(This is the post that messed up!!)

Again sorry I haven't updated as much as I would've liked to, but the first week or so is actually a whirlwind.
I will get back on track soon though as things are starting to settle down.

Saturday 7th May- Traditions
As I said before, I was a little nervous as I was going to be in Traditions on my own. But actually my room-mate Cristina had to be at Disney University at the same time. So we got the coach at 12 together :) I was the only UK person there, but I sat with the Mexicans (there were 6 of them) and all the rest in the room were Italians. So it was a loud, very upbeat session. Our Traditions guy was also really funny, he got us all to introduce ourselves, and when I said I was from the UK everyone cheered and he said "Represent". We were shown a history on the Walt Disney company, including Operating Participants (as I'm HRC). We played a few games with what we had learnt and all in all it was a fun day! And we got our Disney ID's!! Well they are white temporary ones that only last about 3 months until you have you Social Security all sorted out. Then everyone was taken upstairs to do some e-learning, however I didn't have to do this, so I waited for everyone to finish. Then we caught up with the UK and Canadians from the 7am class to catch the coach back to The Commons.
That night we decided to get together and go out. We ended up at a bar/club called Cowboys, which is apparently THE place to be on a Saturday night. It was a great night, got an awesome party taxi there, it was $12 entry for guys- $8 for girls. And then it was free beer until 1am- so anything like Budweiser you just took your empty bottle up to the bar and they got you a new one. We tried our hand at some line dancing, but most of the people there take it really seriously, Stetsons and everything! It was a really good laugh though. One word of advice, keep hold of everyone as you leave! Otherwise it will take forever to round everyone up and into the taxi!

Sunday 8th May- Day Off!!
The others had to go do more e-learning and F&B training at Disney University, but I had the day off. So we arranged that when they got back we would all go and hit a park with our new Disney ID's. We left Commons at around 2pm and headed off to Animal Kingdom. I'm terrible when it comes to rides- I hate drops, but I'm trying to get better! So we went on the Kali Raiver Rapids, I'll admit, I was nervous. I was sat next to a young boy who was about 8 and there was another kid of about 6 in our boat too. They were fine, and I was the scared one!! Saying that, it was such a fun ride, the drops weren't that bad. Only thing was that I got SOAKED, completely drenched down to the bone. Luckily it was a warm day and I didn't mind!
Next we went for a wander round to Expedition Everest. This I was not ready for, so I watched the bags while the guys went on, twice. I took this time to give my Mum a quick ring. We also went on the Kilamangaro Safaris and lastly went to see Festival of the Lion King. The Lion King show was empty compared to other times, most of the guests seemed really reluctant to sing along and clap.. so being new Cast Members we tried to be really energetic and loud to make up for it, I think the cast appreciated it :)
Then we moved onto the Magic Kingdom. This was Mark's first time in the Magic Kingdom as a guest.. so as soon as he saw the castle it was a real 'Magical Moment'. There we met up with a few others and headed off the Splash Mountain. Again- not a big fan of drops, so I sat that one out. I waited for about 20 minutes until I saw them all in their boat (It's quite good that I sat it out as there are 8 people to a boat and I would have been the 9th- well that's my excuse anyway!) But I talked to a few random guests while waiting, getting some practice! We also went on Thunder Mountain, Jungle Cruise and Pirates of the Caribbean (which is amazing with Johnny Depp now!) Then we made a B-line for Wishes. Which was so incredible, as always!
Getting the bus back however was a bit of a nightmare! It was PACKED! Although Brooke and I got talking to a girl on the College Program, you really get to meet such a range of people :) Then it was just off to bed as I had to be up early the next day.

Monday 9th May- 'Merchantainment'
So I had to be at Disney University for 8am.. which meant walking from The Commons to Chatham Square at about 7.15am as there are no direct buses from Commons to D.U. Luckily my room-mate Cristina knew another girl from Mexico who was due to do the same class, so she gave her a ring and we arranged to walk over together. Once at D.U we were taken into a room wet out like a classroom with lots of cash registers lined up. They talked us through the concept of 'Merchandise with Entertainment= Merchantainment', asked us a few questions, and then they got us practicing on the registers. It's all pretty simple, they talk you through step by step, and there were items we had to ring up in lots of different ways. There was also information on the US currency for anyone that had any problems with it. All in all it was a pretty simple day, and really good practice to get you familiar with the Disney cash register system. Then I got to leave at 1.30 as the rest of the Merch people had to do more e-learning. So then I headed home and took a nap :)
Later on I headed to the outlets/Publix with Cristina, Fernando and Mark.. it was a good little outing. We started talking about really random things, they were really interested in the Royal Wedding and the Monarchy.

Tuesday 9th May- Discovery Day
Today we got to go to Epcot! We were shown a video about the idea, progression and construction of Epcot. It has changed a lot from Walt's first vision. It was really interesting, if a little long. Then we all went out to take a tour of Epcot. We rode Spaceship Earth so that those who had never been before could go inside the ball.  We learnt some cool facts about the Epcot ball and other areas of the park, but I'll leave those as a surprise. Then we went out onto one of the Friendship boats to take a tour of World Showcase. They show you all the backstage part too.. where the cafeteria is, how you can get to work on the "Lazy bus" that goes round the back of all the pavillions.
Then we went back to the room.. (somewhat of a briefing room) and we were asked questions and to stand up for which were relevant to you. Basically we are all International Cast Members, all part of the same Disney family. After this people were all picked up by their individual trainers to get a tour of where they would be working. As I'm HRC, we are a very small family, so Charlotte who came out March 8th came to get me and take me to Costuming! For anyone coming out, take no notice of the sizing.. they are completely mismatched and all over the place. I tried on a massive size 24 or something and it didn't fit, yet smaller sizes did. It's basically a case of trying on loads until you find some that look half decent and grabbing them. My costume is slightly different to everyone else in my arrival group, as I'm the only Merchandise person starting. Each pavillion has one costume for F&B and another for Merch. Mine consists of a long white skirt with yellow/orange vertical stripes, a white top with lace trim and fanned out sleeves from the elbow, and a yellow cummerbund. It sinches in at the waist though, which makes it slightly more attractive.
Then Charlotte took me round to the UK pavillion, showed me the way in though backstage doors, into HRC, and then into HRC office. We had a bit of a chat about stuff, and then my manager came into the office too to make sure I was OK with everything. And then I got to go back home! I saw all the others being led round by their trainer, but only waved as I didn't want to distract them.

(So this is all that had saved.. I will try to update the missing couple of weeks another time, but it's mostly just been work, sleep, eat and seeing people :) )