Weeks fourteen and fifteen!

My last post covered a good chunk of the fun things I've done outside work in the last few weeks, because I've worked the last eight days straight.  So a few stories from work:

• I've recently come to love taking out the vinegaroon to speak to guests.  It's a really cool pseudo scorpion that is neither poisonous nor venomous.  Instead, these insects spray out acetic acid from their tails (84% versus 5% for household vinegar) to deter predators.  The vast majority of the people I speak with about them have never heard of them (only person so far who's correctly ID'ed one was an entomologist), so I love introducing them to a new creature. 
• When I asked a little one "What is the frog saying?" after we listened to a frog noise at one of our badge locations, he started hopping up and down and telling me very excitedly that frogs say "ribbit!"
• I've met two other Kathryns, who clearly spell their name the right way.
• Met a small child who told me that he is three and a half and a rocket pilot. 
• Saw a hawk up close at our Flamingo badge location.  One of our props there is a FL bird guide, so we took it out and ID'ed it as a sharp-shinned hawk (we were pretty sure).  We did that while speaking to a family, so that was a really cool opportunity because checking out the birds that live by you and figuring out which species you're seeing is something we often encourage kids to do at home. 
• At one of our badge locations, after I made sure everyone had seen all of the clues with which we were tracking an animal, I said "OK, now that we're all on the same page..."  One of the little boys got really upset and shouted out "I DON'T HAVE A PAGE!"
• Had a zookeeping seminar with two of the zoological managers at the park and got to see some backstage areas!  It was so incredibly cool.
• Tried to see David Cook at Epcot (part of Food and Wine is an Eat to the Beat concert series with a bunch of different artists performing throughout the two months), but the weather was very much not in our favor. 
• Learned about a study that assessed the effectiveness of the Kids' Discovery Club program (the precursor to Wilderness Explorers) and was published in the International Zoo Educators (IZE) Journal.  The study found that our program (many of the activities are still the same) really does work, which is something I know to be true but it's also cool to know it's been formally assessed as well. 
• Spoke to a family from Bolivia, a family from Scotland, and a family from Georgia (the state) all in one conversation. 
• We had a team builder at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, which was  a lot of fun.  We had dinner at the quick service there (delicious falafel and couscous), and then went on a cultural journey with one of the African cultural reps and participated in a drum cafe.  A really nice night to spend with my team :)
• Magical moment for one of the other Explorers when she saw Turk (from Tarzan) for the first time and got a hug. 

It's been busy but good. Not sure what this storm is going to bring, but we'll see. 

Good night everyone! Stay safe all my friends in Florida!

Photo at work! Two other explorers (thanks Nicole and Dario!) came to visit and took some pictures. 

Disney Firsts

Yay Disney firsts!  In one weekend, I got to experience the Epcot Food and Wine Festival and Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party.  Both of which were awesome. I'm also at the point where there aren't a whole lot of rides/experiences that I haven't done before, so I really appreciated getting to do something new.

First up: Food and Wine. For those of you who aren't familiar with it, all of the eleven countries (plus the Africa Outpost) in the World Showcase have special food and alcoholic offerings for the event, and there are additional kiosks with other countries.  The festival is running this year from the middle of September to the middle of November. The "extra" countries/areas include Poland, Australia, the Isles of the Caribbean, a chocolate stand, a dessert and wine place and basically a lot of deliciousness. There are only two vegan options, so I was able to try them both on the night I went.  The first was from Greece: a loaded nachos plate with pita chips, vegan cheese, vegan tzatziki sauce, and vegan meat. It was quite yummy. 

Loaded vegan nachos

Next up was a vegan Korean barbecue option from the South Korea stand. It had rice, barbecue sauce, kimchi cucumbers, and "beef" tips.  It was also quite yummy, though I preferred the nachos.

Korean BBQ

Friends! (Maggie, Tami and Julia)

Probably my favorite part of the whole evening was just the atmosphere though. The food was delicious, but there was also just a feeling of everyone hanging out and trying new things and experiencing different cultures. We were also there before too many people were too drunk, so that was good too. 

Next up: Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. This is a special event that happens on select nights in September and October at Magic Kingdom. It's from 7pm-midnight, and there are special characters, a special parade and fireworks show, and trick or treating. Erin and I went as Remy (the rat) and Linguini (the cook) from Ratatouille.  That in itself might have been my favorite part of the night, because we were the only ones I saw with that costume.  And everywhere we went throughout the park, we heard people around us saying, "Look at Ratatouille!"  It was awesome. 

Right when we got there we got in line to meet Mickey.  It's really cool because he's a talking Mickey, so he interacts with you and isn't like a normal non-face character.

Remy and Linguini!

"What is a ghost bunny's favorite food?"
"Scarrots!"

There's a special castle show that's Hocus Pocus based, so the Sanderson Sisters come out with a whole bunch of Disney villains. There's a song with Dr. Facilier from The Princess and the Frog and Oogie Boogie from The Nightmare Before Christmas, and then a lot of villains just come out and sing together. It was fantastic. 

The Hocus Pocus show

We also met Jack Sparrow, a character who's not normally out to meet. He was awesome and 100% what I wanted him to be. Right before we met him, I asked him "Where's the rum?" and he told me that they always put him in a dry port.

He was confused by my "sword"

He also told me that I probably didn't want to cross swords with a pirate, especially as a mouse. When I told him I was a rat, he told me I was just a rodent. 

Erin and I went to get ice cream before the fireworks. I got chocolate tofutti with peanut butter sauce, and it was delicious. Super exciting to have such a yummy vegan treat.

Nom nom nom

We were a little close to the castle for the fireworks show, but it was still wonderful.  They set off perimeter fireworks, so it was across a wider range and they were Halloween-themed. The show is normally Wishes, and for the party it's Hallowishes.  Lots of fun.

I love the castle

The special parade for the event is officially titled "Mickey's Boo-To-You Halloween Parade" and it features a bunch of not commonly seen characters too. Including the hyenas from The Lion King and Vanellope von Schweetz from Wreck-It Ralph.  Also really fun.

Halloween Minnie!

Last part of the night to mention: they had allergy-friendly candy options, which meant that I could get candy. For vegans, they had rice milk chocolate, vegan gummies, jelly beans, and cookies. And they didn't skimp: I came home with a whole box of Enjoy Life cookies.  That was really cool, and very much appreciated. 

Other photos:

With other explorers!

Roomies! Sorry for it being sideways

Again, sorry it's sideways.  But one of our photos in front of the castle

Overall, the Halloween party was a blast. I'm very glad I was down here and got to experience it with friends :)

A lovely Halloween night

Quick Update

Hi friends!

Just a quick update about Hurricane Matthew: I am safely in my apartment with my roommates, and we have a whole bunch of water in containers and food and I think we should be alright.  I'll update when I can with what's going on.

Working on a blog post about the last two weeks right now, so I'll post it tonight if I finish while we still have power/internet!