One Man and His Broom: The Blog of a Showkeeper

The End of a Wonderful Journey...

2006-10-06T01:10:00.000+01:00

So, I'm now Alumni of the Walt Disney World International College Program. I will say, I have never worked so hard but really, in all honesty... Every hour I worked was just so much fun. To get to work with so many great people was an honour and for the showkeepers that work on a full time basis, I respect you all for having to put up with awkward guests, countless protein spills, the Florida heat during summer and everything inbetween. Working at Disney-MGM Studios was amazing, I honestly could not have seen myself working in any of the other parks; the amount of comradeship between each and every Cast Member each day, was something I've never seen before. Eveybody helps eachother out and has a massive amount of passion for their jobs. I am VERY proud to have been a part of it all.

One last thing...

For anybody reading this who is considering the College Program/International College Program, I urge you to participate. I'm sure that no matter what job you decide on you will have a brilliant time but obviously, I very highly recommend Custodial! Even when the hours get tough, everybody gets along and there is an incredible amount of fun to be had each day. The pride and satisfaction of completing all of the challenges the program entails is truly priceless.

I HAD A BLAST!

Thanks to all who read and commented my blog along the way!

A HUGELY MASSIVE Thanks to all of the great people I met for playing a huge part in making my experience truly fantastic, I'll never forget!

Ben Hultum
Sunset Showkeeper
Disney-MGM Studios
May 30th 2006 - September 1st 2006

A BIG thanks to Madoka for the photographs used in this post.

Have a great day folks!

Good news...

2006-08-29T16:24:00.000+01:00

Well, two things.

The first and most important thing just in is that Amy no longer has to deal with the spitting man at work so congratulations to her. I think he did the right thing leaving his place of work, I mean, who wants to eat food which has spit on. Health and safety and all you know.

And secondly... Tomorrow is my last day of work (Hurricane permitting of course), but its a long one. 10 'til 10. I'll try and make it fun and magical for the guests. We'll see.

I'm probably going to do a big write up at the end of this whole thing, I'll see how it goes.

Fant................??

2006-08-28T03:43:00.000+01:00

I always find it amusing when guests get the name of our night-time spectacular, Fantasmic completely wrong. I wrote down some of the alternatives to share with you all.

Here we go:

- Fantasia
- Fantasmo
- Fantastic
- Fantastical
- The Light Show
- The Lazer Show
- The Fireworks (which is funny because I would say approximately 25% of the show is fireworks)
- (And this one is my personal favourite which I heard only yesterday) Fantasto-whatever-it-is

If I think of any more, I'll edit this post.

Toodles.

Happy Post

2006-08-24T16:40:00.000+01:00

Sods law, I was hoping to never get scheduled Restrooms and didnt get officially scheduled for them up until tomorrow. A week before I leave I have to clean restrooms all day. But thats not too bad, I'll just have to hope its a scorcher so I can benefit from the air conditioning.

If that is the case then thats whats up, I guess.

Now I'm MAD

2006-08-23T15:30:00.000+01:00

Those B****ARDS (pardon the language) stole my Pop Tarts.... I had almost a full box left. Fancied one this morning but the box is empty.

That makes me mad :-( I don't like these people.

Can't wait to leave!

9 DAYS

Day off Today!

2006-08-22T16:13:00.000+01:00

Last one before I leave too.... What do I do?

Any ideas???

Don't leave them too late..

GO!

Thats Whats Up

2006-08-17T02:29:00.000+01:00

So I moved to a new apartment today. All nice and clean as Julien, Roger and myself were the only inhabitants for all of two hours, then it got full of other people who are here until January (unfortunate for them I know). So now theres six of us here and its still clean which is nice. According to one of the housemates, something qualifies as being "up". First thing he said when he walked in was, "thats whats up..." but I still have no idea what on Earth he was referring to as all I could see when I looked up was the ceiling/roof (we are on the third and top floor).

I must ask him whats up because "that" doesn't narrow it down much at all you know?!

More news as and when,

Pip Pip

P.S. I don't know what time I work tomorrow

Amy was brave!

2006-08-12T05:25:00.000+01:00

I took her on Tower of Terror and she screamed.... ALOT!

Thanks for the picture Mother Hubbard

Goodbye my Friends!

2006-08-12T04:37:00.000+01:00

So today was rather perculiar at work as all of the closest friends I made left yesterday and work was very lonesome. Yesterday was fun though. I was working at Fantasmic with Eric, he's a bloody good bloke who never left so I have him to talk to for the next three weeks. Fantasmic Showkeepers usually have to powervac after the parade but because the trainer, Dave was training a new Showkeeper called Frank, (he has the potential to be a good lad) so Dave and Frank did parade duty which left me and Eric more time to finish off pre-bagging then go for our lunch. We get our lunch done then go back up to Fantasmic to wait around until 7:30pm which is when Eric (who was the radio holder for the day [SK-25]) called Mary (the manager for the day [SK-20]) to tell her that he was changing from the Showkeeping frequency to the Fantasmic frequency and she did the usual, "okay, thank you" and then told him to make sure the Fantasmic team, consisting of Eric, me and the two restroom Cast Members were at the Center Restroom to meet her at 8:50pm, something which has never happened before...

