December at Disney - And a wee visit home!

OK guys, so I've neglected this blog for over a month now! Uh-oh, sorry about that! 

I had a cracking December. Christmas at Disney is amazing! All of the parks looked stunning, and I am incredibly lucky to have been able to visit each one of them over Christmas!

However, there was something a little different about this Christmas, especially with being so far away from home, and not having my family around me at the most amazing time of year. 

I had been feeling pretty homesick for the majority of my first four months in America. And, I'm not going to lie; but the option of packing everything up and heading back to Irish shores was intensely appealing.

I had this thought in the back of my mind though; that what if, I was able to save up the money to go home for Christmas and see my family. I was looking at return flights; $1000 at best.

I definitely did not have that kind of money sitting around, so I decided to try and work a little extra here and there, to be able to start saving up a bit of money.

Week after week passed, and although my pay checks were increasing, I was still not even close to having enough money for the flights. But then I remembered that I had left my credit card at home with mum and dad, in case I needed it for an emergency. Cha-Ching!!

So I told my four brothers that I was planning to come home for Christmas, but I didn't want them telling my mum and dad in case everything fell through. So mum and dad were none the wiser!

I Skyped my mum a few weeks before Christmas, and made up this really random, ridiculous excuse as to why I needed my credit card number text to me. I told her I had to pay for some University books and fees. Yeah right, mum. As if! 

She believed me though, and send me my credit card details, and I booked a flight home to Ireland!! Woohoo! I was going home for Christmas! Once I had got together a little bit more money, I then booked my return back to Orlando. Phew!

I was however, going to tell my mum and dad that I was coming home - but then again, we all love surprises don't we? 

I was due to fly on the 23rd December, which was a Monday, and because I booked the flights so late, I had to have a 12 hour layover in London. Not so fun! 

There were so many little things I had to do to make sure my mum and dad didn't find out I was coming home; such as turning of the location of my phone so that every time I sent them a Facebook message, it would not say, 'Sent from London', because lets be honest - that would be awkward. 

I packed my bags, including all of my Disney Christmas gifts for the whole family, and set off to the airport. The flight to London took about 7 hours. Then the dreaded layover; a whole 12 hours until my flight to Dublin. So I slept in the airport for a bit; and then went to drop my bag at the Aer Lingus desk when they informed me that I could get an earlier flight! Yay! 

Of course this was fantastic news, however my brother Paddy had my nephew Tyler around at our house, and he had only been there 30 minutes when I text him to let him know that I got on an earlier flight. Operation 'Bring Tyler home to his Mums without being suspicious' had commenced. My own mum and dad still had NO IDEA what was happening, somehow!

And while all this panic was occurring at home, I had just dropped my bag and boarded my flight to Dublin and arrived on the evening of Christmas Eve.

As I got off the plane, I was fully aware of the fact I was back in Ireland, because it was FREEZING! Living in Florida for four months definitely meant that I was not used to the sub zero temperatures of home. How on earth have I coped with these temperatures for 20 years of my life?

My brother Paddy was waiting on me as I collected my luggage, as was my best friend Sean. I was so excited to see them! After nearly four months of being away, there was nothing better than seeing them again! Imagine how excited I was to see my mum and dad! Eeek!

We decided to stop on the way home from Dublin for some food; KFC was the general consensus, much to my delight! 

We then hit the road again to make our way home; but of course, my mum and dad still didn't know I was coming home, and they hadn't a clue where Paddy had gone either. Operation 'tell as many lies as possible' had commenced. 

As we drove in to Lurgan, I still hadn't decided where I was staying the night - so Sean offered to let me kip on his sofa. We arrived at his, and had a few Christmas Eve drinks while I wrapped my presents, and I finally decided to hit the hay at about 1-30am. Me and my brother Paddy had already arranged for me to get to my house on Christmas morning at around 8am.

After five hours sleep, I awoke to a text from Paddy - he told me to make my way to my house, so Sean drove me round. He dropped me off a few doors away of course, to make it less obvious. 

I got out of the car with my bags of Disney presents, and excitedly made my way to my house. I ducked a little and went through our back gate -trying, but failing of course, to be as quiet as possible (Not  very good when you have a squeaky, 15 year old garden gate).

Through my back garden I went, and I stood silent at my back door, waiting for Paddy to text me; and after a few minutes I seen a shadow through the window, and the back door opened. Paddy was really good at Operation 'tell as many lies as possible', after telling my mum and dad that he was going out the back for a cigarette, and while he was sneaking me in to the house, my brother Micky was manning the kitchen door so no one would walk in and see me!

