WDW Guide: Animal Kingdom

If you find yourself visiting WDW then I have blogged about my 2015 experience of each park. This first one is about Animal Kingdom!

 This park often comes at the bottom of peoples top parks list, but I think it is underestimated and it is great for kids who love animals. The thing I enjoy most about this park is the theming. It is so wonderful to be able to walk around and feel like you are in Asia, then to walk across to Africa, and if you have an appreciation for this then take the time to have a wander around.

There aren't as many rides here, but the ones they do have are great. Do check out:

- Kilimanjaro Safaris

Your driver can really make this ride so much better so it does depend on individual experiences as well as whether the animals are actually awake and not hiding somewhere! If you're lucky, this can be a really great attraction.

- Expedition Everest

A high speed rollercoaster that goes backwards! It took me by suprise at how fast it is but most kids and adults will enjoy this and the queue theming is amazing.

- Festival of the Lion King Show

A great choice for a chance to sit down on a busy afternoon. The Lion King's famous and well loved songs are recreated with dancers, actors, singers and guest interaction. This is one of the best shows of WDW so do make sure you check it out.

- Kali River Rapids

You may or may not get soaked on this, so be prepared! Queues for this can get really long so try and fastpass if possible. It's great fun for the family and one of my favourites.

- Dinosaur 

This has been at this park since I first visited when I was 4 or 5, but this was my first time riding it and it was actually fun! Very bumpy so not for those who hate rides, but the storyline is cool and usually the wait isn't long.

If possible, take a walk around the Maharajah Jungle Trek which offers you the chance to get close to animals and takes you away from the busy crowds.

 Where we ate:

Yak and Yeti Restaurant
Amazing cuisines from Asia/Africa and I tried the chicken tikka masala which was amazing! After craving one for months as America don't do Indian cuisine as much as the UK, this was the perfect treat that reminded me of home and was delicious.

Chicken Tikka Masala

Selection of sorbets

Do check out the other choices of food as street vendors are everywhere and offer so many cuisines as opposed to the usual American food. Here you can stimulate your taste buds with the different flavours from all over the world.

Animal Kingdom is a great park to visit in one day but can also be a great choice for a relaxing day at the park if you are not bothered about getting everything done in one day. Do not miss this park out because of other peoples advice. WDW wouldn't be the same without it and with the upcoming expansion, this park has great potential.

Left my heart in Disney...

Ok so the disney cep blog posts will be coming after my program as there is simply no time to write them! 

But this post is a travel related post, as I got to spend four days in my favourite place in the world... DISNEYWORLD!!!

So working for disney has its perks and one of them is free entry to all the theme parks and a whopping 50% discount of hotel rooms, so four of us interns decided to book four nights at Disneys Carribean Beach Resort, a moderate resort near Epcot. 

So, we left Hilton Head around 7pm on the Tuesday and arrived in Orlando at 12.30am. Can I just say that I drove 5 and a half hours on American roads in an automatic car! Scariest experience ever especially as I've never driven abroad ever and have only been driving 3 years! But it turned out to be very easy and the best way to get there.

When I arrived I was tired and physically drained from working a 6 day week then driving for 5 hours, so as soon as I got into bed I crashed out. Waking up the next day was very exciting though as we had booked a pirate themed room which meant we were literally sleeping in pirate ships! Pretty cool huh?

So Wednesday was day one and it had to be Magic Kingdom! The sun was shining and we hopped on the bus to the place where dreams come true. I haven't been to Disney World for 5 years so coming back was an amazing experience, it really felt like I had never left! Seriously, walking down Main Street USA is one of the best experiences when you see the castle!

As we were staying on disney property, we all had a magic band. These are great for the trip as they hold you room key, fast passes and any reservations you make on them! Perfect for that time when your room key is at the bottom of your bag! It made the trip so much easier. They also held our dining plan on them. We went for the standard dining plan!

The magic bands are customisable!

Now I've never really eaten in disney before, we always used to take our own food and eat outside the parks. This dining plan meant we could get one quick service meal (entree, dessert and drink), one sit down meal (entree, dessert, drink) and a snack. This is per day. That's a lot of food!!

