Green Army Men

Day 11 -- Thursday, May 30 -- Training Day 3

• Woke up at 4AM to catch the bus to work for 7AM shift
• Had the pleasure of meeting a new trainer, who was quite cute and spoke Spanish with me
• Reviewed the register
• The reason for such an early shift was because we were opening, and learning to do so
• Had a wonderful moment while working the Merch location for Toy Story Midway Mania where the Green Army Men soldier grabbed my hand, and gestured for me to take a picture while a guest handed me her phone. They really appreciated it, and I was later thanked by the Green Army Man's friend, which I found so cool. It was the whole experience of being grabbed to help out.
• Did register and more food training.
• Had a time after break where we went back to the Cabanas and did food quizzes and a few other training materials

Overall an interesting day. As of right now it's 1700 and I'm deciding what to do for dinner as we don't have much. I'm hoping to spend my day off tomorrow (Friday) in the parks for Star Wars Weekends and finally seeing Mr. Taylor's show, plus getting an autograph!

We make the most of our experiences!

Have a Magical Day!

CP Days 6 - 10

Good Afternoon wonderful people. Since I've been really busy lately, here's a bulk update of everything since Traditions! Things have really been picking up.

Day 5 -- Friday, May 24 -- Monstrous Summer

• Spent 24 hours at The Magic Kingdom thanks to Miss Nicole!
• Had an all you can eat donut bar with coffee, juice, and fruit which was absolutely lovely.
• Finally saw the awesome Monster's University which I will be writing up soon!

Day 6 -- Saturday May 25 -- On With The Show

"The World you have entered was created by The Walt Disney Company and is dedicated to Hollywood—not a place on a map, but a state of mind that exists wherever people dream and wonder and imagine, a place where illusion and reality are fused by technological magic. We welcome you to a Hollywood that never was—and always will be."

• Woke up to catch the 6AM bus for the On With The Show orientation
• Received a history and somewhat tour of Hollywood Studios
• This was my second time visiting Hollywood Studios since I had previously gone on Thursday, which I'm hoping I wrote about
• Sat in a classroom portion of the orientation which told the history of the Studios over the years
• The one thing that I didn't appreciate was them using the quote "A Hollywood that never was -- and always will be" as said by someone else, with no particular credit to Eisner. Give credit where credit is due. Another post at a later time on that.
• Received my costume!

Day 7 -- Sunday, May 26 -- Training, Day 1

• Had the pleasure of an actual tour of all of my areas with my two fellow coworkers. 
• Introduced to Donald, who has  been with the company for a very long time, and is a really great guy
• Got to learn more about Donald throughout the course of our specific training, which I really enjoyed
• Began at the Cabanas where the computer training was completed, then received our lanyards. 
• The one thing I appreciated more then anything else was how relatable he made our personal trips to work here in comparison to our guests preparing for their trip. More then anything, the notion that some families/guests are only able to make one trip in their lifetime to Walt Disney World, that we only have one opportunity to make it perfectly memorable for a lifetime. We do make a difference.
• Received an entire tour of our areas, including the stockrooms of several. They are very organized.
• Had a 30 minute lunch and break where I learned more about my two coworkers!
• Since we have such a variety of areas, the tour was quite long.
• Informed that we're allowed to wear our costumes anywhere on property, as it's considered a movie set. We are just unallowed to go on any rides or purchase any items.
• Told that I was expected greatness, and nothing less given my knowledge

Day 8 -- Monday, May 27 -- Merchentaiment

• Visited Disney University once again for the Merchentainment class, catching the 6AM bus
• Had hands-on with the training registers which I shared with Steph since they were all a repeat of last time
• Watched a security and protection of assets video which was supposedly an hour
• Ate lunch with Steph and my two coworkers, who planned on going to parks after they had finished
• Since we were scheduled until 3PM, I had the pleasure of finishing up the online work material for training which consisted of watching videos for 2 hours after lunch. Since I have special food training for my area I had to watch one extra video because of it.
• Told by one of the girls who works in the same park that she still wanted to go to the Magic Kingdom, but never heard back from her while I was leaving. It's just an extra bus to get inside, but I ended up going home instead.
• On my way out I was shown how to change my address, pick up shifts, and told to clock out on the way.
• Took a nap since I had almost fallen asleep several times today. Woken up by my phone going off numerous times.
• Invited one of my "friends" over as they wanted to make Rice Krispies. Ended up eating them the rest of the night, which I need to still get my pan back.
• Watched Austin Powers since I hadn't seen them before, and they wanted to watch it. Ended up watching all three within that time period.

