way too long

Hey everyone,

I'm sure you've stopped checking this thing since I've been so lazy and haven't written in a while, but I decided to give an update.

Things have been going pretty well lately. I had a case of pink eye that was no fun, but things got better and now I'm back to work! I only have a couple more weeks, and people are already starting to leave. It's down to 5 of us in our 8 person apartment. 2 left early and one girl extended. 2 of our remaining girls aren't around too much so my roomie & i spend as much time as we can together. Our apartment is easier to live in, but we all miss the other girls. The people that extended their college program have started training already so it will be fun to learn about what their new roles are like! I know a new lifeguard & a new character attendant!

Since I did not end up getting extended I decided to work in a summer camp that I've been going to for years so I'm pretty happy about that. My parents are coming up a couple of days early to visit with me and play in the parks! I can't wait to see them and have fun with them! Stephanie [my roommate] and her family will be here as well so we are all excited to meet one another. :)

still sick

I went to work coughing my lungs out and about an hour later was sent home. We're becoming overstaffed now so it's easier for the sick ones to get out. I spent the day in the fresh air which actually seemed to help, so hopefully tomorrow it won't be too bad at work. :)

hey everyone

I'm so sorry that I've been so sparatic with my entries for the past two weeks. If you didn't see in my earlier entry, I worked 60 hours last week which ended up being 61 hours. The paycheck was nice, but I ended up getting sick over all the work and stress that I've had. I think I'm getting over that right now, but my nose is still runny, and my voice still sounds funny. I'm fine though. :)

I'm quite happy about this week because I seem to have an early week. It's going to be nice to get off of work during daylight hours for once.

Any questions? Comment!! :)

day 5 of 8

Hey everyone,

Just letting everyone how my week and a bit of work is going. It's been hectic, but not too bad. Magic Kingdom is DEFINITELY more busy. I'm not gonna lie, it's been tougher lately to keep that great positive mentality with so many co workers tired and grouchy, but I had a pep talk from one of my character attendant friends and he reminded me that going above & beyond is the only way I'll get anywhere. We shared stories and he gave me some great advice. Being in food isn't bad, but I really want Entertainment to say yes to me. I find out in six days....on Monday, April 13th....keep your fingers crossed, please!!! I want to do this soooo bad!!

So yes this is what my week looks like:
Sun: 315pm-315am
Mon: 215pm-145am
Tue: 12pm-1245am
Wed: 315pm-1245am
Thu: 845am-515pm
Fri: 630pm-315am
Sat: OFF

Next week looks pretty similar.

Oh! Fun fact! Some of my coworkers and managers have been commenting on how they want me to become a trainer. So I am currently trying to get more hours in Tomorrowland & Toontown. That will help me be able to train others to work in those three lands. :)

Things are going well....I miss everyone, but I'm having the time of my life down here and I don't want it to end!!!

mini

it's really hectic right now. i'll update as much as i can later when i have time to breathe.

this week so far

So when I got my schedule for next week I saw that I was scheduled for SIXTY hours!!! Easter season is intense! Today is my last day off until I work nine days in a row....wow. So when I saw that horrendous schedule I got pretty stressed out and didn't want to be at work. I got released early after only being at work for one hour so I spent the rest of the day playing in the park!! It was so much fun!! And then the day after that I was re-taught how to close Enchanted Groves...very good to know. : )

Yesterday I had my Leadership class and we talked about recognition. I hope that if I ever become a leader that I will respect my fellow employees and recognize them for the good things that they do. It was a good class. After that I went to Animal Kingdom & then Epcot with my friend Brogan. Then Mike picked us up and took us home and he brought over Tinkerbell the movie so that he & I could watch it together. It was really cute!

Today the agenda is going to Typhoon Lagoon with Mike [a bunch of my roomies ended up going too so we'll be meeting up with them] and then he & I are going to watch High School Musical 3 since I haven't seen it yet. Yay Disney movies!!!

today

So today wasn't too bad. I worked in Fry Shoppe & closed Scuttle's. Last night was the killer. I got extended for two & a half hours. I didn't get home til after 1am and I was TIRED!!! I'm ready for it to slow down but that's not going to happen for a while. Things are still going well and I'm still very nervous about hearing from Entertainment. We'll see!!!

today

Today was spent at Pott's and Scuttle's. I closed Scuttle's with Brogan and we got to watch part of Wishes from the register. It was fun and she & I laughed a lot, but she was in pain so I did most of the closing. I'm very tired and wish that I could see Mike because I miss him. But alas, tomorrow I work from 1245-915 so it's going to be a shorter day, but still 8 hours...*sigh*

I just want to dance again and stay down here. I really love it here.

untitled

Hello all!

