Training - Complete!

Hello!

Now, I haven’t abandoned this blog, I’ve just being trying to work how I can explain/say things during my past week without breaking the rules and such. I don’t particularly want to be kicked out of the program!

This past week was all about training. I had training for 4 days (Tuesday-Friday) where we learnt all the rules and methods of being a Character Performer. I’m not going to say much about the training, as I said I don’t want to push any buttons. But we had two days off stage, then the last two on stage. And let me tell you, even though each time I get nervous going out being friends with characters, it’s a very rewarding job. I’ve only had two days on stage, but the memories I helped create and the smiles on so many faces – I couldn’t help but smile the whole time too. But let me tell you, it’s not as easy as it may seem! Yes, it’s fun and rewarding, but my goodness my legs are killing me! You definitely get a work out.

I did pass my training – I have my first shift out of training today – and got 100% on the written test! Now why couldn’t I get 100% in all my university exams? Hmm. It’s a short shift today, 6 hours and I’m a spare, which I won’t explain, but it’s kind of obvious what that means. I have a lot of late nights this week. I finish at 9:30pm today, tomorrow and Thursday. Friday I finish at 12am because of extra magic hours, then have a 9:45am start the next day. Hopefully I will still be functioning!

I’m working on my birthday, which I kind of guessed would happen. By the time we got taught how to work the Hub, I thought a week’s notice wasn’t really fair and I don’t want to be put in the wrong books this early in my program! However, I do finish at 3:15pm on my birthday (30^th Jan) so I get the afternoon/night off and then have the 31^st off. Oh and I do finish at 1:30pm on the 29^th, so I’ll be able to skype my family, as I have been told to do so, since it’ll be the 30^th over there.

Since I’ll be turning 21 we do get the option to move complexes for free (usually it’s a $50 fee) because you can move from a wellness apartment to a non-wellness apartment. I was considering moving, but I like my roommates here, so I’m pretty sure I’ll stay right where I am.

That’s all for now, I don’t have to get ready for work, since I already am. Sweatpants, shirt and shoes is all you need, you’re not allowed to wear make-up as a Character Performer, so there goes 10 minutes of getting ready time. The bus I catch is at 1:55pm, we have to get there 15 minutes early before our shift starts to clock in, change and check in at the base, but we get to leave 20 minutes early at the end of the day, so it all works out!

Have a great day/night!~

Step In Time

Morning!

A lot has happened in the past few days since my last entry, I think the last thing I mentioned was check in? If not, I may be repeating myself, oh well.

Orientation Day 1 (Monday)

Wow, already I’m struggling to remember what we did on our orientation days. Oh, I remember – the first day was horrible. We went to Vista Way to sign some more papers, line up, get our information ticked off, got more information to read, lined up again, got our photos taken for our Housing ID, then got a sticker on our books with what bus time we were catching – 2:30pm. We didn’t get on that bus until 2:45pm, they were all running late. When we got to Casting there was another line waiting for us. It was slow moving, but not too long. Once we rounded a corner, showed our IDs, there was yet another line. We were in this line for 2 hours. None of us had eaten lunch since it said that they’d finish at 4pm. We didn’t leave until 6:30pm (arrived at around 3pm at Casting). But I got my schedule and traditions time. Since we were all starving we went over to CiCi’s, a Pizza place and we all got the ‘all you can eat pizza, pasta and dessert’ It was only $5. Afterwards I went home and slept.

Orientation Day 2 (Tuesday)

And I honestly cannot remember this day… oops.

Oh no, I do. That was when we had to go to the Commons at 9am for a short presentation on Immigration information, went shopping to fill in the gap between that presentation and the next at 1pm. The 1pm session was longer and was about Housing and Housing rules etc.

Traditions (Wednesday)

I was in the 2pm session for this, so I got a sleep in! Unlike those who had Traditions at 8am. We learnt about the company’s past, present and future. Got to have a short visit of the Magic Kingdom where I saw the castle in person for the first time in my life, and definitely not the last. We finished then headed to Downtown Disney for some dinner. We got our discount IDs and our name tags this day!

