Post Disney Disorder

Hello my friends, this shall be my final post here for now unless I ever work for the mouse again.  I have been home for over a month and the loss of the magic is sad but I have been trying my best to cherish the magic I find here at home.  I made so many great friends at Disney and I am thankful that I did this program.  Any of you who have read my other blogs have known that I like to write a list of what I have learned. Here it is:



1. If this is the first time you have lived away from home, you will learn your true living habits.  I had always thought, "When I get my own apartment, I will..." I thought that I would spend time on making food, HA. nope.  I thought I would decorate my billboard...I had one picture.  I didn't care, haha! I still struggled with dishes and making my bed.  You actually are hardly ever home, and when you are you hope to relax.

2.  I learned many differences between Disneyland and Disney World!

3. I basically memorized the different music loops that play in each land I worked in.  My favorite will of course be the Veranda restroom music in Adventureland.

here is a link to it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqoibEsn1L0


4.  I got over my laziness. I worked 60 hours a week sometimes, had a 15 hour day in Veranda restroom and survived 8 days straight in Veranda. Of course I did start talking to myself by day five, but that's a different matter.

5. I learned that guests get dirtier as the day goes on.  A morning shift or mid shift is always easier than a night shift because guests just don't care at the end of the day and will leave you with whatever they didn't want to deal with.

6. I learned what stalls get the dirtiest.  This is a lesson, folks: Don't choose stalls that are busy, such as the first few stalls.  If these stalls always have people in them, I obviously can't check on them or clean them so often times I find this stall trashed because women have not cleaned up after themselves but still feel the need to use the restroom.

7. There is a machine in the restroom that has 3 options: Tampon, shield, and napkin. It took me a while to figure out what each of these meant but I quickly had to learn because the guests also had no idea.  I got so embarrassed of trying to explain what a tampon was to guests that did not speak english that I carried extras around with me.  So, obviously a tampon is self-explanatory, but a napkin is a pad (I believe it is regular sized) and a shield is a panty-liner or mini pad. There are no diaper machines in the restrooms, Sorry.

8. Not many people respect the ADA stall, which is apparently known as the "Big stall" to some.  So many women take their children in there with them, and of course their strollers (which should not be in the restroom in the first place!). Women, please respect the stall and leave it for those who need it!

9. Disney is so magical that it makes your local theme park look so rinky-dink and has basically ruined all other theme parks (except perhaps universal which I have never been).  I recently went to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom and realized that they really don't care about show, efficiency, or courtesy.  There was one tram running that held only 45 people so we waited a long time to get to the park.  The played really ghetto music.  I think I saw one employee smile the entire day.  They we EXTREMELY understaffed, (which I can understand, because who would want to work there!?) and it left our family in line for lunch for almost 45 minutes because there was only ONE register open! There lime green shirts are so bright that you don't even want to look at them or approach them (which might be why they wear them). We saw the new show and we left in the middle because it was so bad.

10. Because Disney is so magical people's minds "go on vacation" but this is just a compliment in disguise. When I visited six flags I had to keep my head on straight because I had to make sure that my family was safe. At Disney, the cast members do that for you, so it's a compliment when I am asked by a guest how to exit the restroom and silly little questions like that. I get it now-even if I was annoyed at the time but of course I always wore a smile on my face.

The gang.

Party at Typhoon Lagoon!

End of the year party!

Love:)

Saying goodbye to my roommates and Magic Kingdom

Post-disney depression is of course my life right now. I need to do something to keep me busy. I am already thinking about applying to work at Disneyland, as well as looking into traveling abroad.  I am also looking in to doing another term of AmeriCorps, possibly with the California Conservation Corps, but for now I will be going to DVC once again and continuing my education.

Here is a link to a Youtube video that one of my roommates from Disney put together:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kz4BRlR2H54


See ya real soon!

Disney Knowledge and Family!

