Yikes! I'm a Busy Bee!

Oh boy, I don't like trying to play catch up! It's been about a week and a half since I last blogged and I finally found some time again to sit down and fill you all in. If you've been keeping up with my Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, you know I've been a busy bee! (If you haven't, that's fine! Catch up now!) I'm going to attempt to recall the last 10 days in as much detail as possible. Ready?!

Last Wednesay, the 19th, I had my Disney Marketing class, quickly ate lunch, and headed over to the Magic Kingdom with Sarah and Kelsey. It was 80 degrees and sticky, sweaty, humid. We rode the bus from our apartment to the Polynesian Resort, walked to the Transportation and Ticketing Center, and finally took the ferry to the Magic Kingdom. Yes, we work there and find ourselves there every other day of the week, but what's not to love about MK?! We not only did Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Space Mountain, but also watched the Country Bear Jamboree and the Enchanted Tiki Room. I'm definitely not a fan of the Country Bear Jamboree, but the Enchanted Tiki Room was pretty neat! I also got video of Kelsey and Sarah on the Mad Tea Party since the tea cups and my stomach don't really agree.

Thursday through Sunday that week I found myself in a routine of sleep, eat, work, shower, repeat. I am so thankful for my friend, Vivian, and her car for bringing me to and from work, allowing me to evade the long bus rides!

Monday was my first day of training for the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival. [Note: A few weeks ago I found I was being transferred to Epcot to do quick service food and beverage for the festival!] The first day of training was called Discovery Day in which I learned about the history and layout of Epcot. I love learning about Walt Disney World and The Walt Disney Company! I'm so glad I was able to learn, in depth, about two of the four theme parks and get the opportunity to work in two very different quick service locations.

On Tuesday morning, Denise and I woke up early and hopped on the bus to Animal Kingdom for the soul purpose of riding Expedition Everest. We rode it 3 times in a row and promptly left, making our way to Hollywood Studios. At the Studios, we tried to get Fastpass+ for Toy Story Midway Mania (since Denise has never been on it) but they were already gone! The wait time was 75 minutes, but we didn't have anything else to do, so we jumped in line. To our disbelief, we were on and off the ride in under 40 minutes! We couldn't believe it! With our new-found time, we were able to meet Mike and Sully from Monster's Inc and Monster's University before we watched Lights, Motors, Action, a live stunt show, before I had to head home and get ready for class.

Don't you think I'd be a good Alice? ;)

On our way out of class, another welcome event (Alice in Wonderland themed) was just beginning. Kelsey and I ran into Alice and the White Rabbit before we got to our apartment and took a quick picture! We got back to the apartment, changed our clothes, grabbed Denise, and headed back out to the event for some free food! When we got our free food, we were marked on our hands with smiley faces so that we only came through the line once. I asked the guy marking my hand why he wasn't doing Mickey ears instead of a smiley face and he proceeded to change my smiley face into an intense Mickey (shown below)!

After we ate (and debated for quite some time), the three of us left for Downtown Disney. We walked the entire complex, got sprinkled with pixie dust, and took pictures with some princesses. We also scrubbed our hands at an amazing store called Basin and ate delicious ice cream at Ghirardelli! Once we got back, a rare happening occurred... all 6 roommates were home together! Even though it was only for a few minutes, it was fun to be all together again!

We tried to get a pic of our pixie dust.

We're cute!

Wednesday brought another morning of class and another day of indecision. After class, Kelsey and I decided to go to Coronado Springs (a moderate resort) so that she could pre-check in her family and do an assignment for her other class. From there we went to Epcot! First, we went on Test Track, watched Captain EO, The Sea with Nemo and Friends, and Turtle Talk with Crush. It was my first time watching Captain EO. I have no words to describe it; it's pretty weird. But, I think if you were a fan of Michael Jackson back in the day, you may have a soft spot for it. Then we ate steak at Liberty Inn, watched the France pavilion's introduction video, ate a delicious funnel cake, experience the American Adventure, and met Snow White. Did I mention this was all in the rain? Because we embraced it the whole day! You can see the pictures of Snow White and Kelsey and I on my Facebook timeline.

Yesterday was my first real day of training and my first day in my new costume (shown above). It's not the most flattering or the most cute, but it's all part of the show! Through the course of my training both yesterday and today, I've learned all about the Flower and Garden Festival, the cash register, and pouring beer and wine. It's a unique training experience because the festival hasn't actually started yet! We won't actually be able to learn how to do things until it's time to do things! Which means I'm a bit nervous to start in the next few weeks on top of being so excited.

Here's some poolside Florida sun to help you get through your (probably chilly) weekend!

I EARNED MY EARS!

On Saturday evening I officially "earned my ears"! I am no longer a trainee, I'm a full-fledged Walt Disney World employee! I spent most of my work day on Saturday reviewing everything I had learned on my training days. I had to remember what items were stored in each cooler/freezer, the hold times for each item on our menu, the specific plating for each dish, and every emergency procedure (among lots of other things)! When assessment time finally came, we found out our assessor was one of my managers, "Big Will". He is such a kind, giving guy! He was actually on Good Morning America the day before with Ty Pennington from Extreme Makeover: Home Edition for all of the work he does for Give Kids the World! Needless to say, I passed with flying colors!

