**YE OLDE TOUR DISCLAIMER** The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own, and do not reflect the views or opinions of my employer. (get used to seeing this at the top of any tour-related posts.)

Jameson did too, tossing and turning next to me.
But eventually I did get some sort of sleep and my alarm went off at 5am.
I got up that early so I could have quiet time alone to drink coffee, eat breakfast, and FREAK OUT.

This is happening. This is happening!!

WEDNESDAY - TRAVEL DAY

Jameson got up around 6:30 and drove me to the airport. He dragged my bass trombone and I dragged my janky suitcase (it has taken a lot of hits in life.) Fortunately the airport was very chill, which is rare in Orlando let me tell ya. Checked both bags and they kindly slapped some bright orange FRAGILE stickers onto the bass case.

Jameson walked me to my gate, and we hugged goodbye.
Always the hardest part. We squeeze really hard.
At least this time I know he won't be totally miserable at home! He's got his exciting new job, too!

No line at all at security either...what an auspicious day!...so I had about 45 minutes to kill.
Spent most of it reading my book and checking that I'm not dreaming.

(The hideous MCO carpet)

The flight was very smooth and uneventful.

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CHECKING IN

Took a company Uber to the hotel...
...and LO, my trombone and accessories arrived right as I was checking in!

I had worried for nothing this time. But next time, I will make sure that there is a BUFFER DAY. Geez.
Used a luggage trolley to get everything upstairs and checked on both trombones. Both were completely unharmed!

My two trombones pictured with their respective foam cones, which are put inside the bells to absorb impact. The cases are also some of the best currently available for transporting trombones. Because if I don't invest in my gear no one else will.


My accessories also got here safely though the box was barely a box any more and had clearly been handled badly. But I'd packaged everything carefully, so no damage.

I fell right back into my tour routine: checked that the fridge felt cold, dug an aquarium thermometer out of my suitcase and threw it in there, grabbed some tote bags, and hoofed it to a grocery store! Well, this time I had to Uber because there aren't any within reasonable walking distance. I first went to Niskayuna Co-op because I remembered it being really good with lots of local products, but was disappointed to see that their selection has dwindled. Maybe the local stuff hasn't been selling well. But I got a bar of raspberry and cracked pepper dark chocolate which I'm very intrigued to try, and some house-made pretzel rolls.

Next, Market 32 down the street which is really just a fancy version of Price Chopper. Got everything else I needed there. I actually got more than usual because we're gonna be here through July! But the hotel only has a little box fridge so I still have to be careful about how much refrigerated stuff I get. That means mostly canned or shelf stable veggies this week.

Got back to the hotel, put the food away, and unpacked.
It is so weird...it feels like I never left. Unpacking and putting stuff where I like it is like riding a bike.



There's thankfully a lot of counter space here, so all the food is gonna live under the TV. There's a microwave so I won't need the Itaki this time. The collapsible silicone kettle is at the far end because there's an outlet there. That'll be my morning coffee or evening tea. And no, I don't use hotel coffee makers generally because have you ever looked inside one? They never clean them. Nope nope nope.

In the little box fridge I've crammed as much Greek yogurt as will fit, some cooked chicken, boiled eggs, pickled beets, and berries. I've left some room so that I can pack and refrigerate a lunch.
Choice shelf-stable foods include oats, tuna pouches, single-serve canned green beans, roasted hazelnuts, canned pumpkin, PB Fit, Core Power shakes, rice, and misc fruit. And of course I have brought Snack Pod loaded with roasted edamame, dark chocolate chips, Cheerios, Mike & Ike's, and peanut butter M&M's!

After unpacking everything else I lubricated and otherwise prepared my trombones for work tomorrow, and put my accessories and everything I'll need into a pile ready to go. Then a shower, and then we FINALLY GOT ONBOARDING PAPERWORK. MY GOD. Turns out we were supposed to get it a long time ago. I think someone forgot about us. It'll definitely get worked out, but will be keeping an eye on the progress of it.

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THURSDAY - FIRST REHEARSAL

Reminder: PLEASE DO NOT SHARE OR REPOST ANYTHING. Thanks!

I was awake early, nervous. Made breakfast in the hotel room (oatmeal with Core Power for milk, Fage Greek yogurt, blackberries) and packed my lunch. Since I don't know about our fridge situation at the theater I'm mostly packing nonperishables today, and will adjust as needed if there's a fridge. And I'm not packing dinner because we're supposed to be done rehearsing by 5pm, and since this is a union gig we WILL be done by 5pm.

Around 8:30am I loaded myself up with the two trombones, two trombone stands, bag-o-mutes, and my backpack with lunch and iPad and pedal...and realized that I needed to call an Uber. It's a short walk to the theatre but the combined weight of the trombones in their cases is about 50 pounds, plus all the equipment and my backpack...I would have been a sweaty mess. So I used the company Uber and just hoped they'd be ok with it. 

I've played at Proctor's Theater before. It's small and old, but beautiful. 
There's a sort of promenade just inside the entrance. To the right I immediately saw the stage door, and next to it this big poster. 


We had been instructed to go up a marble staircase and make a few turns to get to our rehearsal space. 
I found the stairs.


As I was staring at them and hyping myself up for dragging all of my equipment up there, a theater associate saw me and kindly directed me to an elevator. Which was also covered in a huge Beauty and the Beast decal, and which I couldn't photograph because my hands were full of trombones. Good lord, Disney does go hard on the marketing! 

The rehearsal room was like every other tech rehearsal room I've ever been in. It's always either a hallway, or a conference room, or a black box. The MD, keys, drums, and something called keycomp have already been rehearsing here, so everything was set up and ready to go. 


I quickly found my spot right on the end, and got set up.


They made us that HUGE and beautiful book of music, all printed on exquisitely thick cardstock, all lovingly bound in that heavy black folder. I felt like a poo-head, but picked it up and plopped it right on the floor next to my chair. We received PDF parts about a week ago, and I know that they match the paper parts (it's ALWAYS important to check that before ditching the printed part.) Plus, the digital part has all of my notes and I don't want to have to rewrite them, especially not if it's gonna mar these beautiful paper parts.

Anyway, here's the setup I'm going with for now.


The bass is at my left elbow since I use it the most and since it's the heaviest. 
The tenor is at my right-front, so that I can grab it cross-body with my left hand once I've put the bass down. This is normally where my Aviom would go but I should be able to put that kinda behind my stand when we start using mixes (we don't need them for rehearsals.)
My mutes are lined up on the floor to the right of my chair because I prefer to grab them with my right hand. Water bottle goes over there too.
...that's pretty much it. Mute bag will eventually live under my chair and/or to the right of the mutes when I'm ready to pack up.

The other musicians filtered in gradually, and we introduced ourselves and chatted while rearranging our gear and tuning up. When the MD came in, he rushed right over to me and we hugged excitedly. I am so glad he's here! So glad that someone I KNOW is here! And he had a big big BIG hand in getting me this job. I feel that I owe him a lot. Michael, our rehearsal keyboardist, is also a good friend from My Fair Lady national tour, and we hugged and exclaimed excitedly about this tour for a bit. 

Then it was time to rehearse. 

We "ran it down," meaning we ran the show from top to bottom, only pausing afterward for the MD to give us notes or for us to ask questions about our parts. When we broke for lunch I went to the management office to rustle up a backstage pass. I met some of our management team, and received not only the pass but also this very cool nalgene bottle and the ubiquitous gel luggage tags! 


Here is a better picture of the bottle after I took the protective plastic off, front and back. 


On the way out of the office I saw this red arrow that said "TRUNKS" and decided to check it out. 


Musicians are supposed to get trunks too. Sure enough, I quickly found mine! Luggage tag for scale. 


You guys, this is a BIG DEAL. 
Normally on tour (or at least all the tours I've done to this point) you get two 50 pound suitcases for your personal stuff, your "band box" which is a shared road case for carrying work-related gear and instruments...and that's it. Personally I don't care to drag 100 pounds of suitcase with me everywhere, so I usually opt for one large suitcase or that plus a carry-on at most. But this trunk means that I can bring lots more stuff! I'm actually a bit overwhelmed thinking about what I could bring. A full-sized Instapot! A bigger selection of clothes! And...I honestly don't even know what else! I'll have to think about it. But this is so exciting for someone used to living out of a 29-inch suitcase! 

Our rehearsal ended 30 minutes early, so we must be doing something right :) 
I felt that it went well and hope that others felt the same way. Everyone was so professional, and SUCH excellent musicians. When everyone in the room has that kind of focus, we can sound GREAT and be very productive. 

Someone had sent a picture of the new tour truck, so I went outside to see it in person. 
I've done lots of tours but never one with it's own truck like this. A very big deal!!





Selfie in front of the truck. I am so grateful to be here.


