Thursday, May 19.
We were free on Thursday. And honestly, my brain is going blank as to what happened.
My roommates had their "Welcome Session" on Thursday, so I was all on my lonesome, I got to sleep in and enjoy the sunlight through the blinds falling straight on my bed and warming me up just right.
We were free on Thursday. And honestly, my brain is going blank as to what happened.
My roommates had their "Welcome Session" on Thursday, so I was all on my lonesome, I got to sleep in and enjoy the sunlight through the blinds falling straight on my bed and warming me up just right.
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| My apartment building |
In the early afternoon Ricky and I caught a bus back to the Casting building we were at the day before in the hope to set up my direct deposit (I forgot to bring a voided check on Wednesday). I gave up on the direct deposit, I'll be setting it up online next week after my second paycheck.
Right across the street from the Casting Services is Downtown Disney so we walked down there instead of waiting for the next bus. We did not have our passes yet so we could not go onto the ride there but we went through the store, and I must say, that's when the magic began!
They have a HUGE gift store, with Disney, Disney, Disney everywhere! I refrained from buying anything, go me! But it was a very close call. (Thanks Ricky for constantly reminding me that we'd be there 7 months and that we would get discounts in the future.)
Right across the street from the Casting Services is Downtown Disney so we walked down there instead of waiting for the next bus. We did not have our passes yet so we could not go onto the ride there but we went through the store, and I must say, that's when the magic began!
They have a HUGE gift store, with Disney, Disney, Disney everywhere! I refrained from buying anything, go me! But it was a very close call. (Thanks Ricky for constantly reminding me that we'd be there 7 months and that we would get discounts in the future.)
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| My first sight of the Magic Kingdom sign! |
When we made it back to the Vista Way apartments Ricky finally convinced me to try out the pool, and what an amazing idea it was. Getting out of the heat into fresh water renewed my faith in swimming pools; the last time I went to a pool regularly was back in middle school when Mom would go swimming on Sunday mornings.
We spent a little bit of time in there, not too long in fear of burning up without noticing. And to be honest, that's all I recall of Thursday. I went to bed at some point =D
Friday, May 20.
On Friday we had to attend "Traditions". We caught the bus over to Disney University where we had the joy of attending "class" for a few hours. We also had to wear business attire so that was pretty exciting!
The idea behind that meeting was to make us believe in the magic of Disney and how to make others believe in it. We played a small game where we had to place a few of Disney's historical events in chronological order. That day was the day I realized I didn't know anything about Walt Disney and his amazing company =D
They took us around the Magic Kingdom on a very, very quick tour. It was so amazing. My very first time on Disney ground! The reason they took us on that tour was to have us observe the Four Keys our program is based around: Safety, Courtesy, Show, and Efficiency. An example we had was a random greeter at the Tree House (Robinson Family?); he keeps guests from getting hurt and he watches out for his own safety at all times, he is courteous to each and every guest (children included), he wears his costume and knows the Tree House's story by heart to keep the magic intact for all guests, and he shows people where to go to keep the line as short as possible. Safety, Courtesy, Show, Efficiency. They kept repeating them; actually, it was the central theme behind Traditions.
After our little trip to the Kingdom we made it back to our classroom to continue our education of what Disney is all about. Not only do we have to keep the Four Keys in mind, we must also remember the Disney Service Basics.
The Basics, we are told, are: I project a positive image and energy; I am courteous and respectful to all Guests, including children; I stay in character and play the part; I go above and beyond.
Can I say... brainwashing? Yes, I believe I can. But hey, we got little Disney figurines if we spoke up and answered questions, so kind of worth it for all us College Programs (CPs) who want free stuff from here =D Needless to say, I didn't speak up, so no figuring for me, oh no, oh no!
We spent a little bit of time in there, not too long in fear of burning up without noticing. And to be honest, that's all I recall of Thursday. I went to bed at some point =D
Friday, May 20.
On Friday we had to attend "Traditions". We caught the bus over to Disney University where we had the joy of attending "class" for a few hours. We also had to wear business attire so that was pretty exciting!