Yesterday was supposed to be a 12 hour shift but my manager randomly let me out an hour early! Yay Jina!!! I was in Fry Shoppe for most of the day which was fun because I liked the people there. After Fry Shoppe closed I ended up being Pretzel Runner for the last couple of hours that they needed me. I also burned my arm in the Pretzel Kitchen...ouchies. :( When I got to Pott's there wasn't really anything for me to do so Jina changed my time and I got out early and caught a ride home with three of my friends from work: Casie, Alexis, and Brogan. Work is fun, but I really want to perform again....I want to stay down here and be doing what I love in the place that I love.

Today the forecast is a 10 hour shift: 1245-0000...oh joy. It's not that they're bad shifts, but they are loooooong. At least I've been lucky so far...a lot of my friends will be here til about 4am today. Not cool, but the guests want what they want & we give it to them...:)

Any comments/questions/feedback of any sort? Leave me a comment!! I'll answer!!

update!!

wow, I'm getting really bad about keeping up with this blog! I'm sorry, everyone!

Just a quick update:
I had my character audition yesterday & I will find out if I made it on April 13th. I'm nervous & excited!
I also requested to extend my college program into the summer because I'm not ready to leave yet. I think that one of my roommates is also planning on extending which would be so much fun because she's a great girl!
Also, I have a boyfriend. If you've been keeping up with this, it's character Mike. If you haven't been keeping up, then it's this really sweet guy that is a full-timer & cares about me very much. :-) It's just weird saying that I have a boyfriend now because I haven't for so long....
Work is going really well. I had 10 hours today & I have 12 more tomorrow and the next day. It's been busy, but I still manage to keep a smile on my face and happiness in my heart. I love it here....

a new day

Today I worked for almost eleven hours...it was a lot. I spent most of the day in Pott's filling, doing register, and having fun. I got an extra hour of break for some reason, and then it was back to Pott's until I went to Fry Shoppe for about 10 minutes. I was then sent to Scuttle's to pre-close but I ended up closing because Jia [the other girl that was there] was picking up extra hours from Stands West so she didn't really know what to do. It was fine, and I had a good day so I didn't mind at all. :)

it's been way too long

Hello everyone!

I am so sorry that I haven't written in my blog lately! I've been super busy and it's been a VERY intense week! I'll tell you all about it!

Sunday was probably the worst experience for me since I've been here. I got violently ill about 5 times in Magic Kingdom. It started when I was almost done with work and finally ended when I had thrown up all over Frontierland. It was terrible, but I survived. I went home and crashed that night.
I woke up on Monday morning for opening training but I was still very weak & was way too scared to eat anything so I actually got to leave early to rest some more.
I had Tuesday & Wednesday off which I spent at Disney World with my friends Sarah & Brittany since they came to visit me for their Spring Break.
Thursday I went to work while the girls went to the beach. They ended up getting sunburned so we aloe-ed them up and let them rest for their last night in town.
They left of Friday morning and I had work again yesterday. Lots to do, but it was fun.
Today I work for 10 hours which is going to be a long time.

I've been thinking a lot about being cross-trained to do something. I'm not sure what I want to do, but I want to do more definitely. Also, my Entertainment audition is next Thursday...I'm so nervous!! There's another audition on Friday that I really want to do too, but we'll see...



Molly-in answer to your question: Yes, there is a costuming portion of the college program. You can apply for that area, but just to let you know many people apply for different departments and get completely random jobs. People that are in Hotel/Resort Management end up working in Attractions, Engineering majors are in Food with me...it's crazy. But yes, there is a way to work with the Costuming/Cosmetology departments....and I think you would thoroughly enjoy it. :-)

day 18

Hello all!

Today actually ended up being a fun day considering I didn't get much sleep. I had to be in at 1015am this morning which meant that I had to wake up around 730. Not fun, let me just tell you. But I caught the bus, hid underneath a baseball cap and listened to my ipod until I got to Magic Kingdom. From then on I worked at Scuttle's, then a break, then some more Scuttle's before they decided to send me to Pott's. The day ended up being really fun by the end. After that I got a bite to eat with character Mike and we chilled at my apartment for a little while. He dropped me back off at the Cast parking for Magic Kingdom where I met some of my work friends [aka about 20 of us] and we all headed to Fantasia Gardens Mini Golf for some amazingly awesome fun! We played the golf [I ended up with 3 under par...yessss] and then we all headed to IHOP for some 1am foodage. Now I feel really gross and might not need breakfast in the morning. I have a 10 hour shift ahead of me, so I guess I had better grab a few zzz's before that. Things are still going wonderfully here!

