What do ya say to taking chances?

YAY! Mission Celine is a success! Hooray for a fun birthday....next year. Thought I'd let you know.

Anyways, work has been pretty crazy this week. What with the Super Bowl in Miami (Go Saints!), President's Week, and the whole state of Louisiana being in town for their Mardi Gras holiday, we've been pretty busy. We actually had to turn people away from Turtle Talk, which makes people fairly unhappy. Nemo actually had a 30ish minute wait, which is huge when you average 5 minutes at peak hours.

I would also like to announce my first famous(ish) person sighting at the Nemo ride. I put Johan Santana and his family on the ride. For those of you who don't know, he's considered one of the top five pitchers by most baseball experts, even if he does play for the Mets (boo). He was very nice, and I guess I can forgive him for playing for the Mets as long as he doesn't beat the Braves.

Yesterday I had a day off, so I ventured over to Universal with my coworkers Kelsey and Scott and Scott's fellow Aussie Kate. All of us are Annual Passholders, and we had a pretty great time. We arrived before the park opened to allow time for ticket pickup, and we were shocked when we were let through the gates and allowed to walk right up to the first attraction without being held back by Universal workers like we cast members have to walk in front of Guests at rope drop. We were able to do all the attractions at both parks that we wanted to do, and we even had time to stop and take touristy pictures. Here are a few of my personal favorites.

Here's a group shot: me, Kelsey, Scott, and Kate.

In front of Hogwarts Castle. Clearly I am very excited about this, and so were my fellow Universal explorers. We took a lot of pictures of the site, and I am pleased to report that they seem to be progressing very well. Word on the street is that Dueling Dragons, which they're retheming to be Harry Potter related, is closing for three weeks at the end of this month. Good sign, yes? I say yes.

And speaking of good signs, Universal has pretty funny rider warning signs. Here's my favorite. It's outside of Dueling Dragons, and it's my favorite sign that I've ever seen in a theme park. Ever. Please forgive my odd, and apparently somewhat twisted, sense of humor.

This picture fully conveys my feelings after riding Dudley Doright's Ripsaw Falls, the log flume ride at Islands of Adventure. I was wearing a rain jacket, yet water somehow seeped under it onto my shirt. My jeans took four hours to dry.

So all in all, a pretty good week. I'm just enjoying a pretty mellow day before work tomorrow. Thought I'd fill you in. Currently listening to Celine Dion to prepare for the awesomeness to come in March 2011. Can't wait. Also listening to Sheryl Crow lately as I'll be seeing her in April as part of Universal's Mardi Gras concert series. I love living in a place where I can spend one day at one great theme park and the next at another across town. You should all come see me, and we'll do it together. I'll be here.

"Tu habla espanol?" "Sorry, no"

So I figured it was time for another blog post, mostly to prove that I can in fact be a better blogger. I've been working a good bit, which I guess is good since that is the reason I came down here in the first place. Sometimes I do get pretty tired, but rest puts me right back in fighting shape for the next work day. My days have been pretty standard, but they always prove to be pretty interesting. About a week ago, a father and his daughter rode the Nemo ride for a solid hour. That's about 12 times in a row. Needless to say we were pretty impressed, especially when they returned the following (they only rode once the next day I believe).

Turtle Talk always provides with pretty memorable moments. With different audiences, each show is a different and new experience. Some questions are common and tend to get asked at most shows (ie what Crush likes to eat), but once in a while I've heard some pretty funny ones. My favorite question I've heard was when a kid asked if Crush was a Democrat or a Republican. Crush said he was a member of the Turtle Party upon the kid's clarification that the difference between the two was that one was a donkey and the other was an elephant. Crush also provided a moment that made me cry. He saw a special needs Guest who wasn't able to ask a question, so after the theatre cleared, Crush came back out just to talk to the girl and her family. I was standing outside the door practically weeping. Just another example of the difference we can make as Cast Members, which is something I wish to be able to do one day.

Since we get into the parks for free, my roommates and I frequently visit the parks on our days off. I would like to share with you a particular experience we had on the Jungle Cruise. Our guide's name was Lisandro, and he was one of the best skippers I've ever had. One joke in particular made me snort with laughter. When we came to the part with the plane crash, Lisandro spit out this beauty (imagine it with a Hispanic accent): "Oh no, a plane crash! That can only mean one thing...Lost! Tonight at 9 on ABC! Oohhhh. Dun dun dun..."

I also got a surprise visit from Catherine and a couple of her moot court team members last week. They drove up from Tampa after their competition, and I used my Main Entrance Pass to help them get into The Magic Kingdom and Epcot. It made for a quite pleasurable day, and I'm always happy to enter the parks with friends and family. So thanks for the visit Catherine, Gretchen, and Jennifer.

This time a year is apparently a time in which lots of tour groups visit, so they've been pretty interesting. They range from school groups to foreign groups (mostly Brazilian). They sure do keep you on your toes, especially the ones who don't speak English. This week is the National Cheerleading Competition at Wide World of Sports, so WDW has been blessed with the presence of 8500-ish cheerleaders (and their just as entertaining stage moms). Wish me luck for the rest of their stay. Please.

And on a completely Disney-unrelated, but equally exciting, note, I came across an announcement yesterday while eating my Barbeque Chicken Salad at Wolfgang Puck Express in Downtown Disney that stopped me dead in my tracks, and also heavily imacted my music listening habits for the last few days. Some of you probably won't care at all, some might make fun of me for caring this much, and some of you (ie Catherine Bridgers) will share my enthusiasm for this announcement: Celine Dion is returning to Casear's Palace in Las Vegas! And just in time for my birthday in 2011! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Here's a not-so-subtle hint for a 21st birthday present for me parental units.....a weekend with Celine!!!! That is all.)

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.