Update

Sorry I haven’t blogged in a while…the past few days have a been super long and busy. I had last Tues. and Wed. off and got to do laundry, grocery shop, etc. Then I went with two of my co workers to play in Hollywood studios on Wed. It was fun to play in the park I usually work at. I forget that I’m actually living in Disney World , so it was nice to enjoy and remember the magic that my daily guests experience. I worked on Fri., Sat., played at Magic Kingdom Sat night with my roomie, and just finished working 11.5 hours. SO LONG. I started at 8:45 this morning with Safety in Motion Training where we learned the proper ways to life, carry, etc. different sized loads. It was incredibly boring and lasted about an hour and a half. 
Afterwards I went back to Sci Fi, and continued my shift. I seated for a bit, then greeted for hours by myself for the first time. SO stressful. We were super busy today and I underestimated exactly how much work it took to get everyone checked in and how literal people take quote times. Nothing too major went terribly wrong, but I tend to take mistakes personally, something working here will definitely change. 
The elephants who live above us, we have learned, are actually all in Culinary here at Disney, so I guess if they cook for us, I can forgive their constant stomping, jumping, herding, etc. But until they cook us dinner daily, I will continue to hit the ceiling with a swiffer stick to shut them up. I mean, really, who runs/stops/jumps at all hours of the night?! No one sane, that’s for sure.
Tomorrow is my Friday, thank goodness, and I have Tues., and Wed., off. Hopefully I get to observe the PTs that work with Entertainment here. My manager’s are still working on making all the connections since I don’t have the access to a lot of that info. 
Love and miss everyone 🙂 

It’s my Friday :)

Although today is Monday, a day traditionally dreaded by man and woman alike, I love today. Why you ask? Because in Disney days, today is my Friday! That’s right ladies and gentlemen, after my 6 hour shift today (So excited its not an 8 or 10) I have two days off! And to top things off, I got about 9 hours of sleep.It was desperately  needed. 
Yesterday I had my first shift as stocker/change runner by myself. Not my favorite position, but it wasn’t horrible. I got a great workout from it, but it seriously exhausted me. I worked 11-8, then got home and one of my lovely friends drove me to get food. I hadn’t really thought about it, but dinner last night was probably my first full meal in a few days. The way our schedules work here is super weird. I eat breakfast, then go to work, but my break usually falls around 3 or 4 which is too late for lunch and too early for dinner, so I just don’t eat. Then by the time I get off and get back home (the buses take forever) it’s too late for me to eat dinner. And, after being around food all day, the last thing I usually want is to eat. So, that whole situation is definitely something I’m going to have to work on and force myself to eat. 
As for the next few days, I don’t exactly know what they have in store for me. Playing in the parks is a given, and hopefully I can go observe a PT that works with the entertainment 🙂 (One of my lovely managers is working on arranging it since I don’t have access to a lot of that kind of info.) 
By the way, applications for the WDWCP for Spring 2013 came out last week, so yall should do it. It’s been one of the best experiences so far. I don’t know how to exactly describe it, but seriously awesome 🙂 
Time for work  🙂 Love and miss everyone! (And DLAM to all of my lovely Deltas) 🙂 

Update :)

So, basically all I have done the past few days is work, a lot. I tried out skating for the first time…it was a little rocky, but nothing too bad. However, if I fall at work on them I could get a reprimand…so I won’t be skating that much ( after all, I fall 24/7 without having 4 wheels attached to my feet). I have about 2 more days of work before I finally get some time off. I’m SO excited. The whole big kid working thing is tough.
So, I realized that there are probably some people who are reading this who are considering doing the College Program…so, I thought I would give you guys a few realities that you may not realize.
1. You are here to work, not on a 4 month paid vacation to Disney World.
2. You will work long, late shifts. You are called CP’s (aka closing persons)
3.You are here to make the magic, not experience it. However, there is a different kind of magic you receive when you make magic for the guests 🙂
4. Your job may suck, but the people you work with and meet during your time here will make your program. (btw my job does’t suck at all, I really lucked out)
5.  People say you lose the magic by working here, but realize that you will most likely only see one small part of one park. So, on your days off, go experience the rest of the parks and remember why you love Disney.

That’s all for now. I’m just spending some time with my roommates for the night 🙂 Talk to yall later!

Earned my Ears :)

As of yesterday, I have officially earned my ears! Which, in non-Disney lingo, means I am no longer a trainee. I have to admit, this kind of makes me sad….this also means no more free food 😦 However, it does seem that I get to be the new kid for a while since no other CPs have joined the Sci Fi crew, which makes me happy 🙂
And I have to say, I have been so lucky so far. In both jobs I have ever worked, I’ve lucked out with great co-workers. The Sci Fi/ABC crew has been so inviting and nice to me. It’s awesome 🙂 
The past few days after work, I’ve gone out and gotten to know my new co-workers and played in the parks a bit with friends and roommates. But from the looks of my schedule, I will be staying late/closing from tonight through Monday…
Also on the exciting (well, not really) front, today is our first apartment check. Lucky for me, my amazing roommates have had the past few days off (since I haven’t) and have gotten the place super clean (or as clean as a 20yr old apartment can get). Hopefully we pass 🙂 
That’s all for now, yall! Have a magical day!

