Working for The Mouse

One more shift until I finally have a day off! These past couple of days at work have been quite strenuous but it will all be worth it when I get my paycheck - hopefully! They will start taking out rent from our checks this week which kind of stinks but at least it's not like school where I have to take out a huge loan for housing. Tonight, I have to work from 4:00-12:15 and then I won't have to work again until Thursday night.

On Saturday and Sunday I had to work until 2:15am, so I didn't get home until about 3. It's rough but at least I don't have to wake up early! Saturday's shift went pretty fast, but I can't say the same for my shift on Sunday. I had to work for over 9 hours and unfortunately I didn't get to deal with the nicest guests. Some people are very mean and impatient and they will get mad at me when there is something wrong with their ticket or the machine. I guess they don't realize that technology has issues sometimes... They start cursing and yelling at me but there's not much I can do until they calm down and listen to what I have to say to help them. It definitely gets me upset but I just try and think about how it's their loss because they are clearly are too miserable to enjoy a nice vacation. A little attitude adjustment could change it all! Sunday's shift was made even worse when I got in trouble for not coming back from my 30 minute break. The thing is, I never had a break! I was at a turnstile all night and when my coordinator had me shut it down, I went inside and everyone was saying that one of the other coordinators was looking for me everywhere. When I went and found her she was upset with me and said I was late. I tried explaining to her that I was at my turnstile the entire time but she didn't care to listen. I was able to talk to someone else and explain the situation, and so apparently the person who was supposed to give me my break never did so I was standing at the turnstile while I should've been on break/doing something else. It was very confusing and I was very upset but I think it's all worked out now. I was so relieved when my shift on Sunday was over - it was the worst night I've had since I've been here!

Yesterday was a little bit better. I started my day off by going to the mall with Nicky so that she could get her computer fixed. We walked around for a little and I must say, I am so glad I left my wallet in the car! The mall was so big, I definitely could've blown a lot of money in there. We went into a store called Teavana and the tea was delicious! I think I might head back there once I have some extra spending money. On the way home, I heard a contest on the radio for some concert tickets. I figured I'd try and call because I always do when I hear that stuff. I had Nicky dial the number since I was driving and after a few re-dials, it started to ring! She handed me the phone and they answered and I was the 93rd caller!!! I won two tickets to a P!nk concert in Tampa next Wednesday. I am very excited to go! After that I hung out for a little bit and then headed off to work. This past weekend was absolutely freezing, but luckily last night was a little bit warmer.

On Thursday we have room inspections so I will probably spend a lot of time tomorrow cleaning up the apartment. I have some roommates that do not do their fair share of cleaning so I think we are all going to have to sit down and talk about it... I'm not looking forward to that! I will also have to drive down to Tampa tomorrow to pick up my concert tickets. It's too bad it's not right here in Orlando!

I am very tired and worn out, but I am enjoying myself. Unfortunately, I barely get to see my roommates because we all work such different hours. I work late most nights while everyone else usually works pretty early. I hate that we don't get to hang out as much as we did when we first got here. I am making a lot of friends at work though. I have a friend from New Zealand and she is awesome! She has the best accent.

I cannot wait for my dad and my cousin, Nicole, to come down for my birthday in March. I requested a couple of days off so it will be nice to enjoy a mini-vacation with them. For now though, it's work work work!

Busy Busy Busy!

Sorry for the lack of updates! It has been hard to find time to sit down and write on here, and it is also difficult to figure out what to write about. Now that I am working on my own, my days are pretty similar. I am still enjoying my job, but I am finding it a bit more tiring than before! I'll try and update you on the past few days and I will also try and stay motivated to write on here more often!

