What a day! It has been extremely intense, but I am loving it.
At 4am I was up and out the door. I even bet the sprinklers today so was able to walk the quick way to the bus stop in the dead of the night. Somehow managed to run out of time for breakfast though so ate a muesli bar on the bus. Ashton was on my bus too so once at the park we headed inside together, along with another girl Lauren who had her first day training on Under the Sea as well..
I'm not sure if I explained earlier but we get a bus from the apartments to an area called Westclock which is close to Magic Kingdom (MK) and then have to switch to another bus which takes College Programmers (CPs) as well as all other staff who have driven to work into the park.
We met in the Fantasyland training room and as our bus had got us there about 20 minutes early we could relax for a bit. Lauren and I were taken by the same instructor today. Her name was Ashley. We were shown the break room and the lockers we can use etc. We have our own clock-in computer so don't have to use the general one in the utilidors. We also have our own entrance so won't necessarily need to go through the utilidors each day to get to our rides. We can get off a stop earlier on the park bus and avoid the hoards of workers entering at the same time.
It was still the middle of the night when arrived so the maintenance workers still had control of the ride. This meant we were not allowed to go in the ride yet. We went outside and started working on one of the checklists which are done each morning to check the attraction is in working order. It was chilly chilly and we had to wear orange safety vests so the truck drivers wouldn't run us over. Our uniforms have big polar fleece coats which we can wear inside and out as we wish- thank goodness.
The day went by very quickly even though it was 8.5 hours. It all merged into a blur, but we got to learn things like the controls on each position, how to greet people out the front, how the ride phones work, how to slow the moving belt for assisting guests, we got to walk through the ride before opening and get it all show ready, we had to check all the emergency doors were working etc. There is so much to remember and I hope that our three days training is enough to learn it all and remember it all.
We had to do some reading this morning as part of the training. I am not going to lie... I fell asleep a few times while doing it. I thought, right - when I get home I just need to sleep. This was further enforced when I got on the bus home this afternoon and fell asleep 4 times!
After our shift I popped into costuming to pick up another 2 matching costumes for my role so the one I have doesn't get disgusting and dirty.
All the workers on Under the Sea seem really lovely. There is one other kiwi there called Natasha and she is from Rotorua. Sam's friend Briar also used to work on this ride- must be a kiwi magnet!
The role also involves being positioned in the Grotto where guests can come and meet Ariel.
I got home this afternoon and wanted to have a quick nap before heading to the Up! themed welcome party. I lay down, and didn't wake until 10.30pm. Eeek, missed the party completely. Oh well, sleep was much more important than meeting the characters.
That reminds me, I saw Minnie and Daisy backstage today- we waved at them and they curtsied for us!
I've slept for about 5 and a half hours this afternoon. I was tempted to sleep right through until my shift in the morning but I decided I needed to get up and have some dinner, shower, and make my lunch for tomorrow.
However our toilet overflowed last night so that is out if order, and the shower is not draining either so there is a inch of water sitting in the base of the shower. Ergh. I wasn't very keen on washing in a pool of dirty water so Stacey and Missy very kindly let me use their shower. It was heaven!
I've got to make my lunch now but then will be straight back into bed.
I have a feeling that blogs may start to slow from this point in as I reckon some days I might not have the power to pull myself from my sleep!
Keep on swimming,
Mermaid Polly xxoo
At 4am I was up and out the door. I even bet the sprinklers today so was able to walk the quick way to the bus stop in the dead of the night. Somehow managed to run out of time for breakfast though so ate a muesli bar on the bus. Ashton was on my bus too so once at the park we headed inside together, along with another girl Lauren who had her first day training on Under the Sea as well..
I'm not sure if I explained earlier but we get a bus from the apartments to an area called Westclock which is close to Magic Kingdom (MK) and then have to switch to another bus which takes College Programmers (CPs) as well as all other staff who have driven to work into the park.
We met in the Fantasyland training room and as our bus had got us there about 20 minutes early we could relax for a bit. Lauren and I were taken by the same instructor today. Her name was Ashley. We were shown the break room and the lockers we can use etc. We have our own clock-in computer so don't have to use the general one in the utilidors. We also have our own entrance so won't necessarily need to go through the utilidors each day to get to our rides. We can get off a stop earlier on the park bus and avoid the hoards of workers entering at the same time.
It was still the middle of the night when arrived so the maintenance workers still had control of the ride. This meant we were not allowed to go in the ride yet. We went outside and started working on one of the checklists which are done each morning to check the attraction is in working order. It was chilly chilly and we had to wear orange safety vests so the truck drivers wouldn't run us over. Our uniforms have big polar fleece coats which we can wear inside and out as we wish- thank goodness.
The day went by very quickly even though it was 8.5 hours. It all merged into a blur, but we got to learn things like the controls on each position, how to greet people out the front, how the ride phones work, how to slow the moving belt for assisting guests, we got to walk through the ride before opening and get it all show ready, we had to check all the emergency doors were working etc. There is so much to remember and I hope that our three days training is enough to learn it all and remember it all.
We had to do some reading this morning as part of the training. I am not going to lie... I fell asleep a few times while doing it. I thought, right - when I get home I just need to sleep. This was further enforced when I got on the bus home this afternoon and fell asleep 4 times!
After our shift I popped into costuming to pick up another 2 matching costumes for my role so the one I have doesn't get disgusting and dirty.
All the workers on Under the Sea seem really lovely. There is one other kiwi there called Natasha and she is from Rotorua. Sam's friend Briar also used to work on this ride- must be a kiwi magnet!
The role also involves being positioned in the Grotto where guests can come and meet Ariel.
I got home this afternoon and wanted to have a quick nap before heading to the Up! themed welcome party. I lay down, and didn't wake until 10.30pm. Eeek, missed the party completely. Oh well, sleep was much more important than meeting the characters.
That reminds me, I saw Minnie and Daisy backstage today- we waved at them and they curtsied for us!
I've slept for about 5 and a half hours this afternoon. I was tempted to sleep right through until my shift in the morning but I decided I needed to get up and have some dinner, shower, and make my lunch for tomorrow.
However our toilet overflowed last night so that is out if order, and the shower is not draining either so there is a inch of water sitting in the base of the shower. Ergh. I wasn't very keen on washing in a pool of dirty water so Stacey and Missy very kindly let me use their shower. It was heaven!
I've got to make my lunch now but then will be straight back into bed.
I have a feeling that blogs may start to slow from this point in as I reckon some days I might not have the power to pull myself from my sleep!
Keep on swimming,
Mermaid Polly xxoo
Ps, I saw Peter Pan backstage at work yesterday. He gave me a smile and melted my heart. I'm in love. And don't worry, I've told Mana- he said if needed he will come over to stop any connection which is super likely to eventuate.