DCP: Whispering Canyon

After the housing meeting I went out dinner with 12 of my friends. We went to a place called Whispering Canyon which is located inside Disney’s Wilderness Lodge.

We decided to use Disney’s free transportation for CP’s called transtar.

Some of my friends on Transtar

Once we got to the hotel we took pictures until it was time for our reservation.

Whispering Canyon is such a fun place to eat at because there are literally no rules for the waiter. This is a place where they can make fun of you and be goofy and silly. My family always eat here the very first day when we go to Disney so I was so happy I got reservations for this place.

Our waiter was hilarious and kept us laughing the whole time. They are really big on not texting while you are eating and my table kept doing that. Our waiter eventually took five girls phone and wrapped it in plastic wrap on a plate and brought it back to our table.

 

 

This restaurant has no ketchup on your table. If you want ketchup you have to tell your waiter and he will yell “THEY NEED KETCHUP” And then whatever table has ketchup will bring over like 15-20 bottles to your table. It is so funny to watch happen. And then the next time someone needs ketchup you have to go and bring all of the bottles to their table.

It was such a fun dinner and a fun night. Tomorrow (Wednesday) I am doing homework and just more shopping. Thursday is still up in the air and Friday I have traditions and then I am going into the parks for the first time as a cast member!





 

DCP: Housing Meeting

After Casting I had a housing meeting. The housing meeting is mandatory for all participants. It’s like a typical housing meeting you would have at college. They just go over rules and safety stuff. There are two sheriffs that come in and also talk to you about being safe and being careful when using party buses. You get this thing called a communicator and it tells you when all of the housing events are, workshops, classes, trips, and so much more.

 

There are a few things that I am going to do. I am going to go to our welcoming event which is called Phineas and Ferb’s “Do it All” welcome event. I am excited and it should be really fun. I am also going to try and go to the career workshop that they offer. They have one for Resume Writing, Acing the Interview, Networking, Personal Branding, and Presenting Skills. It’s so important to go to these events so you can get your name out there with the company. The last thing they have this month that I am going to do is Character Performer auditions. They have one at the beginning of your program and at the end. If you get accepted for the one at the beginning of your program your role will automatically switch to character performing. The audition I am going to is for that one. I went to the auditions before the spring term and made it all the way to the end but my dancing messed me up. L So I am going to be working out a lot for the next couple of weeks to get in shape for the audition so I can do better!

The housing meeting isn’t fun but it isn’t boring. You learn a lot of stuff that this program has to offer.



DCP: Casting

So today I had casting at 11:30. Casting is where you go and fill out important paper work for Disney, get your background check, and get your in-depth work schedule! The only fun part honestly is getting your work schedule. Everything else is just boring haha. But you need it done so you can go to traditions which is your first official day of work.

When you walk into casting you are divided up into two groups. One group goes and fills out all of your paperwork and the other goes and gets your work schedule and you do your I-9 information. Then you switch.

I was in the group where I went and filled out all of my paperwork first. What you do is you walk into a room and you get a folder with your name on it and you go over all of your information you filled out online when applying for the program. They also ask you again if you ever been convicted of a crime since filling out the application and this is your time to tell them if there has been a change. Do not lie because they will find out when they do a background check and you will get sent home. It has happened already for the spring term. It is better to be honest. After that you go and get your background check. Once your background check is done you go into a different room where you get your work schedule. After you get your work schedule you will go into a line and wait to speak with someone so they can explain your schedule to you. This is also where you will need your two things of identification. If you don’t have them they will send you back to your apartment at this step of the process. When you sit down in the room there will be two people. One person will go over your schedule and the other person will type in your I-9 information. After that you are all done.

I went the second day and it didn’t feel like it took that long. I think if you go on the first day you will be waiting around a lot more because there will be more people.