Today is one of the saddest days I've had down here. Unfortunately Annie, one of the girls that I live with, is leaving today. The program just wasn't for her and she feels that it's time for her to go home.  I am super upset about it because she was definitely one of the closest friends that I had made here and I had been looking forward to spending the next four months hanging out with her! I know that it sounds weird to be so upset over someone I've only known for a little over two weeks, but in that time we were able to build such a strong friendship that I feel like I've known her for years! Even though she is leaving, we will still try to stay close and keep in touch. Hopefully she will be able to come down to Orlando to visit before our program is over, and maybe after that she can come visit Stacey and me in New York!

On top of Annie leaving, my dad also left yesterday! I was able to spend my two days off this week with him which was nice. We did a little bit of shopping and checked out a lot of the different resorts around Disney property. We also did our fair share of getting lost on property... We came to the conclusion that Disney could've used some help from Robert Moses because these roads are way too confusing! I am very excited for him to come back and visit in March for my birthday, but I am having trouble choosing what restaurant to have my birthday celebration at! Any suggestions?!

Aside from everyone leaving, this week has gone pretty well. I worked Sunday and Monday, then had two days off with my dad, and now I will work every day until Wednesday. The shifts go pretty quickly because people are constantly coming and going and there is a lot of interaction with the guests.  On my first day without a trainer, I received a Fanatic card which is a form of employee recognition. When another employee sees you doing something worth noting, they fill out the card and the manager signs it and you are recognized! It looks really good on my employee record card and it also enters me into a monthly raffle. I'm not sure what I win if mine is chosen, but it's still cool! I received the card because I was working exits and a family came through with a little boy in a stroller. As the stroller exited through the gate, the little boy dropped his popcorn and immediately started to cry. I quickly went and had the popcorn refilled and then proceeded to clean up what had fallen on the ground. I was noted for going above and beyond and treating the guests with courtesy! I was so happy to help the family and being recognized for it was icing on the cake.

As I said, most of my days are pretty similar now. I am beginning to get to know the other people that I work with and so far they have all been extremely friendly. I'm excited to continue working with them and to get to know them even better.

Happy belated Valentine's Day! Hope everyone at home is doing well. :)

Trainee no more!

I hope everyone back home and at school are enjoying the snow! It's nice and sunny here :) The past few days have been crazy busy but I am really enjoying what I'm doing. I have finally "earned my ears" and can officially work on my own now! It's scary but fun. There are a lot of people who are willing to help me if I need it (there are also some people who are not willing - maybe they shouldn't be working at Disney?).

Thursday and Friday were my last two days of training. As I said in my last post, I absolutely loved my trainer Matthew as well as the other three people I was training with. I'm so upset that we won't get to be together every day like we were in training. Hopefully, I'll be able to see them while working though! Our training was a combination of reading, working on the turnstiles, taking the monorail, etc. We were all over the entrance to Magic Kingdom. It felt like we spent a lot of time just hanging out and having fun, but at the end of the day I realized that I had learned so much! On Thursday, the first day we actually worked on the turnstiles, we learned first hand about media relations when Honey Boo Boo came through our turnstiles! (Honey Boo Boo is a little girl who used to be on Toddlers and Tiaras and then got her own spin-off show... not sure why exactly, but she's famous!). We are not to acknowledge celebrities, so we just treated them like any other family. It was pretty cool though! Magic Kingdom is in the process of changing over all of their Legacy turnstiles (the silver ones with the rotating bars) to new touchpoint ones. They are much simpler to use but unfortunately, not all tickets are configured to work on them yet. It makes it a little difficult because some guests don't realize that they don't have the right tickets for the touchpoints, but luckily we have Guest Relations cast members behind us so we can direct them there for assistance. It's much different than the Legacy turnstiles but I think it's cool to say that I was part of the transition from old to new. The new ones are very high-tech.

