I wanna rock and roll all niiiiiiight
We had a very eventful day today! I woke up after a kind of tough night. Stephanie and Chelsea came over and watched a little bit of Enchanted with us and talked about their roommates and such, then they left around, uh maybe 1245? Can’t remember exactly, but Chrissy and I were in bed ready to sleep by 115. My bed is super comfortable, and the apartment is very cool (I like it to be a little cold when I sleep), but then John called at 130 just as I was going to sleep. I hit mute, then he called again like 15 minutes later, just after I’d finally fallen asleep! I was PISSED - I don’t like my sleep interrupted - so I picked up and was a little rude because I’d been woken up.
Chrissy slept through that though, but as I was dozing off, she started breathing heavier, and then started to snore. I don’t know if I’m weird or if this is normal, but I CANNOT sleep when there’s noise. I put my finger in my ear, put bay pilly over my head, I was dyin. Fortunately, I fell asleep eventually. I had to wake up at 715 (that’s 615 to all you central timers out there) for my Work Orientation, which was at 830 at Vista. Amy and Chrissy also had the same time (Amy’s roomie Becka1 had it at 1030), so I took a quick shower then we were out the door around 810.
There were already a lot of people in line, but as we were walking we met up with Stephanie, Chelsea, Laurel, and Hillary, who also were assigned 830. We stood in line, then got split into two lines, A-K and L-Z, so Stephanie, Chelsea and I were stuck in the second line, which took a little longer at first then sped up. Everyone got their work assignments - it was quite exciting! The guy telling people their assignments would always do the same thing: “Hey [name], how are you?? Are you so excited for this? Where did you want to work? Oh, well... you’re [insert location]!!!” with SO much energy.
Chrissy is Quick-Service Food and Beverage (QSFB) at Restaurantosaurus in Animal Kingdom, Amy is Merchandise along Sunset Boulevard (in front of Tower of Terror) in Hollywood Studios, Laurel is Merchandise in Toontown Fair in Magic Kingdom, Chelsea is Merchandise in Tomorrowland in Magic Kingdom, and Stephanie is QSFB at the resort Caribbean Beach. She was upset that she’s not in the parks, but I don’t think it’ll be too bad. She has a high-stress job and the resort will be slower and therefore easier. I also met someone today who is ONLY doing Stroller Rental in Magic Kingdom, so it could be worse - I couldn’t even think of a positive thing to say to them about it. God, that would SUCK.
So we went through the stations, chatting to people, filled out some forms, got our new hire paperwork all done. They’d staggered the arrivals, so there was always a line there, but it wasn’t totally unmanageable for them. I talked to my Entertainment people for the first time while I was there. They were sooo nice. I have Traditions tomorrow in the afternoon, it’s a four hour orientation thing, and at it we get our official ID cards so we can get in to the parks. Most people start training the next day, but mine doesn’t start til WEDNESDAY, so I have four days with nothing to do except play in the parks and have tons of fun.
We went over to sign up for classes in the classroom by the pool, and we met up with the nice lady who Amy and I had talked to yesterday for a while. She’d been so friendly and we’d talked for a while about Disney and the CP and classes and bunches of stuff. She saw us and smiled, and remembered our names, and she told me that I’d “made quite an impression yesterday” and was “just so outgoing and sweet!” I was like “YAY networking!” I was quite happy. She helped me sign up for Marketing You, the resume builder and networking class, which costs $60, it’s actually the most expensive class they offer, yargh.
We met up and headed home, but all planned to go to the outlet mall and to Mickey’s Retreat, the cast member only park area less than a block from Chatham. I took a short nap before we headed out, but we got separated and accidentally went to different outlet malls! I got a pork sandwich at the food court there, then bought a dress and sweater for Traditions tomorrow for $60 from the Gap outlet. We went to a bunch of stores!
After that, we headed to Walmart, because Amy needed Disney Look shoes and we all wanted to get some stuff for the “Tinkerbell’s Punk Pool Party” slash 80’s-themed dance party at Vista tonight. I wound up spending $20 on a bright blue tshirt to cut and make hang off my shoulders, a hot pink spaghetti strap, neon orange shorts, white tights which I cut off at the heel, bright stripey socks to make into arm warmers, and a multicolored headband! Chrissy got a bunch of things too, we had so much fun planning out our ridonk outfits.
