So today was just one of those days that left me feeling very happy and lucky to be here!! I'm really starting to absolutely love it here and can feel every experience I have effect me in a positive way. I am really starting to accept Florida as my new home. This may sound all corny, but honestly it's so true! Pecos is now my second home and I love all the CPs (college programers) that work there, they really make it a fun place to be and understand all the frustrations of the job. For example today, we were over staffed so I was told to just help at counter....however, they didn't need any help. So I ran into Sabrina who was also given a random job of taking the bacon out of the packaging and putting it onto sheets. I ditched my counter job and started to help her! Next thing I know it's 2 hours later and we are done! We had the time of our lives doing that bacon, we were in the hallway so almost everyone who was working would stop by and chat with us and we just gossiped and exhanged stories, it was fabulous! We are now officially "Bacon Buddies" :)
Not going to lie, I was so concerned about making friends here because I am terrible with first impressions. Most people think I'm a shy girl with little personality. As all of you know I love to make people laugh and can be very crazy (in a good way i hope) at times. So finally having the freedom at Pecos to strike up conversations and bond with new people each day makes me feel so happy and accomplished! I also went outside to watch the 11 o'clock Electrical Parade with Sabrina, Emily and Meg and we chatted the whole time and bonded over our undying love for Aladdin and Flynn Rider from Tangled :) I also was lucky enough to stand on the front porch of Pecos and see the fireworks!! It was magical and I tear up everytime! I feel my attitude has become even more positive since I've been here which is something I am also very happy about! Most people say Disneyworld loses the magic and blah blah blah but NO that will never happen to me I can guarantee it!!
Not to mention the day started out wonderful! I got to spend time with my wonderful roomie Emily, which was fabulous because our schedules are usually opposite. She is such a great person and I am so happy I met her! We always have the best time and find anything and everything to laugh about. Emily and I both got to sleep in then we drove to Publix to get groceries and on our way out we saw a kid with a Chatham ID (aka in the College Program) who was stuffing his groceries into a suitcase getting ready to walk all the way back! Which is about a 20 min walk in the heat and humidity. So we decided to be good people and offer him a ride back! He was so thankful and it was just a happy moment :) you can never go wrong in doing a favor for someone! Speaking of that, to end my fabulously happy day my friend Meg offered to give me a ride home from work so I got home at 1:40 instead of 2:30ish like I usually do if I'm taking the bus.
Because of my late arrival date I get last priority when schedules come out so I always get closing shifts. So tonight I was assigned to close Topping Bar (which consists of spoiling the food, cleaning the stoves and counters, rinsing the ketchup/mustard/mayo pumps, cleaning all 4 hot cheese pumps, sweeping, wiping out the coolers plus a couple other random jobs) and Meg was assigned with me. However, Meg had never closed so I was basically in charged and showed her how to do everything. It felt awesome to be in charge and finally master all the tasks at Pecos. So much stress of mine is gone because I can do all the jobs on my own and not be a lost puppy who needs help with everything. I'm shifting from a rookie to a veteran. I love it!
I still get really sad when thinking about my dear friends and family I left back in CA, but it helps to not dwell on the sadness and just know I will be back soon enough and I'm not forgotten about! As the saying goes..."Distance makes the heart grow fonder", which I fully believe. Some of my friendships have strengthened immensely and I know who I can't go a day without speaking too, while other have faded a bit which is expected but makes me sad nonetheless.
I hope whoever is reading this is having a great day and remember a smile goes a long way!! ♥
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Just Dance!
Hello Everyone!! So within the past 6 days I have so many stories to tell! I may write 2 new posts so I dont bore my readers with tons of writing. First off, I am having a wonderful time here!! I encounter new people and experiences everyday that can only happen here in Disney World. My job is not ideal, but I am definitely making the most of it, and the people at Pecos make it so fun sometimes! Sometimes I honestly feel like Cinderella sweeping the floor and washing the counters, but I take that situation and have some fun with it, instead of complain and hate life like some people I've met, Staying positive and happy and key here and you can never go wrong with a smile :)
Here are some things that stood out to me in the past couple of days...
