Earning My Ears

I'm I officially earned my ears! I had my assessment and I stressed way more than I should have. I was worried I would have a huge brain fart and would get everything wrong and I would be sent home. Thankfully that didn't happen and I successfully passed. I think Jack Sparrow gave me good luck because we saw him backstage first thing in the morning, which was exciting because we usually don't see him by Main Street.

One thing I quickly learned is that training really doesn't train you for the job. We learned how to properly clean, where to get the supplies we need and other important things like that, but we didn't learn what the zones were or how a typical day is. I thought when we got one assignment that was our task the rest of the day, but it constantly switches. I also don't know the zones very well, which would've been great to learn during training because I feel like I'm just wandering a place, hoping it's part of my zone.

Friday after my assessment I met my friend Alicia in Downtown Disney. Fun fact: Alicia and I wrote for an online blog but never met until we were both at Disney. We were going to see a movie but it was sold out so we just explored Downtown Disney instead! She extended her program so she has been here for a while and knew of some places to get dinner. We went to an irish pub and I fell in love with it. They had irish dancers and even had Rekorderlig, which is a drink I had while in London.

She also took me to my first Disney resort, Animal Kingdom Lodge. It was absolutely beautiful and we even saw a giraffe! It blows my mind how nice the resorts are because I would never want to leave the resort, even for a park.

I usually don't get homesick, but it hit hard this week. It's a very strange feeling because if I ever did miss home while at school I could just go home for the weekend. Even when I studied abroad I never got homesick. I think what is making it so bad now is that most of my friends and roommates work during the day and my shifts usually aren't until night so I don't get to hang out with people a lot. When I was abroad my friends schedules and mine all matched up that we had the same days off and had classes at similar times so we were constantly together. As soon as I get to work the homesickness wears off, thankfully.

Speaking of work, I found out my favorite shift is bypass, where we let guests go through a backstage area to get to the front of the park to help keep the traffic on Main Street low. We put on Mickey Mouse hands and wave goodbye to the guests. When I see little girls I usually say "bye princess," to them or if they're dressed up as a specific one I'll call them by that name. They're eyes light up and it's amazing to see their reactions.

I had my first celebrity experience at work! Well, I didn't even see the celebrity, but Waka Flocka was at MK on Sunday night. Apparently he was there with his girlfriend and daughter. I'm not a fan of him, but I was hoping to catch a glimpse of him just to say I did. A lot of my co-workers saw him, though! I heard John Travolta visits MK often so I'm hoping to see him eventually.

I had Monday off and I have been dying to explore the world showcase at Epcot, so I did just that. First I went to a discount store for cast members. I heard great things about it so I was very excited, but I realized it's very much a hit or miss situation. I didn't find anything I liked there, but I saw things some of my friends had gotten before so I'll have to try again later.

Eventually I made my way to Epcot and travelled the world. I went to Germany first so I could meet Snow White. She has been a favorite of mine since I was little so I had to meet her! 

I continued to go to the different pavilions, stopping at just about every country including Italy, France and of course the United Kingdom. I went to every shop in the UK and found so much merchandise I'm trying to resist to buy, but I do need a Mickey UK shirt eventually. I stopped by the pub to see if they had to same drinks I had while I was abroad and I did find one, Pimm's!

When I had been to all of the pavilions I decided to head back to the American pavilion because a U2 tribute band was playing. I had some time to kill so I watched them for a bit and then made my way to the beginning of the showcase to find a spot to watch IllumiNations, their nighttime show. When it started I realized a fastpass is probably the best way to watch the show so I left and made a mental note to get a fastpass next time.

Having a day to myself in Epcot was much needed. I work the next seven days with a few long shifts so a bit of alone time in the park was refreshing. I realized today that is the worst part of working in MK... The hours are terrible! The other parks close between 9-10 I believe, but MK doesn't close until midnight, unless there are magic hours then they stay open until until later (sometimes 3 a.m.). This isn't good for me, considering I enjoy going to bed early and waking up early so adjusting to this new schedule is pretty difficult. 

First Days in the Kingdom

My body is not reacting to the heat and humidity well down here. I've had a cough for a few days now and it is also leading into a cold. Because I've been coughing so much my voice is low (or at least it sounds low to me, others say it sounds fine but I don't believe them). My roommate said it could be from going in the intense sun into the cool air conditioning, which makes sense because I feel perfectly fine at work.

