Starting Training, Eating Dinner at Epcot, and Shopping at Magic Kingdom

Saturday morning the 7th, I put on my Disney name tag and headed out to Disney University for my first two orientations--Welcome to Operations from 8-11:30, and Welcome to Park Operations from 12-2. The first class was slightly boring, but it provided me with a lot of broad information, such as what to do incase of an emergency when working, and techinques for lifting or bending without hurting yourself.

Welcome to Park Operations

Then after lunch everyone who had a role that was specifically for Parks (attractions, guest relations, vacation planners, parking, main gate operations and custodial) split into their own class where we talked about the specifics of those roles, and how best to make magic in the parks for guests.

Path to the clubhouse

Once my classes were over I stopped by the Cast Member store where I got some discounted merchandise and a few groceries. Later I went over to the Vista Clubhouse and asked the very friendly librarians/computer lab cast members to help me set up my Disney Hub Access so I could request some days off in May when my family visits. I also did laundry, which was interesting since I am no expert on laundry machines, but it seemed to work okay! 

Finally, after all my chores were complete Abby and I headed over to Epcot to meet Claudia, Ashley and Megan for dinner at Biergarten! 

Plate Number one

The cast members here had lovely german accents, and the restaraunt was set to look like it was outdoors at night in a German town! The buffet included a lot of meat, fish, veggies, rolls, and German food I didn't recognize but tried anyway. 

For Dessert they had Bavarian cheesecake, a rasberry chocolate treat, chocolate chip cookies and apple strueddle! I enjoyed the meal but wasn't entirely impressed with the food, especially my long-awaited pretzel rolls. They weren't very flavorfull. 

We headed out of the park after our meal and saw Illuminations as we walked, which I had never seen before! It was actually pretty cool, I didn't realize how immersive and musical it was, despite the lack of Disney refferences.

Sunday I was the only one with the day off, so I started by getting some chores done around the apartment before catching a bus to the Polynesian. 

I walked along the beach there to visit my favorite resort, the Grand Floridian (except for their cast bus stop) and went inside all the stores there because I was trying to decide what I wanted to buy with the last of my 40% off cast member discount that ended on the 12th! 

The Castle and The Crain

Then I caught a monorail to MK, where I proceeded to go in every store I could find, finally completing all my purchases except for one thing--the pillow my mom requested which aparently was only available in Downtown Disney! 

So I walked to the Contemporary, which should have been an easy walk had I not been laiden with my MK purchases! From there I got on a bus to Downtown Disney, and managed to secure the pillow for my mom, along with a couple other things for me...oops!

Later that evening I went back to the clubhouse because we still don't have wifi in our apartment, and tried and failed to update this blog. I ended up coming back and watching a movie with the girls instead.

Notice all the cleaning supplies lined up for us to practice with!

On Monday the 9th, I got to sleep in a bit (7:45!) and headed to Custodial Core at Disney University from 10-4:30. This class was small, and pretty interesting! 



We were taught exactly how to do a trash run, how to pan and broom the streets, and how to do the restrooms, which may sound simple but it was really nice to learn the details of how it all works. Disney has lots of neat tricks for making the guests experiances better, like the fact that we put our foot on the bottom of the trash bag when we pull it open so we don't hit guests, and that we put our hand over the end of the broom when we sweep so we don't knock into guests.

Then we were sent across the street to MK costuming to pick up our free custodial shoes, which was great because those shoes look quite expensive! By the time we were done with that, it was pouring rain so I went straight home, and really didn't do much of anything for the rest of the day, which was fine since I had been so busy the past few days.

Katie is Back!!!

The wifi is finally working here at our apartment so I am back from the dead to update you!! A LOT has happened in the past three weeks so I will be probably be posting multiple updates to cover everything. 
Okay so the day after check-in I had a housing meeting, which was just a short meeting about rules of the complex and safety. It was sort of fun, they gave us copies of the DCP newsletter and gave away free DCP merch for answering questions. Then I came home and went to Walmart again with Claudia because I had not had half enough time the night before to get everything I needed! I finished setting up my room that night and got all settled in.

On Wednesday the fourth, I didn't have anything to do so Ashley drove Sydney and I to the Milenia Mall. It was very fancy, and made me think of a lot of the malls I used to shop at in California. However, all the stores were a little out of my price range so I didn't end up buying anything.


 Then we headed over to Downtown Disney, where we checked out all the shops and took fun photos.


Finally, I had traditions on Thursday the fifth!! I was the first one of all my roommates to go, so I had to be up at 5:30 to catch the 6:55 bus. It was not enjoyable but as I quickly learned, it was not to be the first time I was up that early.

I took the special events bus from the welcome center, but apparently I could have taken an A or B bus from the normal station as well. 

My Traditions Outfit!

Upon arrival at Disney University, we were split into 3 groups and taken into a large room with beautiful Disney murals on the walls.

During the class we spent a lot of time introducing ideas and topics that will be repeated and covered more in depth later in training--things like "safeD begins with me" and "the four keys" and "you create happieness!" 

Everyone got some great free goodies and little disney prizes for answering questions, and a surprise visit from a special friend...it was so fun! It was very long though, my class ran a little over 5 hours long. The walking part of the class was longer than I expected though, which was nice because I really loved being able to see everything that we did (I'm not telling what it was so as not to ruin the surprise!). I think the very best part was getting our WDW nametag at the very end...oh and our Disney ID's to get into the parks! 