♥ I have been lucky enough to be put on Greeter 1 three times (You stand out front the main door and welcome people to Pecos). I wrote about it before and how I had the Mickey hand and giving high fours! In this past week I was given a horse puppet we have and had to improvise and talk to kids with it. It was so embarrassing at first, but after a couple minutes I just said what the heck and went all out! It was way more fun when I was giving it my all, I even had a full on game of peek-a-boo with a little boy and another girl just wanted little kisses from the horse. So cute!! Then yesterday, I was out there with PJ (one of my super fun coworkers) and we decided to create an arch with our arms when people walk in and shout woooooooooooo! Like they got their own special entrance! All the guests LOVED it and some even kept coming back. Just another reason why I love my job and help create magical moments. I was even asked to be in a picture with a family haha
♥ The crowd in Pecos dies down after 9 o'clock and about an hour before closing (either 11 or 12) it usually just turns into a Pecos party and we try to find way to entertain ourselves. The other night a couple of us from behind counter went out into the lobby and did the hokey pokey! So great :)
♥ One of the highlights of my life I would have to say is seeing LADY GAGA in Fantasyland. My roommate Shay and I didn't work until 7:30 on Saturday so we were just at our apt waiting to go to work, when our other roomie Kim told us Lady Gaga was in Magic Kingdom! So Shay and I scramble and decided to go play in the park before work and try to find her. Neither of us actually thought it would happen, but who knows?! So Shay just got food and we are walking in fantasyland and I really want to go on the Peter Pan ride, but Shay wants to finish her food first so we plop down on a bench right outside. Then, we see a kid race by us and go tell something to his family, and we assume he just saw Lady Gaga!! So we run in that direction and we see the mob of people (mostly big burly men who are surrounding her) then I see her platinum blonde hair and she is holding a princess balloon (everytime i see that balloon in the park now I think of her!). And she literally walks right by me, I probably could have reached out and tried to talk to her but her guards probably would have kicked my butt! hahaha She then went into Peter Pan, the ride I WANTED to go on! :) I was so excited after that I was shaking and immediately called Ellen who is her biggest fan by far! Hopefully I'll see more celebrities. So far I've heard of Cameron Diaz, Brad and Angelina, Vanessa Hudgens, Travis Barker (who I saw) and a couple others in the parks recently!
♥ Yesterday I was on break hanging out in the back listening to conversations around me and then 2 men from the Jamaica who work in the kitchen sat down and started sharing stories! They were talking about how in Jamaica if you have real dreads you can claim a woman and call her your "Empress" and everyone will know she's yours, and you can also call women your "African Queen" if you are a man. I could tell it was a male dominated society. Another girl from Barbados chimed in and said how her best friends dad is a big drug dealer, so when they go out if they hear gun shots they're not afraid because they are with a very important man. So scary! But it's amazing to hear other people's stories!
Here are some things that stood out to me in the past couple of days...
♥ I have been lucky enough to be put on Greeter 1 three times (You stand out front the main door and welcome people to Pecos). I wrote about it before and how I had the Mickey hand and giving high fours! In this past week I was given a horse puppet we have and had to improvise and talk to kids with it. It was so embarrassing at first, but after a couple minutes I just said what the heck and went all out! It was way more fun when I was giving it my all, I even had a full on game of peek-a-boo with a little boy and another girl just wanted little kisses from the horse. So cute!! Then yesterday, I was out there with PJ (one of my super fun coworkers) and we decided to create an arch with our arms when people walk in and shout woooooooooooo! Like they got their own special entrance! All the guests LOVED it and some even kept coming back. Just another reason why I love my job and help create magical moments. I was even asked to be in a picture with a family haha
♥ The crowd in Pecos dies down after 9 o'clock and about an hour before closing (either 11 or 12) it usually just turns into a Pecos party and we try to find way to entertain ourselves. The other night a couple of us from behind counter went out into the lobby and did the hokey pokey! So great :)
♥ One of the highlights of my life I would have to say is seeing LADY GAGA in Fantasyland. My roommate Shay and I didn't work until 7:30 on Saturday so we were just at our apt waiting to go to work, when our other roomie Kim told us Lady Gaga was in Magic Kingdom! So Shay and I scramble and decided to go play in the park before work and try to find her. Neither of us actually thought it would happen, but who knows?! So Shay just got food and we are walking in fantasyland and I really want to go on the Peter Pan ride, but Shay wants to finish her food first so we plop down on a bench right outside. Then, we see a kid race by us and go tell something to his family, and we assume he just saw Lady Gaga!! So we run in that direction and we see the mob of people (mostly big burly men who are surrounding her) then I see her platinum blonde hair and she is holding a princess balloon (everytime i see that balloon in the park now I think of her!). And she literally walks right by me, I probably could have reached out and tried to talk to her but her guards probably would have kicked my butt! hahaha She then went into Peter Pan, the ride I WANTED to go on! :) I was so excited after that I was shaking and immediately called Ellen who is her biggest fan by far! Hopefully I'll see more celebrities. So far I've heard of Cameron Diaz, Brad and Angelina, Vanessa Hudgens, Travis Barker (who I saw) and a couple others in the parks recently!
♥ Yesterday I was on break hanging out in the back listening to conversations around me and then 2 men from the Jamaica who work in the kitchen sat down and started sharing stories! They were talking about how in Jamaica if you have real dreads you can claim a woman and call her your "Empress" and everyone will know she's yours, and you can also call women your "African Queen" if you are a man. I could tell it was a male dominated society. Another girl from Barbados chimed in and said how her best friends dad is a big drug dealer, so when they go out if they hear gun shots they're not afraid because they are with a very important man. So scary! But it's amazing to hear other people's stories!