I had my first day of on the job training on Friday. They started us off easy with a sweeper shift, so we just walked around our zones and swept for eight hours and 45 minutes. My day started off great. When I got to work I was walking to the area where we meet our trainers. As I was walking I felt like someone was looking at me so I looked up and Ariel was standing on a ramp above me. She must've noticed I was shocked because she started a little conversation with me. My day started off with a conversation with a princess... Doesn't get much better than that!

As my sweeper shift started I did was I was supposed to do and just walked up and down Main Street and swept up any trash. Thankfully, there is never much because the guests are usually great about getting their trash to the trash cans. Within my first hour a lady stopped me and thanked me for cleaning the parks because they always looks so clean. Little things like that really make my day!

The best part about working on Main Street is that I get to clean by the castle, which is where families try to take selfies together, which rarely work with a lot of people. Whenever I ask people if they want me to take a picture for them they always seem shocked. Some even try to give me money, which I politely decline and say it's part of my job. It's actually the best part of my job because sweeping can get boring.

The rain in Florida is insane. As soon as I got done with my lunch break I realized it was really dark. I walked up Main Street and as soon as I started making my rounds back down it started pouring. There was also thunder and lightning. Main street was flooded within seconds.

I didn't want to get my costume wet (I'm wearing all white, remember?) so I went into the Emporium and waited there with a few other workers. I saw a little boy who looked a little lost, so I was talking to him a bit and realized he didn't know where his parents were. I walked around the store with him and we found a leader, so he helped us out. The boy was very quiet so he was hard to hear. Thankfully, as we were trying to get information from him his parents came up to us. I got a Four Keys card for helping the boy, which is a big deal, especially for the first day on the job and still in training.

I had been working for a few days in a row so I met Kellie in MK after work. We rode a few rides, but our favorite was actually a show. It was Monster Inc's Laugh Floor. My advice, skip Stitch's Great Escape and go to Monster Inc. Laugh Floor. It's the best.

We also got our main gate entrances so we linked them to our Disney apps and then linked our apps together so we could get fast passes. We got some the next day for Mad Tea Party, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and a meet and greet Cinderella and Rapunzel.

The next morning started off with a visit to Gaston's Tavern in Fantasyland to visit Gaston. I was  really excited to meet him because I've heard stories on how he is hilarious and flirty with girls, which is true. We couldn't stop laughing at all of his interactions with people! There was even a little girl dressed up as Belle, but she wanted nothing to do with Gaston (how fitting!).

On our way back to Main Street we decided to get in line for Ana and Elsa. The line I believe was a 45 minute wait, but we think we stood in line for 30 minutes at most. It  moved surprisingly fast and were shocked when we got into the room they were in!

After meeting the newest princesses, we finally got to Main Street to get Starbucks. We were exhausted already and it was still the morning! I had learned about a door dedicated to Disney's cast members. Walt Disney has names on the buildings of all the important people who helped make Disney a reality and it was his idea to dedicate a door to the cast members. We decided to have a mini photo shoot there!

The rest of the day we met more princesses... Tiana, Aurora, Cinderella, Rapunzel and even a prince, Naveen!

My favorite ride I've been on so far is Seven Dwarf Mine Train. It's newer and it's amazing. If you plan on coming to Disney anytime soon you have to ride that ride (but I suggest getting a fast pass!). My days are starting to be a blur, but I believe this day we went back to Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor and I was chosen for the show! I just had to say where I was from and they said the exact opposites of what Michigan is like (it's a foot and no where near water). It sounds dumb in writing, but I promise it was hilarious!

I had work the next few days. It was more training, which consisted of a sweeper shift one day, learning how to clean public areas (basically trash) another day and how to clean bathrooms the last day. I think the public areas and bathrooms could've been one day of training instead of two, but better to take things slow than to rush through it.

During training I realized the most important thing I have to put on everyday is sunscreen. I got fried during my sweeper shifts. I wore shorts and my legs got sun poisoning on the back. I didn't have a hate because they ran out of custodian hats so my forehead was bright red. I put sunscreen on, but apparently not enough! I now have a hat and am wearing pants until I know my legs can handle the sun again.