None of my roommates were done with traditions yet, so I went to Epcot with my new friend Cailey who I met during the class! We went on Mission Space first thing, and then walked around all of the countries.

 It was so beautiful there when the sun came out! 

Then we hopped on the monorail to MK for an hour or so where we spent some time on main street shopping and wandered around adventureland and frontierland and got some lovely sunset photos! But since we had both been up since 5:30 for traditions, we were tired so we got on the monorail to the Grand Floridian to catch a cast bus back to Vista. We then proceeded to wait over an hour for a bus, which was not enjoyable, especially since the temperature started dropping rapidly at that point and we were all alone in the cast parking lot! I will definitely be carching a bus from the Polynesian or Contemporary in the future because waiting at the Grand was not enjoyable.



Friday morning dawned bright and early--Sydney and I both had the day off and we were heading to MK!:)
We went on Peter Pan and went through the new interactive Queue which was so adorable! Honestly I didn't even notice I was waiting in line because I was enjoying walking through the Darlings house so much! 

Then we rode Big Thunder Mountain, which was actually a first for me, and was quite enjoyable. 

We caught a few more smaller rides before lunch at Pinocchio's Village Haus where I got some amazing bread called Garlic Pesto Bread Knots for 4$! 

Then we went around Storybook Circus and did a little shopping there before heading up to Main Street to meet Tinker Bell and wait for the other girls to meet us, who had finally got out of their traditions class. 

Later, we also watched the Festival of Fantasy Parade, which was beautiful, and went to the Hall of Presidents, which was also a first for me. 

Then Megan, Abby and Claudia arrived and we went to Cosmic Rays for dinner, and met the Little Mermaid! Then Sydney left because she was tired and had to be up early, and we went on to ride Pirate of the Carribean and Haunted Mansion. We took photos in the tangled area, and then headed up to main street to meet Ashley for Wishes! 
After the amazing fireworks we swam upstream through the exiting crowds to get in line for the new seven dwarves mine train ride, and got on with only a 45 minute wait. It was so adorable, and so smooth! The ride queue was also fun, though chilly since it was all outdoors. Then we had one last ride, Buzz Lightyear before heading out for the night. But it would still be a long time before we were home! We took a resort bus to the Polynesian (no more Grand Floridian!) and then had to wait 45 minutes for our cast bus to take us back to Vista. We did eventually make it back though, around 12:30am, which was lovely since I had to be up at 5:00am the next morning! #theresnosleepingindisney

I will upload the photos for the next part hopefully tomorrow so check back soon to get the rest of the scoop on my Disney Life:D

And My Work Location Is....

The last two days have been a whirlwind of activity! Yesterday morning, one of my roommates picked me up from Art of Animation and drove us to Vista, where we met all the rest of our roommates. It was so nice to finally meet them!

I apologize for the sideways photo, I am using the PC lab and it doesn't have a way to edit the photos :/

We were handed our program guides, and split into two lines depending on our last name.  

We went into a room full of different stations, and I realized I was about to find out my work location!! I heard a lot of people in front of me in line being assigned Art of Animation and some other resorts, which made me even more nervous, because I didn't really want to work at a value resort. Finally it was my turn, and the nice cast member stuck my sticker onto the back of my guide and said "Congratulations, you are going to be working at Hollywood Studios!"

I was happy!!! Epcot was my very first choice but Animal Kingdom/Hollywood Studios were my second choice so I was incredibly pleased. Then I moved on to find out my housing placement, which wasn't quite as great news. We were placed at Vista Way, which was our last choice, so we weren't ecstatic, but it was okay.

 

Then I had casting right after, so I got on the casting bus. It was so exciting to see the building that I've seen so many photos of online from past DCPers!

My casting only took a little over an hour, and then I was able to come back and take a look around our complex.

One plus to Vista is that it has the largest clubhouse, so we have a lovely common room and a library where you can check out up to three books or DVDS at a time for free with your blue ID!

They also had a case full of DCP merchandise, which was super cool to see! I know I'm going to want to buy everything in this case:D

Then all the roommates and I drove to Walmart, where I proceeded to spend at least two hours buying almost everything in the store. I was trying to buy all store-brands and spent a lot of time in the clearance section, and it seemed to pay off because I ended up spending only 145$ ($135 if you don't count tax, which still seems really weird to me) on everything!

Our cabinets after we went shopping--mine's the top right shelf (It got a lot fuller after this photo was taken, don't worry!)

Later that night we exchanged our roommate gifts, which were all beautifully wrapped.

Megan made me this gorgeous Peter Pan initial, which was so creative!

Abigail got us these super cool cups with our names on them--and the best part is that they light up on the bottom!!

Claudia got me the most beautiful Little Mermaid bow that I am obsessed with and a bath bomb, which I somehow forgot to take a photo of! Unfortunately the wifi still doesn't work in our room so I am using the Vista Way computer lab to post this, which is very nice by the way. Today I had my housing meeting, which was a very simple meeting next to check in and casting. It was mostly a presentation that you just sat and listened to, during which they tell you all the ways you can get termed and how to avoid it, and how to stay safe in the complex.

Once my room is all finished I will be posting photos of that and more of Vista Way, and I am sure I will have lots to say after Thursday, when I have traditions and can finally get into the theme parks for free!:D Thanks for reading, and have a magical day!