We drove past Daytona International Speedway.

We relaxed on the beach, and tried to ride surf all afternoon. It was fun to take pictures in the ocean with my new waterproof digital camera.

We then wandered around the local shops, and went to a Maui Nix Surf Shop.

 

Yesterday a freak rain storm moved into WDW in the afternoon. Guests were getting soaked, and ran for cover in the restaurant. It got really hectic. As you can tell from the pics below, it was pouring! Then the skys cleared up, and a few of us headed to the MK for EMH (until 3am). I got to meet Shanan (a fellow Canadian on the ICP) that I had been chatting with prior to her arrival. Of course, Patrick played a joke on her, and got everyone to stand on the outside of the stretching room. It was really funny, but she handled it perfectly and got everyone into the dead center! :-)

* I have been posting select pictures in my blog - but dont forget to view the complete galleries through the banner link above. 

Today the last few arrival groups from Canada & the UK (about 20) had a roundtable meeting with Megan - the manager of Ca & UK. She went over how things have been going, whats expected of us, and we even watched a movie named "Give'em the Pickle"! The meeting took place in the upper floors of "The Land" where Soarin' is located. Through one of the windows we could look down and see that first picture. I'm not sure of what it is/was, but it sure reminds me of BHC3. Me and Pierre-Luc then toured around Epcot, met up with Anesh and had dinner at Chefs de France. It was too bad that a few others couldnt make it. It was good food. We then looked around Epcot more because the park didnt close until 12.

Yesterday I did Am Gard for Felix Cavalieres Rascals who is famous for such songs as "Good Lovin" and "People got to be free". It was a great concert because it was upbeat music, and the songs were familiar to me. After work I took pictures of the fireworks, and around Canada. Later that night a group of us went out to celebrate AJ's birthday, and to say good-bye to Chase at Buffalo Wild Wings (a karoke restaurant). We sang a 50 cent song, and Gary did a great version of the Back Street Boys. :)

 

Today was a strange but fun day at work. It started out with me forgeting my shoes on the way to work (i was wearing my sandals). So I grabbed the next bus back from Vista Way to the Commons, and of course..... broke down on the way. It took the driver about 5 min to get it started again. Then I took a cab to Epcot, where I managed to clock in 1 minute before my shift started! :)

I also tried something new for lunch today - I went to China. Amber suggested that we go eat Chinese food over in China, where they offer a special "back door" ordering for cast members. It was great food but unfortunately Amber dropped her camera in the sweet orange sauce. It was really funny :(

I was then finished at 9pm so I watched the fireworks from backstage, which was really fun. Then me and Sandra took advantage of Epcot's EMH and went on Test Track and Mission Space, and went to visit Sarah in the UK. We then went out for dinner to Steak and Shake.

 

Last night 6 of us went to the AK for extra magic hours: Chase, Brad, AJ, Sandra, Sarah and myself (until the park closed at 10). We went on Everest, Dinosaur, Kali River Rapids 3 times (which we all got soaked on), and then Everent 2 more times.

 

Was able to catch a picture of the hitchhiking ghost from the Haunted Mansion:

It was a great night. We were able to fit in a ton of rides in a fairly short amount of time, and nothing is more fun than singing "It's a small world" on Space Mountain. 

Today I got a new camera (that is waterproof and has tons of other features), and decided to test it out at MGM Studios after work. Today was the first day for the Star Wars weekends, and there were several special things happening, from special character greetings to special shows and merchandise. The park wasnt too busy and we managed to get on the ToT and R'nRC several times. We then went to the Sci-Fi Cafe for dinner after the park closed, had great food, and we got to dine in this special drive-in car.


 

One day before work, my mom and I went to the MK. The next day I had culinary day where I got to work in different areas of the kitchen. Everything from baking, prep, grill, expo, and everything in between. I got to try every sauce, side dish, and every dessert (basically everything but the meat). It was good to learn how everything is made and meet all of the kitchen staff. It was a great day, and boy did I come home full.

 

We also drove further south to check out Siesta Key, which is known as having the softest sand in all of the world. On the fourth day as we were leaving Sarasota in the morning, a huge storm moved in behind us, and followed us all of the way back to Orlando. I then returned to work at 230 in the afternoon.

 

I managed to get scheduled 3 days off in a row, so my parents and I decided to go on a little road trip. We drove to Bal Harbor, Miami for the first day. Went to the beach, swam in the ocean, and checked out the nearby resorts.

That night we went to check out SoBe (South Beach) and had dinner at Ocean's 10 (a famous restaurant located on Ocean and 10th).
The next day we drove out of Miami, well actually back in to check out SoBe once again. We then drove out to the west coast and to Sarasota.
We took I75 across the state, known as aligator alley, where it was a scorching 98 degrees outside.
We stayed on Lido Beach on St. Aramand's Key, where the water temp was 82, and the sand was the softest in all of the world. The shells along the shore were amazing, and the sunset over the beach was a perfect way to end the day. 

Sorry for not updating this blog lately, my parents have been in town for the last two weeks, and I have been trying to spend as much time as I can with them, doing stuff like going to the parks. We went to the Magic Kingdom and the Animal Kingdom.

 

Today I went to visit Disney's Yellow Shoes - Disney's internal advertising/marketing division. I got to see the ins and outs of pretty much the entire division, from project conception all of the way through to completion. I saw cast members working on special projects for the upcoming Mission Space addition and Expedition Everest. It was very cool. :)

 

Today I went to the MK with Sandra and AJ. It was a great time - we went on tons of rides (without waiting). We went to see Wishes, I got scared on Splash Mountain, and got dizzy on the Tea Cups.
 

Today I went to the AK for a few hours in the afternoon. I had lunch at Restaurantasaurus, then went on Everest 7 times in a row (via the single rider line) - all in the span of less than 2 hours. I came home when the park closed at 5, met up with Renata, Pierre-Luc, and Tessa, and headed to MGM to see Fantasmic!

 

Yesterday 5 of us went to Universal for the day. From left to right - myself, Pierre-Luc, Renata, Candice, and Gary on Jurassic Park, Mummy, Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls. It was a great day, nice weather, the lines werent too long, and we all had fun. We started out at USF by seeing Twister, riding the Mummy, & ET, and then by late afternoon we headed over to IOA where we went on Dr. Doom, Spiderman, DDRSF, JP, and Dueling Dragons. We finished the day by dining at Margaritaville which served amazing food, set in the southern most state (of mind).