Bearing in mind a snack can be one of the famous giant cupcakes or Rice Krispie treats, or it can simply be an apple/bottle of water. The choice is yours but seeing as I wouldn't know the last time I would be in disney, I went all out and ate the most unhealthiest choices. Look at that cupcake!

Olaf Carrot Cupcake. The most delicious cupcake I've ever eaten!

In Magic Kingdom we managed to fit in a fair bit including most rides like Splash Mountain, Thunder Mountain, Peter Pans flight, 3 o'clock parade, a character buffet plus wishes and the night time parade. It was exhausting! The only thing we didn't manage to do due to large crowds was the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train which is a fairly new ride, and Space Mountain. All the more reason to go back! 

So as this is a long post already, I'm going to summarise Magic Kingdom in photos! Enjoy!

The famous walk down Main Street USA

Breakfast!

3 o'clock Parade

Character buffet at Crystal Palace

Celebrate the Magic

Wishes

Well that kind of summarises day one but one thing I will say is sometimes you just have to experience it in person to be able to really understand disney, and I wouldn't hesitate to go back tomorrow if I could. 

Oh and also watch out for post disney depression, its a real thing! 

More posts to follow on the rest of the vacation! 

Disney HHI: Final Checklist

Ok so with 3 days to go, this post will be the final checklist for your Disney International Program. Of course it may differ from the Orlando programme, however it is roughly the same and includes a general checklist of things you will need to take.

Firstly and most importantly, the documents you need to take that will allow you into the country are:
- DS-2019
- Passport with Visa
- Disney offer letter
- Proof of medical insurance
- Flights tickets
- Onboarding paperwork
- Photocopies of passport photo page and visa page
- Travel Insurance

Towards the end, these documents aren't necessary but good to have on you just in case. For Hilton Head programme, we don't have to pay a program assessment fee therefore I haven't included it, but do check the requirements for your program.

Next is a general list. I've tried to pack as little as possible with the intention of buying everything else out there:

- Clothes (for the suitable temperature)
- Shoes
- Underwear
- Make-up/toiletries
- Smart business wear (a few days worth)
- Medications/painkillers
- Hair/Jewellery
- Waterproof
- Chargers/adapters
- Towel (Hilton head have bedding provided)
- Suncream
- Litte satchel
- First Aid- plasters
- Swimwear

This list is for hand luggage but could be optional or taken in your luggage:
- Phone/charger
- Sunglasses
- Documents!
- Money
- Camera
- Ipad/Things for the plane

There are other things that you will need but this post only aims to cover the basics. One thing I've done is bought travel miniatures of shampoo/conditioner etc and then buy bigger versions at Walmart. This saves space and weight! Make-up is cheaper out there as well as outlet malls so I am aiming to take as little as possible and come back with more than I went out with. It's proving harder than it looks!

Disney HHI: The Countdown Begins!

Well it's been a long time since I've written a post about my Disney CEP, but I've been in the midst of 4 massive exams so I've dedicated all my spare time to revision. I still have two more to go, but I've managed to exclude myself from textbooks to update everyone!

It's exactly two weeks till I leave for the US, yep thats right, TWO WEEKS! That gives me 14 days to finish exams, move out of university, pack and get everything sorted. Not to mention I also have my dads birthday and then mine! Talk about last minute stress!


So in two weeks I will be flying to New York for 3 days, then I fly down to Hilton Head Island to begin my 3 months working at Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort. I am so excited!! All my paperwork is done including visa and medical insurance, plus I've sorted out a Fairfx card for spending dollars in America (you can find a link to this at the bottom of the post). This basically means I don't have to carry around big lumps of cash, instead I can use it like an ordinary debit card.

I'm not sure what to expect when I get out there, I have been given instructions about the first few days including training, and details of our accommodation but apart from that I'm flying out there not knowing much (which slightly scares me!)

I guess I should start packing soon, the advice I've received from others has been to pack as lightly as possible as you buy lots out there, so I'm trying to take this onboard. It's proving very difficult!

As soon as exams are over I will post a packing list including all the documents you need to take. For now though, its back to the textbooks...