Here is what my work schedule looks like so far:

Friday: Traditions (dress business casual)- 2:30
Sunday: Welcome to Operations B (Business Casual)- 7:30-14:00
Monday: DAKlimation (Business Casual)- 8:00-14:00
Thursday: Merchandise Tier 1 (my costume)- 9:00-17:30

That is all I have so far but I like my schedule! It’s only training stuff right now and I will get the rest of my schedule on Monday.

 

DCP: Monday Funday

 After I finished check-in my mom and I went to my apartment to unpack everything. The weather was nice and it wasn’t too hot but you could tell it was going to rain. We wanted to try and unpack everything before the rain hit. I am going to do an apartment tour soon and post pictures of my apartment for you all to see!

After we got done unloading my car and unpacking my room we went to Walmart to get groceries. As soon as we got there it started raining. L

I was so overwhelmed with shopping haha. My mom did most of it for me and I watched so I could do it next time. It’s just so hard deciding what I want to eat. We also picked up some other things I needed for my apartment.

Once we got done we went to CiCis for lunch because I hadn’t eaten all day. We got back to our apartment and put up the groceries and my mom fixed our kitchen to make it look nicer. My mom and I then hung up my clothes….which was a lot of work because I have so many! After an hour my mom and I ran out of hangers so we were going to get some more. My roommates were getting ready to go to an IKEA store and I had never been to one so my mom told me to go with them and she went to Walmart to get more things.

IKEA was really fun but I feel like I would have enjoyed it more if I wasn’t so tired. It was exhausting haha. After I got back from shopping with my friends I took my mom back to her hotel. It was sad because this was the last time I was going to see her.

Today was so much fun and tomorrow will be even better! I have casting and a housing meeting. And then I am going out to dinner with all 12 of my friends I met before the program! We are going to Whispering Canyon and it will definitely be fun J

DCP: Check-in Day!!

Ahh today is the big day! It is check-in day! I woke up super early because I just couldn’t sleep. I was way too excited. My check-in time was at 9:45. You are allowed to arrive 15 minutes before your check-in. But if you arrive any earlier the security guards will send you away.

You go to Check-in at one of the Disney Apartments called Vista Way. I arrived there at 9:30 and my nerves were through the roof! All of my roommates had the same check-in time so we all tried to meet up and stand in line together.

When you get there they will divide you up into two groups. An A-L group and M-Z. Once you are in those lines you go into another line to see where you will be working at!

I am working at……..drumroll please……..Disney’s Animal Kingdom- Asia Merchandise!! Woo!

And then after that you go into another line where you wait and find out where you are living. My housing situation is bittersweet. I got the apartment I didn’t want but Disney linked me up with all of my roommates I had wanted before! I am living in Vista Way which is the oldest of all of the apartments. It has a bad reputation for things breaking all of the time and there being mold. Our apartment was surprisingly not that bad. It wasn’t the best, but after we made it feel more like home it was much better. It’s starting to grow on me.

It was pure luck that I got placed with my roommates. We all think it was because we had made our housing preferences the exact same. If you remember in the beginning there was 12 of us girls. We split into 2 groups of six and we were all going to hang out and try to live in the same apartment. Now 6 out of the 12 of us live together but we are all in Vista! So we still plan to hang out all the time.

After you find out where you are living you go and take your photo I.D picture for housing

Once you are done taking your picture you go get your key for your apartment and then you pick up your housing I.D. You have to have this ID with you at all times so you can enter your apartment complex.

Once you are done you go into another room and the first thing you get is an overlook of your first week. My schedule for this week looks like this:

Tuesday: Casting- 11:30

                Housing Meeting- 4:00
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: Off
Friday: Traditions: First official day of work

Casting is where you get a more detailed schedule of this week and next week so I will get that tomorrow.

After that you go to 4 stations with a group of people. The first station is going over basic Disney guidelines and the Disney Look. The next station you fill out your I-9 form. The station after that you talk about housing events educational opportunities and other opportunities you have while working for Disney. The final station you talk about safety.