Once I finished training on Friday, it was time for an assessment. The assessment was on Saturday and lasted about four hours. I had to show that I could work the turnstiles and I also had to answer some transportation questions and take a written test. The cast member who assessed us, Reggie, was very nice and helpful. He asked some questions that we didn't know the answer to, but it wound up being a good thing because we were able to learn something new! After four hours, I learned that I had passed my assessment! Then, I had to go work on my own for two hours. It wasn't too bad, I think I did alright. It is nerve-wracking being thrown out there by yourself after spending so many days grouped with others. For the next two weeks I will be working a lot of closing shifts, which hopefully will be a nice change from the early mornings I've had thus far! I just can not wait to have my car with me - these buses are driving me nuts!

Nicky, Stacey, Kacey, Me, Annie!

Despite how exhausting work has been, my roommates and I have been trying our hardest to do other things as well! On Thursday, a few of us went out to Buffalo Wild Wings with some other people we had met. Everyone was very nice and I was glad that we went because we were able to meet some new people. Friday night, we weren't as adventurous. Instead, we did some grocery shopping and then came back and watched a movie! It was a nice way to relax and spend some time with each other. Our schedules have all been crazy so we don't always get to see one another. We had cake for Nicky's birthday that Annie had made and surprisingly it was delicious! We were a
little nervous because Annie is known for being a  bad cook... Last night, five of the roommates plus another friend, Lewis, ventured to Magic Kingdom for fireworks and the parade! I felt crazy going there as a guest after being there all day as a cast member. It is very hard not to act like a cast member when you're not working - I am so tempted to start greeting all of the guests! The firework show is called Wishes and it was amazing, as usual. I still can't understand how Disney does it. Everything is just so perfect.

Lewis, Nicky and I enjoying cake and a movie!

Wishes!

A lot of people have warned us about 'losing the magic'. I really hope that that does not happen to me. I am having so much fun here so far, and while I understand that there will be days that I want to just go lay in bed all day, I hope that I can continue to love what I'm doing throughout my four months here. Soon, I will be getting trained in other jobs like PAC and Time Square Theater. I'm not sure what I'll be doing, but those are just some more Main Street operations! I hope everyone back home is staying warm - you all need some Disney magic to help clear that snow!

After Wishes!

Earning My Ears

Today I had to wake up at 3:45am and it was absolutely horrible... but everything that came after 3:45am made it so worth it. I finished up my last day of orientation yesterday and started Park Greeter training today. Even though the hours are pretty terrible, I've been enjoying everything so far because I am constantly learning new information.

Yesterday started off pretty boring with some online learning classes. There were four of us in the orientation group and we had to sit in a computer lab for about two hours reading a bunch of generic safety information and such. It was boring but it's necessary in order to help prevent accidents. Afterwards we went to lunch and then it got fun! Since we finished our E-learning earlier than usual, we got to participate in the 'Move It, Shake It, Celebrate It!' (MiSiCi) parade. We started off by dancing down Main Street in order to clear the roads and make sure no one was in the way of the floats. It was a little awkward because everyone was watching us and I'm not a very good dancer... I thought it was so funny that people were taking pictures of us as if we were important people! We then stopped along side the parade route and watched until it got to where we were. Unlike other parades, the MiSiCi parade has a part where Guests are invited into the street to dance with the characters. During this time, our job was to protect the float and keep people from going near it or hitting any of the controls. I felt pretty important - it was exciting to be a part of my first parade! Once that parade was over, we went to a Parade Audience Control (PAC) meeting. They have this meeting every day before the 3 o'clock parade to distribute roles to everyone and prepare for the event. We then set up the ropes and I got paid to watch a parade for the last time haha... Next time I watch it, I will be doing work during it!

