like Cinderella and Susie even made sure we had a PhotoPass photographer taking pictures of Laura enjoying it all!  Talk about another Magical Moment!  As a Cast Member, I know how awesome it is to make a child's day with some magic.  As a Cast Member in the park as a Guest, it was even more awesome to see the magic happen!!!!

Loving life on Cinderella's Horse!

After riding the Carousel, we headed to meet the Princesses!  First was Cinderella and Aurora then Rapunzel and Snow White!  We even met Lady Tremaine and the evil stepsisters.  Laura wasn't the biggest fan but they were so entertaining! 

Love love love my sweet Mama!

Can't ever get enough of my sweet Aunt Laura!

We rode lots and lots of rides throughout the day and even ate lunch at Be Our Guest with more of our family!  My dad's twin, Aunt Nancy and her family came to Magic Kingdom for the day as well!  My cousin Kevin and his wife Dixie moved to Gainesville this summer and Aunt Nancy, Uncle Jeff, and Lisa were down visiting so it was awesome getting to see even more family!!!  

On the People Mover...far from Laura's favorite ride!

While in Tomorrowland, my good friend Stitch told me he would be at a dance party!  As soon as I told Laura Stitch wanted to dance with her, she got pretty excited!  We saw Chip and Dale come out to the party and waited on Stitch!  Laura loved getting to dance with Stitch and all the kids were jealous of Laura getting all the attention!

We ate dinner at my restaurant and I was so excited to see some of my pals from work!!  Also, this was the first time I've eaten at my restaurant as a Guest!  It was awesome, as if I would expect anything less from the Harbour House!  We hit up the Haunted Mansion after dinner and Laura absolutely lovedddd it!  She's still talking about it!  Our day at Magic Kingdom was magical indeed!

Monday was our day at Hollywood Studios!  First thing we did was Tower of Terror and Rock 'n Roller Coaster!  I sat with Laura instead of going on Tower of Terror...it is the only ride at Disney I won't do!  And then my mom and I switched places for Rock 'n Roller Coaster!  We ate at my favorite place, Pizza Planet, for lunch!  And we rode my favorite ride, Toy Story Midway Mania!!!!  We rode almost every ride there and saw the Beauty and the Beast show as well as the Little Mermaid show!  Laura loved them both!!  We ended our night at Fantasmic!  Somehow the Fogle's have never seen this show and I wasn't going to let my family leave without seeing them this time.  Laura enjoyed it way more than Wishes (just because she doesn't really like the loud noises that come with fireworks).  But she loved seeing all the characters and the music at Fantasmic!

Hanging out with our Trading Pins, typical tourists!

After the show, we headed out and took one last picture in front of the hat..that you can't really see!

It was such a fun weekend with my family here!  Makes me wish they could come all the time!  Getting to experience Laura's first visit will be one of my favorite memories forever!  So so thankful for my family and the time we got to spend together!

Encouraging Visitors

Wow, am I a terrible blogger or what?  Sorry life has been crazy but I figured I'd update you on some of the most exciting things that have been going on!  October is here and has brought many people I love to Disney with it!  Unfortunately in Florida, October doesn't mean fall colors, chilly weather, sweaters and boots, or leaves changing colors.  It pretty much feels like August just at night its in the upper 70's instead of the 80's/90's it is all day long.  I guess that's the only way I feel like its fall.  I've literally been having dreams that I get to drive through the mountains (at Lake J of course) wearing boots, jeans, a cardigan, and a scarf and I am just happy as a clam.  All I want is fall!!!!  Oh, the things that would make me happy right now!  Fall is my favorite time of year and I just hate it hasn't shown up in Central Florida yet.

October has brought some exciting things, though!!  First came Katherine and Joe (a couple days before October started).  They came down for the USC vs. UCF football game and decided to spend some time at Disney World.  I was ecstatic because it had been a month and a half since seeing Katherine!!  They came to Magic Kingdom after the game and we had so much fun!

Katherine meets Mickey

I had to document Joe hugging Mickey!!

It's a Small World with my BFFL

The aftermath of Splash Mountain

Our awesome picture!

 After Katherine and Joe's weekend visit, next my dad came to see me!!!!! He was only here a little longer than 24 hours but we did a lot in our short time.  First off, we stayed at All Star Movies Resort and we were chosen to participate in the Magic Band testing!!! Eeeeek!  In case you haven't heard how awesome these are, I could go on for days and days about them.  They're still in testing right now but soon (before the end of the year) everyone who stays on property will receive these.  They act as your room key, your park tickets, FastPass+, reservations, and you can save your credit card to it!  They'll get mailed to your house in this super cute box with Mrs. Incredible on the outside.  Inside is everyone's personalized Magic Bands!!!!  Your name is even on the inside.  You get to choose between different colors and they rock!  Getting to stay in a hotel with a big bed was magical for sure.  Any break from working every day is pretty wonderful!

Our awesome Magic Bands.  I of course got pink and Glenn got orange (duhhhh, he's got that Clemson blood).

Can't start out a Disney vacation without some Mickey towels!

 After dropping our stuff at the hotel, we headed to lunch at the Wilderness Lodge at the Whispering Canyon Cafe.  My family ate here years ago on one of our trips to Disney and we loved it!  My dad absolutely loves the Wilderness Lodge because it just looks like a great big log cabin and my daddy loves some log cabins.  If my mom didn't insist on living close to civilization, I have no doubts my dad would love to live in the middle of nowhere in a big log cabin! 

Our view of the lobby at lunch

Sooooo happy with my Daddy!

 Also, another side note:  when my family comes to town it means I get to eat like a normal person.  While I'm no longer a college student, I'm still broke and living in Orlando like I'm a college student.  My meals consist of Ramen, Easy Mac, cereal, and when I feel like cooking...some Hamburger Helper.  You could say I don't exactly eat real food all the time.  Since my dad was here and I got some awesome discounts, we did the Disney Dining Plan and got lots of good food!!!  Beware of lots of food pictures!

BBQ, sweet potato fries, and baked beans...need I say more?

In case you haven't eaten at Whispering Canyon Cafe, ketchup is a big deal!  When you ask for ketchup, you don't just get one, you get them all!  Everyone in the restaurant brings you the ketchup from their table.  Even though my dad just needed a little bit, we had plentyyyy of ketchup to go around!

 After lunch, we headed back to the hotel for a quick nap before heading to Epcot for the night!!

Gotta love selfies with my Daddy!

 At Epcot, we decided to eat around the world a little at the Food and Wine Festival!

First we got Filet Mignon's from Canada using our snack!! That's right, a $7 steak fo free using our snack from the DDP.  What a deal!  My dad got a beer too, but you know beer isn't my thing!

I stopped at Hawaii for a taste of the Aulani Sunrise which was amazingggg.

 After dinner, we headed to do some of my dad's favorite rides.  We had to do Soarin' because its my dad's all-time favorite!  He even has a t-shirt and a keychain so you know he's serious about this ride!  It was amazing as always and then we headed over to Test Track.  Test Track has been refurbished since our last trip to Disney and I knew Daddy would just love it.  The ride is sponsored by Chevrolet, which is usually a Fogle favorite, even though he just bought a Ford truck!  Haha, he still loved it!  Sorry if this ruins any magic but you get to design your own car now and then throughout the ride they're testing your individual car to see how it performs on the tests!!!  This is Disney's new thing on every attraction, they want to make everything as interactive as possible.  And as a future teacher who thrives on hands-on activities, Disney is doing an awesome job of being educational and hands-on! 

Daddy's truck

My pink car, of course!

Loving Test Track!

 After some rides, we headed back to Food and Wine and did some shopping.  I tried the Apple Strudel from Germany and we got ready for IllumiNations, the fireworks!  It was such a fun afternoon and night at Epcot and I was so glad to finally see what the Food and Wine Festival was all about!  It will be here through November, if you want to come check it out!

Back to the awesome food I was so happy my dad could provide for me...we had breakfast at the hotel.  The beloved Mickey waffle and bacon (not pictured because I already ate it) were the start to another fun day!

It tastes better because its Mickey, of course!

 We packed up, checked out, and hit the gift shop for some presents before heading to Downtown Disney.

We shopped and I must say, my dad even made a surprise purchase for the family.  I never would have thought he would have bought the family a Disney present without any pressure (hahahah) but it happened!  After shopping and checking out where we wanted to use our last meal, we found Wolfgang Puck Express!  So here's the deal, it has the same menu as Wolfgang Puck (not as much stuff, but same stuff) but it counts as Quick Service instead of Table Service.  I got the Chicken Alfredo and it was divine!  Daddy got half a chicken with their amazing fries!  This meal would have costed us $50+ had it not been for using our meal.  For reals people, you have to do the Disney Dining Plan, it rocks!  And as far as using this meal as a Quick Service meal, I just want to tell the whole world to do it because it was such a good deal and good meal!

Again, sorry for the food pics! Broke college girl, over here!

We went to World of Disney after lunch and stumbled upon a Bucket 'O Soldiers!  In case you didn't know, when I turned 5 my dad decided to give me army soldiers assuring me they'd come to life when I left the room like they did in Toy Story.  For forever, we've always found toy soldiers and this trip didn't stop us!  

Saying goodbye to my dad was bittersweet as always.  I was emotional (surprise) because I didn't want our time to end, but knowing I'd get to see him again in a couple weeks, made it okay!  I'm so thankful that my dad took the time to come see me, even if it was for a 48 hour trip total!  Having familiar faces and loved ones here at Disney is so encouraging, I can't even say it enough!!

I'm realizing many, many things about myself while working here and one is that I get easily bored.  Sorry if that sounds terrible of me, but its true!  So waking up and putting on my colonial garb and doing the same thing every day sometimes gets repetitive and I'm not a fan of repetitive things.  When the opportunity presented itself to work another shift, I didn't hesitate in picking it up!  The first shift I picked up was a Parade Audience Control shift.  It was only a 3 hour and 45 minute shift but time is money and I figured it would be fun!

