Splash is special this week. Yeeeah. Wednesday we opened 1.5 hours late, were down for an hour after a mid-day e-stop evac, and then went down for another half hour in the afternoon. Today we opened two hours late. *pats Splash on the head patronizingly* I think Frieda (the computer) hates us. :P Oh, well. :P Tomorrow and Sunday I'm in at 7:15. I haven't come in that early since training. I hope there's training groups, 'cause I don't know that I remember how to open tower or trackwalk. :P

I've done a lot of PAC this week, too. Day and night parade yesterday, day parade today, and I'll have day parade for the rest of the weekend. Yaaaay parade! I tried to play beach ball with kids yesterday afternoon, but there was a storm coming in (parade stepped off ten minutes early) and the wind kept blowing the ball away. :P I made up for it at night parade, though. We had an AWESOME beach ball game with a bunch of teenagers before the 11pm parade. :P

Oh, and DDCT today? Thanks for the epic pre-parade fail. You should probably start the music BEFORE the grand marshal performers are 50-100 yards down the parade route, so that we can, you know, know it's coming and get out of the way? Just a thought. :P

I was a good girl and finished my Indy drawing! I think I really biffed up his face, but I LOVED shading the horse. Uploaded to DA here!

I've got a Legend of Mythica one in mind next, because that show amazes me. (Video on YouTube starts here with the intro, check the "Related Videos" for the rest of the parts) Tokyo DisneySea, how are you so awesome?

And dammit, I got hooked on Ikariam now! I blame it joesmom92 and droops. So now I immediately check that in the morning, as well as my two Travian servers. :P

Oh, and I totally blame ariellen for spurring on my favorite new crack!pairing: Jack Sparrow/Giselle. Because it just brings the lulz. :P

And on the Wii front...
LEGO Star Wars Complete Saga: 85%
LEGO Indiana Jones Original Adventures: 72%

It's my weekend! Finally! And a TWO DAY weekend! I'm back to 6 days next week again, but still only 47 hours. And I have parade 3 days this week - one Spectro and two day PAC. And I have morning trackwalker shifts all next weekend, which should be interesting... I haven't walked track since I trained. I hope I can remember where everything is. :P Yesterday was MK's Gay Day, which ROCKED. It's amazing - the folks in the redshirts were so wonderful. They're friendly, fun, can listen and follow directions, and don't whine to us about everything. Someone at Splash put it best: we were treated like HUMANS. So to everyone who attended Gay Day: THANK YOU! You guys rock. I just wish I could have seen the 1pm show insanity at Bears - I hear it's hilarious. XD (The line about that time stretched to the Haunted Mansion. For the COUNTRY BEARS.)

Went to DAK on Monday! I wandered for awhile, and stopped to see princeali_m_fan at work. (I'll eat cake next time, I swear! XD) And salukfan happened to be there, too, so I hung out with them for a bit and we watched the parade. Tried to go see Nemo, but got in, sat down... and then they cancelled the show. Doh! So I went on Everest, front row. Not bad, but it was raining and that rain HURT at high speeds! Saw Festival of the Lion King (that show is always sheer awesome), did Maharajah Jungle Trek (Southeast Asian mammals! <3), saw the baby siamang and baby white cheek, did Kilimanjaro. Lots of fun! Pics up here.

Then... Pirate and Princess Party on Wednesday night!! WHEE! OMG, it was SO much fun. ( The P&P recap! Pirates! Princesses! Fangirling! Kirsten in costume! )

Of course, I picked up Lego Indiana Jones last week! Been playing it like crazy, and have finished Raiders of the Lost Ark and most of Temple of Doom so far. ( Lego Indiana Jones review! )

And in the random news:

Publix's Buy One Get One is WIN. Easy Mac AND Thomas bagels on that sale? I totally stocked up.

Andrew Stanton + John Carter of Mars = EPIC WIN.

Got my yellow ID this week! Wiiiiiiin!

Still trying to get back into the habit of drawing daily. I'd like to beef up my portfolio a bit and maybe start taking commissions here and there. I'm bout halfway done coloring the Indy drawing, and have an idea for a Legend of Mythica piece.

