Thursday, 30 July 2009
Days of fun and hot fudge sundaes....
On Wednesday I waas working from 3pm so decided to go to Epcot early as a certain person was working character spot. Unfortunately the wait was mega long (tour groups) and although I tried my best to meet before work I had cleverly brought work trousers, shoes and socks but no top so had to scurry to costuming for a fresh costume. So I didn't see him but instead I went to Paris and bought a Creme Brulee - I've become obsessed; they are gorgeous! And I went on mission space for the first time this year which was fun. Work was until 9.30 so I met Amy and we went through Saratoga Springs to Downtown Disney. The resort itself looked lovely and I would love to have a look round during the day to see it in all it's glory. We went to TRex which is the new restaurant at downtown. It's dino themed and extremely nice (there is a cold room as well as a hot room!) although it did feel a tad like a rip off of rainforest cafe as it went dark and the dinos moved simiar to the animals in the rainforest. I has salmon, rice and veg and it was delicious although extremely expensive! We also decided to share this desert which was obviously meant for 4 as it had 4 bits of chocolate cake and loads of ice cream. There was even a smoke machine thing in the middle. It was extremely awesome!!!! Of course we ended up bringing two bits of cake back as we couldn't eat it all but we tried! It was our everest and we failed. ('if you eat this cake, we will eat you')
Thursday = cake for breakfast as I was running low on proper food; it was amazing though! :D I went to meet Leom by the pool which was lovely and we had a great chat and catch up. I went to the gym for the first time as well which was great as it was nice to feel somewhat fit. It wasn't as good as the UEA gym and has virtually no machines but it's better than nothing! I got my stride on to Wicked and nearly took out some bloke with a weight - my bad. I was able to speak to my family in the afternoon as it had nearly been a week since we last spoke.
I had Friday off so after doing some chores including my ironing Nick came round and we eventually decide to go to Blizzard Beach. This was my first waterpark trip of the year and his first since moving to Florida so it was rather special. Donut time came and went and we enjoyed some time together in the wave pool (swim away!) and the lazy river (bridge). We also went on some of the rides including the double rapids which were sooo much fun and the raft ride. No summet plummet though as some people were too scared hehe :p We then went to magic kingdom for nighttime entertainment. Philharmagic and chocolate fudge later it was time for wishes which we viewed from Frontierland. Great view and awesome end to an amazing time. Best day ever :D
Saturday was planned to be Kirsty and Amy's DAY OF FUN!!! and day of fun it was. We started our day at Animal Kingdom, got our cookie, celebration pins from guest services and went for fastpasses for exhibition everest and went on the river rapids. Although we were sweltering hot we didn't count on getting so wet that our clothes were rubbing when we walked and of course this was mightily attractive. We decided to go to the tree of life for 'it's a bugs' life'. We were made 'special' bugs and looked awesome in our 'bug eyes'. I love this show and it was my first time there this year; it was fabulous. We had made reservations to go to Tusker House for lunch so we headed there. The food was extraordinary and the all you can eat buffet certainly lived up to its name! It was lovely to have loads of different food including roast potatoes and green beans! Although my main course combination was rather odd, the desert combo was amazing. Brownies, donuts and cookies, it was intense.
We waddled to everest which was great; I even saw a hidden mickey and rode dinosaur which again was great although slightly scary. I spoke to a fellow cast member about the joys of pulling on the yellow strap and forgot that Bill Nigh the science guy is in EVERYTHING!!! We then decided to go to the festival of the lion king where a little girl asked me if I was also with my mother. I laughed and said no she's just my friend. It certainly made me chuckle, I'm not sure about Amy though hehe. The show was awesome. We then went to the bus stop to get to Typhoon Lagoon. As you cannot get a direct bus to this water park we had to go to Animal Kingdom Lodge. It was lovely and although it took us nearly an hour in total travel time it was so worth it as it was nice to look around a popular resort. The resort looked grand and also very private and secluded I can definately see why the stars would go there.
