Extra Magic Hours

Ahhhhh! Yesterday I worked my first “Extra Magic Hours”! Usually, Animal Kingdom stays open until 5:00pm, but on certain days during the week, we stay open until 8:00pm for Guests staying at the Disney Resorts. This means that my work location was also opened until 8:00pm instead of our usual 5:00pm.


I didn’t have to be at work until 1:00pm, so I spent my morning sleeping in, playing on facebook, doing laundry, and watching the Today Show! Thinking about it now, it’s a really good thing I didn’t have to be in until the afternoon because I needed the sleep after the late night I had yesterday! (But trust me, I’m not complaining about it at all! Last night was about as perfect as a night can get!)

Once at work, I spent most of the day bussing tables, sweeping the floor and taking out the trash. Not glamorous work, but someone has to do the dirty work in order for the whole restaurant to run smoothly. And besides, part of the magic is coming to a place that is clean and organized! And my managers must have thought I was doing a good job because they decided that I would also be closing bussing at the end of the night, but holy cow, thank goodness that is a two person job! There is so much to do and we only have an hour and a half or so to do it! I’m not kidding, I felt like I was running from one task to the next trying to get out on time. I think I clocked out at 9:50 and the bus didn’t come pick the cast members up until 10 something. Then it was an hour home (thanks to sitting at Vista Way for 20 minutes), so by the time I walked back to my apartment, changed and ate something for dinner it was well after midnight and lucky me, I had to be back at work at 11:00am! But, that was fine with me because I knew that once I clocked out at the end of the night, I was going into a 4 day weekend!!

And now I just can’t wait until tomorrow! I will be spending the day running around one of the parks with Scott. He promised to show me all of the cool things that I haven’t seen yet, which is a lot still!! So I can’t wait, wherever we end up, it’s going to be a lot of fun! Well that’s all for now, off to watch a movie with a friend! So until I post again, good night readers!

BIRTHDAY - DISNEY STLYE!

Yeah!!! Today was my birthday and celebrated Disney Style! Sadly, I had to work, but thank goodness it wasn’t too terrible. I did a lot of prep work, I was cutting tomatoes, getting the desserts ready, prepping trays of bacon for tomorrow among other odds and ends. It was great at work because the new College Program students that trained with me knew it was my birthday thanks to Facebook and they kept wishing me happy birthday whenever they saw me! (For the past week they have been trying to convince me to wear my birthday button to work! Haha, I didn’t because I knew I’d have to take it off.) Also, there is this one full time cast member that I have gotten close to named Violeta, I believe I’ve mentioned her before. She also knew it was my birthday and told the managers before she left for the day. I didn’t know that until we had our post closing meeting and they brought out a cheesecake with a lit candle in it for me! And then all the cast members sang “Happy Birthday!” Then I made a wish (can’t tell you what it was, but I’m thinking it’ll come true!) and blew out the candle. Then it was off to catch the bus home so I could get ready to go out with my roommates! But the surprises weren’t over yet. Scott was waiting for me at the bus stop! And he also remembered it was my birthday! It was a strange ride home, it went by really slow because I wanted to go out and celebrate, but it also went by really fast!


Once back at my apartment, I was met by a lovely birthday display waiting on our dining room table. My roommate Amanda even made red velvet cupcakes! After I quickly changed and got all cute for my birthday, we decided to go eat at Planet Hollywood at Downtown Disney. What was awesome about that was that as cast members, all we had to do was show our IDs and we were treated as VIPs, meaning we got the VERY next table that was available. I think we waited all of 5 minutes. The inside of the restaurant was crazy! There were all kinds of memorabilia from movies and shows, TVs everywhere playing music videos and a DJ taking requests. My roommates told our waitress that we were there for my birthday and she had the DJ announce it to everyone! He even played a Mariah Carey song dedicated to me! We all had a blast at dinner, the food was good. When we were getting ready to leave, our waitress brought me out an ice cream sundae with two lit candles. My friends sang me happy birthday and once again I made a wish (okay, I wished for the same thing as before, so hopefully that increases the chances of it coming true!) and blew out the candles. The 5 of us ate that little sundae, even though we were going to be heading over to Beaches & Cream to get a “Kitchen Sink”, the ultimate ice cream sundae!