My family have since come and gone since the last time I posted! Being a cast member, I am granted access to all parks as well as am able to let in 3 other guests. I used these passes to let my family in the parks for 6 days! We had a blast though we didn't take too many photos. Here are a few:

Haunted Mansion exterior

THE TROLL. BEWARE THE TROLL.

I have experienced each Disney Park in their entirety, and here is my completed list of my favorite parks in order of awesomeness and why I like each one.  

1. Animal Kingdom.  I could spend all week here. They have my favorite food in the world- the Falafel.  This park is all about research and conservation and they want the guest to know it! They have a lot of vegetarian and vegan options, and of course my favorite place to hang out and get food and tea is India.  It has inspired me to want to travel to India! My favorite ride in Animal Kingdom would of course be the Kilimanjaro Safaris, because I get to see the animals! However I do really enjoy Everest and Kali River Rapids.  I also love to watch the Finding Nemo Musical in Animal Kingdom! 

2. Epcot. Don't remember what is stands for, but I always like to think it means Every Paycheck Comes On Thursday...because it does.  I love the World Showcase! As you all know I like to travel and what better way to spend my day than immersed in other countries! And it just so happens that Morocco has the Falafel as well. My favorite countries are Japan (because of the Miyazaki products), China (because China is awesome) and Germany because of the Grapefruit beer.  Norway is scary because of the trolls! Beware the trolls! During the Spring season Epcot hosts the Flower and Garden Festival.  I love this Festival because there are topiaries shaped as Disney characters. It rocks. 

Legitness

Mexico exterior

3. Magic Kingdom. Because I work here and it has lost a little magic.  But I LOVE Wishes, the fireworks show.  I also love "Celebrate the Magic" which is a show projected on the castle.  Of course the West is the place to be, which consists of Adventureland, Frontierland and Liberty Square. And although there is no Indiana Jones ride and their Pirates of the Caribbean is SUPER short, they do have a better Haunted Mansion and Splash Mountain.  I also enjoy riding the People Mover, which takes you on a tour around Tomorrowland.  The Monsters Inc Laugh Floor is HILARIOUS and there is nothing like it in Disneyland.  

4. Hollywood Studios...There is not much to say about this park.  Of course the noteworthy rides here are Star Tours, (which I rode today 5 times and got to my favorite planet twice!!!) as well as rock n roller coaster, the Tower of Terror and the Great Movie Ride.  All are great rides.  But that's about it.

Their Star Tours exterior is awesome in WDW!

I have less than three weeks left to spend at this magical place. It is going to be really hard to leave, but I know I will have more exciting adventures up ahead and perhaps I can even travel to some of the countries they have featured in Epcot, but for real! 

The Disney Life

Hello my friends.

I have had an amazing first month living and working at Disney World.

Days off

During my days off I like to spend my time either going to the parks, relaxing (watching movies), or doing chores like doing laundry or going to the grocery store.  And yes, it is a chore because I have no car and sometimes I need to walk to the store and carry all my groceries home in my very large backpack.  

Water Art

As custodians in Disney World, we have a few ways to pass the time when our zone is show ready.  We can be certified to make water art for the guests.  This is when the custodian takes their pan and broom and cleans it out and puts water in the bottom of the pan and proceeds to dip their broom in the water and create either Mickey, Minnie, Goofy or Donald.  This is a great activity and can even draw a crowd in.  We also let the audience participate by letting them fill in the nose and such.  Here is a picture of a Mickey water art.

The Tunnels and Backstage 

Many of the guests know that there are tunnels underneath Disney World.  I use them every day to get to my locker, eat in the Cafeteria/Mouseketeeria and get around to other parts of the park faster.  They are very helpful and expansive.  Most people walk in the tunnels, but you will see some on their bikes, and of course there are carts carrying a variety of things because there is a lot of merchandise and food storage in the tunnels. When I first got here I would get lost in the tunnels, but I have pretty much got the hang of it now.  There is a pin trading station in the tunnels that allows the cast members to trade in their pins that the guests are not interested in with new ones that they might be interested in trading with you. 