Typhoon Lagoon itself was great although I think it is slightly older in Blizzard Beach. The wave machine was extremely intense and I kept getting sucked under. I think it was a proper surfer simulation but it was still fun. The lazy river was good too although rather crowded and I still can't get over the fact that I got sprayed by some evil child when I was obviously relaxed and not wanting H2O all over my hair!!!! We rode a few of the ride including slush gusher in the terential downpour that never wanted to stop. We got hot chocolate and attempted to wait it out but unfortunately it wouldn't quit so we scurried to get a resort bus as we didn't know where to get the CP bus from. A trip to Pop Century and home to a hot shower later and it was time for bed.
Work has been good recently and I last week I performed a magical moment family of the hour and the family even asked to get their picture taken with me. It was awesome! Usually I'm in people's pictures accidentially so it was nice to be wanted for a change hehe. I've also got a great service card for my efforts as grouper which has been really difficult recently with the huge tour groups who do not speak english and who do not appreciate the single rider concept! The ride has also been going 101 (braking down) alot so that's always a challenge as you have to evacuate the guests and then deal with them complaining later. There have been loads of brits though so it's nice to hear a familiar accent and I was also speaking to one guest from Norwich the other day! I also like to have fun with guests and say if they're wearing a universal top or something that I'm sorry but they cannot go on the ride. Luckily everyone takes it in good fun.
After work on Sunday Amy and I decided to go to Fantasmic. This was my third time this year but Amy's first. We were rather unsure as to whether it would be playing as again it was raining. We were so glad we did though and rode the rock n roller coaster (thanks to a re entry and +1) before the show. A sundae and brownie later and we were good to go. Waiting for the show was a pain though as although we had perfect Mickey centre seats we had Brazillian tour groups on either side who decided it would be fun and not extremely annoying at all to cheer and chant to each other. We were amused. Not. During the show it was decided we would attempt a reinactment of the show which can be found here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUgqU-4C8ao this was sooooo much fun to make and I really had a blast. I laughed so much, Amy is awesome and such a great friend. She bought the wishes soundtrack which definately gave her brownie points with me :D
Monday came around and I had a pretty good day. At grouper I was asked to take a picture with an unbelievably cute little boy who was awesome, guests were nice and it was a great day. I had a Disney Basics class which went well, we had to work in teams to work through the Disney basics and naturally our team had the best name (Skuttle's Dinglehoppers') although in DB jepardy we lost by missing out a simple but crucial name :(. At night the guy came and we watched Hercules which was nice.
Tuesday came and after a trip to MDs we decided to go to Epcot before I had to work. A touch of character spotting was in order so we ventured around the world. Starting in the UK we met Tigger, Pooh and Eeyore (but no piglet = sorry Becs!), Alice in Wonderland (worst accent ever! 'Did you see the white rabbit?') and Mary Poppins (again). We saw Louisa and I sneaked a picture of her in her costume. We then went to France for my creme brulee but bumped into Beauty and the Beast instead. I decided on chocolate mousse for a change and it was very good. After nearly having a panic attack after realising the bridge was up and I had to get to work we finished circling the world and I was back in plenty of time! I had noticed on my schedule an 'I can make a difference' but I wasn't too sure what that meant. I got asked by my coordinater if I was early (as they don't get told about these classes)but I explained and he radioed the coordinater of training.
As the class was in the Land building I got a ride backstage epcot where I was able to see old sets and other secrets. The class did pretty much what it said on the tin, we acted out scenarios and had to decide if it was poor, average or 'disney' service. Where our class was held joined directly onto the characters' room and so I'm afraid to say some of the magic has been lost. Yet back at work some of this was restored as I had fantastic guests who really loved my Mickey stickers, plenty of princesses and one little girl hugged me randomly when she got off the ride as she loved it so much. Of course this was sticker worthy. Max asked if I fancied going for ice cream during our 45 minute breaks and although I had been fairly healthy by having fruit the idea of having cookie dough for the first time in Florida filled me with excitment. Of course it was amaaaazing!
Wednesday was laundry day and gyming again. Work was good although I wasn't particularly happy with the way one of the coordinaters talked to me infront of guests when I was only doing my job correctly. I do not mind getting told off if I am doing something wrong but when someone is swearing at you, your good mood is rather ruined especially if you are correct in your actions. At 5 we had to close due to technical problems, an evac was in order and then we reopened. 20 minutes later we were down for incliment weather. We did not reopen and as I was in station I did nothing for 3 hours but chat and sing showsongs/ dance with trey. What a great job! As a closer I don't usually get to see the nighttime shows but luckily illuminations was 10 minutes late because of the electrical activity and as I was closing I was able to see illuminations on my close. It was an epic finish to a mixed kind of day. Me and Nick went and got pancakes - I was starved and then it was time to go home.