Left - Back to front: Mary, Me, Hannah
Right - Back to front: Kari, Ashley, Tiffany

We met up with another roommate at Beaches & Cream, and it was a good thing too, because we needed all the help we could get if we were going to finish that thing! I don’t even know where to start in describing this thing! Try to imagine this: Eight Scoops of Ice Cream served with all the Toppings in the house (including, but not limited to: fudge, strawberries, caramel, pineapple, almonds, Oreos, Snickers, and more) and a whole can of Whipped Cream on top! Oh and the best part about this thing, it’s served in a bowl that looks like a Kitchen Sink, faucet and all! When our waiter brought it out to us, the whole room was alerted with loud noises and flashing lights! Our waiter even paraded it around for everyone to see! He also brought me a birthday balloon, too!

And then it was time to dig in! But where was the ICE CREAM! It took us forever to find it hidden under all that whipped cream! It was a surprise every time you put your spoon in the bowl! You just never knew what flavor or hidden treat you would pull out next! Between the 6 of us, we finished most of it and we had the stomach aches to prove it! We would have finished the bowl, but the ice cream was melting too fast and all the flavors were mixing together, just didn’t look appetizing after that! 

Back at the apartment, I opened my gifts from my family, my grandparents and my roommates! My awesome roommate, Hannah, even took pictures for me so I could send them home to my family! But my night didn’t end there; Scott invited me over to watch “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” with him! Not going to lie, that movie was super cute! What a birthday it was! I couldn’t have asked for a better way to celebrate! Or better friends, either! Thanks everyone for making my day super special! It’s a birthday for the record books!!!

Illuminations

Today was a somewhat stressful day at work. It was my first time flying solo on the fryers, and I’ll be honest, I was scared! I was in charge of left fryers and my only job was to keep the regular fries fresh and hot on the expo line because I was the ONLY ONE cooking them! I was doing well until the lunch rush hit. But I am proud to say that I only got behind once! I was so proud of myself. When the lunch rush was over, they closed down left fryers and I was sent on break. While eating my lunch, I discovered that I had new burns on my arms from hitting the hot metal on the expo line when I was putting the fries on the line and blisters forming on my palms from lifting and carrying the heavy fryer pans. It also didn’t help that my gloves were holding in moisture and keeping my hands moist, causing the gloves to slide. But, in all, it could have been worse!

After my break, I found out that I was going to be closing fryers, which is a job that I don’t mind at all. I actually kind of enjoy it, because I know what I am doing now and I can go faster. I know where to find all the equipment I need. I like feeling like I know what I’m doing now! And boy, were those fryers nice and clean by the time I was done with them!


While waiting for the bus in the cast parking lot, I was really excited to get a text from Scott, who I met down here asking if I’d like to go see the fireworks at Epcot with him when I got home from work. I decided that it sounded like a good way to make a not so great day at work better. So I called him when I got off the bus and we decided to meet up after I had a chance to change out of my costume. 20 minutes later or so, he was waiting for my outside my building, and off we went to meet the bus.

On our way to Epcot, we talked and got to know each other better. He told me he was into magic, and even showed me a few coin and card tricks during the evening. I will admit, I was VERY impressed. The whole time we were on the bus, we were laughing and talking and enjoying each other’s company. Once at Epcot, I felt like I was on my own personal tour of backstage, as Scott showed me all the things that were different in Epcot’s backstage, as compared to Animal Kingdom’s, where we both work. Once inside the park, we still had a while before the fireworks were scheduled to start, so we got in line for “Test Track” (about a 5 minute wait, it was so wonderful!), which was not only one of his favorite rides, but mine as well. Now, if you have never been on “Test Track”, you NEED to do this on your next visit to Epcot. But if you want to have even more fun on this ride, you will ride it once during the day and then again at night! Even though it is the same ride, the experience is totally different! I was in such a good mood after that, and we still hadn’t seen the fireworks yet! The evening could only go up from there!

Since Scott has been here since May, I asked where the best place to watch the fireworks show is. In his opinion, it was from Mexico, and so, we found a nice spot and waited until it was time for the show to start! Once again, he did more magic tricks for me! I loved it! It was a perfect night, I was at Epcot with a great guy and we were having a great time, he was making me laugh and doing magic and when the fireworks started, the evening went from 9 to 10!