...Which is unusual so we pull all the trash before the show earlier than usual, Eric and myself clean up a protein spill then get the rest to Center Restroom in time to meet Mary...and every other showkeeper that worked that day from all over the park.....AND the people who had worked their last day and were ready to leave. Mary asked a guest to take a photo of all of us together which was funny because it is usually us taking the photographs for the guests (I'll have the picture whenever Angela sends it to me) Miguel was there too so I got his email address. It was sad to see him leave. We had tons of fun the whole time we worked together. He was like a brother.

Oh yeah... as an aside:

Miguel and me went to the Wild Flame Lobster Feast because we always said we would and it was fun. The lobster tasted bloody good and we ate alot. Miguel insisted I take a picture of him outside the row of shops where the Lobster place is. So here you go!

Anyway, back on topic. So we were all standing outside the Center Restroom and Mary told us she had arranged for us all to go and ride Rock 'n' Rollercoaster together. What a wonderful surprise. Riding a ride when I was supposed to be pulling full trash cans up at Fantasmic! Such fun we had. And it was the last train of the day so they had to have the lights on in the ride and it was an amazing experience. The ride is bloody huuuuuuuuge! Bigger than it looks I'm tellin' ya!

So! That day was really fun. It was a very nice send off for all of my friends and workmates that left today. It was a pleasure working with them all and the next three weeks wont be the same without them! But like I said to Miguel before he left, If its in the stars, we'll all meet again.

Goofy

2006-08-10T16:42:00.000+01:00

So like I was saying, I learned how to draw Goofy in the Animation Academy which was fun indeed, the artist was going super fast so I probably missed a few things out. I hope not. Let me show you my drawing of Goofy.

Oh yeah. I lost my nametag about three weeks ago so have been named things such as "Carl" and "Albert". Yesterday however, I took delivery of my replacement nametag so isn't that good news!

I met the boss. He was looking all posh...

2006-08-10T16:30:00.000+01:00

...Dressed up for the occasion he was, must've known we were coming.

...Apologies for the bad quality, I wasn't the one responsible for taking the picture. That was the photopass photographer's work on my camera you know!

Anyway, from left to right: Tom, Sorcerer Mickey, Roger and Ben

I'll put some more up soon I guess. People have been asking for "personal shots" or something so theres one!

Ben

Updates...

2006-08-09T17:46:00.000+01:00

- Be sure to look back at the post I enjoyed those 10 days. On-ride photograph added.
- Magic Kingdom photograph update added
- I would write this on the TagBoard but it seems to be broken...forever
- Disney-MGM Studios photographs coming soon
- I learned how to draw Goofy. Picture soon
- Enjoy

So... Magic Kingdom photographs

2006-08-09T05:33:00.000+01:00

...It seems as though there is interest in the Magic Kingdom photographs so okey dokey folks, here's the pictures.

Enjoy!

Every other person takes a shot of Main Street USA looking towards Cinderella Castle, so I thought I'd be different and take a picture of the opposite direction, looking down towards the main entrance of the park.

"Partners" The statue of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse in front of Cinderella Castle

Looking towards Tomorrowland

Here we have a bronze statue of Dumbo and Timothy (For Marissa)

...and Pinocchio with Jiminy Cricket

...Donald Duck

...Brer Rabbit

...Chip and Dale

...Goofy

...and Pluto! There was a statue of Minnie Mouse too but it was being surrounded by other guests so there was no chance of a picture I'm sorry!

Isn't Cinderella Castle just lovely looking!

I went on the TTA (Tomorrowland Transit Authority) because I like it alot. Its fun. Really!

Looking back over to Astro Orbiter which is above the TTA Station

Indy Speedway beneath me

Space Mountain to my north. It looks nice in this shot.

A nice view with Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in the distance

Birdie by the lake

Birdie by the lake waving at me. I named him Cedric.

Classic picture of Splash Mountain. Wonderful ride!

The newly rehabbed Pirates of the Carribean ride. Nothing too special really.

Okay folks, thats yer lot!

Another one coming soon, promise.

Hope you enjoy these...

Toodle Pip!

I went to Magic Kingdom...

2006-08-08T05:49:00.000+01:00

...for a walk with my camera, fancy a looky?

No?

Okay then! Don't say I didn't offer...

Ben's Boat Ride

2006-08-08T00:36:00.000+01:00

Ever since I found out that you could get a boat from Disney-MGM Studios to Epcot and vice-versa (from the very first day I started work) I had wanted to go and experience it myself because it looked fun. I had a day off on Saturday 5th August so I did it then but forgot my camera, so I had to wait for another day off to go again, this time with my camera. That day was yesterday after I finished work at 2:00pm and going back to Vista Way to shower/change and stuff. So, ladies and gentlemen-here are the pictures of my boat ride from Epcot to Disney-MGM Studios (I did it the other way round).

I got off the bus from Vista Way then came out through a gate, round about here, looking over towards Spaceship Earth (nice isn't it)

I then continued to head towards the ferry boat dock place and the boat called Friendship I was just about to dock. I watched it dock, then took this picture.

...and this one.

The first stop is the Yacht and Beach Club but due to the positioning of the sun, I couldn't get a photograph worth keeping so I'll start from the second destination, Disney's Boardwalk. And in all honesty, I never knew anything like that existed here until then. I wanted to get off the boat and investigate but I'll save that for another day.

...Docking

Other folk were waiting to board the vessel

I floated past Disney's Boardwalk entrance for the footpath that guests can take. Pretty nifty I know! I'll go by foot some day before I leave

Swan and Dolphin was up next. They look bloody nice, this is the Swan hotel, the Dolphin is opposite and has two dolphins on the roof. The dock is to the left.

