Bittersweet End

I think it is safe to say that I would not be a successful blogger... this is my last entry and I am pleased to say this experience was by far one of the best decisions I've made.

I'm not really sure where the past seven and a half months have gone. It’s weird how it feels like I’ve been here forever yet it really has gone by so fast! I’ve learned more than I ever thought I would, especially about myself. I’ve had experiences that I couldn’t get anywhere else. I think I worked at the best resort with the best managers and co-workers. I truly feel blessed to have spent the last seven months working at Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club Resort.

Some things I’ve learned along the way…:

-          Resorts/Parks couldn’t function as successfully as they do if it weren’t for radios

-          We train people to have little patience

-          I’ve met more cute kids then I thought possible, and particularly, I will always remember my little friend Rayna who was so excited to see me every night and greeted me with a hug on her way in and out of the resort!

-          Disney has created an expectation for themselves unlike any other place in the world

-          I’ve learned to take advantage of the opportunities that are right in front of you

-          Too many people waste precious vacation time complaining about useless stuff, like their room for example… you just need a bed to sleep in, quit worrying about the view, and the extra hall way or two?.. yeah the extra few steps are good for you! Forget about it and move on!

-          Don’t bother looking at weather predictions in Florida, it has its own mind and is always going to do something different!

-          Dreams really do come true.

-          It’s nice to slow down and pause a moment, to look around and take it in. Be grateful for those moments that make you smile, laugh, and take time to enjoy; if you’re always in a rush you’ll miss all the wonderful details in life.

Those are just a small portion of the things I’ve learned, and I’m sure that I’ve learned more than I’m currently aware of!

Thank you to everyone who has supported me throughout this experience. I can’t begin to explain how much it means to me and how much I appreciate it. You all are truly the best!

I have to thank someone particularly for making my last three months here the best time I spent here. I seriously don’t know what I would have done without her. I knew in May one of my good friends would be coming down, but I didn’t think that three months later I’d be saying goodbye to one of my BEST friends and one of the most wonderful people I know. Thank you Kati for making this experience better than I thought it could be! Can’t wait to visit you! Having to say goodbye to Kati truly is the worst part of this experience, but let’s not dwell on the bad stuff…

Lastly, the best advice I’ve received since being down here:

                Bloom where you are planted.

Gatorland

The other day we had an unofficial curbside outing! A couple of us went to Gatorland! It was so cool. Gatorland is basically a zoo but just for alligators. We saw a couple shows and learned about alligators... you know things like if you see one, run as fast as you can, (you don't have to zig zag) you'll be able to outrun them. One of the shows was called Jumperoo. They dangle meat over them and we got to watch the gators jump for it. Also there was a "Gator Wrastlin" show where a guy did some cool and dangerous things with a gator. They also had giant turtles and birds there. We got a stick with bird food on it and they landed on our hands, it was probably the coolest part.

We also held a baby alligator, which was really fun! (notice the snake is on the opposite end as me
.. ew I hate snakes!)

It's been fun to do some things outside of Disney and experience things in Florida that aren't Disney related; believe it or not it is actually a little refreshing. Next week we are going to go kayaking, I'm really excited for that!!

"Welcome to Florida, the State Where Everything Tries to Kill You."

The other day I was working curbside at the Yacht Club. It was a very slow day so, my fellow curbsiders and I started talking about Florida. Our conversation ended with someone saying "Welcome to Florida, the state where everything tries to kill you." Here are a few of those things we discussed:

Apparently here in the next couple weeks these yellow horse flies come out and apparently they are   vicious and when they bite you they leave welts and they hurt for a really long time. I've been told when they come out to cover my body in Skin So Soft lotion (they tend to not like the scent), but then again I've been told that nothing will help.

If you get bitten by a fire ant, don't mess with the bump it leaves. Although it'll itch like crazy, it'll hurt more if you pop it.

These things called love bugs come out soon too. Apparently they will be everywhere and when I say everywhere I mean they cover cars and they can't swim so when they fly into the water they die, and there will be tons AND tons of them. These aren't harmful, but I figured they were okay to include because they are a huge annoyance.

