I had previously signed up to do the Keys to the Kingdom tour (an exclusive tour around the Magic Kingdom, only available to Cast Members) and finally, Wednesday was the day. I got up ridiculously early and headed to the park. So early in fact that the park was yet to open so I was able to hear the park opening show which was a new experience :D Being in the park before hours is certainly different to say the least, it is unbelievably quiet, it's rather eerie. After heading to the sign in area and having received my 'guided tour' tag and free water our tour guide met us and began the tour. Of course, many of the secrets disclosed are 'backstage' and therefore I am unable to post them here but I shall post some.
We were taken around Main Street and shown the windows above the shops that have people's names on them. Unbeknown to many, all of these names are significant for the construction of WDW, including some of the false names given to the newspapers at the time of land buying. Roy Disney's window is at the front and it is supposed to be like the credits at the end of a film, starting with the producer or 'money man' Roy and ending with Walt himself as the director above the Main Street bakery. We were told stories about the construction of WDW including the fact that until Walt gave an interview to a young woman detailing exactly why he wouldn't like to buy swamp land, refering to all the work needed to it, did any suspicion point to the Disney company. 'Disney's The One' was the next day newspaper's front headline, followed by more cutting ones such as 'Walt's Folly' - well I guess they showed them, eh?
Other fun facts were how the sidewalk and the road are purposly painted different colours so people realised when they were stepping from one to the other and how Disney tries to blend in construction work with canvases painted like Main Street shops. We were then taken backstage. *Ariel image, car park, jungle cruise, tunnels, maintanence, pipes, deliveries*. Afterwards we were told about all the ghosts on the Haunted Mansion ride and how the imagineering designers were able to create such illusions. Fun facts - look to the right in the graveyard when you see a large lady with long Viking hair, there will be a grim reaper holding a hidden Mickey, also in the graveyard one of the fallen heads was the voice of Tony the Tiger. In the contstruction of the hitchhiking ghosts they were made as statues that rotate with you. *Mirror, Lights* Also there are chess pieces on top of the Mansion itself - they were put on the imagineer in charge's plans by his co workers as a practical joke however, he just left them on there. Mr Toad is in the graveyard in respect for the demise of Mr Toad's Wild Ride. We were further take backstage at Splash Mountain to see Goofy's Mirror, parade floats, rehearsing characters and the Splash Mountain waterfall. This was where we were able to see the slope indicating the fact that MK is built on the first floor as opposed to being at ground level.
After the tour I grabbed a choc fudge and headed to Animal Kingdom to meet up with Amy. We had a bit of a catch up since I hadn't seen her in a while during lunch and then went to Finding Nemo the Musical (again!). We were planning on doing the safari but due to time we decided we would go and see some of the animals including the gorillas which was awesome because I have never gone to the animal watch before. Nick came and met us and after dropping Amy back home we tottled off to Downtown Disney for a little while. It was really nice :)
I began work on Thursday with a good attitude which was immediately turned sour when one of the coordinators shouted at me on photocell in front of guests for something that was out of control. Number one- in order to retain respect from your staff you should NEVER call people out onstage and number two get your facts straight. Basically after we had gone 101, I was to fill the briefing rooms. However, due to people pushing through the doors the system of rotation on the videos in the rooms got out of sync and one room was empty when it was let out. It then looked like another one had gone empty but this was not the case as one of my fellow cast members had let them out early. When the coordinator called me up on this I explained that I had not let out two empty rooms. I felt that I needed to stick up for myself and argued my case. Luckily it was all sorted but at the end of the day it's never nice to be told off for something that was 100% not your fault. The rest of the day went by so so, I was able to watch illuminations and have a sundae so this pleased me immensely and brightened my mood. I was also able to put Heather, Ken, Nolan and Olivia on the ride which was brilliant - it's always nice to see people you know!
On Friday I had planned to meet up with my parents for breakfast before work which started at 1pm. We went and had a lovely brekkie with pancakes galore!!! I then went back to the villa for a little snooze before we left for epcot. Hey I had been working 12 hours the previous day!! Work was good although it seemed distinctly different minus a load of CPs/ ICPs and not as good. Althought all the guests I encountered were pretty awesome and some even recognised me when I was on my lunch which was fun. They then came, sat and chatted to me which was really great. Guest interaction was my number one favourite part of the ICP. Nick picked me up after work and we went to Macaroni Grill which was amazing (and swish!) and I had a most lovely italian meal.
Saturday was pretty uneventful just another long day at work although we had quite a few zone stops and evacuations due to weather. My top favourite questions from guests during down time: (during inclement weather) - Q - How long will the attraction be closed? A - When the weather clears. Q- How long will this be? A - I have no clue... its..weather. (during 101s) - Q - Is the ride closed? A -(Dan Wade) Yes. Although the day wasn't completely uneventful as I was able to put my parents on the ride and they were able to see my grouper skills which was funny. Needless to say they were very impressed hehe ;)
Sunday I was working again (obviously!) but beforehand I was able to get some laundry done. My day went pretty quick and I was even able to do the ride through at the end of the day - my final one *tear*. It was funny but throughout the day I kept thinking this may be my last time on .... or.... positions. It was a horrible to think that my program was coming to an end. Ladarius, Dan and Andy asked me to go to Downtown Disney for some 'English' fish and chips at Cookes of Dublin. It was really nice but I think I'll stick to the real thing from now on :p I then met up with Nick for a little wander around Downtown Disney before heading home.
Monday was just another work day I'm afraid to say, long but with plenty of Brits to keep me entertained. On Tuesday I had my homeroom meeting with Curtis which went well and I got a nice feedback report. It was great to hear nice things my co workers had said about my positive image and attitude. Although I had an early shift (starting at 7am I didn't mind too much as it gave me the chance to do station walker for the last time. As it had been quite a while since I had last been through all the door checks I kept having to get nudged by tower as to where I should be hehe, nevermind at least I got it done on time. Nick said he would meet me after work and as I finished at 3.15pm I basically had the rest of the day. My mum and dad said they'd meet us as the plan was to go to see Fantasmic for the final time. We did Indiana Jones and the great movie ride. Unfortunately it was raining pretty heavily so after going on Tower and Rock n Rollar Coaster Nick and I sans parentals went on Toy Story Mania where Nick got 180 thousand and I got just over 150 thousand, grrr beaten again! Nevermind I will beat him one of those days.
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