Thats all for now folks, see ya real soon.
xXx
Wednesday, 22 July 2009
Breakfast and Fantasmic times
We decided that Monday morning we would go out for an all American breakfast. While this appeared like a straightforward plan it was not without it's complications. Where to eat? Where was close by? Well without the car we relied on we decided to get the bus to Vista and walk to I Hop which was apparently not that far. Jayne, Amy and I ventured out only to realise that on some American roads a sidewalk is not built as standard. We then had to cross over 8 lanes of traffic to get to the other side. I felt like a very small chicken trying to cross the road. Also it began to rain and we had to trudge through grass. Soon we were on the correct part of the road but of course now on the opposite side. We saw the entrance to WDW and felt like we had walked for hours when of course it was only 20 minutes. Eventually we got there and across the road. I had pancakes, bacon and egg and it was immense. Best breakfast ever! Naturally we decided to get a taxi back and it was off to work for me.
Work on Monday was fabulous as I got the opportunity to do a couple of 'families of the hour' magical moments. This is when you choose a family to ride the ride from the front. At this point the wait times were hideous so the family I chose were so grateful to get on straight away they asked for a photo with me!!! I felt so honoured - they were great and they even came and found me afterwards to thank me. It's nice to feel loved. My second family were equally great although no picture with them hehe. I finished work at 00.15 and Nick came to pick me up and we went and watched Enchanted which was very nice - I didn't realise the original voice of the little mermaid had a part in the movie!
Tuesday came and we went for brunch at mcdonalds - it was sooo good! Work wasn't so great as I kept getting not so brilliant jobs including dispatch with loads of people who could not speak english and wheelchair when there were no wheelchairs. Also having to explain what a single rider is for the millionth time can get rather irritating. The day dragged but I was very excited as we had decided to go to see Fantasmic that night. The man picked me up and gave me a special present of a twix (my signature chocolate in America) and a 'happily ever after' pin which made me extremely happy! We wore our pins and went to DHS. I hoped to ride a ride before the show but the line was really really long and we figured it would be best to wait. We sat in Mickey (middle of the house) and watched the show which of course was amazing! even if the indians bounced back up after they were shot hehe. Exiting the park we got wished a happily ever after which was really nice after a magical night.
Today me and Amy are thinking of going to TRex after work so that should be fun. Well till I write again take care and see ya real soon.
xxxxxxxx
Sunday, 19 July 2009
Howdy guys!
We decided to hit the Cyberspace mountain first. This was amazing as you interactively build the coaster (with the help of Bill Nigh the science guy) and then you ride it ala simulator. We had many twists and upside downs - it was awesome and had a thrill rating of 5/5. I did wonder
if I needed a bag but luckily I was ok :D After that we went to Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride which involved placing a huge helmet on your head followed by a virtual camera. We had to find the gems in order to save the genie. Unfortunately my helmet kept slipping and so the screen was unclear and I couldn't see where I was going. No cast member helped me when I asked and because you work as a team of 4 Jayne and I were put with two others who had clearly played before. Consequently it was over quickly.
We then went on Invasion! An ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter in which we had to shoot aliens in order to save astronauts. Although a 4 player game Jayne and I decided to have auto pilot and shoot the bad guys. I felt very masculine but it was awesome! We then went on cyberspace mountain again (only 4/5) and decided to get food. Hmmm chicken strips.... they were amazing.
Mighty Ducks Pinball was next and it was a race to rank up the points. The machine really gave me a workout as I kept getting stuck in a corner. Naturally I came second from last - oh my goodness I'm bad at games but it was really fun. We enjoyed use of the free arcade games including guitar hero, percussion power (beat it vs oops I did it again), lights and theme pinball (POTC, Spiderman, Indiana Jones and Batman). Next came virtual Jungle Cruise - you sit in a raft which inflates and you have to steer yourself through the prehistoric dinosaur age. It was certainly a workout for your arms. It was really good but surprise surprise we got stuck in a corner and couldn't seem to manouver ourselves out: typical!
