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.