As I said, I had to wake up super early today. I got to work at 6:30 and met my trainer, Matthew. The group for training was also made up of four people including me. Matthew showed us the procedures for opening the park and explained what our jobs would entail. Then, we went to a meeting similar to the PAC meeting but for park greeters. The Guests began arriving early so we went and handed out stickers to them. The little kids were so excited, and a lot of the adults were too! Right before the park opened, we watched the Welcome show which entails a short performance and then all of the characters ride into the park on a train. It was the first time I had ever seen it and it gave me the chills! I don't know what was cooler - watching the show, or watching the Guests' reactions to the show. People were jumping up and down and cheering and it made me so happy to be able to be a part of their experience. Afterwards, we did some reading and a bit more paperwork. I had a lot of fun with my trainer and the other people that I was training with. We were all constantly laughing and cracking jokes so it made being up that early a bit easier. A lot of the day was spent learning about the park greeter position, but there was a lot of time spent interacting with guests. My trainer made a "laser" out of stickers so we got to walk around looking for a little boy to turn in to a Space Ranger (like Buzz Lightyear). We found a kid walking around with a Buzz toy and decided he was perfect. We taped the laser to his wrist and immediately he started shooting laser beams at us. He used sound effects and everything! It was so cool to see how happy we had made him. Also, I was a part of another "Magical Moment" when one of the Guest Relations cast members asked me to help him find a fun family to give some goodies to. They got "No Strings Attached" forms which basically allow them to get whatever they wanted, like ice cream, popcorn, etc. I pointed out a family and he went over and told them that they were the millionth guest and that they had won a prize. They were so surprised and it made me happy to see how excited they were. We spent some other parts of the day actually working at the turnstiles which was pretty cool, but also very overwhelming. I still have two more days of training with Matthew so hopefully I'll be able to get the hang of it by the time of my assessment on Friday!

After work, I went to Downtown Disney with Stacey. We did a little bit of shopping and had some dinner and dessert. Earlier in the day, Katelyn had told me that her aunt was down in Disney and to tell her that she said hello. Obviously we were just joking around because Disney is huge and the chances of me seeing her aunt were slim to none. Well, who would've guessed it - as we were standing on line at Earl of Sandwich, Aunt Lorraine walks up and stands with the people who were right in front of us! I started screaming, "AUNT LORRAINE! AUNT LORRAINE!" and definitely freaked her out haha. Once I explained the situation, she was so excited and took a picture of us! Katelyn couldn't believe that I had actually seen her aunt! (I couldn't believe it either! What are the chances!?).

Me and Aunt Lorraine! 

I know I'm throwing out a lot of information and it may be hard to understand, but I just want to let you all know what is happening! Every day I learn more and more about my roles and the park as a whole, and so many exciting things happen to me. I wish I could carry a video tape around with me all day so that I could show everyone exactly what is going on! I try to include the big things but I know I'm forgetting so much. Once training is over, I will be working as a park greeter for a little while until they train me in the other areas of Main Street (like a more in-depth PAC training and a few other roles). I am working very hard to earn my ears and I am both excited and nervous to begin working on my own soon!

Superbowl Monday!

You know when, at the end of the Super Bowl, they ask the MVP what he is going to do next, and he says, "I'm going to Disney World!"? Well... he actually goes to Disney World the very next day! (I learned that on Saturday at training.) When I found out I had off today, I decided that I had to go to Magic Kingdom to see the parade. My dad keeps telling me to take advantage of my time here and do things that I won't get to do again, and so I thought - when will I ever get to say that I saw the Super Bowl MVP at Disney World besides now? Probably never!

Stacey also had the day off so the two of us were off to MK. When we are not working, we are supposed to enter the parks as guests. The trouble is, as usual, the buses! They don't have stops at guest entrances so we had to take the bus to the Contemporary Resort, then a monorail to the transportation stop and then a boat to MK. It was a little confusing and I think we might've made it harder than it had to be, but we got there eventually! The parade didn't start for a while, so we walked around some of the shops and tried our hardest not to buy everything... the cast discount makes that kind of difficult! Finally, the parade came by around 2:35. It was quick, but still very cool. Joe Flacco was like six feet away from me! I hope today isn't the only time I get to see cool events like this.