Oh and PS- yesterday a random guy named Phil came up to me at Pretzel Wagon and told me that I was portraying the Disney Basics very well. I might have said that yesterday, but it still makes me happy today. I love making people happy and although it's a great feeling just knowing that they're happy, it's also very nice to be commended for it. :)

day 17

Today was an intense day. I started out at Pretzel Wagon by myself for the first 4 hours until my break time. I got to eat & catch up with Brogan which was awesome because I haven't been able to talk to her in forever! After break I headed over to be Pretzel Runner which was easy because I only ran pretzels like once until the place closed. Then I headed over to Pott's to start pre-closing when Jonathan came in & asked me to help close Fry Shoppe since one of the people had to leave. I stepped up to the plate and helped out Liz & Amanda. After that I headed over to Pott's to finish helping them. It wasn't too bad, but I was/am sooooo tired! Closing 2 locations is pretty hard.

And of course my day didn't end there. My friend Mike [not the one I work with, he is a character performer here] came over to MK & we watched 'The Incredibles' at his place. I fell asleep for most of it and then woke up for my FAVORITE part!!!!

It's been a long day...and I have to be up early tomorrow...yay me

day 16

Today was pretty fun...I worked in Fry Shoppe, Potts, and Scuttle's all in one day. My break was really early so I still had 7 hours left after I was done with it. It was an intense day. My pre-closing helper did absolutely nothing so I was stuck in Scuttle's closing the place by myself for about an hour. Not cool...but Marty & I got a few laughs in during our time at Pott's so it was a fun day.

After an intensely awesome weekend at home this was kind of not as cool, but hey, I'm at freaking Disney World! How awesome is that?! :)

back to work

After a long and lovely weekend at home I am back in Orlando and will work today from 10am-745pm. I can't wait!

day 15, sims & basic training

Today was a short day for me. About an hour in Scuttle's, a little bit of time in Fry Shoppe and then Mike, Matt, and myself headed to our SIMs training. The three of us [along with a few other people] learning how to safely & efficiently lift, push, and pull heavy loads. I was the one that got to demonstrate the 'bend & snap' part of the training...VERY embarassing!

After SIMs was done the three of us heading to our Basics class which reinforces our knowledge of the Disney Cast Member Basics. I would tell you, but it's something that the Guests are supposed to unknowingly experience... :) I got to see a few videos with Walt Disney himself in them. It was a great day. I didn't have to work much and I got to spend some time with the boys.

Tonight a few of my roommates & I are going out for a karaoke night!! I'm excited!

This experience is amazing & I still love it!!!!

day 14 & first class

Day 14 ended up being Tomorrowland training for me. I learned how to sell turkey legs & make smoothies. Those are the only two differences between Fantasyland & Tomorrowland. First of all, turkey is gross. I was disgusted the whole time. Ewwwwww!!! Seven dollars and two cents for part of a bird that's dipped in grease & seasoning and smells terrible. Ew again. Other than the gross turkey-ness, it was a good day. I was training with one other girl and we knew each other so we had some fun. It was a very relaxing day and we learned too. :)

This morning was my first Disney class...Exploring Leadership. I like the teacher and there were a few guys in there speaking French behind me so I tried to understand a tiny bit of the conversation. It didn't work out too well but there's always next week. I learned that out of these choices: Brainstormer, Doer, Integrator, and Problem Solver...I am a Brainstormer. I can give tons of choices but can rarely make one decision. It's quite true.

day 13

Wow intense day. I worked from 1215pm-115am...and it was looooong. The beginning of the day was terrible: I was just really upset, but things finally got better when I got to work with people my own age and do some more fun stuff. I worked in Scuttle's, Fry Shoppe, and Pott's. And I've decided that Fry Shoppe is my new favorite place to work. It's nice.. :-) By the time 115 rolled around I was delirious but we had fun so I got home at 2am and crashed. Now I have training for Tomorrowland from 1-915 tonight. I want to go out tonight since I have Tuesday off and hang out with Mike, Marty, and some other people. Wish me luck at training!!!

day 12

Today was pretty fun: I got to work at Scuttle's and then I finally got assigned to work at the Pretzel Wagon. It was pretty fun, but today it was cold!! I ended the night with Fry Shoppe pre-closing for a few minutes. I wish I had more to report, but alas...I do not. If anyone has any questions about Disney, I'd love to answer!

day 11

So it was a pretty good day for me at Magic Kingdom. I worked at Fry Shoppe, Potts, and then later as Pretzel Runner. I got to hang out with a few friends during my break but after my break I suddenly got really weak & kinda felt sick. I felt better by the end of the night, but I was very glad to have down time while waiting for pretzels to cook.