OOOOOH Pretty bridge! This whole area is really really really nicely themed

I think this is the Boardwalk Inn or something but I'm not so sure, I am sure that it is on the final stretch of water approaching Disney-MGM Studios

See. About 35 minutes after departing Epcot I had arrived at Disney-MGM Studios and it was fun!

Thanks for reading folks!

Ben

I enjoyed those 10 days!

2006-07-31T03:48:00.000+01:00

On Thursday 20th July I was super excited all day as when I woke I knew my mother and sister were in the air on their way to visit me. I booked a room in the Animal Kingdom Lodge and after my shift at work finished at 8:00pm, I grabbed my packed bags, got changed out of costume and hurried to the bus stop to catch the bus to the hotel. I had time arranged off work which made me happy so I could spend time with them. And oh, did I mention that my girlfriend and her family arrived on the Saturday. That added to my happiness and excitement.

But anyway, so I get to the Animal Kingdom Lodge and have a quick look around to see if I can spot my mother and sister but nothing. Expecting a long wait, I did what I usually do after work and called Lindsay to see how she was and stuff, she ended up tracking the flights of mother and sister so we figured out that they were in Orlando and about a half-hour later they come off the Magical Express and yeah, it was great to see them after all of two months. Amy was scared of the flight but she got through it. I'm proud.

We did all the check in stuff, got our keys for the room (I also had to ask for a key to be made for Lindsay as it turned out that she was to stay with us in the hotel) and then made our way up to our room on floor 5. I'm sure my mother, Amy and Lindsay would agree with me on this, the Animal Kingdom Lodge is a beautiful hotel. We had a really nice view of Giraffes, things with big horns, Zebras and the list goes on. It was like living in a safari park. I enjoyed!

The following day, my mother, Amy and myself went to Downtown Disney for a look around the shops. Lindsay was still en-route so it would have been rude to use up a day on my main gate pass without her as one of my guests. I always enjoy walking in Downtown Disney, we went in a bunch of shops, bought some stuff then went back to the hotel for the night. That same day in the morning I went to Coronado Springs as thats the closest place I could get a haircut, I sure needed one!

The restaurant in Animal Kingdom Lodge was really good, we ate breakfast there for most of the days and it was some really good food. Amy never ate though, so I had to eat more to make up for her anorexia so after breakfast I was full for the rest of the day. We did all the Disney parks, saw all the spectaculars at night and I didn't remember how good Illuminaions at Epcot was because I only saw it once before! Wishes was grand like always and Fantasmic was very very good too! Eveybody enjoyed the shows which was good because Lindsay said she would behead me if they were not worth the wait.

I turned 20 while they were all here too, which was nice to have them with me on my day. The plan was to go to see Cirque Du Soleil and we got bloody good seats for a discounted price which made me happy! I got some wonderful gifts too. Books from my brother, DVD's from Amy, the Dr. Who series one box set from Mother and my dad gave me some money from his secret stash. How lucky am I. Thanks!

Lindsay got me a really nice jacket along with some shorts and a shirt and Grandma gave me $20 which was super nice of her! Thank you all for my gifts, loved every single one! I even wore the outfit Lindsay gave me for the Cirque Du Solieil show, even down to the cologne I wore (the stuff she gave me back in April when I went to take her to prom). The show, well.. It was amazing to say the least, I've seen two of them now and its very hard to decide which is better, but, Cirque Du Soleil is amazing. Lindsay and I even participated in the standing ovation it got at the end! I wonder which show we will see next?!

My mother and Amy really enjoyed it too and I had a good birthday. I enjoyed it!

I also took everyone to Universal Studios for the day and that was a very hectic day, it started off terribly. We arrived in a taxi just in time for the gates to open (the taxi was approx $30) so I persuaded Amy to ride the Incredible Hulk Coaster with me while I waited on a call from Lindsay to arrange meeting up for the day at the park. In line, I make sure my loose articles are secure for the ride so I don't lose anything. We ride the ride, get off the ride, I check to see for any phonecalls but there is no phone in my pocket so I start panicking and after an hour or two of trying to figure out where it could be and how I could get in touch with Lindsay I notice that up in the safety net beneath the first inversion is my phone in about three pieces. My mum thought it was bloody hilarious and I was in a dilemma, how can I get in touch with Lindsay to meet her. Well, I come to the conclusion that the only way of calling her is to go back to the hotel at Disney World to get my other phone and use that. Another taxi back cost me another $30 but most importantly, I got to call Lindsay and we met at the hotel and her wonderful parents took us back to Universal Studios to enjoy the rest of the day which we did, we all had a blast and we took Amy on Dueling Dragons which she enjoyed too! Oh yeah, I learned I was more ticklish than I ever thought I was too.

I think that just about covers it. I probably missed a bunch of stuff like, the very last day we all met up at IHOP for a farewell meal kind of thing which was nice. It was pretty saddening to see everybody leave but I'm almost finished here now. I'm actually counting the days, everybody else I've asked doesnt want to leave but for me. I can't wait for September 1st! I'm sick of the smell of trash and stuff!

I did however get my first ever Great Service Fanatic card this week becaause I extended to help out Showkeeping with a convention that was on. I just need to figure out what to do with it now! We have a cook out today at work which should be fun! So I better dash!