Splash had a 101 party today. It was great. We went 101 5 minutes after opening, and were down for 2 hours. Then a couple of hours after we reopened, we went down again for another hour. Yaaaaaay for sitting around all day! Apparently Paris Hilton was in the park, and visited Thunder while we were down the second time.

Toy Story Midway Mania cast previews were this weekend! I thought I wasn't gonna get to go because I was working the whole time, but I found out they extended the hours today, so I stopped by after work! Here's my thoughts... ( Not much to spoil, but under a cut anyways... )

I ended up going to Studios for a bit on Monday night to photograph Fantasmic. It was fun to try out my 400mm at a Disney park finally! Got some nifty closeups. It was also a dragon-less show. I'd never seen one of those before, in all the bajillion times I've seen Fantasmic at both parks. But really, it's done very well. If you didn't know there was supposed to be a big dragon there, you'd probably never know the difference. Pics from the night are up here!

Grey's this week? Addison Montgomery, how are you so awesome? Seriously.

Operation "Beat LEGO Star Wars So I Can Buy LEGO Indiana Jones Next Month With A Clear Conscience" progresses! I'm at 40% now after 25 hours of gameplay. I've beaten everything on story mode, and I'm going through everything in free play mode now to get all the True Jedis and red bricks and minikits. I bought Ghost Yoda, and he kicks ass. Ghost Ben Kenobi is up next, because Yoda is too damn slow when he walks and that annoys me. :P

And speaking of things Indy... AFHLALKGJKSLHK JUST OVER TWO WEEKS TO GO. Seriously. I'm SO psyched. I keep hoping to see Downtown Disney AMC theater announce a midnight showing, but they haven't done it yet. It's SO weird to see Indy tie-ins being pushed everywhere now. And new theatrical trailer out!! LOVE it. And you can pre-order the soundtrack at Amazon for $10. I already did! Is it May 22 yet?

I'M BACK AT DISNEY, BABY.

I had Disney brainwashing Traditions on Tuesday! Lots of snore-inducing policy stuff, and a few sweet videos... but then I got my ID! WOO! FREE ADMISSION BRINGS THE WIN. Oh, and their sexual harassment video is TOTALLY the same one we watched at Half Price Books. XD And I got my work location... *drumroll* SPLASH MOUNTAIN! WOOOOOOOO!!!! I was totally excited, that's like my favorite ride in the park.

Soooo, had Wednesday off and took advantage of the new ID and played at MK! :D ( Kirsten's first play day back at the Magic Kingdom! )

I had my MK orientation yesterday, and got out to my work area in the afternoon! It was like a day of getting paid to go on rides. (Two at MK orientation, and then Big Thunder and Splash as part of my Frontierland orientation) And holy crap, they've moved EVERYTHING around at MK! It's like having to relearn backstage! Entertainment costuming moved, labor operations moved into Ent. costuming's old space, the Adventureland/Frontierland base doesn't exist anymore, Property Control has a real building now instead of the ghetto tent, main costuming has ITS OWN FREAKIN' BUILDING now out at West Clock, and you can actually take your costumes home from MK now. At least the locker room, Mouseketeria, and Frontierland haven't moved! XD It's all coming back to me, though - it's much easier getting around when I already know my way around the tunnels and won't get hopelessly lost again. ;) (although now there is a map on the wall down there like every 50 feet so people don't get lost anymore, LOL)

I was gonna go to the Block Party Bash cast preview last night, but it was POURING, so I stayed home 'cause I figured it'd get canceled anyways. But I'm really curious how WDW's version is going to compare to DL's, and what they've had to change to fit within all the Actor's Equity Association regs here. I'll have to check it out once it opens! (I think a bunch of days at Studios coming up are blocked out to CMs, though, because of the holiday and the new show)

Sunday morning I start training at Splash! Eep! And what's more... according to CDS, I'm working mandatory 7 days next week. ILU, DOUBLE-TIME! XD I've never gotten double-time before because they NEVER let us get it on my CP. So I'm psyched. XD