Once that is all done you are free to go. Some people have casting that day so if you do then you have to go on a bus. If you don’t then you have the rest of the day to yourself!

DCP: The Drive to Orlando- Day 2

So today my mom and I left North Carolina to finish our journey to Orlando! We got up earlier than we planned so we just decided to leave early. On Sunday we drove through North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and then finally Florida! The scenery was still kind of ugly. I thought it would be much prettier but I still got a few good pictures of the sky and some water haha. Nothing too exciting but if you like sky and water you will like my pictures.

We arrived at Disney around 5:30. My mom and I stayed at Pop Century which is a resort owned by the company.

Once my mom and I got settled we went to Animal Kingdom Lodge to go have dinner at a restaurant called Bomas. It was delicious! It's an African themed buffet and it was just so good. There are a lot of different unusual foods there but you definitely need to try it all. This is a restaurant where you need to step out of your comfort zone. But once you do you'll be so happy because all of the food is amazing.
Here are some of the food that this restaurant serves:

I definitely recommend trying!

Afterwards I met up with some of my friends at my resort and we just hung out and talked for the rest of the night. It was really fun getting to know them before I checked in tomorrow!

DCP: The Drive to Orlando Day 1

Today is the day! My mom and I started our journey to Orlando! We had to go back to driving because of complications with the truck company. I was kind of upset but the drive today wasn’t that bad!

We left our house at 8am and drove 8hrs to Charleston, NC. We split the drive up by stopping every 3 hrs. This made the ride seem more bearable because we weren’t driving straight through. I sadly didn’t take any pictures today because the majority of the car ride was trees, farmland, and mountains. Talk about boring. We drove through Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina. Once we went to North Carolina the scenery was so pretty but I was just way too tired to take pictures.

Tomorrow we are driving through North Carolina and along the coast of Georgia. Then we will be in Florida! I am positive the scenery will be a lot better tomorrow so I will be taking a lot of pictures.

Not a whole lot happened today. Tomorrow is when all the excitement starts. When we arrive in Florida we will be staying in Pop Century, which is on Disney World property. We should get there around 6-6:30. Depending on how we feel, we might grab something to eat at one of the restaurants in Disney. Afterwards, all of my roommates I met, before we had to split upL, are having a get together. It’s in a girls named Christine’s hotel room. She is staying at the same hotel as me so I won’t have to go far.

On Monday there will be a lot of exciting things going on. Besides it being check-in day, I will get to know where I am living, know where I am working AND I will meet my other unknown roommates. Next week I will have a housing meeting, something called casting, and my first official day of working for Walt Disney World. That day is called traditions and is such an exciting day because after you go through it, you can official go “play” in the parks. People normally have traditions on Thursday or Friday. After I have traditions, I will start training for my role.

Monday is also when I will get my schedule for the rest of the week and I will get my training schedule. I can’t believe I am two short days away from achieving a dream I have had since I was little J I am so excited and cannot wait!

Packing for the Disney College Program

Packing for the Disney College Program is so stressful! You are pretty much moving into your own apartment for an extended period of time. If you have a car I highly recommend bringing it down with you.

Some of my friends who didn’t have a car took a plane and the amount of stuff they were able to bring was limited. No worries though because there is a Walmart and Publix (grocery store) really close to the apartments where you can buy everything you will need.

It is easier if you are able to pack a little extra stuff in a car so you won’t have to buy a ton of stuff when you get down there. I brought all of the essentials and plan on buying stuff like toiletry when I get down to Disney. Being a girl and everything, of course my essential stuff is a lot more than want a typical guy would bring.

