First Week on the CP

I can't believe it's only been a week since I arrived! It feels like SO MUCH has happened in that short time! Here's a quick recap:

Traditions & Orientation
Traditions was truly amazing. I've heard people either love it or hate it, and I absolutely loved it. Unfortunately, I can't talk about what went on, but to those who will be or hope to be a CPer soon, just know that it's definitely something to look forward to. Yes, there is some training/work involved, but they make it fun, and there may be a few surprises thrown in for you... :)

By the end of Traditions, I held in my hand something I have been waiting years for... my Cast Member nametag!!! :) :) :)  I keep it on my nightstand - it's the last thing I see before I go to sleep and the first thing I see when I wake up. It's a constant reminder that dreams do come true, and now it's my job to make dreams come true for others. 

A few days later I had orientation at Animal Kingdom. It was equally as awesome and also filled with a few surprises! They told us the history of AK and the importance of the conservation message there. When I went to AK for the first time about ten years ago I was really inspired by their conservation efforts, and I went on to study conservation through environmental anthropology, so I really feel like I've been placed right where I should be. I love my park!!! :)

It's a Jungle Welcome Event
On Thursday we had our first welcome event at Vista Way which was a jungle-themed pool party - Baloo, King Louie, and Safari Mickey showed up to welcome us to our new homes! There was free food (pizza, sodas, and chips!) and lots of fun and craziness around the pool. When I got there they were having a hula hoop contest and when I left they were having all the guys dance to "Single Ladies"... lol!

That's the line for the pizza. Us college kids love our free pizza!! :) As usual, Disney had this so well organized - get your hand stamped (so you can't come back for seconds and take pizza from those who haven't got any yet), move through the line, choose cheese, pepperoni, or supreme, grab a napkin, grab a drink, grab some chips, and done. That line went so fast, and the Cast Members working the event were so great. The CM at the drinks even fished into the bottom of the cooler to get me a colder iced tea! An example of Disney service at its finest! :)

I can't even begin to guess how many pizzas we all went through. They were hauling out stacks of empty boxes like this the whole time!

Hula hoop contest! Boys vs. girls... and the boys won!!! :O

And of course Brian and I couldn't leave without stopping to say hi to our new boss, Mickey Mouse! :)

First trip to the parks!

Right after the welcome event, I went with Brian and some of my roomies to the Magic Kingdom for the first time as a Cast Member! 

Yep, I get to enter through here now!!! :D

Himella, Jenna, and me ... so happy to be here! :)

We didn't take a whole lot of pictures that night, but I did get this one, which I'm kind of proud of. I love the colors and the reflection!

We all knew by this point where we were working - Himella is Photopass Photographer at MK, and Jenna is Full Service Food & Beverage at Chef Mickey's in the Contemporary. But poor Brian only knew that he was Adventureland/Liberty Square Attractions... no details! We weren't sure if that was both Adventureland and Liberty Square, or just one or the other, or... ?

This is Brian's work location? Or one of them? Maybe?...

But since then he has found out for sure... he's working at Pirates of the Caribbean! He has always wanted to work at Jungle Cruise so he was really hoping for that, but he is so excited to be a pirate instead. He's already bought a sword to add to his costume, and I'm sure he looks great in those stripey socks... :)

We finished our night with the Main Street Electrical Parade, which took me right back to my childhood. I loved it!! I was really excited to see Pete & Elliot, since "Pete's Dragon" is one of my favorite movies!

I've only been to the parks once since then - a few hours at Hollywood Studios the other night. And that's it! I had expected to be in the parks every chance I could. I also had sworn to myself that I would blog every single night to keep up with what was going on. But now, after only working for a week, I see why CPers are sometimes too busy to go to the parks or blog! Working at Disney is unbelievably awesome, but it's exhausting! Which leads me to...

Training
I've had 3 days of training so far at Kilimanjaro Safaris. I have an awesome trainer who is teaching me a lot, and he says I'm learning fast, but I feel so overwhelmed! There is so much to learn, and I get assessed this Saturday, which seems to be coming really fast!! I really want to be an awesome Cast Member and be able to give guests one of those safaris where you just love every minute of it and can't wait to go back... so I'm trying really hard to learn everything I can as quickly as I can. 

I've driven the trucks a few times already. The first time I got to drive, I looked up at that huge truck and was mixed with equal parts excitement and terror. But I'm already getting used to it. Yesterday I tried driving and talking at the same time... and it is so much harder than the safari drivers make it look!! I have serious respect now for all these drivers who can drive the truck, look for animals, point out animals, watch their mirrors, keep guests safe, AND deliver a really awesome, exciting, flawless safari all at the same time.

I usually get to work very early and get out in the late afternoon, but I am just so exhausted when I get home I don't feel like doing anything but eating dinner and going to sleep! Then I wake up early the next morning and do it all again! I completely understand now why CPer blogs sometimes get abandoned... there is just so much going on, it's hard to find a spare moment to sit down and write. I'm sorry if I haven't been keeping up with things as well as I could, but I promise I will be popping in to leave an update as often as I can.

So that's my first week on the College Program! It's been crazy busy and unbelievably awesome. I can't wait to get through training, take off my "earning my ears" ribbon, and officially become a Cast Member!