Just an Update

Today was a really stressful day. I just got done taking my 70 minutes finance exam and I ran out of time to answer one question and I'm not sure how I did on the rest. Hopefully I'll get at least a B at this point. Today at work I was called out for my purple hair and for not putting enough ice in the cups when the ice was running out in the first place. I got another nametag that has my Star Wars planet of choice on it, which is kind of cool though. Also, I wore black ankle socks because I ran out of clean regular black socks, and of course they noticed that too, so now I have to do more laundry. Besides that, work went by fast again. All I did was pour sodas and buss tables today, but next week a group of us are going to see Deadpool, so that's exciting. My Disney classes start on Monday and registration for the new classes for the second half of this semester also open on Wednesday. I'm trying to get the other half of my Disney Heritage class that I'm taking. Nothing else new here. Inspections are next week so I have to go do some chores. Love you all~

Day Off Fun

Sorry I haven't written in a while, Papa. Work's been busy and crazy, but otherwise it's been pretty fun. It really all depends on the day and the position I get assigned to. Busser can be really bad when it's extremely hot and people can be rude and leave trash everywhere. I was condiment bar for one whole day and none of the ketchup or mustard pumps were working so that was really annoying trying to fix them. My favorite position is to be on the fry grills, because it's easy, no people interaction, and fun to do. Luckily our positions get changed sometimes as much as four times in an hour, so we're always doing something and there is not a boring moment. All the days go by so quickly. The only bad thing about it is that there are so many people working there. Everyday there are new faces and I can barely remember their names. Most are nice, but I've met a couple who don't like the college program kids because we take hours. I met an older woman from Hebron, and her sister opened the Great Harvest Bread Store in Vernon that we went to. She's really nice and says she'll visit Panera when she goes back. All the other college program kids are great, and we take turns carpooling and helping each other out. We sometimes get free cupcakes at the end of the night and hot chocolate, so it's fun. Some managers are ruder than others, so like I said work depends on the day. Today I went to Epcot and said hi to my roommate who was with Baymax. I rode Test Track four times and pretty much went on everything else except Mission Space. Club Cool where you try the sodas was closed, but it was opened last week so I'm not sure what happened there. I bought a cute orange bird mug and didn't buy any food in the parks today; just bought a granola bar until I got back to our apartment. Five of us made reservations to Beaches and Cream (?) the restaurant in March that has the Kitchen Sink sundae that we are all going to share. Tuesday we all made FastPasses for Toy Story Mania because we have that day off. Monday my classes start, so I'll make sure to write a blog about those classes. Sunday I have to take the bus to work because cast parking will be shut down for some reason. Maybe because they except a lot of people for Valentine's Day. But hopefully I can get a ride home with someone because buses are terrible. My roommate left two hours early for her shift today and was late to work still because the buses were unreliable. I have a Finance Test this week to take and a project, so I'll be busy during my nights here. I have to start signing up for summer classes too.

Disney College Program - Training Updates

Yesterday training went really well. We got to sample more of the menu, and our trainer even gave us a courtesy card which gets signed by the manager and put on our record saying we did really well and it enters us into a cast member raffle. Today we just walked around Hollywood Studios and were told everything about every location. We got to skip lines for all the rides, and go inside all the restaurants that weren't open yet. We got to see the Cast Member only store and saw Lights, Motors, Action too. It was really fun, and afterwards a couple of us that work together stayed at the park and went on the rest of the rides. We were going to stay for Fantasmic but I went home to finish my homework and listen to the lectures. My internship work should be sent to me tomorrow, so I'll be plenty busy. Sunday is my only day off so we're spending it in the Magic Kingdom. Nothing too exciting, but everything is going well.

