WDW college program experiences

Mickeymac · Post by **Mickeymac** » Jan Thu 12, 2006 1:30 pm

Show keepers - what a neat term. There's a spin on everything! LOL!

today was my first day of on-the-job training.... it was really overhwhelming and i sure as heck don't remember where all of them are. i believe there are fifeteen bathrooms in that area.

Oh glory, it does sound overwhelming. Wish I could give you a big hug.

What set of apartments are you staying at? How many roomies do you have?

Post by **Dr. Ravenscroft** » Jan Thu 12, 2006 9:51 pm

Well, Aside from the not going to the parks and the work load, it sounds like your lovin' it down there.

Lion Sleeps Tonight · Post by **Lion Sleeps Tonight** » Jan Fri 13, 2006 10:37 pm

Quickgold- I chose to do custodial because everyone i've talked to said it was a lot of fun. as custodial, you get to move around a lot and interact with guests. you can work independently and pretty much at your own pace as long as you get the job done. i didn't want operations because i didn't want to be stuck asking people how many are in their party for five months. i already did a "take five" and gave a little girl a replacement lollipop- that totally made my day.

Zenmondo- i will be doing the program until mid May. I leave right before Star Wars Weekend I belive. And hopefully tomorrow- I'll get to go to the parks! I don't even care which one.

Mickeymac- it's the thought that counts. I have a total of five roommates not including myself. they're pretty cool so far, and of course I've clicked better with some more than others.

I live at Chatham Square- the nice one!

Today i had my assessment and passed. i start work officially on Sunday. I think I'll be doing streets, so I'll see ya out there.

Jeez! I have to complain about one thing though. There must be freakin' gorillas living upstairs! They are so noisy! I just wanna bang my broom on the ceiling. There are just loud pounding noises and it's driving me nuts. Sounds like a war or something!!

Mickeymac · Post by **Mickeymac** » Jan Sat 14, 2006 8:14 am

Gads! Do you have a super or something you can complain to? ('Where's mah supersuit!')

Can I ask, WHY is it called a 'take 5?' that's what the girl called it when she got my daughter's gloves, wand, and tiara?

Congratulations on passing your assessment! The first time, too!

Lion Sleeps Tonight · Post by **Lion Sleeps Tonight** » Jan Sat 14, 2006 11:44 am

We decided to go to animal kingdom today. maybe later i'll go to magic kingdom.

A "take 5" is when a cast member helps out a guest whether it be giving them a pass to go straight to the front of the line, a replacement item, etc... it's usually for small things, and it must be applicable. it only "takes 5" minutes to go out of your schedule and it's because its not pre-scripted and it's done on the spot.

There's another thing called a "magical moment." That is when a cast member does something for a guest, but it's already part of the show. For instance when audience members become part of the "extras" during epic. It's all about making magic happen.

Mickeymac · Post by **Mickeymac** » Jan Sat 14, 2006 2:12 pm

ummm, you're going to kill me, but what's 'epic?'

Post by **Dr. Ravenscroft** » Jan Sat 14, 2006 2:59 pm

That's great that you are allowed to do that for guests. It is just another example of how much they put into the happiness of guests. I'm sure that, aside from making you happy which is great, it made that girl real happy and made her parents love disney just a little more than before.

Lion Sleeps Tonight · Post by **Lion Sleeps Tonight** » Jan Sat 14, 2006 6:45 pm

mickeymac- epic is just disney-speak for the indiana jones stunt thing. they taught that one to me while on my walk on tour of disney-mgm.

dr. ravenscroft- i hope i made a positive difference in their day.

After spending a couple of hours in "DAK", i'm so beat. i think i'm just exhausted from the past few days of training. i'm falling asleep as i'm typing, but i still gotta buy some stuff for work and our apt. laters!

Mickeymac · Post by **Mickeymac** » Jan Mon 16, 2006 1:18 pm

I'm an idiot. Thanks - that makes total sense.

DAK is tiring!! I don't kwno why, but it always feels hotter there than any other park. I think because it is so enclosed, perhaps?