Next, there are the drivers down here. It's an understatement to say I fear for my life every time I drive somewhere. I don't know if it's the amount of tourists or just the road rage and impatient people down here. I personally think it's a combination of the two. Driving is dangerous.

I've been told that the summer months it gets so hot here that the curbside team takes turns going inside for ten minutes at a time just to cool off. So, let's pray there's no heat stroke in my future.

Well, it's always sunny in Florida =)...and those are just a few of the things I've learned about recently, I'm sure there are more. Needless to say it was a funny conversation and I feel a little more prepared to take on the critters, the heat, and well... as for the driving I don't think that will ever get better.

Oh! and hurricane season starts June 1st. =)

Magical Moment

Walt Disney World is known for making dreams come true and creating magical moments. As a cast member it is our job to take part in making these moments happen for our guests. My biggest magical moment I helped create (so far) was one that I didn't realize right away that I was creating. It was a day when I was the closing runner. It was about 9:05pm and I was excited because I was finishing up my paperwork and getting ready to clock out at 9:30pm when I got a phone call from a cast member on club level who wanted me to go to Team Disney (a store in Downtown Disney) to build a remote control car for a guest. Now, at this point I was annoyed, I was getting ready to leave and this guy wanted me to go build a remote control car. This would be adding about an hour to my night, but it sounded important and really, everyone knows I find it extremely difficult to say "no". So anywho, off I go with the car keys to the company vehicle and $100 in my pocket. I drive through about three parking lots until I find the entrance I need, not making the trip any shorter because let's remember one wrong turn in the Downtown Disney parking lot and you're on a one way road out of there...okay so once I find a parking spot, the real mission begins. I find Team Disney and tell a cast member there what I need, which is written down on a little post-it note because lets be serious, I wouldn't remember every little detail that the cast member who sent me on this mission researched and designed what he wanted. So the very nice cast member gathers everything I need, then she asks me if I want to build it, I think you all can guess what I say, "No, that's okay I'll let you do it". (I wasn't ready to play and have fun; I just wanted to get this done).

So with the fancy remote control car in its cool carrying box in hand I make my way back to the Yacht Club. I get up to the club level to find the cast member who requested the car. He has been in touch with the mom and knows that they are still up so it's okay to deliver it (normally we aren't allowed to make deliveries after 9pm) So I ask if I can accompany him for the delivery since I went and had this remote control car made; I wanted to see the little boys reaction. The cast member was fine with this! As we're walking to the room I ask, "So, why did I go make this for this little boy?"

And here is why we created this MAGICAL MOMENT:

He then began to tell me about this guest's story that touched him and then quickly touched me and made every driving, parking, and car building hassle worth it...

The guests that were staying with us were a mother, a ten year old boy, and his younger sister. They were staying with us so that they could go to the Daytona 500 race. Unfortunately, the race got postponed by one day, and that happened to be the day that these guests were leaving. The reason that they were going to the race in the first place was because that was something that the little boy and his father were always going to do. However, the boy's father passed away, he collapsed off his motorcycle and the little boy, who at that time was seven years old, attempted CPR to save his father's life. Unfortunately, his father didn't make it. After hearing about this guest's story, and finding out about the disappointment that they weren't going to be able to go to the race, our cast member wanted to do something that would mean a lot to this little boy and make the fact that he was going to miss the race a little bit better.

After hearing this story it made every extra minute at work worth it that night. It was so wonderful to watch the boy's reaction. You could tell that he was shocked, but really excited. His maturity level was impressive and the way he thanked us, you could tell how much he truly appreciated it. I could see in his mother's eyes how much it meant to her, what we had done for her son. Even the little sister was happy for him.

This was the first big magical moment that I helped create and I don't think I will ever forget it. Every day we create a little bit of magic with stickers, balloons, etc, but this was definitely extra special, and I will remember it forever. Disney can't change things that happen, but I think they have mastered the art of making situations better.

