Update?

Jambo, ladies and gents!  I didn't really know what to title this - it's just kind of going to be an update on my life for the past week or so.  I can't remember the last time I updated, for which I apologize.  I've been (as always) rather busy!  Plenty of work, plenty of play.  Did I post about going to Universal?  Because I WENT TO UNIVERSAL AND IT WAS GLORIOUS.

This is the sign they have over the entrance to the Islands of Adventure!  Isn't it lovely?

I went with four of my roommates and we all bought season passes - expensive, but theoretically worth it.  They have a couple of different levels and I got the one that included free parking, which saves me $16 every visit!  And I'm planning to go back veryyyy frequently to visit Hogsmeade.

Seriously, though.  It's beautiful.

Well, we rode the Hogwarts ride and the Dueling Dragons one, and then we shopped around a bit and went to eat at some cafeteria in ToonTown.  It was actually really, really yummy!  I got this pizza that was genuinely delicious - like, it was better than some pizzas I'd gotten at real restaurants!  We also got Butterbeer, of course, but we didn't do much else - I had to work early the next morning and didn't want to stay too late.  But that's the lovely thing about season passes!  I don't feel rushed, because I'm going to have until the end of the summer to do everything I want to.

The five of us in front of Hogwarts!

Actually, I was going to go back today, but I've got a really, really bad cold, so I decided to stay in and sleep it off - which has thus far been unsuccessful.  I have tomorrow off as well, though, so hopefully I'll be able to make a recovery before I have to work on Thursday!

I wasn't feeling too hot yesterday, either, but I really didn't want to call in sick (they have a weird point system that makes it basically horrible for CPs to call in), so I went in anyway.  Pretty early on I made a mistake and popped up on one of the curbs, so one of the coordinators had to sit me down and talk with me about what I did wrong and tell me not to do it again.  It was awful!  And then, not even an hour later, the head of the whole operation walks over to me in his nice dress shirt and slacks and climbs into the passenger side of my truck and says that he wants to ride my safari.  He's a really, really great guy - very nice, very genuine - but I was still TERRIFIED.

guys i literally thought he was going to fire me or something it was awful

But then I gave a safari with him sitting right next to me and it was fine and nobody died!  Yay!  He told me that I had a "technically excellent" safari - meaning I knew all of my facts and had a pleasant voice, etc., but that I sounded like a recording - a perfect recording, yes, but a recording nonetheless.  He said he was looking for a sense of wonder and then offered to give a safari while I drove, so - voila!  I chauffeured Mike and a group of guests around and got to listen to his safari.  It was really very interesting, nothing like any safari I'd been on before; he was very conversational and hardly gave any facts about the animals.

After my next break, I decided to take some of his advice into account and started trying to act a little less professional and a little more conversational.  And, hark!  After my last safari, one woman walked over to me and asked for my name and told me that I'd given an absolutely amazing safari - the best she'd ever been on!  

Needless to say, I'll be thanking Mike next time I see him!

So that's basically been my life.  ...Yeah.  Nothing too exciting - like I said, I've basically spent the day inside, watching TV and sleeping and drinking lots and lots of orange juice.  And blowing my nose.  I've blown my nose so much today that it feels like it might fall off.  

Anyway, I hope you're all doing much better than I am and that you've all had a lovely, magical day!

Earning My Ears

Jambo, all!  I know it's been a while since I've updated, /but in fairness/, I've been pretty busy.  I had a day off to recuperate after the Dole Whip Challenge, which was very fortunate - I did laundry and cleaned and then relaxed and it was lovely!

And then on Sunday I had my last day of training, and before I knew it, that was over, too…and then it was assessment day.  I know it sounds scary - and I'll admit that I was a little worried - but it was actually quite easy.  I had the most lovely woman assessing me!  She was kind and answered my questions and - most importantly - she passed me!  And halfway through the day, after I'd already removed the infamous red ribbon from my name tag, I ran into my trainer and her new trainee, and they were both really excited for me!  Actually, basically everyone is really nice and really excited basically all the time.  I've been so, so fortunate to be placed on such an awesome attraction with such amazing cast members!

LOOK they even gave me magnets that's how awesome they are

And then, I had my first day - the eleven-hour shift.  Yeesh.

actually it wasn't that bad

I naturally had to open a truck, but my trainer wanted her new trainee to have some practice and so they opened it for me. YAY!  And then I got to take an empty round, which means NO GUESTS!  And then I took one round with guests before I got my break, and then I got to park strollers! 

