Whoa… it’s been a seriously busy week.
It started off with a trip to Loughborough to promote the company I work for at their careers fayre. It went well – a lot of people were interested – but sadly this company doesn’t come across as requiring software engineers, so we got very few IT/Comp Sci people come along to talk. Still, lots of marketing and business-studying people came to chat so I think we represented the company well. Was good to visit Loughborough, which I’d heard a lot about but had never seen. Very windy though!
Then Wednesday was where things went a bit crazy. I was invited to Disneyland Paris by a major games company (all expenses paid!) to join in a secret project. It’s a game series I’ve loved for years and free Disneyland – of course I was going to take the time off work to go! I met up with other attendees I’d met at a similar event beforehand (and have grown quite close to since) at Kings Cross and we took the Eurostar there. It was my first time at Disneyland so I was very excited!
On arrival we met up with guys from the company and went around Disney Village. We made friends with two Spanish guys (as people from all across Europe were invited to the event). That night, we had a briefing about what the following two days would entail before going for dinner and resting early, as we had an early start – 7am the next day!
On the Thursday we went around the park doing our secret project before coming back to the hotel at 6pm and finishing off there. Then we had the rest of the holiday to ourselves, and made the most of our ticket, going on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, the Indiana Jones ride and the Haunted Manor. So much detail has been put into those rides – it’s amazing! After that we went to the dream show (with fireworks and scenes from the movies played out on the Disney Castle) where we had VIP tickets – a whole section cordoned off for us at a prime spot to view the show! There were kids looking on longing to join us, and shortly after the show started they ducked under the barriers and did so. Not an issue – it was nice for them to enjoy VIP treatment too! The dream show was an amazing experience and I would seriously recommend it to everyone.
The next day was another early start as we had the whole day to experience the park and wanted to make the most of it. I had a great time helping out Buzz Lightyear defeat aliens in the laser quest! Space Mountain was great and trippy, but my favourite ride must be the new Ratatouille ride, which was an experience like no other. Then it was time to head home and rest.
One funny thing that happened on the trip – on our way back to our hotel rooms, one cute French girl said to me “I can’t wait to get back to my bed” and I said… “Yeah, me too!” then as an afterthought, “well… my bed…”. Maybe I should have left that out! Anyway, it was great to meet fans from France, Spain (one Spanish guy had a very cockney accent when he spoke English – weird), Italy and Germany. Hoping to go to another event soon!
And then, as if that wasn’t enough, I went to MCM Expo the next day! I went around with one of my best friends, Rob, who I’ve not seen for months, so it was good to catch up, and checked out the cosplays and market stalls. Also got to see a talk about the next Tales Of game, Tales of Zestiria, which I am very excited for, and got a free poster signed by the executive producer of the series. Great experience. Finishing off the day with a couple of pints made for great relaxation after a busy few days.
And – I got to meet my hero! Woody! YEAH!
Well, now I think it’s time to calm down a bit and chill out. Back to work!
Although next week… Distant Worlds which I am seriously excited for!
Running Water 