More training :)

Hello all,

So yesterday was day three of training at Sci Fi. I got to use the computer system to check guests in, take in walk-ins, and seat guests whenever needed. It wasn’t nearly as hard as I expected. ( I was a little nervous of single-handedly crashing the system) I also got to make a run to the bakery to pick up a few things for one of my manager. Let’s just say, the bakery smells AMAZING. Like you have no idea. Today’s  menu tasting included BBQ chicken wings with blue cheese dipping sauce, shrimp pasta, grilled chicken sandwich, and apple crisp. Luckily, my trainer let me box up most of it to bring home since I was so full.  So, I worked from 1-10:30pm (long day/night) and then had a lovely 45min bus ride home. Needless to say I was exhausted. I instantly crashed as soon as I hit my bed. And, believe it or not, slept til 9am. Miracle. I never sleep that late. I pried myself out of bed to go running, only to find out that one of Florida’s lovely pop -up rainstorms has decided to visit. So much for being productive. Today, however, I have a day off. Hopefully this storm will pass and my roommate and I will get to have a few Magic Kingdom adventures:)

That’s all for now 🙂 Have a magical day!

Training: Episode 2

So today was my first experience with a 10 hour shift…not a big fan. I got there at 11:15 and just got home (yay public transportation) Once again work was good. Not as fun today since I worked in the back but people weren’t kidding when they said work doesn’t make your program, but the people do. I seriously am so lucky to have met such great and fun people 🙂 Today I shadowed the stocker/change keeper, bar tender, and culinary. The Chefs were convinced I should learn to cook…I laughed. Hysterically. The park was super slow again today so I got to go back to seating ( way more fun with lots of guest interaction. I Love helping to make magical memories) . The plus side of today, I got to wear a super official headset. Pretty legit. Today’s lunch/menu tasting consisted of BLT soup, spinach/artichoke cheese dip for the appetizers. Then a turkey club and multigrain pasta. The best part, however, was the peanut butter chocolate cake. SO GOOD. However, being from the south, I feel like I’m being rude leaving any food, so I’m doing my best to give it away since I obviously can’t eat all of that. While I was training two of my lovely roommates came to step back into the 1950’s and I got to be their parking attendant 🙂 
Tomorrow I work 1-close. THEN TWO DAYS OFF. Best news ever.
On a side note, I miss southern gentlemen who let girls onto the bus first. Especially when it’s raining Toto I don’t think we’re in Mississippi any more….
That’s all from this CP. My bed and I are about to BFF for the next 10 hrs.

On the job training :)

So today was my first day as FOH at Sci Fi! It was really good 🙂 My trainer was really nice and relaxed and all of my co-workers are super nice. I didn’t try to skate today…I’m thinking maybe on Saturday or after my assessment. But, so far the best part of my job is lunch…why you ask? Because for  the next 5 days, on my meal break, I get to eat 1 appetizer, 2 full entrees, and a dessert. How legit is that?! Today I had potato skins,  a hamburger and fries, a Reuben, and ice cream sundae. I barely ate any of it bc the portions were huge, but still kind of cool. I have to know all of the components of each dish that I eat for part of my assessment. After about 5 hours, I had to go do more online E learning (almost all done!) then I got back to work in time for a 90 day no incident ice cream social. Seriously, best place ever. I even got ER’d (early released) due to the low park attendance. 
Tomorrow I have bar, stock, and prep training (none of which I’ll probably ever have to do, but its required) ( I know…me in a kitchen is rather scary). Then I think its back to floor training on Sat. before my 2 days off! yay! So far I’m really excited about work. Everyone was very nice and I really felt the Disney magic 🙂 
That’s all for now. Tomorrow is an 11:30-9 pm shift Wish me luck!

Random Thoughts

Okay so I’ve noticed/experienced a few things so far that  kind of make me laugh…so maybe they’ll make you laugh too.

1. I’m 98% positive Orlando roads are just giant circles. Seriously. I feel like all I do is ride around in giant circles and never get anywhere.

2. I have never been in one place (walmart or target) and heard so many different languages that are not English. Serious weird feeling.

3. I miss having my mommy and the wonderful staff at DDD. I suck at cooking and grocery shopping by myself. My roommates share this problem. We will all either be super skinny due to being too lazy to cook, or super over weight bc all we eat are frozen meals.

4. Public Transportation isn’t as bad as I thought…not great, but not horrible.

5. The Hub is the most confusing piece of technology ever. And it hates me. 

6. Florida shouldn’t be called the sunshine state–it rains basically every day.

7. The way people in the South pronounce things and the way people in the North pronounce things is SO different. For example, some of my roommates think its crazy that we say coke instead of soda or pop. or  We call athletic shoes tennis shoes, and they call them sneakers. Sneakers is a very weird word to say by the way.

8.  1 bathroom for 4 girls is not a good ratio

9. Vista Way isn’t as bad as everyone says. We live in the back and so far it’s super quiet and we don’t have bugs any more. Making the best out of a bad situation 🙂

10. I can easily see how people sleep on the bus on the way home. Something about this place drains you of all energy. It’s super crazy. I had 4 hours of computer training/power points and I desperately needed a nap. 

11. I seriously take my parents for granted–being a big kid isn’t all its cracked up to be..and let’s be real, I’m not even in the real world yet…I live in Disney world. So the real world must really be hard.

12. Grocery shopping is the hardest thing ever. There are too many choices and I need my mommy and daddy with me. All the time.

13. My Minnie Mouse pillow pet makes everything better.

14. I’m pretty sure I single-handedly keep the Walgreens by Vista in business. Seriously, good planning Walgreens. (its a 5 min. walk from my apartment and has groceries…seriously, who knew Walgreens had groceries!?) 

15. I’m going to have to give in and be a night person…this is going to be a super hard transition for me. I may need suggestions for caffeine that is not coffee or super bad for you.

…So, that’s my randomness for the night. Only 3 more days until I have a day off to absorb some more Disney magic 🙂 Love and miss yall!