Things have just been so busy! And honestly, since I actually started working, I've been dog tired by the time I get home in the afternoon. Today was a day off though, so I'm taking the opportunity now to update you guys on what's been happening:
Sunday, May 8th - This was the day of my orientation at Blizzard Beach,"Forecast Blizzard". There was a slide show at Gator Hall (it's backstage, so don't bother looking for it on a park map), and then we went out into the park for a tour just before it opened to witness a Magical Moment: basically, they select a family from the front gate, and one of the guests in that family is named "Ski Patrol Captain" for the day. Then there's a countdown, and the Ski Patrol Captain slides down Summit Plummet just as the park opens. And if they survive to tell the tale, they and their family get a marked cabana for the day right near the wave pool! (not to be confused with one of the fourteen rental cabanas) We were getting funny looks from the guests when they finally entered, and honestly, I'd be inclined to stare too if a large group of well-dressed people walked by me in a water park. There are ankle-height sprinklers along the pathways in the park, which is great for swimsuit-wearing guests, but not so great for us -- we kind of had to jump over them to keep our fancy shoes from getting wet. It was fun!
After that, we headed back to Gator Hall, where there was a trivia game designed to test us on what we'd learned. And that was followed by an incredibly dry Safety in Motion class. Not that the cast members in charge of the orientation weren't trying to keep things interesting (so kudos to them), but in all honesty, I'd gotten up pretty early to catch the bus to Blizzard that morning, and I was getting a little cross-eyed trying to stay awake. And most of the stuff in the presentation was covered in a manual I got at Traditions. When it was over, I was given another work schedule and told where to go to get my costume. I headed home, got changed, and then headed out again to Pop Century/Caribbean Beach's cast services to pick up some costumes at the costuming department. I got there just before they closed, but they were very patient while I ran around trying to figure out the sizing for my pants. As an ICP, I was allowed five tops and bottoms. (speaking of which, I need to head back in today and have them wash the costumes I've used already -- I don't trust myself to wash them without bleaching out the colour or something)
Monday, May 9th - This was another free day, and I had been planning to spend most or all of it doing chores, but I caught up with a friend the night before and she wanted to go to Epcot on Monday. All work and no play is less than fun, so I agreed to join in the group as long as I could leave early in the afternoon and head to Wal-Mart. I'm so glad I went! We got on Soarin' first thing since the line was still relatively short, but remembered to get fastpasses before doing so. I had no idea there was a new, interactive queue! That seems to be happening all over the parks now. Right after that, we headed over to World Showcase and headed left to Canada, where we all had a good laugh and got plenty of photos. We also chatted up the girl in the gift shop, who told us she'd been there for about six months so far and was lovin' it (she's part of the Cultural Representative program, which is separate from the college program and lasts a whole year -- all of the participants live at The Commons complex). Then we met Mary Poppins in England, Aurora in France, and spotted Alice skipping by to her meet-and-greet spot. After we went back to Soarin' for our fastpass time, I head to the monorails with another girl from the group who had to work that night. She told me she was working at Cosmic Ray's, and showed me some of the training material she'd been given (specifically, a menu of all the items available there).
Later, I headed to Wal-Mart to get some groceries. I wanted to get my work shoes as well, but I couldn't find what I wanted, and they were running low on white slip-resistant shoes anyway. So I postponed that errand for another day.
Tuesday, May 10th - I think this has been the only day of my program so far that I really, truly didn't like. I showed up at Blizzard Beach's backstage again to begin Elearning, which basically involves sitting down at a computer and listening to one online presentation after another, complete with soothing voice-overs. I was there for a very long time, and I wasn't sure whether I was going to get a lunch break or not, so when my trainer finally came back to check on me around one in the afternoon, I was about ready to cry (so melodramatic, LOL). By that point I was hungry enough that I couldn't concentrate, and there was so much information being given that I was terrified none of it was going to stick. Amazingly enough, though, most of it still comes back to me when I need it -- or at least, it has since I've been on the job. I didn't pack a lunch, so I had to buy one backstage. Blizzard Beach's backstage is quite the contrast to Magic Kingdom's -- it's pretty small, and I can literally walk from where the bus drops me to my work location in less than a minute. But maybe I shouldn't have told you that. Eep.
Wednesday, May 11th - I took the Magic Kingdom bus three times that day. The first time was to get to West Clock in the morning and arrive for my Food and Beverage class at Disney University. I was actually able to clock out a few hours earlier than most of my classmates, since I'd done almost all of my online classes the previous day at Blizzard (my trainer had warned me that I wouldn't be allowed to leave Blizzard until all of the available ones were finished). So I clocked out, loitered for a bit to take some pictures inside the university, and then headed back to the bus stop. That was around ten or eleven in the morning, so it left the rest of the day open. When I got back to Chatham, my roommate offered to take me to Cast Connections and Property Control, which are on the other side of Magic Kingdom's employee parking lot. I'm not gonna say too much about them, since I'm not sure what's supposed to be confidential, but I will say that cast members can get some good deals on groceries and other goods there. I might describe 'em once I find out whether or not doing so will get me in trouble with my boss, the Mouse.
