Guest Service Appreciation

I apologize for the lack of blogging today and yesterday. I have been feeling ill and have slept the majority of the day after getting home from work. I worked an early shift today, beginning at 7:30am and ending at 2:00pm. The weather has been very chilly lately, with little signs of getting warmer. Everyday I wake up and say-Hello! I'm waiting for the warm weather! This is Florida! Despite how cold it was this morning, I had a nice thing happen to me today. Before leaving work today, my leader approached me with a slip of paper. He explained to me that I had received a guest service appreciation letter from a person visiting the parks within the past two days. On the slip, the guest wrote what I did to make their trip very magical and how I was a big help to them. I felt so happy that I had helped make someone's day! Not only did it make me happy, but my leader told me that this would go on my permanent record at Disney. If I ever applied for another job, my interviewer would see that I had been awarded this honor. On top of this, because of the recognition, I am now eligible for a drawing to win special prizes at the end of the month. Everyone that received a guest service appreciation slip in the month of January is put into a drawing and may win prizes like merchandise and Disney dollars. I am so glad that I was able to make someone's day very magical!

Earning My Ears

Earning my ears red ribbon that has been taken off of my nametag!

After working for almost three weeks, I finally earned my ears! On my first day of work, I received a red ribbon to place underneath my name tag that would inform guests that I was still in training and might not have the answer to all of their questions. After my lunch break today, I was called into the Disney Photo Imaging Office to participate in the official "earned my ears" ceremony. My leaders ripped off the red ribbon and took pictures to help me remember the day I became an official cast member. I am excited now that I don't have to wear the red ribbon, because guests will think I now know everything there is to know about Disney!

Only in the Disney College Program

"We have to keep in mind, this all started with a mouse." -Walt Disney

WISHES!

The pizza we took home from the party. Each of us took home a box. You have to be resourceful in college! Free food!

Most of the roomies at the Duck Pond Party!

Darkwind Duck was getting a little frisky and Scrooge was not happy.

Duck Pond Party hosted by the Disney College Program!

After a few minutes with the turkey leg. Never will I order one of these again.

Three of the roomies at Blizzard Beach.

Only in the Disney College Program can you:

-Visit Blizzard Beach on January 29th and get a tan

-Go to Blizzard Beach for free (as a cast member), ride all of the slides, and leave in four hours without guilt of not getting my money's worth

-Go to a great college program duck pond party and meet Disney fur characters

-Go to the same party and come home with 7 boxes of pizza

-Leave for Magic Kingdom and ride the VIP cast member bus to the park

-Travel through the underground tunnels underneath Cinderella's Castle to get to Main Street USA

-Arrive at Disney World around 7pm, watch the Spectromagic Parade, ride Space Mountain in 15 minutes, and get a great spot for Wishes, the fireworks show (and again, not feel guilty because we get in for free whenever we want!)

-Sing and hum all of the music to the Wishes show and not feel out of place

-Shop on Main Street USA after the show and receive a great discount on awesome merchandise

-Hang out in Magic Kingdom after it is shut down and talk to other cast members about magical moments that happened throughout the day

-Do all of these things and spend only $20 dollars for the entire day-which consisted of buying a gift at Magic Kingdom and a turkey leg at Blizzard Beach.


These are all wonderful things that happen on a day off in Disney World!

A Taste of the World

Nemo ride-Mine, Mine, Mine, Mine, Mine.

Last picture I have on this ride, Joe Joe was next to me. Can't wait to see you soon!!

My first AND last time on Mission Space. Here is my ticket to prove I went on it. Makes me sick just looking at it.

My favorite ride!!!

End of the show.

I love Fireworks!!!