Like I said, he has been here since May, but this is also his second program, so needless to say, he has seen “Illuminations” many times, and thus has learned the musical cues for when the fireworks go off. It was so fun to watch as he acted out the opening few minutes of “Illuminations” as if he were controlling the show! (Yes, it was that good!) The show itself was breathtaking! There were a few things I remembered from seeing it as a child, but the ending (and in my opinion, the best part) I had somehow forgotten! Watching the fireworks was a wonderful way to wind down my night. The combination of fireworks, water and other special effects was just what I needed. Believe it or not, during the whole show, I didn’t take ONE PICTURE! LOL…. Shocking, I know. My roommates couldn’t believe it either when they asked me how many I'd taken when I got home!


When the fireworks ended, we made our way back to the cast members’ bus so we could head back home. It was so crowed on the bus that we ended up sitting on the stairs by the back door. I can honestly say I’ve never sat there before, but it was nice because we were out of the way. All in all, the evening couldn’t have been much more fun! I truly love how going to the parks as a guest after a hard day at work reminds you why you are here. Seeing the joy on the faces of the guests (all ages, not just children) reminds you that you are a part of this magical and elite family that is responsible for making the magic and providing an escape from everyday life. It’s in those moments, that I know I am in the right place at the right time for me!

What are you Celebrating...?



Left to right: Minnie, Viola, Me, Tameesha, Merric and Mickey



Today happened to be one of my first days off since “Earning my Ears”. To celebrate, I spent the day running around Magic Kingdom and eventually Hollywood Studios with a group of girls that I work with. The first thing we did upon arriving at the park was locate the cart with all the Disney buttons! We each wore one that said “I am celebrating my day off!” and then I also had a “Happy Birthday” button! Then it was off to “The Hall of Presidents”. It was the best 22 minute history lesson ever! I couldn’t believe how life-like the Presidents were! I really can’t explain it; it’s just one of those attractions you will have to visit at the Magic Kingdom! From there it was off to “Splash Mountain”. I’m not going to lie, that ride had me a bit freaked out! I was in the very front car BY MYSELF! Hahaha, there were three of us in our group and my friends quickly jumped into the second car, saying “the birthday girl needs to ride in the front!” (Thanks guys! LOL) But it was a lot of fun and I ended up buying that picture! From there it was off to “Big Thunder Mountain”, “The Peter Pan” ride, and the “Mad Hatter Tea Party” (aka: the tea cups). We also walked around Minnie and Mickey’s houses, met three Disney Princesses (Cinderella, Belle and Aurora), met Mickey and Minnie at the Judge’s Tent in Toontown, had lunch at Cosmic Rays, went on “Space Mountain” and finished off the day at Magic Kingdom at the “Monster’s Inc. Laugh Floor”! That was one awesome show! The monsters interact with the audience. I won’t tell you a lot because you have to experience it for yourself, but I was a part of the show! My picture showed up on the screen and a cast member came over to where I was sitting with a microphone. I got to help the “mind reading monster” with his act. He asked me to think of a number 1 – 99 and then to tell the audience after he CLOSED HIS EYES SO HE WOULDN’T HEAR. Then he had me put my hands on the side of my head, stick my pointer fingers up like antennas and say the magic words: Boom-shacka-laka Boom-shacka-laka, Boom. I was so embarrassed, but it was a lot of fun at the same time! Then the monster said the number he thought I was thinking of! LOL… wrong answer, but he got it right on the second try! He also pointed out my “Happy Birthday” button to the entire audience!

From Magic Kingdom it was onto the ferry boat, which would take us to the parking lot, where we would catch the Disney bus to Hollywood Studios! Here, we decided to see the 10pm “Fantasmic” Firework show. So, we had some time to kill before we needed to stand in line, and it was spent on the “Rockin’ Roller Coaster”! That ride is INSANE, but I can’t wait to do it again. I kid you not; it goes from 0 – 60MPH in seconds! Another must ride when you visit the parks! By the time we made it through the ride and the store that you exit into, it was time to stand in line (it was around 9:00pm) in order to guarantee a seat for the show. They started letting us into the stadium around 9:40pm and I was thrilled with the seats we found! Almost perfectly center! The best way to describe the show was a mixture of music, characters, fireworks, water effects, fire and video clips! It was amazing! One of the girls I work with described it perfectly from the standpoint of a College Program participant: “ Seeing Fantasmic makes our role in the Disney show so worth it. It makes getting up and going to work easier on those early mornings.” And after seeing the show, I would have to agree with her 100%! You will never look at fireworks or characters or water effects the same after you have had the chance to view Fantasmic!