Bragging Rights & A Bit More

I'm so sorry I've left you guys hanging, but here is an update!

I figure it's okay to do a little bragging on here, I've had some exciting things happen lately.
A couple weeks ago I got a "Great Service Fanatic" award. These are little certificates you get for doing something great for a guest that another cast member or manager notices and wants to recognize you for. I got mine for going above and beyond for a guest by setting up their villa with all the baby accessories they had ordered for their arrival the next day. The guest was extremely pleased when they arrived. It felt good to get noticed for working hard.
Also I got moved to a different role. I am now part of the curbside team! I was excited to get asked if I wanted to be trained. They do not usually train cast members in the College Program for this role. So it felt good when my manager said I was at the top of his list to be trained! With being on the curbside, I greet guests when they arrive at the resort and escort them to the front desk or take guests up to the club level if needed. It is a lot of fun and a much more positive experience with the guests for the most part. So now I've been trained in three different roles which has been awesome! It's awesome that I'm learning something new all the time. This new role has helped me start recognizing and learning different kinds of cars (Dad, Brian, Scott, and Nick- you guys should be proud) haha.

Other than that I don't have a whole lot to brag about other than receiving compliments from my managers saying I'm doing a great job. Also, we had a special guest the other day and the head of the secret service told me I was doing a great job =)

Last week I got to see my parents, which was wonderful!! It felt sooo good to have a "mom hug"! Also Nick came to visit! It was his first time to Disney World, so that was lots of fun! He got to meet Mickey Mouse and go to three out of the four parks! I can't wait for them to come back!

Overall, I'm really loving my job. The people I work with are wonderful and really make it easy to be there. Time is really starting to pick up. I can't believe March is almost over. The spring break season has begun, there are sooo many people here! (I hate the traffic) Disney is wonderful, but I find it very refreshing to get away from the Mickey ears sometimes! Being here definitely makes me miss and appreciate Bloomington. I love where I'm from and being on this adventure is a wonderful experience, but I'm glad I have so many good things to go home to!!

Work & Exciting Things!!

I know.. I've been doing some major blogger slacking... I'm all done with my training and I'm officially on the desk by myself now. A little nerve wrecking at first, but I'm getting used to it. I've actually had more runner shifts than I've had front desk shifts. I'm hoping that I get curbside trained too, which is where I will greet the guests when they arrive at the resort and then I will escort them to the front desk for check-in or take them up to the fifth floor for club level. I think that this would be a fun job, with great guest interaction. It's also fun to think about being the first person the guest encounters when they arrive at the resort.
Alright...as much as it pains me to do this... I'm sure some of you would like to see what my costumes look like, so here you go:


This is my runner costume... real flattering, I know.



And this is my front desk costume, another flattering one... really helps set the theme

 If I get curbside trained, I will have another costume to had to the flattering collection!

On to the more exciting news... Michael Buble stayed at our resort last week!! His wife and a couple friends got lost on the way to our resort, so the curbside teamed missed them because they came in on the back side of the resort (normally the front desk would never see these kind of guests because they get taken straight up to club level). However, since they got lost, what do you do when you get to the resort you're staying at?.. you go to the front desk to check-in. Guess who's station was open at the moment??... yup that's right, mine! I had no idea who she was, but when she gave me her name I recognized it from the night before when I had to take a huge bouquet of goodies to the room for when they arrived... and I knew she had to be important because it was one of our best rooms! When her reservation wasn't coming up, you can imagine my face when she calm, cool, and collectedly said, "It could be under my husband's name Michael Buble"... oh my goodness it was exciting. But I kept my cool and just smiled (really big) and got a manager to take them to their room. (But highlight of the story, I held Michael Buble's wife's I.D.!!!) =)  He unfortunately didn't arrive until later that night, but I did see him in the lobby the next night. He looked like your average joe, very well camouflaged in a hat. Other guests had no idea...which I think is kind of funny. So first celebrity sighting (check done) I can't wait to see who else stays with us while I'm here. Paula Abdul was supposed to stay with us, but she never showed up for her reservation (quite the bummer).
Anyways, life at the Yacht and Beach Club has been wonderful, I'm really enjoying being around the people I work with, and I'm looking forward to building friendships with them.