(And apologies, to those who weren't on my f-list five years ago and who aren't CMs, if I lapse into Cast Member speak and acronyms. Old habits die hard. ;))

And one a totally random note: White killer whale! too cool! Reminds me a bit of Chimo. (Was Chimo a full albino? I don't THINK so, but I don't recall for sure)

So my squee got totally harshed last week. Brining my car home from the repair shop, I got into an accident and totaled it. *headdesk* I'm okay, just had a big bump to the head for a couple of days, the other driver seemed to be okay. So I'm totally thankful for that. But I had to spend the rest of the week dealing with the insurance and car shopping and everything. But as of tonight, I have bought a replacement car! Another Saturn, because my old Saturn was Made of Awesome. So I got a 2000 Saturn SL 1, and hopefully it shall live a good, long, happy Saturn life. (Also? Saturn customer service is win. "Courtesy" Toyota? Not so much. Yay, buying from Saturn dealers!)

So, I try to put that behind me, TRADITIONS TOMORROW! EEEE! I AM SO EXCITED. It's actually 8 hours long when you're a regular CM! As opposed to 4 hours for CPs. Prease to have twice the Disney brainwashing? XD

Hung out with princeali_m_fan last night! OMG WE WENT AND SAW FANTASMIC AND I SCREAMED AND CHEERED. It felt WONDERFUL to get back into the parks again. When did they change the Fantasmic set's backdrop from the cargo netting stuff to the trees? And did the change the finale fireworks? I reveal my utter Fantasmic dorkiness, but I noticed this straight off last night... the thee shots in a row in the middle of Sorcerer Mickey's routine used to be more like flares (~3:12), but they changed them to be more like DL's (~3:06). And I noticed the difference immediately. Prease to have dork points? Then OMG WE WENT AND SAW ILLUMINATIONS. That show is still SO DAMN AWESOME. We had a great spot, right along the rail in the International Gateway area. And we totally were trying to have a rave to the pre-show music. But with no glow sticks, it was sad. D: Also, when did the first shot of Illuminations start coming from America instead of Canada? I was looking to the right, when all of a sudden it comes out directly in front of me! :P Stupid changes, throwing off my groove. :P

We got pizza and apple juice and went back to princeami_m_fan's hotel room and watched TV for hours. OMG, Stacey? The chick on the WDW Top Seven channel? GIRL NEEDS TO STOP AND TAKE CHILL PILLS. She's ADHD in the extreme. XD And her 40-year-old DVC Channel counterpart is equally creepy, but in a more toned-down way. :P We watched Godzilla Vs. Mechagodzilla. Cheesy Japanese movie. But dubbed into Spanish. I tell you, it's damn entertaining when you make up your own dialogue and plot points because you don't speak Spanish. XD Also had the craziest IM-and-phone relay conversations with ariellen and salukfan. You guys totally need to hurry up and get here, because the fun will be EPIC. XD

And eeeee! Amy Adams hosting SNL this week! I'm sooo excited for that. She's gonna rock! :D

Also? *points to current music* I am SO in love with this song right now. It's the soundtrack to my life right now.

Because having to take my car in for repairs this morning bummed me out, good things had to happen...

First of all... this totally just made me pee my pants laughing. SO MUCH WIN.

Second... DISNEY JUST CALLED AND OFFERED ME FULL TIME ATTRACTIONS! XDDDD I go in Thursday morning to fill out my new hire paperwork! I'll be in Frontierland attractions! WOOOOO! I LOVE that area!!! *jumps around in excited circles*

You know when you need to go to the dentist, and you dread it but tell yourself you're stupid for that? Well, maybe instinct is better to be followed. :P I went in yesterday for a regular cleaning. They found a couple of small cavities they want to fill, no biggie. I spent the whole appointment looking at the clock, hoping I'd be done in time to rush over the freeway to the movie theater to catch the 1:10 showing of Pirates. And just as they're finishing up? I feel a little pop, and the hygenist says, "...oh." o_O And suddenly there's a big gap on one of my teeth. Apparently, while she was flossing, she popped out one of my old fillings. They rushed to put a temporary filling in there, while I stared and the clock and crossed my fingers. Seriously, I have my priorities!