Magic Kingdom (Thursday)

Thursday I visited the Magic Kingdom as a guest for the first time! I went by myself, and then caught up with a friend I made on the bus on the way to traditions. She had a friend with her too and we headed over to Tomorrowland and viewed the Laugh Floor show. I didn’t have high expectations for this, but it was pretty good! I’m still amazed with how they do this show. Afterwards we had some lunch after they got fastpasses for Buzz Lightyear Ranger Spin; I wasn’t too keen to go on that, I don’t do spinning rides, so I didn’t get a fastpass. We then wandered around Tomorrowland, took some stalker pictures of Buzz Lightyear since the line was huge and as we continue our stroll we find Chip ‘n Dale in their Tomorrowland getup! The line was short so we jumped on the end. After they had a short break, we were first in line and got our pictures with the characters – my first picture with a Disney character! We then departed from one another since their fastpass was ready. I then looked around Fantasyland, then when I was back on Main Street the 3pm parade was due to start. I got a spot and took a ton of pictures of the parade. After walking around the other Lands, I get a text from Alice and Nadine that they’re on their way. I make my way back to Main Street, but get stopped to watch yet another parade – the Street Party one. So I watched that then headed down to the Emporium. Bought some items (shouldn’t of said we’d meet there) and found the two girls just as they entered the park. We took some photos, got a fastpass for Space Mountain and looked around. We went on the Haunted Mansion, by this time it was dark, so it made it a little bit more fun as we waited. By the time we got out the Electrical Parade was due to start, we got our spots and watched the parade – it was so pretty! Afterwards we got something to eat and went on Space Mountain, which was fun!

Welcome to Entertainment (Friday)

I finally had my early start, got up and got ready to get to Disney University by 8:30am. Ours was a long session 8:30am-5pm, but it actually did fly by. The first part was the boring stuff. All about safety and how to best use your arms whilst on and off stage. We got to go to the Cast Member’s cafeteria at Magic Kingdom, where we saw numerous of face characters getting their lunch; we did get a bit excited over that, though they’re probably sick of it and just want a break! We got to go back into Magic Kingdom to watch Dream Along With Mickey (I had watched it three times the previous day, so I wasn’t as excited as some of the other people) then headed back to Disney University for more information. At the end we got our schedules for this coming week, which is training. I’m excited for it and nervous! We have two days offstage, then the next two onstage, which will be our assessment! I was a little bit shocked they throw you in straight away, but hopefully everything will be okay.

Epcot & Magic Kingdom (Saturday, Yesterday)

Yesterday I went with Jen to Epcot where we mainly went on some rides in Future World and character hunted in one side of the World Showcase. We managed to find Marie, Belle & Beast, Aurora, Chip and Dale, Rafiki, Alice and Mary Poppins! Once our fastpasses were ready for Test Track, we jumped on it; it was a bit of a letdown since our expectations were probably a tad too high. Once we had gone on that ride, we jumped on a monorail back to Magic Kingdom to find characters and ride some rides. First we found Captain Jack Sparrow performing his show of how to be a pirate, Jen hurried back the way we came to meet Peter Pan. I was going to grab us a seat at Tortuga Tavern, but it was closed, so I made my way back to her. The line was huge, but she was near the front. I didn’t want to push in, so I just took photos of Jen and Peter for her, I’ll get some pictures with him another day. Though it was a weird encounter with Pan, I had my boots on, which I call my pirate boots since they look like them. Jen pointed them out to Peter who replied with ‘I’ve never met a girl pirate before……do you smell like a boy pirate? They smell of fish’ well, I certainly hope I don’t smell of fish…but that wasn’t it, Peter came over and started sniffing me, it was a tad awkward, I wasn’t sure what to do but laugh. Thankfully, I smelt good and not of codfish.

After that awkward encounter, we got some lunch, went on It’s A Small World, got our fastpasses for Peter Pan’s Flight, then went on Pirates of the Caribbean. While waiting for our passes to be valid, we watched Dream Along With Mickey whilst guarding our spots in front for the Electrical Parade, watched the parade and made the silly mistake of going to get some Hot Cocoa. Once we finally got our drinks, the moment we stepped out of Casey’s the lights went out for the photos on the Castle, which happens just before Wishes. We made our way through the crowd – SO many people! And found a spot to watch the photos. Jen disappeared to find a bin, but also found a good spot to watch the fireworks, so I found her and we watched Wishes, the fireworks show. Once that was finished we headed down to where the princesses and Mickey and Minnie go for their photos. We lined up for the princesses, met a young boy and his mum, and finally got to meet the princesses: Aurora, Belle and Cinderella. I was asked by Aurora which kingdom I was from – Australia – and she mentioned how exhausted my horses must be. I said they were rewarded with oats, she then asked what about carrots since her horse likes those the most. I just replied ‘only the good horses get carrots’. We then had our photo and I was on my way to Belle. We talked about reading; I told her she was one of my most favourite princesses, in which she went all shy. Belle then said that we should definitely read together and perhaps teach Beast to read. Photos were taken and I moved over to Cinderella. I had been wearing a bracelet a friend back home gave me after her travels around Europe. It’s a beaded bracelet from Greece, so it has blue and silver beads with dangling beads, one being a fish. Cinderella pointed the bracelet out and asked if my mice friends made that for me – of course I replied with a yes. She then pointed out the fish charm-like bead and asked if I was a mermaid – ‘sometimes’, was my reply – I had a little bit too much fun with the princesses last night!

