Officially a Disney lifeguard!

On Wednesday we had our final day of lifeguard training which meant one thing, tests, tests and more tests! First we had our group test in the pool, where we would come out as a team with everyone else in the pool, as if we were actual lifeguards on duty, then two things would happen where we would have to act. My team was second to go. We came out and straight away we had a vat (a silhouette of a person made out of material) on the bottom which another girl jumped in for. Then my flatmate Rachel started to 'drown' and i immediately blew my whistle and jumped in, without really thinking about it. We had to do an unconscious rescue using a backboard, then do AR (artificial respiration) and then CPR using a trauma bag, which has oxygen and a defibrillator in it.
We passed! There were a couple things we did wrong but we wouldve saved her life in the end, so we "made it work".

Next we had the written test. This was multiple choice and really easy, i passed fine and only dropped one mark!

While the written tests were going on, they took two of us at a time to do the CPR test. We were tested on adult, child, then infant CPR. My adult went fine, then i thought my child was going fine until i realised that i hadn't called for help, but i did it as soon as i realised so it ended up ok, then my baby was going ok until i was trying to clear the airway and got confused, but i still sorted it all and passed them all!

So finally i was a fully trained Disney lifeguard with an Ellis licence!
We went to Downtown Disney to celebrate with an Earl of Sandwich. I had the chipotle chicken avocado, and it was one of the best sandwiches i have ever tasted!
Then i had five days off to do whatever i liked!
Thursday:
Rachel also had the day off, so we went to Epcot! Epcot is my favourite park and we did spaceship earth and the new test track, the nemo ride and ellens energy adventure. Then we had a wander round the lands. We met Donald in Mexico.

Then i had my first funnel cake of the year in America!

Then we came back to Patterson and sat by the pool for a bit when Bex was back from her training. Magic Kingdom was open until 12 that night so we thought we would go. I finally managed to get a good photo of the castle too!

We managed loads of rides since it wasn't too busy including the three mountains, space, thunder and splash! We also went to Gastons Tavern and tried Le Fou's Brew, which is mango and passionfruit juice/slush with marshmallow foam on top and it is goood.

We also went to meet Ariel.

Then we had to get the bus back, which is always an experience. We went to the contemporary thinking it would be quiet, but everyone had had the same idea as us and it was busy! We had to stand all the way back too, chivalry is dead! But it wasn't too bad, there was just a few moments that i thought i would end up sitting on the people behind me.

Friday:
We decided to have a bit of a lazy day. We went to Cast Connections in the morning. Cast Connections is a shop for cast members and their families where they sell discounted Disney merchandise, most of which is out of date, broken(but still in pretty good condition), or display items. They also sell some food really cheap! I got some apples, a bottle of water and some postcards, and it cost me about $4, whereas if i had bought it in the parks it would've been about $10!
Then we came back and sat by the pool. My tan is coming along nicely, but i can tell when i start working I'm going to get some strange tan lines.
We went to Cici's Pizza for tea which is my new favourite place! Its an all you can eat pizza buffet, and with cast member discount, it only cost us about $2 each! And the pizza is amazing! They even do a macaroni cheese pizza which is so wrong, but yet so right!

Saturday:
Bex had the day off, so we went back to Epcot! We got fast passes for Test Track and we went on Soarin, which only had a TWENTY MINUTE QUEUE! It was definitely longer when we got off. Then we went on Mission Space. I had only ever done green, which is the 'less intense' version, but we went on orange, where they spin you so you feel g-force, and it was so much more fun! Then we went to Test Track, and the new bit where you design your own car is so good! I think we got a bit too into it, making the least eco friendly car possible.
We also met our new boss,

Mickey!
Then we did the usual trip around the lands, then headed home for a trip to Walmart.

Sunday:
We had planned to go to Animal Kingdom, but i managed to catch a horrible cold, in Florida of all places! So i stayed behind, and spent the day in bed trying to recover before i start work on Tuesday! I felt a lot better in the evening though, greatly helped by my roommates finding a tv, which had been sitting outside the apartment across from ours all day and security said they could take! So now we can watch all the trashy American tv we want! Our new favourites include Long Island Medium and Breaking Amish.

Today I'm giving myself another day to recover from my cold, beside the pool of course. And tomorrow i have my orientation at Coronado Springs! Which I'm really looking forward to.

Top Choices

So i know you don't get to pick where you get put at Disney, but if you did, these are the places i would totally ask to get put.
So i am going to be a lifeguard, and i would love to end up at one of the waterparks. To be honest, I'm not particularly fussed when it comes down to it, because theres probably more chances for guest interaction and getting to know different people at one of the resorts. But I've never stayed in a Disney World resort, and I've spent many a hot Florida day at the waterparks!

Blizzard Beach
My personal favourite. I think its because, being Scottish, i can relate to the snow…
For anyone who's never been, the story is, Blizzard Beach became a popular ski resort during a freak snowstorm in Orlando, but now, as the snow has melted (obviously Florida isn't exactly known for its skiing…) it is a waterpark!

It is amazing. And although i love Typhoon Lagoon for the wave pool and things, i think this is the waterpark that has the best use of Disney magic!

As for the parks, if i had been put in another role, such as operations or merchandise, i already know where i would want to be.

EPCOT
The Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. Ive always been a sciencey person, i study maths at uni and I've grown up with a chemist for a dad, so its always been there. Epcot is my sort of thing.

 

My favourite part is Future World, i think its full of the best parts of Disney that not everyone knows about. Things like Journey to Imagination, most people hate it, my mum being its worst fan (except the first time when she was all about the Figment merchandise!) i love it, it never has a queue, theres a song, and the guy out of Monty Python is in it. Also Ellen's Energy Adventure. Bill Nye the Science Guy. Need i say more? And of course, one of my two favourite rides, Mission Space.

The first few times i went to Disney World i was too scared to go on this, mainly because i didn't even know what it was. But as i got older i thought i would try it and i fell in love. And not just with Gary Sinise. Ive always been a simulator ride person.

Finally, my second favourite ride. While its not in my favourite park, this ride has always been one of my favourites, ever since i went on it in Disneyland Paris, where is was exactly the same, but i didn't have a clue what the robots were saying.

Star Tours
I like Star Wars, I'm not like, obsessed by it, but i enjoy watching them. I love this ride. Even more so now its been updated so its different every time you go on it AND its 3D! Even though me and my sister would happily go on the old version over and over if the queue was short.

So those are my favourite parts of Disney World. The places i would happily work, and the places my inner Disney geek comes out.

Im trying to update this with stuff to get excited etc, and to put off uni work… But obviously its going to be pretty bare until i get there! 

Theres only 196 days! 

(Note: I take no credit for photos)