Monday, May 23.
Trainer: Joseph.
Training: Streets.
11:30-20:00
First day of training, oh boy was I excited! I was all on my own to make it back to the Cast parking lot and then walk over to Pride Rock Cafeteria. I made it way early, with the inefficiency of the bus system, and sat around eating cereal for a little while, trying to figure out how I would recognize my trainer, not knowing where or who to look for. At 11:25 or so this man came into the cafeteria and somehow spotted me right away, told me to come over to a computer and had me clock in. First day using the Cast Deployment System (CDS).
After completing that step Joseph took me on the bus that shuttles between Pride Rock, the security booth we go through to enter Disney grounds and another section of the backstage area. We got off near the main Custodial Office where we sat down and had him grab a folder with more paperwork for me to look at. Amongst other things I received a locker, which I share with Xavier, and a water bottle in a little insulating pouch.
I once again went on park tour, but this time dressed in my pretty Custodial outfit and carrying my pan and broom. I probably looked dazed, trying to take everything in and attempting to pick up trash off the ground (turns out super flat papers, i.e. maps, go under the pan, not in. You have to scruntch it up with your foot). Joseph showed me a few of the cast area/break rooms; depending which section you work in you will be in a different break area, crossing the park for a 15 minute break is obviously not practical. With the heat and the fact that he started at 7:30 that morning we took a good number of break which was nice. I met a number of other Custodials, all incredibly nice, and drank a whole lot of water. I met Gerhard from the Netherlands who speaks a bit of French so it was fun, he told me to take the language test to get a language on my nametag. Still have to do that, the tests are only (by phone) on Fridays so I need to fit that into my schedule.
To kill time Joseph took me through the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail in Africa where I saw all sorts of birds birds, gorillas, and a hippo. The funny thing is that I can tell you it was Pangani now because I worked in that area yesterday (6/11), two days ago I had no idea what it was called. He also took me on the Wildlife Express Trail to Rafiki's Planet Watch to show me the back area there. The Planet Watch is not accessible on foot, you have to take an actual train to get there, it's a more scientific look into wildlife where kids can really learn about animals, watch real live veterinarians work on animals, and there's a petting zoo somewhere in there.
After a few more breaks, lots of water, and a trip through the Maharajah Jungle Trek in Asia (yay tigers!) I was told it was time to begin our trash runs. Trash runs consist of us grabbing a big banana boat (ok, I don't know what they're called in the real world)
Trainer: Joseph.
Training: Streets.
11:30-20:00
First day of training, oh boy was I excited! I was all on my own to make it back to the Cast parking lot and then walk over to Pride Rock Cafeteria. I made it way early, with the inefficiency of the bus system, and sat around eating cereal for a little while, trying to figure out how I would recognize my trainer, not knowing where or who to look for. At 11:25 or so this man came into the cafeteria and somehow spotted me right away, told me to come over to a computer and had me clock in. First day using the Cast Deployment System (CDS).
After completing that step Joseph took me on the bus that shuttles between Pride Rock, the security booth we go through to enter Disney grounds and another section of the backstage area. We got off near the main Custodial Office where we sat down and had him grab a folder with more paperwork for me to look at. Amongst other things I received a locker, which I share with Xavier, and a water bottle in a little insulating pouch.
I once again went on park tour, but this time dressed in my pretty Custodial outfit and carrying my pan and broom. I probably looked dazed, trying to take everything in and attempting to pick up trash off the ground (turns out super flat papers, i.e. maps, go under the pan, not in. You have to scruntch it up with your foot). Joseph showed me a few of the cast area/break rooms; depending which section you work in you will be in a different break area, crossing the park for a 15 minute break is obviously not practical. With the heat and the fact that he started at 7:30 that morning we took a good number of break which was nice. I met a number of other Custodials, all incredibly nice, and drank a whole lot of water. I met Gerhard from the Netherlands who speaks a bit of French so it was fun, he told me to take the language test to get a language on my nametag. Still have to do that, the tests are only (by phone) on Fridays so I need to fit that into my schedule.