I stayed in the kitchen while Paddy and Micky went back in to the living room, and instead of explaining what happened next - YOU CAN WATCH IT! :)

Watch me surprise my parents at Christmas

Merry Christmas folks, I hope everyone had as much fun as I had. There is nothing more important than family. 

November Adventures - Working in Ireland, Becoming a Trainer, Volunteering & Thanksgiving!

The first few weeks of November were exhausting, yet ever so awesome!

I have been working 6-day weeks for the last month or so; to be able to save up some money so I can do some traveling later in the year.

On Saturday November 9th - there was a special event happening at Disney; The Wine & Dine Half Marathon which was a 13.1 mile course through a number of the Disney Parks and finishing at Epcot.

I started work at 11-30am that morning and was due to finish at 9pm. However; I was offered the chance to work for an extra 7 hours at the Ireland Food & Wine stand!

Normally, I would never extend a shift that long; however, I had previously asked my managers for six weeks if I could work at the Ireland stand during the Food & Wine Festival - and now I finally could! 

Working at the Ireland Stand was absolutely amazing! It didn't feel like work; especially with the length of time I was there! 

It was amazing seeing the Wine & Dine Marathoners with their medals and it was amazing to speak to some of them also!

November just seemed to get better and better though, when I found out I had been picked to become a Disney Trainer!

I attended a Disney Trainer class and received my amazing trainer pin that day.

I trained one of the new arrivals, Emma; and I was extremely lucky to spend five days training her. She made my job so much easier and she picked up everything so quickly. It was lovely meeting and training her.

A few weeks later, I was able to take some much needed time off work to be able to volunteer with Special Olympics Florida. This organisation is very important to me, especially after volunteering as an Event Services Manager with Special Olympics Ireland last year.

I volunteered at the Florida Fall Classic, and my role was to be a 'Fan in the Stand'. I was able to make some amazing posters for the kids that were there, who were all between the ages of 2 and 7. Talk about cute! 

At the end of the evening, all of the volunteers created a guard of honour that the kids ran through - which was fantastic and the smiles on their faces made it all worthwhile!

My experience with Special Olympics Florida is making me extremely excited about further volunteering whilst living in the US.

November was also the month of a very unique day as the whole of the US celebrated Thanksgiving. 

It's days like these that make me personally feel so thankful for having the opportunity to live and work in the USA - and even when I'm having a bad day, I always try to remember how incredibly lucky I am to be here.

So that's November over and done with - It's now December and it's only 24 days until Christmas! I'm looking forward to spending Christmas with my amazing Disney friends. Keep an eye out for more updates!

Podium Problems

Being a Cast Member at Disney is amazing; absolutely fantastic, in fact. Working in the UK Pavilion is full of excitement, enjoyment and magic!

As part of our Cultural Representative Program, we start from the bottom and work our way up. In the UK Pavilion, we start off working in the Fish and Chip Shop, Beer Cart, the podium at the front of the Rose & Crown Restaurant and stocking; (And after three months, I still can't change the gas). 

With all jobs, there are times when your mind is blown by some of the things people say; which brings me to the main point of this post; Podium Problems.

From Ten to One, here is my list of Podium Problems.

10 - It's been a long day in Chippie;

Picture the scene - you're having the longest day imaginable; it' been intensely busy all day; you're just about to shut up shop, and have very little food left. A guest arrives at 8.58pm - '6 Fish & Chips please'. 

9 - Costumes

'So; do you wear these type of hideous clothes back in England'?

Personally, I think our costumes are lovely. Also, I'm unable to answer that question because I'm not actually from England. *Awkward Silence*.

8 - Free Geography Lessons

'Okay, so we're in the English Pavilion'?

'It's the UK Pavilion. It consists of England, Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland'. 

'Wait, but are you not from Ireland'?

'I am, yes'.

'So why are you working in the UK Pavilion'?

7 - Drunken Comedians

Okay, so you have picked up stocker. You run out of Stella on the beer cart. You go to the keg room and grab a fresh keg to bring back. Numerous 40-something year-old's excitedly watch you pushing the keg;

There's only so many times you can hear the 'you can drop that off right here', & 'you can deliver that to my hotel if you like', jokes before going back to the keg room and crying in a corner. 

6 - Can I get a Strong-baaooow?