Friday, April 15, 2011
The Kitchen Sink!
Hi there!
So work was very slow this week because the parks were empty! Although Christina Aguilera, Michael Buble, Courtney Cox and David Arquette visited the parks! I didn't see them but Christina rode the ride my roomie works on so she saw her! I had Thursday and today off, and I decided to take it easy these days because I've constantly been out and about going to all the parks and resorts I needed a break and to prepare for my mandatory overtime work week next week :o
Thursday Shay and I went on an adventure to the Boardwalk hotel but it didn't last long because it was sooo hot and humid and I was getting a migrane, so we returned home and some advil and yummy lunch cured me! Emily was at the parks with her friend from home who plays the white rabbit and different dwarves in the electrical parade and we quizzed her about character auditions which was super interesting! We learned there were certain categories they put you in depending on your height. So...there is Mouse height which is people who are around 5'2 and under i believe. Then there's Munk height (chipmunk), then Pooh height, and Puppy height (like Pluto). She said I would be puppy height! So now my goal is to play Pluto which I was discussing on the phone with my friend Cassie :) Maybe I'll try out for character auditions at Disneyland in a few years! Emily's friend also told us about princess auditions, and for one of the rounds they literally stare at your face for 20 min! Awkward haha
Today I hung out with Morgan and another fellow Gamma Phi from SDSU, which cheered me up! I've been missing my best friends from santa cruz a lot especially because I would literally spend 24 hours a day with them, specifically Ellen and it's just SO weird to not have that rock in my life! (even though we talk on the phone everyday, it still doesn't make up for the fact that she's here). Morgan took us to Chick-Fil-A which is a fast food place that basically only sells chicken, which was difficult for me because I've been a vegetarian for Lent, and I probably will continue because I like it so much. But anyways I also finally watched Tangled which was a PHENOMENAL movie and I recommend it to EVERYONE!! Rapunzel is a big deal here at the parks and she really sells! Also her prince Flynn is such a cutie!!! He is the only prince here who does not look gay!
To end this post I want to include this video of a dish called 'The Kitchen Sink' which they sell at Beaches and Cream at the Yacht Club. My roomies and I are determined to get this before we leave (in fact we almost did tonight, but opted for Chinese food instead). It is 8 scoops of ice cream, with a WHOLE CAN of whipped cream, every topping possible and finally topped with not just one cherry but a huge handful! PLEASE WATCH THIS VIDEO! So epic!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDwczHMhJFs
PS....I just wanted to thank Maria and Carolyn for sending me mail! It is always so exciting to get mail here and it means a lot to me to know they are thinking about me! :) It can get lonely out here on the east coast!
So work was very slow this week because the parks were empty! Although Christina Aguilera, Michael Buble, Courtney Cox and David Arquette visited the parks! I didn't see them but Christina rode the ride my roomie works on so she saw her! I had Thursday and today off, and I decided to take it easy these days because I've constantly been out and about going to all the parks and resorts I needed a break and to prepare for my mandatory overtime work week next week :o
Thursday Shay and I went on an adventure to the Boardwalk hotel but it didn't last long because it was sooo hot and humid and I was getting a migrane, so we returned home and some advil and yummy lunch cured me! Emily was at the parks with her friend from home who plays the white rabbit and different dwarves in the electrical parade and we quizzed her about character auditions which was super interesting! We learned there were certain categories they put you in depending on your height. So...there is Mouse height which is people who are around 5'2 and under i believe. Then there's Munk height (chipmunk), then Pooh height, and Puppy height (like Pluto). She said I would be puppy height! So now my goal is to play Pluto which I was discussing on the phone with my friend Cassie :) Maybe I'll try out for character auditions at Disneyland in a few years! Emily's friend also told us about princess auditions, and for one of the rounds they literally stare at your face for 20 min! Awkward haha
Today I hung out with Morgan and another fellow Gamma Phi from SDSU, which cheered me up! I've been missing my best friends from santa cruz a lot especially because I would literally spend 24 hours a day with them, specifically Ellen and it's just SO weird to not have that rock in my life! (even though we talk on the phone everyday, it still doesn't make up for the fact that she's here). Morgan took us to Chick-Fil-A which is a fast food place that basically only sells chicken, which was difficult for me because I've been a vegetarian for Lent, and I probably will continue because I like it so much. But anyways I also finally watched Tangled which was a PHENOMENAL movie and I recommend it to EVERYONE!! Rapunzel is a big deal here at the parks and she really sells! Also her prince Flynn is such a cutie!!! He is the only prince here who does not look gay!
