My First Weeks Working For The Mouse

(Sorry it has been so long so I last posted. It has been a busy couple of weeks, but has given me time to reflect on my job. I hope you enjoy reading about it.)

Training was finally over. I awoke on my first day of work and took my first step into being a real, legit Cast Member: tearing the Earning My Ears ribbon off of my name tag. Some choose to leave theirs on for a little longer as a sort of safety net (if they don't have an answer for a Guest, they can point to the ribbon and say "I'm still training") but I felt confident enough in myself to rip it off.

I arrived at the bus stop to find two other CM's dressed in my wonderful pastel-blue-shorts-and-animal-patterned-shirt costume. I soon found out that they were also CP's and that they had started only a week or two before me. They explained that the first day was easy and that they would most likely place me in a location where I was working alongside other CM's who could help me should I get stumped on something. It was a very comforting conversation and helped to calm my nerves a little. 

I arrived at my work location and walked up to the CDS (the computer that clocks us in/out and assigns us our positions). I clicked "Get Assignment" and waited for my fate to print out on a small slip of paper. The paper read "Guest Relations Cart". Great. My first shift and I'd been placed at a spot in which I'd be alone and where no fellow CM'S could help me out.
Guest Relations Cart is a small merchandise cart that is located inside the park right next to the exit. Every night, almost every single guest in the park will walk by this cart on their way out. I walked onstage and over to my position, swapped out with the CM already there and got ready to make some magic. Here is a snippit of conversation I had early in my shift:

ME

Hello sir! How was your first visit??

MAN WITH 1ST VISIT BUTTON

Well, it wasn't too good.

ME

Oh no, I'm sorry to hear that!

MAN

(angrily)

Ya, I guess Disney isn't for everybody....and it definitely wasn't for me!

I also encountered almost every little random request that you could ever get. Exchanges, returns, trying to use coupons, etc. I did alright for most of them but I had to turn a couple of people down because I was pretty sure there was no way to fulfill their request at my cart. After my break I was sent to Outpost, a large store located outside of the parks that acts as a sort of "last chance" for guests to grab that special Disney memento. This was good news because it allowed me to work alongside other CM's that were able to help me when needed. The rest of the night went pretty flawlessly and I left feeling good about my first day.

I have worked many days since then, so I will highlight some of my favorite experiences so far:
- One of my favorite activities is working at Guest Relations Cart and wearing a merchandise item that is basically a scarf that has two yeti paws attached at the end that work as gloves (like the picture, but minus the hat). There are many times where Guests aren't purchasing anything, so I slip these babies on and take my position next to the cart, right next to the small path that the majority of Guests walk by on their way out. I then proceed to wave and wave and wave to every single group of Guests as they walk by, throwing in many "Goodnights!" and an occasional "Have a great night!" (I have a small arsenal of goodbye-type sayings that I constantly cycle through. I enjoy getting to think of new ways to say goodbye) Mixed in between the waving are the high fives! Whenever a little kid walks close by, I stick out the paw and ask for a high five. Most of the kids happily comply, some even jumping up or walking way out of their way to get a coveted hand slap. Sometimes I will squat down to offer my yeti hand to a small child in a stroller. Without fail, all of them always take a second, staring at this large furry object that has been placed in front of them. Most of them will break a smile and slap my hand, while a small majority instead turns away in fear. The most interesting part of this "job" (read: fun) is that a lot of adults will place their hand onto mine and simply hold it there as they walk by. It fascinates me because if you were to take away the furry yeti paw, this would seem like such a strange thing for grown adults to do and something that most would never think of doing. But due to the fact that there is a piece of fabric between our palms and that we are at Walt Disney World, Guests (and I) feel very comfortable engaging in this behavior. It psychologically interests me and I have a great time experimenting with it.
- I have worked about two weeks now and have only touched strollers ONCE! What a relief! When I was first assigned to my role as Stroller Rentals, I was a little bummed at the thought of simply renting out strollers all day. Happily, I have found my job to be so much more than simply strollers and I encourage Disney to change this misleading label.