This is where I bought my cash card, which had the best exchange rate:
https://www.fairfx.com/

Disney HHI: Visa Appointment

Today was finally visa day! 

My appointment at the London embassy was at 11.30am, however I made sure I got to London in plenty of time as the queue outside is notorious for being long. I got to Bond Street station at around 10.30am and made the short walk to Grosvenor Square. It's easy to spot the embassy, just look for the queue! 

So I joined the queue just after half 10 even though my appointment wasn't for another hour because they don't really care what time it is at this point as there are so many people.

The queue moves quickly, just make sure you have all your documents to hand. These will be checked about 5 times! Also, there will be so many other people there for Camp America etc so not everyone there is for Disney (which I thought so I went up to randomers asking about disney, embarrassing!)

Once you're through security, which is basically airport style, you will be given a ticket and directed to a waiting room with an Argos style number system that directs you to a window. As it was very busy when I was there, I waited for around half an hour, but the time depends on the amount of people there.

Once called, you go up to a window where they check your documents again! Here they take your finger and thumb prints, so no papercuts! They also ask about reading your rights or something similar, although I couldn't understand the lady very well.

Once this is completed, you walk through to another room and visit another window more or less straight away. This is where you have your interview and your documents are checked for the final time. The questions are easy, just what you are doing, how did you find out about it etc. The stamp of approval is then issued and you are free to go! Your documents and passport are kept and sent back via courier.

Overall I was in and out within an hour and there really is nothing to be afraid of. For some reason I was nervous but it was very relaxed and really not a lot of hassle, as long as you have all the correct documents.

A few tips I would give are:

- Bring supporting documents just in case, like flight confirmations, offer letter. They only checked my passport, DS-2019, DS-160, and I-901 form but it's better to be safe then sorry. 

- Bring a visa size passport photo. You may or may not need it but if you do then you will need to hand it in. 

- Phones, keys and bags are allowed in now. I took the bare minimum just in case but they seem to be a bit more relaxed about it. Although it changes regularly so do check before you go!

- Getting there earlier means you will be out earlier, so more time for shopping!

So not a complicated process and now I can legally work in the US!
Currently all flights have been booked so all that's left is medical insurance, American sim card, travel insurance and to start packing! It's all feeling very real now, and I'm flying to New York on May 30th for a few days before flying to Hilton Head Island! 

Disney HHI: Visa Information!

It's been a long time since I posted a Disney HHI post...

So, I can finally write a blog post about Disney Hilton Head Resort Summer Program! After many many weeks of waiting to hear something, I finally had my visa documents arrive! These have arrived earlier than normal this year, which is really good as it means I can book an appointment for when I'm home and not at university.

The documents included my DS-2019 form and various other instructions which means I can now book my visa appointment at the London embassy. Exciting times Ahh!

As I was looking online, I saw that there were many blog posts from various other blogs that give you detailed instructions on the whole visa application. I've decided I'm not going to go into too much detail as it is the same for this program as it is for the normal Disney CEP. If you do have any questions then feel free to email me :) I have linked the ones I used as these were the most helpful, so thank you to whoever wrote them!

Yummy Jobs do send out detailed instructions of their own which gives you the links to the embassy website for you to fill in the DS-160, which needs to be completed first before you can arrange an appointment. This form takes a lot of time and patience! It requires a lot of detail, such as your last 5 visits to the USA, so if this is the case then you need all your old passports. After this is completed, you can then phone a premium phone number or use the new online system to book the actual appointment. It is here that you will need to pay the visa fee which is I think $160 (not entirely sure) so have your debit card at the ready. A lot of the time you will need to refer back to a particular form, such as your DS-2019 which includes your program and SEVIS number, so my advice is to have everything handy.

Unfortunately I couldn't come home for the weekend to book this, so I had to make do with skyping my parents for all the details, which wasn't practically best, but it was manageable. In the end I have an appointment booked for April 10th at 11.30am! I will post another blog post about details of the day, as I know that regulations change frequently so this will be an up to date post.

I will include a checklist about what to take to the embassy, as this tends to change often:



http://danatdisney.com/category/crp/visa-crp/

(although this post is related to the CRP, if you substitute in the relevant documents then it still applies)