I walked back to the hotel, and Jameson and I sent each other audio messages about how our days had gone. 
I ate dinner and typed up this post for y'all. 

---    ---    ---    ---    ---    ---    

Welp. I'm exhausted. And still can't believe that I get to do this. 

To be honest, all day today I was freaking out inside. Absolute raging Imposter Syndrome. 
It felt like any minute someone was gonna say, "You know what...it's just not working out," and kick me out in favor of some better trombonist (there are plenty.) I was terrified of making mistakes; of disappointing or embarrassing the MD, who advocated for me to be here; of committing some shadowy faux pas that would offend someone in management.

Mainly, though, I am afraid that I haven't done a passable job on the bass trombone. It still does not feel very comfortable to me. 

Now, that said, NO ONE has given any indication that I'm doing a bad job. I got many compliments today from the other musicians and the MD. The MD even said to me, "This is your gig." But I have also been there on other gigs, when a musician was not a good fit for the group, and everyone was all smiles and compliments and then she was gone. 

Ultimately, all I can do is my best. And whatever the outcome may be...if they keep me for years, or if they approach me after a week and say, "Yeah, sorry but..."...either way there is very little that I can do about it, other than give them my best and hope it's enough. 

The problem is that the more you care about something--the more you value it--the more terrifying it is to think about losing that thing. And that is what I'm experiencing now. It was the same while i was on the circus. For the first 3 months or so I was a nervous wreck on the inside, constantly terrified that any day could be my last on the best gig I'd ever had. That day never came, and I eventually felt like I belonged. I will probably be a nervous wreck for at least a month or two on this gig...definitely until we get past the Chicago layoff. But it is my deepest hope that I'll get to stay, and that I'll get to belong here, too. 

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Friday and Saturday: Same schedule as today, rehearsing from 10am-5pm both days.

Sunday: Same schedule but after rehearsal we'll move to the pit!

Questions: If you have any questions about tour, tech rehearsals, music, etc, feel free to ask! Just please make sure your answer wasn't already given in the post, it'll save me having to repeat myself. Thanks and welcome along on this amazing adventure!!

Thursday,

EPIC STUFF

I was up early of course, and since our sets were an hour later this week I was able to visit Whole Paycheck to get my favorite Lemon Pepper Tofu Bites :)

At the park everything was normal except there were two trios there today! One set of us was there to work as usual, and the other was there to train our new subs! So of course the subs were there too and we got to meet them all. It was so cool and strange to have FOUR female trombonists sitting across from me in the breakroom! And I am very glad that our third party managed to find them. Hopefully they'll have fun at this job.

We had normal sets all day, with larger crowds than usual which was nice.
For one of the middle sets the subs came out to watch. The trombone ladies put themselves right in the center and cheered for basically everything I did, which was both flattering and terrifying haha. I didn't want to make any mistakes; I wanted to set them a good example! One tongue-in-cheek thing that I did for them was during the clarinet-heavy number. I have a lot of boring sustained notes in that piece, so I took one and popped it down an octave to make it sound big and fat. They REALLY cheered for that! Fun trombone nerd stuff :p

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JAMESON STUFF

Meanwhile Jameson was on his third day at Disney corporate. He updated me during his lunch break to say that things were going very well although he was insanely busy, basically doing introduction meetings all day long. But he is very excited about the projects he'll be on, and I am so happy to see him engaged and enthusiastic for the first time since covid. Thank god! He's needed this.

Here's the cruise ship he'll be "producing" on for a week at the end of this month! In the Bahamas! Lucky dog!

(photo courtesy disneyparksblog)

---    ---    ---    ---    ---    ---   

EPIC TEA

Another interesting tidbit from today: apparently the queue for the Ministry of Magic ride has been so ridiculous (often a 5 hour wait!) that Universal decided to try opening the Wizarding portal an hour before all the others so that the queue could form early. We weren't on the schedule that early, but when we came in everyone was talking about how the queue had wrapped around the entire park TWICE...

...and the wait time was EIGHT HOURS.

(stock artistic rendering)

The ride went down shortly thereafter, causing people to give up on waiting and "reducing" the wait time to "only" 5 hours...but either way, who WANTS that? That's LITERALLY the whole day spent waiting for a 4-minute ride!
I mean, Monsters Unchained is also a dark ride with a similar design, it actually works most of the time, the visuals and tech are just as incredible, and the queue is average for a new ride (2 hours or less.) Eh, whatever. I was blown away by how nutty things have gotten surrounding MoM. I know it's great but...c'mon.

---    ---    ---    ---    ---    ---   

POOL DECK STUFF

After work I got home and Jameson and I caught up with each other.

Sadly, the guy who sealed our pool deck did mess up after all (I had suspected something was wrong but he's the professional, so...) He fully admitted the mistake, and spent several hours this afternoon scraping and chipping the bubbled-up hardened sealant from between our pavers. I felt very bad for him, but also grateful that he is fixing the mistake instead of just screwing us over. He'll be back again next week to finish scraping.

Last few activities before going to bed included submitting my last transcription job,
taping up my trombone and equipment to ship to Schenectady tomorrow,
and drafting "thank you" emails to both Universal and our third party management for Epic Universe.

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Friday,

LAST DAY AT EPIC UNIVERSE STUFF

I was up extra early so I could load up the car and be at UPS right when they opened to ship my tenor trombone and equipment. Hopefully it all arrives on time and intact. From there I drove to Walmart and bought a bunch of treats for the other members of Place Cachee Jazz as a thank you/going away gift. I got full-sized candy bars, mini KIND bars, and assorted sweet and savory mini bags of crisps and cookies.

I was in for a surprise as well. When the boys arrived later on, Joe (clarinet) presented me with a small box.
Inside was this beautiful rose gold-colored Parker pen.


But even better than that, and very touching, was that most of the cast and management had signed the box!


On the other side of the box was this lovely quote that almost brought a tear to my eye. Goodness.


Working for Epic has not been easy. We essentially learned our show in a construction zone.
We were there before the buildings were painted.
We dodged cherry pickers while learning our choreography.
We yelled our lines to be heard over jackhammers.
Our very first audiences were the construction workers (and they were a great audience too!)

It was intense, stressful, and exhausting.
But the hardships were all worth it in many ways. I got to meet all of these wonderful, professional, hardworking musicians. I got to learn how to act for the very first time. I got to see the birth of a theme park...how many people can say they've been a part of that?!


I'm grateful for what I learned, and still amazed that I got to do this and be a part of something so rare and special.
And now, it is finally June. The time has come for me to close out my chapter in this story.
It has been fun, and I am grateful. But to be honest...I have QUITE the adventure ahead of me now, too!

The rest of the day was normal. We played sets for decent crowds, I made sure to say goodbye to as many people as possible, and wrote and sent "thank you" emails to both Universal and third party management. I received many wonderful compliments and well-wishes, which I don't totally feel I deserve as my heart was never here to begin with (Friends Only people, iykyk). But still...these are great people, and I'm very proud to have worked here. It was a perfect last day for me.

The best part of all was that as soon as we started our final set of the day...it began to rain!!!
We cannot stay out in even a light drizzle when Plume (our expensive animatronic creature) is with us, so the set was immediately ended and we got to pack up early! Wheee! What a great Last Day treat for meeeee! I hugged the boys goodbye, took one last look around...and walked out.

Thus ends my time with Epic Universe (for now at least.)

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Saturday was very chill. I got up too early, answered some emails, and didn't get much done at all until before lunch when I went to get ingredients for dinner. While Jameson was at a massage I practiced bass and finally started packing "for real," which at this point mostly means packing clothes and kitchen supplies. For dinner I made basic spaghetti with bolognese and a salad, and for dessert we had Good Humor Strawberry Shortcake bars because they're nostalgic and I'd wanted them.

That's pretty much it.

Oh, I wrote a big long blog post asking readers to do this-and-that when it comes to tour tickets/visits and avoid this-and-that when it comes to interacting with me. You might think I'm neurotic, but try putting yourself in my shoes for a minute. My lifestyle means that this is NOT a normal blog. Try to imagine what I see when I open my LiveJournal.

I learned some hard lessons when I joined the circus and my blog suddenly got HUNDREDS of readers. Every day, all day, I had messages and questions and ticket requests to respond to, usually from complete strangers or long-silent acquaintances who crawled out of the woodwork to beg for freebies. These interactions are the reason why I now have all these pet peeves around my writing. There are a lot of amazing and good people in this world, and I'd like to continue interacting with those. But there are also a lot of selfish, thoughtless, hateful, and creepy people, and I need to take steps to protect myself from those.

Ultimately the TL;DR is that I want to be treated like a human being on LiveJournal. I am not a TV program, a ticket dispenser, an AI chatbot programmed to answer endless questions, or a soapbox for others to stand on. I'm a real person, just like you, writing about her life. It's a weird and exciting life, but I'm still just a woman that eats and sleeps and cries and gets annoyed like everyone else.