- The group of people I work with are awesome. Since I mostly work the closing shift, I don't have too much interaction with the "older folk", who enjoy opening the park (it's busier and time goes by way faster). But I have had tons of interaction with the many CP's who are doing the program like me and all of them have been super friendly and helpful. They really do make the job better.

- PINS! As I've already briefly touched on, pin trading has become a huge part of a Cast Member's job. I have had so many great experiences with pin trading, but my favorite part has been getting to share our secret pin spots! At our Stroller Rentals section, we have a Pin Stroller that we will wheel out for lucky Guests. The Guests have a great time getting to search for "that one pin" that they really need.

So happy!

Since I have worked more at Outpost, I have had more opportunities to share our Pin Vest with Guests. Imagine a large safari type vest filled with pins. Here to showcase what this would look like for you is this happy Cast Member:

Instead of wearing it though, we simply lay it on the counter, which is always followed by the Guests jaws dropping as they take in the beauty of it. They always mention how "overwhelming" it is and I have to agree with them. It's so much fun to sit and chat with the Guests about what pins they are searching for, how their day in the park was and where they are visiting from. It's a rewarding feeling when, as they leave, they give you a genuine goodbye, sometimes throwing your name in there for a personal touch.

- My favorite moment of the whole program up to this point has to be an encounter that I had with Guests just a couple of nights ago. I was working at Stroller Tag 2, a job in which I simply collect the strollers that people are returning, when two Guests came up. One of them was a middle aged woman and the other a young girl (maybe 10 or 11) in a wheelchair. Both of them were wearing Make-a-Wish buttons, an organization known by all Disney Cast Members. The woman who I assumed to be the child's mother explained that all day they had tried to get their hands on a Wilderness Explorer Badge Book, but were unsuccessful. They were wondering if there was anyway they could get one and another Cast Member mentioned that it would be hard because the Wilderness Explorer Station had closed earlier in the night. I was pretty sure I had remembered spotting one lying at the bottom of a drawer in one of the gift shops I had worked in earlier that day. I told the Guests to wait right there and then I ran off to see if I could find it. I frantically searched through all the drawers, fearing that I wouldn't be able to find it. Finally, after moving around some papers, I spotted the book and made sure it hadn't already been filled out. It hadn't been! I raced back to the Guests and had a huge smile on my face as I presented the book to them! They were super excited about it and the mother told me that it was the last night of their trip and that I had made their whole vacation. Man, what a wonderful feeling to be able to make someone say that. It was an act that any Cast Member would have done, but I am honored that I got to be the one to witness their smiling faces. It was such an amazing moment and definitely one I'll always remember.


I'm looking forward to many more experiences like the ones I've already had and I will definitely update you all on how things are going.


Thanks for hanging in there with me.


See ya,


P.W.

Finally, A Chance To Play

These two weeks have been crazy busy! Between check-in, Traditions, DAKlimation, training, adjusting to the dorm life (again), grocery shopping, and more, there hasn't been much of a chance to get out into the parks for some fun. Thursday night, I finally got to do this.

I had planned on staying at home for the night to get some schoolwork done (I'm still taking online classes at UCF). One of my roommates, Ben, got home from work and we chatted about his day. He had some schoolwork that he also needed to take care of, but he wanted a better atmosphere to do it in. Well, we're at Disney, right? Why not study AT Disney?? So we decided to take a bus over to the Contemporary Resort and study in the lobby.

Contemporary Resort Fun Facts:

• One of the original three resorts that opened with the Magic Kingdom
• The monorail runs through the hotel
• The hotel in which Richard Nixon gave his famous "I am not a crook!" speech
• The A-frame structure was built first, and then pre-constructed bedrooms were lifted by crane and inserted into slots.