After heading home with my purchases, I had some dinner and went out a third time to go pester a friend whom I knew was working on Main Street that night. She works at Main Street's bakery and ice cream shop, and when I got there that night via monorail from the TTC, she was working the counter -- as in, taking ice cream from the back to the guests waiting for their orders. It wasn't super busy, so I went in to buy a rootbeer float and chatted her up between orders. I didn't stay long, since I didn't want to distract her from her work, but she looked like she was having fun (and said as much). After that, I just hung around Main Street for a while, poking in and out of shops I'd never lingered in before as a guest. There's something so relaxed about visiting with the knowledge that you can always come back and see more. It's pretty fantastic, and -- dare I say it? -- magical.
Thursday, May 12th - My first on-the-job training! I was late getting in, but only by a few minutes, since I misread my schedule and took a bus that arrived at Blizzard later than I thought it would. Ever the drama queen, I burst into tears when I finally met with a coordinator, apologizing over and over for being late on my first day. I was told I wasn't in trouble, and introduced to my trainer for the day, who showed me the ropes in the kitchen at Lottawotta Lodge. The work wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be, even though it was quite exhausting -- I ended up being fryer #2, which meant that I ferried bins of fresh fries and chicken nuggets to the order windows as soon as they were out of the fryer. Things were pretty quiet before and after lunch, but during? Yikes! Again, it wasn't difficult work, but it was tiring, and I burned my arm on a hot surface at some point (the mark is till there). After a break, I worked at window #2, which was less hectic and mostly involved putting together hot dogs and baskets. I also helped close the kitchen at the end of the day, which was a very long process that was entirely confusing, newbie that I am. I watched my trainer and another cast member clean the broiler, which seemed pretty complicated, going by the number of detachable pieces alone. All in all, working in the kitchen isn't really bad or anything, but it's isn't my favourite part of the job.
Friday, May 13th - Dude, I didn't even realize this was Friday the 13th until today. Bummer. Anyway, this was actually a pretty good day, aside from scheduling confusion. Apparently their schedule differed from mine, so although I thought I was going to train at the counter, I was sent to one of the outdoor locations instead. This may have been a blessing in disguise, since I enjoyed the experience so much. Sooo much more fun being onstage and actually interacting with guests, even if every role is "a starring role" in Disney's eyes. I was at Frostbite Freddy's in the morning, which serves smoothies as well as other beverages, than at the Cooling Hut in the afternoon. I helped close the Cooling Hut at the end of the day, which didn't seem nearly as long or confusing as cleaning the kitchen. After that I clocked out and ran to the bus stop in time to narrowly miss a ridiculously heavy rainstorm. Florida weather. Eesh!
Saturday, May 14th - I honestly had no clue whether I was supposed to show up to work on Saturday, since my schedule seemed to be at odds with the one my coordinators had. But I was advised to show up anyway, and was eventually given a trainer to shadow. I thought I would finally get to train at the counter, and I did...for a little while. But then my trainer got moved back into the kitchen, and I spent the rest of the day at the fryer. Again, I really don't have a problem with kitchen work, but I hope I get trained at the counter soon. I don't want to be "earning my ears" forever!
I was allowed to clock out at four, with the hopes that I would get some chores done that afternoon. Unfortunately the bus broke down just outside the Wide World of Sports, and we were stuck for forty minutes waiting for the next one. I was able to banter a bit with the other stranded cast members, though, so that was nice. That's what I like about Disney -- a majority of the people you meet are bound to be pretty friendly. That's been my experience so far, at least.
Sunday, May 15th (today!) - This was a quiet and unremarkable day, during which I did some cleaning around the apartment (along with one of my roommates), went to costuming to exchange my dirty costumes for new ones, and did my laundry. I didn't sleep much on Saturday night, since I was developing what appeared to be symptoms of some illness and couldn't get comfortable anywhere. Currently my throat is still pretty sore and my ears are blocked up. And my nose is a little runny. And my stomach hurts. Other than that, I'm peachy!
...And that's been my experience so far! Or the gist of it. I still need to call my manager and find out why I don't have any scheduled shifts this week (I tried calling her today AND labor services, but I wasn't able to get through for some reason). And hopefully this sickness is nothing serious. But my experience here has been very, very positive, so please don't think these few negative incidents have characterized my stay here in Florida. I've been having a blast! And I hope things stay this interesting, because really, even the "bad" stuff has its charm...in that being-independent-for-the-first-time kind of way.
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