To end this post I want to include this video of a dish called 'The Kitchen Sink' which they sell at Beaches and Cream at the Yacht Club. My roomies and I are determined to get this before we leave (in fact we almost did tonight, but opted for Chinese food instead). It is 8 scoops of ice cream, with a WHOLE CAN of whipped cream, every topping possible and finally topped with not just one cherry but a huge handful! PLEASE WATCH THIS VIDEO! So epic!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDwczHMhJFs
PS....I just wanted to thank Maria and Carolyn for sending me mail! It is always so exciting to get mail here and it means a lot to me to know they are thinking about me! :) It can get lonely out here on the east coast!
Monday, April 11, 2011
Magical Memories ♥
These past couple days have been crazy fun! I really wanted to take advantage of my 2 days off and I was very successful :) However, I finally felt it click that I am here and this is going to be my life for the next 4 months! It is weird balancing 2 lives and trying to keep up with everything in Santa Cruz. I'm starting to feel comfortable here and develop routines and new friendships. I feel the shift between how I lived and felt in Santa Cruz and how I'm adjusting to my new life here. This makes me sad because I don't want to leave behind everything in Santa Cruz even though I hear about everything that is happening and I'm not there to experience it :( I miss my best friends so much that it hurts, and sometimes talking to them makes me miss them more! I would pay big bucks to have myself cloned so I could be in CA as well as here!! But on a happy note I am absolutely loving it here despite missing everyone and there are so many opportunities to have fun and explore all that is here!!
In order to make this more interesting to read I will highlight some of the best moments these past couple days:
♥ I am so lucky to be able to see the Main Street Electrical Parade outside Pecos EVERY night I'm working in the dining room. The last parade is at 11, and at that point we're usually waiting for the guests to leave so we can start closing the dining room, so a couple of us head outside and just watch! Last night my coworker Bryan and I stood along the fence and watched. A couple of the characters weren't on their A game but it was still entertaining. Mickey even looked directly at my and pretended to write down his phone number then blew me a kiss!! SO precious! Def made my night hahaha
♥ On Saturday my friend Marnie invited me to one of the waterparks because we still get in for free up until June, so we went to Typhoon Lagoon and had a very relaxing first part of the day! The lazy river was out best friend haha I haven't been to a waterpark since middle school, so it for sure brought back many Bowditch Middle School memories :) There were so many families from England it was exciting to hear their accents!
♥ Then we attempted to look our best after being at the waterpark for a couple hours and hopped on a bus to the Swan and Dolphin Resort to take a boat to Epcot! I was impressed by the Resort, it was gorgeous!!! There was even a wedding going on (hmmm I'm taking note for the future hehe) and then we got on a watertaxi like boat that they have in Paris and went by the Boardwalk Hotel (which looked like its own city, I was blown away!) and finally arrived at Epcot! I am obssessed with Epcot, being a world traveler (thanks to my amazing parents) I could relate with most of the countries and Disney has a deal with each country (there was Canada, UK, France, Morrocco, Japan, Italy, Germany, China, Mexico and Norway) that the people that work there are ACTUALLY from that country! So the cute German man that sold us our amazing pretzels had a fun accent! I also got a phenomenal rice krispie treat with chocolate an carmel from the German bakery! Oh and THE BEST guacamole from Mexico :)
Marnie and I at Epcot!!
♥ Then we left the countries and went to Future World! Marnie's friend Jordan works at Mission Space so he took us through VIP cast member only doors to the control room where we met the other CPs running the ride and we were treated like VIPs! The line for the actual ride goes right by the control room and all the guests were looking in probably thinking who the heck were we?! It was great. The ride Mission to Space was EPIC! There are 4 people in a compartment and it literally is like we were in a rocket on our way to Mars! We also went on Test Track and the Finding Nemo ride! So cute! It was one of my favorite days here and made me realize how lucky I am to have this experience.
VIP status with Jordan!
♥ Yesterday my roomies Lindsay and Shaleen went to the Orlando Magic game! Lindsay's dad had bought the tickets before and we were 4th row club level! I love basketball so it was really fun! We even bought matching shirts :) Yet again, I can't get over how amazing my roommates are!
♥ When I got home from my long day at Typhoon Lagoon and Epcot, my roomies had a guy named Alex over, who Emily met on the bus. He plays the Beast, Sully and Goofy! So fun! He is from Russia and probably though we were crazy because we all were in a weird mood and acting like our crazy fun selves haha He had a fever though so Emily ended up driving him to Walgreens to get meds and we frolicked around Walgreens waiting for him, and he ended up buying us candy for being so nice and driving him! (he was going to walk!) Then Alex, Emily and I did laundry and Alex fell asleep on our couch for about 30 min...super sketch haha But he is hilarious and he left for a trip to DisneyLAND today, so we won't see him for a week a two. It's fun making new friends!