We decided to wait in line for the Pirates of the Carribean ride although we weren't really sure what it was. The cast member in charge was a fellow CP so we had a good chat before boarding the ship. We were required to wear these dodgy 3D glasses before shooting our cannons at the ships to gain treasure. It was soooo much fun and we got splashed as the boat rocked. It was absolutely brilliant. Short on time we decided to go on Cyberspace Mountain again for the third time. This time we decided to go for all red and so the attendant was kind of taken aback when she asked if our 10 upside downs were correct. During the ride we got the giggles on a major scale and were dizzy with laughter at the end. You get to watch a preview of your onride video and it was immense. My hair was all over the place and Jayne was defying gravity. We decided to get the video. However, by the time we got it it was time for me to get the bus to go to work. We ran as fast as we could and consequently I fell over majorly scrapping my knee! LOL. I got to work on time so that was the main thing. Guests were really nice and I even had a big conversation with one guest from Australia. It is really nice to help guests who appreciate your effort. Dan gave me and Andy a lift home which was great as I stood and watched the bus slowly drive off just when I came outside.
Friday came around and I had a lazy morning. I slept in and spoke to my family on skype which was nice. I had planned to go to Hollywood Studios with a couple of people but unfortunately all of them cancelled due to illness, work or groccery shopping. This was a major pain but I decided to go anyway as I planned to party with woody and couldn't disappoint a toy story character! So I got the bus to DHS and found that I had left my battery for my camera at home. I couldn't believe I made such a stupid error! I considered getting off the bus with no camera but thought it would defeat the purpose of the trip so I went home. An hour and a half later than planned I arrived. I went to Voyage of the Little Mermaid which was incredible (if short!) and took some photos. I then went to get some pictures with the Monsters Inc characters which was fun.
Finally it was time to go and see the Toy Story guys. It was mega fun and I was even in the middle of a tug of war between Woody and Buzz - which one was I to choose?!? :p I went to Muppets 3D and then waited in the singles line for rock n rollarcoaster. Of course I now stay in cast member mode wherever I go and so got to talking to some of the guests who were from Edinburgh no less - it was very nice. After, I met up with Nick and we went to Mk to ride the teacups and to meet princesses. Although the wait was forever it was worth it and I felt very regal ;) Yesterday we were supposed to spend the day together but it didn't quite go to plan as he was called in to work. After a quick earl of sandwich (cannonballs), I had a look around Downtown Disney and came home.
Amy and I decided to go and see a film so we went and got a sundae before viewing Bruno. It was funny but extremely offensive. We met Andy (another friend of Goofy) on the bus home which was nice and got to bed. Today I had to get up at 6am to start work at 7.45am. I had an okay day, a kind of mix as I had some nice guests but some not so nice, especially at the fastpass return. Although I did get a good service card for my role as grouper which was nice and I bumped into Leom at Discovery Diner. Hopefully we'll be able to meet up soon.
This evening Jayne and I attempted to go to Mickey's Retreat but by the time we got there most of the fun stuff had closed so we just headed to the Chatham Pool instead. It was nice to relax after a stressful day at the track. Tomorrow I'm scheduled to work till midnight 15 but I'm hoping to nip out early.
Well that's all for now guys, thanks for reading!
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Thursday, 16 July 2009
Good Morning
Ok and back to this week. Well on Saturday morning I did laundry and ironed and spoke to my family through the new technology I like to call skype. It was wicked seeing them again although I wasn't feeling too good and had a bit of a sore throat. On Saturday night the guy came around and we watched Inkheart which was really good *swoon for Paul Bettany!*. The next day we had brunch at the wonderful MaccyDs and soon it was time to head for work.
Work's been pretty crazy at the minute as there are so many tour groups who can either not comprehend english and the single rider system or choose not to comprehend english or the single rider system. Similarly at dispatch it is a real struggle to get people to PULL ON THE YELLOW STRAP. Eventhough it is there where they plug in their seatbelts they willl continue to look directly at me although I plead with them to LOOK DOWN!! Nevermind.
