Lucky Enough for a Nightmare

October is the month of Halloween (even though it's still September, fyi). However, for me, Halloween is all year long. I love anything scary or creepy whether that be spiders, ghosts, vampires, witches or trick-or-treating. It is when October comes that things really get kicked into gear.

Because I am in Florida, I jumped at the chance to go to Universal's Halloween Horror Nights. I am an annual pass holder, so I was able to get a discounted price. There are several ticket packages you can get, but I just got the most basic one for the opening night. Yep, I was there on opening night for the event.

Universal only has a specific number of tickets available to each night's event, so it is not as crowded as a normal day at the park. The event consisted of eight haunted houses, six scare zones and two shows. I kept hearing from friends of mine that in previous years you only have enough time to do a few haunted houses and maybe a show in one night because of the lines. I went into it thinking that is what would happen to me. Also, when I first entered the park, I saw the chance to get text alerts about the line times, so I decided to do that just so I would know. Good choice!

Little did I know, a storm was about to hit. Well, I should have known, it is Florida afterall. The downpour pushed basically everyone inside, so I took that opportunity to get drenched and proceed with my haunted house viewings. This was a brilliant idea because the lines became only five minutes long. Success! I am happy to report that I completed ALL eight of the haunted houses. I believe I went through five of the scare zones and saw one show. I even found time to ride a roller coaster.

The haunted houses were great! They were all themed differently and had a story. I am not someone who gets easily scared (probably because I love this kind of stuff), but I will admit that I jumped a few times. There was one haunted house that was in 3D. I cannot even explain how. It is one of those things that you just have to go to.

Whether you love creepiness or get scared easily, I say go. It is a fun experience and I am glad I went. I have never been to anything quite like it before. However, I would not get a multiple day pass. To me, it is only one of those things that I can go to once.

I am sad to report that I had no nightmares that night. Nighty night.

photo credit: floridatix.co.uk

Getting Fierce in the Animal Kingdom

It seems to be commonly known that if you spend enough time at Walt Disney World, you are going to see a celebrity. Especially if you work there. It's gotta happen, right?! Right!

I am lucky enough to work at Disney's Animal Kingdom at the Wildlife Express Train. However, because the train is just transportation, any celebrities that come basically can get their own transportation to Rafiki's Planet Watch, which is where the train takes you. So I have prepared myself to think I am not going to see any celebrities. Unless I get lucky. Some celebrities like to ride the train, but since I've been here, I've seen none... until a few days ago.

On this particular day, I was being the conductor on the back of the train. As conductor, I talk on the microphone to the entire train and supervise the trip. We were just about to pull out of the station and I see a guest relations cast member walking with a small group of people coming out from the backstage area. Everytime I see a guest relations cast member, I immediately look to see who they are with and try to see if it is a celebrity. I cannot do anything either way, but it is nice to look and to know. Don't worry, I don't freak out or yell their name. I just glance naturally. All I notice is how much I love the outfit that the woman is wearing. Her head is down, but I wanted her outfit (love my fashion!). I also noticed she had dark short hair and was tall... and I know tall because I am.

When I was leaving work, I walked past a fellow cast member and he told me that Tyra Banks had been in the area just a little bit before. I freaked out because I love Tyra and always wanted to be on America's Next Top Model! He said she was with guest relations and I started connecting the dots and after asking what she was wearing and how many people she was with I realized that I had just seen THE Tyra Banks!

My life is complete.

photo credit: celebrity-gossip.net