During training, I thought I liked parking strollers.  This was a misconception.  I liked being the person to announce the stroller parking and to get the strollers from the line.  Not the person to actually run around the stroller parking lot trying to find space for another double-wide.  I ended up being so bad at the stroller parking that they called in a coordinator to help…

awkward

It wasn't actually that bad, though - the coordinator was super nice and gave me a lot of really helpful pointers!  Although, he happened to be hanging around later that day when I mis-docked - and he had to back me up so that I could try again.  With guests on the car.

I SWEAR THAT IS THE ONLY TIME I'VE EVER DOCKED WRONG LIKE LITERALLY I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT HAPPENED.

Sorry.  Rant over.  The rest of the day went pretty well, minus a minor mix-up with Aileen (they called her name in the break room but I thought they called me so we both went to the same location - which is JUST AS EXCITING AS IT IS CONFUSING BECAUSE HEY I'VE NEVER WORKED WITH ANOTHER EILEEN/AILEEN BEFORE).  And then, ten rounds and several breaks later, I was assigned to the Info Guide position, which is basically standing outside of the ride and greeting people.  This is normally a really easy position - but I was closing.  Which means that I had to stand there for forty-five minutes and tell guests that all of the rides with live animals were closed.  But I met several lovely people and when I got back to base, the very same coordinator who had witnessed all of my mistakes clocked me out, so I was free to go instead of having to wait in line!

Further testament to my earlier statement that everyone at Safaris is lovely and wonderful <3

Anywho, that's been my life.  Earning my ears?  Eleven-hour shift?  Not half as bad as I thought they would be!  I hope you've all had a beautiful, magical day!!!

The Dole Whip Challenge

So, as I wrote yesterday, some of my roomies and I went to the parks to celebrate Valentine's Day.  Sam and I started our day with a really nice lunch at a Mexican restaurant called Abuleo's where I got this weird type of baked quesadilla with the cheese outside of the tortilla that was actually quite yummy!  It was /supposedly/ a healthier Mexican cuisine, but I don't know if that was actually the case.

Oooh, fancy!  Three types of salsa - plus a house mix and some queso!!!

LOOK THE CHEESE IS ON THE OUTSIDE YES THAT MASS OF CHEESE IS IN FACT MY QUESADILLA.

We then headed to DAK, where we met up with Sam's friend Ricky!  We headed to Expedition Everest first, which I had never ridden before.  It was GREAT!!!!  so great that we did it twice whoops   Directly after that we went on Safaris, which was lovely!  The wait wasn't too bad and we saw everything but the Bongos, which is actually really sad because there's a baby right now and it's so cute that every time I see it I want to die.  Anyway, after our safari we headed to Dino Land, where we rode Dinosaur - which is apparently the Indiana Jones ride of Disney World!  Although I enjoyed it, I sadly don't think it's as good as the Indiana Jones one out in California.

A breathtaking view of the Tree of Life, my park's icon, taken on the walkway between Africa and Asia!  

As the Animal Kingdom was closing, we left for Magic Kingdom, which would be open for another seven hours!!  After grabbing a soft pretzel (one of my favorite foods), we met up with Katrina, another one of my flatmates.  From there we embarked on a mission - to go to the Dumbo ride and squeeze all four of us into the same capsule!  One of my other friends, who works there, told me that as long as the seatbelt is buckled it's allowed - and, hark!  She was right!!!  We did it and it was the most beautiful thing that had ever happened, and then we vowed to do all of the rest of the kiddie rides.  We even did the Carousel, and I got Cinderella's horse (you can tell which one's hers because it has a gold "ribbon" tied around its tail)!

And a little later on, after we'd been running around for a while, Katrina and I wanted Dole Whips - but it was really chilly, so Sam said we ought to go to the Tiki Room and we agreed.  When we got there, the girl working the line looked at us and says, "I hate to be a downer, but…you're not allowed to have those during the show."

"In the queue or during the actual show?" I asked.

"During the show.  You're welcome to have them out here, but…"

"Well, we have six minutes," I said.  I had seen a sign outside saying when the next show was. "That's plenty of time."

She looked at Katrina and I dubiously. "Yeah, right.  If you finish those in six minutes, I'll let you guys ride the Magic Carpets twelve times.  In a row."

I personally didn't want to do this.  It was way colder than Florida should have a right to be last night, and I had no desire to ride around for over an hour on a Magic Carpet.  However, I can be quite competitive.

Apparently, so can Katrina.

"Oh, you're SO on," she said, and with that we started - and finished with a minute to spare, of course!!!  We didn't know if they would actually let us or if they were just kidding, BUT WHEN WE GOT OUT OF THE TIKI ROOM THEY WEREN'T KIDDING AND WE ACTUALLY GOT TO RIDE IT TWELVE TIMES.  LITERALLY.  

