Happy 4th of July

Today was my first holiday shift during my program! 4th of July is one of the busiest days at Walt Disney World and we were expecting lots of guests!! I was originally just scheduled from 8:45-2:45, but I was extended until 5:30. I was glad to be extended though, because it was right when things were picking up!

They had hotdogs, chips, and Mickey ice cream sandwiches for us today!

Magic Kingdom reached phase closings for capacity at 3:45 PM, so I was pulled from the booths and got to help at the monorail station. At Epcot, the monorail goes to the Ticket and Transportation Center, which then leads to Magic Kingdom. I was one of the Cast Members controlling who we were letting onto the monorail, depending on their type of ticket and/or if they were a resort guest.  

Epcot Cast Party and Family Visit

Today was the annual Epcot Cast Party! It was held for Cast Members all day long, and we had a longer break today so that we could go over and enjoy the party!

This year's party was World Cup themed, which is appropriate since we have the World Showcase at Epcot! They had a huge buffet for us that was delicious!

I was so excited to see that the buffet had Mickey ice cream bars!

And of course, what's a Disney party without characters! They were dressed in their cute sports attire!

On-The-Job Training and Earning My Ears!

Once I finished my Magical Vacation Planning training class, I began my on-the-job training at Epcot! I had 4 days of training, and a 5th day assessment.

My first day of on-the-job training!

During my core class, I learned how to do everything on the systems and interact with the guests. Now, it was time to combine all of that as I was trained in the booths! Being in the booths is SO awesome. I love talking with the guests to figure out what they want to do on their vacation. My role has so much guest interaction, problem solving, and multi-tasking, and I love every part of it!

Kona Cafe (X 2)

Last week, my roommates and I went to dinner at Kona Cafe at the Polynesian to celebrate my roommate Tess' birthday! Stephanie had to work, but Tess, Hannah, Marra, Jordan and I had a great time walking around the resort and we really enjoyed our dinner!

Walking around the Polynesian with my roommates!
From L to R: me, Jordan, Tess, Marra, and Hannah!

Happy Birthday Tess!!

Magical Vacation Planning

From Friday until today, I've had my Magical Vacation Planning training class at Disney University. This 5 day core class is designed to teach us everything we need to know as Vacation Planners. The core class is taught in a training lab at DU that is set up with the same computer systems that we use in the Vacation Planner booths.

My training book for Magical Vacation Planning!

We learned all about the selling process, the two computer systems that we use, and how to create every kind of ticket package that we sell! There are HUNDREDS! This isn't a normal ticket sales job. We have to figure out how we can find the best options for what the guests are looking for. It was a very long week filled with an enormous amount of information, but I feel very confident and prepared to begin my 5 days of on-the-job training in the booths at Epcot!

Vacation Greeter

On Wednesday, we had Vacation Greeter training and today, we had a Vacation Greeter shift. In this position, we are responsible for moving guests to open Vacation Planning windows, answering questions and giving directions, and welcoming guests to Epcot! It's a really fun position because we get to interact with every single guest coming in to the park!

The first day that I got to wear my costume!

I've loved doing the greeter position because I get to answer SO many Disney questions -- from questions about what to do or eat in Epcot, where to go in the park, how the monorail system works, ticketing questions, and more! It's been really rewarding to see how appreciative the guests are of my assistance!

As Vacation Planners, we get special buttons to wear that advertise
the different events happening across the property.  The first one
that I get to wear is advertising the new Seven Dwarfs Mine Train!

Discovery Day

Today was Discovery Day, which is my Epcot orientation!  Every Cast Member that works at Epcot has gone through Discovery Day, whether they start here or transfer over from another park! Discovery Day is where we learn about the exploration and discovery that Epcot represents.  

A quick selfie on my way to Discovery Day!

Epcot is a really special park because "The Florida Project" was Walt's last theme park idea and the whole reason that we even have Walt Disney World in Florida. Originally, Epcot wasn't going to be a theme park, but instead a model city, hence the name Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. Walt was a man well ahead of his time, and wanted to create this perfect city in hopes of fixing the many problems in our world.

Unfortunately with his passing, this project changed a little, but Epcot still encompasses many of Walt's ideals and visions. We discussed in our class how Epcot combines innovation with culture in Future World and the World Showcase.