Next week is the week before Easter and then the next week we have Grad nights.......SOOO I have to work 50 hours for next week and probably more the week after! I'm going to be uber busy/tired! One of my roomies has a 60 hour week!! So some of the fun and games will be put on hold unfortunately. It's easy to forget we aren't here to just play in the parks haha At least I will be making $$$$
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
In order to make this more interesting to read I will highlight some of the best moments these past couple days:
♥ I am so lucky to be able to see the Main Street Electrical Parade outside Pecos EVERY night I'm working in the dining room. The last parade is at 11, and at that point we're usually waiting for the guests to leave so we can start closing the dining room, so a couple of us head outside and just watch! Last night my coworker Bryan and I stood along the fence and watched. A couple of the characters weren't on their A game but it was still entertaining. Mickey even looked directly at my and pretended to write down his phone number then blew me a kiss!! SO precious! Def made my night hahaha
♥ On Saturday my friend Marnie invited me to one of the waterparks because we still get in for free up until June, so we went to Typhoon Lagoon and had a very relaxing first part of the day! The lazy river was out best friend haha I haven't been to a waterpark since middle school, so it for sure brought back many Bowditch Middle School memories :) There were so many families from England it was exciting to hear their accents!
♥ Then we attempted to look our best after being at the waterpark for a couple hours and hopped on a bus to the Swan and Dolphin Resort to take a boat to Epcot! I was impressed by the Resort, it was gorgeous!!! There was even a wedding going on (hmmm I'm taking note for the future hehe) and then we got on a watertaxi like boat that they have in Paris and went by the Boardwalk Hotel (which looked like its own city, I was blown away!) and finally arrived at Epcot! I am obssessed with Epcot, being a world traveler (thanks to my amazing parents) I could relate with most of the countries and Disney has a deal with each country (there was Canada, UK, France, Morrocco, Japan, Italy, Germany, China, Mexico and Norway) that the people that work there are ACTUALLY from that country! So the cute German man that sold us our amazing pretzels had a fun accent! I also got a phenomenal rice krispie treat with chocolate an carmel from the German bakery! Oh and THE BEST guacamole from Mexico :)
♥ Then we left the countries and went to Future World! Marnie's friend Jordan works at Mission Space so he took us through VIP cast member only doors to the control room where we met the other CPs running the ride and we were treated like VIPs! The line for the actual ride goes right by the control room and all the guests were looking in probably thinking who the heck were we?! It was great. The ride Mission to Space was EPIC! There are 4 people in a compartment and it literally is like we were in a rocket on our way to Mars! We also went on Test Track and the Finding Nemo ride! So cute! It was one of my favorite days here and made me realize how lucky I am to have this experience.
♥ Yesterday my roomies Lindsay and Shaleen went to the Orlando Magic game! Lindsay's dad had bought the tickets before and we were 4th row club level! I love basketball so it was really fun! We even bought matching shirts :) Yet again, I can't get over how amazing my roommates are!
♥ When I got home from my long day at Typhoon Lagoon and Epcot, my roomies had a guy named Alex over, who Emily met on the bus. He plays the Beast, Sully and Goofy! So fun! He is from Russia and probably though we were crazy because we all were in a weird mood and acting like our crazy fun selves haha He had a fever though so Emily ended up driving him to Walgreens to get meds and we frolicked around Walgreens waiting for him, and he ended up buying us candy for being so nice and driving him! (he was going to walk!) Then Alex, Emily and I did laundry and Alex fell asleep on our couch for about 30 min...super sketch haha But he is hilarious and he left for a trip to DisneyLAND today, so we won't see him for a week a two. It's fun making new friends!
Next week is the week before Easter and then the next week we have Grad nights.......SOOO I have to work 50 hours for next week and probably more the week after! I'm going to be uber busy/tired! One of my roomies has a 60 hour week!! So some of the fun and games will be put on hold unfortunately. It's easy to forget we aren't here to just play in the parks haha At least I will be making $$$$
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Thursday, April 7, 2011
High Four!
Today was a very fun day! I went into work at 2 and was assigned to dining room, so I wiped tables and helped seat guests which was fun because you get to see all the types of people and interact with the guests! It was almost 90 degrees today so I was def sweating, however I found where the AC vent was and I just happened to clean the tables directly under it many times hehehe Then I had to trek through the MK tunnels to a training room to complete the SIM (safety in motion) class, where we learned how to lift boxes correctly and other stuff because Disney wants us to not have back/wrist/shoulder problems! I sat with 2 other girls who worked at Pecos and we struck up an interesting conversation about roller coasters! I only tell you this because having random conversations with strangers is very common here because people are so friendly and nice! I'm definitely improving my small talk and first impression skills!