TWELVE.  TIMES.

What's that?  Pics or it didn't happen, you say?  Well, luckily for you, WE TOOK A SELFIE EACH TIME.

IT WAS GREAT.

no actually it was freezing like forget it elsa the cold always bothers me

ROUND ONE YAY LOOK I'M ON THE RIGHT SO EXCITED

wow very two such carpet so magic wow amaze

Round threeeeee yayyy!!!!

wait why am i still captioning these

like i mean they have numbers and everything

can you guys even count because if not this is six

whoops looks like we lost ricky

[insert caption here]

wait look these are our new friends idk if this is even allowed so don't tell anyone this is selfie 8.5 in case you can't count sometimes i can't

guys look at my face what am i even doing

oh my god how do we still look so excited

jk we're not actually we're dying

jk agAIN WE'RE ACTUALLY DONE GET ON OUR LEVELLLL

So in conclusion: a basically wonderful Valentine's Day!  

The best carpet is number 6, although number 15 is also good.  Even-numbered carpets tend to tilt forward and backward better, while the odd-numbered ones go up and down more easily. That being said, we didn't get a chance to try carpets 1-4.  More research to follow.

Although I meant to go get a charm for my bracelet sometime this weekend, I sadly haven't yet secured one.  I'm thinking that I need an Aladdin themed one (amiright or amiright).  On the plus side, I did all of my laundry today, I got my groceries for the week, I made banana bread because I had an excess of overly ripe bananas, and I'm currently watching Sherlock with some of my flatmates!  Tomorrow is going to be my last day of training and then on Monday - bright and early at seven a.m. - I begin my assessment!  Wish me luck!!!

I hope everyone has had an absolutely magical day!

Training Thus Far

Hello again, ladies and gents!  I’d like to formally wish everyone a happy Valentine’s Day (if you’re into celebrating that kind of thing) and apologize for taking so long to update.  I thought I would have time when I came home at night and boy, was I wrong!  Training has been absolutely exhausting.

Also I’ve been having trouble getting blogger to work, but that’s beside the point.

The first day was kinda rough.  I made a lot of mistakes and the amount of information thrown at me was completely overwhelming.  I made notecards with facts about thirty-two different types of animals and was handed a twenty-page “suggested” script – with some parts that I had to memorize exactly and other parts that I could change a little.  Thank goodness my trainer is an angel – otherwise, I probably would’ve had a panic attack!

And since I was feeling really down on myself because of all the mistakes I had made, I went to the grocery store to get the ingredients for shrimp scampi to eat my feelings.  While I was there I decided to pick up some bananas.  There was this sweet old man laying them out, and I reached to take four of the single bananas instead of a bunch of them, and he saw me and started grinning and thanked me for being so kind, because apparently people never take the single bananas.  So of course I started blushing because he said it over and over again, but when I finally detangled myself from him to go get the rest of my groceries, I was smiling, too.  I doubt he realized how much I needed to hear that, and I think it's just a good lesson for all of us to keep in mind: that you never know what someone's day has been like and even something as small as thanking someone for taking single bananas - single bananas, of all things! - might make all the difference in the world to that person.  He really, genuinely brightened my day with something as simple as thanking me.

wow sorry i didn't mean for that to get so sappy back to real life

RIGHT.  Real life.  So, even though I was exhausted by the time I finished my dinner, I went to Downtown Disney with some of my roommates, as our holiday CM discount expired yesterday and we all wanted to get something.  So, I finally gave in and got an adorable Stitch “plush pillow” (a.k.a. a Pillow Pet)!

LOOK AT HOW CUTE HE IS IF YOU THINK YOU'RE NOT JEALOUS YOU'RE LYING TO YOURSELF.

Also somewhere along the way (Saturday, maybe?  I think?) I went to MK with some of my roommates and a friend, where we rode basically everything, got turkey legs for dinner, and even got to meet Ariel! (that last one was against my better judgment but since i didnt want to get into the picture the guy working there made me do it)

but it was cold and rainy so this is the only pic you get

except for this one of all of us with ariel omg she's so pretty it makes me want to cry

Anyway, I know you guys don’t need to know all the gory details, so I’ll give you a brief overview of my training: I’ve made plenty of mistakes and been plenty scared and upset about them, but over time I’ve actually grown more and more professional and more able to help guests.  I spent basically all evening on Tuesday working on my spiel, which paid off – I took an empty round on Wednesday morning before my trainer informed me (at the loading dock!) that I was ready to take guests, and then not thirty seconds later I took my first round!  I was /literally/ almost shaking, I was so nervous, but apparently it went well.  When we got to the unloading dock my trainer told everyone that it was my first time taking guests and they all clapped and several people complimented me and told me they couldn't believe it was my first time giving the safari, which felt really, really great.  That being said, I was so tired when I got home that I literally went to bed right after I had dinner – just thirteen hours after I’d woken up!

