The NEXT few days in Orlando

Wednesday, Sept. 16--First Night of rehearsal! AMAZING...I was blown away. Unfortunately, I'm not allowed to share details, but i'll just say that the houses and scarezones are brilliant and terrifying. 

Thursday, Sept. 17--Audition for Disney Character/Puppeteer...the audition was pretty much the same as in March, with a few changes such as a different puppet trainer, and therefore different song to lip sync to. Once again, they spent a lot of time focused on my "puppet", and it was nice that this time the puppeteer audition only had 5 of us in it. Then the casting director asked to see my profile, and after that she took me outside of the room to take some pictures. That's about all I can say :-)

Friday, Sept. 18--I went into Universal Islands of Adventure to try out the water rides, most notably Bluto's Bilge Rat Barges. I wore my swimsuit, and only brought in my car key, ID, and debit card, prepared to get soaked. I didn't get into the park until after 2 o'clock, and with the park closing at six, I wasn't expecting to get on a lot. I was amazed by the short lines, so went on a lot of other rides too, as follows:

5 min wait for Hulk front row

Walk on for Hulk last row

Walk on for Hulk middle row somewhere

5 min wait for Spiderman, in a car full of Asians, except me. It was hilarious.

2 cycles on Bluto's Barges, they just let us stay on, it was awesome. 

3 walk on rides of Dudley Do Right's Ripsaw Falls, twice in the back, once in the middle, hoping to get the front, but didn't happen. Each time I was with a different type of internationals. Once some sort of europeans...then once asians, and once it was venezuelans. Back in March it was Germans...do Americans ride this ride?

1 walk on ride of Jurassic Park River Adventure, 2nd row. barely got wet. LAME.

1 walk on ride of Dueling Dragons ICE

5 min wait for Dueling Dragons FIRE

1 walk on ride of HULK, somewhere in the middle

1 ride on Spiderman without 3D glasses (gave mine up to a father who gave his to his son...he had never been on the ride before so I figured he'd enjoy it, plus, i wanted to look around during the ride, and this helped. The guy loved the ride, and his son surprisingly did too..he just barely made it on with the height requirement. 

Saw the heroes in the streets on my way out, and then decided to head out, and it was about 5:30 surprisingly, still time to spare!

Saturday, August 19--Spent the day at home relaxing, not doing much...

Today: Off to Studios before rehearsal tonight at 7...

The first few days in Orlando

Saturday, Sept 12- Drove the rest of the way from Lynchburg VA. Long day, with much insanity ensued. Stay tuned for pictures on facebook. After a while, everything became funny to me.

Sunday, Sept 13- A day at Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure! I realized i may have made a mistake coming as it was PACKED due to Rock the Universe, a christian band fest that was happening this weekend...causing a 150min+ wait for Rockit.

10 min wait single rider line Mummy

MIB single rider walk on score: 178350

Animal Actors On Location 12:45 show...really cool! and some incredible stuff! Including Max from the Grinch movie!!!

Mummy Single Rider 5 min wait

Bart Simpson Character Sighting at KwikEMart

George, Man in the Yellow Hat, Shaggy, Scooby, Woody Woodpecker and female companion all by ET in kids zone

Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast 10 min wait

2:10 left Studios

2:15 got in Islands

20 min wait for Spiderman...don't know what happened to the single rider line!!! (maybe it's only used during peak season?)

Grinch and Cat sighting by the Circus McGurkus

Oh the Stories you can tell show at 3

10 min wait for Dragons...3rd from back row for Ice, then 2nd row for Fire

Rained for a while...so I went on Spiderman with a 10 min wait, got off and it was sunny

10 min wait for Hulk...sat in the back

4:45 left

IKEA

TARGET

HOME

Monday, Sept 14-Seaworld!

11:30 in the park

15 min wait Manta last row...THIS RIDE IS AMAZING!!!!!!

15 min wait Manta 7th row

Penguin Encounter

5 min wait Kraken front row

5 min wait Kraken last row

Shark encounter

10 min wait Wild Arctic

Fooooood at Voyages

Watched the divers at the Oyster's Secret. So cool!!!