There are also backstage areas of course, There is a large area behind Splash Mountain that actually has a small lake that is fenced in, and there is a baby alligator living there.  He is really cute and people have named him all sorts of different names.  I'm not totally sure what he eats, but hopefully he does not die of starvation.  I have also seen rabbits behind there as well.  Yesterday in the park I saw a mother duck and three ducklings in Liberty Square and they were heading to Frontierland.  

Earning My Ears

Hello!

I finally have time to fill you all in on what is happening here at the Magic Kingdom!

If anyone is confused by the title, "Earning your ears" basically means the process of training and passing your assessment.  It wasn't difficult, but I passed! I am now working by myself.

Custodial Role

As some of you know, I joined this program in hopes of being a custodian a Disney World, and obviously I got the role that I wanted.  All custodians at Disney World wear all white costumes to show that even the cast members that get the dirtiest can stay clean.  As a custodian, there are a few different tasks that can be assigned to you.  One of them is being responsible for a zone, which in my case would be in the "West" which means either in Adventureland, Liberty Square, or Frontierland.   When I am assigned to a zone, I am responsible for sweeping the area of any trash, as well as taking out the trash when the trash cans are getting full.  Another possibility is getting assigned to clean restrooms.  Usually nothing too weird happens so it's not that bad and I like it because I can self-break.  Here in the West, we have the busiest restroom in the park, and we call it Veranda.  I have been assigned to it and it keeps my on my toes, but it wasn't too bad!  Other things that custodians do are tasking, which means to either sweep popcorn in the streets, or clean out the bushes or ash trays.  Another option is being assigned to parade.  Every night, the Electrical Parade plays twice and goes through Liberty Square and Frontierland.  If I am assigned to Parade, I wait until the Parade is over and I help clean the streets with the vacuum or broom.  Then I am responsible for helping to make sure that all the other custodial cast members have closed out their zones and that everything looks pretty. The last option that I have done is Recycling.  When assigned to recycling, I am responsible for all 48 recycling cans spread out in the West. Thankfully the cart that holds the recyclables is electric! Each custodian uses a radio, and we make sure to use codes so that the guests won't be distracted by what we are talking about.

Playing at the Parks

I have been able to go to Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom so far! I enjoyed both, though I think I liked Animal Kingdom better! My favorite ride was the Kilimanjaro Safari, where they take you on a safari and you get to see all sorts of African animals such as lions, bongos, impalas, hippos, rhinos, alligators, birds, okapi's, etc.  I also enjoyed the "Dinosaur" ride that is very similar to the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland. Although I have not been able to go to either Epcot or Magic Kingdom as a guest, I am planning to do so soon!

Pin Trading! 

Here at Disney, there is something called Pin Trading.  I had not heard of it before this program, so I can't be sure that they do this at Disneyland.  Basically, Disney creates a bunch of pins for both the guests and the cast members.  If a cast member is out and about and wearing their pin trading lanyard, a guest who is interested in trading will come up to them and look at their pins.  If they see one that they want to trade, they ask for it and give one of their pins to the cast member.  Some guests are really enthusiastic about trading.  I just got my lanyard yesterday, so I am looking forward to a lot of pin trading for the next few months!

Cast Connection and Property Control

There are a few cast member only stores in Disney World.  Two of them are right next to each other and conveniently on my way to work.  They are the Cast Connection and Property Control.   They are basically like Disney thrift stores.  I found some great finds at Cast Connection yesterday.  I bought a dozen items for $4.97. Pretty amazing.  Some of the merchandise they sell is either broken or has been returned and they are not able to resell it at the store.  Many of the items that are sold for 12.95 in the stores are 10 cents, and items that are 16.95 in stores are sold for 50 cents.  I like to go back a lot because they always have something new! Property Control contains a lot of merchandise and food that is overstock. There are eggs, bread, OJ, and fruit for really cheap there!

