First Celebrity Citing!

So I had my first celebrity siting today! It was seriously the best celebrity I could have seen too. While working with the Yellow Power Ranger I saw... JOEY FATONE! yes thats right a man who was in my all time favorite boy band. A man that if given the chance I would hug and tell him how very happy his music made/makes me.

Unfortunately I was not able to do that or even acknowledge who he was because I was in costume and cast members are not allowed to treat celebrities like they are anything other than a normal guest. Which is oddly ironic considering we (meaning cast members not necessarily me) escort them to rides and stuff backstage because we don't want them getting mobbed.

But back to my Joey sighting. I had to help out with the Power Rangers because for whatever reason they were down an attendant and I was working at Cars which means I was going to help with the Rangers anyway (because that is what the closing attendants do at Cars... help the PR attendants with their last set.) So I was with the Yellow Ranger and the Captain came over and said something about not worrying about asking the man sitting on the planter thingy that the Yellow Ranger stands by to move because he was obviously sitting with a sleeping baby. I glanced at the guy but then went back to attending.

A rather amusing thing about me is that when I am working I have complete tunnel vision. I don't really pay all that much attention to the guests outside the group that is immediately near me whether that be with the characters or who is up next in line. Which means that it is totally possible to sneak up on me but that is a bit of a side note.

The Captain waved me over a few mins later and mentioned that the guy he had told me not to worry about was Joey Fatone. He said that they had made eye contact after he walked away and that he had recognized him because he had met him before. I then freaked out a little on the inside and mentioned that I was a HUGE fan back in the day. He said that if I was a fan I would recognize him but to be sly about checking him out. Well check him out I did and I am not going to lie my stomach did a flip flop. Seeing him totally made my day!

So I spent 30 mins alternating between working and geeking out. Mind you I had to geek out on the inside. The Captain said I held it in very well. lol

Thats all for my celebrity siting. It was awesome and probably wont be topped.

-M

Friends!... and enemies?

I know I haven't posted in a while which sucks but I really haven't felt like I have much to talk about. My days are mostly the same and nothing really happens that I think anyone would want to hear about. I know that probably isn't true so I am planning on writing a day in the life blog.

However that is not what this post is about. This post is about the random people I have met through work. The ones I love and the ones I want to shank with a very pointy spork. I am going to give everyone pseudonyms because there is an off chance that they might read this. And that would be awkward when I go back to work and they then know that I either want to give them lots of hugs or want to strangle them slowly.

So enemies first. I shall call this person Bob. Why Bob?... well it is kinda close to the real thing and I can't come up with anything creative at this point. So why do I hate Bob and want to shank him with a spork or strangle him slowly? Quite simply because he is stupid and worthless and really really annoying. He is pretty much useless when it comes to his job. Working with him is like working by yourself. He just stands there and looks stupid. I have absolutely no idea how he managed to get the job he has. You have to have social skills to have his job but he has absolutely none. He is just plain socially awkward. Laughs at somewhat sexual things like a juvenile. Like when a child has a Woody (as in Toy Story) toy and I say "I see you have a Woody toy, is he your favorite?" and Bob giggles or tells me SHHH! Seriously.. that isn't even funny. Its juvenile and annoying and FRIGGIN STUPID! So that is Bob. Working with him makes me angry. :/ grrrr

Now on to people I love! YAAAAAAY! There is a lot of people I could put here because I love a lot of the people I work with. However I only have amusing stories/reasons for loving a select few. The first person is J (very creative.. I know). J is in entertainment (like me) and I love him because he makes me laugh. He does things that he is totally not supposed to but are quite amusing in places where guests could in theory see him doing them. (If that isn't cryptic I donno what is..) Another person I lurv is M. Ninja (oo creative! :D) He also does funny stuff in places which make the things he does funnier. He also dances with me and gives me hugs. I am totally a sucker for hugs.
Last but so totally not least on my lurv list is Red. I adore Red. I seriously just want to squish them. Red really just makes me happy. When I was having a really bad day in the not so distant past seeing Red just made the day better. It was still a poop-tastic day but it was slightly better because I got to talk to Red. Red, like J, makes me laugh. They poke fun at me which for what ever reason makes me laugh. They are super sweet. When I was not feeling well recently they rubbed my shoulders. It didn't really make me feel all that much better but it was nice that they tried to make me feel better. This person took me under their wing and helped me do my job while doing their own. If that didn't make me love them then the fact that they play with me while doing their job would have. Seriously this person is awesome. And if this sounds like a romantic love... it is not. It is more of an "I want to squoosh you" love. I really just want to hug them because they make me happy. :)

The common factors between the people I love? They play around with me, make me laugh, and give me hugs. Obviously it is quite simple to win my heart. Perhaps more people should try to.... It would at least be fun for me! :D

-M

... So I realize that the above post is rather cryptic and useless to pretty much everyone outside of myself but I must say that I don't really care. This is just going to have to be one of those posts for me so I will remember the things that matter to me now smack in the middle of my program.

