Raindrops keep falling on my head

So yesterday was a day that I feel needs to be shared with all of you. It rained almost constantly all day yesterday. When I asked a roaming Custodial Cast Member if he knew the forecast at the start of my day he said to me, "Rain, rain, heavier rain, more rain, and end the day with some drizzles of rain." Needless to say the Custodial Cast Members around the Seas usually have pretty good senses of humor. So I slapped on the Disney issued rain gear (a see through rain jacket made of similar material to the $7 ponchos they sell) and headed out into the rain when my turn came, which was three hours out of my eleven hour shift (that's a good bit when there are about ten positions in the Seas and you spend an hour at each one).

To my surprise, the rain put me into an arguably better mood. Most Guests I came across where nicer to me than usual, probably because we have to stand in the rain while they just run from attraction to attraction. One man even came up to me and the manager who had come to talk to me outside and said "I just wanted to thank y'all for standing out in the rain for us. I know it's probably not what you want to be doing, so I thought I would come over and say thanks." Ashby (the aforementioned manager) said that he had never had that happen to him before.

Another highlight of the day was when a Guest came up to me and asked where he could find the Michael Jackson 3D movie, Captain Eo. I was very excited at this question, and I was devastated to inform him that the show had not been at WDW in approximately 15 years. He was quite heartbroken, but was quite pleased when I told him he could find the whole thing on YouTube and that it was being brought back to Disneyland this month.

Now the last highlight of the day will require some knowledge of both Lady Gaga and Jersey Shore, even though I am fairly opposed to the latter. I saw a girl yesterday that I laughed really hard about later. My first impression when I saw her was guidette. She was definitely taking fashion pointers from Snooki from Jersey Shore (think Ed Hardy and fairly short shorts), and homegirl was definitely wearing a Bumpit. That's right, a Bumpit. And then she turned her head to call her similarly dressed friend. Omgeez, she had tied her hair in a bow. She had a legit bow of hair about the size of my hand on her head. For a visual, imagine putting these two hairstyles together. You can imagine the hilarity, and for those of you who know, the urge to fist pump.

Alas, not every Guest can be so entertaining thought provoking. As it is pouring again. I'm hoping it will once again be a fairly entertaining day.

I've been a bad, bad, blogger

I'm so sorry folks. I'm a really bad blogger, and I didn't realize that I would be upon my undertaking of this blog. So I apologize if you or anyone else you may know has lost faith in my blogging motivation and followthrough.

The last few weeks have been pretty hectic, yet at the same time seemingly routine. Days at The Seas kind of flow by, water pun completely intended. We rotate between all the possible positions with a couple of breaks here or there. My favorite positions have ended up being in the theatre at Turtle Talk and being outside as the greeter at the entrance of the Pavilion. I get to talk to guests at both, albeit through a turtle at the first position. The only true downfall of the Seas in my opinion is these guys.

If you've seen Finding Nemo, you'll recognize these birds. I'll admit that they were funny in the movie and still quite hilarious the first time I visited the ride. However, hearing them for the solid hour that you're standing outside, and hearing the impressions of them that tourists yell at the top of their lungs and find so hilarious and amusing, can be a little rough, especially on a day like yesterday when I was outside for three hours of my 12 hour shift. Luckily, they're quite easy to drown out, that is until a Guest asks how annoying those birds must be. So thank you tourists, for reminding all the Seas Cast Members of those little friends of ours which we work so hard to ignore.

So it's been a pretty good, yet tiring, couple of weeks. Last night's 12 hour shift (with a respiratory infection I might add) has been part of a 45 hour week, which has been about the normal work schedule for me since I've started working. The days really do run quite the same, which I guess I never thought about when starting this program. Now I'm not saying that I'm bored, not enjoying myself, or would rather be anywhere else, because those statements definitely are not true. While I'll admit that The Seas is not where I envisioned myself working when I received my invitation, I really am truly happy about where I work and the people I see everyday. They've all been very helpful and supportive of me as a start my time as a Walt Disney World Cast Member. Even though it does get quite repetitive being asked about the whereabouts of Soarin', the restrooms, or the nearest smoking area, or how many miles a day I walk on the Load and Unload belts, there really is nothing I would rather be doing right now than working at Disney World.