I got a ride home from Mike & we ended up hanging out for a while. We have the same hours today so he's giving me a ride today as well. :-)

I love it here and it's going to be so hard to leave! I'm seriously wanting to extend my program throughout the summer because this place really is the happiest place on earth for me... :-)

day 10

The six day stretch is done!! I finally have a couple of days off so I can do laundry & clean & sleep for a little while. Today was really fun though...I was at Scuttle's for the day..I actually closed it so it was nice. Nothing too exciting happened at work that I can remember. If I remember something I'll add it.

After work a few work friends wanted to go see the new Clint Eastwood movie so we did. It was really good minus the yucky parts which included blood & violence. Not my faves, but the story was REALLY good & we all enjoyed it. We ended up going & chilling at Denny's for a little while before Mike dropped me back off at my place and now I'm here telling you about it!

So I'm hoping for a reall good few days off before heading back to work. I've got to fix a couple of scheduling things for next week...yay!

day 9

My second 11 hour shift wasn't too bad...I finally got out of Potts which was nice. I got to go to Scuttle's & then be Pretzel Runner for a while. The day was long but there were many little good parts along the way. My day actually started badly...I was late to work because I had to sign a social security card so it took me like an hour to get to MK from DTD [Magic Kingdom from Downtown Disney], then my cash register broke down at Pott's so I had to fix that. Then caramel exploded on me. I finally got my break and almost fell asleep there. I got moved to Scuttle's where my day was definitely brightened in many ways: there was sun in my eyes, I saw a family with a girl from the Make-A-Wish foundation, and my friend Mike and a couple of other work friends came & surprised me. I was definitely happy to see them and get hugs although technically I don't think that I was supposed to hug a Guest of the park since they were visiting me on their day off...oops!!

The rest of the day was fun...I got to see Wishes [the fireworks show] and we saw the first bit of Tinkerbell's castle flight from Fantasyland so we were happy. It was very cold though...oh well! I had fun! So things are better...I only have nine hours of work tomorrow and I don't have to go in until 1pm...yesssssssss

day 8

Well it's about to be day 9 but I thought I'd write in this again to let you know about my 8th day. Not too much happened, but I got a ride to [and from] work with my friend Mike instead of waiting for the bus. I was in Pott's all day again and today there were no celebrities to serve. But it was still a good day. Long, but good. I actually ended up meeting a character who talked to me & helped me learn a few more things about auditioning and which characters I need to study. Other than those things I don't think that there's much to report. :-) Day number three with an 11 hour shift, here I come! I hope that my feet will last me.

day 7

Shame on me....I didn't have time to write this last night. I had Valentine's Day plans with some of my roomies and it was lots of fun!!!

I worked at Pott's all day on Valentine's Day. It was really nice and I was in a very good mood all day. I got to make many Magical Moments because at Pott's if you make the wrong sundae you can go out and give it to another guest at the park. I got my picture with two little girls that shared an accidentally made Strawberry Shortcake sundae & they were very grateful.

The big news of the day: Katie Holmes, Tom Cruise, and Suri were at Magic Kingdom! Not just that, but the girl next to me at Pott's, Alexis, took Katie's order and served them!!! Sooooooo exciting!!!!! She is beautiful naturally and they were all really nice to the flock of people that surrounded them. :-)

Since I had V-day plans with my friends I was begging my managers to get off at 9:30 instead of 11:15 last night. I waited around for 6 out of the 11 hours that I was supposed to work and finally Dennis told me that I owed my friend Mike because he agreed to stay 30 more minutes and close a second location. After I clocked out I ran in to where Mike was working & gave him the biggest hug and thanked him profusely!! It was a nice night with the ladies & he was VERY sweet to stay for me. Mike and I are sure to become better friends throughout this program.