I LOVE MY JOB!

:) I have to say I think I have the best job you could have while on the College Program. Now I am sure some people would disagree, perhaps those in attractions who work on rides like Tower of Terror or Jungle Cruise, but can they say they get to hang out with Mickey Mouse all day? I don't think so! But I do! :)

Yesterday I got to hang out with Mickey Mouse. The day before I got to hang out with Minnie, Goofy, Carl, Russell, Doug (from UP!), Mulan, Belle, and Jasmine. What could possibly be cooler than working with Characters all day? And if that isn't awesome enough for you I also get to watch little kids excitedly meet those characters. I have seen a little boy wait in line 3 times so he could spend lots of quality time with Lightening McQueen and Mater (from Cars). On Wednesday when I was working with Russell, Carl, and Doug I met a little boy whose favorite character was Russell. He even had a shirt on that had patches just like Russell does. It was so cute watching them interact.

While I do have lots of fun at my job I think it is also a job where you can have lots of people disappointed in you. I have already had one family get mad at me because Mickey had to go get a bite of cheese. He was going to come right back but they didn't want to wait. It was a Brazilian group of 13 and they kept asking for just one group photo. I had to keep telling them he had to leave but would be right back but then ended up leaving the line anyway. They were probably saying unhappy things but it was in Portuguese so I didn't understand (and didn't care either). :)

Random side note for the post... When I worked with Lightening and Mater on Sunday I was only one day out of Training and working with another attendant who was on his first day. Neither one of us had much of an idea of what we were doing so the Mid-day Manager was showing us the ropes. We had a few mins of down time so we were all in the break room watching My Big Fat Greek Wedding which was on ABC Family. I said something about how I really like that movie and my manager responded he did too. I then said that back in the day I was a big NSYNC fan so I really LOVED the movie because Joey Fatone was in it. My manager kind chuckled and then said that he was actually friends with Joey and he comes to the parks kinda often. Let me just say that on the inside I totally flipped out and was geeking out with glee. On the outside I acted normal but that story seriously made my day. I now have hope that perhaps I will get to see Joey Fatone and if the stars really line up perhaps even take a picture with him. Although that last part is highly unlikely (even more so than meeting him!)

That is all for now!
-M

Fun in the Sun!

Well it has been a little cloudy lately but I have still had a lot of fun! In the last week I have gone to all 4 parks. On Tuesday night I went to Magic Kingdom for Wishes (fireworks show) to celebrate finishing training. On the way back from MK we rode the ferry! It was the first time I had ever done that.. or at least that I remember. :)
Here is a pic from MK! My new friends Luz, Lindsey, and myself with our ice creams! yum!
On Wednesday I went to Animal Kingdom to visit some friends who were finishing up training. I went all by myself which was odd but actually really nice. After meeting some characters and seeing my friends I just kinda walked around. I walked the path under the tree and then rode Everest all by myself. I sat behind a nice couple who were just engaged and next to the bride-to-be's mother. She was just as freaked out as I was so that was nice.

This picture is from a photopass photographer so it is a bit blurry (because I haven't paid for it). I was walking to give Br'er Bear a hug. It is also my favorite picture so far.
On Thursday after I went to Hollywood Studios orientation/tour I went to Epcot with my friends Bianca and Marina. I also met/made some new friends Todd and Rachel (I think that was her name). So this next picture is of Todd and Bianca getting ready to drink Beverly Soda. It an Italian soda that you can drink for free at Club Cool in Epcot (along with other sodas from around the world) Beverly is notoriously nasty and is described as being bitter. People almost always make funny faces when they drink it. :p gross.

Before....

After....

Yesterday (Friday) I went to Hollywood Studios with my roommate Katie and then my friend Brian met us. We rode on Toy Story Mania, Tower of Terror, Backlot Tour, and on Rockin Roller Coaster twice. I LOVED Rockin Roller Coaster. Seriously the best thing ever. It isn't so much the roller coaster itself, which is actually kinda wimpy, but the fact that it is Aerosmith themed.So that is all for this weeks park update! Well.. maybe. Who knows what I will end up doing in the next couple of days. I have Monday and Tuesday off so I might go visit a park then. I will leave you with another favorite picture of mine. This is from my last day of training. I loved working with these characters and my fellow Character Attendants in training.-M

Traditions and Training!

Hello my loves! As the title says this post is going to be about Traditions and Training. YAAAAAAAY! :)

As almost everyone will tell you Traditions is wonderful. It is really a great way to get you energized about working for Disney and helping make the most magical place on earth that much more magical. You get to hear stories that definitely energize you and make you want to start training so you can get out into your work area. There are some surprises built into the day that are well... surprising and fun! Look forward to them because they will be something you talk about afterwards.

