Some Less-Than-Two-Months-To-Go Musings

This past Wednesday marked the beginning of the two month countdown before I leave for Florida. Crazy. So I now have less than two months before I'm going to be living on my own, in a new city, working a new job, hanging out with new friends, living under a new, made-up name, going around with a new post-plastic surgery face...wait a minute. Those last two aren't going to happen. But the first few are! And not only that, but I will also be going to Disney World basically every day! For free! Amazing.

I've begun to sever ties with Missouri. Last week, I notified the nursery coordinator at church that I would need to be off the schedule starting in August, and my boss is beginning to look for temporary help for the office while I'm gone. Today, I even kept the cardboard boxes when we got in supplies at work. I'll need them to pack in!

I feel like I keep saying this here, but I just can't believe that this is really real. Every day I get a little more excited, apprehensive, reflective, and prepared for the whole experience. A while ago I caught a special on the Travel Channel about Disney World. And I watched it, thinking how crazy it was going to be to pass Graumann's Chinese Theatre every day on my way to work. Or to walk through Cinderella Castle on my lunch break. Unbelievable. In 58 days, I will be somewhere completey different, living an almost completely different life. And as scary as that thought is, I really, really just can't wait. :)

Online Shopping: All The Cool Kids Are Doing It!

Disney announced yesterday that they would begin to sell some of their park merchandise online at DisneyStore.com. The selection is small: only one t-shirt style, Mickey ear hats, and a few other categories. But I'm sure this is just the beginning.

I think this is a pretty neat idea. The last time we went to WDW, I really wanted to buy the park soundtrack. But by the time our last day rolled around, I still hadn't picked it up, and no one wanted to spend our last few hours in a shop while we could be getting in one last ride. I toyed with buying it off Ebay, but there was a very small selection, and even used copies were almost full park price. So I never did buy it. If this option had been around back then, I probably would have sprung for the CD and bought it off the website. Now of course, I'm glad that I didn't, because I can get a 20% off discount when I buy the CD in a few months (woo hoo for cast discounts!) And that will be one of the first things I buy when I go into the park--after my first pair of Mickey Mouse ears. (Can you believe I've been to WDW 4 times and never had a pair? I don't deserve the label "Disney fan".)

The park CDs aren't actually offered on the website right now: like I said, it's a very limited selection. But just give them time...

As a (future) Merchandise CM, I also get to look at it from the perspective of my job...but I have absolutely no idea how it will affect it. I don't think it's going to really be that big of a deal. They've had a phone line where you could order park merchandise for years, so its not really that different. I just wanted to point out how cool it is that Disney news is now news that indirectly affects me. :)

Dream Work Locations

Since I'm going to be working Merchandise, and I love lists, I thought I would share my list of the top 5 stores I think I would like to work at. I'm not even sure if CPs usually work at all of these stores, but oh, well. This is just for fun. Ready? Here we go!

Sid Cahuenga's One-of-a-Kind --Hollywood Boulevard, DHS

This shop is one that immediately jumped out at me as a place that I would LOVE to work. I'm a huge, huge movie fan, and this store, which carries autographed posters, authentic props, and other movie memorabilia, seems like just my cup of tea.

Animation Gallery--Animation Courtyard, DHS
Like many people, my first Disney love was their animated movies. I have a true soft spot in my heart for these films, and a true appreciation for the art that goes into them. So I think I would also truly appreciate this store, which sells authentic cels, and other Disney animation collectibles. I loved shopping here as a guest, why not working here as a CP?

Castle Couture/Tinkerbell's Treasures--Fantasyland, MK

These two stores may represent the epitome of "Disney merchandise" to many people: girly and glittery. It's really one large building, divided up into two sides: Castle Couture sells dress-up get-up, while Tinkerbell's Treasures sells...well, I don't actually know. The last time I was there, it was all one store, and they sold mostly princess stuff. While I was looking for pictures for this entry, I came across the news that it was now two stores. I'm assuming that, since Tinkerbell and her fairy friends have their own franchise now, Tinkerbell's Treasures sells fairy stuff. I think this would just be a really fun, fun place to work. Little girls shopping for tiaras, tea sets, and those little plastic dress-up shoes. What could be more sweet? Plus, over in Castle Couture, you can see Princess Aurora's color changing dress really changing colors, and at Tink's...well, if you have a really good eye, you might just spot Tinkerbell herself flitting around the store! No kidding! You've just gotta love the Disney magic. :)

World of Disney--Downtown Disney

I like to think of this store as the Wal-Mart of Disney. They sell absolutely EVERYTHING. If they can slap a Disney character on it, they sell it. This size of this store is truly unbelievable, though. It's hard to know for sure because of the way the store is divided into themed rooms, but it may be even bigger than your average Wal-Mart Supercenter. I mean, it...is...huge! This store is always jam packed, which would make it a very, very exciting place to work. Plus, it's actually not located in a Disney park--it's a part of Downtown Disney. This has its downsides, of course, but I think it would be kind of neat to save the actual parks as a place for pure fun and days off. So this mega-store makes my list.

Tower of Terror Gift Shop--Sunset Boulevard, DHS
I can't have a list of Disney shopping without an attraction gift shop, right? Basically every ride at WDW has at least one gift shop that you must exit through to get back out onto the street. Some sell very generic merchandise, while others sell merchandise that is specifically themed to their attraction. By far, my favorite of these shops is the one attached to the Tower of Terror. The elaborate theming from the ride pours out into the gift shop, where you can buy all kinds of hotel-inspired merch: bathrobes with the Hollywood Tower Hotel logo, bellhop bells, and even this...

Mickey, my face looks the exact same way every time I ride. :)