So I got in VERY late last night and I'm looking at another 11 hour shift today which I will NOT be leaving early from. I'm soooo tired but it was worth it. Tune in later on today for the outcome of my lack of energy!

day 6

Today was wonderful! It was a 9 hour day for me but it was pretty good. I worked at Fry Shoppe for the first bit on the register. After my break I went over to Mrs. Pott's for the first time and was VERY stressed about that. I can almost get a decent looking ice cream after working there for about three hours. I ended up going back to Fry Shoppe to close for the night. A couple of friends from work closed up with me & we all rode home together with Mike. Yay for not having to wait for the bus!! Tomorrow starts my 3-day run of 11-hour shifts...wish me luck! I'll try not to pass out from delirium!

days off & day 5

Hello everyone!

So I had a couple of days off from work which was nice....the first day one of my roommates, Melanie, and I went to Hollywood Studios for a little while. We didn't do much, all we did was go to the Beauty & the Beast show and on Rock n' Roller Coaster twice. The show was beautiful...I almost cried. Belle was beautiful, the dancing made me miss being in shape...and made me quite enthusiastic towards dance again...I can't wait to audition for entertainment!!! And then the roller coaster was the most fun ride I've ever been on in my entire life!!!! We went on it normally and then we waited to be in the front row....it wins!

The next day off that I had Megan [another roomie] and I decided to go to Blizzard Beach, one of Disney's two water parks, and it was wonderful! It was really nice outside, about 80 degrees, and she & I went 58 mph down a slide called Summit Plummet!! It's a 120-foot vertical drop in a water slide...and I'm not gonna lie, my booty was quite sore from it.... The other highlight from that day was buying a sand bucket full of ice cream and all the toppings and devouring it!!! We couldn't finish it all, but it was totally worth it...and we have the bucket to remember that day forever!

Today was nice...I don't have any complaints!! I worked for about 8 hours and I had a good time. I first worked in Fry Shoppe at one of the registers for a while and then I had a nice 45 minute break before I went to Scuttle's to work and close. I closed Scuttle's all by myself & I didn't forget anything!! I was very proud of myself...and the best part is that I got off only 5 minutes later than I was supposed to which is really good!!! Also, my trainer gave me an AMAZING rare Belle pin that is only sold in Disneyland Paris! I was sooooo happy!!! I love Belle, I love France, I love Disney...it was perfect!

But I think that the best part about the day, and maybe even this whole program so far, was this: I made a Magical Moment today at work by giving a birthday boy a cookie 'on the Mouse' [tehe!]. The parents and the boy both seemed like other Magical Moments recipients: happy and grateful. About 15 minutes later the little boy comes back & I greet him as I normally do: with a smile on my face and looking him in the eyes. He whispers, "Thanks for the cookie!" and handed me a Finding Nemo valentine. I gasped and said thank you and he ran back to his parents who waved to me. It's things like that that make this job completely worth it to me. I was almost in tears and I can't wait to make another magical moment. :-)

day 4

hi everyone!

today was pretty good: i worked at Scuttle's for the first half of the day [i'm glad that they keep putting me there because i love it there!!] after a short break i went to a college program welcome with some other members of food & beverage. we hung out, got to play some games, & had fun! i got to leave early so i visited the park for a few minutes [just a little bit of shopping... ;)] and now i'm back home!

tomorrow and wednesday are my days off so my friends & i are going to hollywood studios and blizzard beach!! i'm so excited because i've never been to either of them & they both have really great things to do!!!! i'll let you all know about it when i'm done!

ps-i got a great fanatic card today which is only given out by managers and coordinators. one of the leaders saw me interacting with the guests and apparently she was impressed because she told me i'd have a card within the next few days! i know it might not seem like much, but they go on my record card and they look good in the disney world! it made me sooo happy!!

day 3

So after the yucky burn incident last night I was worried about coffee. Thankfully I only got a few orders of coffee today so I was fine. Scuttle's wasn't too busy and I had a good time there. Today was also a short day so I was excited about that. After my break I was assigned to be the pretzel runner which included taking salted pretzels, unsalted pretzels, and churros to the pretzel wagon as well as running sweet cream cheese pretzels to Scuttle's. Not a bad job...I didn't have to do it too many times so I got a bunch of down time for myself. The only not so great parts of the day were aching feet and that burn on my arm...no biggie! I still love it!!! :)

Enjoying the pictures???

second day

It's 10:52pm and I just got home from work. 10 hour shifts are loooooong but I had fun the whole day! I worked in Scuttle's for most of the day [I looove Scuttle's] and then I ended the day by closing up a tiny portion of Fry Shoppe with Mike & Matt while a training group closed the hard parts...yesssss. Mike then gave me a ride home so I got home about 30 minutes earlier than I would have been if I had ridden the bus. I was quite grateful!! Tomorrow I work from 1115-630...not too bad. :)

On a bad note, I burned myself pretty badly last night. I was putting the lid on a coffee cup and it decided to collapse & explode all over my arm... :-\ It still hurts, but it will heal soon.