I am so proud of myself because I was able to fit all of my clothes in 2 ½ suitcases and one space bag. Not bad for being in Disney for six months

 

I was also able to fit all of my makeup in 3 small bags and one makeup brush bag and I am bringing 4 sunglasses

 



 

These next to pictures are everything that I have to fit in my car. The pink flower suitcase has all of my shoes in it. Some of the boxes have pots, pans, and cooking essentials. I also have an iron and ironing board, TV, shower curtain, towels, bedding, and pillows. I have a vacuum cleaner too. That is all that I can remember.

 

 

 This is my car after my mom and I shoved everything in it! I am so happy and shocked we were able to make everything fit.

I am all ready for Disney!

Disney Going Away Party

So my going away party got moved from McDonald's to Quaker Steak! Haha I was so happy. It was amazing. It was only family but I still had a really good time! The food was excellent as well. I got wings and nachosJ. My family also got me going away gifts for me to take down to Disney.

My Aunt Donna gave me cooking supplies for my kitchen at my apartment

This is a picture of my family who went to the party!

 

My parents got me a Disney gift card for obvious reasons 

 

My mom got me rain boots because it rains like crazy down in Florida. I also got a new pack to take with me into the parks. 

This last gift is my absolute favorite. It is a cookbook. And it is filled with pictures from all 7 Disney trips I've been on and recipes from family and friends

 

 

I am so thankful that I have such an amazing family that threw me a wonderful party. I can't wait to use all of these things down in Disney.

DCP Apartments

Ok so as I mentioned in the previous post, there are four different apartments CPs can live in. So I figured I would write a post explaining each apartment to you guys. Because there are definitely pros and cons to each of them! Now since I've never actually done a college program before, I only know things about the apartment from what I read online. There is one blogger named Emily who wrote a post on these apartments and it was really well written. So all of the information I am about to post is from her blog: http://earsonemily.blogspot.com/

If you are interested in doing the college program I would recommend looking at her blog because it really resourceful and detailed. J Reading her blog when I went through the application is one of the things that inspired me to write my own!

The Commons

From what I've heard, this is the first year the The Commons are available to all CPers, up until that point they were specifically for International Program students. According to the Facebook group, they are the only complex with IN-UNIT washers and driers and this has NOT changed even with the change to who can live in The Commons. It is located in the same vicinity as Patterson Court, Chatham Square and Mickey's Retreat. The bus stop stops at The Commons for all three of these apartment complexes. From what I've seen on YouTube of apartment tours of The Commons, they look very similar to Chatham Square bedrooms. There is also a pool, fitness center, sand volleyball court, and tennis courts. According to the Onboarding website, weekly rent for The Commons is:



1BR - 4BR

$118 - $91

Patterson Court

Located in the same area as Chatham Square and The Commons, Patterson Court has four on-site laundry units, which use credit/debit cards and offer text message alerts, a fitness center, pool, and outdoor pool table. Students who live here must take the bus stop from Chatham square. According to the Onboarding website, weekly rent for Patterson Court is:

1BR - 3BR

$114 - $89

Vista Way

Vista Way is located about five minutes from the other three apartment complexes but within walking distance from Chik-Fil-A, Wendy's, Starbucks, etc. There is one mail kiosk, a fitness center (rumor on Facebook says they have the best fitness center), a laundry facility in each building, two pools, san volleyball court, outdoor pool table, tennis court, basketball court, and two hot tubs. Vista Way has its own bus stop. Vista Way also has the "party" reputation, although this kind of seems silly to me because it really just depends on the people that live there. According to the Onboarding website, weekly rent for Patterson Court is:

2BR - 3BR

$107 - $98

Chatham Square

Right across from Mickey's Retreat, Chatham Square has the only bus stop for Patterson Court and The Commons, two mail kiosks, four laundry facilities, which take debit/credit cards, fitness center, pool, sand volleyball court, outdoor pool table, and tennis courts. According to the Onboarding website, weekly rent for Patterson Court is:

1BR - 4BR

$114 - $87

 

 

Mickey's Retreat

This is not an Apartment

Located between Chatham Square and The Commons, Mickey's Retreat is Disney World's cast member only recreation facility. It has two swimming pools, a marina with canoe and paddle boat rentals, children's play area, picnic pavilions, four sand volleyball courts, a banquet room, and much more.

