Moving My Way Up the Ladder

Things still seem to be happening so fast for me since moving down here. It seems as if I just started working at my location (which I somewhat did just start) and the management has taken a liking to me. I'm thinking this is a good thing, as it will allow me a lot of different options over the next several months that I'm in this location.

Next week I start my on the job training for working the register system. I'm not too concerned at all about working on it, because to put it nicely, I've talked to and worked with some of the people that work them.... Won't be rocket science. I'm really looking forward to getting back into my swing of things with the register and working with the cash side of running a restaurant. I was also talking to another on of the staff at my location who is also on the college program (CP) and I mentioned to her that I'm going to be training on the register within the next week. She was surprised by this and had to confirm with me that I did in fact just recently pass my basic assessment for working the shops and the front of house. She said that it was impressive that they are willing to move me up that fast and they normally only do that with people that they want to place in training roles and move up in the location. That made me feel really good. That I might have the chance to not only work at Disney, but have to possibility to be a trainer at Disney. That would be amazing. I'm not going to get up hopes up too much yet, but that would be an awesome achievement if I could reach that by the end of my program

This week is going to be a hectic week at work as it is a holiday weekend. I know our projected attendance for Epcot on the 4th is almost double what we see in a normal day. I'm used to not getting off for holidays, as I worked retail before so it didn't come as a surprise to me when I saw that I was scheduled on the 4th. A lot of the other CPs were upset that they weren't able to do something on that day. But that's how it is in retail, restaurant, and hospitality business; we work while others party. I was able to be lucky enough to get the 3rd off so I plan on going to the Magic Kingdom for the evening to see the firework show that they will be setting off on both the 3rd and 4th. And then on the 4th since I don't have to work until later in the afternoon, the roommies and I were planning on going to Celebration, FL to see what festivities are going on. And I've already scoped out the nearest Subway so I can still carry out the tradition of having subs on the 4th. I might not be able to eat it on Fireman's Park Hill watching the fireworks in Germantown, but I can still enjoy it in the break room at work.

An amusing side note: The other day I had noticed that there had been an unusually small amount of Brazilians coming through the restaurant and I made a comment to another CP that there must be a World Cup game going on. Sure enough, the Brazilians had flooded The Odyssey building where all the games are being broadcast. I felt kind of sorry for the Cast Members that were working over there, but thankful that we had gotten the day off of being yelled at in Portuguese.

Side note #2: I ordered another name tag yesterday, this one with my hometown of Germantown. I'm really excited to be able to wear that one instead of the Milwaukee Sch of Eng one.

Becoming a Local

It's been awhile since I've had time or energy to be able to formulate a complete and coherent thought that I would want for those following to read. I've learned and experienced a lot of different things that are presented to living down in Central Florida, that I'm not used to in Southeastern Wisconsin.

1. 

These geckos are EVERYWHERE. Taking out the trash... you see one. Walking to your car... three more. Awesome little guys.

2. Rain is completely unpredictable. There won't be a cloud in the sky and it will downpour and cause flash flooding. 

3. The traffic isn't terrible. It's the waiting 5 minutes at every red light that is terrible. 

I've been able to experience a lot of different things that I haven't been able to experience before when I was down here vacationing. I was able to go to the Florida Mall earlier in the week because I was giving a roommate a ride to pick up some shoes. That mall is huge! Probably the biggest mall that I've been in aside from Mall of America. So big that there is a hotel that is attached to it... Massive.

One afternoon when I had off from work and it was raining I was able to go to the AMC at Downtown Disney. Before, whenever I would be visiting Disney, I would question as to why someone would want to go see a movie if they were at Disney. But it makes sense now as to why Disney wants it there. It provides Cast Members with an easy access theater for entertainment. It was so nice to be able to sit down, by myself, and actually enjoy a movie and some time alone, away from people. 

Today, after my morning class, I went to Cici's for lunch and was supposed to meet up with a coworkers, but turned out we both went to different Cici's... Whoops. Then a drove over to the Cast Connections and Property Control trailer which is where Disney sells all of the discontinued or damaged merchandise to Cast Members at super discounted rates. Not only do they sell that merchandise, but they also were selling furniture that is no longer used in resorts and printers and monitors that were no longer used at desks. If I had more space in my apartment and car, I would have spent a lot more money than I did. They also were selling produce and items that kitchens use at discounted rates, which is always good to know when I want some fresh fruit and don't want to have to pay massive amounts at the grocery store for it. 