My favorite part of the day was being assigned Greeter out front, which means I stand on the porch of Pecos with a bell and a Mickey glove that looks like his hand and I smile, wave and welcome the guests! I also am the first person they go to for questions. oh lordy I was asked the same questions over and over...like "where's the nearest restroom?"...."Where can I find pizza/ice cream/frozen lemonade/chicken nuggets?",,,"Can you tell me about the different places to eat here?" (which I then launch into my spiel I've perfected about each restaurant, quick service and table service, in the entire park)...and my favorite statement..."Please tell me there is a place to buy beer around here". Which I sadly have to inform them that the Magic Kingdom does not sell alcohol! But greeter was so special because I got to look out into Frotierland for 2 hours with a nonstop smile and wave at each and every guest! Travis Barker from Blink 182 even walked by at one point! The little kids were just the cutest too!! I would ask for a 'high four' because the Mickey glove only has 4 fingers, soooo precious!
I though I got off at 10pm but I read my schedule wrong because Disney goes by military time, and I struggle sometimes and get the numbers confused! My schedule said 2000 which I mixed up thinking it was 10...but that actually means 8! But I can't complain so I went home early to hear about my roomie's days! Emily had her assessment today for the Great Movie Ride and Hollywood Studios and she has one of the hardest jobs on property I must say. I have never been on the ride but from what I hear it is this whole tour on a car thing that goes through rooms from distinct movies. She had pages of stuff to memorize and specific machinery, including the car to operate. In the end she passed her assessment and I am so proud of her!!!!!
She also has a blog going so here is the link to it if you're interested!!.... http://ebdoesdisney.blogspot.com/
I have Friday and Saturday off finally so I can't wait to explore the parks more!! That's all for now friends!! <3
My favorite part of the day was being assigned Greeter out front, which means I stand on the porch of Pecos with a bell and a Mickey glove that looks like his hand and I smile, wave and welcome the guests! I also am the first person they go to for questions. oh lordy I was asked the same questions over and over...like "where's the nearest restroom?"...."Where can I find pizza/ice cream/frozen lemonade/chicken nuggets?",,,"Can you tell me about the different places to eat here?" (which I then launch into my spiel I've perfected about each restaurant, quick service and table service, in the entire park)...and my favorite statement..."Please tell me there is a place to buy beer around here". Which I sadly have to inform them that the Magic Kingdom does not sell alcohol! But greeter was so special because I got to look out into Frotierland for 2 hours with a nonstop smile and wave at each and every guest! Travis Barker from Blink 182 even walked by at one point! The little kids were just the cutest too!! I would ask for a 'high four' because the Mickey glove only has 4 fingers, soooo precious!
I though I got off at 10pm but I read my schedule wrong because Disney goes by military time, and I struggle sometimes and get the numbers confused! My schedule said 2000 which I mixed up thinking it was 10...but that actually means 8! But I can't complain so I went home early to hear about my roomie's days! Emily had her assessment today for the Great Movie Ride and Hollywood Studios and she has one of the hardest jobs on property I must say. I have never been on the ride but from what I hear it is this whole tour on a car thing that goes through rooms from distinct movies. She had pages of stuff to memorize and specific machinery, including the car to operate. In the end she passed her assessment and I am so proud of her!!!!!
She also has a blog going so here is the link to it if you're interested!!.... http://ebdoesdisney.blogspot.com/
I have Friday and Saturday off finally so I can't wait to explore the parks more!! That's all for now friends!! <3
Pecos Party!
Hello world! So yesterday marked 2 weeks until I have been in Florida, and I must say it feels like 2 months! These past couple days have been really fun because I dont go into work until around 5 or 6 so I've been hanging out with at least one of my roomies in the daytime and going to the pool/grocery shopping. Also I'm starting to feel comfortable at Pecos and become friends with the other CPs :)
Over the past couple days I have done filler (handing the guests their food and making sure they get everything the ordered) A LOT, so I'm getting pretty good at that haha and yesterday I was stationed in the lobby sweeping and wiping tables outside which was actually really fun because you get maximum interaction with the guests and they ask entertaining questions and I get the SAME questions asked over and over. Such as ..."Where can I get pizza around here?"..."Where are the napkins? I've looked everwhere!" (and to their surprise they are standing right in front of them). But I've perfected my answers to the those questions.
I also have closed the dining room 2 nights in a row which is pretty easy. We just wait for all the guests to leave and wipe the tables, organize the chairs and clean the trash cans (which isn't as gross as it sounds). The BEST part about this is, while we're waiting for the last guests to leave the 11pm Electrical Parade goes right by Pecos, so we stand outside and are literally 6 feet away from the parade!! I got to experience this for the first time on Tuesday and it was one of my favorite moments of the program so far :)
Also, last night I was talking to 3 other CPs Peter, Nathan and Kristin while we were closing and waiting to clock out and then they were nice enough to offer me a ride home! This was a real treat because the buses take FOREVER. I absolutely love how nice the CPs are and it makes me life so much easier, plus it's amazing to talk to people from all over the country!