Disney College Program - Training Day 1

Today was my first day of training. I got my costume yesterday and it's not too bad. You get 5 costumes at a time, so I have 5 pairs of black dress-ish pants (size 18 because Disney sizes are literally crazy), 5 shirts (size 2xs because once again the sizes are weird), 5 aprons (blue and red), 1 weird puffy hat, 1 belt, and 1 red rain jacket. Another girl and I met in Hollywood Studios, ready for our first day of training. However, at 10:15, no one had come to pick us up so we were freaking out and had to call and ask someone about where our trainer was. Apparently there was a mix up, but eventually this guy who's been at Studio Catering Co. for 8 years came to get us. We first went to do an online certification test to serve alcohol, so we got to walk at the back of the Tower of Terror, which was so cool. We got to see so much of the backstage, including an all cast member cafeteria with Subway and a cast member store. After that we went to our location, and I love it already. It's small and everyone is really friendly, and there's this older lady who's also from CT so we talked a lot. It reminded me of Panera, so I wasn't as nervous because it was something I was used to. However, our trainer basically through us right into the work, so I was really stressed. I was supposed to work counter, which means that I consolidate the food, drinks, and desserts and give them to the guests. It was so hard though because I didn't know where anything was, didn't know how to properly pour beer, and when the ticket said Star Wars cupcake I got confused because there was literally 3 different types of Star Wars cupcakes. It was a lot of learning all at once, and I even got to make salads and it was stressful, especially when the Lights, Motor, Action show ended and it was a big rush. I felt more comfortable afterwards, though, and the time went by fast. We took a break, and they let us sample the food (turkey panini and tomato soup!) so it was fun. By the time we came back, it was almost time to close which was so nice. I just have a lot of terms to learn about how to speak to the guests in 'Hollywood' speech, and need to memorize the ingredients in everything. Besides that, I'm fine. One girl who is on her second day wants to quit because she thinks she smells like food and doesn't want to do dishes. But everyone else is so nice, and there's about 8 college program kids so we all work well together. The hours work out so nicely too and walking behind all the rides and shows is the coolest thing ever.

Disney College Program- Traditions and Day 1 of Training

Last night was so busy and a late day so I didn't get to post anything. But I'll start back with Traditions yesterday. First of all, I love Disney. That's all this has told me. Traditions was at Disney University, this adorable little building behind the Magic Kingdom. We got to drive through the backstage of Magic Kingdom and we even got to see some Christmas decorations and even the huge tree that lines Main Street during the holidays. The University itself is so adorable and I wish I could go to school there everyday. The hallways have movie posters, new announcements, art of movies and rides, and there's characters that stick out from the ceiling tiles. Since we were a little early, our leaders did Disney trivia while we waited for the chance to win a special Traditions pin. At least my random facts helped me at this point in my life. This feels so much like where I belong. Mind you, I'm still mad at people who don't know this trivia, and even met a girl who said she only did this program because she wanted to take a semester off from school. But whatever. I knew all the trivia questions, so I earned my Traditions pin. I had to let other people answer, though, so I only answered one question, but it surprised me how many people didn't even know Walt's brother's name. I also won a little Mickey Mouse figurine after I answered another trivia question no one knew and I had already won the pin. The beginning of Traditions itself was pretty boring. It was all safety videos at first and legal information and whatnot. But we were getting paid to sit in a classroom that had Disney characters painted in this huge mural, so it was okay. We then watched some very tear-jerking Disney videos about why we all are there and why the company is amazing. We watched a special video on Walt Disney himself and heard from Bob Iger. Then we learned about guest service and what not, but the people running it were entertaining so it turned out to be really fun and we got to learn a lot about Disney. We all got our first pair of Mickey Mouse ears, as we are 'earning our ears' here at the College Program, then we got to do the coolest thing and actually go to the Magic Kingdom. We walked to the entrance of the Utilidors, and it was like taking the Keys to the Kingdom tour. We saw Peter Pan walking around, where cast members eat, and where to get to everywhere. It made me want to work at the Magic Kingdom. We walked from underneath Storybook Circus to Main Street, where we were just in time to see the parade. We then walked through Tomorrowland and back up to Storybook Circus where we went back to Disney University. It wasn't a long time spent in the parks, but it was so cool and amazing and magical and I just really love Disney. When we got back, they talked more about examples of guest service that we saw in the parks, then said we had a special guest. At this part, all of us probably almost cried as Mickey Mouse came into the room, hugging us all and the leader was talking to him about Walt Disney. Mickey Mouse then handed out our name tags, and it was literally the best moment in my entire life. After that, we took the bus back, and the whole time took about 6 hours. My roommates and I and another girl I had met at Traditions then decided to spend time in the Magic Kingdom, so we went right there. It was so cold yesterday but super quiet at the parks. I've never seen it so quiet. We waited about 20 minutes for Space Mountain and went on some other rides. Maggie and I then decided to go on Splash Mountain (only a 5 min wait in the 30 degree weather!) which was actually really fun, then went home, since we had to get up at 5 this morning.