Sweeper shifts can be boring, but I love the guest interaction that goes with it. While sweeping one girl said "Welcome to the family," as she walked by. She was a cast member who had the day off and must've seen my "Earning My Ears" sticker on my name tag. About 10 minutes later, a photo pass photographer said the same thing to me. Disney cast members are really nice, for the most part!

While walking to lunch one day we saw Tinkerbell heading in the same direction. She smiled really big and said hello, so we said hi back. Normally characters aren't super chatty backstage, so we are use to letting them do their thing. Tinkerbell walked in front of us for a while, but eventually turned around and asked how our day was. When she saw our "Earning My Ears" stickers she welcomed us to the Disney family, too! She was talking about how great life was to be working at the most magical place on earth. Our trainer said it is rare for a character to be that social backstage, which I had assumed so Tinkerbell was something else!

Near the end of my shift a little boy made my day. I must've looked a little worn out because a little boy who walked by with his family looked at me, smiled real big and said "Have a great night!" It was something so small, but it honestly made the last little bit of my shift bearable.

Two days off may seem normal for most people, but here we don't always get weekends off. I had Wednesday and Thursday off this week, which was much needed. Kellie and I had breakfast reservations at Be Our Guest in Belle's castle Wednesday morning. It was a quick service restaurant, but it was absolutely beautiful inside!

We met Merida and Peter Pan, who I had been dying to meet. For some reason he has become a recent favorite of mine. I think just because I see him in the castle show everyday.

We decided to go to Hollywood Studios because one of Kellie's friends is friends with Sofia the First. We were by far the oldest ones in line, but we didn't care! We also watched the Frozen sing-a-long again and found a subway station and took pictures pretending to be Harry Styles (we were trying to pass time, at this point). We also got stopped by a Green Army Man from Toy Story. I don't remember why he stopped us, but he backed up in his tracks and made fun of Kellie and her friends (they had joined us by this point) and then eventually saw me and made a phone with his hand, saying to call him. I've been hit on by two characters from Toy Story so far. Apparently I have something that appeals to toys... Awesome.

Today I decided to lay low. I did grocery shopping (saw the bus leaving just as I got to the bus stop and saw it leave the store just as I exited... I had no luck with buses today) and did laundry. Tomorrow I have my assessment for my role (yes, we actually get tested) and then I officially start on Saturday!

Training and The Disney Look

Training is very exhausting. The first couple of days you don't do much besides sit in a classroom, but you get so much information that it tires out your brain. Sunday and Monday were both days of a lot of information. I won't get into details because we just learned basic custodial things and I don't want to bore you.

Tuesday night I decided I needed to get out so Kellie and I went to Epcot. It was raining so we tried to stay inside as much as we could. We rode Spaceship Earth, Soarin' and the Finding Nemo ride.

We decided to go to the works showcase and eventually found ourselves in London. I don't think I've ever been happier! I ran to a telephone booth and took some pictures and we went into a shop. I was excited because I saw some of the food I had in London in the store! We eventually left because it was raining and we both had work the next day. We said we had to go back to London soon.

Wednesday was another work day, but I got very exciting news! I found out my exact location in Magic Kingdom that I'd be working and I'm excited to say that I'll be working in the south part of MK, which is the entrance all the way to the castle! This means my main part is Main Street. This is the location I wanted most in MK because I just love seeing the castle. 

I also got my costume. It is very normal compared to other costumes, which I'm kind of bummed about because where else would I be able to wear a crazy costume and have it be considered normal (besides Halloween, of course)? My costume consists of white shorts (or pants if it's cold), a white polo, black shoes and white socks that cover my ankle. We also get a few accessories, like a belt with some pouches we clip on it. We also get a hat but they ran out at costuming.

Thursday was the first day I wore my costume, including my "Earning My Ears" sticker on my nametag. 

We toured MK again and the tunnels and I think I'm finally leaning my way around! We even got to watch the Festival of Fantasy parade, first from Main Street and then from backstage, which is a completely different atmosphere. Again, I don't want to ruin the magic of Disney so I'm not going to talk much about the backstage areas. Just use your imagination!

During the parade, Peter Pan and Wendy were on their float. There was a brother and sister dressed like them and Wendy spotted them and pointed them out to Peter Pan and they waved excitedly at the children. Their faces lit up! It was the cutest thing I have ever witnessed and I think I was more excited than the kids were!

