Arrival Week Part 1 - Check in Day

Tuesday 13th of January

We got to Vista Way welcome centre around 9:30 am and lined up outside the main gate entrance. It was unbelievable cold and I was exhausted by the time we got there. I think we waited about an hour before a lady came and got us and we made our way to the main office where we checked in. I had my Disney folder ready which contained all my important documents in it that we were to present during check-in. We had our photos taken from our housing ID's and it was ready and given to us right away and we were also given our Visa prepaid card. Just then my roommates Lily, Bec, Nichola, Lauren and Hannah arrived. I ran up to them and gave them a big hug. That's when I met them for the first time after talking to them for months online. It was such an exciting feeling that I was gonna be living with these girls. After all the  Check-in, there was a bus waiting for us to take us to our apartment! As soon as we got to our apartment Chatham Square we had to drag all our luggage up the stairs to our apartment, as our apartment was at the very top floor and there was no elevator, so that was a mission! We were so ecstatic to be in our apartment our new home for the next six months to possibly a year! Our apartment was huge gorgeous. Reminded me of the Tauranga house back in New Zealand. It was a bit similar to that, except it didn't have a garage where you can create your own office or park your car. It was a two bedroom apartment with a massive lounge, Kitchen and we had two fridges yay! The bedrooms were pretty big. Lauren Me and Hannah share a room and Nichola, Lily and Bec share the other. I got the single bed which I absolutely love and our walk in closet was huge!. It was like another room itself, perfect for skyping and our bathroom was huge. All I wanted to do at that time was take a shower and sleep for as long as I can, but my roommates would not let me sleep. That evening we made our first trip to the famous Walmart! As we had to buy so many items for our apartment. I think we did like four carts worth of shopping. We took a taxi back as we could not carry all those items on the bus with us. It's awesome that the buses are free for all the CP's it takes us to work, supermarkets, mall,  Disney parks, resorts, post office. Only if Auckland transport was like that!  how cool would that be? All we have to do is show our housing ID to get on the bus.

Lounge

Kitchen

Dining table

My bed

Finally, we were home and I was able to slip into a coma for good long hours. I think I slept from about 5 pm right through to the next day till 7 in the morning. Well, that was my Check in day! Hopefully, you guys have not given up on me! There is more to come! Stay tuned!

Have a  magical day

Distance to Destination

Hi Guys, Going back in time today

I apologize I haven't updated my blog in a month I know I said I would be updating my blog regularly so you all could keep up with my adventures. It's now been a month since I have been in the States. my adventure has already begun. A lot has happened since then! I have already finished my training and I am work 5 days a week. So by the time I get home, I am exhausted and most of my days off are spent, going shopping, going to the Disney parks, hanging out with friends.  I cannot believe I am here. It's crazy!  So going back to the arrival day! I departed Auckland on the 12th of January. My flight was at 7:15 pm, but I don't think it flew until 7:30 pm. It was a 12-hour long flight, I watched The Conjuring and  slept. There were times where  I would just wake up and turn on the Airshow, distance to the destination screen and would just stare it. I absolutely love looking at that. It's awesome! After a 12-hour long flight, we finally touched down in Los Angeles! Oh, boy how much I missed LA it was nice to be back, even though it was only for 10 hours. It was great. By the time I reached LA I was dead tired, I had a 10-hour long stop. When I got to the customs, they asked me for my DS2019 form, but it was in my luggage, as in Auckland I had to rearrange my luggage so I ended up putting my Disney folder  in my bag. So I told the customs officer that it was in my bag and I was taken to one of the waiting areas, so I think waited for about an hour, until they got my suitcase, seriously that one hour of wait really freaked me out, as I thought am I in trouble? am I gonna be sent home, all these horrible thoughts were rushing through my mind. Anyways when they got my bag, I was able to take out my DS2019 form and give it to them, so that was signed and I cleared the customs and I was able to go! So after that I got a trolley, dropped off my suitcase at the check-in area so it would straight go to Delta Airlines, as then I would not have to drag it around all day.

On the plane to LA Air New Zealand

Hello LA!

I headed towards Terminal 5. As I was supposed to meet Melissa as her flight was landing two hours after me. So I just sat there in the waiting area and my oh my how much the LA airport has changed since I was there, last time in 2012. It's really beautiful now, when I visited LA in 2012, some parts of the airport were being renovated and no wonder I thought it was ugly, but it is beautiful and oh how much I missed LA! it also brought back the memories of LA2012, when the super 5/8 met and we drove around LA intersections, blasting MJ out loud. Oh, those were such great times! but this time it was a little different, as I was alone and I only had a 10hour stop. So I just spent my time sitting there, sometimes I would get up and stroll around and outside the terminal. I waited at terminal 5 till about 3:00pm and then decided to head to towards the other terminal from where I was supposed to check in for Delta Airlines, but my flight was not until 10:15 pm. I think I must have walked around in circles, but I finally managed to get my boarding pass and then I finally met Melissa and few others, who were doing the program too. so we all checked in and we had about 6 hours of waiting  left, we just sat there in the waiting area and played last cards, which was really fun. At around 9:45 pm we boarded the plane. 

Waiting at LAX to board the plane to Orlando

The plane ride to Orlando was 3 hours 54 mins, well it was completely different to an international flight. It wasn't very comfortable, as it was a domestic flight. I slept most of the way, the two seats next to me were free so I was able to spread my legs. It was unbelievably cold on the plane. Finally at around 5:45 am we landed in Orlando. I was jet-lagged my ears were completely blocked because of Air Pressure, I could barely hear anyone or myself. All I wanted to do was find a bed and sleep for as long as I could. We got our bags and just waited at the airport lounge until 8 am, as our checking time with Disney was at 9 am, so there was no point in getting there very early. Yay I wasn't alone, it was nice to have travel buddies. At around 8 am we caught the Mears shuttle bus and it was an hour ride from the airport and it took us to  the Vista Way Welcome Centre, that is where we checked in.

On the plane Delta Airlines to Orlando

Orlando International Airport

I will next make a post on check in and arrival week! So stay tuned

Have a magical day!