We headed back home and changed into swimsuits to go lay by the pool at Mickey’s Retreat, but first Amy, Michelle and I dropped off our apartment condition form and picked up the missing silverware and dishes and stuff that they hadn’t given us. The guy in the office just went to a side room, picked up everything we needed, and handed it over. So easy and convenient! We also got the number for tech support, which we called to request a fix on our modem that doesn’t work. Stupid internets. We dropped off the plates and things at the apartment, then finally headed over. Chelsea and Stephanie were waiting for us, and there were a bunch of people with their kids and families too.
The retreat area is really nice. There are two pools, a couple beach volleyball courts, paddleboats, canoes, music playing through speakers... it’s totally free to all cast members and their families, too. I’ve heard that not many CPers take advantage of it, so we’ll probably go there to get away from the regular Chatham pool, though we might have to lay out there some time to look hot for the two straight guys on the CP. Stephanie and Chelsea left after a bit cause they’d been there a while, but the three of us laid out and tanned (/burned, in my case, I’m dumb and didn’t do that much sunscreen even though I FELT MY SKIN BURNING FROM THE SUN, though I’m still not pink, so it’s not as bad as that one day when the roomies and I laid on JL Beach).
We came back, I made our Break and Bake cookies (I don’t know if that’s the real name for them, but if not it should be) and we cut up our clothes for awesome 80s glam. It was originally just Chrissy, Amy and I, but as more people got home we were like “so you’re coming to the party, let’s go through your clothes and find something that will work for 80s.” We got everybody involved, except Eriko, who sadly is leaving us cause her work visa hasn’t come through yet. We took tons of pictures, both group and individual, before we left the apartment and headed over around 710.
There were a TON of people there already when we got there - seriously, like 150-200ish, it was packed. They had pizza and there were 80s tunes playing, and people stared at us as we walked up because not many people dressed up, but we looked fabulous and people got into it. We had a Disney employee come up to us and compliment our costumes, then told us to find her later for some prizes for dressing up so much!
We danced, ate pizza, took pictures. We found another girl who was super dressed up and she hung out with us too. We posed with Lilo and Stitch, and the girl who was character attendanting was SO nice. I asked her how tall Stitch was cause I wondered if I was gonna be him, and she held her head up above his head and went “oh about this high!” then grinned and said “and to answer your question, yes.” meaning he is in my height range, lol. I talked to her later, told her I was doing training on Wednesday, and she said she’s not a CP or a character attendant, she’s actually a Mouse Height character performer as well, and I showed her my 4-inch heels and she said I was just barely in the range for the mice but I’d prolly be the ducks a lot. She said she started at Disney three years ago and said “in a year I’ll quit and start teaching, now three years later, my teaching degree is rotting.” So great.
The lady from before who offered prizes came and gave us all bright green Disney College Program beach towels, so exciting! We all sang our favorite 80s songs, and danced a lot - including the Cupid Shuffle (which I learned), Footloose (which I also learned), and I taught Chelsea the Electric Slide. Her life is more complete with this knowledge. We met a nice guy from Puerto Rico named Fransicso who was really nice, then we did the costume contest, where the 12 or so of us who actually put effort into our outfits went to stand in a circle and have people clap if they liked us. We got the second most applause (after a girl who did a pretty sweet dance and had a fab costume), but after the judges “deliberated,” they decided we all got prizes cause we’re all winners, lol. They gave us sweet purple CP tshirts, which I was like “shit, a shirt, gonna be too big,” but it’s a small! I was shocked.
We headed home around 9 - my feet were killing me, and Chelsea needed to head to Walmart on the bus, which was getting to Chatham soon, so we dropped her off then came home. I started watching “Lost” like 15 minutes late, but the next hour 45 mins went by so fast and oh my GOD the ending. Killed me.
Tomorrow, we have Traditions in the afternoon, which we have to be in Disney Look for, eek. It’s a really strict standard of dressing and we’re in big trouble and can’t go if we’re not following it. The bus leaves at 1225, so I’m getting up around 10 to shower, eat, check email, and go. It’s around four hours long, and then we’re all gonna use our passes and go to Magic Kingdom!! YAY our first day in the parks FINALLY!!
