Earning my ears!

After a few days of settling in and attending various housing meetings and traditions class, I was given my training schedule for the following 3 weeks! The first class we all had to attend was called 'Welcome to Operations', held at Disney University.  It was a long day, but we can now all say we are fully trained in 'Safety in Motion' and will never try to lift anything in our 'Red Zone' ever again! The afternoon was then spent learning more about health and safety specifically in our role of Food and Beverage.


After getting our new attractive non-slip shoes, we headed back to housing before making our way to Magic Kingdom AT LAST!! For a couple of people in the group, it was their first time ever setting foot in the Magic Kingdom. Watching their reactions made it even more magical!  A heavy rain shower didn't stop us from riding Under the Sea - Journey of the Little Mermaid, followed by a special meet and greet afterwards with Ariel herself.  A ride on the teacups, Big Thunder Mountain, a late night Splash Mountain, as well as seeing Wishes and the Electrical Parade was the perfect end to the day.  Despite insisting my hatred for the Electrical Parade, watching the midnight parade with an almost empty street (leading to endless opportunities for interacting with the performers) showed to all around me - as well as proving to myself - that I didn't hate it quite so much as I thought...

The following day, we had our 'Onboarding' Training day, which involved a visit to Epcot for a tour around our work location.  Despite the overload of information, it was great to see where we'd be working and meet the management team :) After a computer-based learning session, we also got our costumes for work!!

A few of us decided to stay in the parks after training for a wander around the World Showcase before getting the boat across to Hollywood Studios.  Despite having never seen Hollywood Studios so busy in my life (blaming the extra magic hours...), we managed to single rider Rock'n'Rollercoaster and watch the Frozen fireworks.  The queues were waaaaay too long for everything else and even the line for the second showing of Fantasmic looked insane... so we admitted defeat in the end and headed home to rest up before yet another early start.

The next day was our Epcot 'Discovery Day'.  All new Epcot Cast Members must go through this class... and although we were sworn to secrecy of what the day involved, I can tell you that we were given a guided tour of the park and told a bit about Epcot's history and mission.
After taking our costumes back to housing, we went back to Epcot to ride The Seas with Nemo and Friends, got food over at the Chinese Pavilion, and then settled down to watch Illuminations: Reflections of Earth <3

On the job training!

My first day on the job training was my Culinary Day! This basically meant I had to dress like a chef and observe what goes on in the kitchen and in the chippy.  It was really good to get an idea of how the kitchen works, plus I was allowed to taste some of the food (...the best part).  I also got to have a go at making the trifles, as well as helping put the Fish and Chips together.

Here's the fetching outfit I had to wear:

The following day was the first day of wearing my actual costume!! Although nervous as I didn't really know what to expect, it was super exciting to finally start work!  The day was spent being trained as a Seater by my fabulous trainer, Georgie! Amongst many things, I was taught how the podium at the Rose & Crown works, shown the seating arrangements of the restaurant, and learned how to greet guests and take them to their tables.  Day 1- number of American guests who told me their grandparents were from Scotland: 3

It was a really enjoyable day, topped off by being able to help with a 'Magical Moment' at the end of the night.  We got to pick a little boy and girl to help blow out the fire around the World Showcase and set off the fireworks with Mickey and Minnie's magic wands.  It was a really special moment seeing how excited the kids were and the amazement on their faces when they set the fireworks off <3 We had their whole family filming and taking pictures of us, and from the reaction of the kids - and the whole family - I'm sure it will be one of the highlights of their holiday! Thanks to Georgie for all her help and top tips :)

For the next two days, I finally had some time off to recover!

As I now have access to my Disney discounts, I managed to book the Polynesian Resort with a whopping 60% for Mari, Becky and Claire coming to visit next month! Only the best for my princesses <3

Made my first trip to Cast Connections, which is the discounted store selling everything Disney and more.  As a Cast Member, we have exclusive access to an extra room filled with defective/out of season stock with a massive 70% off.  I was in luck and managed to get myself a Merida dress with over $40 discount... thats my outfit sorted for the Princess 5k next year :) Also bagged some new sunglasses and a pair of Halloween ears!


After a dreaded trip to Walmart, Sophie and I headed to Hollywood Studios. The park was a lot quieter than it was last week, so we managed to meet Buzz and Woody, ride Rock'n'Rollercoaster, Tower of Terror, see the new and improved Frozen sing-a-long.... AND I finally got to see Fantasmic <3




Next up: Week 2 of training!

Traditions

Traditions class is a mandatory session taken by all new Disney Cast Members before they start work with the company.  Although it was my third time taking the class, I was still as excited as ever to start my training and receive my new name tag!!