When they were done, I made an appointment to come back this morning to have a permanent one put back in, and rushed out the door. I had 10 minutes to get to the theater. I made it - in ten minutes I got through the Intersection of Doom (although, admittedly, that intersection isn't as bad as it was before the road widening a few years ago), got to the theater, bought my ticket, bought snacks, and got in to the theater just as the previews started. Woo! It was fun to see again, and be able to notice the little stuff that I was too worked up to notice the first time.

But no zoo today. :( I had to get up at the butt crack of dawn and go get my filling replaced instead (and get one new one done on top of that). It was quick and easy, though. Only took one Friends episode (I <3 technology) and they were done with both, and I was almost completely un-numb by the time I got home.

Not as many books this month, 'cause I started re-reading the "His Dark Materials" trilogy in anticipation of the movie! Didn't include those here, 'cause they're already on my all-time favorites list.
( May 2007 Books! )

And because I'm in a big Disney theme parks mood this week, here's a few nifty videos I've found:
( Look under the cut for links and descriptions! )

I finished reading the new Atlantis novel "Exogenesis" a couple of nights ago. Gotta give it a little pimping here - if you haven't read it yet, DO SO. Fantastic characterization, all the characters get good story time, some not-so-subtle Sparky moments (and, in my mind, a few heavy moments of angry eyesex), and marine life! XD

Did my taxes today, and they made me happy. I'm looking at getting a long lens now for my camera! Been looking at the Sigma 50-500mm... that would really give me a lot more power on bird photos. I'd really like to get back into birding now that the weather's going to be warming up soon and migrations coming through. Being in Seattle now, rather than San Diego, opens up a lot of different species to see... and to photograph! :D I got myself a couple of nice bird journals - one more geared towards keeping life-lists and to go with the accompanying field guide that I use and highly recommend, and the other more geared towards individual trip lists.

( Walt Disney World rambling! )

Here it is, as promised. This is my complete listing of theme park show videos. If there's something here you'd like to request that I capture, just leave me a note and I'll add it to my to-do list! This list includes the date and details of each video as well as links to the entries where they've been uploaded (if applicable).

( Walt Disney World, SeaWorld, and Disneyland videos... )

Okay!! It's time for another WDW video! I'm trying to get caught up on these, 'cause there's a whole bunch of them I wanted to get uploaded. This week's edition, in honor of the latest changes to the parade:

Share a Dream Come True Parade


This is the full, original version of the parade, shot September 26, 2002. It includes the show stop, it includes the full princess float. This particular video includes virtually EVERYTHING in the parade: the pre-parade segment featuring the marching band and the grand marshalls, the 100 Years of Magic introduction with Julie Andrews, the complete parade (including the princess unit show stop), and the closing music. There was even a clip of my friend Jason with his Glow Cart of Awesome before the show, but that didn't make the final cut in this video. ;)

For those that are unaware, the parade was designed as a part of the "100 Years of Magic" celebration in 2001, honoring 100 years since Walt Disney's birth. Unfortunately, it has been neutered in recent years: after a tragic accident in early 2004, the show stops were removed, and the princess float was removed and replaced with an ugly, theme-killing float that had been used in past parades. I've hated what I've seen of this version, although I do understand their reasoning - removing show stops takes the "kids on the street" chaos element out, and the princess float was proven to be dangerous in its configuration. It just LOOKS crappy. Anyways, the latest round of changes, currently underway, removes the snowglobes from the floats (to which those who had to perform inside the A/C-less globes each afternoon heave a big, cool-breezy sigh of relief) and changes the music to be an English version of Tokyo Disneyland's "Dreams on Parade."

So, in honor of that, here's the links! No YouTube this time - I've applied for a Director account allowing me to upload videos longer than 10 minutes. If that goes through, I can start posting full shows on YouTube rather than segments. In compensation, I made a small, WMV version of the whole show to upload as well. (same vid, just a different encode)

640x480, AVI, 117 MB, 17:32
320x240, WMV, 29 MB, 17:32

I also have a full list of stuff that I have on video, but I'm putting that in a separate post for quick reference, and I will do so shortly.