Illuminations

Wednesday-my day off!! I love Wednesdays. I was able to sleep in and get some errands done this morning. After making a trip to the bank and running/exercising outside, I quickly got ready and headed over to EPCOT for the afternoon and night. It has been a long time since I have been to EPCOT and was able to ride all of the rides. Plus, my absolute favorite ride, Soarin', is in EPCOT!! Since it was a warmer day, I decided to start my day with a Mickey ice cream. I love them! It is very hard to watch people eat them all day at Hollywood Studios when I am working. I always want to steal them. I rode a majority of the attractions, including Mission: Space (the more intense version), Soarin', Honey I shrunk the audience, Nemo, Turtle Talk with Crush, and Spaceship Earth. They were all very fun-except for Mission: Space. Let's just say I had flashbacks of Star Tours, and I now convinced that my body cannot handle simulators. I took a break from the rides and headed over to World Showcase to walk around and do some shopping. It was a beautiful night with clear skies and the stars twinkling brightly. I found a good spot for the Illuminations show and waited for it to begin. Whenever I watch that show, it makes me wish for world peace. My fascination with fireworks is growing with every day I spend at Disney!

Wii Time!

Katie, who knows the Wii, having a good time

I'm trying to ski with Wii Fit!

After a loooong day of work, I came home to exercise and eat dinner. I decided to treat myself to Chick-Fil-A since I have been attempting to save my money while I have been down in Orlando. My roommate, Katie, went with me, and when we got home, almost everyone was back from work. We all decided to turn on Katie's Wii and play a few games. Everyone had a great time playing Wii Fit. She also had another game, Disney Trivia, that we played together and competed to win the title of best Disney cast member. An interesting fact we all learned from the trivia: Did you know that Sebastian (crab from Little Mermaid) makes an appearance in Aladdin? I had no idea! We all had fun relaxing in our apartment from busy days working in the parks.

Night Training

After working during the day for the past two weeks, today we finally learned how to take pictures at night at Hollywood Studios. Along with this training, we learned how to order and print photos in a place called "the view" (our viewing station in the park where guests can view and print their photos). While I was working in the view today, a couple with a 5 year old son came in and wished to view their photos that were taken of their son during the Jedi Training Academy. When I found all the pictures of their son and placed them onto their photopass card, we were able to see them again and determine which prints the parents wanted to buy. I began to play with different borders and stamps to put on the pictures when I suddenly noticed that the mom and dad were tearing up. The mom explained to me that this Star Wars event was the only thing that had made their son happy the entire trip. He had been very sick for a long time and had recently become better a few weeks before leaving for Florida. Essentially, this trip was a big deal for them as they didn't know how long he would be well. I aided them in picking out the best pictures, editting them, and placing them in very special frames. It made me feel honored that I was there to make their day a little better. They expressed their appreciation multiple times, and the mother left the view in tears. I could help but think if the picture I printed for them would be one of the last pictures they would have in Disney World as a family. What a privaledge it is to make someone's day magical.

Florida Sunshine

After a week of unusually cold temperatures, today was the first day the sunshine and warmer weather arrived. After a morning and afternoon of working at the park, I came home in the mid-afternoon and decided to enjoy the beautiful day. In our apartment complex, the pool has a nice sitting area that has oversized chairs and face the opposite side of the pool. Towards the end of the day, the chair face in the direction of the sunset, and it is quite beautiful. I decided to get a smoothie from the smoothie shop down the street and take a book and a journal out to the pool chairs to relax. I began journaling about all of my experiences in college that have led me to this point. I have to say that looking back on it all, God's hand is very apparent in everything. At the time it was hard to see His hand leading me, but now I can vividly pinpoint times and events where He has brought people in my life that have and will change me forever. As I watched the sunset, I was reminded of God's faithfulness in bringing me this far. The sunset is a daily reminder to me that He is in control, and no matter what happened that day, the sun will set and rise again to give another day. I am so thankful for the promises He has given me as one of His children and am glad He chooses to display His grace and power through the beautiful colors of the sunset.

A Magical Moment

The three contestants dancing to the Jordan Sparks music video!

Just like American Idol!

Receiving criticism from the judges...

Here are some pictures I was given on the CD!

