Thanksgiving week!

I'm just going to go through my entire week so far, starting with Monday. Sarah and I were both off on Monday. She wanted to go to the mall to look for a coat, so we spent a little while at the mall. Unfortunately, we found almost no jackets at all. I guess that's what we get for trying to find one in Florida. We decided to try Target next. Go figure, nothing there either. The only jackets we did find were not very thick, but very thick in price. She decided not to get something that wouldn't keep her warm. When we got back home, we watched the Christmas special of this show we both like to watch. Then we headed over to Magic Kingdom. By the way, the new maps are out and they have all the attractions for New Fantasyland on them. I know you care. It was dark outside by the time we got there. Our only reason for going was to watch the new light show on the castle. It is called "Celebrate The Magic." I really enjoyed watching it. Disney is amazing in just about everything they do and this show is no exception. I am going to have to go back to Magic Kingdom one night before I go home so I can record it for my family to watch while I am home. I'm getting off track though. When we arrived at Magic Kingdom, the first show of two was just starting. Whenever something like this happens, all guests just stop right where they are, whether or not it is a good place to stand. Unfortunately for us, this includes the tall people of the world. Since Sarah and I are both munchkin sized and really couldn't see anything, we decided to go ride something in Tomorrowland that I hadn't been on and then we would come back after fireworks to watch the second light show. They are exactly the same and we knew we could get a good spot for it. So we headed over to Tomorrowland. The Astro Orbiter had about a 15 minute wait. That never happens, so we jumped in line. This ride is a lot like Dumbo, in the sense that you are in a "flying" rocket that flies in circles and can go up and down. The thing that makes this different is that this ride is on the roof. You have to take an elevator to get up there! After we took the elevator, we had to wait another 5 or 10 minutes. While we were waiting, Wishes, the fireworks show, started! We had a great view, or would have if the other people waiting nearby hadn't stood in front of us to take pictures. Oh well. Finally, it was our turn. The fireworks were still going, which was pretty cool. We got all strapped into our rocket and we were off! Here's the best part. As soon as we were in the air, the finale of Wishes started. So we got to see the most amazing part of the fireworks from in the air! We had the best view in the entire Magic Kingdom! It was really awesome. I would say everyone should try to do this, but there's no way anyone could time it that perfectly again by trying. It just happened and it was so cool. That was definitely the best part of my day! After that, we watched Celebrate The Magic and then went back home. We were cold and tired and were getting up early the next day to go to Harry Potter World because Sarah had never been and she loves Harry Potter!

We didn't have class this week because of Thanksgiving. It was nice to get an extra day off. We headed to Islands of Adventure on Tuesday morning. Sarah loved the Harry Potter World. I know it actually has a longer name than that, and typically I like to call things by their proper name, but I can never remember exactly what it is, so it's just Harry Potter World to me! We were both hungry for lunch by the time we actually got there, so we headed over to The Three Broomsticks for lunch. We both had a salad with some kind of beef pastry sort of thing and butterbeer. It was super delicious. Plus, it was just really cool to eat at a restaurant that is based on your favorite book series and movies. I will say this, one thing Universal has done very well is Harry Potter World. It is nearly perfect. After lunch, we went on the ride inside of the castle. Just the queue line was enough for me. You walk through various parts of the castle and there are things that were in the movies. That is very cool to see. Paintings move and talk, newspaper pictures move, you see Dumbledore, Harry, Hermione, and Ron and they look like they are really standing right in front of you. After the ride, we wandered around the rest of the park and ended up right back in Harry Potter World. We did stop to ride some things in Seuss Land, but ended up returning to Harry Potter World to say goodbye and get a quick snack. If you've ever seen the movies, you may find this amusing. Moaning Myrtle is in the girls' bathroom. That made me laugh. Once we were all done with the park, we headed over to Universal so I could run in and grab something from the Despicable Me gift shop. Luckily, we only had to go into City Walk to find it instead of going all the way to Universal. I got a fluffy unicorn! YAY! I was very excited. I didn't even ask for a bag. I carried it proudly all the way to my car. That concluded our trip to Harry Potter World. When we got home, Sarah went to her friend's apartment and I went to hang out with Hayden.

Wednesday I was friends with Donald at Pete's Silly Sideshow again. I didn't particularly enjoy this shift. The tent was so crowded that the characters had to go super fast. It was kind of a rough day. I hate when the lines are so long that we can't do anything but take the picture and send the guests away. That isn't fun for them and it isn't fun for us. Nothing overly excited happened during my shift. After work, I went over to Kayla's apartment. She had spent two days preparing a Thanksgiving dinner for her and some of her friends. I thought that was so nice. She's a great cook, so that made it even better. It was nice to spend some time with friends.

Yesterday, on the real Thanksgiving, I worked all day with Minnie at Character Spot in Epcot. I think at this point, everyone except my schedulers know how much I love Minnie. Yesterday was the first day since I have been here that I really just didn't want the work day to end at all. I have had lots of shifts that I enjoyed, of course. But normally, the fact that I'm tired and hungry takes over and makes me ready to leave. Not yesterday though! I would have stayed another 7 hours if I had to just because I love Minnie that much. When I got to work, I found out that all of Entertainment got free Thanksgiving lunch. This was very exciting. Free food you weren't expecting is always exciting. After work, I got a text from Sara Robbins asking if I wanted to come have Thanksgiving with her! I was very happy that she offered this to me. After getting home, showering, and skyping with my family, I headed straight over. We ate together and watched The Blind Side, even though she had already watched it earlier that day. Sara is a great friend and I'm very lucky to have her here.

Alright, now it's time for whatever comes to mind:

I desperately need to figure out my roommate situation for next semester.

I like the cold weather we have been having. I'm very into jackets, hats, and scarves. However, I have a very small supply of sweaters and long sleeved shirts, so this is starting to suck.

We have yet another apartment inspection coming up next week or the week after. I think some CP's got themselves into a bad situation and as a result everyone else has to be checked up on every month. I don't mind it much, it's just an inconvenience.

The Disney College Program Winter Formal is next Tuesday. I'm excited. Sarah and I are both going. I'm mostly just excited to dress up. I never get to dress up, so every opportunity is a good one!

Only 12 more days until I am back home!

I would lastly like to share a comment that was left on my blog yesterday morning. I found it very touching.

"Beautiful words. My family was also part of this amazing Kidd's Kids journey. All of the families walk such different paths, but we are all on the same journey...a journey of life with a chronically or terminally ill child. What a beautiful thing to be able to forget about doctors visits and hospital stays for a few days, and spend time in the most magical place on earth. There's no way to put a price tag on something like that. My son, Zach, has had one wish for the past two years...to give Mickey Mouse a high five. He finally got that wish on our last morning at breakfast. He could see the shadow of Mickey's ears just beyond the closed doors, and his little heart was racing so. The look on his face as Mickey walked in the room was something that will stay with me forever. He got his high five, and I got to be there to see his wish come true. I couldn't stop the tears then,,,and I'm typing through tears now. While I realize it might not have been you behind the mask that day...but that doesn't matter. What you do is make wishes come true. The smallest act, such as a high five or a hug, can have the most profound effect. Thank you for making wishes come true. Just like Cinderella says, a dream really is a wish your heart makes. Here's to the magic. Here's to fairy tales. Here's to happy endings. And here's to you."

Have a magical day!