Dan@Disney

In my last post I said how crazy life in the Disney CRP can be – the last week has pretty much proved that!

On Friday I had a really fun greeting shift where I had some of the nicest guests I have ever met. The park was fairly busy but nothing too crazy which meant that time flew by. By the end of the day I was pretty knackered and I just ended up crashing out at the end of the day.

Saturday was a bit insane. I was on Chippy registers and Epcot was hosting the world championship dance competition and the Wide World of Sports was hosting the world cheerleading competition which meant there were quite a lot of people in the park. Due to some call-ins and the park being a little busier than I think had been expected at several points in the day I ended up as the only register with a nice long line. Since it was also EMH by the end of the evening Craig and I were inside doing both registers and filling and we were pretty busy right up until we closed. With the insanity of the day I was terrified that my register would be off but I was only out less than 20c on a fairly hefty sum of money. I again got home and just crashed out with tiredness although now with a new roommate – Luca from Italy who has finally moved in to the empty bed in my room.

Sunday was my day off and I was in desperate need of a haircut. I decided to head to the Contemporary where we can get a cut in the guest Salon for $15 but when I finally got there I discovered it is closed on Sundays. Fail. I knew there was another one at the Grand Floridian so I jumped on the Monorail and thankfully that one was open and I could walk straight in and got a really nice haircut for a very reasonable price – I will definitely be back. Once I was done I jumped back on the Monorail to the Contemporary and went to the Contempo Cafe to grab some lunch – their Flatbreads are amazing. When I went to pay the CM asked if I was a cast member and told me we get a discount there – I totally forgot to ask! Great news as I love eating there. Sian and Lesley text to say they were going to Typhoon Lagoon but since I was not dressed for it and on the other side of the ‘World’ I said I would try and join them later. In the end I did not quite make it as I got a bit distracted with other stuff back at the apartment. In the evening we went to HOB where we had to say goodbye to Jon Roscoe who had been termed by housing – sad news for everyone, he will be missed by a lot of people.

Monday I was back to work and was meant to be on Podium but due to Jon being termed and other people self-terming I was moved to Chippie registers for what turned out to be a fairly boring shift as the park was very quiet.

Tuesday I was back in Chippie again for another quiet shift. In the evening the UK had organised midnight Kickball at the Disney softball pitches. There were 3 taxis full of people going and it was so much fun. Kickball is basically softball but played with a Soccer Ball with the ‘batsman’ kicking instead of using a bat. Every team I was on won, I would love to say I was the contributing factor but I fear that was probably not the case! I had a great night although the lack of a proper warm up left my pretty achey by the end. Hopefully we can play again next week where I fully intend to be much, much fitter. Playing sport with friends at 2am when it is still 20 degrees having just finished an 8 hour shift at work is yet another slightly surreal experience that could really only happen in the program.

On Wednesday I was finally back on Podium where I had a nice seating shift and we got out of Chippie by 9:40 thanks to some speedy cleaning and speedy checking by Janet. In the evening Sam drove Lesley, Jaci and I to Perkins at Crossroads where we met Craig, Emily and Sian for some 11pm Breakfast delights. French Toast late at night is never a bad idea!

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Life as a Disney CRP can be pretty crazy. We work hard and then we come home and play hard. I have not got to bed before 2am any night and I am usually up by 10am. Can I complain though? Definitely not – life here is so much fun and there is always something to do whatever you are in to.

I was off last Wednesday and Thursday and did Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom with Craig. We got loads done in both parks since they are really quiet right now and nothing has a crazy wait time.

On Thursday night we had arranged to meet the girls, UK and Canadian, at Downtown Disney to watch American Reunion after they had all finished work. The show was at 10.40. I got there really early and did a bit of shopping before meeting up with Sam Sainsbury and co who were having some drinks in Raglan Road. When Craig arrived we went to AMC to wait for the girls who it turned out were still waiting for a bus from the Boardwalk to Downtown. In the end we cut it really fine and just got into the screen in time for the film to start after we basically threw money and our Disney IDs at the cashier. It was pretty funny and the company wasn’t too bad either! The highlight of the evening has to be Sam running across the DTD parking lot to hold the bus only to get there and find that it was waiting for 10 minutes as it was early anyway.

Friday was my first EMH shift of this program and I was in Chippy. It was really quiet, spring break is over and after the fireworks we barely served any guests. At least EMH in F&B is not too bad and we are done by just after 11pm – much better than the crazy MK times of my last program. After I got home I just went to bed and crashed.

On Saturday I was finally back on podium although I ended up stocking due to call ins – it was a fun shift and I managed to change 14 kegs without any problems which I was pretty pleased about. I did not have too many frantic radio calls which I hope meant I did at least an OK job. During my break I spoke to Whitnie about doing Assigner training so hopefully I will be able to do that within a few weeks, a nice chance to try something new. I finished the night in Chippy as ever and we were out super early, which was a nice surprise. We had planned to go round to Lesley for Chinese but we were too late to order so we resorted to our standard Dominos pizza order – her housemate even commented on our obese eating habits, awkward.

I managed to get back to podium on Sunday and Mr B, one of our coordinators, asked if I would extend to close. A few extra hours pay is always nice so I agreed. I had a really fun shift and spent most of it bussing tables for the servers who were really weeded or just needed a helping hand – most people object to bussing since it is the servers job but I reckon that if we do a bit of bussing for them we get people in faster which makes life on podium nicer for everyone. At the end of the night I got a Great Service Fanatic card from Whitnie for helping my fellow cast members – was pretty pleased with that. We spent the evening at Craig’s for a few quiet drinks.

On Monday I had a nice early shift on Chippy Tills and finished at 6. I had arranged a meeting with a manager from Disney who I knew from my previous programs and those in the know will know the outcome – not something I want to put the details of here at the moment but suffice it to say I had a good evening. I did not get back till late so missed Lads but when I arrived back at my apartment a Mexican party was in full swing – it was broken up by security just as I got back. My apartment was not in too bad a state and by the next day they had cleaned up after themselves pretty well – I was very impressed.

Tuesday was my Friday and I had a closing shift on podium. I met some of the nicest guests I have ever seen. They wanted a table but we were not taking walk-ins so the gentleman said he would wait in the bar and could I wave at him through the window if we started taking them again. An hour or so later I got his attention and got him checked in – he even offered me a $5 tip (which I refused of course). It turned out they had dined at the Rose & Crown on their honeymoon and were now returning for their 28th wedding anniversary. We managed to get them fireworks viewing on Lower Deck and I even managed to seat them myself when Mel took over greeter. They were so nice and patient, if they ever read this, unlikely as that is – guys you made my week! I also got to do the rope for Illuminations, it separated our private viewing area from general viewing, and met a really nice family who wanted to know all about the UK and the program. I had such a nice day and it reminded me exactly why I came back.

Yesterday I went to DAK with Emily and Lesley. It was again super-quiet and we did pretty much everything with no wait including 2 ride of Everest and Dinosaur. In the evening we went to Sam’s apartment where the Norwegians were having pre-drinks for Chillers and then to Emily’s for a few more drinks.

Today we went to Universal and Craig persuaded me to get there early to make the most of it. In the end we managed almost every attraction in both Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios with no wait of longer than 20 minutes. It was so much fun and I got to do loads of stuff I have never done before since I have not been to Universal since I went with my family in 2001. I am so pleased to have been here during a quiet time when I can really make the most of my annual pass. Yet another reason to love the Disney CRP life!