Getting Into the Groove

I'm definitely starting to get into routine being here in Orlando now, both in living here and in working. Work has been very good, I really do love the guest interaction that comes with a merchandise role. I had my first shift floor stocking, and let me tell you, I was NOT looking forward to it...one bit. But I think I have actually found my new favorite part of merchandise...floor stocking the Expedition Everest gift shop. It's perfect for a person with OCD like me, I get to organize a whole store. I couldn't think of a more perfect job for someone like me! Plus, floor stocking shifts FLY BY!

The past couple days have been more of those days that just make me super appreciative that I get to live and work in a place like DisneyWorld. The average family saves 3-5 years just to come to DisneyWorld for a short period of time. I get to go the parks every night after work if I wanted to, it's not something I take lightly. The magic is still there for me and I still love Disney, if anything changes, I'll let you know, but I highly doubt it.

I've been making lots of friends and lots of memories and I know it's all just really beginning!

First Day on My Own

Today was my first day of work where I was on my own, no more training. It was actually a lot easier than I thought it would be and I didn't have any issues. The coordinators were very helpful and like I said, there were no issues. Today I worked two carts in Asia one before break and one after break. It seemed like a much longer shift today than my previous nine hour shifts, even though it was only six hours. I think it was because I only got one fifteen minute break compared to the lengthy and frequent breaks I got when I was training.

Overall it was a good first shift on my own!

Merchandise Tier 5 Training

I have officially earned my ears! Today was my last day of training, also known as Merchandise Tier 5. Today I worked up in the Expedition Everest: Legend of the Forbidden Mountain gift shop, the biggest merchandise location in Asia. Half of the day was spent learning about Photopass, this is where people go to purchase their ride photos. That came with a lot of details and things to remember. The second half of the day was spent just putting everything I had learned up until this point to the test. Well, in reality, it was very slow because it was yet another dreary day in Florida.

Training went by very, very fast and I can't say I feel 110% ready to take on everything that I've learned! Tomorrow is my first day on my own and I am definitely very excited though, especially because I don't start work until 2:30pm!

Merchandise Tier 4 Training

Today I had my second to last day of training which means....floor stocking. This means, a new costume. Get excited people.

Weather was AWFUL today, which meant Disney's Animal Kingdom was dead. So there wasn't a lot of practice to be done. It was another one of those training days that included a lot of pointless walking around and few tips and tricks sprinkled in here in there. About half way through the day I had to take my 67 questions assessment, which I happily passed. 

Tomorrow is my last day of training, Tier 5, and I will be up in the Expedition Everest gift shop, the biggest shop in Asia. There I will be learning Photopass for guests who want to purchase their photo from the ride. I'm definitely very eager to take off my "Earning My Ears" ribbon and finally start actually putting what I've learned to use. Thus far, training has been fine, nothing exciting, but nothing awful. My trainer Steven has been really cool and I find him to be a pretty entertaining man, not purposefully. 

After Tier 5 tomorrow I will have one day on my own before I get another two days off...not complaining. Lots of work makes it hard to catch up on things outside of work such as laundry, errands, etc. and I'm looking forward to getting all of those done.

First Day Off

The day I have finally been waiting for has arrive...my day off! Don't get me wrong, I've been loving work, but everybody needs a day off, and on my day off, I went to Disney's Animal Kingdom with the gang! I know, how lame for me to go to my work on my day off, but I don't get to enjoy the park while I'm actually on the job! We were there pretty much all day and, as expected had a lot of fun!

The guy from a Disney Channel show filming a Danimals commercial in the park!

Merchandise Training Schedule and First Work Schedule

So here is my training schedule for merchandise in Disney's Animal Kingdom, from what I've been hearing, this is a pretty typical training schedule for those in merchandise.

Thursday, Jan. 23rd, 8:00-12:00- Traditions
Friday, Jan. 24th, 8:00-14:00- DAKlimation
Saturday, Jan. 25th, 9:00-17:30- Merchandise Tier 1
Sunday, Jan. 26th, 8:00-15:00- Merchantainment
Monday, Jan. 27th, 7:00-15:30- Merchandise Tier 3
Tuesday, Jan. 28th- OFF
Wednesday, Jan. 29th- OFF
Thursday, Jan. 30th, 9:30-18:00- Merchandise Tier 4
Friday, Jan. 31st, 9:30-18:00- Merchandise Tier 5

After my Merchandise Tier 5, I will be officially done with my training and I will have "earned my ears." Also, I would like to point out that Disney runs on military time, so if you're thinking of doing the DCP in the future, I would recommend practicing reading military time!