Bye!

P.S. A big thank you to everyone for my birthday gifts and such, you know who you are. NAN, AUNTIE DAWN and THE HARDIES for reminding me of what money looks like back home! Thanks a bunch. I had a grand birthday!

EDIT: My mother was a good sport. She rode all the rides that don't go upside down and all the wet ones at Disney World and Universal Studios... We all got ABSOLUTELY DRENCHED! It was such fun! Like, the most fun I've had in a looong time! You should have seen her and Amy's face on the Jurassic Park River Adventure photograph. They were not expecting the very large drop! (Mother, please scan the photograph and email it me so I can post it on here. Ta)

EDIT 2:

So heres the on-ride photograph for Jurassic Park River Adventure at Universal Islands of Adventure. Such FUN!

... And on a happier note

2006-07-16T04:36:00.000+01:00

I recieved this a couple of days ago and it made me smile:

Thank you, Lindsay... My day brightner!

*smiles*

GRRRR!!!

2006-07-16T02:50:00.000+01:00

Okey dokey. So there hasn't been much interesting things going on here recently... soon though, I'm sure. I've just been doing the usual stuff work wise and also my assignment which needs to be done by this coming Tuesday so that I can email it to my mother to get it handed in for me. Then I can have more fun I guess!

Well, today I was late for work for the first time, not my fault of course. I'll tell you all what happened and you can see for yourself. Okay, here goes.

Yesterday my shift ended at midnight and because of the crap transport arrangements I never got back to my apartment until 1:00am so I set my alarm for 6:30am in order to get ready in ample time for my shift which was scheduled for 8:00am because I'm that high maintenance *winks* But anyway I eventually get to bed around 2:30am and begin to doze off until I hear some VERY loud banging on everything thats bangable here, doors, windows, walls.. you name it! I woke up, it was obviously a housemate forgotten his key being very inconsiderate. I woke up, because it was very loud indeed, but didnt answer the door because I was kind of relaxed, wanting to go to sleep. I had to be up for work in 3 hours or so and my alarm was set for 6:30am.

The banging goes on until the housemate in question decides nobody is going to let him in so he does what he should have done an hour ago and went to security to ask to be let into his apartment. It was now around 4:30am and I wasn't impressed in the slightest, I started to go back to sleep and the next minute, he's talking loudly to one of the other housemates whilst watching Toy Story loudly also. So theres another hour of no sleep and I finally get to sleep at about 5:30am... Yayyy! An hour until my alarm was to wake me....

...But it didn't.

Instead, my room mate, Roger calls my name and asks me what time I'm due to work. I looked at my watch and it was 10:00am. 2 hours after my shift started so I got ready as quickly as I could. It took me about 15 minutes to get out of bed, wash and dress. So there it is. I got into work at around 11:00 ish and explained to the manager, who is a really nice chap and he rescheduled me so I did get a shift which is grand!

So, out of all of my house mates, only three of them are nice. We have one that doesn't even acknowlede our prescence when we see him and he also sleeps on the couch, another who is louder than Glastonbury and last and very much so least, another who is a mixture of the two, plus incredibly lazy.

Thats enough of me bashing my housmates, they leave soon. I can't wait!

I have my assignment to finish now.

I'll then have time for more updates!

Cheerio!

Hello Folks!

2006-07-11T12:32:00.000+01:00

Sorry the posting on my blog has sort of stopped. This is only a temporary pause as I've had little or no time to do anything other than work this past week. Well I have chance now so I'll run through the highlights of the week - Its only going to be short as I'm nipping out with some friends in half-an-hour.

I've been working bloody hard, increasing my guest service skills, going "above and beyond" to help guests out; like yesterday, a man and his daughter approached me who couldnt speak/understand much English, he knew VERY little. He wanted to get to the Sci-Fi restsurant/theater thing - I knew this because the only words I could distinguish were "Sci-Fi" and "food in cars". I would have NEVER been able to direct the poor chap, so I became his personal escort for all of 15 minutes to make sure they got there which made me feel better knowing I never sent a guest the wrong way... or as my father would say - a "bum-steer". He was very appreciative and shook my hand. I guess thats Spanish for "Thank you sir, I appreciate it"

What else have I done...

Ermmm.. Yeah, so I got somebody a complimentary umberella as hers had broken, she was a fan of that too. I was wearing my rain gear so felt a bit guilty really so I felt I had to. I've been making friends in management and one is going to write down the Organisational Structure for my college project (does that count as networking skills, mother?)

I also cleaned up the biggest protein spill (which I went out of my way to do) because SK-22 wasn't answering his radio, I was SK-21 and heard the call so volunteered to go clean it up which was nice of me, I think. I also helped in pulling bags out of all the overflowing trash cans in my zone because the lack of cast members working messed up the action plan and the hadn't been a trash run for about 4 hours before. Things got messy!

Yeah, so thats about it for now, sorry its short but a photo update is imminent

Ta,

Ben

More showkeeping fun!

2006-07-04T06:01:00.000+01:00

Hello all. Sorry its been so long, but y'know; its better late than never! Let me see... What can I tell you?!