PICTURES!! I'm putting public links from facebook on here! Enjoy!!

Pictures from my birthday in Magic Kingdom!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2012037&l=35083&id=1001040155
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2012039&l=2a01a&id=1001040155

Other pictures:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2011124&l=d9a6d&id=1001040155
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2011779&l=c86ce&id=1001040155

Let me know what you think!!!

first day

Hello all!

Today was my first official day without anyone training me, on my own, working. The first half of the day consisted of me scooping fries into their containers...or at least, that's what I was SUPPOSED to be doing. Throughout the shift people decided to take 'ten-tens', or bathroom breaks, so at one point I was frying the fries, scooping them into the containers, placing them on their trays, & getting them out to the correct cashier. It was hectic but lots of fun. I enjoy the people but I don't think that I'll ever consume another McDonald's fry for the rest of my life. Yuck! I also got to be a cashier at Fry Shoppe for a little while while one of them took a 10-10.

After my break I went to be a cashier at Scuttle's Landing. My Scuttle buddy was Brogan, a girl that was in my training group, & we had an amazing time! We talked when we had time, we made the others' orders if we weren't busy, and most importantly, we had fun. :-) Brogan actually stayed for about an hour longer than she was supposed to because otherwise I would have had to close that entire place by myself...and it's not a small place. We did pretty well & I learned a lot...

If anyone was wondering, my birthday was amazing yesterday! This is a part of my Disney experience, so I'll share it with you: a couple of my roomies had lunch with me, then I headed to Magic Kingdom and had a blast walking through there on my own time doing my own thing. I was alone, but I enjoyed every single bit of it! People were saying happy birthday to me everywhere I turned [I had a birthday button on, provided by Disney of course :) ] I got to see the day & night parade, the castle show, and I got a picture with the Dapper Dans! It was great! After the light parade [SpectroMagic] my roomies picked me up & we headed back to our apartment. When we arrive I see streamers outside with some balloons and I start to get excited. Upstairs there are streamers, balloons, and TWO homemade cakes made by them! They surprised me, sang to me, and helped me to have one of the most wonderful birthdays I could have asked for! We played Disney Scene it & Clue before a few of us went to a hot tub with some friends and chilled for a while. By the way, it was so cold outside that by the time I was heading home, the condensation that had come out had left FROST on our jackets. Brrrrr!!!!

Overall, it was a good day today & an AMAZING birthday!

PS- Bri [one of my roommates] bought me a glass version of the Beast's enchanted rose!! We had seen it in a store in Downtown Disney & she bought it for me!!! I now have a Belle collection going in addition to my Disney Princess collection! I'm sooo happy! I have a Princess blanket & pillow, a homemade Princess pillow, a picture holder with Belle's yellow dress as the stem, and the enchanted rose. Anyone else have an urge to add to it? ;-)

days off

I have a couple of days off so I might not be posting much, if anything, up here until after my first day is over on Friday. Today should be filled with shopping in Downtown Disney & Cast Member only locations. Tomorrow is my birthday in the Magic Kingdom! A few of my roommates will be with me, and another few will be working so I'll be stopping by to see them! I hope everything is still magical with the outside world, because the happiest place on earth truly is amazing!!

PS- Just to let everyone know, I have updated the settings on this blog. Anyone can comment on the posts, not just registered users! So PLEASE comment on anything you'd like, and sign it so I know who is commenting on my blog!! Thanks!!!

assessment day

I passed my assessment!! Sorry, I'm not good at keeping people in suspense...I never was. It comes from growing up with a family that hates surprises, but I love them so I'm the different one in my family. :-)

We had a written assessment as well as a verbal: they both went pretty well. The other three trainees and myself ended up picking up the answers that the other person didn't know so we were all on the same page. I have tomorrow & my birthday off before I start working for real later on this week.

