Hi everyone!
Just a quick little update today. My past two days at work have gone really well! They were relatively stress free. Aside from some very big bursts of guests before/after the night parade and fireworks, it's been fun! Our biggest issue has been with the cheerleaders. The new touchpoint turnstiles don't work for paper tickets, so normally we have to send them down to the older Legacy turnstiles. However, despite the fact that they spent 7 1/2 years and 1.7 billion dollars designing this new touchpoint system, they somehow forgot to create an exit plan. It's kind of hard to understand but we have to make all of the old silver turnstiles into exits and reroute all the guests in that direction. That means that paper tickets have to come through the touchpoint side and therefore the Guest Relations cast members have to manually scan every ticket that comes through. Here's where the cheerleaders come in. There is a huge competition here this week so we have thousands of cheerleaders and their families roaming through the parks. When big events happen like that, every person is given a paper ticket! Therefore, at night when they open the park just for the cheerleaders, my job becomes relatively useless because I can't help anyone with the paper tickets. It's confusing and hard to understand if you're not here/working, but hopefully I kind of explained it alright. That was probably the worst part of the past two days, but even that wasn't bad - just hectic for a few minutes! I am also starting to get to know one of my coordinators a little bit better. I am happy about that because they are very intimidating and always look angry so it's nice when they act friendly towards me. Last night I drove four of my coworkers home because we all got off at 1:15am and live in the same apartment complex. On the way home we decided we wanted to get some shakes from Steak 'n Shake. That along with daylight savings caused me to not get to sleep until about 4am! Tonight, I have to work until 4:15am so I probably won't get to sleep until about 5am! Have I said how excited I am for my dad and Nicole to get here?!
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Earning my ears... again!
Hello! So I guess I haven't been doing my best with keeping up... but I'm trying!
On Sunday, I began Parade Audience Control (PAC) training. It was three days of setting up and breaking down for parades. I enjoy it because I get to be out in the park and can interact with the guests a bit more than I can at turnstiles, but it is a lot of pressure and pretty intense. The floats are extremely heavy and if someone was hit by one, it would cause a lot of damage. I was in a training group with three others plus our trainer. It was easy to do everything with the five of us, but once I get a shift of my own I will have to do it all by myself! That makes me very nervous. We learned how to put ropes up, when to clear streets, where people have to be standing, what walkways to keep clear, how to initiate crosswalks during a parade, etc. We were the first trainee group that my trainer had ever had so there were somethings that she made kind of confusing and hard to understand, but overall I was able to grasp most of the concepts. Over the next two weeks, however, I have all park greeter shifts so I'm nervous that if I ever get a PAC shift on my schedule, I will have forgotten how to do everything. One of the best parts of training was when we got to go to the Production Center backstage and see where all of the floats are stored. We saw where the float drivers sit - it's amazing how tiny their little area is inside. Another funny part of training was when I was talking to some guests and a little boy told me that he had ridden the Pirates of the Caribbean ride that day. I started rambling on about the ride and talking about it and didn't realize until I walked away that I had been talking about some other ride! I'm sure the little boy didn't realize but his grandfather definitely did! My mistake! I'll have to spend more time at the parks to really get to know everything about the attractions haha.
Yesterday, I had two of my classes. During the Marketing seminar, we discussed all of the different themes that Disney has had over the past few years. We learned about how they brought all of the parks together to market them as one and how they were able to take a global approach towards it all. It was really cool to see how they implemented ideas like A Year of a Million Dreams and What Will You Celebrate? My Leadership class was pretty interesting as well but I don't like that one as much as I enjoy the marketing.
After class, Stacey and I headed over to Epcot. We rode Spaceship Earth which was kind of like a mini history lesson - I enjoyed it! We also were able to create our own rollercoaster and ride it in a simulator! That was one of the coolest things I have ever done at Epcot. They have the Flower and Garden Festival going on until May there. It was a little too cold last night to walk around and see all of the topiaries, but we are going to try to do it one day! Then we headed over to Hollywood Studios. The wait on Tower of Terror was only a few minutes so we rode it twice! We saw Fantasmic afterwards. It's a half an hour show involving a ton of characters and scenes from different movies that they project on water. It's kind of hard to explain but it was really cool.