Yesterday, I took five loads of guests.  I got plenty of compliments then as well, because I guess most people could tell that I was still training (I have that lovely red “Earning My Ears” banner under my nametag and I had someone sitting in the passenger seat whispering to me every now and again).  On one of the first rounds, this really sweet older woman came up to me and said that she thought I had been great and that this was definitely the right job for me, which made me feel really awesome (again, you never know how greatly saying something kind might change someone's day!).  By the last round, though, at the end of the day, I was struggling.  I hadn’t anticipated how hard it would be to do multiple safaris (I took two in the morning and three in the afternoon), but I was having trouble remembering what facts I’d given and driving well and even docking, which I’ve always been pretty good at!

Apparently we take an average of nine rounds a day, so I guess I have to prepare myself…

Especially since I have two – not one, but TWO – eleven hour shifts next week.  One of which is the first day after my assessment.

Because apparently they hate the college program kids and want us all to die slow and painful deaths.

That being said, I can see now why Safaris is considered the best attraction.  It’s literally like being part of one big, awesome family.  If you’re in the cafeteria and you see some other people in Safari costumes, you’re basically obligated to sit with them whether you know them or not – and if you don’t know them, they always want to get to know you a little better and welcome you to the family.  I’ve met so many amazing people and I’m already dreading having to leave some of my awesome coworkers (not to mention my amazing roommates and my other lovely friends!) in August. 

actually im trying really hard not to think about it so no please

The reason you're finally getting an update is because I finally have a day off – two, in fact! – and on Sunday I’ll have my final day of training before I get assessed on Monday.  I’m feeling pretty confident knock on wood so hopefully things will go really well and I’ll be able to make a post about having earned my ears by Monday evening!

Today I’m planning to go to one or two of the parks – I just got my main entrance passes – and to pick up a charm for my necklace. 

Oh?  Didn’t I do a post about it?  jk I know I didn’t I haven’t had time  I’ve decided to buy a charm every week while I’m here that I think sums up/symbolizes my week - kind of corny, I know, but I'm really a sappy person.  Last week, I bought a charm of Cinderella’s Castle, which I feel is kind of synonymous with magic – and my first week was absolutely magical!!!  So today I’ll get a new one and hopefully find the energy to blog about it tonight or tomorrow!

My lovely first charm!

Also thanks mom and dad for these lovely flowers!

Anyway, I hope everyone has had an absolutely amazing, magical week!  

Traditions, DAKlimation, and the Magic Kingdom

Hello again, friends!  Or should I say Jambo?

On Thursday afternoon, I had what Disney calls "Traditions" - a class meant to get new employees hyped up to work for the company by explaining their ideas on service and what it means to current employees to work for the Mouse (complete with video footage of Cast Members being interviewed/giving stories, etc.).  I don't want to spoil it for any of you who might be considering coming to work here at WDW, but let me just say this - I was nearly in tears on multiple occasions!  Disney does an amazing, amazing job of making their new hires feel incredibly special and warm and fuzzy to be helping to make the magic for their Guests.

The only downside: it was cold and rainy - like, in the fifties and RAINY.  ON MY FIRST DAY OF (TECHNICALLY) TRAINING.  And I was not prepared for it!  My advice to anyone for anything (not just Traditions, though I do think it would be more magical if I'd been properly attired): check the weather and dress accordingly.

Oh, yeah - I also GOT MY FIRST NAME TAG!!!!!

I had planned to go to the Magic Kingdom after Traditions, because we got our WDW Employee ID cards (yay!), but to be honest, I didn't get back until around 8:30 (I'd taken a bus at 1:45 to get there) and I was cold and wet and just wanted to relax, so I stayed in and went to bed early - which was a good decision, because the next morning I had "DAKlimation," the Disney's Animal Kingdom park orientation!

Again, I don't want to spoil anything for anyone who might get to work in DAK, but I had a blast!  I feel so, so blessed to be working in DAK with all of the animals and other amazing Cast Members.  We talked about the park's mission statements in a classroom and then took a tour of our park (with a little surprise - but I won't reveal anything!) and then after lunch we headed to Costuming to pick up our oh-so-cute outfits!

