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!!

Follow this blog with Bloglovin'!

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?

Day One: Check-in & Casting

At 7:30 this morning, my roommate and her dad picked me up from my hotel and we drove to Vista Way for check-in. By the time we got there, the line was already stretching around the building. After waiting in the heat for about two hours, we made it inside. There, we found out where we will be living, got our housing ID, registered vehicles, found out where we will be working, filled out I-9 paperwork, and got our itineraries. Going through all that took another hour or so. But...

I'm living in Patterson Court, 3 bed/3 bath, and will be working in the Magic Kingdom at Pinocchio Village! And lucky for me, the costumes there are not entirely tacky like some of the other locations.

After check-in, we had a couple hours to kill before we needed to catch a bus to go to casting, so we took our bags to our apartment and unpacked. (This apartment is so big! I'm digging the walk in closets.) When the time came, we boarded the bus and went on our merry way. The casting building is so cool, and is the only building to feature Alice in Wonderland door handles! There, we filled out more paperwork, found out our schedules for the rest of the week, and got fingerprinted for background checks.

We then went back to our apartment, unpacked some more, then headed over to Wal-Mart with a couple friends to pick up stuff we needed, like food! It was nearly 5pm and I was starving! I strongly advise packing a couple snacks in your bag for check-in. But this hunger was resolved as we all made spaghetti and had a nice, sit-down dinner.

For those of you who are interested, here is my schedule for the week!

Monday: Check-in, Casting
Tuesday: Housing Welcome Meeting
Wednesday: Day off
Thursday: Traditions (orientation)
Friday: Going to the parks!!
Saturday: Training Day 1 @ Disney University
Sunday: Training Day 2 @ Magic Kingdom Tunnel

Follow this blog with Bloglovin'!