On to the work side of my adventures down here. Things I think have been going smoothly with transitioning from a trainee to a regular employee. There are still a lot of things that I don't know about how such a large restaurant is run, but I making friends and learning from those that have been around the kitchen for awhile. My manager has enrolled me in the training program for me to be able to work on the register, which is what I really want to be doing. It's where I feel most comfortable, as I have been doing that for five years.

One of the culinary, Teddy, and I seem to get along really well. We hit it off the first time that I was working in his station. When it was slow, we were able to talk about the times that he spent a couple nights in Waukesha and how much he enjoys live music. We hit it off with my love of working Summerfest and all of the cool things that I got to do while I was there. He;s been with Disney for I believe four years and always has a huge smile on his face. It's a good day when I get to work with him. 

Another person that I quickly took a liking to was Alex, one of the trainers that I had. We also hit it off right away. He had made some sarcastic comment under his breathe when he was training me, and I responded with an equally sarcastic response, and we kinda haven't stopped talking since. He's been with the company for just over a year and plans on staying with the company and moving up into a management position. We typically close together, and once the park is closed and our shift is over we will walk out our cars together, talking about how each others days went and how much he despises certain upper management. It's nice to be able to have someone my age, going through some of the same things that I am, and instantly become friends without having to really try. We went to a place called Wawa after close earlier in the week because he kept telling me about how amazing it was. So to amuse him, I went. And it was amazingly cool. Best gas station that I've found down in Florida. It's Kwik Trip on steroids. All of the customers order their sandwiches via touchscreens with ways to customize it whichever way you want. The computer prints out a slip with the order number on it and that is taken to the register to pay for the food, along with gas and whatever else you find in the store. And then by that time, your food is ready and they have a patio area for eating. It was fantastic. And the best part is that they don't close. So if I get stuck working a crappy shift, I could go to Wawa on my way home and get any shake I want. 

In other news, the Brazilian Tour Group season is upon us. Massive groups of them pile into places at once and flood the area. Disney has specially trained Cast Members specifically for these groups and they act as translators for Cast Members that have to interact with them but don't speak the language. There are also Cast Members that have to go under cover and watch where the groups are going throughout the park and radio in to the next area that they are headed in that direction and any available Cast Member needs to be on stage to help control the situation. As Cast Members, we HATE Brazilian Tour groups because they, as a whole, are the most rude group of people that we encounter. 

The World Cup is big news right now down here. One of the buildings at Epcot is specially designed for Guests that want to watch a certain match during the day. I don't understand it, but I guess it's a big deal... 

Earning My Ears

I don't know where to begin with what I've learned or seen in the past three days that I've had training. Sunshine Seasons, the restaurant that I work in, is huge compared to what I was expecting to see. The stainless steel counters seem to go on forever and there are so many different rooms and coolers that I need to learn. It's much bigger than what I am used to, but a lot of the same concepts and practices carried over, which is making my training easier.

I work the front of the house and over the past few days I have been introduced on how most of the stations are run, how busing works, how to stock and close down for the day. It's a lot of information that has been thrown at me, but I think I've caught on pretty fast. Everyday I've had a different trainer and worked with different people, something that I'm not used to but I think I'll fit in with the crew. At every different station it is expected that I know what is served, the different portion sizes, and what every ingredient is in each. In order for me to pass my training, I have a one on one assessment with one of the head chefs and managers. I have a lot of studying to do over the next couple of nights, but I feel confident that I'll pass. Most trainees don't get left by themselves three hours into training because the trainer feels confident that they know what they're doing.

This is the first job that I've had that I've worked with this many people at any given time and it's amazing how well the kitchen is run with that many people moving around. Everyone is always doing something, there never seems to be chaos, and it seems like most people get along with one another. At any given point there are 50 people working in the kitchen and surrounding area. That's about 10 times more than I'm used to. I love watching the management side of it and the delegation that happens, especially during the closing hour. It's amazing how smoothly everything happens.

Not only do I work with more people, I get to work with people from around the World. One of my trainers is from Thailand. Another is from Haiti. There are multiple people from Puerto Rico and The Dominican Republic. I work with someone from Australia, Panama, Germany, China, and Canada. It's a lot different than small Germantown and I'm loving it. During our break, we all can sit in the break room and talk about the differences in how we grew up and traditions from where we are from. It's amazing.

Even though I'm still new to Sunshine Seasons, it feels like I've been there for a while. I walk in to punch in and people are asking me how my night was, how I'm doing. There are a few people that have taken me under their wing and it's nice to be able to have a couple people that I can turn to if I have questions or need someone to talk to about Disney life.