To kill time Joseph took me through the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail in Africa where I saw all sorts of birds birds, gorillas, and a hippo. The funny thing is that I can tell you it was Pangani now because I worked in that area yesterday (6/11), two days ago I had no idea what it was called. He also took me on the Wildlife Express Trail to Rafiki's Planet Watch to show me the back area there. The Planet Watch is not accessible on foot, you have to take an actual train to get there, it's a more scientific look into wildlife where kids can really learn about animals, watch real live veterinarians work on animals, and there's a petting zoo somewhere in there.
After a few more breaks, lots of water, and a trip through the Maharajah Jungle Trek in Asia (yay tigers!) I was told it was time to begin our trash runs. Trash runs consist of us grabbing a big banana boat (ok, I don't know what they're called in the real world)
 |
| This thing. We call them banana boats... |
and fill up a little bin attached to it with three rolls of plastic bags, a good handful of recycling bags, some towels and some disinfectant - and don't forget gloves! and go around emptying from 20 to 30 trashcans and rebagging them.There must be at all times three bags in a can, so if you have two trash runs in a row you can put in two new bags on your first run so you only have to pull out the trash on the second one without spending twice as much time rebagging. And then you wipe the trash can on top and the lip/flappy thing... they gave it a name, I can't remember. On that specific night we took care of the Caravan trash run - on your trusty Animal Kingdom map you will find this in Asia where the parade route passes number 12. This long straight line is Caravan and it has about 25 cans I think (plus recycling).
Each area of the park is split into parts to which we are assigned. Asia is split between Caravan, Anandapur, and Everest; Africa is split into Harambe, and Pangani; Dinoland is Dinosaur, Boneyard, and Theater in the Wild; Discovery Island is split into Flametree, and Pizzafari; and Main Entrance is Medical Side and Bus Side. I don't know about Camp Minnie-Mickey, I haven't worked there yet.
But back to the main subject! After the trash run we emptied the cart, washed it in Africa and placed it back in Asia's back area. We walked back to the Custodial Main Office and filled out some more paperwork, sat around for a little while and then clocked out for the day. On my walk back to the bus I met Brittany who offered me a ride back to Vista even though she lives in Chattam/Patterson. We picked up another trainee and made our way back home!
Wednesday, May 25.
Trainer: Carridad.
Training: Restrooms.
11:30-20:00
After a wonderful day off of sleeping in and visiting Epcot with some of the roommates I made it back to the Custodial Main Office for a second day of training. I had Tuesday off because Carridad was not working on that day and she is apparently the only female trainer, so for restrooms we're all based on her schedule. Carridad met up with me at 11:30 and took me back to Pride Rock to get a set of black work shoes provided for free! Now I have two sets of shoes, I can switch back and forth like Mom told me to do.
After that we made our way back to the front of the park and made our way up to Asia. She showed me around a bit more in areas such as Kali River Rapids where some of the garbage cans are way in the back and hard to see/find. She then took me to the back area to show me the storage closets where I can find all the bags/towels/chemicals/plungers I could need to clean restrooms. We went on to the Caravan restrooms (near Flights of Wonder - number 12) and I was shown what is expected of me on the days I have restroom duty. I wipe down the sinks if needed, I make sure the floor is clean of debris and water, I check if the paper towels are full, same with toilet paper and the seat coverings, I clean up the baby changing area and that's it - when I get into the restrooms. At some points in the day I have to refill the soap and sometimes empty the trashcans if need be. After showing me this restroom, Carridad took me to the Kali restrooms (between Yak&Yeti [N] and the Kali Rapids [13]) and we did the same thing again... except the Kali River Rapids is the wettest ride in the world and people are soaked when they get in there to change, so when cleaning there towels are incredibly useful.
We went back and forth between these two restrooms the rest of the day, it takes between 15 to 20 minutes to clean when all goes well so it's a pretty peaceful, easy job. At the end of the day Carridad showed me the closing procedure: wipe down everything, make sure paper towels and toilet paper are full, and fill up the soap. Grab a garbage can on wheels and take the trash to one of the back areas and poof you're done.
The best thing about being Custodial at the Animal Kingdom? It's easy - they let you work at your own pace as long as you get the job done and guests don't complain. Many people complain that it's a boring park to work in; I get to walk around with my own thoughts all day, I think it's pretty nice =)
I've been told that if I pick up shifts at the Magic Kingdom I'll get blisters from sweeping like crazy; I think I'll stick to the Animal Kingdom for a while, I like the rhythm.