Erm, so... last Saturday was my day off which I must say, was fun. Myself and some workmates decided to spend the day together as we all had the same day off and we began by going to Animal Kingdom for a little while and we had lunch at the barbeque place there. I had chicken and it tasted rather nice. We rode Expedition Everest because one of our party had never ridden it before and then went on to Magic Kingdom where we would spend the rest of the night. We got alot done at Magic Kingdom, more than I have ever done there before. The highlights must have been Mickeys PhilharMagic (I think it gets better every time I see it). Oh, and we also got to ride the newly refurbished Pirates of the Caribbean. The new stuff is very realistic but I couldn't remember what it was like last year when I rode it, so it was like a totally new ride for me. Very good though!

For dinner, we had booked to go to the Crystal Palace which is a buffet (a really really good buffet) where Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore and Piglet each come to visit our table. It was fun but quite expensive - At least I can say I dined with characters from Winnie the Pooh!

Then we saw Wishes which is very good, but I do still prefer Fantasmic, even though I've seen it a million times!

Then the following couple of days were hard-core work days... I mean, 10 hours a day and the place is heaving because of July 4th (which is today) Happy 4th July. But yeah, anyway. It rained a heck of a lot and my feet are ruined because of the walking around with wet socks all day! So, I have two days off now, which is nice. I can't go to any of the parks I don't think, so I'm probably going to go to Downtown Disney but if its super busy, then I'll postpone my trip. Its looking as if its another by myself day. But then, I kinda like walking around at my own pace all day! I'll take my camera (with full battery) so I can share my days off, whatever I decide to do.

Thanks for stopping by, but thats all for now!

Couple of updates!

2006-06-30T19:08:00.000+01:00

So, since my last post. I have worked at Fantasmic... AGAIN but it wasn't as much fun as last time because it never rained as much, but it did rain still! Nothing of interest happened other than Mickey Mouse falling right at the beginning of the second show. Poor thing. He's okay though, he did a good job of making it look like he actually meant to do it! Kudos to Mickey, he still made an excellent show, the grand finale was still wonderful like always!

Oh, I got a good paycheck yesterday too, I'll get more than I got this week next week though, which is going to be very nice indeed! I can't wait for that one. But yesterday was easily the weirdest day I've experienced here. The 3:30pm Track Talk was totally different as rather than our manager talking to us, we had the Human Resources manager talking, telling us how to respond to questions we were more than likely to be asked about a certain situation that morning.

On a lighter note, tomorrow is my day off, which is going to be really fun as I am going to Animal Kingdom with some workmates and then to Magic Kingdom for dinner and to watch Wishes. I'm pretty excited about that, its going to be much fun indeed! Yay!

I still need to pay my first two paychecks into my account, which I'll do today at some point because I've learned I can do it at one of the ATMs at work! More money soon! Yippeee!

That be all for now!

Ben

My day off, in pictures.

2006-06-28T17:05:00.000+01:00

Well, I started my day here at the Disney-MGM Studios because I wanted to walk around the shops, something I had never done before.

I fancied a ride on these, but I never because the lines were too long so carried on browsing the shops and other stuff like...

...These little lads, I think these are amazing. I also went to...

...The Magic of Disney Animation, it has a really good shop that sells some really beautiful art work which I'll buy one day, before I leave here. I then wanted a change of scenery, so decided to further explore the park and ended up here:

But I was unsure as to where I actually was supposed to be. I thought San Fransisco until I noticed the Telephone and Letter Box from England... my curisosity grew...

...So I went to visit New York. I'm pretty sure this is New York too! I decided to head back to the park exit but things got dangerous, very dangerous... I feared for my life when I noticed in the corner of my eye

...A Star Wars thingumyjiggy hiding in the bushes making its shooting sound. I tactically maneuvered my way around it and came out of the situation unhurt, and it made me happy. Next time I'll avoid that area. Its dangerous, I swear. I had to get out of this place, I made my way to...

...Where I knew I would be safe because theres nothing out to get me there. No Star Wars thingumyjiggys or anything.

I went here...

...Because I wanted to ride this...

...But noticed this, so I didn't. I made my way over to the World Showcase for IllumiNations but got sidetracked by this:

(click to enlarge) and this:

Sorry they are not that good, but the camera made them all crazy. I had my camera poised for ages too, the moment I switched my camera off, the perfect bolt of lightning illuminated the sky. It would have made a beautiful picture too! I gave up trying to get pictures of the lightning to went back to Disney-MGM Studios and visited Miguel and Erika at work. I saw Anthony too, he was manager for the night. He's funny and I think a good manager!

I rode this (Rock 'n' RollerCoaster Starring: Aerosmith), then came back to my apartment to sleep and stuff.

...And to tell you all about my day off.

Well, thats about it. I hope you enjoy, and that this makes up for the lack of pictures on my blog.

Byebye for now.

Ben!

Fun time at work!

2006-06-28T04:19:00.000+01:00

I knew that any amount of hours I work now will be a doddle since my 16 hour shift so went into work Monday feeling all accomplished and ready for a simple 8 hour long shift! I looked at the action plan and it was Miguel and myself on Fantasmic streets which involves making sure all the trash cans have ten bags inside them because they get super full before and after the show and its very hectic and also emptying them and making sure they are all emptied before, during and after the shows. Janet, one of the Fantasmic restroom showkeepers for the day joined us and helped pre-bag the area... we couldn't find any black bags, so went back to the shed to get some and then the rain came. Really, Really heavy rain. Sunset Boulevard was flooding, my feet were swimming inside my shoes. I had my rain gear on so my upper torso and legs were nice and dry. Miguel only had the top half of his rain gear on so his white shorts became wet and (very) see through which caused alot of amusement to the three of us because he never took Disney's advice, instead he wore dark coloured, patterned boxer shorts; I say no more.

