A Wilderness Explorer is a Friend to All: Two months worth

My apologies. Prepare yourself for information.

Hi! It's October and a lot has been happening. Work has been generally the same, except that it's so much cooler now and it's magical. This means Guests are in a better mood and that means Cast Members are in a better mood and everything is great.

I've also been volunteering at the Orlando SPCA and that's really nice. I only go twice a month, so I don't really get to know any of the dogs, but it still feels good to get out of my Disney Bubble every once in a while and help out. Plus my job there is just to pet dogs and give them treats and play ball with them. And sometimes pick up poop but not as much as you'd think.

I've also been doing a cute thing with a small group of friends on Sundays. We all get together at someone's apartment, host makes dinner, guests bring snacks, and we all watch Once Upon A Time. So far it's been very successful and it's also a nice thing to break up the week. Even though it's still well inside the Disney Bubble. Oh well. :)

Finally (for the short stories, anyway), it's been Food and Wine time at Epcot and I love it! Basically they set up booths around World Showcases, some from WS countries and some from different countries. And then you just go around and eat. The portions are really small, but they're also pretty cheap so you can just graze your way around and feel pleasantly full by the end. It's been a lot of fun, and my favorite dish so far is the rainbow trout from Canada. It was like butter. So good. My mom also bought me the Food and Wine 2013 cookbook for my birthday (thanks, Mom!) so I'll probably have to learn to cook and use that.

Here are the larger, "special event" stories...

Nathan and Mom came to visit! Nathan came in September, as I alluded to in my last post when I was sick. He was here for a few days and we did Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party and Epcot and got to watch and OSU football game together. First of all, MNSSHP is AMAZING. Best Disney Parade and best fireworks I've ever seen (it probably didn't hurt that everything was slightly Haunted Mansion themed). At Epcot we at the fancy place in the Mexico Pavilion and rode Test Track for the first time! It was a really fun time, despite being sick and needing to cancel some of our plans. Pictures to follow at the end of the writing part of this entry. :)

My mom came to visit a week or so ago for our birthdays! By the way. I'm 23 now!!! Anyway. We had dinner at Jiko on Friday, the fancy restaurant at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, and it was amazing. Really pretty setting, really good food, and we got to see some animals on the savannas. Would recommend.

On Saturday we went to Hollywood Studios in the morning and did Tower, the drawing class (we drew Tigger), and the Backlot Tour. Then we went to Epcot for Food and Wine and I introduced Mom to Test Track, haha.

I had to work the next few days, but on Monday she came to Animal Kingdom with her friend Irene and did Wilderness Explorers. Except they didn't get any badges from me!!! And I'm still upset about that. But Mom and Irene had fun and learned some things and met my wonderful coworkers so I guess that's all that matters.

After work on Monday, Mom and I went to Magic Kingdom and did all the rides that don't go fast: Jungle Cruise, Tiki Room, Pirates, Haunted Mansion, and the People Mover. It was really fun, but I forgot sometimes that my Mom doesn't do Disney like Cast Members do Disney (fast, eating lots of junk food, etc.) so I hope I didn't exhaust her. :)

And on Tuesday, my birthday, we did Wild Africa Trek and it was amazing! Basically we got to see some of the Safari animals up close, do some high-up rope bridges, and eat amazing food (food always makes experiences better for me). Pictures for this will (hopefully) get posted in a week or so!

And now, for the photo dump. Enjoy!

Mickey's Not So Scary/Halloween: