First Day + Best Question Ever

“First day of school! Wake up! Come on. First day of school.”

                                                                       - Nemo

Yesterday was my first full day of work by myself!  Needless to say, I definitely felt a bit like Nemo.  I only had to work 6 hours yesterday (4:45 – 10:45), which was very nice indeed.  I took an early bus which came at 3:20 and got to the Magic Kingdom around 4:15.  This gave me plenty of time to walk to Splash Mountain and clock in.  (Heads up for future CPs:  make sure you take an early bus to work!  Most arrive late or get delayed in traffic while traveling there.  It’s no fun to have to run to work only to find out your 5 seconds late.)

I clocked in a bit early, so the coordinator had me help unload guests.  Yesterday I ended up grouping guests into the logs, worked Fastpass return and distribution, helped assist wheelchair parties, dispatched the logs, and unloaded more guests.  Work goes by very quickly because every role is so fast paced.  I can’t even begin to tell you how many guests I see in a day.  It’s also nice that we rotate quite a bit, so we never get bored. 

There seemed to be quite a few angry guests at the park yesterday; perhaps it was the heat?  People tend to get very angry when I won’t let them through the Fastpass line…  One guest tried to return for his 9:10 Fastpass at 6:30.  Sorry sir, but you’re going to have to wait.  He got mad, tried to get through again, and proceeded to say some nasty things before throwing his Fastpasses at me.  Good thing that solved all your problems sir!

No worries though, the good guests definitely make up for the bad ones.  I was talking to a little boy yesterday and this was his first time riding Splash Mountain.  He was so excited!  He kept asking me questions:  What’s your name?  How long is the ride?  Have you been on the ride before? 

Then came the best question ever:  Did you help build the ride?

Yup kid.  I was testing logs at the ripe old age of 3.

I’m working every day until July 4th, mostly closing shifts.  I actually like working later in the day because
1.  I can sleep in
2.  The sun isn’t out
3.  I can sleep in
4.  Sometimes I can catch the Main Street Electric Parade on my way out
5.  Did I mention that I get to sleep in?

Well, that’s all for now folks, have a magical day!   

Training: Check!

Yesterday was my last day of training!  I’ve gone through all the positions required for this attraction and feel very comfortable with all of them and I know the majority of show scenes, doors, and staircases in case of emergency.  I have my assessment on Monday, so hopefully I’ll be fine with a bit of extra studying. 

Life in the Disney College Program is tiring!  I have worked for the past 7 days straight (usually 8 hours per day), mostly starting before 7 am…  I go to work, come home, surf on the internet for a bit, make dinner, and go to sleep.  Wake up and repeat, multiply by 7 and you have my life for the past week.  Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love it here; I just don’t want anyone to come here and think they are just going to play in the parks all the time.  In fact, I’ve only been to Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios once, for a few hours each.  Before I started working, I figured I would be going to the parks whenever I had a chance; but in reality it just isn’t feasible.  Thankfully I have today, tomorrow, and the next day off – Sweet!  I slept in today and plan on going to the Magic Kingdom later; even though I work here, I love this park!  Tomorrow I’m going to Kouzzina at the Boardwalk with 2 of my roommates, so I’m very excited about that:  hello cast member dining discount! 

That’s all for now folks.  Have a Splashtastic day…couldn’t resist ;)

More and More Training...

Howdy there partners!  Hope y’all are having a Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah day !  (Did you see what I did there?  Definitely in character, wouldn’t you say?) 

For the past two days I’ve been having my Splash Mountain Training… gosh, that’s weird now that I think about it – it definitely feels like I’ve been there for a week at least.  Anyway, my Frontierland group was split up, so now there are only two of us in our group.  We have learned how to greet people, how to maintain the Fastpass line, how to load and unload guests, the basics of wheelchair assistance, where strollers go, proper attire for riding the attraction, and the height requirement (40 inches).  Yesterday we learned the opening procedures and today we took a walkthrough of the attraction.  We need to know all the scenes, the drops, stairwells, and exits for the safety of our guests and for ourselves, especially when powering up the attraction.  I wouldn’t want to be in the way of an incoming log, would you?  All in all there is a ton of information to learn, but I still have a few days of training left to master it all.  I’ve got a pretty good idea of the layout, so that’s good.  Tomorrow I have training at 6:30 followed by a 5:30 shift, so I definitely need some sleep.  Working at WDW is a tiring job; tiring, but satisfying.  Once I’m done training I’ll have worked for 7 straight days, but thankfully I have Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off.  Then I can finally go to the parks!  Well, that’s all for now folks, have a magical evening!