In August my team did a little bit of a re-org, which was both nerve wracking and exciting. In the re-org my responsibilities changed from working with the Disney Springs Region Resorts at Walt Disney World to our Hawaiian Resort: Aulani, a Disney Resort and Spa. I'm not going to lie, this has been the biggest challenge I've had yet in my career, but last week I got to experience the perks of working with the West Coast team....a trip to Disneyland and Hawaii!
It was my first trip to DLR, so while my bosses were flying in Sunday afternoon, I decided to get up bright and early to fly out early Saturday morning. Since I am going to grad school, the week leading up to the trip was spent with some late nights trying to get as much homework done as possible. I also of course waited until the night before to pack, so I can't say that I started the trip off with a lot of sleep. While I had issues with my luggage and a few rides breaking down, I spent almost the entire day at Disneyland and it was magical! I even got upgraded to a theme park view at Paradise Pier so I headed back to watch World of Color from my room! It was so nice to relax and listen to the show music with my TV.
Saturday I was able to do Extra Magic Hours at Disney's California Adventure starting at 7 am and then finished a few more rides at Disneyland before heading to my new room for a nap: at the Grand Californian concierge level! It was a much needed nap before meeting up with my freshman college roommate and conquering DCA! We also met up with my bosses for dinner which was nice. Karen and I closed out the park with another late night.
The team spent the next two days in meetings, including a late work night on Monday, but late nights are better with concierge snacks! Then my one leader and I continued onto Hawaii on Wednesday. Aulani is an amazing resort! It was seriously paradise and I recommend it to everyone who can get a chance to go! I didn't get to enjoy the amenities this time, spending a lot of my time in meetings and the evenings trying to finish my homework. Luckily I was able to submit everything so I could enjoy my extra vacation days! I booked a red-eye out on Monday, so I had 2 and a half days to pack as much island fun in as possible! Including relaxing, swimming with sea turtles, watching surfers on the North Shore, watching traditional hula, enjoying Hawaiian food, going on a movie tour, and visiting Pearl Harbor! My internal clock is all messed up now, but I slept most of Tuesday when I got home at noon until this morning since I only got a little nap in on my flight.
My trip was full of a lot of hard and meaningful work, but I also played pretty hard, too. While I have a lot of work to do in the next week with my job and school, and I will miss the weather of Anaheim and the beauty of Oahu, it feels good to sleep in my own bed again after 4 hotels in 10 days.
It's amazing what a few years and some hard work can do!