Today we might head over to Magic Kingdom or just relax for the day. It's pretty chilly here so being outside isn't that much fun (but at least it's not snowing!). My schedule for the next few days is kind of crazy. Since Spring Break is starting up for everyone, our hours are much later than usual. On Sunday, I have to work until 4am! Once I get through Thursday, though, I get to enjoy a mini-vacation with Nicole and my dad! I am SO excited!
As I'm sure most of you all know, I signed up for the WalkMS event in Orlando on April 7th. Thank you so much to those who have already donated - it means the world to me! I am almost halfway to my goal of raising $500. If you know of anyone who might be able to help out, please tell them about the cause and see if they'd be willing to donate just $5! Below is my link. Feel free to read my participant page and make yourself more aware about what exactly Multiple Sclerosis is.
http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR?px=11789894&fr_id=19766&pg=personal
On Sunday, I began Parade Audience Control (PAC) training. It was three days of setting up and breaking down for parades. I enjoy it because I get to be out in the park and can interact with the guests a bit more than I can at turnstiles, but it is a lot of pressure and pretty intense. The floats are extremely heavy and if someone was hit by one, it would cause a lot of damage. I was in a training group with three others plus our trainer. It was easy to do everything with the five of us, but once I get a shift of my own I will have to do it all by myself! That makes me very nervous. We learned how to put ropes up, when to clear streets, where people have to be standing, what walkways to keep clear, how to initiate crosswalks during a parade, etc. We were the first trainee group that my trainer had ever had so there were somethings that she made kind of confusing and hard to understand, but overall I was able to grasp most of the concepts. Over the next two weeks, however, I have all park greeter shifts so I'm nervous that if I ever get a PAC shift on my schedule, I will have forgotten how to do everything. One of the best parts of training was when we got to go to the Production Center backstage and see where all of the floats are stored. We saw where the float drivers sit - it's amazing how tiny their little area is inside. Another funny part of training was when I was talking to some guests and a little boy told me that he had ridden the Pirates of the Caribbean ride that day. I started rambling on about the ride and talking about it and didn't realize until I walked away that I had been talking about some other ride! I'm sure the little boy didn't realize but his grandfather definitely did! My mistake! I'll have to spend more time at the parks to really get to know everything about the attractions haha.
My PAC training group! We had so much fun together.
Back (L-R): Victoria (Trainer), Becca
Front (L-R): Jessica, Me, Jeff
Yesterday, I had two of my classes. During the Marketing seminar, we discussed all of the different themes that Disney has had over the past few years. We learned about how they brought all of the parks together to market them as one and how they were able to take a global approach towards it all. It was really cool to see how they implemented ideas like A Year of a Million Dreams and What Will You Celebrate? My Leadership class was pretty interesting as well but I don't like that one as much as I enjoy the marketing.
After class, Stacey and I headed over to Epcot. We rode Spaceship Earth which was kind of like a mini history lesson - I enjoyed it! We also were able to create our own rollercoaster and ride it in a simulator! That was one of the coolest things I have ever done at Epcot. They have the Flower and Garden Festival going on until May there. It was a little too cold last night to walk around and see all of the topiaries, but we are going to try to do it one day! Then we headed over to Hollywood Studios. The wait on Tower of Terror was only a few minutes so we rode it twice! We saw Fantasmic afterwards. It's a half an hour show involving a ton of characters and scenes from different movies that they project on water. It's kind of hard to explain but it was really cool.
The Buzz Lightyear Topiary at Epcot Flower and Garden Festival!
As I'm sure most of you all know, I signed up for the WalkMS event in Orlando on April 7th. Thank you so much to those who have already donated - it means the world to me! I am almost halfway to my goal of raising $500. If you know of anyone who might be able to help out, please tell them about the cause and see if they'd be willing to donate just $5! Below is my link. Feel free to read my participant page and make yourself more aware about what exactly Multiple Sclerosis is.
http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR?px=11789894&fr_id=19766&pg=personal
Friday, March 1, 2013
I'm Alive!