Now that I'm on The Hub (Disney's Cast Member website), I can now see my schedule after training. It looks a little something like this:

Saturday, Feb. 1st, 14:30-20:30- DAK Asia Carts
Sunday, Feb. 2nd- OFF
Monday, Feb. 3rd- OFF
Tuesday, Feb. 4th, 9:00-18:00- DAK Asia Carts
Wednesday, Feb. 5th, 9:15-17:15- Asia Everest Merch
Thursday, Feb. 6th, 12:00-18:00- DAK Everest Floorstock
Friday, Feb. 7th, 14:30-20:30- DAK Asia Carts
Saturday, Feb. 8th, 15:00-21:00- DAK Everest Merch

Merchandise Tier 1 Training

So today I had my first day of in-costume training at Disney's Animal Kingdom, this is also known as Merchandise Tier 1. The morning started out with about two hours of E-Learning in the computer lab at the DAK Cast Services building. Although the two hours flew by, it didn't make it any less boring. There were about five of us in there, all were ladies I had DAKlimation with.

After the E-Learning, we got our Pin Trading lanyards! I'm super excited for that aspect of merchandise and actually did a lot of Pin Trading with guests when I was out in the park! After some more talk about Disney's Four Keys (ALWAYS) it was already lunch, which we all had in Pride Rock cafeteria.

After lunch, we split up with individual trainers based on what land we were in and we got well acquainted with the area and the merchandise locations within our area, not to mention all the backstage areas. I was a little disappointed to find out that the majority of merchandise locations in Asia are all outdoor carts, which means working outside, which is not exactly wonderful in the Florida heat/humidity/rain. There's actually only one indoor location. While today was a pretty general overview, it sounded like we rotate throughout all these locations during our shift.

Overall I feel like it was a very long day for not a lot of stuff, but all in all it was a fine day.

Alright, so the moment you've all been waiting for...the reveal of my costume. Let me prelude this by telling you that sadly, this costume is probably one of the best ones there. Get excited people.

Even though I was dead tired after training, we HAD to hit up Hollywood Studios with just an hour to spare (duh)!!! We went with our favorite DCP boys, our neighbors across the hall, and were able to ride Hollywood Tower of Terror and Rockin' Roller Coaster. I also saw Fantasmic for my very first time and I cried really hard like such a weenie. Just one of those side effects of Disney magic I guess!

DAKlimation

Today I had my DAKlimation training to become acclimated to Disney's Animal Kingdom (ahhhh I see what you did there). DAKlimation began at 8:00am so I planned to take the 7:05 bus from Chatham to get there at 7:35. However, when I got to Chatham at 6:50am, the next bus wasn't coming until 7:37...a bit of a problem for me. So I ended up driving after all and with the help of my bus app map and a couple of u-turns later, I eventually made it to the cast parking lot and found my way to the Cast Service Building.

Like Traditions, I had to dress in business casual today, and after learning my lesson yesterday with wearing a skirt in the unusually cold weather here, I switched to pants and a blazer. Let me tell you...THIS DID NOT HELP! It was so cold first thing in the morning and didn't warm up until...uhhhh right now at 3:30pm, and it's STILL pretty chilly! Of course, the first thing we did in the wonderful chill was take a park tour to become well acquainted with Disney's Animal Kingdom's five lands. Each land has a different story, a different conservation message, and a different greeting, and it was really neat learning all of those, it definitely made more excited to work at DAK! The first thing we did on our tour was ride Kilimanjaro Safaris before the park opened, which, of course, was AWESOME. And as a prize for getting up so early and being up so early, we actually got to see more of the animals because they're more active in the early morning!

After the park tour, our leaders talked to us about "Disney's Four Keys" at DAK (view last post, if you're really interested in that) for about forty five more minutes, gave us the rest of our training schedules, and then we were broken for lunch at Pride Rock Cafeteria, the cast member cafeteria for DAK cast members. Apparently all cast member cafeterias have a Subway in them, and homegirl got a six inch meal for like four bucks....uh, what?!

My training schedule is as follows:

Saturday - Merchandise Tier 1
Sunday - Merchantainment
Monday - Merchandise Tier 3
Tuesday - OFF DAY
Wednesday - OFF DAY
Thursday - Merchandise Tier 4
Friday - Merchandise Tier 5

After lunch, came the best (and I say this in a half sarcastic way) part of our day...costuming. I drove to DAK Wardrobe and there had to try on a bunch of different sizes before finally getting the right ones in both tops and pants. When I found the right sizes, I eventually went home with five tops, five bottoms, one winter jacket, one rain jacket, a pair of gloves, and a fanny pack to keep my rain stuff in.

I made a lot of promises that I would show my costume today, but I didn't take any pictures while I was there trying them on because it was just so hectic. However, I do have to wear my costume tomorrow to training, so you will definitely be seeing it tomorrow when I take my picture in the morning (which is now weirdly becoming some sort of ritual?).

DAKlimation was just fine, there wasn't a ton of information just thrown at you, which was nice, it really is just what they say, just to get acclimated with the park. I got to meet some nice people in my group and even met a really sweet girl who is also doing Asia Merchandise and also lives in Patterson, so it looks like I found my carpool buddy!! I have absolutely no idea what to expect tomorrow, but I can't wait to fill you in on what happens. I'm still trying to decide if I should go to the parks tonight, I am definitely pretty tired, and I still need to go get work shoes, which I will be going to Walmart for...woo!

Also, I think you can be expecting a vlog on Tuesday!