Dan@Disney

Apologies for another 2 week post gap but as I will explain I have been pretty busy the last few weeks.

Last week I basically did something different to what I was scheduled almost every day of the week. Monday my Beer Cart became Stocker, Tuesday my Chippy became Podium. Wedesday I was called in early for my GT shit, Thursday I actually got to do Beer Cart/Stocker training and Friday I was Assigning. Our full time Assigner is on vacation at the moment and had been scheduled to train someone of the Saturday and asked if I would pick it up. I really enjoyed the opportunity to train Assigning, it is nice to be able to pass on a few tips and tricks and I think Assigners are better when they have had a couple of different people teaching them since everyone has their own style. A 6th day of overtime with Assigner and Training premiums was also not a bad addition to the paycheck!

After I finished training I got back to Commons at 22.01 and managed to run back to block 28, which takes about 5 minutes, get showered, changed and eat and be in a taxi to Cowboys by 22.30. I was pretty impressed with myself. You really have to love the ridiculousness of CRP life sometimes, where else in the world would you be rushing out to a club after an 11 hour shift finishing at 9.30?!

On Sunday I went to MK with Lesley, Craig, Bailey and Sam. It is rare that we are all off together these days and it was really nice to spend some proper time together.

Monday I was assigning again after I picked up a shift. It was a pretty hellish night with lots of tables waiting far too long but I was very pleased when a party of 6 who had waited a long time and who I had arranged with a manager to get free Appetizers to compensate came back to me at the end of their meal and thanked me for looking after them. It is nice to know that the effort we put in to improve guests less than magical experiences is appreciated.

Tuesday turned in to my 4th Assigner shift in a row when the Assigner called in. This was really the start of my less than great week. I had another not great shift where by the end of the night I just wanted the day to end! I did get some great news though, I am going to be the Core Trainer for podium which means I am going to help one of my managers re-design some of our training and help improve the standard of guest service that we are providing to guests at the podium.

On Wednesday I was supposed to be GTing with a shift starting at 4pm but I got a call from my Area Manager about 9am asking me to come in early as one of our Coordinators had called in.  This ended up turning in to a 12 hour GT shift with just a 45 minute break due to the workload. At the end of the night I was also asked to start at 9.30am the next morning. This meant I got back to commons about 1am and had to be back on a bus at 7.45am. Needless to say I was not in the best mood.

Thankfully I only had to work 5 hours the next day and managed to get ERd as soon as the PM coordinator and GT got in. It did mean that I got to play at being Coordinator for the morning though which was a great experience to see what they have to do, it is definitely something I would love the chance to get to try again although perhaps with access to CDS next time so that I can make sure people are actually getting their breaks! In the evening a few of us went to Bahama Breeze for food where we got fairly bad service and I had to take almost my entire Entree home after I filled up on massive appetizer – whoops!

On Friday I had a lovely Chippy training shift with a great Trainee which was a nice relaxing end to a less than perfect week. In the evening we planned to go to TGIs for food but were told it would be a 40 minute wait for a table so we ended up going to Buffalo Wild Wings instead. It was nice, cheap food with some great UK and Canadian company, just what I needed to remind me of all the good things about being out here.

Saturday I was off and Lesley and I headed out to Downtown where I got my first Earl of Sandwich of this program before we went over to the Boardwalk and Epcot for more food and shopping. After hiding in the American pavilion from a storm we headed back to the Commons for a chill out evening.

Today I got up fairly early to go to MK to buy Tables in Wonderland for when my parents get here. Our dining discounts are blocked out until September so for $90 I could buy TIW which gives a 20% discount right now. Since there are 6 of us going out for 4 meals the 20% will be more than $90 making it well worth it. Plus I get to keep it to get discounts on Alcohol for the rest of the year. Anyone with family coming out this month should really consider it. After I got back I jumped in a taxi with Lesley, Craig and Katy and we went for lunch at the Olive Garden on iDrive. We once again had pretty rubbish service but the food was delicious, I will definitely be going back although I repeated my error of ordering an Appetizer for about 4 people just for myself. I will know better for next time. When we got back we went around to Katy’s to start watching the build up to the Closing Ceremony of the Olympics and tonight I am heading back to HOB for the first time in ages.

I also got some more great news on the schedule this morning. I have got extra time off when my parents are here than what I was originally told which means I am out of the Pavilion for 9 days from next weekend. The only shift I have is a 4 hour class at Disney U early on the Monday morning. I am so pleased that I get to spend some quality time with the family while they are here.

