Sunday 28 February 2016

Disney World Orlando


So! One of the things I was looking most forward to DISNEY WORLD! I am a huge disney fan it was magical! Team there was a huge amountof people so the characters could not go around us so I didn't really get to meet any of the characters, but it was really good anyway. The whole disney world was one big fairytale and somehow what I expected. When you get there you have to take the train or the ferry which is actually really clever because it is basically waiting time but when you are being "active" by being on the ferry.

The food we got there was not the best and you have to know where to go and you have to reserve a table as soon as you get there, if you want to eat at the best restaurants where the disney characters are walking around. So it would be a good idea if I'm going another time.

The fireworks and the parades were the best about it all. The lines was very long because it was Saturday, so we saw most of the parades instead of trying all the rides. The one in the evening was especially good. It was a big lightshow with all the well-known characters. Personally I loved Peter Panasonic even though it was not the famous Peter is have seen around on Tumblr and YouTube. It was also interesting to see the characters in real life now that I went to an audition myself to be one of them.
The firework was the best though. It was with all the classic songs and Tinker Bell actually flew from the top of the castle to start it aLloyd.  It was quite a show. I will recommend everyone visiting to stay and watch the fireworks even though it is quite late. It's almost impossible to get bad pictures there!





Saturday 27 February 2016

Experience Kissimmee


Experience Kissimmee was our first company visit. They made a presentation for us and one of the more interesting. They made a presentation -first one for the sport and event students - and then for all of us. Experience Kissimmee had a lot to do with sport and sport events so they were very proud of how many partners they had and what they could make happen between them.
I do believe they told us that they had more than 1300 partners in their programme which is a lot! You could even be a partner for free.
Even though they had a lot of partners they had a great relationship with so many of them. They showed us that by introducing us to one of them and his little pet alligator. It was a dude from a alligator park they had as their partner and he brought Fluffy with him and we could try and hold him if we wanted. It was not like a huge alligator like we see on TV but a little 3 years old on that your hold with one hand if so. Do I have tonly mention that it peed on him 3 times while we were there?
But that he came with fluffy really showed what you can make happen if you have a great relationship with partners, coworkers osv even though you do two totally different jobs on a daily basis.




Friday 19 February 2016

Legoland Orlando


I know I'm a little behind do on the writing but I'll try to catch up now!

When we were in  Orlando we went to Legoland which was quite anice experience.  It's funny to see a Americanen version of something so Danish as Legoland. We are all used to the Legoland in Billund so it was fun to see how little a different there was to the parkside but still it was a whole other experience because of the peoplesales different view of costumer service, the environment and we'll.. it's America!

We met up with Kim - who is not a girl but a Danish guy! - who have been working outside Denmark the last 15 years. I have been thinking working outside Denmark as well so it was nice to hear a really personal story from another dane. When we were at Valencia College we were told to "just do it" and go abroad but Kim told us to think first and do what your heart tells you. You can not  over 10 times in a month just because of a job. You have friends you have to stay contacted with and family that may move with you and so on. He was interesting to listen to for sure! His two British coworkers also told their story from the bottom of the service industry to the top where they are now. And it sounds like it is a crazy ride.





Valencia College and Madame Tussauds etc


We went to Valencia College to meet a class there we kind of like our education. They were an international class from all over the world. We met one of their professors that showed us how he interacted with their students and included them in his classes.
We met a representative from the Disney program that we can participate in after summer if we want. It's an opportunity to work at Disney as your 3 month internship but you are there a whole semester and goes to College while there. It sound really awesome and the professor was really nice so if you have the money to go then it would be a perfect opportunity to do.

We went on a tour around the College to see the differences between anow American and Danish campus. As I already learned; with everything is bigger in America. Their campus was huge comparing. It is also a place for theme to just hang out after classes. They have coffee and donutshops around the campus! I think our school could learn from that! *wink*

After the visit we were a few that found a really nice area around the Orlando Eye which is a huge ferriselection wheel. Beside it was an aquarium and Madame Tussauds. The Madame Tussauds was not that big comparing to the one in London, but they have made it a way so the pictures you take is a lot better and there are more space between the different figures. The staff was also very friendly and the dude taking pictures at the start was funny and joking around pretending to be a wax figure himself. It was something I never would have experienced in London. They are a bit more outgoing and playful here, which is really nice and you get a unique experience.
And do I have to mention the Ben and Jerry ice cream store right outside Orlando Eye??





Thursday 11 February 2016

Visit Orlando


Yesterday  we have been  visiting 'Visit Orlando' in there huge glass building.  It was quite a different from 'Visit Skive' that we have been visiting as a part of our lectures at home.
We went to see a presentations from the leader of the sales departments around the world. It is fun how he told us that people in Orlando didn't know what 'Visit Orlando' actually did and work with now that 'Visit Denmark' is so known at home. But the main tourists in Denmark is just Danes so it was weird to hear the leader say that "why should people in Orlando know what they do, and why should they promote themselves in Orlando,  because they are already there and should know what is here!" It's a whole other mentality they have over here.

After Visit Orlando we got our first real shopping experience. We went to Orlando international premium outlets and it was actually quite and experience! As soon as you get inside a store they say welcome to you and tell you their names if you need their help later. They make sure you can find whatever you need. It is very different from Denmark where you are pretty much on your own in a store. As a person that wants to look around before going to the employee and ask any questions it was a little weird and felt a bit intrusive. But I guess you get use to the high level of service at some point.