After the parade was over, Stacey and I decided to stay in the parks for a little bit. We took the train to New Fantasyland and then went to see Goofy and Donald! Those guys are so much fun - Goofy is such a jokester. I don't know if I've ever heard Stacey laugh as much as she did when interacting with him. Next, we decided to ride the teacups. That was a bit of an arm workout but at least we were spinning pretty fast. We then decided to leave and took yet another trip to the costuming building (I needed to get another belt). There is a store near costuming called Cast Connection that has all of the outdated or damaged merchandise for super cheap prices. I was surprised to see that they even had some groceries for pretty low prices! I didn't get anything today, but I'm sure I'll be back there after a few paychecks.

Later tonight I have to take a trek over to WalMart to try and find some shoes for my costume. I haven't had much luck anywhere else so hopefully I can find something there. Tomorrow I have to work all day. I think I will be getting trained for parade audience control (PAC). One of the girls I met the other day had her training today and she said it was not fun but hopefully I can make the best of it. Tomorrow is also Nicky's birthday so that should be fun!

Once I get my shoes, I'll be sure to post some pictures of my costumes... They aren't great, but they could be worse!

And so it begins!

It is finally hitting me that I am here in Orlando and working at Disney. Yesterday was my first day of training, but it really didn't seem like work at all... It was a lot of fun! I had to get up at 4:30am which was terrible but my roommate had to get up that early also so it wasn't too bad. I caught the bus at 6 and was off to Magic Kingdom (MK)!

When we first arrived, they had us meet at the Mouskateria! That's what they call the cafeteria down in the Utilidor (aka the tunnel system under MK). We clocked in using our new Disney IDs and then we were broken into two groups and given tours of the entire park. I learned so many new fun facts about the park, like how Main Street has a slight slope to it so that when guests leave at the end of the day it's easier for them to walk out. Also, the flag poles on the top of the buildings on Main Street are not actually flag poles but lightning rods, and the flags on them do not have to be lowered everyday because they aren't real American flags - they all either have an extra star/stripe or a missing star/stripe. I was so amazed by everything they were telling us. It is impressive how much attention was given to every single little detail during the creation of the park. 

After we finished the tour of all of MK, we were broken into groups based on our jobs. I met a few people that I'd be working with - another girl is also from Long Island! We had a quick lunch and then it was off to costuming. Instead of uniforms, we refer to our job clothes as costumes. The costuming building is huge and has aisles upon aisles of costumes, three racks tall! They have all of the different costumes that you see around MK - the Space Mountain costume, Main Entrance costumes, Food Service costumes, etc. The annoying and troubling part of costuming is that the sizes are not the same as normal sizes. Also, a lot of them include not only a waist size but also an inseam length. I had to get two uniforms - one for turnstiles and one for parade audience control. I was super frustrated because I couldn't find any pants that were the right length. They were all either way too short or too long. I was so upset and it was really putting a damper on things. (Luckily, I was able to go back today and find the right size for one of my costumes, the other one is still kind of long). Once I have my shoes, I will post some pictures of them!

When costuming was done, we headed back to MK to watch the 3 o'clock parade. My leaders told me that one of the most commonly asked questions is, "What time is the 3 o'clock parade?"... You'd think that'd be obvious. They had a pre-parade to celebrate the Super Bowl with Goofy dressed as a football player and Chip & Dale as referees. It was very cute! After the parade was over, we did another tour of Main Street and learned a few more fun facts. For example, one of the windows on Main Street has a sign for a Chinese restaurant, but there isn't actually one anywhere in the park. By 4 o'clock, I was exhausted and ready for bed. Unfortunately, because of the buses, I didn't get home until about two hours later! I can't wait to have my car with me.

The car says, "I'M GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!"

Can you tell if that's Chip or Dale?!

