I officially "earned my ears" a couple days ago, on Jan. 19. Yayyyyyy. Training wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Basically, we learned our way around Mouse Gear, well, for the most part. Things are constantly being moved, so you can never fully learn your way around. I swear the post cards have been in a different place everyday I've been at work. We also learned how to use the cash registers which are very easy to use compared to most. It's touch screen everything. There are so many buttons and gadgets that it takes awhile to learn where everything is. Day 1 we went through Discovery day and got our costumes. Day 2, we did a lot of E-learning at DU(Disney University) and learned how to use the cash registers. Day 3, we actually used the cash registers. Day 4, we used the cash registers more, learned how to floor stock, and took our assessment. The past 2 days, I've been working on my own. I've learned a lot, but not nearly everything. Here is my scedule for this week
Sunday Jan 16- OFF
Monday Jan 17- OFF
Tues Jan 18- 8:45 - 5:15
Wed Jan 19- 2-10:30
Thurday Jan 20- 3:30-Midnight
Friday Jan 21- 5:30-2(a.m.)
Sat Jan 21- 11:30-6
I can't believe I've already been here for 2 weeks!! I haven't been to the parks alot though. I'm going to go on my days off next week. :)
There has been so much going on, I havent been able to update my blog as much as I'd like to, but I'm going to try to update at least once a week.
Oh, I forgot to mention, Ethan is flying down the weekend of/before Valentine's Day(the 11th-14th). I can't wait to see him. :)
Friday, January 21, 2011
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Costume
I promised everyone a picture of my costume, so here it is. Dont laugh......too hard. :)
Lucky for me, Mouse Gear is in the process of an upgrade. We will be getting new costumes. One of the managers said they think it will be while we are here. :)
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Traditions
I now realize why people don't keep up with their blogs while they're here. It's the last thing on your mind, because you are so busy.
Traditions is a class that CP's have to take before they become an "official" cast member. Before the class starts, they give you you're Disney ID. This is what every cast member uses to clock in/out and it is also their ticket to the parks. I can't really say much and its kinda hard to explain, but basically it's a class about the past, present, and future of Disney. Some say it's boring, but mine wasn't at all. Our teachers were very upbeat! That's really all I can say. I can't reveal the secrets, but you do get to go to the parks after traditions...that's if it's not too late that day. I didn't get back until around 7(I had the 2 o'clock traditions class(there are a few at 8 and a few at 2)), so I just stayed home for the night. Most of the new CPs ask, "What do I wear to Traditions?" Here is a pic of what I wore, it's not the best picture, but it is a picture.
Basically, all you really have to wear is business casual clothes. So, for girls, basically church clothes. There are rules, but for the most part, it's just dress pants, a nice shirt, and flats are probably best to wear because you do some walking around a park.
Today, I had Discovery Day at Epcot(my home park). We had to swear on Mickey Mouse that we wouldn't say anything about what we did during discovery day. I believe everyone that works in a park has a discovery day learning about that particular park. I wish I could tell what all we learned/did, but I cant. I did get my costume and my locker today... and compared to some of the costumes I've seen, mine isn't terrible. Besides the pants that come up past my bellybutton, the costume is actually pretty comfortable too. I will try to post a picture soon.
I wish I could reveal more info, but I cant. Tomorrow is Day 1 of training :)
My 1st week schedule
Monday- Jan 10 -Arrival/check-in/casting/housing meeting
Tuesday- Jan 11- Free day
Wed- Jan 12- Traditions 2-6:30
Thurs- Jan 13- Discovery Day/training 8-1
Friday- Jan 14- Training 10-4:30
Sat- Jan 15- Training 11:30-6
So, I've had a pretty busy week. I am off on Sunday and Monday, so those days will be spent at the parks. :)
Traditions is a class that CP's have to take before they become an "official" cast member. Before the class starts, they give you you're Disney ID. This is what every cast member uses to clock in/out and it is also their ticket to the parks. I can't really say much and its kinda hard to explain, but basically it's a class about the past, present, and future of Disney. Some say it's boring, but mine wasn't at all. Our teachers were very upbeat! That's really all I can say. I can't reveal the secrets, but you do get to go to the parks after traditions...that's if it's not too late that day. I didn't get back until around 7(I had the 2 o'clock traditions class(there are a few at 8 and a few at 2)), so I just stayed home for the night. Most of the new CPs ask, "What do I wear to Traditions?" Here is a pic of what I wore, it's not the best picture, but it is a picture.