When it comes to the pronunciation of drink names, we've heard it all;

Strongbow - 'Can I get a Strong-baaooow'?

Bass Ale Draft - 'Can I get a Bass Alé (alley) Draft'

Stella Artois - 'A Stella Artois please', pronounced 'toise'. Rhymes with the word 'noise'.

5 - Double Stroller to table;

It's 8pm. The restaurant is extremely busy and you've just picked up a ticket to bring a party of 5 to an amazing table overlooking the water on the lower deck. They have an INCREDIBLE view for the fireworks. 

So you page them while you get their menus ready and as they arrive, they ask; 'Can we bring our double stroller to the table'?

Even more fabulous.

4 - Why can't we have that table?

Admit it. If you have ever worked in a restaurant then it is incredibly likely that a party have asked you to move seats.

'I don't like this table. Why can't we have that one'?

3 - Can I check your ID please?

The legal drinking age in America is 21 - and it is Disney policy to ID anyone under 30.

Sometimes, you get a few people who blatantly look under 30 - so you ask for ID. 

2 - 'We cannot seat you until all your party is present'

Ever been in a situation when you go out of your way to make sure a party have got a fantastic seat; and when you page them to be seated, they let you know that 4 of their 8-people party are actually on Test Track and won't arrive for another 10 minutes? It makes the servers job a lot easier if the whole party is seated together (I'm not a server but it must be a little frustrating with a half empty 8-top).

1 - 'Can we get a firework seat'?

Number one on the list. When a party arrives without a reservation at the busiest time of the night - and they ask for a 'firework seat'. There is nothing in life, that is more soul destroying than this!

It's like 'Parade', but with an 'M'!

As a cultural representative, I represent Northern Ireland in the UK Pavilion in Epcot.

However, a lot of guests are unaware that the UK Pavilion actually represents four countries; England, Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland; and many think of it as the 'English Pavilion'.

This may be the reason for guests becoming slightly confused when they hear my rich Northern Ireland accent (Not as bad as Cora's though) :)

Which brings me to the main part of this blog post - the top ten things people say to me whilst working in the UK Pavilion.

1. 'Where in England are you from'?
2. 'Oh my god you're Irish'?
3. 'Lurgan, is that near London'?
4. 'Are you a leprechaun'?
5. 'Is that really your accent'?
6. 'Why are you working in the UK pavilion if you are Irish'?
7. 'I'm 1/16th Irish - my name is Murphy',
8. 'I love your freckles',
9. 'Do you know my cousin John Finnegan from Dublin'?

However, the question I get asked the most at work;

'How do you pronounce your name'?

Well...

It's like 'Parade', but with an 'M'.

10 Things that Americans do different

Okay. So American life is a lot different than life back home. In fact, majorly different. 

The food is different, the people are different, the weather is different. Everything is different. Here is a list of everything that I find different in America.

1. The Food;

Back home in Northern Ireland, we enjoy a good Irish Fry Up; potato bread, soda bread, sausages, bacon, eggs, Heinz baked beans & if you're feeling really adventurous, maybe a fried pancake as well. In America, the bacon is awful and they have wieners in place of sausages. Totally dissatisfying! 

Back home we also have a Sunday Roast Dinner; potatoes, roast beef, gravy, vegetables and maybe one or two Yorkshire puddings! Over here in the US, our Sunday dinner is a Wendy's or a Dominos. 

We also sell amazing sweets back in Northern Ireland, as well as chocolate and crisps! (Or potato chips if you are American). American stores do not sell multi-packs of crisps; and the one thing I would love to have in my cupboard is a multi-pack of 30 bags of Tayto! (By the way, that was a major hint to anyone who is thinking of sending any surprise packages to America anytime soon).

2. The Weather;

So back in Northern Ireland, a nice day would be classed as anything over 15 degrees. Anything over 20 degrees and that justifies boys walking around shirtless, and girls getting their most amazing summer dresses on.

In America, anything less than 75 degrees Fahrenheit, then that justifies wearing a hoodie and a pair of sweats. Bear in mind also that 75 degrees Fahrenheit is almost 24 degrees Celsius. And that is quite cold!

3. The People;

American people are generally lovely; but their mannerisms and personalities are completely different to those I am regularly used to. 

For example, a lot of Americans aren't very good when it comes to interacting with someone from another country. I regularly get asked 'Where in England are you from'? and 'Is that really your accent'?

