Finishing up another busy week of work, I feel like a new post is long overdue! You have to understand though, there really is no start or end to a week. Working for Disney, there is no such thing as a weekend. Your days off, you may get one or two depending on the week, are most likely not on conventional weekends and may not even be consecutive. This past week I had Monday off as well as Friday, which as you can see are not back to back. It rained on Friday, which I was able to predict myself based on the fact that it was my day off. I had my first Organizational Leadership class that morning, but ended up getting only a few hours of sleep the night before. The class was probably longer than how much sleep I got, clocking in at 4 hours. Because of this, I was restless and bored out of my mind, and literally on the brink of a sudden outburst of frustration. During one of the breaks our professor gave us, I went over to the water cooler to grab a drink, but I was a little turned off by the roach crawling in the only remaining cup, and his friend scurrying across the top of the cooler. Needless to say, when we were dismissed from that class, I hightailed it back to my apartment and jumped onto my plastic bed. I really didn’t feel bad about sleeping the whole day away, one: because I don’t think sleep is ever wasted time, and two: it was raining anyway. I was half intending to visit Animal Kingdom on my day off, since I still haven’t been, but no one else seemed to have the day off and they closed at 5pm, adding to my other reasons for sleep being the smartest option. I’ll have the day off on this Friday again so I might give it another shot.

It’s nothing new to report, but it’s been consistently cold since I’ve last written. (Today was a pleasant exception at 70 degrees, and hopefully a recurring trend.) To stay warm while staying in character, I checked out a fashionable white turtleneck to wear under my costume shirt, and a tacky black and white plaid overcoat that feels and looks like is made of cheap carpet. They have been much needed and used heavily. Depending on where I am assigned though, sometimes I don’t need them. This kind of weather is perfect for working in the kitchen with the heat radiating from the food warmers, and this is the only reason I will support these temperatures. Other than that, it is blistery and not what I expected out of Florida. I do have to say though, with all this moaning about the weather, I sure hope I don’t become fond of it in hindsight when I realize how hot Florida can really get. We will see, but in general, I prefer the heat anyway.

The past few days have been pretty busy at work. Managers reported to us that this weekend we were seeing performance numbers reach highs that are usually reserved for Christmas and similar high-volume days. Lines have been never ending, and we were frequently faced with temporary outages in some of our products. The high volume was too much for the kitchen to keep up with when they weren’t expecting it. Amidst the pandemonium, at one point we ran out of Bud Light right as this family got up to my window. The parents asked for 2 Bud Lights, and I informed them that unfortunately we had just run out but if they would like Yuengling instead or were willing to wait, it should only be a few minutes. The dad snaps back, “well we’ve already been waiting a half hour!” I don’t care how busy we were, I know they weren’t waiting in that line for that long. Five minutes tops. They stormed off and were very unpleasant, leaving me only with the impression that they’ve got some anger and alcoholism issues to work out. I’m not sure what kind of parents bring their kids to Disney World only to drag them into a long line only to get some beer, and then fly off the handle when they might have to wait a few minutes for it. The kids looked miserable. All this craziness appears to be a sneak peak of the spring break season in store for us.

During the peak in sales on Saturday, the grills were being worked so hard that one overheated and caught on fire at Rosie’s, one of our eight locations. I don’t know much about what happened because I was working unaware in another location, but apparently the sprinkler system was triggered and so the place had to be shut down. This crippled one of our busiest quick service eateries, diverting much of that lost business to Fair Fax Fare, where I was at the time. With Rosie’s closed, it left more than a dozen cast members with nothing to do, and yet at the same time my break was really late for the reason that there was no one to relieve me, and this was apparently because of the fire situation. I don’t really understand the logic there, but that’s okay. After my break I went back to the computer to clock in and get my random assignment. Usually it’ll say something like “Stephen, please go to Fair Fax and take over Cashier 2”, and you would show it to the manager or someone in charge there to make sure the computer’s placement decision is the most logical choice. This time when I got my slip, I went up to my manager Caitlin who was standing right there and I pretended to read the slip, saying “It says ‘Please go to Rosie’s and put out the fire.'” It might have been a little too soon for a joke, but at the same time I could tell she was trying to suppress a laugh. If anything was on fire that night it had to be my wit. She just smirked and shook her head. (You had to be there.) At the close of the park, we were all called together for a team meeting. Our managers Matt and Caitlin congratulated us for performing so well on such a busy, despite being staffed by a majority of new cast members. As a thank you, they told us we could all take food to eat. Allow me to translate: they said we could take the food that was otherwise going to be thrown away, and we were not to take anything that could be saved and therefore cost the company any money at all. A kind gesture indeed! (Sarcasm.) Anyway, I got out of work around 7:30, a little after my roommate Dan did. He came from Magic Kingdom to pick me up and we ended up going to Downtown Disney to see a movie with our roommate Dustin. We saw Valentines Day, and I thought it was good, especially compared to the last two films we’ve seen. (Day Breakers and the Lovely Bones.) I had a funny T9 mishap when I was texting someone about The Lovely Bones, and I’m sure you can figure that one out. After the movie we went over to the Magic Kingdom, because they were open until 1am. We got there just in time to get a funnel cake sundae and ride Space Mountain, and believe me, it was worth the agonizingly cold tram ride.

Since it’s been so long since I’ve posted, I’m trying to remember everything! Hopefully at least by doing this I have filtered out the mundane and am left with only moments memorable enough to be recalled in one week’s time. It’s just that it becomes harder to sit down and start writing with every day I put it off. Let’s see. On Tuesday when I got to work I was surprised to find out that I wasn’t being sent to regular position, but instead was going to attend a small meeting with a few other CPs (college program kids) I work with. Turns out it was a welcome meeting, which was about 2 weeks late, but better late than never I guess. We got paid for it, and they gave us cotton candy and forced us to enjoy a complimentary beverage of our choosing. Thursday marked the final day of our extra special discount on Disney merchandise. It was increased for the holiday season as sort of a “gift” to cast members. Of course, it’s pretty smart idea for Disney because it’s the gift that keeps on giving… money back to them. I went crazy and scoured the gigantic World of Disney store at Downtown Disney and basically ended up spending my entire first paycheck completely. During the final moments of the last day of the discount, I frantically ran through the store one last time with my roommate Dan who was about to pass out from dehydration. We made our final purchases, made our way to the exit, and contemplated stepping through those doors. Those doors were the gateway to a world without such a grand discount. The decision would have to be final. As long as we were still in the store, there was still a chance. But the moment we stepped through those doors, there was no turning back. You could literally feel magic escaping from your body. It feels like something inside of you has died. In the end though, I’m glad the extra discount is over because now I have less incentive to give my whole paycheck back to Disney. That right there is a very good thing.

Last night was another late night, being scheduled until 2am. Like last Sunday, there was a special high school cheer leading competition underway, and so the only guests allowed to remain in the park after hours were these cheer leading squads. The entire day I was placed on outdoor positions, and like it’s been for much of the time I’ve been here, it was cold. I was assigned to condiment bar for 6 hours straight. I had never done it before aside from training, so I never realized how overwhelming it was to do alone and on such a busy day. In those 6 hours, I did not stop moving once. There are two condiment bars that I have to keep stocked and meanwhile I’m supposed to make runs to collect the dirty trays from the tops of the waste bins. The best way I can describe this duty is trying to doggy paddle to stay afloat in the middle of a lake while being dangerously close to drowning, with no one there to save you. It is literally a never ending job. There is not one moment where you can just stand there and look at your work and think, “there, I’m finished.” You pull out a case of ketchup packets, fill all the bins, and the first one is half empty by the time you get to the last one. And there are only 4 bins. Then you have to make sure the area is kept clean, while people like to come and fix their food or coffee, leaving empty ketchup packets, napkins, CoffeeMate creamer packages, sugar packets, spoons, and pools of beverages all over the counter, while a waste bin sits literally steps, or even a reach, away. Some people even set their tray down and start eating at the condiment bar, probably because they feel like they can’t commit to any quantity or selection of condiments for their meal in a single moment, and the thought of making a second trip to the condiment bar is completely absurd. After the 6 hours of condiment torture, I was relieved with a break. A chance to sit down and perhaps have a breath finally. When my break was up I was again assigned to an outdoor position, this time bussing tables. This is still a never ending job, where you have to make sure that tables are kept neat, cleaned, and sanitized, and that the ground is free of debris. It can be overwhelming or not, depending on how busy it is and how many other people are also bussing. (There are usually a total of 3 bussers.) It can be a fun job though, because the number one priority of this position is supposed to be guest interaction. If you get into a conversation with a guest, it supersedes the actual work of cleaning up. At any other job I feel like this would be the complete opposite. Anyway, to conclude a wonderfully spent Valentines Day, my manager Caitlin had baked us all cupcakes, and I was fortunate enough to get a ride home with some friends I work with. I’m still sore from running around all day, particularly from the demanding condiment bar, but it’s the good kind of pain you get like after working out (like I would know), so I’m cool with it.

Today was one of the latest starting days I’ve ever had, where I didn’t have to be to work until after 5pm. Honestly, these are the best kind of shifts for my sleeping habits because I get to sleep in and stay up late. If you haven’t noticed, I’m still up and it’s 7am. Normally this is a bit excessive even for me, but I feel really motivated to get caught up on here. My shift today went a half hour past my scheduled time, which any other day would have been no problem for me. Of course today had to be the day when my roommate Dustin agrees to pick me up from work so we could go on a late night Walmart run, and unfortunately I had to make him wait for me as I helped close Fair Fax Fare, which basically takes the longest of all the locations. Add to that the fact that none of us knew what we were doing so it took extra long. When we eventually did get to Walmart, I ended up only buying 3 things because I never remember what I need and never think to make a list. It didn’t even help that we stayed there for probably close to 2 hours, I still only could think of 3 things I needed, and to be honest they were closer to impulse purchases than anything.

I think I’m going to wrap this up about now, since the sun is fully out. I start work at 1:45pm and I am assigned to parade duty! That means I have the exciting task of crowd control for one of the parades, and I’m anxious to get to try something new. I’m not sure if I’ve forgotten any amusing stories from my week long hiatus from writing, so I’ll just write about it as it comes to me. Days kind of blend together here so it’s all the same anyway. Nevertheless, with heavy eyes, I say to you good night and good morning!

I’m happy to say that I am rapidly being accepted into the Sunset family. I continue to get to know more people I work with, and even though there are a lot of them, I’ve realized that the group isn’t nearly as vast as it previously seemed to me. Tonight was a great bonding night, thanks to our shoddy transportation provider. If I could recall the name of the company I would put it on here to tell you how bad it is. Okay, well most of the time they do the job right, as I said last time, but tonight what they did was completely unacceptable. I was scheduled to work until 2:00am but finished up early and got to leave at around 1:30 instead. I walked over to the bus stop with a few of my fellow Sunset family members and waited for the bus, which was scheduled to arrive at 2:00am. A few minutes past 2, it still hadn’t arrived. My friend Daisy called to see what was up. They said a bus was on the way and would be there by 2:30. First of all, that right there was unacceptable in itself. A half hour later than a scheduled pick up time should not be tolerated. Two-thirty passed, and a few minutes after, my friend Jessy called to find out what was going on. The dispatcher said a bus broke down but then started to get rude on the phone, so Jessy went all Jersey on her ass. Apparently the bus was on its way, or so we only hoped. Another 15 or 20 minutes passed and, by that point, all 14 of us were completely pissed off. Others called, each getting some excuse or another. When it was all said and done, the bus did not show up until 5 minutes after 3. We ended up waiting close to an hour and a half for a bus, longer than I’ve ever had to wait for a bus in any mass transportation system. Today was unusually cold again, and being in the middle of the night, was even colder. None of us were prepared to wait that long in 45 degree weather. To make matters worse, when the bus finally got there, the driver was rude and also had to write down our names one by one as we boarded, leaving many to wait in the cold even longer. Lord only knows why we had to go through that; the only reason I would deem acceptable is for the purpose of sending us some sort of gift basket. We got to see a complete spectrum when all of us worked the whole day and late into the night providing the best customer service in the world, only to be faced with some of the worst when we got off work and wanted to go home to sleep. The only good thing that came out of it was having a whole lot of time to bond with my Sunset buddies. Beyond just the folks I work with, my managers are all really nice as well. I feel like I can talk to them on the same level, and they just seem like really fun and laid back people. One of my managers, Caitlin, was nice enough to let Jessy and I have a free meal for dinner since the cast eatery was closed for the night and we didn’t bring anything with us. Tonight was the second time I got some delicious ribs for free! It’s always nice to have cool managers that you can become friends with!

Three parks down, one to go! Yesterday I got over the silliness of going to work on my day off, and had a fun time just hanging out at Hollywood Studios with a few friends. It was raining as we made our way to the park, and all the news stations were advising caution due to tornado warnings that had been issued. That didn’t stop us though, and we’ve already tackled EPCOT in the rain, so why not? The temperature was considerably warmer than last time as well. That made it more humid, but more pleasant for me personally because it was warm rain. We hit a few of the main attractions in the park, just as we’ve done with the others. It’s not like we are all said and done with these parks, when really we are only scratching the surface. (I mean, to a certain extent at least.) I haven’t even gotten to take in a single show in any of the parks, and there are many to be had. I haven’t even witnessed any of Disney’s characteristic fireworks shows! At our park, we have a show called Fantasmic which during this season is only scheduled for Sundays and Thursdays, and so far I’ve always been working! Anyway, at Hollywood Studios, we headed for the Rockin’ Roller Coaster (ft. Aerosmith), after chatting up a custodian friend for awhile. Due to the rain, again the parks were light on crowds. The line for Rockin’ was only a 5 minute wait, which from what I can tell merely accounts for the cheesy video of Aerosmith you have to watch before boarding. The ride launches you from the station instead gaining its momentum from gravity, which eases my fear of heights (falling, actually) and big drops, etc. I have to say, albeit short, the ride was really awesome! It’s all indoors much like Space Mountain, but this one is a labyrinth of twists and turns with black lit scenery whizzing past you as you fly up and down, upside down, and all around. So far I’m gonna say it’s my favorite ride in the whole (Disney) World. You know what would make it even better though? Ditching the Aerosmith part and replacing them with Journey. Such a proposition from Disney just might be the catalyst enough for Steve Perry to come back to the band! But as I’m digressing now, what I really do think is that they should switch it up a bit and give other great bands the chance to be in the spotlight here. After the riding Rockin’, which by the way is at the end of Sunset Blvd and embarrassingly just past my work location, I was dragged over to the Tower of Terror, which is also situated in this section. When I came here I vowed to never go on this ride, a promise to myself I was bound to break. In the end, I didn’t want to chicken out like I did back in ’98. I need to show that I have made some progress since then! But really, I figure I need to eventually to experience everything that Disney World has to offer. The anticipation built up through the themed queue, intro video, and creepy cast members working the ride. I’m impressed with the overall theme and cohesiveness of the attraction, in addition to the ride mechanics and all. It’s a great ride, I just hate it. Like I briefly mentioned earlier, I have an irrational fear of heights, that comes from a much more rational fear of falling. So why would I ever want to get on a ride that consists of only falling? That’s right, I don’t, but I did, and I will never again. Ever. Once was plenty, thank you! The anxiety I felt was like none other, and once the dropping was over, my heart was pounding harder than I ever recall it pounding. One more bag of hot cheetos that morning and I could have easily had a heart attack. I was shaking for a good (read: bad) 20 minutes after exiting the ride!

The rain didn’t really let up all evening, but we took advantage of the indoor attractions. The Great Movie Ride was entertaining, but one of those “once is enough” rides. We hit Toy Story Mania, which seems to be really technologically advanced, and more importantly, loads of fun! California Adventure has what I believe to be an identical ride, which I’ve also enjoyed before. It was getting to be closing time for the park, so we headed over to Rockin’ for one last ride, and then headed for the bus after that. The bus system for the college program is pretty consistent, and no matter what people say, it’s a pretty good system. I take it in the morning to get to work, which once picked up is only a 15 minute ride from my apartment complex. Vista Way (the complex I live in) is the last stop in the loop before making its way to Hollywood Studios. More or less, the buses stick to their published schedules and come frequently enough that I either arrive right on time, or maybe 15 minutes early.

Blah blah blah, so I worked again today, but this is nothing special. It will be happening more days than not. Tomorrow I start at 3:30pm, and work until (wait for it) ….. 2:00am! Yay! There’s some special cheer leading competitions going on all weekend, and I don’t know much, but that is the reason we are going to be open until much later. Luckily I am off on Monday so I can sleep the day away. That is, if I don’t get woken up a million times! On Friday when I had my day off, I was woken up by: crews power washing the building, a man coming to look at some of our appliances, and two guys coming to switch out our mattresses. In the end, all of this was for nothing anyway! Like I said before, it rained the rest of the day so I’m not sure if pressure washing was the best idea for that morning. The guy coming to check out our dishwasher concluded that we were using incorrectly, which I don’t think so. Finally, the two guys coming about the mattresses said that we just have to deal with them because that’s all they’ve got.

At work it’s actually kind of fun the way we are assigned positions. When you first get there in the morning, you clock in on the computer and it automatically issues you a position to start out with. It feels like you are pulling the big lever on a slot machine. You are just hoping you get something good! Whatever you get you report to first, and you’ll stay there for a certain amount of time, usually about a couple hours. Throughout the day, you get shifted to different posts by people coming to take your place and tell you where to go next. When someone comes for you, it could mean a break, or just a location change. All day you are playing the lottery! It keeps you busy, interested, etc. So far I’ve been lucky with my positions, and have remained primarily on cashier and ice cream scooper, and to be honest, I enjoy both jobs. On top of that, with every day I come in to work, I get to know more people I work with so it all becomes more enjoyable. The only time I feel bad about my job is when I compare it to the ones that other people have here, so I try to avoid doing that.

On a final note, it is WAY TOO COLD IN THIS APARTMENT. I feel like I’m living in a walk-in cooler. Some luxuries are just used too excessively. Case in point, air conditioning on a night when it is 50 degrees outside. I won’t even make a comment because I think that it speaks well enough on its own. Cheers!

So I was really meaning to post a picture of my costume on here tonight! But alas, I missed my chance yet again. My roommates tend to go to bed really early by my standards, which catches me off guard. My roommate Josh took a picture for me on his camera, and I keep forgetting to ask him for it before it’s too late. I have five sets of the same costume, so I sort of feel like a cartoon character. And those are the only garments hanging up in my closet pretty much. The great thing about having a costume from Disney is that they do the wash for you! All you have to do is return your soiled costume pieces to your costuming location, and get a new set in return.

Today was my assessment to determine if I had enough training. I had a brief written evaluation that covered general concepts learned from training, some stuff I had to learn myself from a packet, and a bunch of names of the “higher ups” that I will probably never meet. I got a 93% overall, and the trainers seemed impressed. Passing my assessment meant I officially earned my ears! They told me I could take off my ribbon. On one hand, I wanted to because it was a rite of passage of sorts, but on the other hand and like I said before, it gives me something to fall back on if I screw up! That said, I’ve pretty much got the hang of my various jobs. I work at an ice cream shop, a fast food place that serves brisket, ribs, and chicken, and then also from time to time I will bus tables and manage the condiment bar and waste bins. In the two shops, I can either be on cashier or preparation. Throughout the day I will be bumped to different roles, which will keep it interesting and give me a break from talking. See, I love to talk to customers, but after awhile you can feel the lack of breath when you have to repeat your catch phrases such as “Hi, how can I help you today?”, “What can I get for you?”, “Would you like that in a cone or a cup?”, “Thank you so much, have a great day!”, all with a big smile on your face. Don’t get me wrong, I love the interaction, but it can be exhausting. It can be especially exhausting when you have a language barrier there, which happens all the time. I recall from today when I relished the moment that every dozen or so customers would actually be fluent in English. Disney World definitely is a worldly place! We have cast members from all over the globe, as well as visitors from many different countries. Perhaps our economy makes it even more enticing for overseas visitors to come experience the magic. Nevertheless, I really enjoy it when I encounter a British person because their accent is so amusing to me, and I wish I had one! I love their funny little way of saying things, like “tub” instead of “cup”, “loo” instead of “bathroom”, and “cheers” instead of anything.

I’m happy to have a day off tomorrow and on top of sleeping, I may make it to one of the parks (perhaps Hollywood Studios even though I’m there every day of the week) and probably just relax. Also I want to catch up with everyone as well! Skype me! My username is balbuf. Also, don’t be shy about sending some love my way either, my address is 13501 Meadow Creek Dr, Apt 3705, Orlando, FL 32821. Don’t be a stranger! And finally, Happy Birthday to my dad! TOMorrow he will be turning, well, old. 🙂

Yesterday I went to EPCOT with my friend Kaylene, who is from the small town of Ohio, IL. It was a gorgeously rainy day but at least the temperature was moderate. In only a few hours we were able to check out many of the park’s popular offerings, thanks to the inclement weather and by effect, the minimal attendance. I really feel sorry for folks that planned their vacation around this past week. We’ve had rain, cold, rain, and rain, in the past few days that I’ve been keeping track. What I’ve noticed is that you don’t really feel the true excitement when the parks are half empty. They just seem so dead and uncharacteristic of what you might be expecting. In addition, they close earlier, and it seems Disney likes to use this time to do renovations in certain areas. But if you are looking to maximize your coverage of the parks, this season is perfect with its short wait times.

Today I had my second official day of training, where I was stationed at Hollywood Scoops, a quick service ice creamery. I was being trained by a boisterous 12 year veteran named Lisa. We were together the entire day, and I kid you not, she did not allow one moment of silence. Lulls in conversation are literally nonexistent for this delightful woman, even if you haven’t got a clue of what she’s talking about. You are cued to laugh by her own unrestrained laughter, even if you don’t catch her comments. I think at one point she was talking about how much she hated her son-in-law, and that she wasn’t going to leave any money for her daughter because of this guy. She referred to him as Shrek, but black. She’s not ready to be a grandma yet, but when it happens, she said she’s going to have to pray for the strength to keep her mouth shut when she sees their kids. And of course she was laughing and nudging me the whole time! I loved her! It was definitely an entertaining day. And not only that, she went out of her way to hook me up. During my previous day of training, I missed the opportunity to do the “taste panel”, which means you get to try the food you will be serving for 4 months. She got me the meal I was deprived of last time: a chicken and ribs combo with a side of beans and coleslaw. Fountain soft drinks are always free for us since we work in food service– it’s one of the few perks. I’m not sure if it was only because I was working all day with only a couple of s’mores flavored pop tarts in my stomach, but when I got to dig in during my hour long break, I literally devoured that free meal of $14 retail value. It was delicious! Now, you see, I shouldn’t get used to eating free food at Disney. Even just a taste could result in termination, and even inventory earmarked for disposal cannot be taken. The other day I witnessed an appalling amount of good food being wasted at day’s end, while I had to go home and scrounge around the apartment for some ramen noodles to eat. I find this to be rather peeving, but at the same time I do commend Disney for their policy of donating a decent amount of edible food at the end of the day to Second Harvest, a charity that I believe serves the homeless. That night was a scheduled inventory assessment, so in the process, one of the managers deemed a case of Uncrustables PB&J sandwiches unfit for sale. They were either expired or nearing expiration. In what seemed like a rare act of goodwill, the questionable sandwiches were offered to cast members to take home. I carried the case over to the break room for others to take, where I encountered two distinct reactions: paranoia over whether they were truly free to take, and utter exhilaration that items could be taken home. Many faces lit up. When I take my breaks in the future, even though I won’t be graced with free food, I have many options to choose from in “Take 5”, the cast member cafeteria near my work location. They have a variety of taste selections, including a  real Subway! I have a feeling we will become very well acquainted in my 4 months here. They also offer Mellow Yellow in the soda fountain, which is a satisfactory substitute for Mountain Dew. It’ll keep me going through the day.

I’ve been enjoying the customer interaction I get to have when working on the cash register, so I’m thinking it will be an all right job. There are a few things I have to adjust to though. When I’m standing idly with nothing to do, I have the tendency of leaning on things, crossing my arms, or putting my hands in my pockets. All of these behaviors are unacceptable when on stage. Disney is even sneaky about this by tempting me: every pocket on my costume is a fake one except the two that you put your hands in. Come on! I’ll have to work on this. I’ve got a few other things to work on as well. I have to pour beer from a tap at one of my locations, which has been very tricky for me because our Bud Light seems to be extra foamy. The other day I had a mishap where I started filling a cup, managing to get about 4 parts foam to 1 part liquid. In an attempt to fill the cup up to the top while allowing the foam to pour out, I ended up just filling it with more foam, and then I was so flustered that I forgot which way to push the handle to turn the tap off. I did it the wrong way and the beer came out even faster and starting splashing everywhere! I let someone take over for me, as I sheepishly avoided making eye contact with the guest that was waiting for their beer. Luckily since I’m new, I have a little ribbon that hangs off my name tag that says “Earning My Ears”, so guests seem to be a little more patient and understanding. If no one notices, I’d just assume keep the ribbon there for all 4 months to provide myself with a little bit of guest satisfaction insurance.

Tomorrow I’m supposed to learn how to tap a keg, among other things. (Didn’t I say Disney likes to tempt me?) It will be my last day of training, and the next day will be my assessment. I have to pass it in order to continue working, however there isn’t much to worry about because you just receive additional training if you don’t pass the first time. Regardless, I’m expecting to pass the first time. I feel better about my job than I did after my first day, but still I need more time to see how it goes. No matter if I like my job or not, I will still have the feeling that I’m wasting my time to a certain extent because I’ve already got the food service experience. Now don’t get me wrong, this whole experience is much different and is shaping up to be one of a kind. I’m noticing that Sunset Ranch Market is like a large family where everyone knows each other, so I hope it will be a nice happy family. Speaking of happy families, shortly after getting off of work tonight and as I headed I home, I got a call from my roommate Dustin telling me to get home as fast as I could. I rushed home at the mercy of the bus, and when I got there, the table was set and my roommate Dan had cooked us all a lovely pasta dinner. He makes a mean sweet tea, and oddly enough a pasta sauce that’s even sweeter. They waited for me to get home to eat, something I don’t even think my own family would do! We even turned off the TV and all sat around the table like a nice functional family. I’d say we got pretty lucky that we all get along and are considerate of each other, and maybe even like each other! 😉 (Are emoticons acceptable in blog posts? How about acronyms? IDK.) Look out for a feature on my roommates, coming soon!

Today was the first day I actually got to spend some time as a guest in the parks. I headed over to the Magic Kingdom with my roommates Dustin and Josh. Unfortunately, the weather was much colder than I prepared myself for! It was a blistering 50 degrees, and while many people might be dreaming of weather that warm at this time, I find it to be much too cold, and especially for Florida! I’m literally colder here sometimes than I was in Chicago, mostly because I’m unprepared. I didn’t think I might need a blanket or a comforter down here, but with the temperature they keep the thermostat at, I wake up in shivers some mornings. I ended up being considerably under-dressed for the weather, thanking myself only for the fact that I decided to wear pants at the last minute. Strolling around the Magic Kingdom, it was wonderful relief to duck into a merchandise shop or indoor ride to warm back up.

The first thing we hit at the Magic Kingdom was the Swiss Family Robinson attraction. I remember being devastated as an 8 year old that loved that movie when I found out it was closed for the whole length of our vacation back in ’98. So really, I was finally fulfilling my childhood dream of experiencing the Swiss Family Robinson lifestyle. I have to say, I’m sure I would’ve been more impressed as an 8 year old. But at the same time I still did enjoy it. That is one of the few memories I still vividly remember from that vacation. Another one was the “Honey I Shrunk the Kids Playground” at what was then Disney’s MGM Studios. I remember giant blades of grass and other plants that you could run through, and also a giant roll of Kodak film. Not much else remains from that trip until I can refresh myself with some pictures. On today’s adventure, the next thing we did was board the Jungle Cruise, which I’ve done a few times at Disneyland’s equivalent. It’s quite a charming ride, and I very much enjoyed the pun-heavy script that the drivers deliver. I could easily picture myself at this attraction. Again can I say, under-utilized talent? Well, from there we headed over to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride– indoors and heated! And might I mention, we had virtually no wait for all of these attractions. Perhaps it was the cold weather that drove the crowds away today.

We contemplated Big Thunder Mountain Railroad as our next stop, but the 30 minute wait turned us away. I knew we were right around the corner from the Haunted Mansion, so I dragged them over there. It was a 30 minute wait as well, with no Fast Pass option. So instead of jumping right in, we diverted to the eatery right across the way and indulged in some overpriced fast food that we don’t get a discount on. By the end of this program, I’m convinced that every dollar I make from Disney will go right back into their pockets. Ah well, what are you gonna do? Don’t get me wrong, the food was really good, and by the time we were done eating, the line was down to a 20 minute wait. Of course, Haunted Mansion is one of my favorite attractions because it is very inspiring to me as a haunted house enthusiast. It’s not all that scary, but the special effects are impressive. In fact, I saw that there will be a behind-the-scenes tour offered of the Haunted Mansion sometime in the coming weeks, so I am about to be all over that. I do know how much of the effects work, but it will be exciting to see it in person.

On the way to visit our friend Dan who is a PhotoPass photographer (lucky bastard), we stopped at the PhilharMagic 3D show that is offered in Fantasyland. It’s actually pretty cool, and warm! The Carousel of Progress was a fun one for me as someone who wishes they could have experienced life in the past. I think the only other thing we went to was the Tomorrowland Speedway, which is just slowed down go karts on a track. By the end of that is was getting dark and becoming much too cold. We gave up on trying to stay until 8 to see the fireworks, and passed on the opportunity to stay until 10 for “Extra Magic Hours” that are only open to guests of the resorts. Like I said, there’s 4 months to take it all in, so I’m not in any rush at all.

Tomorrow I’m off again, so I’m taking the opportunity to stay up late and catch up on this here blog, while being able to sleep in. In the afternoon I’m heading over to EPCOT with some friends to spend the rest of the day. I’m  excited to check it out and have some fun before I start working again for a few days. The international food offerings should be great and apparently the Germany section has an Adidas store that our Cast Member discount should work at. Now I know why I’m working at Disney!

I haven’t even been here a week and I already have days off! This isn’t a complaint of course, and also not something I should get used to. My roommates are all asleep right now because they have to work tomorrow. I do not! Anyway, in the past few days I have completed more online training courses, and have begun my on the job training. Yesterday was my first day in costume and on location. My costume consists of a printed button down shirt, brown patterned leisure pants, a white half apron, and a newsboy hat. (I’ll put up a picture soon.) Many people I’ve talked to here have been so concerned about how awful they are going to look in their costumes, which I can’t understand. That’s a big part of the fun! I’m not sure how you can come down here to work in Disney World and not be prepared to wear something crazy. My only complaint is that my costume isn’t crazy enough! It really just looks like I picked up a few garments at the thrift store. In fact, I’m almost certain I’ve seen everything I have to wear as my costume at the thrift store before, and maybe even considered buying it. Another point to address is a common question I’ve been getting, although what I just said should have already cleared that up. When I refer to my costume, I’m not indicating that I’m dressed as a Disney character. I’m serving food after all! What many people would call a uniform, we call a costume. And in reality, its more like a costume anyway since it is themed to the surroundings. I’m stationed at a food service location in Hollywood Studios called Sunset Ranch Market (or is it Sunset Market Ranch?), which contains 8 different food outlets. It’s themed after a notable farmer’s market from California that was started in 1934. If you know about my 34 phenomenon, you should appreciate that. It’s just funny to me that in an attempt to get away from California, I was placed in the park that is trying to replicate California. What unfortunate irony! I can’t say that I’m thrilled about my job, but I think I will wait to talk more about that when I have a few more days of work under my belt. There’s no reason to assume or conclude anything prematurely.

A lot of people down here keep saying they’re doing this program for the experience to put on their resume. For me, that was really the last thing that crossed my mind. It was more of a perk than a deciding factor. I wanted to do this program because I’m passionate about hospitality and have a huge interest in amusement parks. This is stuff that Disney does the best! I came down here with a genuine curiosity and to see it all in action, and possibly determine if I want to pursue some sort of career with Disney. I’m just not sure if I’m gaining that much experience from the role I was placed in, considering I’ve already worked in food service for over 2 years. I know during my interview I mentioned my 6+ years of experience as a balloon artist, and my 4 years of operating a haunted house. Hello? Haunted Mansion maybe? Under-utilized talent if you ask me. I just hope my only reason for sticking with this doesn’t become resume building.

My roommate Rich informed me that there may be a character audition coming up soon, which I’m considering. From asking around, Goofy might be my only option with how tall I am. I also have to demonstrate moderate dexterity, and the capacity to learn basic dance choreography. I also have to be prepared to sweat in a hot suit for hours on end if I am selected. My draw to this alternative is the fact that I’ve never done something like that before, and also because it’s such an integral part of the Disney experience that I could help create. Speaking of character performers, I have a funny story that relates. A girl I met auditioned and was selected to play Cinderella. Only thing is when she got down here, they said “sorry, that was a mistake….you’re actually going to be a custodian.” True story. If you think about it though, in a way, being a custodian is about the closest role you could get to being like Cinderella. Fairytale endings sold separately.

I’m going to give myself more time to formulate my opinions on all the aspects of this experience, but in the meantime, I’m just gonna kick back and enjoy hanging out in Disney World. Also, I will relish the fact that the weather is nicer than either of the two other places I might be at this time, Chicago or San Francisco. All in all, it’s been a great time so far.

Yesterday was my first day of training, and I’m happy to be meeting a lot of people from the Midwest! I mean, I’ve been meeting a lot of cool people in general from all over the place, but its even better when it turns out they live 15 minutes away. Even better when they know Beggars Pizza! Because of finishing up my first blog entry, I only got about 2 hours of sleep before I had to wake up for training. Remaining on topic for a moment, my mattress makes significant squeaking noises from only a minimal amount of bed wrastling. Please don’t try to construe this the wrong way, but it sounds like when you stroke a balloon with sweaty fingers. (I know, because this happens on the job from time to time, so please don’t even go there. Besides, you know what I’m talking about!) Training was only a few hours, but it felt like forever because I could barely even focus or sit still. It didn’t help that it was slue of online training courses, which aren’t the most stimulating. Oh boy did I rejoice when I realized you could click the “next” button prematurely and avoid listening to all the narration!

After taking a much needed nap when I got home, I went to a Disney College Program mixer at another apartment complex. I was mostly interested in the free food, which is very enticing without the luxury of a meal plan. I went with a few of my roommates, and afterwards we headed over to the Magic Kingdom to meet some friends. Unfortunately it was getting late, and Magic Kingdom was only open until 8pm. The last time I set foot in the Magic Kingdom was 1998, so I didn’t really remember the whole deal. I was imagining a Disneyland sort of setup, where you can literally just walk up to the main gate from the street. Not here! Disney World is so much more spread out, and getting to the main gate of the Magic Kingdom is a bit more cumbersome. First you park and wait for a tram. The tram brings you to the Transportation and Ticketing Center, where you proceed to board a monorail. It was nearing the closing of the park, so obviously there was no crowd and no wait for this stuff, so that worked out great! The monorail takes you right to the entrance, passing through the Contemporary Resort. You exit the monorail and make your way up to the front entrance of the park. This was a big moment as it was the first time I got to use my pass to get into the parks for free! With the swipe of a card and a scan of the finger, I was in. We had just enough time to ride Buzz Lightyear, Space Mountain twice (I think I like Disneyland’s better), and Stitch’s Great Escape. Here’s a tip: if you are older than 5, you can skip the Stitch one. Upon exiting Escape, it was time to leave because the park was now officially closed. By giving Stitch a shot, we missed the fireworks and Tinker Bell’s magical flight. Nothing to fuss about, since we will be here for 4 more months still. Ironically enough, the longest line we had to wait in for this whole experience was the one to leave the park! Obviously, you have to come back the way you came, so you join a mob of people boarding the monorails back to their cars. It could have been all the hassle of getting there, but by the time we got back to the apartment I was exhausted! We weren’t even in the park for an hour, and the sun wasn’t even out. Can’t wait for those 8+ hour shifts on my feet all day! (No but actually I really am excited.)

Do you like the way I look? Disney doesn’t. No I’m not really serious, but per the Disney Look guidelines, I was asked to remove my mustache because it didn’t appear to be full enough. Today was my first day as an employee of the Disney Corporation. Just past noon I boarded a coach bus heading for Disney University to attend my session of “Traditions”, an overview of Disney’s heritage and policies as a company. On the bus I met an Aussie named Jack, however I would rather refer to him as Outback Jack. Speaking of Outback, OJ is actually very interested in trying our terrible joke of Australian culture known as Outback Steakhouse, and in case you were wondering, bloomin’ onions are not authentic cuisine. Another fun fact is that the distinction between the Australian accent and New Zealand accent can be found in the pronunciation of “six”: New Zealanders say “sex”.

I found the Traditions class to be rather interesting, but I really could have alternatively done it faster by reading Wikipedia. One of the tips I picked up was the “Disney scoop”, which might sound dirty if said with a wink. That is one of the special terms that you discover Disney has for everything. You aren’t an employee, you’re a “cast member”, and you’re not at work, you’re “on stage”. Walt Disney World really is a show, after all.

During the session they offered these little plastic character figurines that they referred to as “critters” for answering trivia questions correctly. The only problem was, the instructor was being an evil step-mother, and wouldn’t even look at me when I tried to answer the questions! So then we had a competition in teams to see which group could write down the most Disney animated characters in a set amount of time. That could have been my ticket to limited-edition plastic critter bliss, except the person writing on behalf of our group couldn’t handle the pressure of me shouting a barrage of characters from my substantial catalog of Disney movie knowledge. Instead of doing her best to write down as many as she could, she screamed “how do you spell that?!” when spelling did not even count, and locked up with flailing hands. When time ran out, she had only written down 14 names, and yet the victorious team won with only 24. I was significantly peeved about the outcome, when the instructor asked, “now who thinks that could have written down that many on their own?” I guess it was a rhetorical question, because I was the only one that raised my hand. I subtly lowered my hand when I realized it was meant to be a segue into the importance of teamwork. Instead for me, it became a clear example of the failure teamwork. And yet, our leader was rewarded with one of those blasted critters even though she didn’t come through for us. I say only celebrate a leader who has driven their group to succeed!

As part of the program for the day, we had the chance to head over to the Magic Kingdom for a brief tour of what is widely considered the “secret  network of underground tunnels” which are really called Utildors, are not underground, and are not secretive at all. The tunnels do have secret entrances in locations all over the park though, perhaps through a concealed door, or up through a backroom. Obviously, they are very inconspicuous and most guests would be none the wiser. Down in the tunnels you can witness Disney characters exhibiting what could lightly be described as “out of character” behavior.

When returning to Disney University, one of the final components of the session was receiving our nametags. This is something I was really looking forward to for a long time. Unfortunately, it was a immensely disappointing to find out they would only allow me to put my university below my name on the tag, rather than my hometown. See from my perception, the reason your hometown is on the tag is to perhaps give the guests something to talk about. I don’t want to talk about USF, or San Francisco. I’m supposed to keep a smile on my face you know! (JK, LOL.) But what I want to do is talk about Chicago. I can go on and on about that, and for me personally I would put so much more genuine enthusiasm into that conversation. This matter is not over for me. I will be looking into changing it. My roommate got to put Chicago on his nametag, which is just like an extra slap in the face for me because he’s from the suburbs! I can’t understand why they want us to stand out as participants in the college program, which is only going to result in unnecessary resentment from fulltime employees, which I hear can be quite common.

Despite all of that, I’m extremely excited to start my role! I have been appointed to work in Quick Foodservice at Hollywood Studios, which might be more familiar to some by its recently retired name of MGM Studios. I have yet to find out my exact location, or what sort of costume I will get to wear, but I’m excited to be working directly within the parks. That is, there is the possibility for cast members to be placed within complexes outside of the attractions, which can include resorts and merchandise venues in places like Downtown Disney.

I feel like I’ve been bitching a lot in this post, but don’t get me wrong, I’ve been having a great time! I’m meeting lots of interesting people, and a surprising number of them seem to be from close to Chicago. I have 5 roommates that are great, and we’ve been hanging out and doing some fun things. Over the next several days I will be doing some more training activities, and soon enough will be donning a costume and storming Sunset Blvd in Hollywood Studios. A huge benefit of having completed the Traditions class was receiving our IDs, which immediately grant us the cast member discount and free admission into the four main parks. I’ve been here for three days so far, and have yet to actually visit the parks. Now I can finally go enjoy them! I shall conquer the Magic Kingdom as soon as tomorrow. So far the magic is still there for me, but that doesn’t change the fact that I’m still bitter about the critters. More magical posts to follow!