Today, I had Discovery Day at Epcot(my home park). We had to swear on Mickey Mouse that we wouldn't say anything about what we did during discovery day. I believe everyone that works in a park has a discovery day learning about that particular park. I wish I could tell what all we learned/did, but I cant. I did get my costume and my locker today... and compared to some of the costumes I've seen, mine isn't terrible. Besides the pants that come up past my bellybutton, the costume is actually pretty comfortable too. I will try to post a picture soon.
I wish I could reveal more info, but I cant. Tomorrow is Day 1 of training :)
My 1st week schedule
Monday- Jan 10 -Arrival/check-in/casting/housing meeting
Tuesday- Jan 11- Free day
Wed- Jan 12- Traditions 2-6:30
Thurs- Jan 13- Discovery Day/training 8-1
Friday- Jan 14- Training 10-4:30
Sat- Jan 15- Training 11:30-6
So, I've had a pretty busy week. I am off on Sunday and Monday, so those days will be spent at the parks. :)
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Arrival and Check in
I arrived on the 8th at around 5:30(EST). It was a long 9 hour drive. My parents drove down in their car, and I in mine. The drive wasn't too bad, we stopped a couple of times along the way for food and gas. On the morning of the 9th, my parents and I went out to breakfast, then we said our goodbyes and they went back home. They arrived home just before it started snowing, and they have been snowed in ever since.
On the 9th, I was sitting in the hotel room, bored, so I decided to look on the CP facebook group to see what people we're doing that day since check-in wasn't until the 10th. Someone posted about being bored and asked what everyone was doing that day, I replied and said I was probably going to go to Downtown Disney(DTD). We we're talking about meeting up when another person posted something about Earl of Sandwich. We all decided to meet there around noon. After we ate, we were like, "What now?" One of the guys(Chris) still had his CP ID, so he said he could get us into the parks for free. Adam and I were excited because we can't get into the parks for free until Wednesday. We decided to go to Hollywood studios.
We rode quite a few of the rides and went to see the Indiana Jones show. After, we decided to go to Epcot to ride the rides and see the fireworks. After, we went back to DTD, I picked up my car(we rode with Chris) and went to meet my roommate.
January 10th - Check-in
My roommate and I arrived at Vista Way for check in around 7:45(check-in starts at 9). Since there were so many people there, they let us start checking in around 7:50. We went through the whole process. They gave us name tags(everyone greeted us by name). Then they gave us our program guide with some paperwork in it. We waited in line till a table opened, then filled out that paperwork with the help of a cast member. Then someone checked over it, we went inside and got our apartment. We didn't get the apt complex we wanted, but we did get a one bedroom apartment like we wanted. It's really small, but it feels like home. After that, we got our housing ID's(we have to show security our ID's to get into our apartment complex). I feel really safe, because we have 24/7 security. This whole process took a little under an hour and a half. We finished at 9:15ish and had to catch a bus to casting at 9:30.
Casting took FOREVER. We were told where we were going to work( I already knew where I was working, but it was nice to hear it again). I work at Mouse Gear at Epcot. :) It's the biggest merchandising store at Epcot. We filled out paperwork, went through a background check, got fingerprinted, and got our schedule for this week. That whole process took over 2 hours. For future CPs, I highly recommend filling out your on-boarding paperwork before you get there. It makes the process so much easier. We got out of casting around 12:30, caught a bus back to Vista, picked up my car, grabbed some food and went to our apartment for the first time. To future CPs. It's a good idea to carry a snack/drink to check-in. Everyone was starving by the time they got out.