I have also almost lost count at the number of times I have been asked to 'say hello to me in your native language'. 'Um, hello'?

Not to mention the famous question that I get asked 17 million times a day; 'Oh my gosh, how do you pronounce your name'?

4. Hygiene Products;

When I arrived in the US, I had to go to Walmart on my first night to buy some essentials because the airport had lost my luggage, I was extremely surprised to see that Americans do not use spray deodorant. WHAT??

As well as this; I find it almost impossible to find nice baby wipes! They do not exist over here - so if you ever plan on living in America, bring a lifetime supply of baby wipes and spray deodorant!

5. Television;

American television; Keeping up with the Kardashians, Ridiculousness, Friends - there are so many amazing television series. 

I love seeing the opening credits of friends and singing the theme tune, 'Well it hasn't been your day, week, your month, or even your year, do do do do do'. BOOM! Advertisement.

Why are there so many adverts on American television? I flick through the channels and its advert after advert after advert. Noooooo! Why can't I just watch an episode of friends without seeing so many adverts!

6. Money;

In the UK, we have 7 types of coins - 1p, 2p, 10p, 20p, 50p a £1 and a £2 coin. In America we have 4 types of coins - pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters. 

The most annoying thing about American money though, has to be the one dollar bill. Your purse could be bursting, and you think you have lots of money - when in reality, you really only have $17 in one dollar bills. Epic fail. 

7. Sports;

In life, I love nothing better than sitting down in front of the TV and watching some Football! (Soccer for all of you knowledgeable American Sports fans). 

I really miss watching Manchester United play, and the time difference between here and the UK, it is difficult to keep up to date. So I am stuck with American Football. And it's not even real Football.

8. Tipping and Sales Tax;

It is not only common courtesy to tip in America, but it is expected - and most people tip at least 18% - 20%. Add on a little bit of sales tax as well - and the $19.99 Steak that you have just ordered might now just cost you at least $25. That cocktail that costs $6 because it is 'Happy Hour', might actually cost you $8.50 now.

Tipping is not just exclusive to restaurants or bars either; you are even expected to tip your Dominos delivery driver, and your hairdresser too! 

Don't forget the sales tax too - it can spring a little surprise when you head to the checkout! Always have a little extra money with you in case of emergency, and to avoid the embarrassment when your card is declined at the till! (Yes, that has happened me).

9. The legal drinking age;

One of the most annoying aspects of living in America - the legal drinking age. In the UK, the drinking age is 18; in America it is 21. 

Being 20 years of age in America is absolutely awful! You can't go into an off licence and get a few bottles of beer because you will be ID'd. You can't have a nice cocktail at a restaurant with your friends because you will get ID'd. 

Roll on January when I turn 21 - there will be major celebrations!

10. Driving

When I arrived in America, my good friend Eddie picked me up from the airport. I tried to get in to the left hand side of the car, and not realising that it was actually the driver's seat and not the passenger seat. The American road system is so unusual compared to home; there are so many main roads, not a lot of roundabouts, and you don't have to have a number plate on the front of your car. So weird!

So, those are the ten things that I find different about living in America compared to living at home in Northern Ireland. Let me know if you think I have missed anything out! Thanks again for reading! Mairéad.

October Adventures - Volunteering, Mickey's Retreat, and a Missing Minion!

October has been filled with adventure and excitement; I've been working a lot more and earning more money, I was able to visit the Disney parks a few times, and I have spent some amazing time with amazing people! 

As well as this, I found out that I have been accepted to volunteer with Special Olympics Florida and I have also been accepted to volunteer at the Arnold Palmer Invitational Golf Tournament in Orlando in March! I'm so pleased to be able to volunteer here in Florida, because I'm so involved with volunteering back home - especially with Special Olympics Ireland!

October has been an amazing month - and I was able to visit Mickey's Retreat for the first time, which is an area for cast members and friends to chill out and have some fun! It has two pools, paddle boats, volleyball beach courts, a play-park area, football pitches, basketball courts an tennis courts! Pretty amazing eh?

Me and Geraldine (my amazing housemate), go to Mickey's Retreat a lot because we both have Friday off work and we enjoy being able to chill out and spend some time together.

October was also a pretty significant time during my program because I finally started to go out more! Back at home I love going out with my friends, but for some reason it took me quite a while to finally move out of my comfort zone and make new friends. 