After we finished our assessment day a little early I met up with a co-worker & her roommate & we explored Magic Kingdom a little bit together before we headed home. It was sooo cold today!! I'm definitely taking a warm jacket wherever I go for the next couple of days. I need to get a few more things for work and then relax! Things are going well!

training day number 2

I just got home from my second training day and let me just tell you I am beat!! It was quite a long day! Barb was our trainer today & she was fun...but there were a few things that we different. You can tell that she likes to write everything down because she had paperwork for us to do with her as well as she gave us some study guides [we were all grateful for them] to help us on our assessment day [which is tomorrow! ahhhh!] She was very nice & helped us a lot. The four trainees closed up 2 locations today: Enchanted Groves & Mrs. Pott's Ice Cream. They both closed early because the guest count was so low today [very sad... :-\] but I learned so much about taking apart & cleaning coffee, ice cream, and slushie machines that I'm sure I'll get used to it soon.

My assessment day is tomorrow and the other three trainees & myself are all pretty worried about it. There is so much to remember & then if we pass we are on our own without trainers or anything to help us. I just hope I remember enough....wish me luck!!

something i forgot to mention

When I saw 'Stands East' on my job description I assumed that I'd be at the outdoor food carts doing the same thing that my friend Jessica did when she was down there. I was wrong. There are three branches of Quick Service Food & Beverage areas. There's Outdoor Food [ODF], Stands East [or Stands West] which are the grab & go places, and then there are the Quick Service places [QSR] which is fast food, but they usually provide a place to sit around & enjoy the meal. Another thing that I learned about these three areas is that I can work in ANY of these three locations. So that triples my opportunities to work! We'll see how much I can take once my training is complete, but I thought that it was important to know that I could work in almost in food place in any of the parks & such. :-)

done with day 1!!

I just got home from my first onstage training day and WOW I am tiiiired!! I didn't have to be in work til 130 today but we stayed til 945 so they made it take a while. I had a little more computer training before we got to tour Fantasyland [where I'm being trained first] & make a stop where we trained first. The Village Fry Shoppe is quite the cute establishment...there is so much more to selling fries & hot dogs than I thought. It's a lot of stuff to remember but I think I can do it. But then on Monday I have to learn a whole new location. I'm helping to close both the Fry Shoppe & Mrs. Potts which is an ice cream place. There were 3 other trainees with our trainer, Kim, and it was a blast. We all talked & worked & had fun. I learned how to make french fries and trust me, I don't think I want to eat them anymore....eeeek. Also, I realized it will be quite hard to stay away from sodas...but I always have water!!

Let me tell you, I am tired...but it's totally worth it so I'm happy! My trainer told me that I should be Belle!!! It made me almost cry, I was so ecstatic about it! It's exactly what I want to be doing so it completely made my day!! :-D

I'm definitely ready for a day off, but I'm quite glad that I had fun!!

first day in costume

I'll try to get a picture up ASAP, but today is my first training day in costume [or in uniform]. I'll be in Fantasyland of Magic Kingdom for today & Monday, and then I'm in the Breaker costume [it means that we can roam the lands without having to worry about changing costumes] on Tuesday. I'm looking forward to Sunday...it's my first full day off! I hope that everyone that reads this is feeling a little bit of the magic that I'm sharing. This experience has been wonderful thus far and it can only get better! So if you're having a bad day, just remember that I'm thinking of you & I'm spreading some Disney magic just for you! Without the help of my friends, teachers, & family I wouldn't be the girl that I am today which is why I've included you all by making this blog for you to learn about my experiences!

PS-Walt Disney World's theme this year is: What Will You Celebrate? I have been celebrating being here for a few days, and I will have many other things to celebrate soon! My birthday is coming up, my roommates & I are growing closer, etc etc. My challenge to you is this: every morning when you wake up, or even every time you read this blog, ask yourself what you want to be celebrating. Sometimes you'll celebrate something big, and sometimes you can choose to celebrate something small & unique. You choose...or leave me some comments telling me what you chose that day. I would love to hear about it! Just keep a celebratory thought in your heart for me please...I would love it! :-)

epcot

after i got back from work we decided to go to epcot for a while. it was really nice. we got to go on soarin' [AMAZING!!], mission: space[niiiice], the three caballeros ride...and we went through most of the world showcase. it was really nice, but we were all getting cranky by the time we left. we didn't stay for illuminations or anything, but then again we do have 5 months here so we were fine.

side note: i now understand why people pay an arm & a leg at disney to eat. i was hungry!!!!! i would have bought a whole chicken!!

food & beverage training

today's training consisted of hearing people talk about the food & beverage department as well as watching 5 long boring videos on the computer. some were about food and some were about safety. i hope i remember it all.... :-\

i got out around 1130 which was early, & now i'm about to head over to epcot for a little while to ride some rides or something. we shall see!! :-)

i hope everyone is having a magical day where ever they are!

