Pre Check-In Weekend...
These past few days have gone by so fast! I've been enjoying every SINGLE minute that I'm here! I've been having some late nights and having really been able to write like I wanted, but I might as well catch you up on what I did this weekend while I wait to leave for check-in...
After leaving Marianna, Florida on Saturday morning, my mom offered to drive the rest of the way to Orlando! It was a very nice drive, full of Disney-themed music, many Snapchats, and talks about what I might be doing this week! We ended up leaving Marianna right at 7:00 AM because of the time change after reaching Tallahassee. We had reservations for Beaches and Cream at the Beach Club resort for 2:00 PM, so we were trying to make it to Disney by around 12:30-1:00 PM. As soon as we drove under the BIG PURPLE DISNEY SIGN, we made our way to check-in to our hotel at the Coronado Springs. The weather had warmed up a lot since that morning!! When we walked in to check-in, I immediately recognized a girl named, Nicole who I had been following on Instagram and had read her blog and watched some of her videos on YouTube. She's also doing the Disney College Program this spring and had posted in her blog that she would be working Concierge at the Coronado Springs, so I was wondering if I would see her, and she was actually the one who checked us in! It was so exciting getting to meet her and watch her train with her "Earning her Ears" ribbon on her nametag.
After that, we drove both our cars and parked them closer to our room and went to see what our room looked like. It was GORGEOUS just as I remembered it!! We then drove in one of our cars to the Beach Club Resort. We arrived a little before our reservation for Beaches and Cream, so we had to wait with a pager until a table would be ready for us. So many people were swimming and it's late January/early February! That's crazy!!
Unbelievably, we are able to eat the entire Kitchen Sink!! My family had all been wanting to try this since January and all the toppings mixed with all the scoops of ice cream is a definite MUST-DO! Right after our server brought out our Kitchen Sink, I got a very nice surprise from my friend Emily!! We both got accepted the same day for Merchandise and met through the Facebook page and had been talking ever since! She was supposed to have reservations there too around the same time apparently, but something fell through with their plans. It was okay though because we had been planning anyways to meet up later that night! It was so exciting meeting her!!!
After we finished the Kitchen Sink, we came back to our room at the Coronado Springs for a little bit in order to charge our phones some more. My mom went outside to make a call, while me and my brother and dad were all still in the room. Someone came and knocked on our door, and at first, I thought it was my mom, but when I answered it, one of the cast members at our resort brought a balloon and a sweet little card to me to Congratulate me for being accepted into the Disney College Program!! She gave me a bright yellow balloon with an "I'm Celebrating" pin with the words "College Program" on it. The card had a photograph of all the characters with the message "To: Krista, We hope you have a wonderful time and enjoy your stay." It was truly the most MAGICAL moment I have ever experienced!!
We then decided to take a bus from our hotel to Magic Kingdom in order to catch the monorail. I've always loved just sitting on the monorail and riding it around the resort loop! My brother really wanted to ride it all the way around one time at least, and then get off at each resort! We visited the Contemporary, Polynesian, and Grand Floridian resorts and walked around all the gift shops in each!
Waiting for the Magic Kingdom bus
The new and renovated Polynesian
The Grand Floridian
Around dinner time, we headed back to our resort and my friend Emily ended up meeting us at the Pepper Market. We talked for a good bit and then went back to our room to grab a few things and talk some more before heading over to Downtown Disney! We took the Disney buses and went into a few stores and pin traded with someone working in Pin Traders and then with another lady at a cart right outside that store. Her name was Kim and she was super sweet to both of us! I was wearing my "I'm Celebrating" pin and she noticed it and welcomed us into the program. Emily really wanted her own celebrating button for the DCP and so we walked with Kim, who was the area manager for several of the stores next to Pin Traders, and she gave Emily her "I'm Celebrating" pin. We ended up having a very long conversation all about the program. She told us all about her working Merchandise in Magic Kingdom in Adventureland and some of the International College Programer's were talking to us also all about how they've enjoyed their program! It made us both super excited to start and we couldn't stop smiling! We didn't want to leave the store! Around 11:00 PM though, we headed over to Ghirardelli's so Emily could get a milkshake and the cast member there ended up giving her a cast member discount since we were just starting our program. Everyone today was so sweet and made me so excited for check-in on Monday!
Me and Emily in Downtown Disney
~ Krista Lauren Girod
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