Anyway there ya go.

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Sunday, up too early again. It is hard to sleep when every time I wake up in the night my brain whispers about Beauty and the Beast.

When Jameson got up we went for a walk together. Talking about this and that, but mostly about our hopes and dreams for our new jobs. Jameson's grandmother passed away a few nights ago (they weren't close) so he'll be flying home after I leave for the funeral. Mariah (trombonist at Epic) is looking for a new car and is interested in using mine in the meanwhile, so I'm gonna research how we can make that happen. Just things going on with our lives.

We got back and cleaned up and had snacks. I packed a little and practiced for a scant 30 minutes.
I'd thought to use today to go shopping or clean, but this is essentially the last day that Jameson and I will have fully together, so instead we just chilled quietly in each others' company, ate pizza and my much-loved air fryer wings, and watched the Tonys.

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Monday and Tuesday: Jameson has partial and full days at Disney respectively, so I will be using these two days to do my final tour prep. Cleaning around the house, doing some final shopping, packing, tying up lose ends.

Wednesday: Flying to Schenectady. Holy crap!

Monday, Memorial Day.

We didn't do anything to celebrate, except try to relax. Which is hard right now because Jameson starts his new Disney Producer job tomorrow!! I am so excited for him!!

He still had work to do, so while he did that I drove alllll the way out to Sprouts and Whole Paycheck. Now that Epic is open going to those grocery stores before or after work is out of the question. Got misc favorite things like Koia shakes and Mezcla bars and tofu bites, and a few low-cal sodas for Jameson, and some bulk candy for my Snack Pod. And ingredients for dinner tonight. I also recycled my old bricked iPad at Walmart using a weird ATM in the Money Services area. It prints a QR code for your device, then you drop it in a little drawer that looks like a scanner.

Dinner was gonna be unauthentic pork satay skewers with peanut sauce, so after lunch I got to work making the marinade for the pork. Practiced trombone, rested, threaded the pork onto skewers and Jameson grilled them up while I made the sauce on the stove along with coconut rice and peas. The pork was great, tender and flavorful, but the sauce was bland. Next time I'd like to try a different sauce recipe.

We watched LEGO Masters, I worked on Foodie Finds and planned what to do while Jameson's gone tomorrow.

I washed and refilled Snack Pod! This week's treats are chocolate mint cookie bites from Sprouts, Runts knock-off candies from Sprouts, Gushers, plain M&M's, Cheerios, and dry roasted edamame.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Tuesday we were both up early, excited for Jameson's first day at work.
After he left all I could do was cross my fingers for him. I'm sure he'll have a great first day!

While Jameson was gone I went out for bagels and groceries, picked up a shirt from the tailor, and sneakily snuck over to Disney's Property Control to shop :D I'd asked Jameson if he wanted to go and he seemed disinterested so figured this was a good time to check it out alone. Property Control is where castmembers can shop overstocked park merch at a discounted rate. It's not just the stuff found in gift shops...it also includes overstocked FOOD, dishes, uniforms, and setpieces! This time I didn't find anything that I could use, but it is always fun to look.

Back home I cooked some leftover turkey to get rid of it, packed my Epic meals, ate lunch, swept the garage, filed down my bass mute corks some more, and practiced bass and tenor trombone. I'm really dreading this upcoming Chicago tribute band gig, but too late to get out of it now.

In the afternoon I got an invite to join the Beauty and the Beast tour WhatsApp group. Joined, and then used the opportunity to message management about allowing my Foodie Finds invite to be distributed. I sent screenshots and a link to the Google Doc for the first city of tour. Not sure if they'll approve it, but I think it doesn't hurt to ask.

Halfway through the day Jameson messaged to share photos of his new office.
On the desk you can see cookies. His boss made them!

Posting early because Friday was very exciting and made for a long post.

My journal is ultimately for me and my memories, so don't feel obligated to like, READ.
There are some pretty pictures for you to scroll past. Enjoy.

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Friday May 16, 2025.
A day that will live in our hearts.
It was a "karma wave"...and boy did we ride it. You'll see what I mean.

We got up early, excited for our celebratory day at Hollywood Studios!
We got to the park around 9:10am, thinking that it had opened at 8, but it was actually 9, so we got better-than-usual parking! Didn't even have to ride the tram.

Walked right through the gates because we are fancy-schmancy Cast Members.
The first thing we did was to go to Guest Services to ask for Celebration Buttons.
Jameson has worked for Disney for YEARS and has never worn one, and of course I haven't either. But today was special. He got one that said, "Music Producer DEG!" and mine said "BNB National Tour!"

(BNB is the acronym for Beauty and the Beast used in the theme parks. On tour it's BATB. I went with theme park version today.)

We paused to take photos of the pins, and Jameson used the photo to finally announce to friends and colleagues that he's accepted the Producer role.


I am so proud of him!!!
And we were both just in awe, all day today, that we were getting to celebrate these life-wins TOGETHER.
We know how rare and special that is.

Next, we walked to Galaxy's Edge to try and queue for Rise of the Resistance. It was down, so we rode Mickey's Runaway Railway instead. I've ridden it before but Jameson hadn't, and I really wanted him to experience it. The tech used in the ride is very cool, and the 2-D aesthetic is fun and cute. We enjoyed it very much!

We used our Cast Member snack coupons to each get a free Mickey pretzel and bottled drink, then decided to see what wait times for Smuggler's Run were like. On the way there we had to pass the queue for Rise of the Resistance again, and we saw some people start to run toward it ahead of us and wondered why. They entered the queue...the ride had JUST opened back up! We rushed over and were able to walk the whole queue and board the ride with only a 10 minute wait!! On a Friday in May! A miracle!! (The average wait time for this ride is 1 hour!)

Neither of us had ridden it before, and once again we were blown away by the tech and visuals and overall ride experience. In fact we would have been willing to ride it again if the queue hadn't filled up!

From there we wandered a bit and window shopped. As we passed Oga's Cantina, Jameson noticed that the queue was lower than usual (it's a very popular bar and can be difficult to get in without a reservation.) We asked the hostess about the wait and were told 15 minutes, so we decided to go for it.

We had waited a grand total of just 60 seconds before our names were called and we were ushered inside!


I can see why this bar is so popular. It's incredibly, intensively themed, the bartenders are extremely in-character, and drinking there is really an experience. Each drink that we saw looked unique and exotic; there were some that bubbled with dry ice, others with black ooze dripping down the lip or strange foams frothing over the top.

Jameson got the Fuzzy TaunTaun: Ketel One Botanical Peach & Orange Vodka, Bols Peach Schnapps Liqueur, Orange Juice with Tangerine, Pure Cane Sugar, and ‘Buzz Button Tingling Foam.
I got the Nysillin and Bubbles with Brub Berry Essence: Empress 1908 Gin, St-Germain Elderflower Liqueur, Blueberry-Lime Juice topped with Tonic Water and garnished with an Edible Hibiscus Flower.


Both drinks were amazing, with Jameson's having some very strange foam that caused one's lips to tingle and then go a bit numb! He let me try it and it was a very fun sensation. We wrapped the experience up with a Rodian Ration jell-O shot: Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Dekuyper Pucker Sour Apple, Green Apple, Sprite, and Boba Balls with a Pop! This was really cool and a lot bigger than we expected, it was supposed to be a petri dish and had pop rocks and red chocolate "gravel" sprinkled on top. The boba balls inside were juicy and refreshing. Texturally this was fun to eat.


A bit more wandering, then we went to see the Beauty and the Beast stage show.
Jameson has a good friend who plays Belle, and she got us VIP seats!! We were front and center!


It was a lovely show, and of course made me think of the tour adventure awaiting me in June :)

We also had to go see Muppet Vision 3D, which is going to be closing permanently in early June. This was essentially the last time we'd ever see this show in person. It's a great show, funny and cute, but it's dated and I can see why it's being closed/replaced. It was a privilege to get to see it one last time.

For an afternoon snack we went to a random bar where Jameson got a beer and we shared a charcuterie.


Next we rode Toy Story Mania, which is a shooting game. Jameson won, of course, as usual, and I sulked good-naturedly :p

We decided to try queuing for Smuggler's Run again as the wait time was only 45 minutes. But 45 soon turned into an hour, and longer, and by the time we were nearing the end of queue we both badly needed a restroom! Daunted by the thought of working our way aaaaaall the way back through the line (it is QUITE long), I volunteered to find a Cast Member to ask for help finding a restroom. The woman I found, Elaney, was so gracious; she immediately led us backstage to an employee restroom, without even knowing that we were Cast Members ourselves! When I saw that she was nervous to be taking us "backstage" I quickly told her that we work here too, and she was VERY relieved. Still, the fact that she would go out of her way like this for non-employees is exceptional, and we both took note of it.