We did take shelter in the restroom closet for a while but I wanted to go and walk about in the rain, because I'm British, I think rain is fun... especially with the almighty rain gear! My pen did fall out of my pocket into a puddle though, I've not used it since but I hope it works when I need it! We went back up to Fantasmic to start pre-bagging, but then the rain got heavier, so we ended up sitting in the store room on a bag of towels while we dried off our feet and talked a while.

Then it was time for break

So we went to Take 5 which is the canteen of choice for Disney-MGM Studios Cast Members. Erika joined us (she was on restrooms in zone 1) so the four of us had our 15 minute breaks together which was a good way of team-building. Then it began to thunder and lightning, alot. Our manager, Anthony joined us and told us to stay dry and not to get struck by lightning. We took his advice and never got struck, because we ended up staying in Take 5 until the weather improved. We learned that all four of us are off work on Saturday so planned to all go to a park or two, and to finish the day with Wishes at Magic Kingdom... Thats the plan, anyway. Miguel has never been on Expedition Everest at Animal Kingdom or Soarin' at Epcot. In fact, the only ride in Epcot he has been on is "...the one the kid died on" or Mission: Space to everybody else. But he has been to nearly every restaurant/fast food place that exists on (and off) Disney property... he likes his food that lad. So we're all going to hang out on Saturday yeah.

We then decided to get back to work because the rain had turned to a light drizzle. Erika went to her restrooms on Sunset Boulevard while Miguel, Janet and myself went back to Fantasmic to do our assigned tasks. We got back and then the heavy rain came again, but this time we stayed outside and slowly pre-bagged the area. Parade was cancelled so no PowerVac and Pushbroom for Miguel and me so that gave us more time, which we needed seeing as the trash cans kept filling up with water. Eventually the rain stopped and we got to squeegee the trash cans and benches to get them dry and "show ready" for the guests to use. We also squeegee'd the ground because there were a fair few puddles that needed pushing, Anthony came to see how we were doing and commented on how good the place looked, which was nice to hear seeing as we all had to battle the elements to get it done. I had SK-25, so he took a walk along the pathway that the people who buy the Fantasmic Dinner Package use to see if there were many puddles, he would call me if he saw anything so I had to rush to the shed to upgrade my squeegee to something more heavy duty.

Shortly after, it was time for the guests to arrive, so we took our break together again, I got called to an ice cream spill which I went to clean up immediately. I also had to go to the male restroom because firstly, it would look weird if I went into a female restroom and secondly, two of the paper towel dispensers were empty (which the male restroom guy was supposed to fill up) I got it all sorted though because I'm good like that. We then did all the Fantasmic stuff like pulling trash and watching the show. Even Anthony (the manager, remember) came up to watch it... he's very chilled out but he did tell us we did a good job!

Miguel and me pulled all the trash during the first show, and afterwards when we can never stop them from overflowing because if we pulled the liners out of the trash cans while people walk past, they actually put trash in through the flaps, not realising there is no liner in there. Thats quite frustrating when it happens. Especially if its a half-full (optimistic) cup of coke, then it causes a huge mess.

I got to watch all of the second show but there a couple of things went wrong during it, which I won't tell you about because my mother, sister, girlfriend and probably her family are going to be seeing it soon, and I don't want to spoil it for them! I still heard people commenting on how "Awesome" the show was though. One little girl even approached me and asked a rather stupid question:

"Excuse me..."
"Hey there!"
"How many Mickey's are there?!"
"Well obviously, there is only one"
"What?!"
"There is only one Mickey Mouse!"
"ONLY ONE?!!?"
"Yes!"
"Oh.. wow!
*girl smiles, and merrily walks off to her parents*

I had been waiting for someone to ask me such a question for a while, so it made me happy. One of the Fantasmic managers had witnessed this too, so thats good! But, one of the Fantasmic Cast Members was rather rude to me indeed. I was on my break talking with Janet and waiting for the others, Miguel and Erika to join us and one of the Fantasmic girls shouted over to me and said "Ben... do you ever do any work?!" and bearing in mind the day before I worked a 16 hour shift, I was offended, really... So I made my way over to her and made her aware of this, "So, do you know how many hours I worked yesterday?" "Nope" she replied. "Well, I actually did 16 hours, so I guess I do actually do some work". That put her straight. It was very rude seeing as Custodians surely have the most work out of any of them, and if not, its well up there! I was soon laughing again because Erika came to amuse/entertain us. She thought she had lost her mobile phone, which she was worried that whoever found it would throw it away because she had wrapped it up in napkins, then put it in a napkin bag to keep it dry in all the rain. She did eventually find it though, so thats good.

Miguel and me got all of our work done by 11:20pm so went to help close the restrooms, then we all got E.R. (Early Release) by Anthony at 11:42pm because we had "all worked so hard" so we could get the bus back to Vista Way. Miguel, Erika and Janet wanted to go to get a Woofle or a Waffle, but I was tired, and wanted to call Lindsay so went straight back to my apartment and looked forward to my day off (which I will tell you all about in my next post) Maybe I'll make it interesting by telling you the story of my day off through pictures to make up for the significant lack of them on my blog!

Bye for now!