I'm really enjoying your writing in. Thank you so much.

zenmondo · Post by **zenmondo** » Jan Mon 16, 2006 6:31 pm

Mickeymac wrote: DAK is tiring!! I don't kwno why, but it always feels hotter there than any other park. I think because it is so enclosed, perhaps?

Maybe somehow Disney managed to get the African sun in that park instead of the Florida one.

Lion Sleeps Tonight · Post by **Lion Sleeps Tonight** » Jan Mon 16, 2006 11:50 pm

Sup everyone!?

Today was killer. I clocked in at 8am and was totally out of it. First off, I couldn't open my "zone" properly because I don't have the tools necessary so one guy from another area helped me out, but sort of put the blame on me. Second, no one told me there's a check-off list for things to do for opening procedure. It's not my fault because our department or whatever is so unorganized compared to the other show keeping areas. our management is being shuffled around, so i guess big changes are coming soon. who knows.

but overall it was a nice day even though i had to clean up right after the parade. pushing that huge power vac isn't very fun.

also, people love to eat popcorn, or at least they love to try and eat it because it always ends on the ground and i gotta clean it up.

i'm not sure if i mentioned this though, but my break room is right inside of star tours. so if i open the wrong door, im right at the queue line or some loading area.

After work I just sorta explored the park, but only had time for One Man's Dream- that attraction takes a lot of time to walk through. Then I got one of my roommates to see Fantasmic! with me. It was awesome, but I forgot that if you sit in the front area, you're gonna get Fantasprayed. I was freezing the whole time, but now I know better.

DAK is a really cool place. I remember seeing Flights of Wonder when I was younger, and thought it was so boring, but I just saw it and I love it. Also we got to see the baby elephant. So tiny! Speaking of DAK, Expedition Everest is opening soon for cast member previews

Esmeralda · Post by **Esmeralda** » Jan Tue 17, 2006 11:37 am

Sounds like you're having quite the adventure there, Lion. I know what you mean about the popcorn, though. When I was last in Magic Kingdom it was actually the French fries. A kid accidentally dropped his on the ground the sea gulls dive bombed him. Totally terrifying!

Lion Sleeps Tonight · Post by **Lion Sleeps Tonight** » Jan Fri 20, 2006 8:24 pm

Sorry for not posting! I've been so busy with exploring the parks, lol. Wed. some of my roommates and I went to Magic Kingdom to have some fun. I was so excited and pretty much the whole morning I was happy as a clam just to be off of work and in a happy place. Too bad it was windy though. Magic Kingdom is really different from Disneyland, and it's cool that way. I think I like the BTMR at MK better than the one at DLR. We didn't get to do as much as I liked, but we did a lot. I love those sweet cream cheese pretzels. Next time I want to try the spicy cheese one.

The next day we went to Epcot. One of my roommates thought Spaceship Earth was the coolest ride ever...until she went on Soarin. I kept laughing while we were on Soarin because of the shocked and delighted reactions of my roomies. Well one roommate was terrified, but yeah...2/3 ain't bad. We didn't have time for Mission Space, but that's something I look forward to.

Today clocked in at 7am and opened up my "zone". Today I opened zone 3 in the icon area which generally includes Star Tours, Muppets, Mama Melrose, and the smoking cans near the Sci Fi and Dine. I gotta make sure all the trash cans and railings are all dry, the phones and water fountains are clean, the drains are clear, the stock rooms are full, clear the standing water and other fun stuff

Oh and I went on some new ride called Expedition Everest. It had a yeti and some backwards action.

zenmondo · Post by **zenmondo** » Jan Fri 20, 2006 8:42 pm

I love reading your updates. I hope the magic of the "pixie dust" doesn't wear off after you have been there a while.

Yay for being one of the first on Expedition Everest! I saw some video of that ride, and it looks awesome.

Cheshire Cat · Post by **Cheshire Cat** » Jan Fri 20, 2006 8:45 pm

Where was the video!!! I dying to see what it's like!!!