Day Four Traditions

May 23, 2013 --

Had the pleasure of waking up at 5AM this morning to catch the Magic Kingdom bus to get to Disney University to figure out the situation with my ID. From there, I walked from Disney University to West Clock which gave me the opportunity to talk to a Cast Member from the Main Street Emporium.


When we finally made it to Disney University, the lady at the front welcome area told everyone to go sit down, assuming that we were all together. A gal that I had previously been speaking with along with myself were not part of the Traditions group, as assumed. I spoke up and the gal said that she was there for Merchentainment, then the lady told us we would be called. I then explained that I had a specific circumstance, where I told her everything that I had dealt with over the past few weeks to get my ID. She kindly handled the situation by finding my name on the roster, then going to check for my ID. I was later called back over after looking at the really neat Cast Member year awards, when she told me my ID was not there, but I was going to be taking Traditions if that was alright. I told her I had time for it, and that as long as she'd follow-up on my ID.

From there Traditions commenced which included the basic welcome training videos, four keys, a few lectures, and finally the famed tour. I'll write it about it a bit later when I don't have to be up at 2AM. When we returned, we received our new nametags, and I finally received my ID as they had "found" it. There were a few disappointing moments during Traditions that weren't very genuine, and upset me. Since I was talking to Joy throughout the entirety of the Traditions session, I got her number. The main reason we started talking was because she was behind me in line, and her brother graduated from the same College that I did. It gave common ground for later conversations that we had.

Ryan and I then went to Company D since I had purposely chosen his Traditions group. I ended up buying a figment lanyard, holder, and Walt Disney pin which I absolutely love. I found out earlier that day that I had lost my Orange Bird pin with his Mickey Mouse ears on, which upset me. Ryan and I had an excellent time going to find Property Control/Cast Connections where I forgot to look for sunglasses. During our excursion we just happened to run into one of the architectural Disney buildings, which I joked that I needed to stumble into.

We then caught the bus back to Chatham after that, and had a really nice talk about a variety of things. More than anything I find that we all have a connection together, and the guys like to confide in me about the funniest thing because I'm the oldest and quite a bit more mature. We just have to make the most of those moments.

Once we arrived at Chatham, I decided to stop by the housing office to inquire about the Monstrous even on April 24, 2013 which is a 24 hour day. The lady had no idea what I was referring to, and had no resources whatsoever to help me with my questions. I later found a sign by the bus stop (behind the housing office/clubhouse) that stated absolutely no Cast Member entry to the park or parking lots of any kind as those scheduled are priority. I have also already been informed that security will be checking all ID's of anyone going through West Clock to verify that they are in fact scheduled a shift at the Magic Kingdom that day. It definitely put a damper on my Parking plans, but I found an alternative.

While we were at home I tried to get onto the HUB, and gave the programs line a call since they've always been able to help me. She told me she didn't see any restrictions, and it wouldn't hurt to try, when I then later found the sign. From there, Joy invited me to Hollywood Studios with a few others. Even though I wasn't really awake or wanting to go, I forced myself to get dressed and head over to the Studios. The bus ride took about 45 minutes to Hollywood Studios given all of the stops.

My time in the Studios was spent walking to the park, visiting the main stage with Mulch, Sweat, and Shears, then walking around randomly until I was lost. I ended up finding Writer's Stop where I wanted to get a Carrot Cake Cookie, but didn't see any. While I was walking into the Pixar area, I found Mr. Mulch whom I was going to commend, but he was busy talking to a fan. I eventually found Muppet Vision 3D which I was going to ride since it was empty, but decided not to as I wanted to see Voyage of the Little Mermaid which started at 5PM. I then ran into the Great Movie Ride, which I ended up riding. I ran back over to Voyage, but they wouldn't let anyone in late which was disappointing, and a lesson. I walked back over to the hat, watching Mulch, Sweat and Shears once more time for quite a while. Right as the bus was departing Joy informed me that they had just gotten off of Star Tours, which she had previously told me they were just standing in line. The entire time I was in the park, they were there and decided not to tell me. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Had an overall excellent day, but I really thing that Tuesday tops my entire week out of anything else.