I need to buy some stuff to fix my camera....anyways, stay tuned to hear more about my experience and I am sure I will have some interesting stories to tell!

Arrival and Traditions

Hello! I am finally here in Orlando! I was picked up by my lovely roommates at the airport, stayed at my roommates house for a night, and then headed off to check-in at one of the housing complexes.  It took about 2 hours to stand in line and get our room assignments and keys, our pictures taken for our I.D's and submitting some paperwork to Disney.  After that I headed to Casting and got fingerprinted, submitted more forms, and met with an adviser who explained to me what the next few days would look like.

Living: I will be living with 7 other girls in a 4 bedroom apartment in Chatham Square! This is great because Chatham has a bus stop in front of it! My roommates are great!

My lovely roommates and I at the boardwalk

Working: I also found out I will be working in Magic Kingdom! This probably means longer hours since it's doors are opened the longest, but it is also the most popular, and therefore the bus to Magic Kingdom will be frequent!

Florida is nice, the weather is decent, and it had a 5 minute down pour of rain yesterday which was interesting.  There are a bunch of weird birds here.

Traditions:
Earlier today I had "Traditions", which is an experience that each cast member goes through and is considered their first day of work and first day on stage.  The class consisted of watching educational videos as well as traveling to Magic Kingdom--- though we didn't take the guest entrance, instead we took the tunnels.  We got to go under the castle and such which was exciting. We also observed cast members in Fantasyland.  We also got to meet Mickey Mouse!  During my traditions, I was presented with Mickey Mouse ears, my name tag, and my cast member I.D!

Tomorrow I start my orientation and training!

Surgery and Packing

As some of you know, I was admitted to the ER a little bit ago for intense pain of my side and upper back. \ I got an ultra-sound and they found gall stones in my gall bladder. I had been experiencing this pain off and on for three years and had never got it checked out (it was never too unbearable).  After some thought, I decided to get my gall bladder removed. So a week ago, I headed to Kaiser for surgery.  It went well, and every day I am getting better and not needing as many pain pills.  However, I am not able to walk or do extraneous activity for long periods, and I cannot lift more than 15 pounds, which leaves me to my challenge: packing.  

Packing for the DCP (for most girls) starts many weeks before we get there. Yes, I usually pack ahead of time, unless you count AmeriCorps, where I only found out I was going to Mississippi three days before I left.  Otherwise, I pack ahead. However, AmeriCorps taught me quite a few things about packing.  Once during AmeriCorps we got word that we would be leaving the next morning for Hurricane Sandy staging/deployment and I got packed in a flash.  I have seen other girls doing the Disney College Program post pictures on Facebook of them with 5 suitcases....This will not be me.  I understand this is some participants first time away from home, and I also understand that they are bringing valuable things to the apartments , like TV's and kitchen stuff, so thank you.  I fly Southwest, and will be participating in the 2 free checked bags policy.  I lived out of one bag in AmeriCorps: this will be a piece of cake.  AND I'm including all my bedding and a few other supplies I am bringing to the apartment, such as a huge blender and an iron. All of my wonderful roommates have contributed to the apartment and I'm so excited to meet all of them.  Yes, I will still manage to bring Settler of Catan, Cards Against Humanity, my karaoke machine, and all those fun games and activities.  I will not, however, have the best wardrobe of any of the girls there. I don't mind that.  The bare necessities of life my friends, remember that.  

My family, friends and future roommates have graciously offered their assistance in the first week when I need help lifting things by myself.  Thanks!  I appreciate it.   

I am so pumped to be a custodian at Disney World!!! I know, that may sound weird, but I really do believe it is the right place for me and the right role! I can't wait to get this adventure started.  

Heads up: I'll be posting next during my first week there.  Wish me safe travels, I leave Sunday morning!