This morning was our first training day but it was at Disney University. It was honestly so boring today as we just sat for 8 hours and watched how to properly lift boxes and handle chicken, etc., but there were some cute aspects to it. We got a lunch break so good thing I brought that lunchbox, and I ended up meeting 3 other people who are working at Studio Catering Co. with me. One guy even worked there before so he was telling us all about it, and one girl has the same training schedule as me. After it was over, we had to go get our shoes, and then I drove home. Thankfully I have my car because honestly one bus broke down already this morning, and the bus wouldn't have come for 45 minutes this afternoon. I have Monday and Tuesday off, but am working Wednesday-Friday and then Saturday off. I have 42 hours this week, so I'm raking in that money. My shifts are all 10-6:30, which is literally probably one of the best shifts of anyone since I have time to do homework and go to the gym afterwards. Tonight we're going to EPCOT for a little because one of our roommates hasn't been here before and we really want her to go on Test Track. Tomorrow it's my roommates birthday so we are spending the whole day in the parks! Tuesday I probably need to do homework and do laundry so maybe only half a day for the park. So amazing here.

Disney College Program - Housing

Today started off to be a boring day, but became very packed. I slept for about 12 hours last night, which made me feel better, then woke up and ate breakfast. I then waited until my housing meeting at 1 to walk over to Commons. The housing meeting was pretty fun. They asked more trivia and played Disney music and I wish that all colleges could be like that. They showed us different activities and events that go on, and next week there's a French night where we get French food and get to meet Beauty and the Beast characters. Literally my dream school event. It also just talked about basic rules about what not to have, room inspections, and safety. After the meeting I walked back, dropped my stuff back, and decided that I couldn't sit still for that long. I then took a walk around Patterson and saw where the laundry and everything was, and called Mamma for about 40 minutes while I walked around the apartment complexes. I told her how it was really cool to see people walking around with their costumes on. When I got back, Laura asked me and Margaret (Maggie, my roommate) to go to get Dole Whip at the Polynesian. I grabbed my tissues and decided to go, not missing out on the chance to get a Dole Whip. We took the bus there, ate our Dole Whips, which are literally heaven, and decided to just walk around. We then took the Monorail all the way around to see the Castle. Afterwards it was around 7, so we decided to just stay the hour to watch Wishes, the firework show, on the beach at the Polynesian. Lilo and Stitch was playing on an outside movie screen, so we sat down and watched in the 60 degree weather :D Brooke and Monica, who were sleeping when we left, joined us at the Polynesian and all of us together sat on the beach and watched the fireworks over the castle from across the lake, and it was pretty amazing. We have nothing planned for the next two nights, especially since we cancelled our reservation at Chef Mickey's because no one wanted to pay after they found out how much it was, so it will be pretty boring. Unless we do something, I probably won't write a blog about me watching the new Supernatural tomorrow.

Disney College Program - Casting

So today I had my casting for the DCP. I woke up early at around 8:30, and pretty much just ate breakfast and watched the Bachelor until everyone else woke up. I left to go to casting at around 12 to catch the bus that was supposed to come at 12:30. The bus ended up coming at 1:15, so that just shows how unreliable the buses here are. The whole process to casting was fun and I won some free Disney College Program pens and luggage tags because I was the only one to answer simple Disney trivia questions on the bus. Like honestly everyone here should know when Epcot opened. It is sad because I've heard a lot of people saying that they just applied randomly and weren't even sure if they were going to accept it, so I feel upset anytime someone says that. Casting was such a cute building. The doorknobs were from Alice in Wonderland, and the main entrance had gold statues of Disney characters surrounding it. Casting itself was pretty boring, getting fingerprinted, making sure your I-9 was right, and getting your training and Traditions schedule. My Traditions is Saturday at 1:30, so I have literally nothing to do Thursday or Friday, and tomorrow I just have a housing meeting. Sunday I have my first training from 7:30-4, so that will be a really long day. There's three days of training and most people know their times for all of it but my schedule just says will hear more information, so I only know my time and location for Sunday. Any time after Traditions, though, I can go to the parks. I already did my online work today because it was just taking notes and reading the chapter. After Casting I drove to Walmart to get q-tips and some medicine because I feel pretty bad today. My roommates now are gone to show one of them where all the Disney parks are located (?) and I'm eating leftover pizza, watching that new Netflix show about Steven Avery, and am in bed. I already fell asleep like twice. Tomorrow I'll try to sleep in because my housing meeting isn't until 1. Then I'm not sure what to do because I already did all my schoolwork. I really wanted to get to the gym this week but my head is pounding. Good thing I have hot tea with me, though. Makes me feel better and our apartment is really cold. Nothing else really excited happened today. Love you