Elaney let us rejoin the queue about where we'd left off, which we were very grateful for. Smuggler's Run was fun as usual (we've been on it three times) and this time we had two kids piloting our ship so we crashed A LOT haha. Jameson was laughing his head off, and I have to admit doing a bad job smuggling was a lot more fun than successfully delivering our cargo!

By the time that was finished we only had a little time before our dinner reservations. We just window shopped and enjoyed the vibes, then went to the most exclusive restaurant in Hollywood Studios: The Brown Derby.

You may remember that a few days ago when Jameson called me at the car dealership to tell me he'd gotten the Producer job, after hanging up with him I "got him something special." It was this reservation for this very fancy restaurant! Jameson has only eaten there once before, when he was too young to remember or appreciate the experience. And I've never been inside at all. I figured there was no better way to celebrate our achievements...and I was right :)

The first thing that went amazingly right was we met Dana.
Dana is a longtime Disney employee, possibly a manager at The Brown Derby. He noticed our Celebration Buttons and asked what we were celebrating. We told him, and he congratulated us and then engaged Jameson in a discussion about the "good old days" of Hollywood Studios since they'd both worked there around the same time period. He was just lovely, and when it was time for us to be seated our server started to take us to a standard table but Dana said, "No, let's celebrate properly!" and ushered us to a comfortable booth.


From there we were treated to an incredible meal!
Jameson had a refreshing gin-and-lemon drink, I had a French rose wine.

We shared these escargot with Roasted Garlic Béchamel, Crispy Prosciutto, and Puff Pastry.


Jameson's entree was the Pan-Roasted Halibut: Braised Bok Choy, Roasted Cashew-Jasmine Rice, Olive Oil-macerated Heirloom Tomato, Thai Coconut Sauce.


I had the Root Beer Brined Pork: Creamy Polenta, Pickled Corn, Herb Chimichurri, Barq's Root Beer Lacquer.


It was absolutely incredible. I don't think I've ever had pork like that. Sweet but also a slight bit of heat, and the veggies there on the side are pickled which gave a great hit of acidity against the sweet pork and rich polenta. I was very surprised when those mini corn ears turned out to have been smoked by themselves, they had amazing flavor!

For dessert Jameson got a poached pear with vanilla panna cotta, and I did the Derby's famous grapefruit cake.
Both were incredible, but I have to admit that the poached pears were better than the cake. The flavor was so complex, fall spices and smooth clean panna cotta...it was just WOW.


With dessert, Dana brought us each a celebratory mini-flute of champagne!
We made a very grateful toast to our career successes.
Throughout the day we had been talkng on and off about how we felt, what these recent life-events mean for us, what our hopes and dreams are for the future. This whole day was absolutely perfect, and this exquisite dinner was the perfect way to wrap up a celebration of each other. We have both worked extremely hard. Life is unpredictable and things may still not go as we hope or plan. But we had today. We had this moment where both of us had something amazing to celebrate, and the means to make this memory, which will live with us for many years to come.

Probably the most memorable of all was getting the check for this extravagant dinner!
Here was the crest of the "karma wave" we'd been riding all day :)
We were Cast Members, so we knew we'd get a discount.
But I had also brought our Cast Member Dining Discount coupons, which range from 20% off up to 50% off of a meal in the parks. I asked our server if The Brown Derby accepted Dining Discount coupons, fully expecting that they wouldn't (they usually can't be used in the upscale restaurants.) She asked me to give her a coupon and she'd see if she could apply it. I handed her the 50% off coupon, because why not? If there was a time to use that one, it was now. Again, fully expecting her to come back and regretfully inform us that she couldn't apply it, and perfectly happy to pay with our regular discount.

To both of our amazement, she came back with the check and no coupon.
WE GOT 50% off our meal!!!
I couldn't stop smiling like an idiot. We quickly paid (I gave her a MASSIVE tip) and got out of there, joking that they'd probably chase us down for the rest of the bill!

We considered sticking around for the Fantasmic show, but it had been a scorching day and we'd been outside in 90-degree heat nearly the entire time. We were wiped. We drove home, happy and full and exclaiming over how exceptionally WELL this day had gone. I seriously felt that the universe was celebrating with us.

Tally of Awesome Things:

     - Excellent parking
     - A mere 10-minute wait for Rise of the Resistance
     - Getting to see Muppet Vision 3D one last time before it closed
     - Getting into the most exclusive bar in Galaxy's Edge with essentially no wait time
     - Getting "rescued" by an amazing Cast Member in the Smuggler's Run queue
     - VIP seating at the Beauty and the Beast stage show
     - Special seating, complementary champagne, exceptional service, and 50% off our meal at The Brown Derby!!!
     - Getting to spend an entire uninterrupted day with each other, and both of us in a good place in our lives.

To try and pay back some of the "karma wave," or "pay it forward," as soon as we got home I went to the Guest Services website and filled out a Cast Compliments form for both Elaney (the woman who helped us in the Smuggler's Run queue) and Dana (who went out of his way to make our evening exceptional.) When Cast Members receive kudos, they don't necessarily "get" anything other than a pat on the back and a certificate. But I used all of my skills with words and did everything in my power to show that these two really deserved recognition. So who knows...at minimum I hope they are touched by these words and proud to be who they are :)

Here is what I wrote:

"I have TWO cast Members to recognize!

"First was Elaney working on May 16 around 4pm at Smugglers Run. My partner and I had been waiting in queue, and he suddenly needed a restroom. But we were almost to the ride, and weren’t sure if we’d make it all the way back through the queue in time for him. I went looking for assistance and found Elaney, who guided us to a nearby restroom and waited with us to ensure our safety and comfort. We were then able to rejoin the queue and still ride the attraction. Elaney was empathetic, kind, and most of all she put our safety and health first. We appreciated her so much today, and really wanted her to know that and to recognize her for that.

"And next we have Dana at the Brown Derby. We made dinner reservations at this special restaurant to celebrate both of us recently getting amazing career advancements. We were wearing celebration pins, and Dana noticed and took time to inquire what we were celebrating. We told him, and he not only congratulated us and engaged us in a lovely conversation, he also seated us at a comfortable booth and arranged for us to each receive a flute of celebratory champagne to toast our success! The evening was already so special, but Dana went out of his way to make it EXCEPTIONAL. We will remember our fantastic meal at the Brown Derby for years to come.

"Both of these Cast Members showed us what it means to actively apply The Disney Way, and how that seemingly small extra effort can turn a guest’s experience into not just a day at Disney, but a treasured lifetime memory. As Cast Members ourselves, my partner and I were touched and inspired by the service we received from these two individuals today. We would appreciate if you could pass on our gratitude and thanks."

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If you've made it this far, congrats, you've probably met your reading quota for the entire day.

What can I say, today was incredible. We are both grateful beyond anything in words.

Thursday, as you saw, the casting list for Beauty and the Beast went up!
This meant that I was able to share my next adventure with everyone!

I was at Epic early in the morning again as usual. Stopped at Whole Paycheck beforehand to get wings and a few groceries, then practiced bass trombone backstage. Eventually the boys came in and I got with them to discuss the day's plan, and right after that is when someone messaged to let me know the casting list had gone up!

(photo courtesy Disney Theatrical)

I posted to all of my socials, and then had to respond to congratulations and questions between sets for the rest of the day. I did not mind! It has been hard to keep quiet about this gig, it is an actual dream job for me and it has not felt like it's really happening, and still probably won't until I'm actually in rehearsal!

Management at Epic has known for a long time that I'll be leaving, and has invited me to stay on as a sub during layoffs, which I VERY much appreciate. The truth is, I'm not sure that they'll be able to find another female trombonist. That's not to be critical or snooty, but to say that there just aren't that many to begin with. In the whole state of Florida, as far as I know, it is just us three whom they've already recruited who play professionally.

I hope I'm wrong.
Or that they hire some boys to play trombone! Lol.

It was a normal day, though we didn't have the cart or Plume.
The last two shows of the day were "rained out," though it was only drizzling. We don't really have a rain contingency yet so even a drizzle causes a bit of chaos, but for now if We The Band agree to stop the show, it stops. That will likely change.

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Friday I was up early again to drive to the nearest Toyota dealership.
My car is overdue for the 100k service. I delayed that due to the rodent infestation that I had to take care of at the beginning of this year. This time they presented me with about $3000 of work to do, but only half of it was the 100k service, the rest was just stuff they found (something about the undercarriage and linkage, blah blah blah.) They said those things could be addressed later, so I handled $1500 of it today and will come back for the other stuff before the end of the year.

This, combined with replacing ALL of the faucets in our house, has been a financial gut punch.
But it's ok you guys! Because I have Snack Pod.