Saturday, May 28.
Trainer: Reinaldo.
Training: General//Assessment.
8:00-12:00//12:00-17:30
Early start. Very early when you know that the bus takes forever to get to DAK. To be at the clock in area at 8:00 you get there at 7:30, having to leave Vista Way at 6:50.
It was nice to be there so early and enjoy the cooler air and softer sun. I met up with Reinaldo and another trainee and we went around the park again, making sure we knew a bit more about general things. At 10:00 we attended a "Track Talk", where the managers update the Custodial crew on a few things and make sure we don't have problems, etc etc etc. After that we were assessed - yay exams! Actually we sat at a table and Reinaldo handed us a multiple choice questionnaire thing and told us not to answer any of them unless we were positive about the answer; if not we were to ask him and he would tell us/explain the answer. Needless to say we both passed that just fine and learned a few things in the process. That was my morning, four hours went by incredibly fast and poof, I was on my own in the park.
I keep saying they release us in to the park to see how we survive and people laugh, but I'm serious. One minute you're a trainee taking an assessment, next thing you know you're on your way to Asia to start your first shift all on your own. Reinaldo introduced me to John who was doing the trash run before my own trash run in Anandapur and asked him if I could shadow him and double bag them so I could just pull them when I did my run. John was nice enough to agree and that was quite a relief, the cans are all over the place. I spent some time sweeping the streets and at 14:30 I met up with John and followed him around bagging trash cans trying to remember where they were and which way we grabbed them. John showed me a few tricks to make things easier, such as the way to set the pan and broom when you don't need them so they don't fall and don't have to lean against anything. Yay for efficiency (one of Disney's four keys!).
By the end of that run I was running extremely low on water and didn't quite realize how much the sun was beating down on my head until my vision started going dark and I recognized the signs of imminent passing out. I told John I wasn't feeling to well and he told me to get over to the closest water fountain STAT. Which I did and after refilling my poor body with water I felt much better. John then apologized for missing the signs of me behind super-dehydrated - looking like a tomato that is not quite ripe, you know, super pale but super red cheeks? yeah, that was me). This adventure taught me to drink. A lot. One bottle and hour is what I was told.
Since that day John tells me to drink whenever he sees me. He also helped me with my trash run, saying he wanted to make sure I got all the cans, I'm pretty sure he just wanted to keep me from fainting in the Kali Rapids' waters. 'Cause the cool thing is that we get to go into the queue area of the rides to grab the trash there, but for the River Rapids we have to cross a moving floor and I was told to be super careful, we don't want trash in the water, hehehe.
By the end of that run it was time for me to go home, and I must say, it felt nice to go home so early... my last early shift!
Each area of the park is split into parts to which we are assigned. Asia is split between Caravan, Anandapur, and Everest; Africa is split into Harambe, and Pangani; Dinoland is Dinosaur, Boneyard, and Theater in the Wild; Discovery Island is split into Flametree, and Pizzafari; and Main Entrance is Medical Side and Bus Side. I don't know about Camp Minnie-Mickey, I haven't worked there yet.
But back to the main subject! After the trash run we emptied the cart, washed it in Africa and placed it back in Asia's back area. We walked back to the Custodial Main Office and filled out some more paperwork, sat around for a little while and then clocked out for the day. On my walk back to the bus I met Brittany who offered me a ride back to Vista even though she lives in Chattam/Patterson. We picked up another trainee and made our way back home!
Wednesday, May 25.
Trainer: Carridad.
Training: Restrooms.
11:30-20:00
After a wonderful day off of sleeping in and visiting Epcot with some of the roommates I made it back to the Custodial Main Office for a second day of training. I had Tuesday off because Carridad was not working on that day and she is apparently the only female trainer, so for restrooms we're all based on her schedule. Carridad met up with me at 11:30 and took me back to Pride Rock to get a set of black work shoes provided for free! Now I have two sets of shoes, I can switch back and forth like Mom told me to do.