The Disney Look is something taken very seriously, which meant that or all the days I was training (and Traditions) before I had my costume I had to wear business casual attire. If you wore a shirt or dress without sleeves, the straps have to be three fingers wide. You couldn't wear sandals or open toe shoes, plus you want to make sure your shoes are comfortable for all the walking you do. If you chose to wear makeup it has to look natural (no crazy eyeshadow or winged eyeliner) and your hair has to look put together. As for jewelry, you can only have one pair of earrings but they can't be bigger than a dime, one watch and one ring on each hand. Your nails have to look nice! If you choose to wear nail polish it has to be a neutral color (the color wheel is on the DCP blog). I wear "Sweet Talker" by Sally Hansen. I got shellack done about a month ago and it completely wrecked my nails so once they're back to normal I probably won't  paint them anymore since the upkeep is a lot of work. 

As you can see, training is tiring. I will be taking my assessment on Friday and then I will be on my own! Thankfully I have Saturday off so I can finally enjoy some time in the parks again since I haven't gotten to much this week. 

A Day in Hollywood

We all know that all the celebrities live in Hollywood, and that is no exception for Hollywood Studios.

Kellie and I decided to explore another Disney park on Saturday. It was Star Wars weekend so you can probably imagine the craziness we saw. Neither of us are Star Wars fans so we didn't know half of the character we saw walking around, but I did get a picture with a Stormtrooper! They ignored anybody that came near them so I ended up with the most awkward picture.

We saw a ton of other characters, but I honestly can't name them expect Darth Vader. We were in line for who we thought was Luke but then it was Anakin and he would be leaving before we got to the front of the line so we left. We were only in line because he was cute (my brothers probably hate me for this!).

The next character we saw wasn't a person, but it was the carriage from the new "Cinderella" movie! We tried to act like the step sisters, but we couldn't stop laughing while taking this picture. The best part about taking a picture in front of the carriage is that it doesn't have to leave for breaks... It may seem silly but whenever we are in line to meet a character it always leaves for a break as soon as we are close.

We walked around the park for a bit and eventually decided to see the Muppet*Vision 3D. When we walked out we found Phineas and Ferb, who Kellie is a huge fan of so we decided to meet them. 

The thing about Florida that I didn't believe is that it rains everyday. This is very true! While we were in line for Phineas and Ferb it started to sprinkle and if it were to rain harder they would've had to get out of the rain. Thankfully we met them before it started to pour. 

We continued our journey through Hollywood Studios and eventually met Woody and Buzz. It was in this line we realized we are always standing by parents who can't seem to control their kids and that characters always seem to have to need a break as soon as we get to the front of the line. Both of these situations happened during this. But we eventually met them and a Green Army Man right after!

I had my first magical moment at Hollywood Studios! A cast member saw me waiting for Kellie to get her food and asked if I as waiting there for him to eat my food. I smiled and said no, that I was just waiting for a friend. He then asked if I wanted a gift, so of course I said yes. He turned around and grabbed a cupcake from the fridge (Star Wars themed, obviously) and said I could have it for free if I didn't tell the other guests and if I shared it with Kellie. We were in such a rush to eat our meals that we each had about two bites of the cupcake and then had to throw it away, but it was delicious. It's little moments like this that make Disney so unique from other places and I love that.

We were rushing to eat because we wanted to go to the Frozen Sing-A-Long. I highly recommend this. It was hilarious and you got to see Ana, Elsa and Kristoff! We just have to meet them next.

I don't remember when in the day we met Chip and Dale, but we did! They were hilarious to meet, even though they couldn't talk. They were probably my favorite characters so far and we can hopefully meet them again when they're not in their Star Wars costume

 

We ended our night with ice cream and Fantasmic! I forgot how many fireworks (and the canon) go off so I definitely screamed a few times, but at least I'll be prepared for next time. The ending is my favorite, but I don't want to spoil it for no one who has seen the show so definitely go see it if you haven't yet! And if you're not coming to Disney anytime soon, I'm sure there is a video of it somewhere online.

Kellie and I got 'celebration' pins the day before at Magic Kingdom and we wrote "DCP" on them. We didn't wear them until we were at Hollywood Studios and a lot of the characters would point them out and congratulate us, which I thought was cool. Our weekend of celebrating had come to and end.... Next up was training.