magic kingdom training

So today was my second big training day. Our group took a tour of Magic Kingdom [where I will be working] & learned tons of little tidbits about the park. Maybe I'll tell some of them to you when you come to visit me down here... ;-)

It was a long day: I woke up at 5, caught the 6am bus, was at Disney U by 7 & had a long walking, talking, and learning day that didn't end til about 330pm. After recieving my costumes I came back home to my apartment to chill out because it was raining & I was VERY tired. As my roommates slowly got home or came into the common rooms we decided that it would be fun to go to Magic Kingdom in the rain so that we could have some fun. It was 530 & we jumped up to go have some late night fun. We stayed for the fireworks show [Wishes narrated by Jiminy Cricket] after riding the three mountains [Space, Splash, & Big Thunder] as well as the Mad Tea Party. It was quite a night for us.

Now I'm sitting here getting ready for my Food & Beverage Basics class in the morning. I have to wake up early again, but not as early & I won't be there for more than 5 hours. Maybe I'll take a little nap...or maybe I'll end up at a park again...who knows? :-)

'Til next time! Have a magical evening!

just a tidbit

I'm up at 5am to get ready. Ahhhhhhh so early!!!!

traditions

Traditions was pretty cool. No one else liked sitting in a room for 4 hours hearing out Disney & what we're supposed to do but I enjoyed it. We learned about a bunch of stuff & it's pretty intense.

Tomorrow I'm in training from 7am-330pm which means that I have to catch the 6am bus from my apartment. Wooooo! We shall see how it all goes...

I met a guy in Traditions that's working in Magic Kingdom too so that's cool. I've met so many people so far that it's been crazy!

pictures

So I can only upload one picture on each post & I feel like that's not worth it. If you want pictures you can either look on facebook or give me your email address & I will send you pictures that I've taken. So far I only have pictures of my room...I haven't done much else yet!

Just a quick update:
I go to Traditions in about an hour & a half where I will recieve my Main Entrance Pass [so I can get into the parks!!]
It's been fun so far! We haven't done much but it's been nice to relax. I'm sure that I'll want to have these days back once I've begun working but I guess I'll find out soon enough!

address

Since I know you're all DYING to send me my birthday presents soon [February 5th is just around the corner]...AND since I finally found out what my address is....here it is!

Kelly Cochran
12725 Anson Manor Court Apt #28201
Orlando, FL 32821

I can't wait to get mail from you all!

friends

So far I've met quite a few interesting people:

2 of my roommates are from Wilmington, NC....where One Tree Hill is filmed.
1 guy from Indiana that will be working on the Safari rides in Animal Kingdom.
1 girl from Michigan that actually knows my old Irish dancing teacher!

Those are just a few. I'm pretty pumped about meeting many more people & later getting to ride rides with them all!!

location!

I found out where I'll be working today! I'll be on the East side of Magic Kingdom [ToonTown, Tomorrowland, Fantasyland] working with the Outdoor Foods part! It's pretty much exactly what I wanted so I'm happy about it! I will be attending Traditions tomorrow at 1pm ish and jump right into training on the next day! I also signed up to take a Disney Exploration class on Leadership. No assignments, tests, exams, etc....just hearing two hours of Disney leaders a week. I'm pretty pumped about that as well!!

greetings from otown!

Hello all!

I am officially moved in down here in Orlando!! I am living in a complex called Chatham Square with 7 other girls...soooo much estrogen in the place! I hope it's not too intense for me! The girls seem pretty cool so far, and the place is REALLY nice so I'm happy. :-) Tomorrow I head to Traditions which is the Disney orientation that all employees [Cast Members] must go through. I'm pretty pumped about the experience and I can't wait to start!

So about 6 of us 7 girls went to Wal Mart earlier and most of us have stocked up our fridge/freezer/pantries already. We have a balcony and four bedrooms and eeeeeeeee I'm sooo excited!!!

I'll try to put up pictures as soon as possible, but for now just believe me when I say that I am very impressed so far!!

Until next time,
Kelly!

Welcome!

Welcome to my Disney World blog! I will be in Orlando for the Disney College Program working in Quick Service Food & Beverage from January 26th-June 6th, 2009. Wish me luck!

I will do my best to keep everyone up-to-date about what is happening/going on with me throughout the semester. I will try to let you know about where I'm working, people I'm working with, what events I see, places I go, all that stuff! So get excited because this is going to be an awesome semester!!!