Day 9 - Haunted Training (spooky)

Another early morning today, and in costume! (see pic below for example).
Information overload as I learnt the first 4 of about 10 different positions on the ride. But I got to actually run a few room runs (opening the door and ushering the guests through the first part of the ride) and also worked at Load (loading guests, right! onto the Doom Buggies). This is tricky as you have to walk sideways on a moving floor!
My trainer said I did ok, and I have 2 more days of on the job training before my assessment, so wish me luck!

The costume is quite classy, especially compared to some of the other over-the-top cast costumes at disney world. It might be hot in the summer though!

Have a Magical Day!

Day 7 & 8 Guest Training

Day 7 - My first 2 days of full training meant I had to be up really early to catch a 6 o'clock bus to the Disney University. The first day's class was called 'Once Upon a Time is.... Now!" Which was a morning of introduction to the Magic Kingdom Park, which we went to before opening - empty park! (see pic), followed by an afternoon of area specific training and riding rides. My area is known as Adventureland/Liberty Square.

This was the day that I FINALLY found out which attraction I will be working, and it is.... The Haunted Mansion mwahaha! I was sooo relieved because Jungle Cruise is also located in this area and I was truly dreading having to learn a huge long spiel, as well as driving the boats! But Mansion is a bit easier to do and, like the Cruise, is also a really special ride, as it was one of the rides that Walt Disney had a hand in creating (ie the original in Disneyland).

Day 8 - this day was a morning of online e-learning. It wasn't too bad and covered a lot of stuff about safety - OH&S type policies & procedures.
There was also a bit of playing in the park in the afternoon (ie more rides!) and we got to see the parade from a choice location in the shade. I love the parade!

Have a Magical Day!

Day 6 Animal Kingdom

This was a day off for me as well as a bunch of other ICPers, so we went over to the Animal Kingdom park. This is by far the largest of the theme parks in Florida and is a cross between a zoo, a safari park and a theme park. We went to see a couple of the shows here, the Festival of the Lion King and Nemo, the Musical. These were both amazing with music and colour and pagentry. 

We then went back to the housing complexes as there was a welcome event on for all the CPs and ICPs who had arrived this week. There was free pizza, snacks and soft drinks, as well as dancing and games to win prizes. I won a lunch sized cooler bag at a bean bag toss, whohoo... and I finaly got to meet up with my American facebook friend. But the really exciting part was that Pirate Mickey came to visit!

Pirate Mickey and me

So I had a Magical Day, hope you did too! 

Day 5 - Traditions

Traditions is a class all new disney cast members must attend and it is usually the first paid day with the company (finally getting some cash flow!) We had to be up really early to get the bus for the 8am-1pm class held at Disney University.
This class introduces the Disney values and company expectations of cast conduct, as well as providing an overview of the company's history and heritage. It is also an excuse to provide a bit of fun and magic!
We got to take a quick walk through the Magic Kingdom park and we played a great game amongst the tables, identifying as many Disney characters as possible in 90 minutes (which, of course, our table won). There were also various trivia type questions thrown out over the 5 hours we were there. If you answered correctly or won a game you were given a little character figure, apparently these are quite sought after and I got the complete set of 5! Yay me! Here they are with my Disney nametag which I received on the day from Mickey himself!

As well as receiving our nametags we were also given our Cast IDs which meant....  we could get into the parks!
So of course we went straight to Magic Kingdom and spent 6 hours going on rides, eating junk, watching parades and generally having a good time. To top it off we watched the evening fireworks spectacular, Wishes.

Have a Magical day!

Day 1 to Day 4

Hi All,

So check-in has been spread over 4 days, which has been a nice slow pace but has meant that we have really had to wait a long time to get our Housing and Park IDs and find out our work locations etc.
The crew who stayed at Pop Century hotel all caught a shuttle taxi over to Vista Way on Saturday 22/1 where we watched a little presentation and were given some paperwork and our apartment keys.