Seriously, after all this stuff that’s been happening, I am kind of tired but I am just living the dream. Everyone here greets you with a smile and a “hey, how are you?” Everybody says to “have a great day!” when you leave. Because the current Cast Members are so nice, it encourages everyone else to be nice too, so even the new CPs greet each other like we’re old friends. The happiness is just infectious. I am grinning all the time. I love my roommates, I love my apartment, I love my role, I love the college program, I love Disney!
Chrissy slept through that though, but as I was dozing off, she started breathing heavier, and then started to snore. I don’t know if I’m weird or if this is normal, but I CANNOT sleep when there’s noise. I put my finger in my ear, put bay pilly over my head, I was dyin. Fortunately, I fell asleep eventually. I had to wake up at 715 (that’s 615 to all you central timers out there) for my Work Orientation, which was at 830 at Vista. Amy and Chrissy also had the same time (Amy’s roomie Becka1 had it at 1030), so I took a quick shower then we were out the door around 810.
There were already a lot of people in line, but as we were walking we met up with Stephanie, Chelsea, Laurel, and Hillary, who also were assigned 830. We stood in line, then got split into two lines, A-K and L-Z, so Stephanie, Chelsea and I were stuck in the second line, which took a little longer at first then sped up. Everyone got their work assignments - it was quite exciting! The guy telling people their assignments would always do the same thing: “Hey [name], how are you?? Are you so excited for this? Where did you want to work? Oh, well... you’re [insert location]!!!” with SO much energy.
Chrissy is Quick-Service Food and Beverage (QSFB) at Restaurantosaurus in Animal Kingdom, Amy is Merchandise along Sunset Boulevard (in front of Tower of Terror) in Hollywood Studios, Laurel is Merchandise in Toontown Fair in Magic Kingdom, Chelsea is Merchandise in Tomorrowland in Magic Kingdom, and Stephanie is QSFB at the resort Caribbean Beach. She was upset that she’s not in the parks, but I don’t think it’ll be too bad. She has a high-stress job and the resort will be slower and therefore easier. I also met someone today who is ONLY doing Stroller Rental in Magic Kingdom, so it could be worse - I couldn’t even think of a positive thing to say to them about it. God, that would SUCK.
So we went through the stations, chatting to people, filled out some forms, got our new hire paperwork all done. They’d staggered the arrivals, so there was always a line there, but it wasn’t totally unmanageable for them. I talked to my Entertainment people for the first time while I was there. They were sooo nice. I have Traditions tomorrow in the afternoon, it’s a four hour orientation thing, and at it we get our official ID cards so we can get in to the parks. Most people start training the next day, but mine doesn’t start til WEDNESDAY, so I have four days with nothing to do except play in the parks and have tons of fun.
We went over to sign up for classes in the classroom by the pool, and we met up with the nice lady who Amy and I had talked to yesterday for a while. She’d been so friendly and we’d talked for a while about Disney and the CP and classes and bunches of stuff. She saw us and smiled, and remembered our names, and she told me that I’d “made quite an impression yesterday” and was “just so outgoing and sweet!” I was like “YAY networking!” I was quite happy. She helped me sign up for Marketing You, the resume builder and networking class, which costs $60, it’s actually the most expensive class they offer, yargh.
We met up and headed home, but all planned to go to the outlet mall and to Mickey’s Retreat, the cast member only park area less than a block from Chatham. I took a short nap before we headed out, but we got separated and accidentally went to different outlet malls! I got a pork sandwich at the food court there, then bought a dress and sweater for Traditions tomorrow for $60 from the Gap outlet. We went to a bunch of stores!
After that, we headed to Walmart, because Amy needed Disney Look shoes and we all wanted to get some stuff for the “Tinkerbell’s Punk Pool Party” slash 80’s-themed dance party at Vista tonight. I wound up spending $20 on a bright blue tshirt to cut and make hang off my shoulders, a hot pink spaghetti strap, neon orange shorts, white tights which I cut off at the heel, bright stripey socks to make into arm warmers, and a multicolored headband! Chrissy got a bunch of things too, we had so much fun planning out our ridonk outfits.
We headed back home and changed into swimsuits to go lay by the pool at Mickey’s Retreat, but first Amy, Michelle and I dropped off our apartment condition form and picked up the missing silverware and dishes and stuff that they hadn’t given us. The guy in the office just went to a side room, picked up everything we needed, and handed it over. So easy and convenient! We also got the number for tech support, which we called to request a fix on our modem that doesn’t work. Stupid internets. We dropped off the plates and things at the apartment, then finally headed over. Chelsea and Stephanie were waiting for us, and there were a bunch of people with their kids and families too.