I apologize once again for the delay in this post, and I hope you can forgive me in my tardiness. Now you can all be assured that I am here, doing well, and fully available for a visit from you.

Apartment Video Tour

I've been looking for a good use my Flip video camera for a while, and I thought I'd give you a tour of my apartment while my roommates are at work. I'd like to apologize for the mess in the sink, as we have no dish washing soap and have to wash everything by hand and let it dry. But none of the stuff there is mine, so I just wanted to let you know that so you don't think less of me. And the girl I share a room with is from Ohio, not Iowa. My bad.

I've earned my ears!

That's right, folks. I've officially completed my training, and I've earned my ears. That makes me a full fledged "Nemo Ranger." Yep, that's what those of us who work at The Seas are officially called. Fun, eh? I am now fully capable (I think) of being able to work at all of the positions in The Seas without the supervision of a trainer. I can even put on a show of Turtle Talk by myself. My first show was quite an interesting one: the audience was full of 150 middle schoolers. Talk about your fun atmosphere. I think being the hostess of Turtle Talk is my favorite position at The Seas, and I hope I get to do that fairly often.

I've been enjoying a couple of days off after my 40 hours of intensive Nemo training. My roommates and I went to the parks yesterday, which made for a pretty fun day. Today I am the only roommate off, so I've declared today a lazy day, aside from the necessary task of doing laundry. Tomorrow I start working for real, so it should be a pretty interesting day working without constant guidance and supervision of my trainer Jaime. Here's hoping it goes well.

Oh, and here is a picture of me in my costume. Don't laugh, because you'll probably want to given that it is not the most flattering of costumes. I'm pretty sure that the only people who look good in this costume are boys (sometimes) and the few Brazilian girls who work at the Seas. If you do, just don't tell me. I'm already fairly subconscious of the disappearance of my torso every time I put on this lovely costume. Thanks so much, Disney costuming. I appreciate it.

Training Update

Hey there folks. I sincerely apologize for the gross lack of information about the past couple of days. Between training and spending quality time with the roomies, I haven't been home a lot other than the times I'm sleeping. Eight hour shifts and playing in the parks until close really takes it out of ya. I know I won't be able to keep it up once the park hours return to normal, so I should probably ween myself off that habit.

Training has been pretty hectic. I've had to learn all about every aspect of every position at the ride, and I think I've pretty much gotten over the overwhelmingness that I felt when I began. I started Turtle Talk training today, and I even got to talk into a mic! Turtle Talk is an interactive show where Guests get to talk with Crush from Finding Nemo, and Cast Members serve as hosts of the show and help Crush talk to our Guests. Tomorrow I get to do a whole show by myself (I think), so we'll see how that goes. I think I've got the spiel pretty down pact, so hopefully it will stick when my time to shine comes.

I'll go into more detail (or at least as much detail as I'm allowed to tell) later when my training is officially over Thursday and I've "earned my ears." Night all.

Just keep swimming....

Hey there folks. Today I had my park orientation at Epcot, called "Discovery Day." Here, we new Cast Members were taught everything we need to know about Epcot, including its past, present, and the ever important places to take a break and where to go if injured, which might be pretty useful information since yours truly is sometimes not so graceful. We also took a walking tour of the park, which was slowed by the presence of participants in the Walt Disney World Marathon. I would like to at the same time congratulate those runners and question their sanity as they were running this marathon is sleeting weather. I'm frankly quite surprised that I didn't fall on the treacherous and slippery terrain of Future World, so how those runners managed not to is a feat beyond my comprehension. Given the sleet and 35 degree weather, our Discovery Day leaders took pity of us freezing newbies and spared us of the 1.5 mile walk around World Showcase and gave us the tour via the Friendship Boat instead.