On-the-Job Training

The past four days I've had on-the-job training. For the most part it has been a lot of fun. I've mostly been on the Yacht Club side which has been pretty slow. However, I've learned lots and it hasn't been too overwhelming. I have two training days left. I still can't wait until I'm totally comfortable behind the desk, but I know that will come with time. My trainers that I have had, have been amazing they are very encouraging and are very knowledgeable about everything! They've said I'm doing well checking in guests, and the only things I need to work on are the things that can only come with time and experience. Overall, everyone I work with has been awesome!

Besides work I've made my way to the parks a couple times. The other night I saw wishes at Magic Kingdom for the first, it was beautiful, and as cheesy as it is to say, it truly was magical! I have work tonight and then I have Monday and Tuesday off. I'm excited to go play in the parks again!

My First Shift as a Runner!

Friday I finished my classes at Disney University. I think I still have to go back at some point for one more day to learn about the Disney Vacation Club. Yesterday I had my first shift at the Beach Club Resort! It was beautiful!! I was scheduled to be a runner. I haven't even had my Welcome Aboard (orientation) at the resort yet, so I didn't have a costume. I had to get there about an hour before my shift to get fitted for a runner costume. The runner costume is baby blue pants, a white belt, a white button up shirt, and white shoes. The shirt also had blue details on it. (I'll post pictures of it later). At orientation I'll get my front desk costume.

My runner shift was amazing! As a runner you basically are 'running' all over the resort both the Yacht and Beach side, as well as running things to other places outside the resort. We deliver packages, flowers, cards... really anything. My trainer was probably the smartest Disney person I have met. He knew so much information and lots of trivia!! So I feel very lucky that my first day at the resort I was able to spend with him running all over the place. It was a slow runner day so we even got to spend some time driving around in the resort's Suburban and Stuart (my trainer) showed me back stage areas I may have to make runs to. It was awesome!

On my first day I even got to help a lost child! It was fun to call her princess and find out where she needed to be! She had come from the pool. The pool is amazing!! It is shared between the yacht and beach club. It has a sand bottom and is the largest pool on property (for now, I learned we'll be losing that title when the new resort opens). They are very strict about the pool in the sense that only guests staying at the Yacht and Beach Resorts can use the pool. They have this rule because they have enough chairs/seats for the exact amount of guests that could possibly be staying at both resorts including the Beach Villas (which are incredible!!) Needless to say there is lots of seating! I thought that was a really cool fact! Another cool thing about the Yacht and Beach Club is that they each have their own beach. You're not allowed to go in the water, but still are able to play in the sand or lie back in a lawn chair and enjoy the sunset! They also play a movie on the beach each night (all Disney movies of course!).

I met lots of people that I will be working with, which was great. For the most part everyone seems really nice and they were really happy to be at work! There is a woman who works in the back office who went to IU...her background on her computer was of Sample Gates (GO HOOSIERS!! =)) It was great to meet her!

Everything is so themed even down to the last detail! For example, there is side table in the lobby that has what looks like filing drawers that have one for Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, etc. On the Beach side the carpet in the hallways have Flounder and Sebastian in them as well as some hidden Mickeys. The hidden Mickeys are popping out to me more and more. There are lots of those cute Disney details all over the place.

Overall it was a great first shift and it went pretty quickly! Even after all the running around I wasn't that tired afterwards either =). I'll write again after my orientation and fill you in more about the resort and what it has to offer! As for now, I have the next two days off so I think I'll go lay by the pool =)

First Day of Work... Kind of.

Today I had my first day of training. It started at 8:30 at Disney University which meant I had to be on the bus by 7:29. We spent the morning learning about all the basic Disney lodging information. It had its interesting points but overall it was kind of boring. After lunch we got to start learning about the check-in process, which I was happy to find doesn't seem all that complicated. The next three days will be all about physically learning/doing the check-in process. They said they have a lab we will be working in where we will practice the check-in process over and over again. This will help us get familiar with their computer system called Lilo and get us ready to start checking guests in at our resort.