Sonia, Ella, Sarah, Loren, Jill, Matt, Narelle & Jess


Then we were taken to our apartments where we could chose our rooms and meet up with our flat mates. I am in a 2 bedroom place on the top floor (3rd, no lifts..) with 3 girls from New Zealand, they are all really nice and I think we'll get along fine:)

So the next day (Sunday) was a day off, which we used doing Walmart shopping and Downtown Disney wandering in the evening.

Monday was meetings, paperwork and lots of dire warnings about why you will be terminated from the program (mostly underage drinking, so no problems for me there!). Today, Day 4, there is a meeting this afternoon where I should find out which part of Magic Kingdom I will be working in my role in attractions... Can't wait!

So have a magical day... totally!

1 Day!!!!!!!!

This post is late sorry but still wanted to put it out!

One of my good friends gave me a farewell card which said she liked that I was quirky and unpredictable. Which made me laugh but also made me think that really everything in life is unpredictable, you just never know what's around the corner. Sometimes good things and sometimes not so good. People say the only really predictable thing in life is death & taxes but I disagree, so today here is

1 truely predictable thing in life

1.  the surety of God's love for us.


Have a really magical day (and wish me luck for tomorrow!)

2 Days!!!

While I am here on the program I hope to take a couple of the classes offered through the Disney University, I don't have to take them for credit like some of the American college kids do, but I would like to learn while I'm here and get to earn a "Mousters" or "Ducktorate" degree. So here are

2 Disney classes I would like to take

1. Exploring Guest Services
2. Disney Heritage


So I finally arrived in Florida. It is really sunny and today has been quite hot for winter - t-shirt and shorts even! I met up with a couple of other Aussie girls who are doing the ICP program and are staying at my hotel too - Pop Century. This resort is amazing, with 3 pool areas and massive icons from the 50's through to the 90's in themed areas. The big food court and massive merchandise store are fascinating, the food is weird (but I did find a banana for breakfast!) I keep seeing things I want to buy but am waiting for my staff discount (so no toys for me yet!)
The Aussie girls and I spent the afternoon exploring Downtown Disney and came across a number of the fun Disney statues they have there, I found the Buzz one and got to press his buttons!

Have a magical day!

3 Days!!!

Today I fly out to Orlando on a 22+ hour trip. 3 days to check-in, it is getting quite real now and hopefully all will go smoothly. I am truly looking forward to seeing the 3 different fireworks spectaculars while at Disney (you just can't really call them shows, they are too over the top and magical!) So here are

The 3 Disney Firework Spectaculars I will see at WDW

1. Wishes at Magic Kingdom
2. Illuminations at EPCOT
3. Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios (see pic below)

Have a magical day (but think of me stuck on the plane!)

4 Days!!!

In the Magic Kingdom Park at WDW they have a fascinating store called the Mad Hatter's Shop, which sells all sorts of Disney themed hats. In 2008 on the family trip to Disneyland in California, I purchased a Mickey Mouse ears hat like the Mouskateers used to wear, but there are a number of other hats I would like to add to my hat collection. Since there are only 4 days till check-in, here are

4 Disney hats I would like to own

1. The Mad Hatter's hat (from the animated movie not the Tim Burton remake)
2. The Sorcerer's Apprentice hat (like Mickey's one)
3. An authentic Toy Story Woody hat
4. Pirate Mickey ears!! (see pic below)

With these hats I will be able to go to lots of fancy dress parties (so I guess I will have to plan to have some parties in the next few years!)

Have a magical day!

5 Days!!!

Only 5 days!! I'm getting a bit excited (well a lot actually) as I am leaving for the States in 2 days and will be staying at Disney's Pop Century Hotel for a couple of days to aclimatize and meet up with a few other ICP participants. I'm relly looking forward to staying here as it is amazingly well themed for Disney movies and Iconic toys of the past (see images below).
This is just 1 of many resorts and hotels Disney has on its Walt Disney World property and I'm keen to visit as many as possible. Here then are

5 Disney resorts I would like to visit

1. Grand Floridian
2. All Star Movies Resort
3. Wilderness Lodge
4. Polynesian (you can sit on the beach here and watch the fireworks!)