Greeter!

Yesterday was the most fun I've had at work yet! When I got to work at 11:30am, I found my name on the board (spelled correctly today! Hahaha!), and it said I was going to be a greeter! I was so excited to see this because I would finally get to interact with the guests and when we were training that area I really enjoyed it. So off I went to find Violeta, the full time cast member I was going to be working with. She told me to just relax and have fun with it, that it was okay to be silly as that's what guests expect when they come to Disney. She showed me the best place to stand and how to direct the guests to the cashier line that is moving the quickest. She told me that when we are "slow" we have more time to interact with the guests. We get to ask how their day has been going, where they are from, how they are enjoying Disney, what they've done so far/plans for the rest of the day, that kind of thing.

So, for the first 15 - 20 minutes, I was kind of shy and didn't really get into it. And those of you who know me, know this is normal when I'm trying things that are new to me. But once I get the hang of it and feel comfortable, I just let go and have fun with it. I decided that I work for Disney, the happiest place on Earth, I wear a cheesy costume, and I can act silly and be paid for it, so why not go full out enthusiasm? And so I did, and LOVED every minute of it!

I've decided that this position was made just for me! Once I started really letting go of my fear, it all came so natural. I was able to start talking to anyone, children, adults, didn't matter. All I had to do was start the conversation and the guests would take it from that point on. i heard all about seeing different animals while on the safari ride, riding Mt. Everest in Asia, and seeing the different shows playing around the park.

But my favorite part about being greeter.... PIN TRADING! I am not kidding, it is so much fun! And it's not just the kids who get excited when they see the cast members wearing the different pins, it's the adults, too! i was wearing the popular lanyard yesterday, it seemed like every 10 minutes or so I was trading with a different guest. Now, let me explain this to you a little. There are tons of different kinds of pins the guests can buy in the park. Then, if they see one a cast member is wearing and if it is one they like and want or part of a set they are trying to collect they can trade with us. However, a guest can ONLY trade two pins per cast member per day... and the cast member HAS TO TRADE (even if the guest wants the cast members favorite pin that they are wearing that day). Also, the pins the guests with the cast members have to be in good condition and official Disney pins. So, like I said, I had the popular pins, and as a result of that, I had a completely different set of pins at the end of the day than what i had when we opened in the morning. i got just as excited as the guests when they found a pin that they were looking for. Honestly, before yesterday, I had no idea how popular pin trading actually was. I mean, I knew people liked to trade pins, I just didn't know HOW MANY PEOPLE really got into it! My location also has a pin board that we keep in the managers office with 30 or so more pins on it that we can bring out to show the guests if we know that they are looking for a specific one. I had the chance to make a few guests days when we were a little slower by showing them that board. it's such a wonderful feeling just watching their eyes light up and the smile they get when you hand them their new pin! Nothing at my job will ever top that feeling.

So, because most of my day at work was super wonderful, my managers decided I needed to "really work" yesterday, too. So for closing, they had me cleaning the friers. (Yuck!) I will be honest, I kind of panicked! I blanked on how to clean them! I just couldn't remember! Lucky for me, one of my trainers, Damaris, told me exactly what steps to do and repeatedly came over to make sure I wasn't to overwhelmed and that I was able to handle closing by myself. in all, I think I did a good job. I got all 6 friers cleaned and i only got burned by the hot oil a few times. By the end of the night, they were clean and I was dirty, so I guess that means I did something right! And the whole time I was cleaning them I only had one minor problem. When I was ready to pump the oil back into the last fryer, the machine wouldn't turn back on and I couldn't' figure out what has happened! I mean it was working not 10 minutes before! So I went to ask the manages, and they jokingly, asked what I had done this time! When I explained what the problem was, they told me that at closing, they turn off the hoods above the broiler, friers and salad bar, and when they do that, it turns the power off to select electrical outlets and chances were I'd just have to replug it in somewhere else. And what do you know, that was exactly the problem! So once I changer outlets, the rest was a snap and I was good to clock out.