We went to the apartment for about 30 minutes, I changed clothes, and we headed over to the housing meeting which was at 2:45. That lasted for about 2 hours. It wasn't the most fun, but at least we were inside a building sitting down(we had been standing 95% of the day). The housing meeting talked about all of the policys and what happens if you don't follow them.
After the meeting which ended around 4:30, we went back to our apartment, unloaded my car, and went to get groceries. When we got home, we were completely exhausted, so we decided to put the groceries away, eat and call it a night. I've had a cold this entire time, so I took some nyquil and was out by 10:30.
We got out of bed this morning and unpacked. Today has just been a lazy day. We've eaten, layed around, unpacked and showered, Oh, and we've been to wal-mart twice. If any of the CPs have any questions about the check in process, feel free to ask. Traditions class tomorrow at 2. :) My first day of work. 16 hours of work just this week.
On the 9th, I was sitting in the hotel room, bored, so I decided to look on the CP facebook group to see what people we're doing that day since check-in wasn't until the 10th. Someone posted about being bored and asked what everyone was doing that day, I replied and said I was probably going to go to Downtown Disney(DTD). We we're talking about meeting up when another person posted something about Earl of Sandwich. We all decided to meet there around noon. After we ate, we were like, "What now?" One of the guys(Chris) still had his CP ID, so he said he could get us into the parks for free. Adam and I were excited because we can't get into the parks for free until Wednesday. We decided to go to Hollywood studios.
We rode quite a few of the rides and went to see the Indiana Jones show. After, we decided to go to Epcot to ride the rides and see the fireworks. After, we went back to DTD, I picked up my car(we rode with Chris) and went to meet my roommate.
January 10th - Check-in
My roommate and I arrived at Vista Way for check in around 7:45(check-in starts at 9). Since there were so many people there, they let us start checking in around 7:50. We went through the whole process. They gave us name tags(everyone greeted us by name). Then they gave us our program guide with some paperwork in it. We waited in line till a table opened, then filled out that paperwork with the help of a cast member. Then someone checked over it, we went inside and got our apartment. We didn't get the apt complex we wanted, but we did get a one bedroom apartment like we wanted. It's really small, but it feels like home. After that, we got our housing ID's(we have to show security our ID's to get into our apartment complex). I feel really safe, because we have 24/7 security. This whole process took a little under an hour and a half. We finished at 9:15ish and had to catch a bus to casting at 9:30.
Casting took FOREVER. We were told where we were going to work( I already knew where I was working, but it was nice to hear it again). I work at Mouse Gear at Epcot. :) It's the biggest merchandising store at Epcot. We filled out paperwork, went through a background check, got fingerprinted, and got our schedule for this week. That whole process took over 2 hours. For future CPs, I highly recommend filling out your on-boarding paperwork before you get there. It makes the process so much easier. We got out of casting around 12:30, caught a bus back to Vista, picked up my car, grabbed some food and went to our apartment for the first time. To future CPs. It's a good idea to carry a snack/drink to check-in. Everyone was starving by the time they got out.
We went to the apartment for about 30 minutes, I changed clothes, and we headed over to the housing meeting which was at 2:45. That lasted for about 2 hours. It wasn't the most fun, but at least we were inside a building sitting down(we had been standing 95% of the day). The housing meeting talked about all of the policys and what happens if you don't follow them.
After the meeting which ended around 4:30, we went back to our apartment, unloaded my car, and went to get groceries. When we got home, we were completely exhausted, so we decided to put the groceries away, eat and call it a night. I've had a cold this entire time, so I took some nyquil and was out by 10:30.