Next we lined up, in a very short line, to meet Mickey and Minnie! We hugged and had photos, they were speedy so next time I’ll try and interact with them more! By now our passes were ready to use, so we made our way through the crowds, which had gathered for the next Electrical Parade (the park stays open until 1am on Saturdays) so it was a little bit harder to get through. Eventually we made it to Peter Pan’s Flight, the fastpass allowed us to jump the line, which was 65 minutes of wait time. It was similar to that of Disneyland Paris, but one thing I wish it had, was the opening of the windows when you sail through them, WDW doesn’t have that.

After buying more items from the emporium we went home, but then jumped in a cab to Walmart to get some item Jen needed for today and what  needed for my training – yay for sweatpants and sneakers. How exciting. We got home at 12:30am, it was a bit day.

Today (Sunday)

I have today off again, as well as tomorrow. I believe I’m going to Hollywood Studios tomorrow, but we’ll see tonight what’s happening. Today is mainly washing my clothes since I have hardly any left and cleaning the bathroom, a very quiet day ahead of me.

Hopefully that’s caught everyone up, no wonder people desert their blogs – you get so busy here! So many things to do!

Until next time!~

My New Home - America

Morning Everyone!

So a lot has happened since my last post – I’m now in America living in my new apartment! I’ll try to do this in order as best I can.

To start things of Jen and I were ready to depart Brisbane International Airport at 11:15am. That was until we got delayed for an hour; Air New Zealand gave us refreshment vouchers which we used at the Coffee Club. We then got delayed again, and again, summing up to be around a 3 hour delay. By that stage we were just eager to get on the plane and get started. I then remembered how much I disliked long hour flights. Sure enough the Brisbane to New Zealand was one three hours, realising I had another 12ish hour flight ahead of me; I wasn’t looking forward to it. We got into New Zealand with enough time to jump on the internet and then make our way over to our gate. At least this flight wasn’t delayed.

I managed to sleep on and off on the plane to Los Angeles, but I think that just made me even more exhausted. We arrived in LA and had to make our way from terminal 2 to terminal 5. It was pretty straight forward when we found the street that allowed us to get there. Once we checked in to our Delta flight, we had a whole bunch of waiting to do. Over 6 hours left of waiting. We were originally departing from terminal 6 which we hung around. It had barely anything there since it’s going through renovations. We then found a tunnel which connected terminal 6 and terminal 5, and we didn’t have to go through security again thank goodness! We then had dinner/lunch and McDonald’s (a good way to start our America trip) where I ordered a small drink. Yeah, their smallest is Australia’s large. But an upside is – they have Dr Pepper to choose from!

After waiting and waiting and waiting, we headed over to our gate, only to find the flight listed on the screen above the gate was not ours… We then got in contact with another ICP who was on the same flight and told us it was at Terminal 5 gate 51. After going through that tunnel again we got to the gate and waited some more. That was where I met Anna, Ashleigh and Sharleen; they were on our flight and were at the same apartment as us. After our 4 or so hour flight to Orlando we met up and caught a taxi to the Holiday Inn that we were all staying at. And, they were staying just 2 doors down from ours!

Once we all dumped our bags and FINALLY got a shower we all met up and decided to walk to Walmart. I thought it’d be still a bit chilly out so I wore my coat. Once you’re in the sun for a few minutes, it heats up – fast. So that was thrown over my bag quickly. Our walk was about 4ish kilometres from the hotel, and we had to walk along a highway to get there with ending footpaths and huge intersections. We eventually got there after being asked a couple times if we were lost and on one occasion if we needed a lift, which we politely declined.