While waiting for my car I chatted with Jameson, who said he was gonna go on a walk.
Just a few minutes later he CALLED me.
He NEVER calls me unless it's urgent.

HE GOT THE JOB!!!!!!!

He had just started his walk when Disney Event Group called, and offered him the Producer role.
FINALLY!!!!!!

I almost screamed out loud in the dealership. Managed a medium-loud yelp that made some people turn around haha. So, this role is only part time, BUT. There is already talk of making it a full time role depending on DEG's needs. And as with many aspects of Disney, a foot in the door can be enough leverage to get you REALLY moving within the company. Jameson will still be doing his online teaching for LA Film School, but he is extremely hopeful that the future will center around this job.

After celebrating over the phone with Jameson he hung up to go call his parents, and I checked out the DEG website...and also got a special little gift for Jameson ;) TBA.

Here is where Jameson will be working!!



Shortly thereafter my car was done, yeah yeah whatever I paid for it and drove home as fast as my little wheels could take me! Where Jameson excitedly told me all about how he was offered the job, and showed me that video of the offices, and described all of the hopes that he has for this going forward. He got emotional, because we were both just so excited and exclaiming about all the work he's done, all of the sweat and tears he's poured out for Disney, and all of the years of waiting and of trying SO HARD and not getting any response from the universe. But now, here is a wonderful chance for him. Everything is worth it for that moment of success. I am so, so happy for him.

Also...I'm pretty sure this makes us a Disney Power Couple! What a funny thought!

We had lunch together and I did laundry, Jameson worked and did some research on some stuff he'll need to buy for this role, mainly clothes. He's very excited to have an office again! (That probably sounds weird lol)

For dinner we celebrated with pizza and air fryer wings :)

Late in the evening I was surprised to receive a transcription job!
No announcement of resumption after the long pause to funding/due process. They just said, "Thanks for your patience, here's an extra $0.25 per page as gratitude." I felt a flash of annoyance because I'm off for the next 4 days and as a Lazy Millennial, I like down time. But then I accepted the job and felt good about it. First of all I really do enjoy the work, and secondly I'm happy (and relieved) that at least some people out there will receive their right to due process.

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Saturday I was up earlier than I'd like because of the transcription work.
Felt bummed but, when the universe gives tasks I think it's wise to complete them when one can.

Unrelated, a photographer called Small Bee Photography took some nice photos of Place Cachee Jazz during a set this week.
Here are my two features:


Jameson was up early too for a massage. I simply plugged away at transcription while he was gone, getting through about 30 audio-minutes of the 3 audio hours I was sent. After lunch, practicing. I'm doing tenor and bass for Beauty and the Beast, plus practicing switching mutes, then have to practice Chicago music for the all-female Chicago tribute band I've got at the top of June, so all three sizes of horns were out and the guest bedroom looks like a frickin trombone petting zoo.


After that a small rest before another real-time hour of transcription which completed Case 1 of 3.
We'd planned to go out to celebrate Jameson getting a new job, but he was feeling a bit under the weather so we ordered sushi instead.

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Sunday, transcription. Went to the grocery for myself and Jameson.

I think he's got a cold. I wonder if it's the same thing that I felt earlier in the week, except it's grabbing him a little harder (he eats fewer veggies than me so :p ) Because of that we sort of threw all plans out. I dusted and practiced and did a second round of transcription, and that's about it.

A month from today, I'll be flying to Schenectady for tech rehearsals.
We are still waiting on LOADS of information.
Direct deposit forms, onboarding paperwork, logistics for our instruments, luggage allowances, a route schedule...THE MUSIC. It makes me very anxious, but there's nothing to do. They'll have to give these things to us at some point.

Dinner was the last of the dino nuggets with marinara sauce and whatever leftover shredded cheese we had lying around. And broccoli trees, of course.

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Monday and Tuesday: As much transcription as possible, I need it done before the Epic workdays when I'll have zero time to work on it. Probably some chores and cooking too.

Wednesday and Thursday: Work at Epic.

Up early again for Epic.

This time I went to Sprouts before work, because they have Spindthrift sodas and it turns out Jameson likes them :)

From there it was a normal morning, I was able to get a full hour of bass trombone practice before our sets which made me very happy.

The sets were all normal, but...there is already some pretty crummy behavior going on.
Universal is more of an "adult" park, which in some ways is a good and fun thing...and in some ways, opens the door to a lot of potential unpleasantness.

Today we had good crowds, but for the first two they were like TV audiences.
That is, we looked out onto a sea of phones. I felt like I was at a press conference or something.
And when we tried to interact we got no response or blank stares from most people.

Usually by the end of the set, if people stuck around that long, they'd start to warm up and clap and dance and whatnot. But not everyone stays that long; a lot of people take a quick video clip and leave. We're an ATMO band, which means we're supposed to add to the ambiance of Place Cachee, and make people feel like they're in 1920s wizarding Paris, and give guests an experience that they can't get anywhere else. But if you never once look up from your phone...what exactly did you pay for when you bought your ticket? You could have stayed home and watched videos of the park online, and saved some money. I guess that makes me old but, it was my thoughts today.

We had more questionable guest behavior in the form of a drunk guy who came running up to me during our performance and started yelling at me in Spanish. He didn't seem aggressive, just seemed to be acting stupid, but he was much bigger than me and got right up in my personal space. Our handlers were apparently too timid to do anything about it. The other two musicians immediately stomped over to "suggest" he step back...politely, and still in character. But they shouldn't have to do that in the middle of a show. We shouldn't have to stop a show to "handle" guests, that is what a HANDLER is for.

This stuff is only going to happen more and more, so we'd better get used to it and our handlers had better step up. I would hope that at some point we'll have training on how to handle negative interactions...but I won't hold my breath for it. I will simply have to watch out for myself. If I see that help is not forthcoming, I will act to protect myself...i.e., I will simply leave the set until the problem is removed. In the event that I can't leave because someone is trapping me or grabbing/touching me...let's just say I'm grateful to be holding a trombone. Which can be a VERY effective weapon. Which I hope no one will ever have to experience.

But you know. FAFO.


Aaaanyway, that was the excitement. Otherwise it was good sets and good crowds.

---    ---    ---    ---    ---

I ate dinner in the break room and then drove to Will's for what was likely my final bass trombone lesson.

Chatted with him and his wife a bit, asked questions about his recent heart surgery which he said went really well, he's just a little sore and is recovering nicely. This is our first lesson in I think 3 weeks, and I was very gratified when Will exclaimed over the noticeable difference in my playing. I don't always practice as much as I should or work on all the areas that I should, but I do practice regularly and have worked very hard to be more comfortable with the bass, and it showed. I could feel it myself in the lesson, remembering how I'd sounded with Will previously. I'm still not as good as Will and probably never will be, but that's ok. I'll get better with time, and will continue to do my very own best :)

Back home the routine of unpacking and cleaning myself up and splatting on the floor.
Jameson had his last gig at Epcot tonight, and is tired but overall positive about his first performances post-surgery.
We will see how his arm feels over the next 48 hours.

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Friday I was up too early. Coffee and typing this and breakfast, trying to figure out what to make for dinner and settling on a cheeseburger fusilli bake that we both like. Got the ingredients for that. Did not practice, didn't feel like it.

Had an exchange of information with the upcoming tour management, and that made me feel relieved although they still haven't given us much. Now I've got flight and hotel bookings for rehearsals in Schenectady. What I REALLY want is onboarding paperwork and the dang music. But, gotta be patient.

The rest of the day was slow, I just did research related to touring, worked on foodie finds, and read my book to relax a bit.

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Saturday, up early for no reason again. I guess this is my life now.
Slept poorly too because had eaten too many acidic things all day yesterday, and felt mildly heartburn-y and nauseous all night. It happens.

Jameson had a playdate with friends this AM, so after he left I drove out to the nearest Michaels to look at foam inserts for my bass trombone case. The case is heavy-duty, but the padding inside is not the greatest so I need materials to cushion the horn further for transport.

$80 later I had some chunks of foam, some dark grey felt (they were out of black), two sheets of black craft foam, two foam cones, a small cushioned black case that was maybe meant for glasses(?)...and these adorable post-its, because they're fun and life is short!


Back home I chopped up the foam and put a chunk in the bottom of the trombone case to cushion the trigger mechanism, which currently is touching the hard side of the case and could be easily damaged as-is. I think the foam is perfect to protect it but we'll see. Additional foam in the more narrow section that houses the tuning slides. There was a lot of leeway for motion there that is greatly reduced with the foam.


The black craft foam, I cut a piece to put in the bottom of my mute bag to help muffle sound. I like to start packing up mutes before the show is over where possible, and this will help me not to make noise while doing so.