15 min wait Manta last row

Believe Shamu show at 5pm

saw some awesome street comedy...videos to come!

5:45 left

Today, Tues, Sept 15

Went to a Disney audition, only to find out I was too tall for the specific character they were auditioning for..oh well! Better luck next time

IHop

Groceries!

Universal Studios!

2:50 in park

20min wait Rockit...first row. Listened to Black Eyed Peas' Pump It. Thought of Laura the whole time. :-D

20 min wait for Rockit again...singles line. 2nd row, listened to Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain. Epic, though too quiet and could sometimes hear other music choices over mine.

20 min wait for Rockit in regular line. Back row. Wanted to play Movin Right Along, but the computer wasn't fast enough, so I got stuck with a random song...Git Wit It...that's what it sounded like. Oh well.

Mummy Walk On in the single line...rode 3 times

15 min wait for Simpsons

MIB singles line, 10 min wait, but i walked on! 280700 the first time, 333875 the second time

Left the park at 6 when it closed...

That's all the update I have for now, stay tuned...Tomorrow night is the first rehearsal!

The Big Move...

So to get you caught up...On August 3-5, 2009 I flew down with some friends from Six Flags to audition for Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Orlando. It had been announced that this was going to be the last day of auditions and the audition dates after this were to be cancelled. Therefore, there were only a few spots left, despite the hundreds of people in attendance. At this point in the casting process, it was very specific roles they had to fill, mostly determined by body type. So they brought us in groups of about 40-60 into a separate room and had us go down the line saying our name and favorite horror film. After everyone said that, we were dismissed outside where it began to drizzle. Minutes later they came out and read a small handful of names of people who were being offered jobs. I was luckily on the list, so i went inside, filled out an application, and got finger printed. fun. I managed to go into the parks on all 3 days I was down there (including Universal Studios for the first time, had been to islands of adventure twice before)

Fast forward: August 20-Orientation: I flew down the morning of the orientation, which was lots of fun. Afterwards I met with a potential roommate for my time down in FL. Then to the hotel. The next day I spent at Universal Studios then flew home, which included a 36 hour pit stop in the Washington Dulles airport. Not fun. but that's another story.

Fast forward: Present day: Getting ready for the trip! This Friday, I head down to Orlando, where i'll be moving into my apartment and getting ready to work and apply for other jobs in the area. Not to mention gratuitous trips to various theme parks ;)...Excited for the trip, and for moving to Florida, but sad to be leaving so many people in the Northeast, from SFNE to UConn to Norwich, all (most) will be missed! Check back often, become a follower, i'm going to do my best to keep my blog updated regularly keeping everyone updated on my Florida Adventures!!!

