My Best Shift at Animal Kingdom...So Far

My Sunday shift at Animal Kingdom stands above the rest as probably my favorite shift that I've worked so far during the Disney College Program. Let me tell you about it.

How do you make change again??

I was scheduled to work from 10:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., longer than any shift I had had yet. Since I'm a CP, I usually get stuck with the late or closing shifts. I'm used to coming in around 3 or 4, when the sun is already heading down and people are flocking out of the front gates, returning their strollers, wheelchairs, and ECVs on the way out.

I arrived for this shift ready to experience something different and I wasn't disappointed. I was first assigned to Outpost Cart, a small cart located outside of the actual gates and near where the trams drop people off. I had worked at this location many times, but I was used to grabbing a Safari Mickey Mouse plush and waving "Goodbye" to guests as they either went left for the tram or right for the buses. The only guest interaction that I would sometimes get is a group of guests breaking off from the stampede home who would come over and ask the very anticipated, always asked question of "How do we get to Downtown Disney??"




The first thing I noticed, however, when getting set up at Outpost Cart was the location of the sun. It wasn't hidden behind the trees as I was used to, but instead directly out in the open, beaming down directly onto my face. Let the sweat begin. But then, I noticed something else. People were actually getting off the tram and heading into the park! I quickly re-positioned myself, started waving Mickey's hand and began greeting guests with "Good morning!" and "Welcome to Animal Kingdom!" It was awesome. Instead of parents scowling at me and thinking I was just trying to lure their kid in for one more purchase on their way out (yes, this happens. I've had many parents vocally express their distaste to me), many gave me huge smiles back, realizing that I was simply having fun with my job and trying to get kids and even whole families excited for their day in the park. Many kids would wave back energetically or peek out from behind their parents legs and smile.

It was interesting how many of the kids would speak or respond back to me as if they were talking directly to Mickey Mouse. They would look directly into his eyes and say "Good morning Mickey!" Maybe it was because I held him lower at their eye level or because he's just such a recognizable and lovable character, but I felt like how a ventriloquist must feel when they take their puppets to such a realistic level that people are actually watching and interacting with it instead of the real life person. Except all I was doing was waving a hand.

One of the highlights of working at Outpost Cart was when a group of semi-elderly women slowed their walk as they passed me by. One of them told me, "Patrick, that is a wonderful smile you have and it is a free gift that you give every time you show it." It was one of the best compliments I've received and it widened my smile even more.

Eventually, I was bumped over to Outpost, a large store across from the cart that has most of the top selling items from inside the park. For the first hour or so it was a pretty normal shift that consisted of checking people out at the registers and pulling out the pin vest for people to trade. But then, this happened:

The store was for the most part empty when a middle aged woman walked in holding a bag. She approached myself and the other CM working with me and explained that she had purchased a hat for her husband, but that when they had gotten back to the car they had realized that it was too big (she made the "my husband's head is too big for his own good" joke one too many times, ha). She was looking to exchange the hat and had already checked over at Outpost Cart for the right size. I offered to first look around the store for the hat, but could not find it. I then asked her to wait as I checked back in the stock room. I searched and searched the shelves and found what I was pretty sure was the hat, only to be shown that it was similar but not the right one when I brought back out. I told her that if she had her park ticket that she could simply go back through the gates and exchange it at the store she had purchased it at. She told me that her ticket was in the car with the family, that it was the last day of their location, and that they were trying to get out of there so that they could head home to Mississippi. After a little discussion with the other CM, I decided to escort the guest to the front gate to see if we could get in.

We approached the exit gates because the cart that we would need to get to was right on the other side of it. Of course, we happened to choose the grumpiest, most unhappy, I-hate-my-job CM there ever was. She looked something like this:

She told us that there was no way we were getting in, so we went further down the line and tried one of the entrance CMs. Luckily, we picked a good one. She said it was fine as long as I escorted her in and out. Up to this point, I was beginning to form a connection with this woman. During our walking I had explained to her that I was doing the Disney College Program, how I loved Disney, and how I would love to continue working for the company in the future. She also told me a little about her family and their vacation. The guest and I checked out Guest Relations Cart where she had purchased the hat, only to discover that the size she needed wasn't there. I joked with her about how this was turning into a scavenger hunt and then we headed over to Strollers. I had her wait with another CM as I went in the back and checked the other stock room, hoping that I would discover the elusive hat, as I had no plans on what to do next. Finally I found the right shelf and discovered the right size! Woohoo! I triumphantly returned to the guest, holding the hat high! She was excited and grateful as we headed over to the register to check out. After more joking around and getting the exchange done, I prepared to say goodbye. But she wasn't finished yet. She wanted to see my manager so that she could explain the situation. Somebody alerted the current manager and as she walked out to us, I could tell she expected nothing but complaints from this guest. For the first minute of the conversation, the guest explained the beginnings of the story in a way that sounded like it was going to be a complaint, but then she switched into praising me for helping her find the hat. The best part of the story was when she directly compared me to Walt Disney and everything he stood for. Awesome.

I walked the guest out and we finally said our goodbyes, each thanking the other for what they had done. It was an amazing experience and I'm glad I got to help end their vacation on a positive note. Later, as I was clocking out for my break, the same manager came up and filled out a Four Keys card. It's basically a card that anybody can award to another CM for doing a great job in some aspect. You are entered into a monthly raffle if you receive one, but more importantly, it permanently goes on your record card.

I had many other great moments throughout the day, but I've already written too much. Next time I'll be writing about the very coveted ECV run.

See ya,

P.W.