The foam cones are to be inserted in the trombone bells, to protect them from being crushed during transport. They extend slightly beyond the edge of the bell, which allows them to take impacts instead of the bell itself. The bell may still receive damage sometimes but odds are greatly reduced by using a cone (this is why my bass trombone's bell got crushed during shipping to me, because the idiot who packaged it did NOT follow my directions and did NOT use a cone.)


The small black case is for one of my small tuning slides on the bass, which must be removed for the instrument to fit in the case. It will probably also hold my mouthpiece once I get an appropriate sheath to protect them from clinking together. For the time being I cut a bit of the dark grey felt to go in there and provide extra cushioning, and threw random things in there like a mouthpiece brush and tape and spare trigger gummies.


More of the grey felt will be put in front of the bell-and-cone, just to snug it in there more tightly. I was very satisfied with how my little plan worked out here.

I practiced a bit but wasn't feeling great, so mostly tried to rest.
Later on we drove down to Colonial Ave to see a Queen tribute concert.
We've seen this band before, our friend Allen (whose nickname is Shrek) was a sound guy on the circus and now exclusively tours with this tribute band. It's good money for him and he absolutely loves it, plus they come through Florida once or twice a year and we get to see him! We had dinner together and got caught up, then Allen got us our tickets and took us backstage to meet some band members. Everyone was pleasant as always, and since Jameson is both a keyboardist and Queen fan he always has lots of nerd-stuff to chat about with the lead singer and the keyboardist :)

The concert was lots of fun. The theatre is old so it was warm and stinky, but that also made it feel, I guess "classic!" Like, this was a common live venue setting back in the 80s and 90s. Few people were looking at their phones or even recording...most were really interacting, cheering, and having fun. I feel like that might be a rarity any more.


After the show we said goodbye to Allen and thanked him for the tickets, and left so he could get started on loading out.

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Sunday, my brain finally allowed me to sleep through the night AND stay asleep until 9am.

This was partly because it was raining! It was darker than usual so I think my brain didn't know what time it was.
We have been in a drought here in Florida and BADLY needed this rain.



It also gave an excuse to have a nice slow morning.
I still feel kind of like, on the verge of having a virus, though I feel better than yesterday so that's something. I had an electrolyte drink, and waited a while before practicing bass, and then Disney stuff on tenor. After practice I had lunch with Jameson and then took a coffee grinder I'd sold on Ebay over to UPS so I won't have to worry about it on Monday. Then Jameson and I rested. He gamed and I watched Aladdin for no reason other than I felt like it. Maybe it's just comforting while I'm feeling under the weather.

Before dinner I cleared out the areas under the guest bathroom and kitchen sinks, and after dinner I did the master bathroom. Tomorrow we are having new sinks put into the bathrooms and new faucets in all three. Opened each box to make sure all parts are there and nothing is broken. We've had terrible luck with contractors and getting ripped off and/or paying for services that do not get completed, so please cross your fingers for us that we will just be able to get these installed without drama or issue.

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Monday: Three faucets and two sinks getting installed early in the morning. The rest of the day should be free. I'll probably practice and pack for Disney. If I'm feeling better I'll make something for dinner.

Tuesday: Rehearsal day at Disney.

Wednesday & Thursday: Working at Epic.

Monday, after breakfast:
     - Ran dishwasher
     - Mailed off the sold trombone accessories
     - Went to Lowe's to buy 2 bathroom sinks and 3 faucets, and schedule installation of those
     - Did laundry
     - Made grocery list
     - Chatted with step-grandma about how her first Easter went without her husband there
     - Responded to misc social media comments on my posts (this takes significant time so I list it with chores)

After lunch:
     - Folded laundry
     - Practiced bass trombone
     - Made Reverb listings for my digital court reporting stuff that I need to sell
     - Reached out to schedule a possible visit with an American trombone craftsman in July
     - Cheered for Jameson as he got the call for his second interview with Disney!!

MAN I really hope they consider him seriously this time. He's been told it's the final round, and he's never made it that far in the interview process. I hope so strongly for a good result for him.

Also some Epic coworkers sent me a few more nice photos that a professional photographer took on Saturday.


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Tuesday, breakfast, then
     - packed lunch and dinner for Epic
     - washed tenor trombone because I want to start practicing doubling
     - grocery for dinner ingredients

After lunch,
     - put chicken in a marinade for dinner
     - went back out to get pickled ginger at Walmart since they hadn't had it at Publix
     - solidified an appointment with the trombone craftsman up in Chicago for July
     - packed more stuff for Epic (clothes, trombones, music, etc)
     - put music for an upcoming Chicago tribute band on my iPad
     - went BACK out because I'd ordered some photo prints at Walgreens and they were ready in like 2 seconds

...and took a rest, which I hope is acceptable.
Meanwhile Jameson worked. A pretty normal day for both of us.

Here is my framed show photo.


Jameson has a few framed photos of live performances, from when he played with Mulch, Sweat, & Shears at Disney. His parents have some too. It's not something that I would've thought to do myself, and will be a nice memento especially years from now.

For dinner I made a spicy sesame chicken ginger salad from Half-Baked Harvest.
Shredded Napa cabbage, romaine, flavorful marinated chicken breast, mandarin oranges, pomegranate seeds, wonton strips, avocado, roasted peanuts, green onion, cilantro, and a soy-honey-ginger-orange-gochujang dressing.


I was surprised that Jameson actually liked it, and enough to go back for seconds, so I'll be making it or some variation of it again for sure.

As we were winding down our evening my stepmom called to catch up (I'd emailed her over Easter.) She's in Delaware with friends. I was glad to hear that as she has glaucoma, is legally blind, and is from a rural area, which all means she's dependent on others for even short trips. She's doing well, and we made plans for me to possibly come visit during one of the tour layoffs.

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Wednesday, up early and after doing "Phillipa hair" and eating breakfast,

     - shipped an item that I'd sold overnight
     - stopped at Whole Paycheck for a few things
     - got to Epic, put away my food, got makeup and costume on
     - dragged my trombones to the stairwell and practiced for an hour

I did 45 minutes on bass followed by a 15-minute review of my Place Cachee Jazz music, because remember last week I was disappointed with how I'd played. It was a busy week and I was tired and stressed, but that's not an excuse especially when we are constantly being recorded and watched by management.

Thankfully, today went a LOT better. Gave myself a little pep talk and did just fine all day.
After one of the sets we were mobbed by people wanting selfies with Plume (our puffskein). About four groups were able to get photos before our handlers intervened so we could leave. Moments like these are always hard because we'd truly love to stay and let everyone have a photo! But we also have just a short time to prepare for the next set, AND we need to clear out because other atmo performers also use that space (Cosme the wand shop owner, but also the aurors and wizarding school students.) Hopefully people will be understanding just as they are with meet-and-greets.

Otherwise it was a normal day, and I hope to have another just like it tomorrow.

In closing, HERE is a review of the musical offerings at Epic Universe which of course strongly features us.

TL;DR:


And here is a recent performance clip with me, Joe (trumpet sub), and Adrian (clarinet)

Watch on YouTube

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Thursday: Day at Epic

Friday: Day off. Housework, practice trying to sell more junk.

Saturday & Sunday: Also days off. Cooking...maybe I can convince Jameson to eat out once too...

Monday, up early for Epic.

It was a fairly normal day, except now people can record us. Crowds were thin but I think it's because most rides and shows are actually up and running, so people don't need to loaf about under the blazing sun when they could be, you know, petting dragons and such.

There was a snippet video of us posted later on, not the full show, just some nice highlights.
This is the first public footage of me performing with Place Cachee Jazz!
(the timestamp is 14:04 if the video doesn't automatically start there)



Between shows I practiced a little, but there still just isn't time for it...by the time I get everything set up I've only got 10 minutes to play. If there were a dedicated warm-up room I could leave my things there, but there isn't.

After work, Whole Paycheck for the hot bar and some favorites (tofu bites, Koia shakes) before booking it home to pack for tomorrow and practice bass.

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Tuesday, Epic again.

It was a bit drizzly in the morning which made it cooler :)

We did one show without the cart (mostly to protect Plume the puffskein from drizzle) and the rest were with the cart. All of the shows went well, though some were a bit underattended.

TMI WARNING (nothing explicit, just talk about "gut stuff")
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I also felt malaise during the second-to-last show, it felt like either my usual nerves/stress physical reaction or something that I ate causing abdominal cramps, or perhaps both. Sometimes this happens. I've suspected for a while that I've got stress-related IBS or something similar, but since I don't feel nauseous, stop eating, or lose weight due to these episodes, I generally ignore them. A buildup of stress? A reaction to something I ate? Something more sinister? As a Millennial American, I have no financial way of knowing unless it becomes a medical emergency or starts significantly disrupting my daily life. It must be nice to have the privilege of simply seeing a doctor when you don't feel well. What must that be like! Only my parents and grandparents got to enjoy that before pulling the ladder up behind them.
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Rant over...but not really.
I'll probably die from something completely preventable, thanks to this, so will never not be angry about it.
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Anyway, it was a normal day and I drove straight home afterward. It took me a while to pack breakfast, lunch, dinner, and clothing for Disney tomorrow, and afterward I wanted to rest and make sure I'm not getting sick (based on tmi events above.) Ate dinner and dessert just fine...who knows.