However, it was POURING when I was walking to the bus, and I somehow managed to get soaked even though I was using my umbrella. (Darn sideways rain!) Also, I missed my bus at 6:25pm by 5 minuter because I was stopped and asked questions by none other than 6 different guests on my way out of the park. So because of that (while I was happy to help, all I wanted to do was go home and change), I had to wait at the bus stop until the next bus came at 6:55pm. Thank goodness I had my book with me! And that, was my day.... the rest as they say is history! :)

Flying Solo and other stories

To start off my Friday, I went to the main office to pick up a package from home! When I opened it up, I was super excited to find my family had sent me "County Fair in a Box!" They sent me cotton candy and popcorn from my home fair, which I was really bummed about missing as it is usually the highlight of my summer! I was just so excited that they found a way to send the fair to me! : D


On Friday at work, it was my first day post "Earning My Ears"! I was kind of freaked out to be on my own, but over all it was a really good day! I had to be there at 11:00am and I could clock in at 10:45am, so I took the 9:51am bus. Why did I leave so early for work you ask? Well, it's because of the buses, I HATE waiting on them! (I miss my car so much!) So because I am at the mercy of the buses, I have a 35 minute drive to work, and it could be longer if the bus is late or waits around at the apartments or wardrobe building. Then when the bus finally drops me off in the cast parking lot, I have a 5 - 10 minute walk to work. And I made it to work with 20 minutes of down time before I had to clock in! Because you know, if you are early you are on time, if you are on time you are late.

After I clocked in, I tried to find my name on the board, but IT WASN'T THERE! I asked a manager and he looked, too. Then he saw my name (spelled totally funky which is why I missed it)! My position for the day was "Filler", basically after the guest has placed their order, they bring their receipts to the counter and we match their meal to the tickets on the trays that come from the kitchen. I would also get the guests drinks and desserts.

I loved this job, I had a BLAST! When we were less busy or waiting for the food from the kitchen we were able to interact with the guests! We got to ask them about their vacation, were they enjoying Animal Kingdom, was this their first time visiting Disney, have they gone on the Mt. Everest ride or been on the safari yet, have they seen the other parks yet or the firework shows at Magic Kingdom and Epcot. Then, my favorite part, the Disney buttons! There are buttons for EVERYTHING...birthdays, just engaged, just married, first visit, family reunion, volunteering, and then an "I'm celebrating ___________" and the guests fill in the blank. (My trainer told me about a woman who was wearing an "I'm celebrating my divorce" button! HAHAHA. I don't know what I'd say if I saw one of those while I was working!) I loved seeing guests wearing the buttons because I was able to make their day a little more special by making a big deal about it! I met this little boy who was wearing an "It's my Birthday" button and when I commented on it you could see the joy spread across his face, HE was important. Someone was talking to HIM like a grown-up and LISTENING! I met a couple that just got married and a group of people at Disney for their family reunion! And what I love the most is that it's not only the kids who get excited when we mention their Disney buttons, it's the adults, too! I don't know what it was, but once they started talking, they wanted to tell us EVERYTHING about their trip and their experiences in the parks! I loved it; I had such an easy time striking up conversations with complete strangers.

And before you get the impression that all I did at work was talk to the guests, let me settle your fears, I really did work. There were only 4 of us filling orders, so when the lunch rush finally came, we were really booking it to get those trays out fast while at the same time making each guest feel special and noticed (harder than it sounds)! Also during the lunch rush, I learned to pour a good cut of beer from the tap! Hahaha, a skill I never would have imagined I would need to learn! But, by the end of my program, I will be a master! ;) I just thought I'd throw that out there, that I can now pour beer! (Funny picture if you really know me!)