Housing Amenities

Below is a list of amenities including in the price of your rent:

• All utilities, including water, electricity, waste disposal
• High-speed Internet access in all apartments (additional information below)
• Local phone service and one central phone
• Centrally located laundry facilities
• Maintenance of the apartments, including pest control
• Onsite security
• Cable television hook-up
• Computer labs
• Wireless Internet Lounge, Clubroom Thirteen501
• Swimming pools
• Weight rooms
• Tennis, basketball and racquetball courts
• Fully furnished apartment
• Bedroom
  
  • Dresser w/ mirror
  • Nightstand
  • (2) twin beds
  Dining Room
  • Table w/ four chairs
  Living Room (Cable hook-up only available in this common area)
  • Couch
  • Chair
  • Two end tables
  Additional Items Provided
  • Shower curtain liner
  • Two vanity wastebaskets
  • Kitchen wastebasket
  • Recycling bin
  Kitchen Appliances
  • Refrigerator w/ ice maker
  • Stove, oven, & microwave
  • Dishwasher
  Kitchen Utensils and Dishes
  • Assortment of pots & pans w/lids
  • Mixing bowl set
  • Measuring cups
  • Cutting board
  • Spatula
  • Can opener
  • Cutting knife
  • Ladle
  • Tea kettle
  • Serving spoons
  • Cookie sheets
  • Dinner plates
  • Salad plates
  • Cereal bowls
  • Drinking glasses
  • Coffee cups
  • Set of knives, spoons and forks

*Each complex and apartment layout is unique. Amenities may differ between apartments.
All apartments have wired, high-speed Internet access. However, there are a few computer requirements:

• Anti-virus software that runs constantly and automatically updates its virus definitions.
• Ethernet card
• CAT5 cable
• A firewall program or router that serves as a firewall

The DSL modem has four ports and is located in the living room; so, many cast members also bring a wireless router. There are also multiple locations around the housing properties that have wireless Internet access. Computer labs also are available at the housing complexes and Disney Learning Centers across Walt Disney World® Resort property.

Disney Updates

I leave for Orlando in 4 days and I am SO EXCITED! I have so many exciting things going on this week and I cannot wait J

Tomorrow my mom and I are packing up my car because we are paying for someone to drive it down to Orlando. At first my mom and I were going to drive but after a lot of talking, we figured it would be best if we flew. My mom isn’t the best driver and I wouldn’t be able to help her out at all with the 16hr drive. I am not a good driver either and I am still really weak and tired from my chemo. I am so nervous that all of my stuff will not fit into my car. It will be very interesting when I go to pack it tomorrow. 

Last week DORMs (housing sign up for Disney) was available for my arrival date. Disney ran out of housing so our arrival date was only able to link with one other roommate. This was so upsetting because I had 5 other girls I was supposed to room with! L We are however making the best of it and are hoping to still all hang out together! So now how housing will work for me is that my roommate (Meagan) and I will move into an apartment with girls who have been there since August or girls who have just moved in. We are hoping to room with girls who have recently moved in. We feel as if they will still have the same excitement as us and will want to explore everything!  

For Disney there are four different apartments each with one to 4 bedrooms. There are 2 or 3 people per room. I want to live in Patterson Apartments because it is the newest. 

On Wednesday I am having a going away party and my mom decided to have it at…..McDonald’s! Hahaha. I have many cousins who are little so my mom thought a McDonald’s with a play pen would be the best place to keep the little ones occupied. 