We have a special phrase we use for magical things that happen at Disney World. It is called a "magical moment." This could be done with guests, to other fellow cast members, or people working in backstage areas. An example of a magical moment could be as simple as giving a little princess a tinkerbell pin for her lanyard, or replace an ice cream that fell from a prince's hand onto the street for free. My favorite part of the day is watching little faces light up when you give them a special prize to create a magical moment. I also love watching the parent's eyes, as they know that all of the money they are spending to create a wonderful vacation at Disney is worth it. However, not all magical moments have to happen with guests. Today, I was given a magical moment from my fellow cast members at Photopass. As I was eating my lunch alone outside of the office, I turned around to find a majority of the Photopass team behind me. Our leader and coordinator congratulated me for appearing on American Idol and presented me with a wonderful 8X10 of their favorite photo! I was so surprised! We all chatted for a few minutes and took a few pictures to commerate the moment. As everyone was walking away, my leader came up to me and slipped me a photopass cd. He quickly told me that he had burned all of the images from my performance onto a cd! (This was truly special, becuase the photopass cd is usually about $130.00) I felt so special and was really thankful for wonderful cast members that encourage me to do my best at anything I do. They have been so helpful to me and have given me a very magical moment that I will cherish forever!

First Paycheck!

All of my hard work payed off! (bad joke, sorry)

After almost two weeks of working, I finally received my first paycheck from Disney World today! It was pretty good, and it suddenly made everything that I have been doing for the past two weeks not so bad. Since I am a big girl now and have a semi-real job, I have decided to create a budget. Call it my New Year's resolution. I have made a list of how to divide all of my paychecks, which will help me whenever I receive a paycheck to know where to put it.

Work today was good. I am finally starting to get into a schedule, which is nice. However, it is a harsh adjustment to the real world. Unlike college, I can't skip work without receiving a penalty (like I did class) if I don't feel like going. The importance of a good work ethic and a positive attitude are huge in the day-to-day bustle of the work environment. I have made it my goal to smile as much as I can to everyone around me while at work and to try to make everyone feel a little bit better about their day. It makes the day go by faster and always keeps my attitude in check.

American Idol

Fantasmic was amazing!

I wanna be Belle. I won't lie.

Be Our Guest, put our service to the test!

We are afraid to ride the Tower of Terror!

The American Idol Experience

I sure did! My Tag says "Vote for me!"

The anticipation is mounting...did I make it??

What a fun day! After sleeping in this morning, I woke up and got ready to go to the Hollywood Studios for my second day off of work. When I got there, I went straight to the American Idol experience to audition for a spot in the show. I sang for a casting director and a producer, and I was selected to be in the 6:00pm Idol show! All of the casting directors and producers had great things to say, and when I told them I worked at Disney they assummed I was a singer here. When I told them I was a CP (college program) doing photography, they immediately told me to audition for shows and singing here! Our callback was at 4:50pm where we had our hair and makeup professional done and had a 15 minute vocal coaching with a Disney vocal coach. We then were given the stage directions for the show and even had a chance to practice our song before it started. I was the first performer, with two other performer following me. The "judges" had great things to say, telling me that I should audition to be a performer down there. The judges were from various Disney shows-one was the casting director of Beauty and the Beast, another a performer in Disney show, and another a producer for Disney recording labels. The audience voted and the votes were tallied. I didn't officially win, because cast members are not allowed to win. However, when we walked off stage, the host informed me that I had received the most votes! Crazy! Each judge encouraged me to continue to sing and to audition as much as I can while I am down here. It was very nice to get a chance to sing and be reaffirmed in my gifts. During this time, I went on Rock-n-Roller coaster, watched the Beauty and the Beast show, and rode Tower of Terror. I met my roommates and we all watched Fantasmic together. It was amazing! I love how each park at Disney is unique and has its own theme. I had a great day off and was so thankful for a wonderful experience like this one.

A day off!

The huge M&M store at the Florida Mall!

