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!).
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!
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