Happy Birthday Nan

2006-06-27T19:25:00.000+01:00

So yesterday was my Nanny's birthday so I think she deserves a big happy birthday for yesterday... so...

!HAPPY BIRTHDAY NAN!

I hope you have a great. wonderful and magical day!

Love,

Your Grandson, Ben

xxx!

Sorry its been a while...

2006-06-26T16:42:00.001+01:00

I was going to post a new entry yesterday but got a little bit sidetracked. According to my schedule I was supposed to work from 7:00am, then take a class about Safety in Motion, then work until 3:30pm. Then I would come back to my apartment and keep you lot updated on my adventure. But thats not quite what happened. What actually happened was, I set my alarm for 5:30am so I could get ready and get the bus on time to get to work at 7:00am so that bit went to plan. Good. But then I obviously got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time because the opening manager approached me to ask if I could stay a little bit later than 3:30pm because they were short staffed for that day. I asked what time I should work until and she just told me that it doesnt matter that much but she needs people until 11:30pm so me being me, agreed to stay until 11:30pm. That meant my shift was 16 hours long which I've never done before so Dad, I'm not a "lazy get". I'm getting paid time-and-a-half for eight hours which will be nice next pay check.

My feet havent recovered yet, but they should soon. I'm off tomorrow but have a shift today from 3:30pm until midnight which is nice as its only half the time I did yestederday. What do you think I should do on my day off tomorrow?

That was a long day!

2006-06-24T18:32:00.000+01:00

Yesterday was going pretty well for me, although it was so bloody hot, and I mean HOT. 100% humidity too. The hottest its been thus far while I've been here. I kept on having to go backstage for a drink and more sunscreen every half hour. It was boiling.

But yeah, I was scheduled to work 1:15pm 'til 9:45pm so when it comes to 6:00pm and I'm getting happy because I can rest in only three hours but then I get warm so decide to take a walk in the shade by Tower of Terror, I bump into my manager who thinks one of the Showkeepers didn't turn up for work and asks me to stay longer. Me being the kind person I am, agree to stay until midnight (which means my shift was 10 hours long). It wasn't too bad seeing as it cooled down alot at night. Then, I notice the person who "didn't show up for work" was actually in and doing their trash run so I am there for 3 hours more than I should be when I really didn't need to be. I wasn't complaining though, it was only a few more hours and I was getting paid overtime. Woooo!

It was quite a laugh though. But I'm still tired from it seeing as I work 10 hours a week back in England. My feet hurt.

So today, I washed some dirty laundry which was fun, I guess. It rained really heavily for a mere 15 seconds (now its started again). I have to be in work at 3:30pm. By the end of my shift today, I will have worked 44.8 hours in one week. *yawns*. Next day off is Tuesday but its a shame its not today as some of my friends have gone to Universal Studios and left me here to work. Yesterday saw the arrival of our new housemate, Julian who I've only spoken to for about 5 minutes (I showed him how to use the Thermostat at 3 'o' clock this morning). He's French - I think theres another one too but that might be the one who has been here since I moved in but haven't met yet. Hmmmm. But anyway, Julian has gone to Universal Studios with them too.

Better get ready for work,

Bye for now!

Yesterday...

2006-06-23T16:02:00.000+01:00

Yesterday was just like any other. I had zone 2 streets all day. Nothing special. I had closing trash runs at Tower of Terror and Rock 'n' RollerCoaster, I did Tower of Terror last when nobody was in there and it was pretty eerie, I must say and there were tons of overflowing trash cans which there shouldn't have been. I found this quote on the wall in our shed before I started my shift which I thought was nice in its own little way, so I wrote it down on a piece of scrap paper. Let me share it with you.

If a man is called to be a street sweeper,
he should sweep even as Michelangelo painted or
Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry.

He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts
in heaven and earth will pause to say,

"Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well"

Martin Luther King Jr.

So I guess there is not much else to say about yesterday other than I found that quote which I quite like.

Toodles!

A Picture

2006-06-22T16:08:00.000+01:00

For some reason, blogger won't let me upload my pictures... This one worked though. So I'll post it

Well, here you go... my costume. And me, of course.

Ben

Ben's by myself day

2006-06-21T18:36:00.000+01:00

My day off yesterday took me on and adventure, it involved me hopping on the first bus that arrived at Vista Way and going wherever it took me. About 1:30pm I strolled to the bus stop, boarded the bus to Animal Kingdom. It was the only one there. A good while later I am at the entrance to Animal Kingdom and spend a good three hours there just being spontaneous and having a good time... by myself. Next thing, I thought that seeing as I was in the vicinity I would go and visit the Animal Kingdom Lodge (the place I will be staying at from 20th 'til 27th July) I went to the reception as I wanted to see how I could get the Magical Express sorted to pick my mum and sister from the airport when they arrive. The man couldn't help me though, just gave me a number to call, one of those with letters in. "Just call 407-WDW-CAST and they will help you". All I need now is to find a phone that can dial out using letters rather than numbers *ponders*.

But anyway, what did I do next... Thats right, I got the bus to Downtown Disney because I've not been there since I got here and I decided that its a really nice place for a by myself day as you can just walk at your own pace and look in the shops and such. It was fun! I went for a browse in "The Art of Disney" store, and there is some really really really nice prints, sculpture, drawings and paintings. I can see myself spending a fair amount of money (with my 25% Cast Member discount) there some time before I leave here.