Much love,
Ty

Thursday, March 12 at Universal

9:35a-Left house
10:00a-Arrived
10:07a-Parked, realized i forgot my camera (UGH) and forgot the ticket in the car when i was halfway to the park, so had to go back to the car and walk all the way back (UGH) this morning wasn't going right, plus I started to realize how much work I have once I get back to school.
10:37a-In Islands of Adventure
10:47a-Dueling Dragons (10min estimated wait) Fire, 1st row. I didn't wait in the line for 1st row, i waited in the line for "all other rows", and then worked my way up to the 2nd row, the least busy line, where I waited for a group of three to get into the first row, then I threw myself through the gates and into the first row. I was proud of my technique, which worked the next time on Ice as well.
11:03a-OFF DD, back on for Ice. Had to wait for them to add another set of trains, and of course it wasn't until I was the next train to be boarded.
11:43a-OFF DD
11:54a-The Incredible Hulk (25min estimated wait)
12:19p-OFF, and met Spiderman!
12:34p-The Adventures of Spiderman ride (25min estimated wait) By far one of my favorite rides in Orlando. So cool.
12:56p-OFF Spiderman
1:00p-Sinbad Stunt show-Some cool effects
1:24p-OUT SSS
1:27p-Poseidon's Fury (20min estimated wait) LAME new show, I don't like the order of events...and I want the water vortex back.
1:56p-OFF PF
Ate lunch at Fire Eaters Grill...Stay tuned for the picture of the burger...wow...scarce toppings!
2:20p-Cat in the Hat (5min estimated wait) Still no good, but at least the fat ladies I was literally wedged into the "couch" with were entertaining enough
2:28p-OFF CITH
2:32p-Dr. Doom's Fearfall (15min estimated wait) Compared to Scream at SFNE, it's pathetic, really short towers, but the theming is cool. And the girls on my side of the car were hilarious.
3:00p-Saw Captain America, Wolverine, Storm, some other girl, and Spiderman arrive on their ATVs. THEY get ATVs...
3:02p-Adventures of Spiderman (10min estimated wait)
3:11p-OFF Spiderman
3:18p-Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls (40 min estimated wait), but I was hot! I waited in line with 4 Germans, 3 guys and 1 girl...I ended up getting in the boat with them. They took the back 4 seats, which put me right in the front. They all got pretty wet. But I got SOAKED. I did not dress accordingly.
3:57p-OFF Ripsaw Falls
4:05p-Dueling Dragons, Ice (10min estimated wait) Just my luck, they had technical difficulties and had to put back 2 of the trains again...
4:32p-OFF DD
5:06p-Seuss Trolley Train (10 min estimated wait) LAME LAME LAME...I was hoping to get on the train that went through Circus McGurkus, but only one train goes there (LAME) and it wasn't running (LAME).
5:27p-OFF
5:37p-OUT of park (they close at 6...LAME)
5:50p-In the car, on the way to Downtown Disney...I just can't stay away!!! Did some shopping and extreme hunting, but to my dismay didn't find what I was looking for. Still depressed about it :(
Back to the house, and got a good long swim and soak in the hot tub and pool. Then went downtown Orlando to go to a club, but Dan couldn't get in because he was wearing shorts. They wouldn't let him take them off, either...Sonic Trip #2, then bed.

Overall, Disney is so much better than Universal Studios. More on top of their game, better guest service (I tested that), the rides are laid out better, with more accurate wait times, etc. Note to self: Future Orlando vacations, do Universal first. Still good, but in comparison, they lack.