Walmart is HUGE. I knew it was big, but it’s massive. At least the one we went to was! Bigger than the Bunnings Wearhouse down the road from my house in Brisbane. And it had everything in there. It’s like a massive version of our Pick ‘n Pay. We got a few items, mainly towels and a thing of Pringles (which is $1.69 here where as in Australia, for the big box it’s at least $3.50). We were smart and didn’t walk back. We got a taxi back to the hotel. Since we were all tired and hungry we went to Applebees, which was beside our hotel, it even had a connecting walkway inside, and had lunch. Afterwards we went back upstairs and I slept from 2-6pm. We all then went back downstairs to Applebees for dinner.

The next day we went to one of the Orlando Premium Outlets (which happens to be near Patterson Court and Chatham Square) and bought a few items. From there we went to Florida Mall and did some more shopping, I got my prepaid phone sim and bedding. That night we all went out to dinner again.

Check In Day

We all met up outside our rooms and struggled downstairs to check out of the apartment. Afterwards Anna and Ashleigh walked to Vista Way, whilst Sharleen, Jen, and I waited for one of the hotel’s private taxis. After waiting for almost an hour, we got a taxi and headed straight for Vista Way with about 5 minutes to spare before 12pm. I checked in and found out I was in Patterson Court in the same apartment as Jen. Disney then had transportation that would take us to our buildings so we weren’t lugging our suitcases around looking for our building number. Once we unloaded our again to get last few bed items and some groceries to tie us over for a few days. We had our first experience on the Disney Transportation and once we were done came back to our apartment to unpack.

Other than that we ate, showered and went straight to bed, and then heard one of the other roommates come inside so I went out to introduce myself. It’s fairly quiet in our apartment, which I don’t mind. It means I’ll get more sleep since I wake up at every noise. Speaking of which these beds make so much noise, I woke up every time I moved and they are extremely uncomfortable.

Today we’ve just tried to catch up on some sleep, especially since yesterday we were all exhausted. I think later we’re heading back to Walmart to get some stuff for the bathroom and a few more groceries. I also have to learn how to use this oven. It looks very confusing.

Until next time!~

When Will My Life Begin

Evening!

Christmas has been and gone, as has the New Year celebrations. Everyone goes back to work (or University in my brother’s case) tomorrow, except me! Well, and mum. She gets the pleasure of being in my company all day. I’m sure she’s secretly pleased. I leave one Wednesday, which is 2 sleeps and 1 day away, and time has flown by – I’m glad! I’m ready to start this new chapter in my life (as corny as that sounds), it’s sure to be an exciting one.

I’ve packed – well I initially packed a few days ago so I wouldn’t wear clothes I’m taking with me, and finally finished packing today. Minus two items – phone charger and my backpack mum made me. You watch I’ll forget these, or at least the phone charger. My bag is over the limit (limit = 23kgs) at 23.8, a whole 0.8 over according to our little bag/suitcase scale thing. If it’s correct I hope the airline doesn’t charge me for excess luggage weight. I’m sure a 0.8 they’d let slide…I hope anyway. Or maybe my scales are just over estimating for me so I don’t add anything else to my bag. I’m currently trying to find what’s in LAX for us to do in our stop over, Jen’s suggested a manicure and pedicure and that doesn’t sound like a bad idea. It sucks we’re kind of restricted to the airport in a way, we can’t really go anywhere lugging out suitcases around with us since the airport no longer has lockers for suitcases. Any suggestions?

Last night I remembered why there’s a good reason why I was staying back in Brisbane longer – to see Mary Poppins Musical! When they first announced that it was coming to Brisbane I was over the moon, and then found out the opening night was January 5, 2012. A bit of a downer, and then a uni friend told me they had extended the tour dates forward, rather than back, which gave me the chance to see it! It was amazing, I love musicals, but this was just, wow. I can’t wait to see musicals over in America – I will be making the most of it! And it also got me excited (again) for working for Disney.

So I think I’m all set and ready, we’re leaving here at about 6:45am, to meet Jen at about 7:45am-8am to check in and hopefully get good seats on the plane. Check in for our Los Angeles to Orlando flight also opens around 6:45am our time on the Wednesday. I’ll jump on at that time to see if it’s opened to check in, if it’s not I’ll give it till 6:50am before I give up and we do it at the airport, haha.

Not much to do now but wait. I’ll try and get a good sleep tonight, because who knows if I will actually sleep tomorrow night. I just want to get there already!

Until next time!~