Helllllooo! It has been almost two weeks since I've updated and I am very sorry about that! I am really going to try to update every day or every other day, even if it's just something little. It just gets difficult because it doesn't always seem like there is something to write about! The past week or so has been pretty good. Work has kept me very busy but I've also found time to do some fun stuff with my friends.
Work has been alright. There haven't been many stand-out good or bad days. Usually, if a day seems to be going well, something happens to ruin it haha. It's not so bad, though. I like the people I work with and the guests who are really nice and excited to get inside make it worthwhile. I was working exits one night so I was waving goodbye to everyone with my Mickey hand on and I was amazed by how many people asked to take pictures with me! It's weird that I'll be in their family vacation pictures now haha. I am starting to get a bit more comfortable around my coordinators which is a good thing because generally they make me very nervous but I'm starting to get over that. One of the worst parts of my week was when I had to go to a meeting in the middle of my shift. I wasn't sure what the meeting was for or where it was so I started asking around. I was sent to seven different places before I finally got to the meeting... 35 minutes late! It was just a basic introduction for all of the CPs (College Program members). I explained my situation to the guy leading the meeting and he said it was no problem and I hadn't missed much. That was a relief because I was really worked up after having gone to seven other places. It bothered me that no one could help me out. At one point I started to think that it was some sort of initiation where they sent all of the newbies running around the park looking for a meeting that didn't exist. On Sunday, I will begin training for Parade Audience Control (PAC). A lot of people say that they like PAC better than Park Greeter so hopefully I will enjoy it too. The costume is a lot less comfortable though, so I'm not looking forward to that!
On Wednesday, I started my classes. They are called Exploring Marketing and Exploring Leadership. Technically, they aren't really classes because we don't have assignments or homework or anything like that. They are more like business seminars. The marketing one sounds like it will be really interesting. They will bring in speakers from all different facets of the Disney company to tell us how they market and sell their products, whether it be a stuffed animal or a cruise trip! The leadership one also sounds pretty interesting, but I'm not sure I'll enjoy it as much. I think they will be great opportunities to network with professionals and get my foot in the door if I decide that Disney is where I want to make a career.
Work and class take up a lot of time, but once they are done it's all about the fun! I have done quite a few things with my friends over the past week. One night, we went to Epcot to ride Soarin', got some dinner, and watched Illuminations. Illuminations is the firework show at Epcot while Wishes is the one at Magic Kingdom. I really like Illuminations because the fireworks are cooler and more varied. I also went to the P!nk concert with Nicky on Wednesday. Our seats weren't great, but it was a lot of fun! I wasn't expecting much but it turns out that P!nk is an amazing performer. She did a ton of acrobats and was flying over the crowd and stuff. She also sounded great live! Yesterday, Stacey and I headed out to Universal to buy our annual pass. I was told if I just showed my ID and proof that I lived here I would be fine. Once I got to the ticket booth, however, they gave me a hard time and said they couldn't help us. I was pretty angry because I had just paid $15 to park and now I couldn't even buy a ticket! I went over to Guest Services to see what they could do and the guy we talked to was super helpful. He was joking around with us and poking fun at the fact that we were Disney CPs, but then he whipped out his Disney ID! Turns out that he used to work over there but then switched to Universal. He was telling us some funny stories and was able to get us our passes. They were expensive, but worth it! I love Universal so I definitely think I will get a lot of use out of the pass.
Overall, I have been enjoying my time here. I am, however, very homesick. The thing about working here that makes it so difficult is that everyone is working in fear. We are all so afraid to mess even the tiniest thing up because no one wants a point on their record card or to get in trouble with a coordinator or manager. There is so much pressure to be perfect and do everything correctly. It's to the point where if you're standing one step to far to the left, someone will come over and tell you to move. Being at work is very stressful that it almost makes it painful to be there. I'm glad that at the end of the day, I can come home to a bunch of friends and we can all just unwind and have fun together. I cannot wait for my birthday in a few weeks because I get to take a little vacation with my dad and cousin. It will be nice to relax and not have to worry about the pressures of work for a few days! Until then, it's off to work I go...