Scroll Down for another archive post after the break

We got through 4th July week in one piece and everyone expected it to start getting really busy  as summer vacations around the world began but it has actually been a really quiet week possibly because of how the 4th fell and possibly because with Test Track closed Epcot is not as busy as it normally would be but either way it has been pretty slow at work.

Sunday was my day off and after a very nice lie-in Lesley and I went to Hollywood Studios to find pretty long waits for the major rides and thousands of Brazilian Tour Groups. I don’t think I have explained the tour groups before but during July and August large groups of South American teenagers come over on organised trips to Disney and usually wear matching brightly coloured T-shirts. They tend to move in big groups and make a lot of noise which can make them a bit of a nuisance on occasion especially when you are trying to get around the parks nice and quickly. We managed a few of the minor rides including the Great Movie Ride and we watched the Lights, Motors, Action show before we came back to the Commons to help Sam move her stuff in to her new one-bedroom apartment. In the evening I went to HOB with Sam, Lesley, Jaci and Emily which turned in to a bit of a drunken night after Sam gave us shots of 100% proof alcohol before we left – much fun was had by all though and I actually felt surprisingly good the next morning!

On Monday I was back training in Chippy where it was once again really slow and quiet but my trainees were on their third day so they had pretty much got the hang of it by this point. Sian and Lesley asked if I wanted to go to MK after work which seemed like a nice plan. Unfortunately we did not get out of closing Chippy until almost 10 which meant I had to run to get changed and missed the last monorail so had to get the bus meaning I missed Wishes and got to MK just in time to eat some food and ride Pirates and Space Mountain before the park closed.

Tuesday I was meant to be training Chippy again but I instead got moved over to Podium for a fairly standard seating shift where I spent most of the time bussing tables for Janet. After work I got home and was knackered and hungry but I could not summon up the energy to walk over to McDonalds to get food. Luckily Sam text that she was going over there and did anyone want a lift from the Commons – lifesaver! We got takeaway and went to Emily’s to eat it while we discussed plans for trips during August. We agreed a date and I put a request to get the time off which was of course denied so we shall see what happens – the others put requests in too so we will have to wait and see what works out. It is hard to get time off on podium but once the others are in to service it should be much easier for them to switch their shifts around because they have less scheduling restrictions.

On Wednesday night Sam was hosting a little party to celebrate moving in to her new apartment but I was on my final GT training shift which meant I did not get out of work until Midnight so I only caught the last hour or so. Sam insisted that I have two more of the 100% proof shots as soon as I arrived so I fairly quickly caught up with their drunken antics. Having finished my 3 training shifts though means I am now officially a trained GT at the Rose & Crown and hopefully I should get a shift or two in the near future. It is nice to be able to do something different although I don’t want to do it too often as the midnight/1am finishes are not great for a social life.

On Thursday I had a lovely AM Beer Cart shift. Those shifts are great as they are just 7 hours and you spend the first hour setting up the cart and then you get a 45 minute break and you usually bank out around 5 meaning you have a pretty easy day. In the evening Emily had planned a little party for the new arrivals (or the new new new newbies as they seem to be being called) – it was really nice to get to meet them before they get in to the pavilion although looking at the schedule it does not look like I am going to be training many of them thanks to lots of Assigner shifts. I really hope we keep doing meet and greets like those for the new arrivals as I hope it makes arriving in the pavilion a little bit easier if there are a few friendly faces around.

Friday was my standard Assigning shift which all went a bit pear-shaped late in the evening when I ended up a Server down due to injury which pulled the numbers for the evening down a bit. I hate not making the budget when I am assigning even though it is often not my fault. When I got home I was knackered and ended up just crawling in to bed and sleeping.

Yesterday I was back on seating again but I actually spent most of the day greeting (my favourite position on podium) and I had some really lovely guests who chatted for ages. When we are quiet we have plenty of time to talk to guests which is nice. One guest even offered that I could stay with them in upstate New York if I ever visited. Another guest told me I was the nicest Cast Member they had met in Disney which brightened up my day. After work I came home and chilled out for a while before heading to Cowboys with a nice contingent of the UK. I think I am falling in love with Cowboys, it is just so chilled out and fun although I am going to have to give it a miss next week as I am working too late to get there.

I finally have a 5 day week next week so I have 2 days off in a row now, looking forward to some nice chill out time and the chance to finally do some proper shopping and tidying of my room.