Ride/Show Count: 12

Wednesday, March 11 in Disney

10:44a- In lot at Epcot
10:48a- In the park (I love Diamond parking)
10:55a- Got a fast pass for Soarin' (12:55-1:55) (30 min estimated wait)
11:04a- The Seas with Nemo and Friends (10 min estimated wait) Cute ride, pretty to look at, not very exciting though.
11:21a- Spaceship Earth (20min estimated wait) Cool new additions, the end of the ride after the planetarium section was cool with the LED grid. Never stopped either, which was pretty remarkable. I didn't stop on any of the continuous rides this trip actually (mansion, the seas, etc)
11:43a- OFF Spaceship Earth
11:47a- Test Track Single Rider Line (20min estimated wait) Walk on
11:57a- OFF TT, back in singles line
12:09p- OFF TT
12:19p- Journey into the Imagination with Figment (5 min estimated wait)
12:29p- OFF Figment, in line for Honey, I Shrunk the Audience 3D show walked right into preshow
12:58p-OFF HISTA
1:01p-Used Fastpass for Soarin' (65 min estimated wait) Really good ride, I sat next to a really annoying girl though who kind of ruined the experience. I think they could have gone further with the idea though, having more movement. Overall very cool though.
1:22p-OFF Soarin'
1:33p-Out of the park
1:39p- In the car, driving (I love Diamond parking)
1:46p-Parked at Magic Kingdom
1:56p- On monorail
2:05p- In park
Got a pic with Rafiki, since he had no line, stay tuned for that awesome pic.
2:13p- Pirates of the Caribbean (5min estimated wait) Row 6
2:26p- OFF pirates
2:30p- Got fastpass for Splash Mountain (40min estimated wait) 3:40-4:40
2:31p- Standby for Thunder Mountain Railroad (20min estimated wait) Car 3, Row 3
2:46p-OFF TMR
Watched the 3pm parade in Frontierland, and again in front of the castle. Very good parade, but not as good as Block Party Bash. Went to Casey's Corner which was empty and ate a very good hot dog and lemonade :-D
3:44p-Tomorrowland Transit Authority, Always a good relaxing ride. I believe it's going to be closed while Space Mountain refurbs though. :(
3:58p-OFF TTA
3:59p-Got fastpass for Space Mountain (20 min estimated wait) (4:40-5:40)
4:20p-Used fastpass for Splash Mountain (50min estimated wait)
4:46p-OFF Splash
4:50p-Standby line for Thunder Mountain Railroad (10min estimated wait) Walk on ride!!! (The next day, supposedly this ride never got below a 1 hour wait! Did I luck out or what?)
5:00p-OFF TMR, went to Main Street to meet up with the awesome short name crew: Meg, Pat, and Jess!!!
5:24p-Jungle Cruise (20min estimated wait) Really good, although very corny tour guide. It was an attack of the puns ;)
5:50p-OFF JC
5:55p-Got a Splash Fastpass (70 min estimated wait) (6:35-7:35)
5:56p-Standby for Thunder Mountain Railroad (10 min) walk on ride again! 2nd row to back
6:08p-OFF TMR
6:21p-Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor (10min) So funny and cool!!! And they used Pat's joke! And I love Roz!
6:49p-OUT of MILF (HA!)
Dinner at Cosmic Rays' Starlight Cafe, and yup! he's still singing!
7:23p-Used Fastpass for Space Mountain (30min estimated wait) R hand side, 3rd row
7:37p-OFF SM
7:41p-Buzz Lightyear's Ranger Spin (Omin estimated wait) Walk on! Pat cremated me! Not saying much though, but it was still fun (to laugh about!)
7:47p-OFF BLRS, we realized people were gathering near the castle, and we found out that Wishes was at 8, because the park closed at 8. LAME! We watched from the Tomorrowland bridge, and never got to do our Splash Mountain Fastpass. But here is where it gets really exciting:
8:20p-Wishes is over, we start leaving for the car.
8:41p-The short name club piles in the mini. And I drive.......
8:50p-We are parked at Hollywood studios.
8:54p-We are in Hollywood studios. (I love Diamond parking)
8:59p-Toy Story Mania (30min estimated wait) Once again, Pat cremated me, but I did better this time, it wasn't as bad of a cremation this time...
9:20p-OFF TSM
9:32p- In line for Fantasmic, got great seats dead center about half way up, the wind was blowing so it was a misty show.
10:28p-Leaving Fantasmic...Two night shows in one night? AMAZING! (and jess' first time seeing Fantasmic!)
10:44p-At the car.
Onto the Dunn/Lidwin house for the night. Sonic trip #1 and it was bedtime.

Ride/Show count: 22 (although the ride in the mini should count, don't you think, guys?)

Tuesday, March 10 in Disney

9:20a In Animal Kingdom
9:28a Fastpass for Dinosaur (10:40-11:40) (10min estimated wait)
9:33a In line for Finding Nemo: The Musical, didn't have to get in line that early, but I got a really good seat because of it. The show was brilliant, the puppetry was great, it was just amazing. After the show, I met up with the Stage Manager, who I had met via a contact I had, and she took me backstage to see the set and the puppets and everything. I could write a book. So awesome.
11a Left the Nemo stage.
11:02a Fastpass for Expedition Everest (12:05-1:05) (35min estimated wait)
11:03a Singles line for Expedition Everest, Row 17, back row This is by far my favorite thrill ride at Disney World now. So awesome!
11:13a OFF EE
11:18a Used Fastpass for Dinosaur (10 min estimated wait)
11:30a OUT Dinosaur, Hopped in Standby line
11:45a OUT Dinosaur
11:55a In bleachers for the Festival of the Lion King show
12:31p OUT of Festival
12:40p Fastpass Safari (1:39-2:39) (40 min estimated wait)
12:47p Use the Fastpass for Expedition Everest (40 min estimated wa), back row again
12:57p OFF EE, back in singles line for Everest, front row, pics were taken!
1:15p OFF EE, headed to Finding Nemo for the 1:45 show with the Dunns and friends
2:25p OUT of Nemo
2:31p Singles line for Everest (35 min estimated wait), row 14
2:44p OFF EE
2:57p It's Tough To Be A Bug Standby with the Dunns (5 min estimated wait)
3:15p OUT of BUG
3:28p Disregarded Fastpass, and Standby Safari with the Dunns (10 min estimated wait) Walk on
3:50p OFF Safari, heading to the parking lot, with many shopping stops :-\
4:30p Leaving Animal Kingdom
4:44p In lot at Epcot
4:52p In Epcot (I love Diamond parking)
4:57p Standby Mission: Space (Orange: 5 min estimated wait Green: 15 min estimated wait) Orange Walk On
5:15p OFF M:S
5:17p Test Track Single Rider Line (20 min estimated wait for singles)
5:39p OFF TT, heading to World Showcase to meet Dunns and Lidwins
5:55p Got a Fastpass for Maelstrom in Norway (6:35-7:35) (30min estimated wait)
6:35p Fastpass Maelstrom with Dunns and Lidwins...Lame as always...the ride, that is.
6:43p OFF Maelstrom
6:55p Mexico ride Walk on...the new update was cool with Donald Duck... and the three caballeros
7:07p OFF Mexico
7:09p Took the World Showcase ferry to Morocco? The point? Headed back to the Land to meet up with Meg, Pat, Jess and Dan...So it was the short name crew for the rest of the night. haha. We walked around World Showcase again, getting crepes in France, until we got to Germany where I got another snack ;) and we watched Illuminations.