We found a quiet spot in the hotel; a beautifully designed, almost rotunda-like room with comfy chairs to sit in. I finished my homework before him and sat observing the details in the room. Soon a couple of cheerleaders entered the room and started chatting. Side note: It is extremely common for groups of cheerleaders to visit Walt Disney World. Sometimes they compete in competitions at the Wide World of Sports and then spend a day having fun at the parks. It is rare to go a day at the parks without seeing a large pack of them wandering between attractions, all of them chanting in unison and swallowing up confused and terrified tourists with their large group. After a couple of minutes, more cheerleaders entered the room and the noise level grew. They kept coming and eventually the room was filled with cheerleaders and chaperones, their combined noise shooting up into the tall ceiling and then echoing back down at us with a force. Throughout the entire process, I was watching Ben trying to concentrate on his work. As the noise got louder and louder, I couldn't help but chuckle to myself as I waited for him to notice. Finally, it got to the point where it was just literally screaming and I busted out laughing, my laughter being the final straw that made Ben look up. He also laughed at how ridiculous the situation had gotten. It was then that we decided, hey, lets go to the Magic Kingdom.  

After a short walk from the Contemporary, we were at the front gates of the 8th most visited tourist attraction in the world. It's always a surreal experience to me, walking through the gates for the umpteenth time while around me, many Guests are entering this magical place for the first time, having saved up enough money to get the whole family across the country or even the world to experience the rides or meet Mickey Mouse. It definitely makes me appreciate living here in Disney's backyard and having the ability to visit the parks whenever I choose. I definitely don't take it for granted. This is one of the reasons I wanted to be a Cast Member, so that I could "give back" all the great experiences I've had here. 

Anyways, after grabbing a bite to eat at Pinocchio's Village Haus (Ben's place of work for the next couple of months), we headed over to the main reason we had come to the park: Sorcerer's of the Magic Kingdom (SotMK).

Sorcerer's of the Magic Kingdom is an almost two year old "game" created by Disney Imagineers that allows Guests to team up with Merlin to fight Hades and his recruited villians and to try and get back the Crystal of the Magic Kingdom. When you sign up at the firehouse on Main Street, they give you a booster pack of five cards for free (you get five more each day that you come). Each card is a different Disney character, each with their own card design and attack. You are also given a key card which has RFID technology built into it. To play, you basically have to find a location on the map, locate the keyhole and swipe your key card against it. This will open a "portal", essentially a video that introduces the villain(s) you are about to fight. To fight, you look through your deck of cards, and hold up the one you want to use. Cleverly hidden cameras read your card and an animation of that cards attack will happen on the screen (for instance, Frozone from the Incredibles shoots a beam of ice). After defeating that villain, you will be sent to another portal to do the same thing.

Ben casting two spells at once

Ben opening a portal. The poster is the screen.

Another portal. See the keyhole underneath?

It's a really fun game and can be very addicting. There are three different levels of gameplay, Easy, Medium, and Hard, which makes it great for all ages. Easy is definitely for kids; any card that you use will beat any villian. But as you get up into Medium and Hard, you have to figure out what weaknesses each villain has and then use the correct card against them. The game takes you around to visit different lands of the park and a lot of the portals are in little alleys or hidden locations that even the most frequent visitor may have never visited before. After playing for a while, myself and friends I have spoken with have concluded that SotMK is the closest you can get to Geocaching at Disney. There are many similarities between the two and I'm not surprised that I'm so interested in the game. I was so interested that I went back again last night and beat the whole Easy mode.

    

We had a great time at the park playing SotMK. On our way out, we got a great viewing of the Main Street Electrical Parade. Here are some photos:

See ya,

P.W.

And The Training Begins...

Hello everybody! It's been a while since I've last posted, mostly because I've been too busy. But a lot has happened since then!

My first day of training at Disney's Animal Kingdom (DAK) was called DAKlimation. I and many other new CP's met backstage at the Cast Services building which had the small elephant that used to be a part of the Kilimanjaro Safaris' finale trumpeting at us outside the front doors. After spending some time in a room learning about the history of the park and it's strong message of conservation (the perfect place for a Geocacher) we were rewarded with a trip into the park itself! Walking through one of the Cast Member only entrances, I again felt like a V.I.P. as many Guests turned their necks to see what this group of well-dressed young folk were doing. 