On Friday I go for my MRI and on Saturday I leave for Disney! I will get in about 4:30ish. My mom and I have nothing planned for Saturday except picking up my car. We are staying at the Holiday Inn that day and on Sunday we will be staying on Disney Property at Pop Century. On Sunday my mom and I are going to try and go to the mall and look around at some of the stores. I still need to find an outfit for my first official work day so I am going to try and get it there! And then we are going to go over this one family’s house that is going to look after me while I am in Orlando. Afterwards one of my roommates is having a pizza party at Pop Century so the majority of us are going to head over there and hangout for the night. Finally on Monday I have check-in! That day is going to be so exciting and filled with so many things J I can’t wait to share it with you guys! 

Sunday is when this blog will finally start getting interesting because I will be in Disney and my adventure will finally begin. I am going to start vlogging on my YouTube channel as well when I get to Disney J

New York Day 4

Today was our last day in New York! We went to this really famous soul food restaurant called Sylvia’s. The food there was so delicious! They had a singer who came in and sang Gospels to everyone in the restaurant. It was really nice for our last day. 

When got back from brunch my Godmother left and my mom and I headed to the airport. We took a shuttle again and this time there wasn’t a lot of traffic and we got the airport in about 30mins! Our driver still drove kind of scary and sped a lot. 

We made it out of the airport and landed in Akron just before the big storm hit. We were so happy our plane wasn’t delayed. The roads were horrible and it took us a while to get home. 

I am so happy I got to go to New York and take a break from my crazy life! My mom and I are planning on going back to New York in August with family and friends J

New York Day 3

Today was a slow day for my mom and I. We had plans on going on this bus that dropped you off at various places around New York and you can get back on at any time. But I was so tired and exhausted from the whole trip already so we decided to sleep in. 

My Godmother came up to New York today to spend the night with us. When she got there we did a lot of shopping and sightseeing! 

Afterwards we did a night tour of New York and got to see the city all lit up. It was so pretty. Once the tour finished we all went out to dinner and I started feeling sick so I wasn’t able to enjoy it as much. 

Saturday was way more laid back but I still loved every minute of it. Sometimes when you’re on vacation you just need to sit back, relax and take everything in. J

Mom, Godmother, me

Almost Cancer Free!!

"Sierra, you just beat cancer...what are you going to do next?" "Why I'm going to Disney World!"

On Friday, I got the amazing news that I was cancer free! I was so excited because I was worrying about it a lot that day. It made it so hard to concentrate on my trip! My doctor told me that all the spots that showed up on my CAT scan, didn’t light up on my PET.

However, with good news comes bad news. Since my cancer is so rare, whenever something doesn’t go right, my doctor takes it to his tumor board. This is a meeting that occurs every Friday where doctors discuss tumor cases. Although I feel so honored being talked about as such an exclusive meeting, having your case being brought to tumor board isn’t always a good thing. The type of Ovarian Cancer I have is considered pediatric cancer. But since I was 18 at the time I found out, I was referred to a doctor who deals with adult cancer. My doctor doesn’t know a lot about my type of cancer so from time to time he will bring my case up at tumor board where pediatric cancer doctors can help him out.

 

At the tumor board meeting a radiologist specialist looked at both the scans. He noticed there was one spot that lit up that caused some concerns on my PET scan. My doctor told him I recently had an infection in that area and that could be why the area lit up. Long story short I have to get two MRIs done to make sure that this area is nothing of concern.  

My first MRI is this Friday and will just be an MRI to get a look at how that area should be. I am going to then fly home from Disney in March and get my second MRI. If this MRI shows that the area looks more abnormal or has changed, I am going to need to get a biopsy done. My doctor mentioned how he will not give me anymore chemo unless he knows for certain that the area has cancer. It is possible cancer could have spread to this area but I won’t know for sure until March. If nothing shows up out of the normal in my second MRI it will be safe to say that the area lit up simply from my previous infection!

 

I decided not to worry at all about my MRIs and the results until March when I am home. I am so grateful that I still get to go to Disney so I am focusing on all my energy into that. I will definitely keep everyone updated when I get my tests done and when I hear results!