When we closed at 5:00pm, I was on prep duty for the next day. My job was to tram bacon. In other words, I had to put bacon on a tray and fill the storage cooler. So, let me break this down for you: there were 10 pieces of bacon on a sheet of wax paper, there were 4 pieces of wax paper per tray and there were about 40 trays of bacon in the cooler when it was filled. So in an hour, I prepared 1600 pieces of bacon! If I never come in contact with bacon again it will be too soon! Hahaha. The sad thing is, as soon as I go back to work on Sunday, bacon and I will meet again. On the bright side, at least I wasn't preparing the turkey legs! (That looked like a really gross job!)
In other news, most of the people I work with, their native language is Spanish. Therefore, when I am at work I will answer to Mariah OR Maria. I can't tell you how many times they have looked at my name tag and had to remind themselves to pronounce it in English! But I love hearing them all talk in Spanish, most of the time it's too fast for me to follow, but every now and then I will understand something and it makes my day!

When I got home from work, I was so tired. I had no idea how exhausted I was until I had a minute to sit down. So my roommate, Kari, and I decided to call it an lazy night, and we watched Disney Channel's Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam. It was super cheesy, but some of the songs were really awesome! I love Disney Channel, don't hate me! It's why I work at Disney! And then all night, my parents sent me text messages letting me know the score of my hometown's high school football game where my little sisters are on the dance line. At the end of the game, we won!! I can't believe that the season I'm not home to watch, they are off to a 2 - 0 start!!! Go team!!! So that was my Friday!

I had today off (much needed!). I started off my day with a 4.3 mile bike ride in the gym, a quick walk around the complex and 70 + sit-ups. It was the best way to start off my day, I had so much energy and I was so awake! I've made it my goal to workout as much as possible while I am here. And so, I'm going to wake up early tomorrow (even though I don't have to be at work until 12:15pm) so I can get another workout in! Then my roommate, Mary, and I went shopping at the Florida mall. I bought 3 new shirts and new pair of shorts because all the new clothes I bought to wear down here are too big! I love that feeling, it's such a rush! I feel like I'm becoming a totally different person here, not only personally wise (I feel so comfortable just striking up conversations with people now), but physically, too. Hopefully, I can keep this feeling going throughout my whole program; I know that with this mind set it's going to be the best time of my life!

So, here's hoping that this is the beginning of a really good week! Filled with more learning opportunities and chances to make Magical Moments for the guests! I really do work at the "HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH" and I couldn't be more thrilled! Good night everyone, and until my next post, I hope that you find some magic in your own lives, too!! Just remember, "Dreams really do come true!"

Where in the world has Mariah been?

Hey everyone, sorry I've gone missing for a few days. It got crazy around here quickly and it just came out of the blue! But I'm back and I have a weeks worth of information to tell you!

 Last Monday was my first day off since starting my training at DAK and I took full advantage of my time off! My roommate Amanda and I spent the morning and early afternoon at Disney's Blizzard Beach, a water park with a winter theme. Sadly, there are no pictures from this adventure because I didn't want to risk the chance of something happening to my camera. But Amanda and I both decided that the next time we go to a water park we should get a water proof camera from Walmart and then have all our pictures put on a CD! So, hopefully we remember for next time. Anyways, the decorations we just darling, little snowman families and heavy piles of "snow" on the buildings and slides.  I also loved the fact that there was Christmas music piped through the park... it really set the mood of the park! We went on the lazy river, up the ski lift to a family tubing ride down a twisty slide, on a tobogganing slide on purple rafts and a racing water tube ride down a steep slide. It was a lot of fun! On our way out, we stopped at a gift shop and saw the cutest beach towel. It was mint green and it had the seagulls from "Finding Nemo" on it, along with "MINE, MINE!!" I think I'm going to have to buy it before I go home, I just loved it!!! Still on my to do list is Typhoon Lagoon, where you can swim with sharks! Awesome, right?! I can't wait to do this, I love Sharks! I think they are so fascinating! But more about them in another post!

After the water park it was home to our second roommate dinner! Amanda (who loves to cook and bake) made chicken and potato's, Christine made a wonderful salad and I finished off the meal by making fruit smoothies like my dad does at home! It was such a fun evening, everyone was home and we just laughed and talked and relaxed. It was great to catch up with everyone, since we all work different schedules, it can be hard to keep up to date with everything we are all doing at work and on our days off!