So on both Saturday and Sunday I noticed that I had white spots at the back of my throat and feared the worse - tonsilitus. I was scheduled to work 7am - 1pm and had to begin station walk which is pretty much a ride inspection. Of course this was only my second attempt and found it rather confusing as you have to go through certain doors and corridors and I couldn't remember where they were. One of the other Cast Members was really rude to me and spoke to me as if I was an idiot. I was not amused. I was then sent to dispatch where I began to feel shakey and lightheaded. At 8.45 one of the lovely managers told me to go home as she said I looked really ill. I took the bus home and slept for a couple of hours.
After seeing the pharmacist and feeling like I needed to get my throat checked I grabbed my paperwork and in the afternoon called CentraCare for free transport to their clinic. At this point I was absolutely terrified. I got in and was asked to show my insurance, the driver told me if they didn't accept it I would have to pay the full price. He was not friendly and this did not ease my illfeeling. Inside I was told to find an American contact number for my insurance and asked to fill in some paperwork. After going through the whole of my insurance, calling every number to be told it was either unable to connect or not recognised panic started to creep in. Also even the numbers it gives you to call from abroad were apparently invalid. As they wouldn't accept my insurance I got asked to pay the $230 fee. At this point I had my card, a travellers cheque and some cash. I filled in the forms and was told to wait. An hour and a half later I was called in and was weighed, my temperature was taken and my bp was taken. All of which was done in silence. No one told me what or why they were doing what they were doing and no one answered my questions. I was only told a doctor would see me shortly.
An hour later, the doctor came and asked me loads of questions. She examined my throat and told me it was an infection. I was like :o how did I get that. She said there were a lot of causes most common being steroid use but it could be down to dietry change or being run down. She took some blood work and informed me that I have a very low immune system, prescribing me one tablet of diflucan and told me that I would need further blood work when I get home to investigate.
After waiting for ages I was finally able to go. Luckily I just had enough money with the disney cm discount to pay, but did not have enough for my tablet. Feeling extremely stressed I walked into a puddle which basically cemented this day as awful. My shoes were skwelchy.
The whole process took 3 hours in total. I got free transport back and Nick came to see me. We drove to wallgreens where I got my prescription after I picked up the $11 (for ONE tablet!!!) bill. Later that night we went out for a meal - steak no less! - and played mini golf which was so much fun. Of course I beat him and even scored a hole in one! Naturally he blamed being put off by the exploding volcano but come on we know differently! We then had a wander round downtown and I got a mickey premium! I was so happy we went out as it really did turn an awful day into a lovely one.
Tuesday came around and it was back to work again. I had a fabulous grilled ham and cheese and really enjoyed my day. Great guests and fun with the cast members, especially Mark and Logan who ganged up on me when I was on station assist! How very dare they hehe! Anyway, I finished at 5.45pm, emailed my folks and got ready to go out. Of course this was THE night, the Harry Potter night. Nick and I had got our tickets prior to the midnight showing but Amy and Jayne haden't. Unfortunately it transpired that they were showing the film in multiple screens and we weren't in the same one. Although it was a pain to be parted from friends, luckily Nick's friend was able to join us and we waited in line to be seated after getting some munch. Unbelievably we were there 2 hours before it started - this is how big harry potter is stateside. It was crazy, people were dressed up and reading the book in the theatre- but it was amazing, and the film rocked so that was a plus!
Wednesday morning came and it was time for our official house meeting. Regardless of the fact that the majority of us got in at 3am the meeting was at 8.30am and so we were all rather sleep deprived. Hopefully we've now got some of our issues out in the open and can help clean the air. After a much needed sleep I set to work on tidying our room for our inspection which took place today (we passed and got cookies so yay!). Work was brilliant - again the guests were awesome and I even had this one girl who was my dance partner for the hoedown throwdown in the fastpass return line! It was madness but also a stroke of genius. The man met me and we went out for some much needed food - my attempt at making pancakes earlier did not work out the way I planned so it was a really nice day again although towards the end of work a guest did get rather aggressive when the ride closed due to the electric storm. I seriously thought she was going to hit me! She was 6.
So I have another story to tell but I feel like I've written quite enough for right now so am off to bed, till next time
xxxx
Saturday, 11 July 2009
Weekly update
Well, Tuesday night I ended up finishing at 12.45am although I was under the impression i finished at 12.15! I was most unimpressed and Andy (also from the UK) said that when the computer came up with a position in pit crew as opposed to offering me my bumpout, he wished he had his camera as my face was like :O! Perhalps I misread my shedule; most likely is that they changed my schedule without telling me! Nick came and visited me at work and then he offered to drive me home which was very nice. Closing up the track was rather challenging, and it was most unusual being in the park after hours, especially when there are no guests and the attractions are all off. Getting the guests out was also rather painful as they seemed to take forever to decide on their purchases from the gift shop! Epcot at night certainly reminds me of a ghost town.