Our first stop was the Kilimanjaro Safaris. The Safari is an attraction that takes Guests through many different terrains and ecosystems (cleverly designed and maintained by Disney) and exhibits many types of animals. The best time to ride this attraction is early in the morning as the animals are just waking up. Not only were we riding this at around 9 a.m.., but a light drizzle of rain was just starting to fall; an even better indicator that we would be seeing lots of wildlife. Some of the highlights of the ride include seeing the mother Bongo with her just days old baby walking beside her, a giraffe walking just a couple of feet from the truck, and a congregation of hippos trying to see who could hold their breath the longest. It was a great way to start the day.

After this, we spent a lot of time exploring the different lands of this beautiful park and learning about the different conservation messages each one had to offer, along with each land's designated greeting ("Jambo!" in Africa, "Howdy, cousin!" in Dinoland). Throughout the tour, I was hearing many things that I had already known about the park (how the Tree of Life was created using an oil rig), but I ended up learning a couple of new things along the way, most importantly being DAK's love of wildlife and nature. 

I had known that the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund had existed, but had never learned much about it. Disney basically matches every dollar that is donated to the fund, while covering all of the operating costs on their own. The fund helps to preserve nature, ecosystems, and animals. Through Good Counsel Camp (the summer camp I've attended for 14 years) and Geocaching I have developed my own love and appreciation for nature and it was great to see that I would be working for a company that feels strongly about preserving and protecting it.

After eating lunch at Pride Rock Cafe and watching some more videos back in the classroom, we ended our day on a strong note, with a visit to the Costuming building! Earlier in the day I had been given a sheet of paper with pictures of the two costumes I would be wearing, both the epitome of a goofy (not the character) Disney costume.

As we entered the building, we were told that we were about to go on "the shopping spree of our lives". One in which everything was free. We turned a corner and all of our eyes widened at the rows and rows and rows and rows of costumes that seemed to stretch infinitely through the warehouse. Bright pastel colors, stripes, and polka dots mixed together to create a wardrobe that would be laughable if not for the fact that it was Disney. We were each sent off into the jungle of fabrics and material to search for our five sets of costumes. We were able to mix and match each set with either pants or shorts (yes, I did grab one pair of pants). What followed was the un-manliest locker room experience that I had ever had. Fifteen or so other guys and myself took turns changing behind curtains and then checking out what we looked like in the mirror. Each groan grew progressively louder (but none louder than the complaints traveling all the way from the women's locker room). After modeling our costume to a CM to make sure everything looked alright, we were sent to grab our accessories, like belts, jackets, gloves, and raingear for those bound-to-happen Florida rainstorms. It was a really cool experience getting to see all of the costumes. I now wish to visit the Magic Kingdom Costuming, which has to be at least four times bigger and has 2nd-story conveyor-belt type mechanisms that bring in the costumes Monster's Inc style.

Here's a look at the costume I will mostly be wearing: (Have you ever seen shirts pockets that big?)

After DAKlimation, I have spent two whole days with actual on-the-job training. I received a lanyard that came equipped with pins (pin trading has become a huge part of a CM's job) and I have already had many great experiences of pin trading with Guests of all ages. It's a great way to get conversation started and really gives the Guest a personal interaction. I have learned that Stroller Rentals really means so much more than it sounds! I would classify myself as more Main Entrance Merchandise. Although I have learned how to clean, unstack, and distribute strollers, I have also learned how to work the registers at the lockers and other nearby stores and carts.

Every single person that I have met that works in my area has been the nicest, most welcoming person and has really helped me learn the ropes. It's an area of the park that requires a lot of great teamwork and I can already tell that this group of people can definitely get the job done.

While Stroller Rentals may sound like an unimportant job, I have learned that my position is quite the opposite. We are the only group of CM's in the whole entire park that will see all 100% of the Guests every single day. We are the first interaction that they have, so we have to set the bar high and send them adventuring further into the park with smiles on their faces so that at the end of the day we will see them leaving with the same smiles.

I have a couple of more days of training to go and I am excited to finally be working all on my own. I can't wait to make Magical Moments for the Guests everyday that I work. This is definitely one of those jobs where you get back what you put into it, and I'm going to give it my all.

See ya,

P.W.