Month 1: ESPN, the Polynesian, and More!

It has been exactly a month since I started my college program! The week one process was exactly the same as it was on my last program two years ago (check-in, casting, traditions, welcome meeting, orientation, etc.). So, if you are interested in reading about that, visit the following blog posts:

Day One: Check-in & Casting
Day 2: Housing Welcome Meeting & DTD
Day 3-5: Kitchen Sink, Traditions, & Magic Kingdom
Day 6-8: Disney University & Training

The day after I finished my training at ESPN, I was deployed to Typhoon Lagoon for a week because there were no events going on at ESPN. Since then, it has been a pretty chill place to work. However, I sometimes feel like I'm not actually working for Disney because ESPN is just a complex that hosts sporting competitions, as opposed to a theme park. But on the bright side, I love sports so I don't mind that the view from my concession stand window is a baseball game most of the time.

Last month, my friend from my last program came down to visit from Minnesota. We stayed in the Polynesian Resort, which was beautiful! This is one of my favorite Disney Resorts. And I highly recommend going to Trader Sams, for all of you who are over 21! It is a bar based on the Tiki Room in Magic Kingdom. Every time a drink is ordered, something happens based on the type of drink. The bartenders chant, the room darkens, thunder sounds... Its an amazing experience!

I ordered the HippopotoMai-Tai as the bartenders
yelled and chanted "Two shots of rum!"

We also rented a boat from the Polynesian. I didn't even know you could do this until recently! And if you are a cast member, you get 50% off! First we rented a small two-seat boat. The next day, we got the 10-seat pontoon. We took these out through the Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake in front of Magic Kingdom. While in Bay Lake, we drove in front of the abandoned water park and island, Disney's River Country and Discovery Island. It was so eerie, but I would love to explore it some time!

Disney's River Country

We finished up the weekend with park visits to Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, as well as a couple games of bowling at Splitsville in Downtown Disney. Normally, I can never break 100 points, but somehow I got 5 strikes in a row this game!

Last week, a group of us went on the party bus so Drip, a new club in downtown Orlando, for a paint party. It was so much fun, and the music was great. I can't wait to go again!

This past weekend, a couple more friends from my last program, who I haven't seen in two years, came down to Orlando! We hit up all the parks, went bowling, and had a great time. It definitely did not feel like it had been two whole years. Our last program seemed like only yesterday! But it was a happy reminder of just how fast the time flies while down here on the program.

Two days ago, Craig and I had dinner at Be Our Guest, the Beauty and the Beast themed restaurant in Magic Kingdom. I had the shrimp and scallops while he had the braised pork. For desert we couldn't decide on just one, so we got the grey stuff, eclair a l'orange, and (my favorite) the strawberry cream cheese cupcake. Delicious! The castle was just as beautiful as I remembered, and you get to meet the Beast after your meal.

I forgot to take a picture before I started digging in!

Hopefully I can continue to blog at least once a month. In my spare time, I usually go to the parks or downtown. However, last week I worked 60 hours (by choice - I was not scheduled this many hours), so my free time is limited. To be continued!

Week 2: Hollywood Studios, Epcot & Training

Hollywood Studios on Monday!

It has been a full 40 hour work week for me, which is why I haven't blogged since Monday, but here is a recap for you all! So in the Pinocchio Village kitchen, there are several different stations that you can be assigned to throughout any given day. My training this week mostly involved learning how to work at each of these stations, which includes making salads, meatball subs, prepping pizzas, cooking pizzas, dish washing, cooking macaroni and sauces, and assembling orders. Each task is pretty simple, but having to learn all the different tasks is the hard part. Tuesday and Wednesday were my first two days of training in the kitchen - the people I work with are super friendly and entertaining, so I am thoroughly enjoying it so far! During training, we also get to try out most of the items on the menu. So far, I am a big fan of the macaroni and cheese and the mango gelato. Yummy!



Ashley and I at Club Cool in Epcot.