My have two big suggestions for traditions. One, DO NOT FORGET YOUR PICTURE ID!! That is very very important. It must be state issued too! I accidentally forgot mine and ended up having to return later in the afternoon to receive my Disney ID. It was quite a pain and could have been totally avoided if I had simply remembered my driver's license. Suggestion number Two!... follow the Disney look. Dress up! It is better to be safe than sorry. As the lead trainer for Entertainment told me you only have a few chances to really dress up... take advantage of them! It will also prevent you from having to run to Costuming or being turned away.

Now on to Training! I started my training two days after I completed Traditions aka Friday. The first two days were meat and potatoes information with the last three days being in the parks on the job training. I have had one trainer that has been with my group since Friday. Her name is Trina and she is super awesome. We have had a rotation of other trainers but yesterday and today we had a trainer named Jamson with us. I think I spelled his name right... Trina and Jamson are wonderful and have done a great job at making me feel really comfortable with my new job. Which by the way is a lot harder and more stressful than I think most people realize. I obviously can't really talk about all the things that we do but please remember that your Character Attendant is working very hard to help make your time with the Disney Characters very special. If you decide to tell them thank you, I am very sure they would appreciate it.

While training has been very fun it has been quite tiring. I literally went to bed last night at 9:30 pm. I would have gone to bed at like 8:30 but I had to take a shower. lol And in case anyone is wondering that was my transition to ending this post. I need to take a shower and get ready for bed. :)

Love you all!! (seriously I do. Promise)
-M

24 followers!?!

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who is following this blog. :) It makes me really happy and excited to see that there are 24 people who actually find this thing interesting enough to follow!

I have really been trying very hard to keep this thing updated. I have to be honest though, I have been very very busy and very very tired this week. I can't believe that it has only been a week (almost) since I checked in. This week has been so stuffed with information and things that it seems like it has been years. ahhhh!

On the tired note that is it for this post. It is currently 8:24 pm and my plans are to take a quick (and I mean as fast as I can scrub) shower and then go to sleep. My plan is to be in bed sleeping by 9:30. I don't think I have done that since I was like 8.

I love you all my beautiful (or handsome!) followers!

Check-in Day Insanity!

I am finally able to sit down and blog!! yaaay!

I guess I will start with check in day. My roommates and I went out to dinner the night before check-in. We decided to get there at 7, a hour before check-in. Mom and I got up at the crack of dawn (aka 5:45 am) to get ready for the day. We met up in the parking lot across from Vista Way. We were defiantly the first people there. We sat in our cars till like 7:50 then we walked across the street to stand near the security gate. By this point the parking lot was full and people were lining up in their cars outside of gate.

At like 8:04 someone came to lead us to the welcome center (which is near the back of the complex). Unfortunately they also let the cars in so a few people managed to get in front of us. grrrrrr. But it was really not that big a deal.

So basically at check-in you get a name tag and some paperwork to fill out and you are then talked through the first little bit of paperwork. Then you go to another table to get turn one of the pages in and then you are let into a room. In the room you get to do all the cool stuff like get your housing ID and your housing assignment.... and other stuff.

After checking in I got to go back to our apartment. yaaay! We live in Chatham in building 25. For those who are curious that would be in the back right corner of the complex. I only had like and hour to unpack (not enough time to get everything situated) before I had to go to the Casting Office to finish paperwork. I found out my work location (Hollywood Studios), met one of my trainers and found out my training schedule, and got fingerprinted! (so excited about that last one!)

After Casting I finally got to eat! and I also unpacked some more. At 2:45 I had to go to the Housing meeting. It was pretty much like a res hall meeting but with Disney apartment centered stuff. After the meeting, Mom and I unpacked some more and then went to Target and Walmart. We then went back to the apartment and finshed unpacking/organizing. I stayed with Mom that night because she left the next day. :(

The next day (Tueday) I had to go to a meeting at 12 about the Disney classes. We also got to register early at the end of the meeting. I registered for the Corporate Analysis class. It looks really interesting. The class beasically analyzes Disney as a corporation, which means its all about Disney! :) Not a bad way to get 3 credits for school. The meeting ended up running over by 30 mins so registration ran over by 30 mins. By the time I was finished it was 2 pm and I had to rush back to the hotel to help Mom check out of the hotel.

After she checked out we went to the outlet mall to get me the black shoes I need for my costume. We went to a few different stores but ended up finding a pair at the Naturalizer store. They are all black, no logos, and most importantly comfy!

After we got my shoes I drove Mom to the airport. I navigated with the help of Bossy (the GPS). I am not going to lie, I was a bit sad when she left. I am always like that when I have to take someone to the airport and they are leaving not for a trip but because they live some place else. It is easier when they just drive away because it seems like they could just drive back. For some reason flying seems more final.

Tips for Check-in:
Check in really starts at 8. --- the website LIES!
Have your name on your insurance for your car! ---very important

I am going to do a separate post about Traditions because this one seems to be quite long. Random but... I am about to go to the Magic Kingdom for the first time since being here. YAAAAY!

That is all....
-M