From there, Meg and Jess went with me to get the car and Pat and Dan left through the France entrance. We met up for ice cream and then I went back to the hotel. The man with the ground beef was there, in the same area, still holding the bag of ground beef. Weird. When I got to the hotel, I went to brush my teeth, turned on the bathroom light, and saw a roach scamper across the bathroom counter. I threw one of the cups over him, where he happily stayed while I showered. After my shower, I sent him to the ocean via the toilet. Creeped out a lot more about this place, I went to bed, and found that the housekeeping people hadn't made the bed, just readjusted the comforter. The flat sheet that was pretending to be a fitted sheet was still untucked towards the bottom of the bed. So I used the other bed for the night. I was too tired to fuss with it :-D. Anyways, I went to bed, the next morning to be woken up by housekeeping trying to break into my room and couldn't understand why the double bar and pin lock was done. Hmm, that must mean the room is occupied. I dragged myself to the door, peered through the crack, and he realized he must have been on the wrong row of rooms. Check out was at 11a, you would think he would wait until after then. Oh well. I was up and going then. At check out, I mentioned the roach, the guy said "really? i'll have to make a note so we can find it." Anyways, at least the hotel was very conveniently located.

Ride/Show count for the day: 17...going backstage at Nemo? priceless!

Monday, March 9 at Disney

6:30 am-Leave Georgia for Orlando
10:00am-In the gates at Magic Kingdom
10:10am-Stitch's Great Escape (5min estimated wait) Could have passed, was better when it was Alien Encounter. Although it was worth it to see the little kid's reaction next to me...His mom and I were trying to talk him through it so he didn't have a breakdown
10:25am-Got a Fastpass for Space Mountain (11:10-12:10)
10:25am-Standby Space Mountain (10min estimated wait), Seat 5 on the L hand side, Ride even better than I had remembered...should be interesting to see what the major overhaul refurb does to the ride.
10:44am-OFF Space Mountain
10:55am- Standby Mickey's Philharmagic (5min estimated wait) a 3D movie, As recommended by Kate and Meg, it was Awesome!
11:20am-OFF Mickey's Philharmagic
11:25am-Used the Space Mountain Fastpass, seat 3 on the R hand side. By this time I have a technique that's working well, I paid attention once I got within earshot and eyeshot of the ride ops, so when they had a group of 5 entering a train, I'd tell them I was a 'party of one' and get to cut the rest of the line :-D
11:36am-OFF Space Mountain.
11:47am-Pirates of the Carribean (5min estimated wait), the new Davy Jones effect is awesome, the drop seems less intense than it was before, but that might have just been my memory slipping.
12:00pm-OFF Pirates
12:05pm-Got a Fastpass for Splash Mountain (12:45p-1:45p) (3omin estimated wait at the time)
12:06pm-Standby Thunder Mountain Railroad (20min estimated wait)
12:27pm-OFF TMR
12:32pm-Standby Haunted Mansion (20min estimated wait) The new effects were really cool, especially the stairway room and the projected ghosts
12:54pm-OFF HM
12:59pm- Used the Splash Mountain Fastpass (50min estimated wait by now) I got stuck on a log full o' Asians who insisted on taking pictures through the whole thing but would put away their cameras each time a lift hill came up, so i played along with the game and pretended that we were getting ready for the big plunge every time we went up a hill :-) fun times.
1:18pm- OFF SM, and heading to the car
1:36pm- at the Monorail
1:52pm- in the car and driving
2:03pm-Parked in Hollywood Studios lot
2:10pm- In the park at Hollywood Studios
2:23pm- Voyage of the Little Mermaid-Some cool effects, but the puppetry technique was bad overall, and the Ursula Puppet/Costume was really sub par...Ariel had bad support and became very thin and flat on the top notes...I was glad to see the show though, just think they need some direction and updates...
2:52pm-OUT of Voyage
3pm-Watched Block Party Bash at Crossroads. Best Disney parade in my opinion...Very fun, high energy and interactive, with lots of surprises, even to me, who normally figures these things out before they happen. Haha. Mrs. Incredible was a HUGE surprise, and she was awesome! Just wait for the pics. Great parade, wish I could have seen it more than once in different places, to see all the surprises and effects.
3:23pm-Fastpass Tower of Terror (4:05-5:05pm) (30 minute wait at time)
3:24pm-Rock N' Roller Coaster (50 min estimated wait) Single rider line FIRST ROW! Ride is just as awesome as ever. Although I wish they didn't have the "corkscrew ahead" sign, I would rather the corkscrew be surprise.
3:37pm-OFF RRC, back in the Single Rider line. Row 9 this time.
3:51pm-OFF RRC
3:52pm-Tower of Terror Standby line (30 min estimated wait) The ride was better than I remembered, had a very good "random" combination of drops.
4:24pm-OFF ToT, and back in line to use the Fastpass.
4:45pm-OFF ToT
4:52pm- Star Tours Standby line (10 min estimated wait) This ride really needs the refurb it's getting soon.
5:12pm-Off ST
5:18pm- Show requested Meg on The Great Movie Ride. She was AWESOME! and hilarious!
5:47pm- OFF GMR
5:50pm-Playhouse Disney show-Cute! the kids that were dancing along were adorable...puppetry was good! I'd love to get a closer look at the puppets and the stage configuration.
6:15pm-OUT of PD show
6:23pm- Muppet 3D show, great as always! walked right in to catch the end of the pre show
6:50pm- Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular-Fun yet cheesy as always. There was a squirrel running around on set, seemed to be very friendly and into the action. He was right where the jeep drives around and flips and explodes...seconds before it happened. it was fun to see all of the people in the tech booth pointing and panicking. fortunately, he escaped in the nick of time. and then when the jeep exploded a few feet away from him, he boooooked it across stage. HILARIOUS! wish I had it on tape!
7:17pm- OUT of IJSS, ate at Backlot Express, it was ok. Quick and decent.
7:56pm- Sucked it up and entered the Toy Story Mania Standby line (70min estimated wait)- This ride was sooo much fun, even though i really stink at it, but oh well! It's still fun!
8:43pm- OFF TSM, headed back to the Great Movie Ride to show request Meg again
9:26pm- OFF GMR
9:35pm- In line for Fantasmic!, the line was backed up to the Planet Hollywood store. This is by far my favorite nighttime spectacular at Disney. So many awesome effects, great characters and such.
10:25- OUT of Fantasmic!
10:41- At the car, and on the way to the hotel

The hotel seemed decent, kinda sketchy, there was a guy standing on the opposite end of the hotel with a black eye, dark complexion, plainly dressed, and a bag of what appeared to be a couple packages of ground beef. Besides the nappy blanket, the sheets you could see through, and the towels with holes in them, I got a good night's sleep...

Ride/Show Count for the day: 22...Very Successful if you ask me!