I was so excited when I got home from work because I finally got to see my roommates! Nicky said she felt like riding a roller coaster so I suggested we catch the bus to Hollywood Studios and ride the Rockin' Rollercoaster quick. I said it sort of jokingly, but then we checked the bus schedule and there was one leaving twenty minutes later, so we decided to go! It was fun because we all just put on our pajamas and went. It is so cool that I can go to any of the parks whenever I feel like it. 

Rockin' Rollercoaster! One of my favorite Disney rides

Today, I had the day off. I got up early and went back to costuming to see if I could find the right pants. On the way there, our bus broke down! It was so frustrating. I felt terrible for the people who had to get to work because they could've gotten in trouble for being late. The buses here really aren't very reliable. When I was at the bus stop waiting, I heard a bunch of people headed to Hollywood Studios saying that the bus that was supposed to pick them up had gotten into an accident so none of them had a way to work! I hope that the commute to the parks will be easier once I have my car. Once I got back from costuming, I went to the outlet mall with Nicky and Shelby to look for shoes for my costume. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any so I'll have to head back out tomorrow to find them because I need them for work on Tuesday. Afterwards, I decided it was time for a nap! While everything here has been fun, it's also been very exhausting. When I woke up, I went over to one of the other complexes for a Super Bowl viewing party with Nicky. They gave us some snacks and drinks and we were able to watch the game on a huge projection screen. The Housing team hosts a ton of events throughout the year which is nice because we are able to meet other people from the program and just relax for a little bit. When I got back, I hung out with some of my roommates and made dinner for Annie and I... Her mom said she may have to start paying me to cook for her since Annie can barely pour herself a bowl of cereal! 

Tomorrow, I have the day off again! I definitely want to take advantage of it since it's my only day off until next Wednesday!!! I have to get shoes and do some laundry, but I also want to head over to MK because the MVP of the Super Bowl will be there! At the end of the game when they are asked, "What are you going to do now?" and they say, "I'm going to Disney World," they actually mean it! 

That's what's been going on here for the past few days. As I said, I'll be working seven days straight starting Tuesday. Some of my shifts are crazy hours - one of them is until 2:15am! I can't wait to finish my training and begin to work on my own, but I am definitely still nervous! Luckily most people seem willing to help out the newbies :)

P.S. Hi Grandma!

We create happiness...

I am officially a Walt Disney World cast member! I spent the day today at Disney University for Traditions, which is an orientation that every Disney employee must go through. We got our Disney IDs (aka my free pass into all of the Disney parks!) as well as our nametags.

I don't want to say too much about Traditions, but it was definitely an exciting day... except for the beginning. We got to listen to a nice virtual guy named Chris or something talk about integrity and workplace rules and such. Afterwards, it got a bit more exciting. Two DCP alums (and now current Cast Members), Frankie and Anna Beth, taught us about the company's target goals and what is expected of us as employees. They showed a lot of video montages of Walt Disney and his work - I couldn't help but get the chills while watching. It is absolutely amazing how much there is to the Disney company. Not only do they have parks in Anaheim and Orlando, but they also have ones in Paris, Hong Kong and Tokyo. On top of that, they have Disney Adventures, Disney cruises, Disney Vacation Club, etc. etc. As far as the entertainment industry goes, they own ABC, ESPN, Pixar, Marvel, etc... The list just goes on! After attending Traditions, it is much easier to understand why Disney is such a well-respected and successful company. The day would not have been complete without a visit from the boss himself - Mickey! I surprised myself by how excited I got... I felt like a little kid again. 

The best part of the day was most definitely when I got to see the tunnels underneath Magic Kingdom! It is something that not many people get to say that they've done, and I am so grateful that I have been given that opportunity. We came out by Main Street USA and as we walked towards the castle, it was as if it was my first time there. I can't believe that I will get to work there for the next four months... I'll have a great view of Cinderella's house :)

Tomorrow, I start my job training. I have to work from 7:15-4:00 but because of how the buses run, I have to leave my apartment around 5:50! Is it the happiest place on earth, or the sleepiest?!