Well, it's been awhile since I uploaded one of my WDW videos, so I gave it another shot today! This time, I bring you Animal Kingdom's...

Festival of the Lion King


This is definitely one of the most fantastic shows that Disney has put together to date. With a wide variety of acts (singing, dancing, stilt walkers, and several stunt acts that I will leave as surprises) it definitely holds your attention. And there's some great arrangements of Lion King songs to boot. I would have KILLED to be the bird in Can You Feel the Love Tonight, and I still want to know where I could learn to do that. I will say, though, that the Simba puppet (shamelessly yoinked from Disneyland's old Lion King Celebration parade, as were the other three floats) looks pretty freaky, especially when compared to the new, awesome one currently being used in Disneyland's Parade of Dreams.

This particular video was shot on my birthday - November 20, 2002. One of my roommates at the time worked in attractions at the show, and was awesome enough to offer me VIP (read: very front row) seating. Those of you who are WDW veterans might also notice that the theater was not completely enclosed at the time - this was a year or so before they closed off the open-air entryways (although I did strategically position myself so I wouldn't get the backlight from outside while I shot, so you only see it a handful of times).

Full Show (SendSpace, 175 MB, divx, 26 minutes)
Celebration Finale Only (YouTube, 4 minutes *curses YouTube's length limits*)

Rock'N'Rollercoaster joins the club!

I'll bet you anything that he had a preexisting condition that the family either didn't know about or they ignored the warning signs plastered all over the attraction.

EDIT: I'm also trying to figure out their fuzzy math. How do they get 7 deaths associated with Disney attractions since Christmas 2004? I get:
-2 after riding Mission Space
-1 collapsed at Typhoon Lagoon (not even associated with an "attraction")
-1 (this one) after riding Rock'N'Rollercoaster

And where do they get five inversions? It's been awhile since I've been on RNR... but isn't it three?

Well, I promised someone awhile back that I'd do it, and here it is...

In honor of the third anniversary of its closing, here is the full video of the last ever showing of Epcot's Tapestry of Dreams!




This was quite possibly one of the prettiest, most touching parades ever. It seems to me like it was a love-it-or-hate-it parade. People were either bored by it or thought it was one of the most beautiful things they've seen. Me, I fell into the latter category. While it's the first Disney parade I can think of that didn't have a single "Disney" character, it was gorgeous in its own right. Beautiful music, great puppets (by famous designer Michael Curry!), and a moving atmosphere all around.

On March 1, 2003, after rain threatened to cancel the final performances, we were blown away by the last pass. It's one of those moments I'm glad I taped, because the cast's energy was sky high and the crowd (in large part made up of Cast Members, many of them, like myself, from the Entertainment department) was screaming and cheering. I do wish I'd turned and gotten a shot of the crowd behind me as we followed the last float, because it was HUGE. Tons of people clapping and cheering and singing. Simply amazing. As I watched the video last night while I snagged it off my camcorder, I felt my own eyes welling up as I remembered that moment.

I apologize for shakiness in some of the video... as I shot it, I was screaming and cheering and clapping and loving the moment - perfect camera techniques weren't the first thing on my mind. ;) I included the full intro (3 minutes or so long) since it sets up the parade, even though I was towards the end of the parade route so there's really nothing to look at then. I did, however, spare you the ten minutes of nothingness between the intro and the time that the parade actually got to us - although I've got that on tape. ;) And yes, you get random commentary and screaming from me and one of my roommates. :P

I've got a couple of links here 'cause different people have trouble with different sites, but if anyone wants to mirror it somewhere, I can add a link in here! If any of the following links stop working and you need me to reupload, just let me know. It's about 39 mb, .wmv format, and runs 20:23.

SendSpace download link
MegaUpload download link
YouSendIt link

If you know of anyone who is interested in downloading this video, please feel free to link them to this entry. :)

... and dream on!