We got out of bed this morning and unpacked. Today has just been a lazy day. We've eaten, layed around, unpacked and showered, Oh, and we've been to wal-mart twice. If any of the CPs have any questions about the check in process, feel free to ask. Traditions class tomorrow at 2. :) My first day of work. 16 hours of work just this week.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
New year. Let's start it off right.
Well, I'm leaving for Disney in less than 2 days. I am full of mixed emotions. Most of all, I'm really nervous. I'm not sure what to expect. I finished packing minus a couple of necessities that I'll need up until the day I move. I was supposed to leave on Sunday to go down to Disney, but the weather is supposed to get pretty bad here(gotta love Alabama weather), so my family and I decided it was best if I left on Saturday. I should arrive Saturday afternoon/night. I'll probably just rest that night. My room mate arrives on Sunday around 3ish. I'll probably hang around downtown Disney until she gets settled in her room, then meet up with her, grab some food, and go back to the hotel. I'll be staying with her on Sunday night. It'll make it a lot easier to get to Vista on Monday morning. I'll update more when we get settled into our new apartment. :)
Im getting emotional about saying my goodbyes to friends and family.I've already said goodbye to a few friends, but tomorrow is the big day. I'll probably be an emotional wreck most of the day. I've devoted all day to seeing/saying goodbye to my friends/family. It's going to be really hard. I'm not looking foward to saying goodbye to my parents and siblings either. This is all so hard for me.
New years resolutions. Most people have them, I know I do. So one of my resolutions was to lose weight. I know that is a very common resolution, but it's something I want to do. I'm eating healthier and working out more, devoting more time to exercise. By all means, I'm not fat, but I'm a girl, and most know about how girls are self-conscious about their weight. My goal is to lose 20lbs, hopefully before the CP is over. My next new years resolution, I want to be more outgoing. I used to be really shy, not so much anymore though. In highschool I had the smart girl image. I was the smart girl who didnt really talk to anyone, and always stayed at home while everyone was out with friends. I kinda want to change that image. It's a new year. I can do that and I plan to. I've already started on it. :) During the CP, I want to get out and socialize more with people and make plenty of friends. I decided to do a couple new things this year already. Ethan and I went and got tattoos. He got his first tattoo and I got my second one. I also decided to get my bellybutton pierced. I'm not exactly sure why I did that, but it looked good with the tattoo. haha.
Above is my newest tattoo and piercing right after I got them. It's not the greatest picture, but it works. My tummy is not as big as it looks in that picture. I promise. haha. Props to Corey King at Tat2tyme for the design and tattoo. He free-handed this tattoo in sharpie then tattooed it.
This is the outline of Ethan's tattoo, I forgot to take an "after" picture. Props to Corey King at Tat2tyme for the design and the tattoo.
Im getting emotional about saying my goodbyes to friends and family.I've already said goodbye to a few friends, but tomorrow is the big day. I'll probably be an emotional wreck most of the day. I've devoted all day to seeing/saying goodbye to my friends/family. It's going to be really hard. I'm not looking foward to saying goodbye to my parents and siblings either. This is all so hard for me.
New years resolutions. Most people have them, I know I do. So one of my resolutions was to lose weight. I know that is a very common resolution, but it's something I want to do. I'm eating healthier and working out more, devoting more time to exercise. By all means, I'm not fat, but I'm a girl, and most know about how girls are self-conscious about their weight. My goal is to lose 20lbs, hopefully before the CP is over. My next new years resolution, I want to be more outgoing. I used to be really shy, not so much anymore though. In highschool I had the smart girl image. I was the smart girl who didnt really talk to anyone, and always stayed at home while everyone was out with friends. I kinda want to change that image. It's a new year. I can do that and I plan to. I've already started on it. :) During the CP, I want to get out and socialize more with people and make plenty of friends. I decided to do a couple new things this year already. Ethan and I went and got tattoos. He got his first tattoo and I got my second one. I also decided to get my bellybutton pierced. I'm not exactly sure why I did that, but it looked good with the tattoo. haha.
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