I forgot to take pictures, but this is what the lobby looks like. It's absolutely stunning in person!

That night, I met Kelsey, Sarah, and Denise at The Art of Animation resort for dinner. If you've never heard of it or seen it, I'd highly recommend it. It's considered a value resort, meaning it's one of their cheapest, but it doesn't feel cheap at all! It's beautiful. My salmon sandwich was delicious as well and the fact that I got 20% off as a cast member wasn't too bad either!

Roy, Minnie, and me!

On Sunday morning, the Kelseys took over Magic Kingdom. We met Pluto, Gaston, and Princess Tiana, rode on the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, and ate cream cheese pretzels and frozen Coke at The Lunching Pad! Gaston was an absolute hoot. He had us feeling his muscles, posing, and laughing at his egotistical ways. Tiana was perfect, exactly how you'd expect her to be!

That night was my first day of work without training. I was finally on my own, for better or worse! I was scheduled to work from 7:30pm to 1:30am! I scooped fries at Bay 1, the chicken bay, for quite some time. It got a bit busy for a while, but I was able to handle it! After fries, I got a short break and then began our closing procedures. For me that night, it meant gathering garbage, stocking the coolers and freezers, and disposing of the food waste. It was a long night, but not nearly as rough as I'd expected it to be!

Yesterday, Denise and I ventured to Animal Kingdom. She had never been on Expedition Everest, so that was our first stop of the day. It was great, as it always is, the first and second time. ;) Then of course we had to get the crap scared out of us at Dinosaur! Our last stop at Animal Kingdom was to see Pocahontas. She was so much fun to talk to!

Expedition Everest

Loving our lives on Dinosaur!

Pocahontas and me!

After Animal Kingdom, we rode a bus to Epcot to eat at the Electric Umbrella and meet Kelsey. We rode Test Track and Journey Into Imagination with Figment before we met Alice, Princess Aurora, and Belle. They were all adorable and had fun things to say! We spent some time in the World Showcase by eating hand crafted ice cream in France, shopping in Japan, eating caramel in Germany, and riding both the Maelstrom in Norway and the Gran Fiesta Tour in Mexico!

Alice!

Belle!

Today I am finally doing laundry, cleaning, and catching up on sleep. I may also hop over to Magic Kingdom for the fireworks tonight just because I can. Just another day living the dream!

Training and Relaxation

Wednesday, when I last wrote, was my first day of on the job training. Since then, I've been overwhelmed with information, new people, and physical labor. Today I finally got a chance to relax!

On my first day of on the job training, I got to wear a red "Earning My Ears" ribbon on my name tag. Taking it off will be another milestone in my internship, another reminder that my time on my internship is limited!



My costume! The hat can be swapped for a hair net and in the kitchen I wear an apron!

My first day of training was 8 hours long. It consisted of a trainer, Renee, and two other kitchen trainees. In addition to online lessons, we learned how to make burgers and run "soup side". Cosmic Ray's is made up of 3 bays: chicken, burgers, and soup/sandwich. We also closed soup side and when Cosmic Ray's closes, it needs to look spotless. It looks like a brand new restaurant every night! The teamwork there is evident. It's interesting because college program employees always close. Personally, I'd rather work early and get done early, but it makes me feel good that my presence allows full time parents and students to go home and tend to their kids and their homework. We also got to taste test chicken side. It was awesome!

My second day of training, yesterday, consisted of a bit more information and physical labor. In addition to taste testing burger side, I learned how to work both burger and chicken side as well as fries, nuggets, and "take down". Take down consists of stocking things, trash/food waste, and other random odds and ends. Stocking wasn't too bad, but bringing out the trash and food waste was pretty gross. We have to push the food waste cans all the way out of the Utilidoors which is uphill and quite a walk away! For whatever reason, we got an hour long break, so my trainer said we could go ride Space Mountain if we wanted! I love Space Mountain, so of course I jumped at the chance to ride on it! After I changed, I got to come out of one of the "Cast Member Only" doors to get to the ride and go in when I was done! It was the best break ever!

The Utilidoors are so cool. The magic of the Utilidoors still hasn't worn off for me. It's amazing that there's a whole secret world beneath the Happiest Place on Earth! It's funny because right above the women's restroom in the Tomorrowland break room is Stitch's Great Escape, so every few minutes it sounds like it's thunder-storming above me! Another cool/weird thing about the Utilidoors is that I see tons of face characters with their wigs and makeup on, but without their costumes, so it seems as though these characters are casually enjoying their lunches or making phone calls. It's hilarious! Some casual characters that I've seen include Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Merida, Alice, the ugly step sisters, and Gaston.

Today I had a day off, so of course I spent my time at Walt Disney World! My park of choice today was Hollywood Studios. I spent about 4 hours just wandering the park. I rode Tower of Terror, voted for a singer at the American Idol Experience, and watched the Beauty and the Beast stage show. I also walked through One Man's Dream where my great uncle, Blaine Gibson, was kind of featured. I wanted to tell everyone around me about my connection! I was just so proud to see that his humble work was recognized in some way. I also found a bust of Walt in the park that he did. I wish he could give me a personal tour and share all of his Disney knowledge with me.

Tomorrow I have an assessment at Cosmic Ray's that will let me know if I've "earned my ears" or if I need a bit more training. Wish me luck!