Over the past couple days I have done filler (handing the guests their food and making sure they get everything the ordered) A LOT, so I'm getting pretty good at that haha and yesterday I was stationed in the lobby sweeping and wiping tables outside which was actually really fun because you get maximum interaction with the guests and they ask entertaining questions and I get the SAME questions asked over and over. Such as ..."Where can I get pizza around here?"..."Where are the napkins? I've looked everwhere!" (and to their surprise they are standing right in front of them). But I've perfected my answers to the those questions.
I also have closed the dining room 2 nights in a row which is pretty easy. We just wait for all the guests to leave and wipe the tables, organize the chairs and clean the trash cans (which isn't as gross as it sounds). The BEST part about this is, while we're waiting for the last guests to leave the 11pm Electrical Parade goes right by Pecos, so we stand outside and are literally 6 feet away from the parade!! I got to experience this for the first time on Tuesday and it was one of my favorite moments of the program so far :)
Also, last night I was talking to 3 other CPs Peter, Nathan and Kristin while we were closing and waiting to clock out and then they were nice enough to offer me a ride home! This was a real treat because the buses take FOREVER. I absolutely love how nice the CPs are and it makes me life so much easier, plus it's amazing to talk to people from all over the country!
Monday, April 4, 2011
Money Manor $$$
Sooo as of today I have completed 2 full days of work, I quickly realized my 4 days of training was nothing compared to what I've done these past 2 days! On saturday I had my assessment which was scary because my trainer literally asked me 200 questions about everything I was taught the past 3 days and some of the things I was only told/showed once. Then one of the managers asked me even more questions but he was super nice and understanding and told me good info about the parks! Such as this is the last year for grad nights (thank gosh!! they go until 5am in the Magic Kingdom !) Also that Disney is getting rid of a lot of their special events because the attendance of normal people is so high they dont want to deny the general public, so no more park closures for special people!
I still can't get over the fact that I work in the happiest place in the world and being at work reminds me everyday! For example today I was getting people there food and 2 separate times these 2 dads didn't have enough hands to carry the trays of food so, as Disney taught me, I offered to help them and they were SO grateful! In Traditions we were taught that our main goal is "to create happiness" which is what my roommates and I say to eachother everyday jokingly as we head of to work! And it was honestly just really fun to realize I could make a whole family happy by doing one simple thing. My hours are usually 6pm-12am or even 7:30pm-1am some nights which I actually love because I can sleep in and hang out with my roomies during the day and enjoy the beautiful Florida sunshine! Yesterday Emily and I went to the beautiful Chatham pool and tanned. Well...I kinda burned because I failed at applying sunscreen so I now have a square of red on my left arm and hand prints on my thighs...whoops. Also people don't really do much at night and I quite enjoy the closing shifts because the hustle and bustle of the busy restaurant is over and you can go at your own pace when closing the counter/topping bar or dining room and you can focus on the guests more when it isn't busy.
Yesterday I started out behind the counter in the 'counter stocker' role which is basically where I make sure all the ice is filled in the drink machines, the cups/lids are stocked, the food in the fridge is stocked, the cakes and cookies are full and the little coolers are stocked with water and milk! I am sore from shoveling ice and lifting boxes! Overall a lot to remember but eventually you get the hang of it and automatically know where to go for new stuff. For the first 3 hours I was literally sweating and running around because everything runs out quickly at peak hours. Then I moved to filler at the counter where you take the food from the kitchen read the recipt and go to the right window and give the guest their food. It can get complicated if the guest decides to change their order last minute or they are down right rude and when it gets busy and the kitchen gets backed up that is rough! The guests just stand there and look impatient and there's nothing we can do about it! But other than that it is really fun to talk to the guest and hear where their from and stories from the day! I met a family from Scotland today and they were all just SO happy to be there! And I talked to numerous kids about their favorite rides and who their favorite princess is!
Today I worked a 10 hour shift which is unusually long but it went by SOO fast because we were freakin busy! I was counter filler for the first 5 hours which was exhausting but honestly I was constantly moving it only seemed like an hour! I also made more friends today, all the CPs (college programers) are friendly and super helpful! This girl Sabrina from Brazil helped me with counter stocking and answered all my questions and another girl named Sarah was super friendly Some of the people that work in the kitchen have big fat mickey shaped sticks up their butts!! They just have no patience or sympathy when it's busy and whatnot, but there's only 1 or 2 so it's not a big deal. I just brush it off, but can't help wondering why they bother to even be here if they're going to be debbie downers?? Why make someone feel bad if you could make them happy instead?!
Also, I have to say I am soooo lucky I LOVE my roomies!! There are 8 of us total which usually equals major disaster and drama...but not in 9104!! We nicknamed our apartment the money manor (I have no idea whyyy, I think it has to do with the fact that we live on Manor Ct. and we have no money haha) They are all really fun girls and we always have a blast when we hang out! We bond over random trips to Walmart, adventures to find Chinese food, bus rides back from Downtown Disney where we get stuck at Vista for an hour and of course the new A2. We laugh at everything and finding humor in life is very important! Laughing makes you live longer yay! Earlier tonight I struggled to make a hard boiled egg and it didnt cook so I called it a "rard boiled egg" which was a combination of Raw and Hard Boiled hahaha and my roomie Jaqui stepped in to help me try again! So nice!