Day 9 -- Tuesday, May 28 -- Training, Day 2

• Woke up at 11PM after a long night, and got ready for work leaving at 2PM 
•  Worked a 4PM to 1230AM shift, as we were being trained registers and closing in the food areas. Since I already knew registers I was pretty much just left alone most of the night. 
• Had an excellent night with our trainer, and meeting new people. I met Adam who is from back home, and we talked for a bit.  
• Had another 30 minute break and lunch. 
• Ran into Donald who was working a shop over, which is connected. 
•  Trained how to make Cotton Candy and the glacier mix, which was review from my food service job a while back.
•  Spent the rest of the evening being taught how to serve food in the cases, and cleaning the entire side of the store
• Received an ER after being told we "wouldn't ever receive one whatsoever, especially with the summer coming up. The reason why we did is because too many people were scheduled, and several already wanted to go home.
• Really realized quite a few things today, which wasn't too pleasant. Mainly personal things along with work things. Just making the most of it all.

Day 10 -- Wednesday, May 29 -- Fantastic Day Off!

• First Day off since beginning work, with the last being on Friday
• Slept in after getting to bed at 2AM, and got up at 11AM after my roommate woke me up numerous times
• Left my phone off the majority of the day as I've been really stressed and upset about quite a few things
• Received my package from home which included my Medical ID Necklace, Bioshock Infinite, and Camera Strap.
• Finished my laundry and cleaned up quite a bit
• Wrote up a few blog articles borrowing my roommates computer, and trying to figure out what I'll be doing the rest of this evening. Right now I'm thinking of just going to take a nap.
• Ended up going to take a nap, made dinner, then went to sleep.

Anyways, I believe that covers the highlights of our journey the past few days! I'll definitely try my best to keep up with it all, and add anything else that comes to mind.

In the meantime, Have a Most Magical Day!

The DCP "Fate"

Hello, and Good Afternoon!

Just thought I'd elaborate on the "fate" that most Disney College Program blogs, vlogs, tumblrs, etc. always fall to. The majority of program blogs fall to a no-update phase, or very sparse updates due to several facts:

• We are all on different schedules, some with 50+ hour work weeks
• There is very little free time
• The free time that is actually available is spent either visiting the parks or taking care of personal needs such as shopping, laundry, cleaning, etc.
• We all receive very little sleep, and take any opportunity to do so

More then anything else, the reason that Disney College Program blogs fall upon this "fate" of disappearing is because of how much of a difference in schedule that we all have. If you're closing one night until 1AM, get home at 3AM after the buses, then wake up for work at 5AM to catch the bus, working until 3PM, the only thing you really want to do when you get off of work is sleep. Then there's adjusting to Florida, and dealing with other personal, emotional, and physical things that everyone goes through at some point in time which I'll elaborate on at a later point in time.

If anything, I just hope everyone takes care of themselves and their well-being. Just enjoy the wonderful opportunities that life hands you, and make the most of them.

It gets better.

Have a Magical Day!

Update and a Few Quick Changes

Good Morning, Wonderful People!

Since I began my training today, I thought I'd share a bit of wisdom that I learned from my Trainer.

Beyond everything else that we've been told so far, one thing that my trainer Donald mentioned today absolutely stuck with me -- There's so many guests that plan their once-in-a-lifetime trip to the Disney Parks. . . Which we have to make a lasting impression that will give them memories for years to come.

Given everything else, that's why I love my job. We're responsible for making so many people's days, and it even rings true in life. There's so many once-in-a-lifetime opportunities that we receive in life that you never know exactly when, or even if they may occur again later. We just have to make the most of every moment we have right now, and if anything cherish them.

There's so many more pieces of advice from Walt that I could rattle off, which I'll do a later point in time.

As far as updates go, I believe I will be switching to a bullet/grid update system so that I can give quick swift updates without losing much more sleep, and keep everyone informed. I plan on writing about the Monster's University event come my next day off, as there's so many photographs and information to go with everything.

There's so much to write about, but keeping this blog in a professional light is my priority above everything else.

Have a Magical Day!

Disney 24 Update

Had the pleasure of attending the Monstrous Summer event on May 24, 2013 for the 24 hour Disney day.

Had an excellent time at the Magic Kingdom and other various events which I'll write about soon when I have a free moment to publish all my notes!

Look for the review coming soon! Have a Magical Day!

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.

Day Three Housing Meeting

Wednesday, May 22, 2013 --

Woke up at 7AM to call the internships and college program office since I have been having issues with my Traditions bypass status, which in turn affected my ID status and pick-up.