who.what.Ren: March 2014

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

#100happydays

Recently I began the 100 Happy Days Challenge. Have you heard of it? It's pretty simple. For 100 days in a row, you post a picture of something that made you happy that day. It can be anything! Go check it out at www.100happydays.com :)

Considering that I live in Orlando and work at my favorite place in the world, being happy has been incredibly easy for me lately! I have been so genuinely happy since starting my journey with Disney in January that I want to stay down here and make this my life going forward. If you want to see my first week of the #100happydays challenge, go check out my Instagram which is where I am documenting the happy moments!

I could have posted so many pictures yesterday because the whole day was a happy one! I joined my coworkers and friends, Nicolette and Jordan, and we made our way over to EPCOT! The plan was to get there at the opening of the park, run over to Norway, and wait in an incredibly long line so that we could meet Anna and Elsa from Frozen. That was the mission of the day, and one that after 3 hours of waiting, was accomplished!

After all of that waiting, I was very excited and nervous to meet the girls, and it shows in the awkward photo that was captured! I don't care though because WE MET THEM!! I bought a Frozen book and had the girls sign it!

The Japan pavilion was our next destination because Nicolette and I really wanted to go buy these little tension reliever things for our backs. They look weird, and the concept is that you basically just hit yourself with it, but it feels amazing.

Morocco was next, and we met Aladdin and Jasmine! Nicolette and Jordan had both never met them, so we figured a quick stop to say hello was necessary!

We then went back to Norway, and because someone cancelled their reservation and Jordan asked with his southern charm, we were able to eat at Akershus. (yeah, I have no idea how to say it either!) It is a character dining restaurant with the Disney princesses! They usually do not accommodate walk-ins, so we were very lucky, which is ironic because it was St. Patrick's Day (which is why Jordan is wearing those green pants, just so you know).

After lunch, we left and went our own ways, but then Nicolette and I joined back up and went to Magic Kingdom for a few hours. It was late, and we experienced a few very random and scattered rain showers, but it was great, and we had basically no wait for everything which is always a plus!

What has been making you happy lately? Take a moment to acknowledge the little things that may be adding joy to your life! I am in such a better place now personally, and I encourage you all to seek out the positives!

Have a great week! We'll chat again soon!

x Lauren

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Disney's Festival of Fantasy Parade

Today was, as Rapunzel would put it, the Best. Day. Ever! It was so much fun because I was able to see the new "Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade" at Magic Kingdom! I loved the "Celebrate A Dream Come True" parade and was sad when I first learned that it would be coming to an end, but I have to say... this new parade does not disappoint! It was AMAZING! I sat on Main Street with my roommate, Maggie, and looked on in amazement at the spectacle of color that passed by me! It was seriously fantastic and I could go on forever, raving about it, but instead here are a few pictures I captured from it. I got a new app on my phone that can put watermarks on your pictures, and I got a little watermark crazy, so now even my most mediocre shots are protected! :)

My camera decided it had sensory overload and stopped working during the Maleficent section, with Prince Phillip, which was very cool because it was a whole sequence straight out of the film! It conveniently started working again right after that float went by, haha! I already have plans to go back and see it again though, so don't you worry, I'll get some shots of it in the near future!

This is just a little taste of the parade that made me so incredibly happy! I hope you all have the chance to see it sometime! Have a great week, folks!

x Lauren

Monday, March 3, 2014

February Wrap-Up

First off, I cannot believe we are now in the month of March! That is crazy! Stop the clock, please! This is going by way too quickly! I want to stay here! I want this to be my life now :)

Because we are in a new month, let’s take a look back on the past month since I did not do a good job blogging throughout it!

Early February, my roommates Maggie, Chelsea, and I went to Be Our Guest for lunch after one of our classes! Amazing food. Gorgeous restaurant. That about sums it up!

The Ballroom, which is where we ate

My rose pager

L-R: Me, Maggie, and Chelsea

After lunch, we waited to meet the one and only Gaston. It was definitely one of the more awkward character interactions I’ve ever had, but hey it was fun!

Maggie had to leave after that, but then I went to Epcot with Chelsea, my friend, Kirsi, and her roommate, Lucy! Not a whole lot happened on this day because it began to torrential downpour on us right as we made it to the entrance of the World Showcase! Our goal was to make it to the United Kingdom pavilion so that I could buy some tea and see Chelsea’s and my friend, Llauren (yup, Lauren with 2 L’s). We did not make it there because of the heavy rain, but we did make it onto Journey Into Imagination With Figment, don’t you worry! It still freaked me out, folks. I tried, I really did, but I still screamed like an idiot in response to my horror.

The only other eventful thing that happened that day was me becoming a Code V. Is that too much information for you all? If you don’t know what that means, take a wild guess!

That next weekend, I actually flew home for a day. Homesickness wasn’t the reason for my trip, but actually part of a Christmas present I received just a few months ago! My sisters and I received tickets to see Justin Timberlake live in concert in Chicago! I was given the days off and my dad offered to fly me home for it, so why not? YOLO, right?

My sisters Hayley (L), Christine (R), and me!

From Christine's Instagram

Let me just tell you… Justin puts on one heck of a show! The guy knows how to perform and entertain! It was so SO good! I became such a huge fan after seeing the show!

After that, I came back to work and worked 7 days in a row! That was tiring, but good for me! On my first day off after working those 7 days, you probably wouldn’t think that I would willingly decide to go back to Animal Kingdom, but I did!

My coworker friend, Michelle, and I went and had a really great day. She got me to go to "It’s Tough to Be a Bug". That show made me cry as a child, and it still does not sit well with me. I went with her though because she said, “it will be fun!” LIES. I tweeted this so sorry for any repetition, but I actually pulled a muscle in my leg when I tried to quickly cover all of the holes that would spray me with “acid” or the smell of a stink bug. If you want a good laugh, sit with me at that show or take me on "Journey Into Imagination with Figment!"

After that craziness, we meandered over to Asia, which is where Michelle and I spend almost every day working :) We rode Expedition Everest a whopping 10 times in a row, and then rode our own attraction, Kali River Rapids! We made it out with only a little water on us, and that made me extremely happy!

Michelle and me on Everest

From Michelle's Instagram

Other than work, I’ve been in class all month! I have Exploring Disney Heritage, part of the seminar series, on Tuesdays, and Creativity and Innovation: Gaining the Edge, on Wednesdays! My classes take up a good portion of what are usually my days off, but they are so good, and I leave feeling enlightened and more knowledgeable every week that it is worth it!

A few more really random things I’m going to throw in here because clearly this blog post was mod-podged together…

First! The last welcome event for our season happened and it was Alice in Wonderland themed! I met the Mad Hatter with Maggie and a coworker, Byron! Good times. Secondly, food trucks came to our complex after that event, and I got me a red velvet cupcake from the Yum Yum Cupcake truck! Deliciousness.

The last major thing that I did in the month of February was go to the Demi Lovato concert in Tampa! I bought my ticket back in October and I purchased it because I was very excited that Little Mix was opening for her! I am a huge fan of theirs, so I was really looking forward to it! I bought two tickets for the show, and my friend Hayley bought one of them from me so went together and had a great time!