But even after all the fun I'm having in Florida I miss everyone back home so much it hurts :(( I haven't gone a day with out talking to a handful of my friends and I usually talk to Ellen at least twice on the phone a day which makes me very happy!! But I would pay millions to have myself cloned so I could be in Santa Cruz with my SC family (you know who you are!) and Foster City with my family and Bestie! Especially because rush is this week so I wish I could be there with everyone recruiting girls! There is always next fall :) Everyone has been so great at keeping in touch which means the world to me and I hope it continues!!!
Deuces!! <3
I still can't get over the fact that I work in the happiest place in the world and being at work reminds me everyday! For example today I was getting people there food and 2 separate times these 2 dads didn't have enough hands to carry the trays of food so, as Disney taught me, I offered to help them and they were SO grateful! In Traditions we were taught that our main goal is "to create happiness" which is what my roommates and I say to eachother everyday jokingly as we head of to work! And it was honestly just really fun to realize I could make a whole family happy by doing one simple thing. My hours are usually 6pm-12am or even 7:30pm-1am some nights which I actually love because I can sleep in and hang out with my roomies during the day and enjoy the beautiful Florida sunshine! Yesterday Emily and I went to the beautiful Chatham pool and tanned. Well...I kinda burned because I failed at applying sunscreen so I now have a square of red on my left arm and hand prints on my thighs...whoops. Also people don't really do much at night and I quite enjoy the closing shifts because the hustle and bustle of the busy restaurant is over and you can go at your own pace when closing the counter/topping bar or dining room and you can focus on the guests more when it isn't busy.
Yesterday I started out behind the counter in the 'counter stocker' role which is basically where I make sure all the ice is filled in the drink machines, the cups/lids are stocked, the food in the fridge is stocked, the cakes and cookies are full and the little coolers are stocked with water and milk! I am sore from shoveling ice and lifting boxes! Overall a lot to remember but eventually you get the hang of it and automatically know where to go for new stuff. For the first 3 hours I was literally sweating and running around because everything runs out quickly at peak hours. Then I moved to filler at the counter where you take the food from the kitchen read the recipt and go to the right window and give the guest their food. It can get complicated if the guest decides to change their order last minute or they are down right rude and when it gets busy and the kitchen gets backed up that is rough! The guests just stand there and look impatient and there's nothing we can do about it! But other than that it is really fun to talk to the guest and hear where their from and stories from the day! I met a family from Scotland today and they were all just SO happy to be there! And I talked to numerous kids about their favorite rides and who their favorite princess is!
Today I worked a 10 hour shift which is unusually long but it went by SOO fast because we were freakin busy! I was counter filler for the first 5 hours which was exhausting but honestly I was constantly moving it only seemed like an hour! I also made more friends today, all the CPs (college programers) are friendly and super helpful! This girl Sabrina from Brazil helped me with counter stocking and answered all my questions and another girl named Sarah was super friendly Some of the people that work in the kitchen have big fat mickey shaped sticks up their butts!! They just have no patience or sympathy when it's busy and whatnot, but there's only 1 or 2 so it's not a big deal. I just brush it off, but can't help wondering why they bother to even be here if they're going to be debbie downers?? Why make someone feel bad if you could make them happy instead?!
Also, I have to say I am soooo lucky I LOVE my roomies!! There are 8 of us total which usually equals major disaster and drama...but not in 9104!! We nicknamed our apartment the money manor (I have no idea whyyy, I think it has to do with the fact that we live on Manor Ct. and we have no money haha) They are all really fun girls and we always have a blast when we hang out! We bond over random trips to Walmart, adventures to find Chinese food, bus rides back from Downtown Disney where we get stuck at Vista for an hour and of course the new A2. We laugh at everything and finding humor in life is very important! Laughing makes you live longer yay! Earlier tonight I struggled to make a hard boiled egg and it didnt cook so I called it a "rard boiled egg" which was a combination of Raw and Hard Boiled hahaha and my roomie Jaqui stepped in to help me try again! So nice!
But even after all the fun I'm having in Florida I miss everyone back home so much it hurts :(( I haven't gone a day with out talking to a handful of my friends and I usually talk to Ellen at least twice on the phone a day which makes me very happy!! But I would pay millions to have myself cloned so I could be in Santa Cruz with my SC family (you know who you are!) and Foster City with my family and Bestie! Especially because rush is this week so I wish I could be there with everyone recruiting girls! There is always next fall :) Everyone has been so great at keeping in touch which means the world to me and I hope it continues!!!
Deuces!! <3
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