On Tuesday, I had my second day off for the week and my roommate Hannah and I used it to do laundry and run around Epcot! We got our picture taken in front of the Epcot Ball, went on Mission Space, tried pop from around the world for free at the Cool Cafe, bought a Mexican Donald and French Minnie in the gift shop (our first purchases of Disney merchandise as Cast Members), walked around the world, stopping to ride the boat rides in Norway and Mexico. Also while in Mexico, we got a picture with Mexican Donald! We also had to look at the little gift shops in all the countries, deciding that we would be back to buy at least one thing from every country while we were here! In Morocco, we watched a man hand-carve these beautiful wood animals. he put so much detail into his work! In China we saw an amazing show put on by young Chinese acrobats. They were so talented! Once we made it all around the world, we finished off the day by off by riding "Test Track", "Finding Nemo" and "Soarin'". We packed so much into the day, but there was still so much that we missed seeing!! Since we both had to work the next morning, we decided not to stay for the fireworks, but we made plans to get back there soon to see them! They are set off over the waters and from what I remember as a kid from the last time I was at Disney, they were breath-taking! I can't wait to see them again! And just so you know, in the 5 hours we were at the park, I took over 400 pictures!

On Wednesday, I went back to work. i was trained on the expo line. We are responsible for getting the order when it prints and putting all the right orders on the tray as quickly as possible. During our training, I managed to burn myself twice, once on each arm. The one on my right arm was caused when I was reaching to get a veggie sub and i touched the hot metal (I was wearing my burn resistant sleeve on my left arm) and the one on my left arm happened while we were cleaning out the expo cart at the end of the night. I didn't realise it was still hot and I bumped the metal again while scrubbing out the inside. (Thank goodness I only have a thin scar on my right arm above my elbow that I hope will fade over time.)

Thursday was my last day of training! It was kind of nerve-racking because we were on cashier for the first time. But we got to start of the morning as greeters, so that was nice! basically all we had to do was welcome everyone who came in, make them feel special and noticed. If we saw Celebration buttons (i.e. birthday, just married, 1st time visitor) we got to make a big deal and be all excited! (I loved this part). We also got to talk to the guests and direct them to which line they should go to place their order. After an hour or so of this it was our turn to tackle the cash handling. I didn't do too terrible. I was able to place the order quickly and make the right change quickly. However, my downfall was counting the change back to the guest the Disney way. The reason I found this challenging was simple, I kept looking at the wrong line on the receipt for what their total was so I could count up from that to the dollar amount they gave me. I kept looking at the amount of change I was to hand back and tried to count their change back to them starting with that amount! It sounds confusing, I know!  But I got it all figured out and i think it will go smoother for me next time. We also got a chance to close the topping bar on the Plaster side of the restaurant (when you walk in the door as a guest, it would be to your left). This wasn't hard, it included cleaning the drinks station, restocking everything and spoiling the toppings that were not used by the guests and then recording the amounts. The last 15 minutes my shift was my assessment. basically, manager Eric asked us questions about Food & Beverage basics that we learned in class and during our e-learning courses, about different things in the restaurant, where to find things a guest might be looking for (i.e. restrooms, smoking sections, ATM) and other basic questions. It was terrible, I had worked myself up during the day for nothing! I knew I had passed when he told me to remove the "Earning My Ears' ribbon from my name tag. So when I left work, I was scared out of my mine because I knew when I went into work on Friday it would be my first time "flying solo". But I was also so excited to have completed my training and also because it means I'm no longer the newest new person there as I noticed the next group of CPs have started training this week!

Then Thursday night there was another welcome pool party at Patterson Court (where I live). The theme was Monster's Inc. It was crazy, I didn't know you could cram that many people into our pool area! But I guess that's what happens when you tell poor college students they can get free food and drinks, take pictures with the characters and dance. I am not kidding, I even saw people in the pool dancing to the Cha Cha slide! it was the funniest thing I have ever seen! So, Hannah, Amanda and I all went over to get free food, pizza and a bag or chips, (which is the best tasting thing in the world) and then Amanda and I had our picture taken with Mike Wazowski. Then we decided to go to Target and JoAnn's so she could get supplies to decorate her cork board for her room. It turned out super cute, too! And to round the evening off, we watched Jersey Shore with Hannah.

So I think that covers just about everything from this week! I'm going to post about Friday in it's own post because I think it deserves it, lets just say that I couldn't have asked for a better first day on my own than what I had. But more about that later! Good night!