Monday 8 February 2016

USA: first impression


I am now well rested and in Orlando!
After the longest flight is my life with over an hour delay we are finally here! Yeah the flight from Frankfurt was a lot longer when you have a sick passenger that starts to get ill before take off, so they had to let him off the plane and find his luggage among 1000 of bags.

My first impression of USA was "shit everything is huge here!" From the airport to the Disney area vacation homes was one huge hotel after the other. The cars that we are renting are the biggest cars I have ever been in and nothing like the ones we have in Denmark. And also.. I have never seen SO much fast food in my life. It's everywhere! And wallmart? Gigantic!!!

The houses are really awesome; at least the one I'm staying in. I have heard from others, that they have some dirty sheets and some of the furniture are very used and old. Some of the houses only have sheets for sleeping and no real duvet which is a problem when it is so cold today. It's a little disappointing that it is so cold and we all only have small summer jackets with us. So I'm just laying under the duvet, which I'm grateful for i have right now.

Super bowl was at night and it was quite tame. We were running from house to house to see who had the CBS channel on their TV,  and only the ones with the oldest TV could see it so we all ended up there drinking whatever and eating junk. I must admit I was hit hard by the jetlag and went home to sleep before the match was over but I stayed until the halftime show. It was pretty awesome!




Friday 5 February 2016

Article about the Florida trip

As i wrote in the last post we are 6 students chosen to be updating from the Florida trip and back in december i was interviewed for the academys homepage to help future students choose if they want to go abroad or not.

The article is - of course - in Danish but if you are interested you can find it HERE.


Wednesday 3 February 2016

Before Florida: As a Toursim management student


Besides a post or more about my Florida trip, i will be making a few about the trip before and after for the academy i'm studying at.

This post is to help future students to get ready for their trip, if they need it of course. I like to be prepared for everything before i go anywhere and some of these tips are also from my classmates now that i haven't been to 'murica before myself.

Be in good time!
All the 35 places on the trip was gone in 1 day! Some of us even stayed up until 12pm to write the e-mail to the teacher to make sure that we got a spot on the trip.
Check your passport
Your pasport should be valid until 3 month after you get home from Florida. If it isn't you should get a new one! And have a copy of it with you, so if it gets stolen, you can still travel home!
Get a tablet
It's not something you HAVE to do, but a computer is heavy in the luggage and the teachers insured us that a tablet is enough for what we are going to do on the trip. A smartphone is not enough though.
Get your ESTA or VISA in good time
And for the love of god, print it as soon as you get it or save it as a PDF on your computer. It may dissapear in their system and you will have to pay for it again. (Yes this happened!) You will need to bring it with you as a print anyway.
Get a good Travel Insurance
I'm sure you can buy it along with the ticket when you pay for the trip but if you have your own insurance or your parents have one, you can save some money by buying through theirs and make sure that it is not only a European insurance! (I always buy Gouda which has an app as well)
Save up some money
I know it can be hard to do while studying but i knew about the trip before i even started on this education so i had some time to save up some money. There will be a lot of opportunities for having fun and well... shopping.
Print every piece of information out
It shouldn't be necessary to say this but now that i have been going to a guide school i have seen examples on so many stupid guests that didn't think they had to bring anything because 'the travel agency got all my information' yeah well.. The teachers and travel agency will send you a lot of infomation! bring it all!
Need of data and WIFI
I don't know when Denmark will make it free to use your phone in every other country but until now 3 has something called 3LikeHome so you can use your phone for free in the USA (and almost everywhere else). You can call them and ask if they can give you a SIM-card only for a month so you can use it in Florida. It only cost around 250DKK for a month. (this do not work in Bahamas)
Adoptor for your headphones
I know this sounds weird but you will need an adoptor for your headphones on the plane. You can get one cheap in Tiger store.
Clothes to Wine and Food festival
You are going to work a few days at the Wine and Food festival on SOBE. They require you are wearing khaki coloured shorts that goes to right above the knees. I got a pair in H&M for only 150DKK but you can get them when you are over there as well.
Adaptor
The american plugs is not like the danish! If you are going to charge your phone, tablet and so, you will need an adaptor. You can get them in hardware stores at home or wait till you get to US and buy them in one of the large stores usually a bit cheaper than in DK.
Extra credit card
Always have a extra credit card with you. It has been seen before that someone got theirs stolen and because of that it was hard for them to get on the cruise ship! And well.. buy stuff. So have the number on your phone to your bank so they can block your card if someone takes it!
Taxes and tips
Taxes is not included in the prices over there. In Florida you should add around 6% to the prices. And tips is not in the bills! So if you eat out you will have to add around 15-20% of the price in tips! You can get apps on your phone that can calculate it all for you!
Make a fun list
I don't know if it is just me but i think alot about all the thing i want to try out. So what do YOU want to do in Florida, US? Personally i want to try a corndog and try to find some of the famous 'pumpkin spice' and try and make my own fancy drinks when i get home.
Search some information about Florida!
You are going to be there for a month! Find out where you are going to stay and search the area on google maps or something! I can give you a bit of help here:


Universal studios twitter update
Wine and Food festival twitter update
Disney World twitter update
Search all kind of events in the area you are staying (concerts, theater etc.)
Kissimmee Orlando area
Miami Beach area
Tripadvisor (tips from other travelers)

Me and 5 others are chosen to update on social medias and make videos on the trip. You can find some of the contents on the hashtag down below on instagram
#eadania
And i will be trying me best to update on the hashtag:
#eadaniaflorida