It's a little overwhelming all the information that we have to learn and the questions we need to know how to answer. However, I think that with practice and working with our trainers it will become easy. I'm excited to learn the system and I can't wait to get my costume (yes, we don't wear uniforms they're called costumes ha!). As for the next few days I think it will be a lot of repetition and practice, but I'm looking forward to it! Can't wait to be out of Disney University and at the Yacht and Beach Club Resort!

Traditions & Magic Kingdom

Yesterday I had Traditions. My three roommates all had the morning session and I had the afternoon session. I was a little bummed about that at first, but while waiting for the bus I met a girl and we ended up in the same group. She was really cool! Traditions was a lot of time spent in a classroom learning about the Disney company and their values. It was long and boring at times, but also exciting and filled with interesting facts. We also went on a tour and got to see places that few get to see. I got to meet my boss at Traditions, he was very smiley! Besides meeting my boss the best part was we got out name tags! They are so official looking. It has my first name and Indiana University written on it. All in all, Traditions was a very long and inspirational four and half hours!

After I got back from Traditions two of my roommates and I took advantage of our benefits of being a cast member at Planet Hollywood. It was an hour wait, but because we are cast members we got the next available table, so we waited maybe five minutes. It was a delicious meal and the 20% discount made it taste even better!

Today, my roommate Shelley had her first day of training, so she was busy with that all day. Randi, Amanda, and I started our day off with a healthy workout and then we got ready and made our first trip to the Magic Kingdom! It was wonderful! It was the first time I'd seen the castle since I went during the 25th anniversary and the castle was a pink cake! Today it looked A LOT different.

Right now I'm super excited to start my job training and learning new things! As for now I have the next two days to relax. (I better take advantage of them!)

Longest Day Ever

On Wednesday I checked-in. That consisted of a super long line, but my roommates and I got there pretty early so we weren't too far back in line. It was still kind of crazy how many people were there so early! Overall, check-in went really smoothly! We got the last two bedroom apartment in Chatham which was really exciting. After housing check-in we had a little bit of time to go to our apartment and check it out before we had to go to casting. At casting I found out that I will be working at the Disney Yacht and Beach Club Resort! I've heard wonderful things about it and I can't wait to get in there and start working!

Today I have traditions. I'm not really sure what to expect, but I've heard it is one of the best days, so I'm looking forward to it! As far as starting work, I start training on Tuesday. So, I actually will have a few days off which I suppose I should take advantage of and enjoy while I can!

This has definitely been the most challenging days I've experienced. I'm just trying to get adjusted and get comfortable with the change. I know that it can only get better from here =)

Finally, I'm a Few Days Away from Disney!!

I'm getting ready to start my adventure at Disney World!! I will be doing the Disney College Program for the Spring Advantage 2012. I will be there from January 18th until August 3rd (the longest and furthest I've been away from home)...should be fun! I'm a hospitality role which I'm thankful will count towards my professional internship that is required for my major. As of now I am most anxious about finding out my location, I'm hoping for a deluxe resort!

I leave Monday morning and will arrive into Disney World on Tuesday afternoon. I'll spend some time with my parents and then I'm hoping to meet up with my roommates Tuesday night before our early check-in on Wednesday. I've heard our check-in day is one of the busiest so that will probably be exhausting yet I doubt I will feel the effects of it for a few days because the excitement will overshadow the exhaustion (at least I hope!)

This past week has been full of see you laters (I hate goodbye). When I went to visit my Grams I was telling her the general idea of what I'll be doing in Disney. I was also telling her that outside of my internship there was so much that I want to do while I'm there, and I'm afraid that I won't have time for everything. She looked at me and said, "But you know what? Anything that you truly want to do, you'll find time for." I think that's very true. I'm looking forward to everything this experience is going to offer and I'm looking forward to sharing it with you!

~ Linds