'Lasses' has been a major boost to my happiness over here in Orlando; because it's the one night a week when all the girls in the UK Pavilion can get together for a few drinks and have an amazing time! I had my first Lasses in October, and haven't missed a week since! There are some amazing people who I love spending time with and I'm so glad I've finally got involved with everything!

Not only this, I made an amazing new friend in the first week of October; and you may be surprised as to who it is..

I bought a HUGE minion from a guy who works in the UK Pavilion for 5 bucks. That's an absolute steal for a life sized yellow creature; who we eventually named Kevin. He is now Apartment 16206's new mascot!

As with all friends in life - you go through your ups and downs. Kevin has been an absolute delight to have around the house; his mere presence always brings a smile to my face.

So I was absolutely devastated to wake up one morning after Lasses, and he was gone; along with some of my potatoes (P.s, you should never steal potatoes from an Irish person).

Silly me decided to have a drunken power nap (that lasted, like 12 hours), and when I woke up to find he had disappeared, I was extremely sad and tearful. (The effects of the previous night's antics did not make me feel any better either).

So I made it my mission to get him back!

Well, actually, that was a lie; in totally honesty, I was always too tired or working to go and get him back - and he ended up in yet another persons apartment. He must have felt so homesick! 

We finally got him back a few weeks later - and he is now happy and content at being back in 16206, and is having the time of his life! I made him a promise that I will never let anyone steal him, ever again! :)

So that's it for October's Adventures! I hope you've enjoyed my posts and I promise I will update you all again soon. I will leave you all with a photo of me having a blast at Magic Kingdom! Adios amigos! :)

October Adventures - Andrew's Visit!

Okay, so I got a message from my friend Andrew in September saying 'I might be coming to Florida'. Totally didn't believe him - but then I got another message a few weeks later saying, 'I'm coming to Florida'! I was so excited to see another familiar face from home!

When he arrived, he brought me lots of chocolate from home - Freddos, Dairy Milk Caramels, Wispas, and Brandy Balls. He also collected some spray deodorant from my mum because Americans don't use spray deodorant!


We first met up and went to Hollywood Studios. Andrew's friends Michael and Caitriona came along - so we decided that we would visit the American Idol auditions first. Michael and Caitriona are both amazing singers, so they decided to audition. Little did we know how it would all end later that evening..

Caitriona was first up - singing a rendition of Kelly Clarkson's 'A Moment Like This'. The producer seemed to enjoy it! Michael sang ' Your Song' by Elton John, and she loved it as well! They both got through to the next round of producers; so we were brought to a VIP Coke Lounge where Andrew and I waited until they were finished.

Good news - Caitriona got through to the live stage show that evening! We were given a time to return to American Idol - so we had a quick walk around Hollywood Studios before we returned.

When we arrived, we were given VIP seats to watch the show! 

We waited for Caitriona to perform, and she was the last act on stage. She was incredible! The audience loved her, and luckily they voted for her to go through to the Grand Finale later that evening! 

To kill some time before the Grand Finale - we went on Toy Story Mania - which was so much fun! 

We also grabbed a bite to eat, and had a few pictures taken before we headed back to the American Idol attraction.

Again, we were brought to the VIP seats, and Caitriona was scheduled to be the last singer. After everyone had performed, the decision was down to the audience. We waited in anticipation whilst the crowd voted; and when the result was announced - Caitriona had won!! 

Her prize for winning the show was a 'Dream Ticket', which can be used at any American Idol Audition in the USA, and entitles her to skip the queue at the auditions; and the ticket never expires!

What a day! As we left, several people had waited behind to meet Caitriona and get photos. It's safe to say she felt like a celebrity!

A few days later, I had some time off from work so I stayed in the hotel with everyone so we could go to Magic Kingdom the next day. 

Andrew had never been to Florida before - and he absolutely loved Magic Kingdom. We were able to pack so much into one day, including checking out all the merchandise stores, meeting Gaston, and getting to see the amazing parade! (Which conveniently rhymes with my name).

After a majorly long day at Magic Kingdom, we decided to head to Epcot to watch the fireworks and illuminations; even though I get to watch them every night at work! 

I also bought everyone some chips from the Yorkshire County Fish Shop which I work in; and they loved them!

After Illuminations, it was time to head home, Andrew going back to the hotel, and myself going back to my apartment. It was the last time I saw him before he headed back to Ireland so it was pretty sad saying goodbye! I wish the visit could have lasted longer because I had an amazing time - and hopefully they will want to come back again before my cultural representative program ends!