5. Animal Kingdom Lodge (the restaurant here looks out over the Savannah areas of the AK park, so you can see all the animals).

pics care of Darren W on Flickr



Have a magical day!

6 Days!!!

You may be surprised to hear this but there are a number of non-Disney places I would like to visit while I am living and working at Walt Disney World! My list of off-property excursions so far include

6 places I would like to visit in Florida

1. World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios (Can't wait to try the Butterbeer)
2. Kennedy Space Centre and Launchpad
3. Daytona Raceway
4. Miami Beach

5. The Florida Keys ( I want to drive over the massive bridges - but not during a storm!)

6. Dry Tortugas National Park (see pic below and then google it, you will be impressed I promise)

©2006 National Park Services



Have a Magcal Day!

7 Days!!!

One of my favourite things to do in the Disney Parks is to meet all the characters! My husband trys to tell me "it's just a person in a suit", but there's magic at Disney so I know the truth!! So here are

7 Disney characters I can't wait to meet (and get a photo & autograph to prove it).

1. Mickey Mouse
2. Belle
3. Pluto
4. Winne the Pooh
5. Tigger
6. Robin Hood
7. Baloo

Actually to tell the truth I really want to meet them all and I might spend some days in the parks just hunting them down!

Here's one I prepared earlier of me and Dale:

 Have a magical day!

8 Days!!

Yes I know this is a day late but yesterday was hectic with having my farewell party (thanks girls you were great and VERY helpful), which was wonderful but sad at the same time, so many goodbyes!!!
I realized just how much I am going to miss everything while I am away. So for today here are

8 things I will really miss while I'm in Florida

1. My Husband (for everything)
2. My kids (even though they are grown up they will always be kids to me!)
3. My parents (even though I am grown up I will always be a kid to them!)
4. All my wonderful family and friends
5. Merlin my cat (he gives such good cuddles)
6. Rocky the dog (such a good boy)
7. My car (I won't have a vehicle in the states and I know I am going to miss just hopping in the car whenever - please girls take GOOD care of it!)
8. And would you believe I am really going to miss my job, I know sad right? But it is a really good job with great people and fun times.

I'm sure there are other things I will miss when I'm there, such as proper chocolate, vegemite, weetbix etc (notice these are all food related!) but not as much as those I've listed above.

Have a magical day

9 Days!!

Today is my last day of work before heading off to Florida next week, so here are

9 Disney World restaurants I would like to eat in

1. Cinderella's Table (character dining inside the castle)
2. Pecos Bills
3. Main Street Bakery
4. Pizzafari
5. The Rose & Crown (The EPCOT English Pub)
6. Via Napoli
7. Pinocchio Village House
8. Le Cellier Steakhouse
9. Beaches & Cream (to eat the Kitchen Sink pictured below)

So much ice cream and cake and chocolate fudge and cream and toppings and sprinkles that I will need help to finish it I think!

10 Days!!

There are only 10 days to go before I check-in to the Walt Disney World International College Program! So in honour of this momentous occassion here are

 10 Rides I Can't Wait to Go On:


1. Pirates of the Caribbean
2. Jungle Cruise
3. The Tiki Room
4. Peter Pan's Flight
5. Splash Mountain
6. Toy Story Mania
7. Walt Disney World Railroad
8. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
9. Expedition Everest
10. Big Thunder Mountain


It has taken many months to get to this day, I first applied to the program mid 2010 and had my phone interview with a Disney recruiter at some ungodly hour of the morning! Luckily I only had to wait a week to receive my Congratulations email offering me a position in attractions, although I won't know which attraction I will be working at until I get to Florida.

These next ten days are really busy, I will be finishing up at work and handing over (I have been able to take extended leave so will have my wonderful job to return to when I get back in July! So lucky:)) 
I am having a farewell in a couple of days so have been organising everything for that (it is fancy dress "come as your favourite Disney character", which should be hilarious) as well as trying to sort out what to take with me to the States.
 So.....LET IT BEGIN....

   

Have a magical day:)