The idea behind that meeting was to make us believe in the magic of Disney and how to make others believe in it. We played a small game where we had to place a few of Disney's historical events in chronological order. That day was the day I realized I didn't know anything about Walt Disney and his amazing company =D
They took us around the Magic Kingdom on a very, very quick tour. It was so amazing. My very first time on Disney ground! The reason they took us on that tour was to have us observe the Four Keys our program is based around: Safety, Courtesy, Show, and Efficiency. An example we had was a random greeter at the Tree House (Robinson Family?); he keeps guests from getting hurt and he watches out for his own safety at all times, he is courteous to each and every guest (children included), he wears his costume and knows the Tree House's story by heart to keep the magic intact for all guests, and he shows people where to go to keep the line as short as possible. Safety, Courtesy, Show, Efficiency. They kept repeating them; actually, it was the central theme behind Traditions.
After our little trip to the Kingdom we made it back to our classroom to continue our education of what Disney is all about. Not only do we have to keep the Four Keys in mind, we must also remember the Disney Service Basics.
The Basics, we are told, are: I project a positive image and energy; I am courteous and respectful to all Guests, including children; I stay in character and play the part; I go above and beyond.
Can I say... brainwashing? Yes, I believe I can. But hey, we got little Disney figurines if we spoke up and answered questions, so kind of worth it for all us College Programs (CPs) who want free stuff from here =D Needless to say, I didn't speak up, so no figuring for me, oh no, oh no!
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| To break up this block of text, here, have a palm tree! |
About three-fourth of the way through our day someone knocked at the door, at which point everyone looked around confused; we weren't expecting anyone... And in came MICKEY MOUSE! We were all quite excited, Mickey came over and brought the class a present (we didn't know what it was until the very end). He hugged a few of us, patted our shoulders, danced, laughed, and asked us a few more questions. It was amazing. So magical. Disney is all about the magic, it's just... Magical!
The rest of the meeting was as interesting as any information session is; we covered safety, safety, safety, and what to do/not do while on the job. The difference between being onstage and being off/backstage, how to act with guests, how to be a good cast. All in all, if you've been raised correctly and have a minimum amount of morals you'll be just fine (thanks Mom and Dad =D).
But the best part was yet to come!!! As we walked out the classroom door, we were given our name-tags which meant we could now go to the parks for free (party!).
The rest of the meeting was as interesting as any information session is; we covered safety, safety, safety, and what to do/not do while on the job. The difference between being onstage and being off/backstage, how to act with guests, how to be a good cast. All in all, if you've been raised correctly and have a minimum amount of morals you'll be just fine (thanks Mom and Dad =D).
But the best part was yet to come!!! As we walked out the classroom door, we were given our name-tags which meant we could now go to the parks for free (party!).
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| Does this need a caption? Of course! This is my amazing name-tag. |
Needless to say, when we all got home that night we headed over to the parks, my roommates in one group, I went with Ricky... I can't remember why we separated. I remember leaving later and taking the monorail to the Magical Kingdom and seeing the fireworks from there; gorgeous!
We walked all over the park, taking it all in; actually, running around like chickens with their heads cut off (that was just me, I dragged Ricky all over hehehe). We road the PeopleMover in Tomorrowland, Mad Hatter's teacups and Snow White's Scary Adventure in Fantasyland, Splash Mountain and Runaway Train in Frontierland. All in all, it was an amazing night!
I finally reached the end of our day of Traditions! On to Orientation/DAKlimation...
We walked all over the park, taking it all in; actually, running around like chickens with their heads cut off (that was just me, I dragged Ricky all over hehehe). We road the PeopleMover in Tomorrowland, Mad Hatter's teacups and Snow White's Scary Adventure in Fantasyland, Splash Mountain and Runaway Train in Frontierland. All in all, it was an amazing night!
I finally reached the end of our day of Traditions! On to Orientation/DAKlimation...
Holy molly! You could have gotten free figurines and you didn't!?
ReplyDeleteAnd you met Mickey! so cool!