Finally, a day off!! This was my first day off of work since I have moved to Orlando. I slept in with the thought of setting an alarm clock. After waking up, I decided to make a plan for the day with my roommates. Some of my roommates and I ended up going to the Florida Mall in Orlando to shop for the day. We looked around in the different stores and had a great time escaping the Disney atmosphere for a little while. When we walked into Dillards and Macy's, we were surprised to receive a free full sized tub of moisterizer from Clinique! They were giving them away after a settlement that was reached between the companies about the costmetics. After shopping for a little bit, we went back to the apartment to relax. I took a little nap, exercised, and went grocery shopping. Let's just say I learned a lesson about grocery shopping in Orlando. NEVER go to Walmart after the parks close unless you like to wait in line for an hour. Things are different in bigger cities! After getting back to the apartment, I watched the movie the Pursuit of Happyness with a few of my roommates to end the night. Not much of an exciting day in Orlando, but definitely relaxing and restful-which is what I needed. I can't wait for the temperature to warm up so I can relax by the pool!

The Boardwalk

Just a little midnight snack...

Jackie, my roommate, and me at the Boardwalk!

All the roommates at the Disney Boardwalk!

Beautiful Boardwalk sign lit up.

After a week of waking up very early, I had my last day of getting to work by 7:30am this morning. Work today consisted of a park tour, which was geared to allow any cast member that is new to Hollywood Studios to get a sneak peak and learn some great trivia about the history and stories of the park. It was very interesting, but on the other hand, very chilly. I know you are all thinking, "Oh Megan, it is in the single digits for temperatures up here in the north. What do you have to complain about?!" It seems silly, but when you move to Florida, you expect warmer temperatures. Everything is built for enjoying outside and nature, so it makes it hard to stay out in the cold and work in the parks for hours at a time. However, I am still enjoying my job very much. After I got home from work, I had a quick exercise and joined my roommates to go to the Disney Boardwalk. It was amazing at night! We had a great time hanging out, getting great food, and talking all night. I am so greatful for good roommates who like to have fun.

Shopping Time!

Starlight, starbright, first star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight.

Being a Disney photographer is improving my skills.

I found real jewelry that each of the Disney princesses wear in the movies!

The Confectionery that has the best rice krispie treats!

Main Street USA right before the Specktromagic Parade. It is so beautiful!

Since I have been here at Disney, I have heard about all of the amazing perks we receive as Cast Members. One of the biggest is our discount on merchandise in the stores at the parks! We receive a HUGE discount on anything we buy until the middle of February, and I intend to take full advantage of it! After an early morning shift at work, I decided to go home and run outside in the wonderful 72 degree weather. It was truly a beautiful day-sunshine and not a cloud in the sky. I picked up my roommate, Katie, and we headed to Magic Kingdom to do some shopping and hang out in the parks. When we got there, we went from shop to shop on main street, looking in all of the stores with their unique gifts. I loved the Jim Shore Disney characters and the Disney portraits of the princesses. They are beautiful! However, my favorite store on main street is the confectionery. It is the best candy store in the world! I love going in and looking at all of the mickey treats and goodies-it makes me feel like a little kid! Katie and I stayed to watch the fireworks show, Wishes, again. I will never grow tired of watching the fireworks. It is truly a magical experience. I am so blessed to live in the sunshine!

All in a Day's work

Megan works custodial at Magic Kingdom!

Shannon works custodial at Hollywood Studios!

Demonstrating the Disney point-with two fingers, always.

Jackie works as a hostess at Saratoga Springs!

Katie works food and beverage at Magic Kingdom!

Katie's second outfit, where she will wear when she works in Tomorrowland.

PHOTOPASS!!! (imagine a huge camera hanging on my neck)

Today was my first day working on the job. I was out on the streets of Hollywood Studios taking pictures and talking to guests all day! It was so much fun! I am so blessed to have a decent job in the college program. Everyone is always happy to get their picture taken, and I know that I am creating a lifelong memory for them. Plus-I found out that I will be making about $1.50 more an hour than the college program originally told me! Exciting! During work today, I met a couple that lived right down the street from me in Anderson, and a man that grew up in a house very near my neighborhood in Butler. What a small world! After a wonderful dinner that Jackie made (chicken alfredo with a spinach salad-she makes the dressing homemade!) I finally convinced some of my roommates to dress up in their costumes and take pictures of what they would look like working in the parks. Please, do not judge. We look like this so that we might make your day magical.