Also, on the way home I was listening to NPR and they were discussing the workings of immigration court. I was gratified to hear the host describe the details of the work I've been doing for the past several months. It also made me worried, for the first time, about what it means that immigration trials are currently on hold. And with Trump deporting people like he's doing. That's peoples' rights on hold.

Not for my sake at all...I really hope that immigration hearings resume soon. Because people who come to this country are supposed to have rights. And if these cases DON'T resume....it's pretty damn bad sign.

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I got to sleep in a bit later, 7:30am!
A relaxing morning of breakfast and seeing Jameson off to the gym, then I left for the Magic Kingdom.

The weather was calm and clear, not too hot even, and attendance was clearly up. We had great crowds all day!

Apparently Wednesdays are when the Dapper Dans rehearse under the Castle. They were with us in the warm-up room all day (not the group performing in the park that day, but a different set of four guys, possibly subs.) This meant that the band guys mostly stuck to their man-cave break room, and I stayed in the warm-up room because to me that IS the break room. The Dappers didn't mind at all, so I got to enjoy sitting quietly between sets and listening to their lovely harmonies all day :)

Here's a clip of them in the park.
(For those who are LJ or DW Friends, you'll get to see a video of their actual rehearsal today in a separate Friends Only post!)



We added "Heigh-Ho" to the parade music, and it went quite well. I was glad I'd memorized it in time.
Overall a really nice day.

Small introspection: it is a wondrous thing to be working at two amusement parks right now, one old and one new.
I've possibly mentioned this in previous posts, but felt it again today.

At Epic, everything is frantic with the energy and chaos of a new park about to open.
Everything is innovative and novel, the landscape is constantly changing, excitement is high, things are moving quickly.
There is an incredible undertow of hope and anticipation.
It is stressful, but also exciting.
There is a feeling of being a pioneer of sorts...every day I am aware that I am one of the first to walk these halls, to ride these rides, to look upon this newly-made "world."
My voice--the sound of my instrument--is one of the first to echo in the Ministry of Magic.
Those who work here, right now, are the first to call this park "home."
There's a wonderful feeling of pride to be a part of this new venture, a phenomenon about to be revealed that will surprise and delight millions, and touch the hearts of people around the world.
Memories waiting to be made. A legacy waiting to be written.

(photo courtesy Orlando Sentinel)

And then the next day I'm at Disney, riding the employee bus to the Castle.
The bus drivers are chill and friendly, take time to smile and greet everyone, and in return employees wave and shout, "Thank you!" as they get on off the bus.
Everyone walks patiently into the Utilidors, chatting and clocking in, most already in costume.
Nothing seems rushed or frantic; routines here are established.
Everyone knows their role and if they don't they've got someone to guide them.
The floor is worn, worn, worn by the feet of thousands of Castmembers before us.
The walls are covered in the legacy of Walt Disney...his image, his art, his innovations new and old.
Decades of memories. A legacy writ so deep that it has become a part of human existence.
There is a feeling of pride equally deep...of being part of an old magic, a cherished treasure passed down like an heirloom through time and space.
There is a feeling of belonging.

(photo courtesy AllEars.net)

Both places have such strong magic.
Standing with one foot in each world, as I'm doing, leaves me awestruck when I stop to think about it.

What a treasure.

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Thursday: "Day off" for me, so catching up on housework and practicing AND supporting Jameson as he has another interview with DEG today!

Friday: Epic Universe, but rehearsal is at NIGHT for the first time! I can't wait to see Place Cachee all lit up :)

Saturday: Day off, supposedly meeting with someone to talk about bass trombone mutes.

Sunday: I picked up another day at the Magic Kingdom, hooray!!

The preview day that Jameson and I selected for Epic Universe was Saturday April 5th.

We got up a bit early and fought traffic to the guest parking lot.
(This is one thing that still badly needs work...it took us 20 minutes to get into the lot from less than a mile away, and the park isn't even open yet! I really hope they add more access points soon.)

As we were parking, my WhatsApp started pinging. It was my Epic Universe group chat.
The photo/media ban had been lifted! We were allowed to take pictures and video!!
And here I was pulling up to the park, ready for a full day of seeing it!!

I've never had much luck with money...but BOY do I have good luck with life experiences!!

As we were walking to the Chronos portal, parking employees and security guards and EVERYONE was shouting to guests, "The photo ban is lifted! Take pictures! Take video!" One even screamed, "Someone, take a photo of meeeee!!!"

Everyone has had to keep quiet for SO LONG. It's hard! I think we are all relieved and excited to share what we've been working on all this time!

The Chronos portal, the entrance to Epic Universe, and my first photo of the park!


We walked in and were in Celestial Park, which is the hub where all the "world" portals meet.
Here there are gardens, lots of food options, rides, and kiosks for future shops (most of which are still closed.)
It is a very beautiful park, and has been well-documented already, so I didn't take many photos here.

(stock image)

The primary ride offerings are the Stardust Racers coasters, and the carousel.
We watched the coasters for a while...they are beautiful to see, and I've heard that they're one of the best coasters Universal has ever done. I can believe it. The carousel was running, so we rode that. The animals are not attached at the ceiling, which makes for a really cool effect and you also go up higher than expected! The animals are all based on constellations. It doesn't move in a plain circle like a traditional carousel, either, and that was surprising and fun.

CLICK HERE to see my footage of riding the carousel

We continued to the Wizarding World / Ministry of Magic portal, because we wanted to grab a drink and catch my show's set before seeing the Circus Arcanus show.


It was such a cool thing, to walk into this park as a guest for the first time.
Looking around...there was where we rehearsed for 3 hours one day because there were paint fumes where we normally rehearsed. Here's the wall I watched someone "age" for a week. There's the shop where we got to watch a magical creature animatronic being installed. It is truly such a special thing to have seen a theme park being built from the ground up!

Anyway, we first stopped at Bar Moonshine for a fancy cocktail featuring absinthe and limoncello (no idea what else was in it but it was delicious!)


I could hear my group performing outside, so as soon as we had our drinks we rushed out.

For the first time: meet Phillipa, Chandler, Jules, and our puffskein named Plume!!!

CLICK HERE for footage of the band performing!




(video and first 2 photos from Attractions Magazine, last photo from me)

I am SO GLAD that we don't have to hide our show any more!!!

These three (Mariah as "Phillipa," Adrian as "Chandler," Adam as "Jules") are "the PR Trio" that I've been talking about.
They're the three who are chosen to perform any time there's a PR event or Warner Bros. execs in the park. So of course they did an amazing job today!!

After they finished I was gratified to see one of our stage managers take a group photo of them and immediately share it on LinkedIn. The media ban is INDEED lifted. Hooray!

(photo courtesy Brendan)

Soon, I'll have media of my own performances to share! How exciting!

We finished our drinks quickly and queued up for Cirque Arcanus.

Jameson in the queue. The theming of the queue gave us both a bit of nostalgia for our time with Ringling Bros.


The show was, once again, mind-blowingly incredible.
I'll say it again: if you get a chance to visit Epic Universe, this show is a MUST. Make time for it in your itinerary.
The level of performance, and staging technology, happening in this show, is going to change the entertainment industry.

We explored some of the Place Cachee shops and mentally bookmarked some things that we might want.
We visited Cosme's wand shop so I could show Jameson the circus Ringmaster's wand, and introduce him to Cosme herself (all of the Place Cachee / Ministry of Magic performers share break rooms and dressing rooms, so I see all of the Cosme performers, Aurors, Exchange Students, Living Portraits, and Circus performers, EVERY day!) Cosme has a custom wand, and showed it to Jameson, that was super cool :)

We then used my wand to cast a few spells around the park, getting a niffler to drop it's horde of coins and making some musical instruments move around in a shop window!

From there we entered the portal to Super Nintendo World.
The last time I was able to go, the park was still heavily under construction. This was my first time seeing it complete!

CLICK HERE to see the portal to Super Nintendo Land courtesy Attractions Magazine

We saw that Mario and Luigi were out for a meet-and-greet, and only had to wait about 10 minutes for that!


We explored the gift shops and saw LOTS of things that we wanted, but managed to narrow it down to a few things haha.
Since it was about lunch time we decided to eat at Toadstool Cafe.