(I'll try and add pictures to this post soon!)
Work has been alright. There haven't been many stand-out good or bad days. Usually, if a day seems to be going well, something happens to ruin it haha. It's not so bad, though. I like the people I work with and the guests who are really nice and excited to get inside make it worthwhile. I was working exits one night so I was waving goodbye to everyone with my Mickey hand on and I was amazed by how many people asked to take pictures with me! It's weird that I'll be in their family vacation pictures now haha. I am starting to get a bit more comfortable around my coordinators which is a good thing because generally they make me very nervous but I'm starting to get over that. One of the worst parts of my week was when I had to go to a meeting in the middle of my shift. I wasn't sure what the meeting was for or where it was so I started asking around. I was sent to seven different places before I finally got to the meeting... 35 minutes late! It was just a basic introduction for all of the CPs (College Program members). I explained my situation to the guy leading the meeting and he said it was no problem and I hadn't missed much. That was a relief because I was really worked up after having gone to seven other places. It bothered me that no one could help me out. At one point I started to think that it was some sort of initiation where they sent all of the newbies running around the park looking for a meeting that didn't exist. On Sunday, I will begin training for Parade Audience Control (PAC). A lot of people say that they like PAC better than Park Greeter so hopefully I will enjoy it too. The costume is a lot less comfortable though, so I'm not looking forward to that!
On Wednesday, I started my classes. They are called Exploring Marketing and Exploring Leadership. Technically, they aren't really classes because we don't have assignments or homework or anything like that. They are more like business seminars. The marketing one sounds like it will be really interesting. They will bring in speakers from all different facets of the Disney company to tell us how they market and sell their products, whether it be a stuffed animal or a cruise trip! The leadership one also sounds pretty interesting, but I'm not sure I'll enjoy it as much. I think they will be great opportunities to network with professionals and get my foot in the door if I decide that Disney is where I want to make a career.
Work and class take up a lot of time, but once they are done it's all about the fun! I have done quite a few things with my friends over the past week. One night, we went to Epcot to ride Soarin', got some dinner, and watched Illuminations. Illuminations is the firework show at Epcot while Wishes is the one at Magic Kingdom. I really like Illuminations because the fireworks are cooler and more varied. I also went to the P!nk concert with Nicky on Wednesday. Our seats weren't great, but it was a lot of fun! I wasn't expecting much but it turns out that P!nk is an amazing performer. She did a ton of acrobats and was flying over the crowd and stuff. She also sounded great live! Yesterday, Stacey and I headed out to Universal to buy our annual pass. I was told if I just showed my ID and proof that I lived here I would be fine. Once I got to the ticket booth, however, they gave me a hard time and said they couldn't help us. I was pretty angry because I had just paid $15 to park and now I couldn't even buy a ticket! I went over to Guest Services to see what they could do and the guy we talked to was super helpful. He was joking around with us and poking fun at the fact that we were Disney CPs, but then he whipped out his Disney ID! Turns out that he used to work over there but then switched to Universal. He was telling us some funny stories and was able to get us our passes. They were expensive, but worth it! I love Universal so I definitely think I will get a lot of use out of the pass.
Overall, I have been enjoying my time here. I am, however, very homesick. The thing about working here that makes it so difficult is that everyone is working in fear. We are all so afraid to mess even the tiniest thing up because no one wants a point on their record card or to get in trouble with a coordinator or manager. There is so much pressure to be perfect and do everything correctly. It's to the point where if you're standing one step to far to the left, someone will come over and tell you to move. Being at work is very stressful that it almost makes it painful to be there. I'm glad that at the end of the day, I can come home to a bunch of friends and we can all just unwind and have fun together. I cannot wait for my birthday in a few weeks because I get to take a little vacation with my dad and cousin. It will be nice to relax and not have to worry about the pressures of work for a few days! Until then, it's off to work I go...
(I'll try and add pictures to this post soon!)
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