After that we made our way back to the front of the park and made our way up to Asia. She showed me around a bit more in areas such as Kali River Rapids where some of the garbage cans are way in the back and hard to see/find. She then took me to the back area to show me the storage closets where I can find all the bags/towels/chemicals/plungers I could need to clean restrooms. We went on to the Caravan restrooms (near Flights of Wonder - number 12) and I was shown what is expected of me on the days I have restroom duty. I wipe down the sinks if needed, I make sure the floor is clean of debris and water, I check if the paper towels are full, same with toilet paper and the seat coverings, I clean up the baby changing area and that's it - when I get into the restrooms. At some points in the day I have to refill the soap and sometimes empty the trashcans if need be. After showing me this restroom, Carridad took me to the Kali restrooms (between Yak&Yeti [N] and the Kali Rapids [13]) and we did the same thing again... except the Kali River Rapids is the wettest ride in the world and people are soaked when they get in there to change, so when cleaning there towels are incredibly useful.
We went back and forth between these two restrooms the rest of the day, it takes between 15 to 20 minutes to clean when all goes well so it's a pretty peaceful, easy job. At the end of the day Carridad showed me the closing procedure: wipe down everything, make sure paper towels and toilet paper are full, and fill up the soap. Grab a garbage can on wheels and take the trash to one of the back areas and poof you're done.
The best thing about being Custodial at the Animal Kingdom? It's easy - they let you work at your own pace as long as you get the job done and guests don't complain. Many people complain that it's a boring park to work in; I get to walk around with my own thoughts all day, I think it's pretty nice =)
I've been told that if I pick up shifts at the Magic Kingdom I'll get blisters from sweeping like crazy; I think I'll stick to the Animal Kingdom for a while, I like the rhythm.
Saturday, May 28.
Trainer: Reinaldo.
Training: General//Assessment.
8:00-12:00//12:00-17:30
Early start. Very early when you know that the bus takes forever to get to DAK. To be at the clock in area at 8:00 you get there at 7:30, having to leave Vista Way at 6:50.
It was nice to be there so early and enjoy the cooler air and softer sun. I met up with Reinaldo and another trainee and we went around the park again, making sure we knew a bit more about general things. At 10:00 we attended a "Track Talk", where the managers update the Custodial crew on a few things and make sure we don't have problems, etc etc etc. After that we were assessed - yay exams! Actually we sat at a table and Reinaldo handed us a multiple choice questionnaire thing and told us not to answer any of them unless we were positive about the answer; if not we were to ask him and he would tell us/explain the answer. Needless to say we both passed that just fine and learned a few things in the process. That was my morning, four hours went by incredibly fast and poof, I was on my own in the park.
I keep saying they release us in to the park to see how we survive and people laugh, but I'm serious. One minute you're a trainee taking an assessment, next thing you know you're on your way to Asia to start your first shift all on your own. Reinaldo introduced me to John who was doing the trash run before my own trash run in Anandapur and asked him if I could shadow him and double bag them so I could just pull them when I did my run. John was nice enough to agree and that was quite a relief, the cans are all over the place. I spent some time sweeping the streets and at 14:30 I met up with John and followed him around bagging trash cans trying to remember where they were and which way we grabbed them. John showed me a few tricks to make things easier, such as the way to set the pan and broom when you don't need them so they don't fall and don't have to lean against anything. Yay for efficiency (one of Disney's four keys!).
By the end of that run I was running extremely low on water and didn't quite realize how much the sun was beating down on my head until my vision started going dark and I recognized the signs of imminent passing out. I told John I wasn't feeling to well and he told me to get over to the closest water fountain STAT. Which I did and after refilling my poor body with water I felt much better. John then apologized for missing the signs of me behind super-dehydrated - looking like a tomato that is not quite ripe, you know, super pale but super red cheeks? yeah, that was me). This adventure taught me to drink. A lot. One bottle and hour is what I was told.
Since that day John tells me to drink whenever he sees me. He also helped me with my trash run, saying he wanted to make sure I got all the cans, I'm pretty sure he just wanted to keep me from fainting in the Kali Rapids' waters. 'Cause the cool thing is that we get to go into the queue area of the rides to grab the trash there, but for the River Rapids we have to cross a moving floor and I was told to be super careful, we don't want trash in the water, hehehe.
By the end of that run it was time for me to go home, and I must say, it felt nice to go home so early... my last early shift!
Damn! Dehydration! That's crazy! Good thing you know when you're going to pass out huh?
ReplyDelete