After more fun information key to our success at Epcot, we received our role location and training schedule. I was quite pleased to find out that I'll be spending my time here:

I was super excited to learn that I will be working the two attractions at The Seas Pavilion, The Seas with Nemo and Friends and Turtle Talk with Crush. Finding Nemo is my favorite Disney/Pixar movie, and I am particularly fond of both attractions. I'm pretty darn excited to start my training tomorrow, and thankful that I get to spend it inside given this frigid (by Florida standards) weather. So if you come down to Florida, look for me. I'll be chillin' in the big blue world with my buddy Nemo.

It all started with a mouse...

Hey friends. So sorry that this post is somewhat delayed. I've been pretty busy, and I just established an Internet connection yesterday.

I'd like to take this time to announce that I am an official Cast Member of the Walt Disney Company. That's right, be jealous. My dream is finally a reality. The past days have been interesting ones, and here's the rundown.

On Wednesday morning, I braved the cold to check in for the Disney College Program. I went through the lines and stations, and then ventured over to my apartment complex, Chatham Square. I started the move-in process, and I have some pretty cool roommates. There are two New Yorkers (not from NYC, but other parts), one from North Carolina, one from Iowa, and one from Ohio. There are two of us to a room, and we're getting along pretty well thus far.

I then went to catch the bus to Disney Casting to find out my position and take care of all the not-so-fun paperwork necessary for work. So a bus pulls up, and about fifteen of us new DCP participants hop on, and we are told that we are on the correct bus. At the next stop, the bus becomes filled with participants in the Disney International Program in their World Showcase costumes. As the sounds of at least five different languages flood into the tightly packed bus, we DCP participants begin to talk to each other and question our current situation. Guess what? We were on the bus to Epcot. We needed to be going towards Downtown Disney. Being late to Casting is not a great way to start out your employment at Disney World. Luckily, a bus going to the area was at the stop, and we were not alone in our bus mishap.

Casting went pretty well. I'll admit that the building is slightly overwhelming and intimidating, but it's not really that bad upon further investigation. I received my job assignment at Casting, and I will be working attractions in Future World East in Epcot. From what I've been told, the included attractions include Test Track, Mission Space, Universe of Energy (the one with dinosaurs, Bill Nye, and Ellen DeGeneres), and Spaceship Earth. Keep this in mind so you can come see me should you make it down to Florida to visit.

Thursday was a free day, so naturally, I went into Epcot with Catherine and Mama with the main intention of scoping out my possible job locations and costumes. This venture was very successful. We did Mission Space for the first time in probably three years or so. It was actually pretty pleasant now that it's been redesigned to have a less intense version. I think that's what I'll be sticking to in the future. The fam and I then went to the outlets to find solid black work shoes, an adventure that was much easier than anticipated. It was that night and with much sorrow that I had to say my goodbyes to Catherine and Mama.

This morning, I woke up literally before the crack of dawn to be on a bus at 6:45 to head over to Disney University for my Traditions class, which is mandatory for all Cast Members. It kind of serves as a welcome to the Disney family, and Mickey Mouse himself delivered our nametags. It was awesome.

After Traditions, my roommate Liz and I braved the intricacy of the transportation system to go to Magic Kingdom for the first time as Cast Members. I'm happy to report that no mistakes were made, and we made it to MK in one piece. We were so excited to get to use our Company IDs to get into the parks for the first time. Sad news: they didn't work. Apparently it takes a while for all the new Cast Member IDs to register in the system, but the nice turnstall man let us in anyway. This small devastation behind us, we worked our way through Tomorrowland and Fantasyland. So it's still pretty chilly down here in Florida, and while we were on the Tomorrow Speedway, it started to rain. Not fun when driving an uncooperative tiny race car. And no SpectroMagic. Other than that, our visit to the Magic Kingdom was quite enjoyable, and I would say a lovely start to this time of free park admission and getting to use the Cast Entrance.

It's been a pretty cool couple of days, and I can't wait to continue on this journey. Tomorrow I head to Epcot for my park orientation, with location training to follow later. I should probably get to bed, another early morning tomorrow.