First Month with the Mouse

Hello, hi, greetings!  Yes, I am alive and well!  I apologize for the long gap between posts.  It just takes a lot of time and energy (which seem to never coincide).  Not to mention I really didn’t think anyone read that last one….

It’s been a crazy month.  I can hardly believe it’s been a month!  Part of me feels like we just got here and the other part feels like we’ve been living life here for years.  But a month it has been!  In that month, there have been a few not so great moments but it’s been a mostly good experience!  It’s a lot to do and even more to learn but it’s a satisfying feeling to know you’ve done your part well in keeping the massive machine that is Walt Disney World running.  

Yesterday was actually a really bad day.  Worst day yet, in fact, but they are few and far between.  Most of my leaders, managers, and coordinators are really nice.  A few have even been surprising because they didn’t come across that way in first encounters but have proved to be wonderful resources when you need help.

My coworkers are very nice as well!  It’s nice to have Carey there as a familiar face among the crowd and I’ve made several friends.  Almost all of the CPs (College Program participants) have arrived by now but most are still in training or just finishing up.  It’s funny to encounter someone with one of my trainers so you feel comfortable to walk up to meet the new CP and they are so intimidated by you because they assume you’re a seasoned veteran and not almost as fresh off the farm as they are.  I even have a couple of CPs who look to me for all the answers and I’m just, like, “Don’t ask me! I don’t know any more than you do!”

Okay, so I’d probably worked at Creature Comforts half a dozen times (for an hour a two a piece) before I looked up and noticed the giant Princess Atta! 

We can just pretend I'm more observant than that.

Overall, I think things are going pretty well.  If another Cast Member (CM) notices you doing something that goes above and beyond, they can get a leader to give you a card called a Fanatic.  I’m actually not sure if they mean anything but, so far, I’ve received three and given two!  It’s actually more fun to give one than to receive, I’ve discovered.  Carey was a bit put out I didn’t give one to her (she says as she already has three herself).

We have four different positions you can be assigned to for your shift (one per shift unless you have a split shift): Island Register, Island Stock, Outfitters Register, and Outfitters Stock.  Island is the more involved, bigger, and busy side but, for some reason, it’s Outfitters that is the nightmare.  I’ve really only had two “bad” days and they were Outfitters days.  I definitely prefer Register, personally.  I wanted this job for the Guest interaction and you get little of that when stocking.  The best part about being a Floorstock is that you’re days fly because you’re so busy.  Eight, ten, or twelve hours tends to drag when you’re working the register or Merchantaining.

Speaking of Merchantaining, I’m pretty sure I’m going to do permanent damage to the tendons in my arm.  All of my Fanatics have been for waving to and enthusiastically greeting the Guests as they pass but three hours of non-stop waving wears your arm out, let me tell you.  After about half an hour each time, I no longer feel it or even have to think about the action but that first few minutes is torture.

OH! And a big thank you to Mrs. Arden Lindsey for coming to visit me at work last week!  It was so nice to see a face from home.

But enough with work!  I certainly didn’t intend to go on for it for an entire Word page…. Though, I really don’t do much besides work and sleep.  If it weren’t for breaks, I probably wouldn’t eat.  Working at Disney World fulltime is not as glamorous as imagined.  But we have fun!

We did go to Planet Hollywood for Katie’s birthday and I made the brownies but, unfortunately, discovered that they don’t turn out as well when you use a cookie sheet since you don’t have a brownie pan yet (this has since been modified). 

Now that we are done with training, we (well, Carey and I) have had a couple of exclusive Backstage opportunities! First was a special showing of Avatar in the Finding Nemo Theatre hosted by none another than DAK (Disney’s Animal Kingdom) VP, Josh D’Amaro, Avatar’s Executive Producer (i.e. James Cameron’s right hand man), Jon Landau, and Imaginear and lead designer for DAK, JOE ROHDE!!!!!!

I was so excited. I hate that my iPhone couldn’t get better photos.  :(

A week later, Carey and I had the opportunity to take a Backstage tour of Expedition Everest and get an up close and personal meet and greet with the Yeti herself! 

I got lots of pictures with her but I'm sad to say I’m not allowed to post them…. If you want to see them, send me a message! I’d love to show them off!  As it is, I am allowed to post the Onstage photos I got!

The fog was insane and made Everest look particularly realistic and spooky.

Our tour guide pointed out this shrine to us.  I’m sure many of you, like me, have passed it many times and never looked at it twice but you’ll notice it lines up perfectly with the mountains peaks.

The highest peak in the shrine houses the Yeti statue and that’s just where the Yeti resides.  I thought that was a really cool feature! 

We took that day to do Wilderness Explorers.  If you haven’t done it, you definitely need to next time you visit DAK!  Wilderness Explorers is based off of the Boy Scout-esque troop that Russell is a part of in the Disney-Pixar movie Up!  It takes you through the entire parks and makes sure you get a chance to see every animal exhibit DAK houses (yes, DAK is first and foremost a zoo. Who knew?!)  It was so fun even if we didn’t get a chance to finish it yet.

And I finally got to personally meet the BOSS! 

And his wife but who really cares about her?  (Long story, if you don't get it.)

We’ve been to the parks a lot even though we have now decided we are all going to take one of our typically two days off every week to rest.  Please note I have done absolutely nothing today.  Tomorrow, Carey and I are going to spend the day at (probably) Magic Kingdom!  I’ve seen a lot of Guests sporting a plush Stitch toboggan hat and I want one. :)

We've met a lot of our more celebrated Disney Cast Members.  Carey loves Tigger and I thought we were going to lose Katie for minute when she finally met Pooh Bear.

Probably the best character I’ve met yet would be Frozone from The Incredibles.  He is so much fun and is quickly getting a reputation across all the parks! 

I mean, how many people can say they’ve square danced with a superhero?

We’ve also done a lot of shopping.  I keep finding things I want!  My mother even had me buy another one of these mugs to send to her. (Do you like our new tablecloth?)

I’d also regretted not buying this hat the last time we were here.  (Selfie originally taken because it was ridiculously hot that day.  And this ridiculously hot day was also followed by four days of freezing rain. Gotta love Florida.)

And I am now officially a pin trader!  I figured I might as well drink the Kool-Aid.

Now, if you’ve visited Central Florida before, you may understand but these little guys are who really run the show.

They are EVERYWHERE.  And they are quite content to just chill next to you or run under your feet as you walk.  I probably see a dozen just when walking from my apartment door to my car.

Okay, I think that's about everything.  I really to buy a coffee maker.  I had been dying for a cup so badly that I found a Starbucks (in a Target) after 10 o’clock one night.

Oh, and, just as a note to anyone who comes down here, be careful where you get gas.  I got seriously ripped off at Shell a couple weeks ago.  I have since found out that Disney actually pays Hess so that they don’t prey upon Disney’s Guests.  So support Hess!  I know I will be.

I will try to post with more regularity in the future but I make no promises!

Until next time, love you all and COME SEE ME!!

Abigail