Yesterday I had the day off, so a group of us hit up Epcot. I rode Test Track twice, and it was amazing! I think it's my favorite attraction so far. We also went on Soarin' Over California, which was a lot more fun than I initially imagined - it is now in my top three, along side Space Mountain! Afterwards, we headed over to Germany (for those of you who don't know, Epcot is filled with tons of different areas that are based off of certain countries) and had a bite to eat in the Biergarten all-you-can-eat buffet! I had never had German food before, so I was a bit anxious about what I was getting myself into, but it was delicious! There was loads of meat and potatoes, and the desert was fantastic. Not to mention, a traditional German band played music as we ate! Once stuffed to our eating capacities, we headed out to complete Agent P's World Showcase Adventure. Basically, your group gets a cell phone that gives you clues as to where to go to complete certain tasks, all in an effort to save the world. And the entire game is based on Phineas and Ferb. Ideally, you go through each country, but it took us forever just to get through the UK, so we stopped after that and headed to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner. We then squeezed in a late night Walmart run before heading home, which was so much fun in and of itself. I have to say, this was probably the most entertaining night I've had here thus far!


Today was my first non-training shift, which is odd considering I haven't finished my training yet... But it went well! I spent four hours mixing different kinds of cheese for the pizzas, then another three hours washing dishes. Yay (imagine me saying this feebly, with a dash of sarcasm). And right now, I'm ditching a pool party to stay here and blog in my comfy bed, because I am too tired to move even an inch. Tomorrow (Saturday) is day three of training, then I have Sunday and Monday off. Whoo hoo!!

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Day 6-8: Disney University & Training

On Saturday, I had my food and beverage class in Disney University (DU). For those of you who don't know, DU is the building where collegiate classes and seminars take place, as well as lecture-based training classes. My class didn't start until 1pm, so I was able to sleep in, which is always nice! But despite this, I was still struggling to not fall asleep as they showed us video after video about food handling, storage, and safety. After three hours of this, we went into the computer lab to complete a couple more learning modules and register for the Hub. In a nutshell, the Hub is the online information center for Disney Cast Members. Then we all got our shoes for our work locations! Hideous as they are, I am just grateful that Food & Beverage (F&B) doesn't have to pay for them like everyone else. Once we were done, I hopped on a bus, headed to Wal-Mart to pick up some food, then headed home to sleep. However, my roommates were going out to the parks, so I thought I would join them, despite the fact that I had to get up early the next day for training! We hit up Magic Kingdom, rode a few of the attractions (they were less busy since it was about 10pm and everyone was watching the firework show), and then browsed through the shops. Finally, after waiting an hour for the bus, we made it home at about 2am Sunday morning. It's safe to say that I didn't prioritize very well that night.

Yesterday, I woke up at 4:30am in order to get ready and catch my bus at 5:30. Work didn't start until 7:15, but it takes an hour to get to Magic Kingdom, and you never know when a bus is going to be late! After our leaders introduced themselves, we split into groups and got a 3 hour tour of the Magic Kingdom. Once we were nearing the end of the tour, they took us all through the fast pass line to the Haunted Mansion. Sweet! Now I can say that I got paid to go on an attraction! After this, we split up based on work role. I went with the F&B cast members to receive our training schedules, get our costumes, and complete a couple more computer-based training modules. I found out that I will first be trained in the kitchen for a few weeks before being cross-trained to work out front. That's nice because I can pick up a wider range of shifts in other locations and always work indoors in the air conditioning. My costume is super plain (black pants and a white shirt), but it's only for a few weeks! However, I have no idea what I'll be doing in the kitchen. Dishes? Cleaning? Cooking? I mean, we do have pb&j sandwiches on our menu, so that I can do!

Once I got home, I crashed at about 6pm, woke up this morning, and began to blog since I have the day off. I think I'm going to hang out here for awhile and hit up the parks in the late afternoon. Hollywood Studios, perhaps?