The morning began by catching the bus from Vista Way to Disney University.  After finding our way to the classroom, we took our seats and got to know some of the 70+ others sitting around us.  'Traditions' involves teaching new Cast Members how the Walt Disney Company has expanded over the years, its core values, and how we play a role in the continuation of the legacy created by its founder, Walt Disney.  Videos are played to give us all an idea of the scale of Walt Disney World and the many attractions on offer to guests.  Real guest letters are also read out to demonstrate the impact the company has had on the lives of some of those who have visited our parks.  Whilst I had experienced 'Traditions' before, it was nice to be shown some different video clips and updated information involving changes that have taken place over the last year, or exciting projects that are currently underway.
Lots of happy faces!

 

One difference in the day was that we were unfortunately unable to be taken to the Magic Kingdom for a quick tour due to thunderstorms in the area.  This was a real shame for those who had not taken the class before... as the tour of MK is usually the highlight! But hey ho, it couldn't be helped. 'Safe D begins with me' after all!!  So the Florida weather may have gotten the better of us, but it didn't stop Mickey from stopping by to deliver our name badges :)

Armed with our name tags, Company IDs, and new Mickey ears, we all left the building officially as Disney's newest Cast Members!

Our training schedules for the next couple of days seem pretty full on... but now that we have access to the parks, I'll be sure to be making the most of it!!
 

The first few days...

After clearing customs in Toronto (I didn't realise half of Toronto airport was on the US border...), I boarded my flight down to Orlando!
A quick pit-stop was made at Chick fil-A before picking my luggage up from the carousel and making my way to the Mears shuttle counter.  Despite having to wait over 45mins for a shuttle, Disney do give us a $5 voucher to use, which makes the ride from the airport a lot cheaper than getting a taxi for those arriving by themselves.

Soon enough, I arrived at the Vista Way Pavilion for check-in! With over 1300 people arriving that day, I was lucky that I had missed the rush and could walk straight in and out. I was given my key and found out that my home for the next year would be in a 6 person apartment in VISTA WAY (the same complex I had lived in for my previous two programs).  Although I'd been hoping for a different complex to change things up a bit, it was comforting to already know my way around the complex and the surrounding area.  My apartment is in a great location and is very convenient for the pool (and for running to the bus stop!)  When I first moved in, the apartment was pretty much empty and just one girl's stuff was there (although she wasn't there when I arrived).  After a quick look around, I chose to put my stuff in one of the two empty bedrooms. Once I had unpacked - and with no sign of any other roommates - I decided to get the dreaded bus to Walmart for bits and bobs that I needed.  (I miss Tesco already!!)

3 hours later... I made it back armed with way too many bags than I could carry and met my first housemate - Catherine from China!  Shortly afterwards, two more housemates arrived from France and moved in to the last available bedroom.  As it was getting late, and with no sign of our last two housemates, I headed to bed!  However, around 1am, I was woken by security banging on the door.... it turned out to be housemate #5 who had been on a nightmare of a journey involving cancelled flights and lost luggage! In a half-awake state, I welcomed my new roommate from Italy and who is also called NICOLE!

The next day we all had a day off, so I met some of the other girls who had just arrived from the UK and we headed off for a day at Universal Studios.  I managed to renew my annual pass for just £100, so should definitely be worth it for the year :)  It was amazing to be back in Diagon Alley, drinking frozen butterbeer and riding the Gringotts ride (with only a 20min wait time... compared to the 320min wait time that was the norm this time last year).  We ate lunch/dinner in a really good Mexican restaurant on CityWalk, before heading back to housing to freshen up before an evening spent wandering around Downtown Disney. Oh Ghiradelli, how I've missed you <3

The next two days involved various housing meetings and paperwork sessions.  I got to meet the rest of my UK arrival group, and we spent time hanging out by the pool in the evenings... I could get used to this lifestyle!  A group of us also went to our first housing event - a double feature movie showing of Saving Mr Banks and Mary Poppins, complete with free popcorn!

Day 5 was another day off.  I've spent the morning sorting out stuff in my apartment and using some of the free time to update my blog.  The evening consisted of a trip to the Grand Floridian and a wander around the newly-refurbished Polynesian Resort. Dolewhip was eaten whilst watching Wishes from the beach!



Traditions class is tomorrow :D Can't wait to officially become a Cast Member once more and to get access once again to all the parks!!
More updates coming soon...

"Sometimes the right path is not the easiest one" - The Journey to Florida (via Toronto)

At last, the day I had to say goodbye to friends & family (and Scotland) had arrived.  Because it worked out cheaper and because i'd always wanted to visit Canada, I decided to fly Glasgow-Orlando with an overnight stopover in Toronto.  Although this seemed to confuse my soon-to-be co-workers into believing I was Canadian, I was sure to make the most of my short stay and it made the de-tour definitely worth the while!

Woke up in Scotland, flew over some icebergs, landed in what looked like the set of Jurassic Park in Nova Scotia, took off again, landed in Toronto, soaked up some of the atmosphere from the Pan-American Games, ate some Poutine, watched the sunset from the top of the CN Tower, and walked the world's first glass floor experience at over 1000ft above the city... quite the day!!