Wednesday came and I had to attend my social security meeting at the social security office. It was great seeing a few people who I haven't seen in a while, so I chatted to them in the wait although the 5am start displeased me greatly. Unfortunately my details were incorrect (typical!) and so they took my passport, although I was reassured a couple of times that I would receive it back at Chatham shortly. Luckily the meeting only lasted a couple of hours so I was able to buy the most amazing donught ever from the seven11 and head home fairly early. I thought about relaxing by the pool before work so headed out. I was there 30 minutes and the heavens open - I believe I'm a weather jinx! I came back, thought I'd venture out again with Caroline my french housemate and again I was rained on. I was not amused. On wednesday night Nick and I went to downtown disney where I bought the most amazing brownie known to mankind, we just sat, chatted, ate brownie and watched the world go by :D
On Thursday, me and Louisa went to epcot for the day. We finally did honey I shrunk the audience which of course was fabulous and went round the world pavillion. We met Belle and bought creme brulee in France. In Italy we watched a most excellent improv production of Romeo and Ethel hehe - you should have seen who they picked for the '16' year olds, it reminded me greatly of my Gran's 'marriage' in Epcot many moons ago! We ate fish and chips in the UK pavillion (where Lou works) and I finished with my creme brulee. We waited for the Italy production to do King Lear at the UK but unfortunately it was rained off. Before Lou went (to Encore -choir- rehersals) we went to innoventions and learnt about recycling. This sounds really boring but it was so much fun, as it's all interactive games and the such! We even had our own mini trash trucks :D Oooo and I also purchased my baby Belle who is, of course, mightily cute. Thursday night I headed from epcot to Magic Kingdom where he was supposidly working. Although when I got there he had clocked out so we did a few rides and had a tour of the MK tunnels.
Yesterday was my final day off for the week and so I headed to universal for the day with Amy and Lou. We took the Itrolley which cost us a grand total of 25c! After getting our tickets we shimmied to our first ride - ET. Of course I was not the most willing of guests but no one can resist a walk on ride. We gave our names to the lady - Mildred, Ethel and Edna- who was very addiment that these were not the correct ones, even daring to ask Ethel how long she'd had that name. I'm so very pleased I work for Disney!
After hanging in the playground for a bit - soooo much fun! the next ride we went on was the simpsons which although I had doubts about as they replaced the wonderous Back to the Future ride with this, the decor was superb and it was a great ride. Even if we got stuck for ages. A reride later and we were happy and laughed at the EXTREMELY subtle digs at disney (it's a small world and pirates). Next was men and black which surprise surprise stopped halfway through. Luckily it was only for a few minutes and it gave us ample time to rank up points (yay for coming second!). We did a lot of the other rides including Jaws and Shrek and watched fear factor live - which was good but rather disgusting at some points) Mel's diner came a calling where I had the best meal ever! We then went to the Horror Make Up Show; same people, same premise, I loved every minte of it and then the heavens opened. It rained. And it rained. And it rained. When will Florida will give up on its obsession with the rain and be sunny again soon? That is the question.
Beetlejuice was rained off so I was extremely upset as afterall this is what I came to see. We rode the mummy although the ride stopped in the scarab beetle bit eek. No reride and soon they were playing the 'ride delay' spiel. Disaster was closed so we headed to the Hard Rock Cafe where we shared a platter starter and choc fudge brownie dessert. Both were lovely and I got my HRC tee although I'm more than a little convinced that my sister has the same one oops!
Anyhoo despite the weather and of course the rain, I had a brilliant day so thanks ladies! Now off to do the weekly shop before work.
Take care
xxxxxx
Monday, 6 July 2009
Soooo tired
Friday it was back to work and more Track. It was assessment day and I was rather tense. I had to complete a 160 question test, walk track and rotate positions. It luckily went well and I was happy to be complimented on my grouper positions. After work me and a few of my housemates went to Cicis for some all you can eat pizza. Pizza was good but the walk back to Vista was a bit of a pain :( - bad times!