(stock image)

The theming in there is absolutely adorable. Every once in a while Bowser's flying battleship floats through and the lights dim, things become ominous, ADORABLE, then it moves on and the Mushroom Kingdom continues going about it's business :D

All of the restaurants in the park, by the way, are self-serve, which is SO MUCH FASTER.
There are QR codes at every table. You scan them for the menu, pick what you want, order it, and pay.
Done. No waiting for the check. No hoping your server heard you say "No mayo" above the racket. You just eat and leave when you're ready. We absolutely loved the convenience of this throughout the day!

Anyway, We got a bunch of foods to try!

Jameson had spaghetti and meatballs. I tried his meatball and it was delicious, tender and with a little bit of spicy heat (not too much, just barely noticeable and very tasty!)

(LA Times photo)

I had the chicken Caesar salad, which I realize is "boring" but A) look at the adorable Super Star plating! B) I knew we'd be eating A LOT today so tried to at least be slightly healthy here lol.


Mushroom-shaped "garlic knots." Very tasty!


Our dessert, a Question Box tiramisu. The question box was shortbread cookies, and inside was an absolutely decadent and delicious tiramisu. We enjoyed it very much, and it looked so cute!


We decided to walk our lunch off at Berk.

(stock image)

This is the only park I'd never visited during construction, so I was very excited to see it. It did not disappoint! The theming is immersive and adorable. It's a land definitely geared toward a younger audience, but it is also beautiful and there's lots of people of all ages to enjoy. We tried to ride a Viking water boat ride/shooting game, but it broke down while we were in queue so we ended up bailing. Then we queued up for a Toothless meet-and-greet, which was going smoothly until a huge crowd of INFLUENCERS showed up with media passes and bogarted the line (-_-#) What started as a 15-minute wait became an hour.

But we consoled ourselves with the knowledge that once the park was open, the wait would be at least 2 hours long, daily. Not only that, during previews meal and merch prices are HALF OFF. There were only about 11,000 people in the entire park, across all the worlds. Every queue that we were in, every experience that we enjoyed today, was EXCEPTIONAL compared to what paying guests will have to endure. We made very sure not to EVER forget that, and be appreciative even while waiting!!

Finally, our patience was rewarded :)

CLICK HERE to see our meet and greet with Toothless!



As you can see from the video, the level of expressiveness and interaction from Toothless is astounding. I know that he is controlled by a puppeteer, and also some of his sounds and expressions are controlled by someone with an iPad somewhere. Seeing al this artistry and tech come together in this experience was absolutely wonderful. We got to see several small children interacting with Toothless, and you could tell...they completely thought he was REAL. It's going to be a very memorable experience for kids and their parents, that's for sure.

We saw lots of other cool interactive tidbits throughout this world, including an Astrid and Stormfly meet and greet, and several fun statues that would move or make noise if you turned a big wheel at their base. I'm sure loads of footage will be forthcoming...we didn't take as much footage here because of all the media/press swarming around while we were in this world. I felt silly with my little phone while surrounded by people wearing stabilizers and high-fidelity mics and thousands of dollars-worth of media gear. Let them document this for you :)

We entered the Untrainable Dragon stage show. You can already see this show in its entirety on YouTube because it's in Universal Beijing. Jameson had seen it before, but I hadn't. Again, the technology and puppetry, animatronics and acting and staging, all made for an incredible show! In my opinion the Circus show is still "the groundbreaking one," but this show is also extremely impressive and well worth seeing if you can stand the wait.

(stock image)

We wandered Berk a bit looking for the Mead Hall, yet somehow couldn't find it? Not sure what our problem was haha.
From there we went to Dark Universe for a cooldown and a drink. The Toothless queue had been in the sun for nearly an hour, and the show queue hadn't been much cooler. Stepping into Das Stakehaus, we were greeted by blessed darkness and cool air :D The whole ambiance is to make you feel like you're underground, among twisted tree roots and coffins shifting in the soil of the walls. The lighting is reddish and dim, and it flickers every once in a while whenever Frankenstein's daughter harnesses the town's electricity for one of her experiments.

In other words, it's a VERY cool restaurant!

(stock image. I'm sorry for all the stock images but I was far more intent on enjoying my experience than being an influencer!)

Jameson had a spiced beer, and I enjoyed a Darkthorne Mead which was a very tangy, sweet cider featuring blackberries, vanilla, and spices. Jameson took a lot of footage here for his mom, who enjoys all things spooky.

Outside the restaurant it is quite themed too. Some vampires on display:


As we were rounding a corner we saw Bride of Frankenstein doing a meet-and-greet! Couldn't resist!
We had a big ol' philosophical discussion. She knew right away that I was a musician....I wonder how.... ;)

CLICK HERE to see our interaction with Bride of Frankenstein



I'm kind of going out of order here, but actually the first thing we did when we got to Darkmoor / Dark Universe was try to ride Monsters Unchained. I was very apprehensive about it, but Jameson really wanted to try it so I screwed up my courage.

Nothing to do with monsters....EVERYTHING to do with MOTION SICKNESS.

The queue was incredibly themed and amazing to walk through, I'm sure there will be MANY spoilers soon (HERE is one of the ride.) The preshow is apparently amazing too...but we didn't get that far. Right before the preshow is a holding area where they show you what the ride will be like...yikes. I could feel the blood draining from my face as I watched the seats jerk around, sideways and around and nearly upside-down. Nope. Even just 5 minutes of that was going to be too much. Universal is known for using high-res screens and simulated motion to create an immersive experience. This is not something that my brand of motion sickness can handle, at all. Jameson and I looked at each other, then backed out, following the single-rider lane out to the gift shop.

I'm sorry that we missed out, but also, crisis averted. This was a definite case of "know thyself." Many other people will greatly enjoy this ride. For us, it would have ended the day!

We returned to Super Nintendo World to ride some rides we KNEW we could handle lol.
The Mario Kart ride was awesome! First the queue, which was themed to look like Bowser's castle study. The second part was a factory for the Bomber Bills and Bob-ombs, I didn't record that part. Bowser's study was great, I loved the titles of the books, the Bowser-sized furniture, and the little Boos floating around!

CLICK HERE to see my footage of Mario Kart queue

The ride itself uses Augmented Reality, which is just so incredibly cool and immersive. It felt like you were really in the game at times! There probably won't be many POVs of this ride because cameras won't be able to focus through the AR goggles. If you've played Mario Kart, it's very similar. Jameson got 117 coins, I won with 132! TAKE THAT MUAHAHAHAHAAAA :p

(stock image)

We rode Yoshi's Adventure as well. It's meant for little kids BUT is worth riding for the incredible view of Nintendo World. HERE'S a good clip of the ride in Japan, the one in Orlando is exactly the same.

We went back to the gift shops for the items we'd picked out earlier, then returned to Ministry of Magic for dinner.
Neither of us were deeply hungry, so we treated ourselves to butterbeer and butterbeer crepes.
I got to try the crepes during restaurant testing/rehearsal, but Jameson had never had them and he loved them.
Definitely one of the best dessert offerings in the parks!


We cast a few more spells, including a kite shop spell that blasted air on us and a mysterious shop where a Demiguise apparated and then faded away. So cool.
We then walked the Ministry of Magic queue. The ride was not open (it's had troubles since day one), but the queue is so immersive, incredible, themed, and MASSIVE, you have GOT to check it out!

THIS Attractions Magazine footage is better than what I got, so check it out! Simply astounding.

We hit one more gift shop, then it was after 7pm and time for us to leave.

Wow.

Such an incredible experience, that we were grateful to have.
Being able to see and do as much as we did, without massive crowds and essentially for free/at significantly reduced cost, and with a fraction of the wait times, is something that will NEVER happen again in our lifetimes. This was an experience I'll never forget!!

Back home, I lined up our modest merch haul for a photo.


Jameson got the Mario Kart magnets for himself.
He also bought me that Place Cachee picture frame shaped like the Phoenix Arch. He got it so I can put my first decent show photo in it. This was so thoughtful and sweet! I can't wait to find a good photo for it!

For myself, I got a Chain Chomp shirt and a matching Chain Chomp enamel pin (Jameson saw it at the register so I HAD to get it lol)
The Japanese text says "Wanwan," that's what Chain Chomp was originally called. "Wan wan" is the sound of a dog barking.

My wand is pictured just because I've shared it here in Friends Only posts, but not in public ones (I think.)
We also kept our Bar Moonshine cups as a sort of souvenir.

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I know I've said it like 80 times but this was such an incredible experience.

I know that the park will be packed and crazy and expensive the minute it opens. But in a year or two, if you have a chance to visit, I highly recommend it. There is no other theme park like it out there. Even with previews (not all rides working, not all restaurants and shops open) we had an incredible time, and this is going to be well worth a visit for anyone coming to Orlando.

Thanks for following my journey of working for Epic Universe, and getting to experience it!

Starting today, there will be LOADS of footage of the entire park.
The jig is up, the secret is revealed!

I cannot wait to work in coming days and see footage of our show popping up!!