Deployed

I’ve been deployed! I don’t know why, but for some reason or another, for this week I’m being sent to work at another restaurant in Animal Kingdom. I will be at the newly reopened Flame Tree, which means that I had to go get a NEW COSTUME! I like wearing this one because it feels like I’m wearing my PJs to work, but at the same time, I feel more comfortable in my Resto costume.

I had no idea where to go this morning or any idea about Flame Tree at all, so I was very grateful when I met a woman named Susan who showed me where the backstage entrance was and introduced me to everyone at Flame Tree so I would feel included.

It was weird being somewhere else. First of all, I had to walk through the park to get to the location, which is on Discovery Island, right around the corner from Dino Land USA, where I usually work. Also, everything but the kitchen is outside in the open. And there was no music playing! But, when Flame Tree opens at 11am, it is the most fun! We get to bang on pots and pans and yell and make a big deal so that all the guests know that we are open and ready for them to come! I suggest hanging around Flame Tree at opening to see this for yourself, it’s a lot of fun!

Because I’m not trained at this location, the only thing I could really do was filler on the counter, which was fine because you get to interact with the guests, but it’s done so differently than what I’m use to. There are four people who bring the trays of food to the guests, and four other people who fill the drinks orders and take only those to the guests. In theory, this method should work, however, it doesn’t because we aren’t suppose to take the food to the guest UNLESS they have their drinks and 9 times out of 10 the food will be sitting on the counter because the drinks people are so far behind in filling the order because the printers haven’t been working properly. Then you get that random guest who ordered only food and no drink, so we will be holding their tray on the counter not knowing they had no drink (they are the ones who get mad, which is totally understandable).

Anyways, that is what I will be doing all week long because I’m not trained to work in the kitchen. But I guess I could help prep for the next day, or help cast members clean. Who knows…. All I know is that I am going to be so glad to go back to Resto! It’s been one day and I miss it already.


Oh, one other thing about Flame Tree that I love! You can watch the parade if you are working on counter because it goes right by! Also, Flame Tree cast members are assigned PAC (Parade Audience Control) duty, which is something I wish we got to do at Resto. I think it would be a lot of fun to help out along the parade route, friends I’ve told this to who do PAC think I’m crazy, but I wonder if it has more to do with they get to do it all the time and I’ve never had the chance.