And by oh-so-cute, I mean oh-my-gosh-do-i-really-have-to-wear-that.

Okay, so it's not actually that awful - especially since everyone has to wear one - and the hats are actually really cute!  That being said, costuming was a disaster.  There was literally NOTHING in my size, so I had to make due with either larger sizes or articles of clothing from other rides that looked similar.  They told me to come back every so often to see if they'd gotten anything in that would fit.  So maybe not the most magical moment, but, hey - I'm still working at Disney World!  And I'll have almost a week and a half more of training, so I'm not anticipating a huge problem.

But now I feel obligated to share with you lovely people a little about what I learned not about DAK, but about life in general.

A) Disney's sizes run very, very strangely - my pants are literally twice the size I normally wear, and my shirt is two sizes smaller.  Not such a good ego boost.

B) You should ALWAYS CHECK THE WEATHER.  DO NOT WEAR A SKIRT AND THIN SWEATER WHEN IT IS GOING TO BE FIFTY FIVE DEGREES AND RAINING.  Also, Disney doesn't allow you to use an umbrella if it's got a logo or something on it (I made the mistake of bringing a UNC one, which is blue and white with a UNC logo and was too ostentatious for me to use while representing the company), so make sure to invest in either a Disney umbrella or one that is very plain (I'd suggest plain black) with no logo.

C) DO NOT WEAR HEELS TO ANY ORIENTATION EVER.  ESPECIALLY NOT ONE THAT REQUIRES YOUR WALKING AROUND A PARK IN THE RAIN.

I hope that some of you will learn from my mistakes so that my suffering won't have been in vain.

Anyway, all that negativity aside, I can't wait to go play in DAK on one of my days off and get to know my park a little better!  It's a really cool place!!

Finally, after I took a coworker to find the necessary brown boots for Safaris drivers when we were finally finished with Costuming, she and I headed to the Magic Kingdom to meet up with some of my other friends!  We'd been having awful luck with transportation all day - on our way to DAKlimation another bus caught on fire, so we got really delayed (I don't think anyone was hurt, though, so that's a plus!), and we'd had to take a really long bur ride back to our apartments while carrying all of our costumes - and that luck didn't seem to change.  We took a bus to the Polynesian, thinking that we could get on the monorail and avoid the hassle of having to avoid going backstage in the MK, which ended up being about a ten minute walk from the bus stop.  And when we got to the station, the monorail was closed, so we had to use the ferry - which takes twenty minutes.  Katie and I were dying - we were so excited to go play and we'd already had such bad luck with transportation that it was doubly sad to have to wait on the ferry, even if it /was/ pretty scenic.  Training technically ended at two and by the time we finally made it into the MK, it was 6:47.  Talk about a lot of travel time!!!

But I can't really complain, because then we were in the Magic Kingdom!  After grabbing a quick bite to eat at Pinocchio's in Fantasyland (I got an overpriced flatbread pizza that was okay - I'd recommend it in a pinch because it's probably less expensive than most of your other options), we had just enough time to try and catch a good spot for Celebrate the Magic and Wishes!

Our view of the castle for the shows!!!

That being said, it was too foggy for us to see the fireworks during Wishes (which is really sad, because it's been years since I've seen it - if I've seen it at all!), so we left early and headed to Space Mountain.  After that, we grabbed some famous Dole Whip floats - and, yes.  It lived up to expectations.  I mean to take a picture of it but it was SO GOOD that before I knew it, I'd finished!  Then we did a bunch of other rides - Pirates, Big Thunder Mountain, the Haunted Mansion, Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid (which I'd never done before - it was really cool and very well put together, if a little in the uncanny valley for me), and we finished up the night with Peter Pan right as the park was closing!  We had a really, really amazing time and got a lot done, considering we were only there for four hours!

p.s. i promise to take pictures next time i go to a park sorry i was too excited to think about it

The rest of the evening was relatively uneventful, with a very long, crowded bus ride - so crowded I had to spend most of it standing and holding onto the railings for dear life - and finally getting back to my apartment around 12:15.  Yikes!  Considering I woke up around 5:30 for DAKlimation, I was pretty darn exhausted and I had a little snack before going to bed.  I was so tired I don't really even remember getting to the actual bed or under the covers - but that's the DCP for you, I guess!  I wouldn't have done anything differently (even though my outfit choices were cute but questionable), because I know that everything I've done so far an everything I'm going to do for the rest of my time here is going to be an unique, absolutely unforgettable experience <3

I hope everyone had (yesterday) and is having (today) the most wonderfully magical day!