Exciting part #1:  Wearing a different costume
Exciting part #2:  Wearing my hair down (without a bonnet)
Exciting part #3:  Knowing I wouldn't have to take out any trash!!!!

Sorry for all the selfies!!!

Even the buttons were of the castle!

 So my shift was super awesome and super easy!  I showed up extra early because I was worried about getting lost/being late.  My start time was 6:00 p.m. so I clocked in 15 minutes early to get my assignment and then we just sat around until a meeting started at 6:00.  This was super weird to me because we only have an Opening meeting like 15 minutes before we open and I figured this meeting must be like that.  WRONG!  This meeting lasted for an hour and at the end, we got our assignments.  I was assigned to a group with our leader, Angel!  He was hilarious and we had lots of fun working together.  Pretty much all I did before the parade was redirect traffic, answer questions, and help people get to where they could see the parade.  Of course there were difficult moments, but again, I was thankful that no trash or physical labor would be involved so I was a happy girl.  As if I didn't know this about myself before starting to work for Disney, physical labor isn't really my thing.  I'd much rather have a job where I don't have to sweat or do heavy lifting all day...duly noted for the future!  Apparently this night was a particularly difficult night and we were understaffed but I didn't think it seemed to difficult compared to what I usually do.  I loved it and I've already picked up another shift for next week!  The end of my shift was another meeting, our break, and then I headed out!  I am very thankful for getting to pick up other shifts because it helps me remember why I'm working for Disney!  Just getting to talk to Guests and interact with them are the moments I love most!

The next day was my roommate, Mindy's birthday!  We had lunch reservations at Akerhus Banquet Hall in Norway at Epcot!  I've been here twice for breakfast with my family but lunch was a totally different menu and still so much fun!  None of my roommates had ever been, so it was exciting getting to experience this with them!  Also, there is rarely ever a time where we're all together at the same time, so it was nice to all have the day off and get to spend some time together!  We got visits from Cinderella, Aurora, Snow White, and Ariel!

Cinderella was beautiful as always!

Aurora reminded me that she would take me dancing to find a prince!

Snow White had extra rosy cheeks but was so much fun to talk to!

And of course, my favorite princess of all, Ariel was awesome!!!!!!

This was my conversation with Ariel:
Me:  Hey Ariel!!!!
Ariel:  Well, hello princess!
Me:  Can we get a picture together?
Ariel:  Of course!
Me:  Ariel, you're my favorite!
Ariel:  Oh, you're my favorite too! (And then I got the biggest hug ever and the picture above!)

MAGICAL MOMENT!!!! I was in Heaven.  It doesn't matter how many times I've met Ariel, this was the best visit everrrrr!  Okay, I'll calm down again!

The beautiful birthday girl with her card signed by all the princesses and her surprise cupcake!

 Lunch was amazing and again, real food rocks!!!  I'm always a fan of going out to eat because I know I'll actually eat a real meal!

Another exciting thing happened that week and that was that my Disney class started!  I'm taking a fun class called Disney Heritage and its part of the Exploration series, meaning its not for credit or anything!  This is like the hardest class to get in so I'm so thankful I have a spot.  We'll be learning about the history of the Walt Disney Company and how we got to where we are today! One of the best parts of the class?  Molly is in it with me!!!! What are the chances?  We didn't know each other when we had to register, had no idea where we'd be working much less that we'd be working in the same restaurant, we definitely didn't know we shared a birthday or the same love for Jesus, and we get to share this time together in class!!!  I'm excited about it!  I don't have to be that awkward girl who doesn't know anyone.  I'll try to post cool things I learn from class, but you might just have to wait for it to come up in conversation for me to tell you awesome things!

Love love love her!

 After class, we went to dinner at Chuy's and it was amazing!  I had been craving some good Mexican food for a while, and Molly knew just the place!  Again, I'm so thankful for Molly and our friendship.  No worries, we already have plans for me to come visit her in Dallas and she'll have to come see me as well.  And, we might just go on a road trip to Marceline, Missouri (Walt's hometown) for our birthday! Hahaha, big plans for sure!

Like I said before and I'll say it a million times, any way that I can connect with Guests makes my days better!  Whether its finding someone from South Carolina, finding someone who knows what PC is, or finding someone who has heard of Irmo, it always makes my heart smile to make that connection.  Its even more exciting when I get to see familiar faces!  I've seen so many people who have taken the time to come visit me at work and I couldn't be more thankful!  In September, I saw the Harmon's and Katherine and Joe!  Since then, I've seen my Econ teacher from high school, Mrs. Long and her family!  That was so reassuring to see Mrs. Long and even hear her say she's proud of me!  Not a day goes by where that little bit of doubt speaks up in my mind and makes me second guess my decision to come to Disney, but hearing such reassuring words makes the doubt go away!  This past Friday, I even saw my own sorority sister, precious Lauren!!!  She was one of my Belk girls my junior year and one of my favorite ADPi's!  She came to see me at work before the Halloween party and I was sooooo happy!!  Maybe this picture can be published in the Adelphaen?! Ha!

This weekend was filled with fun times as my family came to visit!  That will be an entire blog post of its own!  Thanks for following my journey!!!