And to need the post, I got my Main Gate Entrance Pass today! Now I can go to the parks without having to explain to twenty bajillion people that I work for Disney and I haven't gotten my pass yet. And I got my Guest passes too! So people can come visit now!

Discovery Day

Discovery Day is how Epcot welcomes the new Cast Members into the Epcot family. It wasn't as fun or exciting as the Traditions class at the Magic Kingdom, but it was much more specific and narrowed to the atmosphere that I'll be interacting with at Epcot.

The backstage of Epcot isn't anything like that of the Magic Kingdom, since most of it is above ground. It reminded me a lot of the backstage of the Summerfest grounds. There are golf carts and people walking everywhere, and everyone was busy doing something. I walked into the costuming building and there were thousands of lockers for the Cast Members to store their costumes once they were checked out. The whole room with the costumes had rows about rows of costumes with five bars high in each row. There were hundreds of thousands of pieces of clothing all over the place.

The trainers took the entire class into a trailer classroom and we went over a couple of housekeeping things. Finally the fun part came and we got to go into the park. The first thing that we did was ride Spaceship Earth. I got PAID to sit and ride Spaceship Earth. I couldn't have been happier than in that moment. After, we walked over to the main fountain, and all 100 of the newest cast members were told to stand in a huge circle and face outward. Then an announcement came over all of Epcot welcoming the newest Cast Members into the Epcot Family. It was great to be recognized like that. We went and saw a little more of Future World and then all of the College Program Cast Members got a behind the scenes tour of the World Showcase before it opened.

The rest of the day I spent with a group of four other students that are also going to be working at Sunshine Seasons and we did a lot of computer training that is required before we are able to complete the training course.

It was a really long day learning a lot of the basics that are needed to be able to know what I'm doing. I wasn't really wanting to spend the rest of the night at the apartment, but I was too tired to actually go back out to one of the parks. Maybe tomorrow morning I'll go play before work.

My DCP Bucketlist

Magic Kingdom:

• Go on every ride
• See every show
• See the "Goodnight Kiss"
• Haunted Mansion Backstage Tour
• Buy a Mickey Balloon on Mainstreet
• Eat at Be Our Guest
• Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party 
• Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party
• View the filming of the Holiday Parade
• Dapper Day
• Work at least one shift
• Pinocchio Village Haus

Epcot:

• Go on every ride
• See every show
• Drink around the World
• Go shot for shot with Beverlys at the Cooling Station
• Eat in all the countries
• Mexico
• Norway
• China
• Germany
• Italy
• American Adventure
• Japan 
• Morocco
• France 
• United Kingdom
• Canada
• Swim with the Dolphins
• Work at least one shift

Disney's Hollywood Studios:

• Go on every ride
• See every show
• Star Wars Weekend
• Watch both shows of Fantasmic! in the same night
• I should have been able to see both when I was working Fantasmic! but the second show was cancelled because the boats weren't clearing the stage fast enough and had fireworks going off at them....
• Work at least one shift

Disney's Animal Kingdom:

• Go on every ride
• See every show
• See the new nighttime show
• Backstage Tour of the Safari
• Work at least one shift

Others:

• Finish the Kitchen Sink
• Complete a pin set
• Fill an Autograph Book
• Disney Speedway
• VoluntEAR
• View all Firework shows in the same night (might be impossible)
• All 4 parks in 1 day
• Watch Wishes from the Polynesian Beach
• View the Electrical Water Pageant 
• Tye-Dye Cheesecake at Pop Century
• Go to a park by myself
• Go to a cast exclusive event
• Ride every color monorail
• Red
• Coral
• Orange
• Gold 
• Yellow
• Teal
• Lime
• Green
• Blue
• Silver
• Black
• Peach
• Behind the Scenes Tour
• Spaceship Earth with Sunshine Seasons Cast
• Earn my Ears
• Graduate DCP
• Apply for my Professional Internship
• View a television filming
• Meet or see a celebrity
• Ariana Grande
• Stevie Wonder
• Corbin Bleu
• Neil Patrick Harris
• Witness a proposal
• Witness a Make-A-Wish Event
• Make a Magical Moment
• runDisney!

Downtown Disney:

• Characters in Flight
• Cirque Du Soliel
• See a concert at House of Blues
• Cars Weekend
• Movie at Downtown Disney

Other Areas Worked

• Caribbean Beach
• Cirque Du Soliel
• ESPN Wide World of Sports
• Blizzard Beach
• Fantasmic!
• Village Haus
• All Star Music
• Art of Animation
• Food & Wine