Snippets of September - NFL Sundays, Food & Wine Festival and meeting Mary Poppins!

September; my first full month in Florida! It was a bit of a whirlwind experience - I was still getting used to everything. The heat, my surroundings, the job, the people, the food especially. There's no such thing as Nutty Crust and Heinz Baked Beans for lunch over here. There's no such thing as a plate of your mum's Special Sunday Roast. Most of the food is pretty bland to be honest! 

Living in Florida has required a lot of adjustment and adapting to a different environment - but it has been extremely fun! September has had its ups and downs of course; some of the highlights have been getting to visit some of the Disney Parks, meeting and spending time with new friends, learning more about my job and the history of Disney, and having a good time!

My days off are a lot of fun; we have an amazing pool and fitness center at our apartments which is amazing!

During September, I have had the chance to go exploring on my days off; including some of the parks, Mickey's Retreat and I have had a taste of the nightlife also!

Also, September was the month when the NFL started back; which meant NFL Sundays!

Whether it was Orlando Ale House, or Buffalo Wild Wings; we always seemed to have fun on NFL Sundays! I even met a group of amazing people from New York who were watching the NFL in the same bar as us. Despite the fact I know absolutely zero about NFL, it has still be fun to go out and have fun, and have some food and drinks with good company and good entertainment!

September was also the month in which the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival began. Food & Wine is an annual event in which guests can taste their way around the World Showcase. My favourite Food & Wine stand is Ireland; where they serve amazing Fisherman's pie, and a selection of Kerry-gold cheeses - a tasty treat from home!

The Food & Wine Festival lasts for six weeks and runs until mid-November; and Epcot gets extremely busy during this time, especially on the weekends! Events like this make working at Walt Disney World that little bit more special!


September has been a fun few weeks for me in Florida; having met lots of new friends and starting to settle in to a routine. I've had lots of fun so far and can't wait for more adventure and excitement. I'll sign off September with a nice photo of me with Mary Poppins - who is practically perfect in every way! :)

An unexpected yet ever so awesome phone call at Disney!

Okay, so; I was having an amazing time at Hollywood Studios with my brother Michael and his girlfriend Kathryn when my phone suddenly rang.

It was a lady from the Daily Mirror - how exciting! 

She spoke to me at length about myself and how I enjoy volunteering; and asked me would it be okay to publish an article in the English version of the paper. How amazing is that?

The article was published on the 5th September; and was also released as a digital version. My mum and dad were also posted a copy of the newspaper. Very proud parents indeed! Here is a link to the online version. Enjoy!

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/real-life-stories/how-volunteering-london-olympics-led-2252231

Michael & Kathryn's Visit - August 2013

Some time before I had accepted my place on the Cultural Representative Program, my brother had booked a holiday to Florida with his girlfriend Kathryn. 

They arrived 10 days after I had left for the States - so we were able to meet up and go to Disney and sample the nightlife!

My brother Michael & myself

I also have a friend from back home; Eddie, who currently lives and works in Orlando. So the four of us decided to go to Hooters for some food and drinks. We went on a bit of a bar crawl after that; to the Lucky Leprechaun, an English Pub and finally, Murphy's Pub.

A few days later, we decided to go to Hollywood Studios for the day. It was also my first time being in the park, as I had only been in the States for a few weeks and hadn't had much time to explore. 

Unfortunately, I only got to meet up with Michael and Kathryn a few times, but I had so much fun when they were out here and it helped me settle in that little bit easier. Hopefully I might see them sometime throughout the year for another holiday!

Eddie, Emily, Aaron and myself

However, as well as my brother and Kathryn coming over to Florida, my cousin Emily and her boyfriend Aaron also came over and we were able to meet up on the last night of their trip. We went to the Lucky Leprechaun for a few drinks before they headed home.

It was amazing to be able to see some familiar faces from home, and I'm so glad that I was able to spend time with them. Such exciting times - and I'd only been here three weeks!

Meeting Goofy at Hollywood Studios

Disney Traditions & the first few days of work

After having a few days to settle in our new apartments - it was time for Disney Traditions!

Traditions was our first official day of work, so we hopped on the bus and made our way to Disney University.

Traditions introduced us to the culture and heritage of Disney and we were taught about the history of Disney, past and present; and the future of Disney and how we would be a part of it.

Once we had all checked in, we were brought to class and met lots of people from different countries. The Traditions class lasted about four hours and we then found out we would be going for a tour of Magic Kingdom.

When we arrived at Magic Kingdom, I was pretty gobsmacked. It was incredible! I'm not sure I could really believe it at the time!

After lunch, we returned to the classroom and we had a special guest there to see us - Mickey Mouse! 

Not only that, we got our name badges too - even though mine was spelt wrong at first (Haha)!

We also had a few (less exciting) training days, when we did a lot of online work; however we were all so excited to get to Epcot and the UK Pavilion and see more of our place of work!

On the day of our tour of Epcot, we got a boat ride around the World Showcase. 

Sounds amazing doesn't it? Well, yes - everyone loved it. Except me - I have a fear of water you see! Ahhh! It was so scary! But the views were amazing and we were finally able to see the UK Pavilion! 

Spaceship Earth - EPCOT

After an amazing tour of Epcot, we headed back to our classes and were given our schedules for the next few days! Exciting eh? Finally a Disney Cast Member!

The Rose & Crown Pub & Restaurant

Arriving in Florida

Hello everyone & thank you for taking the time to visit my blog!

I am currently a Cultural Representative at The Walt Disney World Resort in Florida in the UK Pavilion in Epcot.

I have been in the USA for over 10 weeks now - It has been a crazy 10 weeks at that and I apologise for not keeping you all up to date! 

On Tuesday 13th August, myself and Eleanor (my friend from university) departed Belfast after saying goodbye to our families. After a stopover in Newark Airport, we arrived in Orlando; exhausted after a 15 hour journey & spirits dampened by the fact that the airport had held back our luggage.

However; we were both extremely excited to start our amazing Disney adventures! 

Once we had disembarked our flight, we were picked up by Eddie, one of my friends from home who lives in Orlando. We walked out of the airport and felt the Florida heat for the first time; wow - it was hot!

We then made our way to Vista Way to find out where we were living! 

After signing some forms & collecting our housing ID's, a lady called Brittney drove us to our new apartment in Patterson Court. It was amazing! There were three bedrooms, with two beds in each - six of us altogether. 

We met our new housemates the next morning; three of us (Eleanor, Geraldine and myself), were all from Northern Ireland, Natalie from England, Helena from Germany and Synnove from Norway. Everyone was extremely welcoming and excited to be in the States!

Once I had recovered from the jet-lag; I started to decorate my side of the bedroom. I put up dozens of photos from home, along with my 'Good Luck' cards and my lucky Irish flag!

At this point, I couldn't actually believe that I was in the States. Before this, I had only ever been to London and Manchester! Pretty crazy for a little home-bird!

A few days after we arrived, it was time for traditions and training. It was very exciting to finally meet up with our fellow cast-members from various different countries who would all be working in the World Showcase at Epcot!

The Adventure had commenced!