The fourth of July brought with it its own challenges. Laundry again in the morning and a trip to the nearby publix. Note to self never ever walk to this store to buy bottles as the walk back with the bags will actually kill your arms! To top things off work was mega busy in the afternoon; plenty of folks off to see the fireworks. I was put on the rotation for the first time and put to work on my own which was rather scary to say the least. After my shift I quickly ducked out mid fireworks and we went out for a meal which was lovely. An early rise for Sunday's work and a rush to meet Goofy in the pm.
Yesterday was pretty awesome but has consequently left me extremely tired. The toll of working for the mouse is beginning to take it's effect. It's funny how easily I slid into the new time zone and routine of life in the States but perhalps the lack of sleep has overridden this ease hehe!
Off to sleep. I'll write soon.
xXx
Thursday, 2 July 2009
Adventures
We had such a lucky day as first of all we went to the character greetings where we met a whole bunch of characters including Goofy and Max, Minnie, the evil Queen, Mary Poppins and Pinnochio. We headed to the Backlot Tour where we were picked as 'volunteers' to the beginning action sequence i.e. you get soaked when they demonstrate pearl harbour style stunts. My role was wacky, Lou's was crazy, go figure :p. We went on the Tower of Terror (squirrel) and my fav the Rock and Rollarcoaster (free rider switch passes! Thanks Lou's friend!). After meeting with that awesome Scotsman Leom we boogied to Toy Story Mania where we were given fastpasses by a lovely passer-byer. Thank goodness we avoided the 70 minute queue!
The tower and the Rock n rollarcoaster were calling for another couple of rides (ride buddy Nick!) and then we went to see Fantasmic! This was amazing - i thought of you laura at the colours of the wind moment :D! I think they'd slightly changed some of the fireworks and such so that was refreshing. It was so much fun and reaffirmed the fact that a. fantasmic is my most favourite nightime show ever and b. the studios is my absolute favourite park ever.
Monday began another week working for the track. Training with Efrain is so much better and we were performing more of the roles we would perform on the show scenes. I love station assist as you are able to speak to the guests and wish them a happy birthday or anniversary or ask what they are celebrating (the badges), same applies to standby/singles/fastpass greeter although when the ride brakes down and you're a greeter you have to deal with many disgruntled guests. There are also the positions of grouper (party of 4? 2 to row one, 2 to row 2 and a single to one and two) which although looks easy but with two lines, 4 pits, 8 rows it can get mightily confusing.... especially when guests themselves have no idea how many people are in their party! Wheelchair assist calls for you handling guests with special needs and using the , manual lifts which can prove to be amusing. Photocell is tough as you have to coordinate the opening of the show rooms with passing people through to wait for the doors to open (fill all availible space guys, do not form a line as this will prove ineffective). Pit crew is where you send the cars off from the station and close the gates and dispatch is the safety check (pull on the yellow strap for me guys!).
Each day this week we also powered up the cars in the morning, applied a brake and audio test and walked the track, enabling both the cars and the track. On Tuesday we also opened for the day with the epcot countdown followed by the stampede of guests to the ride.
Monday night was good as I got my American phone and we boggied to downtown disney ($2.50 for ONE!!!! Strawberry and the chocolate fell off :(!) and consequently on Tuesday morning I nearly had a nervous brakedown as my alarm failed and I woke up at 6am (supposed to be starting at 6.15!). Luckily everyone was fine about it but it was mega frustrating to say the least.
On Tuesday night Nick and I headed up Animal Kingdom where we went on Everest (scary!) and Dinosaur (more scary!). The only thing now about working test track is that after doing ride throughs with non working lights I was like a woman possessed - 'this light isnt on, poor lighting here' hehe. We scurried to Epcot to face soarin' and wandered around the world. Illuminations was good although we had a most annoying tree blocking our view.
Yesterday was a good day at work although I'm slightly worried about my assessment on friday :( and we had two one-o-ones and performed a ride evak. After speaking to my wonderful family we headed out to Downtown Disney and saw UP again hehe. I have today off so I'm gonna revise for my assessment (which door correspond to which zone/ stairwell) and hit up Magic Kingdom in the afternoon.
Take care everyone, wish me luck for my assessment
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