The retreat area is really nice. There are two pools, a couple beach volleyball courts, paddleboats, canoes, music playing through speakers... it’s totally free to all cast members and their families, too. I’ve heard that not many CPers take advantage of it, so we’ll probably go there to get away from the regular Chatham pool, though we might have to lay out there some time to look hot for the two straight guys on the CP. Stephanie and Chelsea left after a bit cause they’d been there a while, but the three of us laid out and tanned (/burned, in my case, I’m dumb and didn’t do that much sunscreen even though I FELT MY SKIN BURNING FROM THE SUN, though I’m still not pink, so it’s not as bad as that one day when the roomies and I laid on JL Beach).
We came back, I made our Break and Bake cookies (I don’t know if that’s the real name for them, but if not it should be) and we cut up our clothes for awesome 80s glam. It was originally just Chrissy, Amy and I, but as more people got home we were like “so you’re coming to the party, let’s go through your clothes and find something that will work for 80s.” We got everybody involved, except Eriko, who sadly is leaving us cause her work visa hasn’t come through yet. We took tons of pictures, both group and individual, before we left the apartment and headed over around 710.
There were a TON of people there already when we got there - seriously, like 150-200ish, it was packed. They had pizza and there were 80s tunes playing, and people stared at us as we walked up because not many people dressed up, but we looked fabulous and people got into it. We had a Disney employee come up to us and compliment our costumes, then told us to find her later for some prizes for dressing up so much!
We danced, ate pizza, took pictures. We found another girl who was super dressed up and she hung out with us too. We posed with Lilo and Stitch, and the girl who was character attendanting was SO nice. I asked her how tall Stitch was cause I wondered if I was gonna be him, and she held her head up above his head and went “oh about this high!” then grinned and said “and to answer your question, yes.” meaning he is in my height range, lol. I talked to her later, told her I was doing training on Wednesday, and she said she’s not a CP or a character attendant, she’s actually a Mouse Height character performer as well, and I showed her my 4-inch heels and she said I was just barely in the range for the mice but I’d prolly be the ducks a lot. She said she started at Disney three years ago and said “in a year I’ll quit and start teaching, now three years later, my teaching degree is rotting.” So great.
The lady from before who offered prizes came and gave us all bright green Disney College Program beach towels, so exciting! We all sang our favorite 80s songs, and danced a lot - including the Cupid Shuffle (which I learned), Footloose (which I also learned), and I taught Chelsea the Electric Slide. Her life is more complete with this knowledge. We met a nice guy from Puerto Rico named Fransicso who was really nice, then we did the costume contest, where the 12 or so of us who actually put effort into our outfits went to stand in a circle and have people clap if they liked us. We got the second most applause (after a girl who did a pretty sweet dance and had a fab costume), but after the judges “deliberated,” they decided we all got prizes cause we’re all winners, lol. They gave us sweet purple CP tshirts, which I was like “shit, a shirt, gonna be too big,” but it’s a small! I was shocked.
We headed home around 9 - my feet were killing me, and Chelsea needed to head to Walmart on the bus, which was getting to Chatham soon, so we dropped her off then came home. I started watching “Lost” like 15 minutes late, but the next hour 45 mins went by so fast and oh my GOD the ending. Killed me.
Tomorrow, we have Traditions in the afternoon, which we have to be in Disney Look for, eek. It’s a really strict standard of dressing and we’re in big trouble and can’t go if we’re not following it. The bus leaves at 1225, so I’m getting up around 10 to shower, eat, check email, and go. It’s around four hours long, and then we’re all gonna use our passes and go to Magic Kingdom!! YAY our first day in the parks FINALLY!!
Seriously, after all this stuff that’s been happening, I am kind of tired but I am just living the dream. Everyone here greets you with a smile and a “hey, how are you?” Everybody says to “have a great day!” when you leave. Because the current Cast Members are so nice, it encourages everyone else to be nice too, so even the new CPs greet each other like we’re old friends. The happiness is just infectious. I am grinning all the time. I love my roommates, I love my apartment, I love my role, I love the college program, I love Disney!