New York Day 2

Today was another early day but not as early as yesterday. My mom had scheduled a makeup class for us inside the Pierre Hotel. The hotel was absolutely beautiful. Inside the hotel was a salon and that is where our makeup class was. It was a one on one makeup demonstration so you definitely felt taken care of. My mom and I learned a whole bunch of cool makeup tricks and really enjoyed the class.

Afterwards we went shopping again and then waited in line to get discounted Broadway tickets. This time my mom and I decided not to see a musical, so we went with a play titled “It’s Only a Play”. I thought it was okay and my mom really enjoyed it.

Nothing else really exciting happened after the play was over. My mom and I went to bed early because we had a long day ahead of us on Saturday.

New York Day 1/My Birthday

My mom and I started our vacation bright and early by waking up at 2:50am. (I was not a happy camperL). Our plane left at 6 am and we lived 1 ½ away from the airport. We decided to take an early flight so we could have a full day in New York City.

This was my first time being on a plane since last summer and it felt very weird being in an airport. It was nice being there early because there weren’t any lines and we got through the whole “checking-in” process fairly quickly.

When we arrived in New York we took a shuttle bus to our Hotel. This ride took about 2 hours all together. The traffic was insane and the driving there was worse! I was terrified and scared for my life. We had a crazy bus driver and he had no patience for anyone. We almost hit a biker too.

Our Hotel we stayed in was the Hilton on Time Square. It was so gorgeous. After my mom and I checked in we were handed our key and were told about the restaurant that they had in the hotel. I was shocked when we were told that there wasn’t any complimentary breakfast. And so when my mom and I made it to our room we got a call saying since it was my birthday we would get one complimentary breakfast! I was so excited because whenever you have to pay for breakfast at a hotel, you know it is going to be good! So I couldn’t wait to try it.

Our hotel had 36 floors and we were on floor 33. We had such amazing views. One was a view of the Empire State Building.

 

After we got settled, we went out to go shopping J. Our hotel was in the perfect spot on Time Square. We were close to everything! The first store we went into was Sephora. I LOVE Makeup so I was so happy that there was a Sephora 2 minutes from our hotel. Afterwards we went to a whole bunch of other stores like Forever 21, Disney Store, H&M, MAC, and etc. A lot of these stores had 3+ floors and was really neat to see how the occupied all of that space. The one store that really impressed me was Toys R Us. This store was 4 floors of fun. It made me wish I had one of my nieces and nephews there with me. You can literally spend all day in this store if you have a little kid. You also won’t be able to walk out of the store without buying anything haha. They had a full size Ferris wheel, life size Barbie house, an arcade, and exclusive items that are only sold at the Toys R Us on Times Square. It was amazing

 

Once we were all done shopping we went back to the hotel to get ready for my Birthday Dinner and first Broadway Show! We were going to see Wicked and I was so excited. I heard nothing but great things about this play and couldn’t wait. Before the show we went and ate at an Italian restaurant called Azaela’s. It was right next to where Wicked was playing and VERY far from our hotel. This walk was brutal. The wind was really bad and I was so tired for being up so long I didn’t think I was going to make it. But when we finally got to the restaurant, the food definitely made up for it! It was so delicious. My mom and I got a Caprese salad to split. For an Entrée my mom got Lasagna and I got fish. Both our food was so delicious! The only thing I didn’t eat were the capers that came with my food because they reminded me of little fish eye balls. Not very appetizing. For desert we ordere crème brulee and they wrote Happy Birthday to me on the plate and then sang to me. It was so magical!

After dinner we made our way to the theatre! Wicked was absolutely amazing. I was so impressed with the sets, acting and singing. It definitely was the perfect end to my birthday.

After Wicked, my mom and I decided not to walk home. Instead we rode a bike that carries passengers it was such a cool experience. I had an amazing birthday in New York and am so happy my parents were able to make this happen