My walk around Downtown Disney was fun and I visited just about every shop around there. So decided I wanted to go to the Magic Kingdom and have a wander around there for a couple of hours until I could decide what to do next. I wasn't sure of how to get there from Downtown Disney as the only buses were to the resorts so used my Disney knowledge and got the bus to Disney's Contemporary Resort as it is the nearest to Magic Kingdom and has its own walkway to the park, I was going to get the monorail but couldn't be bothered waiting in line so yeah, I took the walkway and 10/15 minutes later I was at the park. Wishes was at 10:00pm and seeing as I had already been to Disney's Animal Kingdom and Downtown Disney I thought I would challenge myself by stepping foot in all of the Disney Theme Parks (excluding water parks) before the end of the night. So after a quick walk around the park, I bought a Pineapple Float from one of the shops there and consumed that while I headed to the monorail, bound for Epcot. Stopped off at the Polynesian resort which looked nice also but soon got to Epcot. I contemplated watching IllumiNations, but it had already started by the time I got there so walked straight out and waited at the bus stop for Disney-MGM Studios. That was the only park left until I could say I had been to every park in one day. Yeah, it was an easy task, but I suceeded. It was a nice by myself day.

Thats all for now... I'm working 6:00pm until midnight today which should be nice! Only 6 hours, yayy!

Bye for now

I actually did make some magic!

2006-06-20T17:24:00.000+01:00

Work yesterday started off okay I guess, I was on "Zone 2" which is Rock 'n' RollerCoaster and Tower of Terror so I had to sweep around the attractions all day, with a trash run on Tower of Terror and later on a closing trash run on both rides. The trash run on Tower of Terror was fun because well, it was just fun. I got to talk to some of the Bellhops and another Showkeeper helped me out, so we made it fun. Nothing much happened of interest other than me getting called to an over flowing trash can just by the entrance to the lobby on Tower of Terror. It was a mess, a cup of water fell and went all over the floor. Its a good job I made sure no guests were about otherwise they would have been soaked.

I will tell you the main highlight of my day, and its things like this which make my job so worthwhile. I wear a lanyard around my neck which has ten Disney pins on which I am allowed to trade with the guests while I am working and I was called to a over flowing trash can by the entrance to Fantasmic which I couldn't find when I got there but somebody came over to trade a pin with me, which I did but then a lady started talking to me. She asked how many pins I trade in a day and all sorts of questions like that, then it got to the more personal questions like, "are you from England?" "which part?" "how long are you here for, Ben?" (yeah, they called me by my name again!). She had a little daughter, she must of only been about 6 years old or so and was too small for any of the big rides so I wanted to make her day that bit more special to make up for it. I noticed that she was looking at my pins and I said to her, "So which is you favourite on here?" and she pointed to a pin I have of Cinderella. I took it off my lanyard and gave it to her and her mum and (I'm guessing it was) her grandma gasped and her mother said to her, "well what do you say to Ben?" and she got up out of her pushchair, gave me a hug and said, "Thank you". And that, was the highlight of my day. I felt as if I had made somebodys day that bit more magical and special and lots of job satisfaction too. I'm now one pin down, a pin that Disney supplied to me, but do you not think it was worth the sacrifice?!

And today is my day off but I don't know what to do... I may go on a by myself day to Downtown Disney or something because I've not been there yet and nobody else has a day off today, well, I'm sure people do have a day off, but just nobody I know. Oh, and yesterday I requested time off work for my birthday, which did get approved but only I have 3 days off, 4 days in work, then 4 days off. I guess thats okay though!

Sorry its short, but thats all for now!

Ben

One day off, then more work.

2006-06-19T15:57:00.000+01:00

Morning/afternoon all,

Time for updates on the last two days I think. Let me see, I'll start from Saturday, my day off which is the first thing that happened since my last blog. I woke up early on Saturday because I wanted to make the most of my day off, no sleeping in 'til midday because that would just be a waste, right? Yup. Well. Then after getting ready I decided to check email, blog comments and all the exciting things internet users frequently check. Then I got bored. My roommate had a day off but he had left earlier than I woke up so I was just stuck in the apartment with nothing to do, until I called my friend from college, Tom. We met up and made our way to Magic Kingdom, we took the ferry across from the TTC (Transport and Ticket Center) It was a boiling hot day too. We went to see PhilarMagic which is a really really wonderful show which you all have to come over here to see. Then we went to meet up with some other friends that were there by the tea cup ride but Tom and myself got in line because it was only a 5 minute wait so never actually got to meet them there so a phone call later we met up at It's a Small World and the queue was pretty long for it so me and Tom decided to go to Animal Kingdom as he wanted to take a ride on Expedition Everest. I gladly offered to go with him because it is a very good ride indeed. That was the longest line we waited in that day.. 70 minutes, but like always, it was worth it. I actually thought the ride was better than the two other times I had ridden it. We sat at the front, which is definitely the place to be!

We never saw much at Animal Kingdom, just, "It's Tough to be a Bug" which is a 3D show based on the film, "Bugs Life". I'm sorry but, I really don't like that show... most people do, but not me. It doesn't seem very Disney at all, like the rest of Animal Kingdom. But yeah, we saw that then hopped on the bus again to Disney-MGM Studios to get some rides on Tower of Terror and Rock 'n' RollerCoaster which was nice because those rides are always fun. Tower of Terror being most fun. I went from being absolutely terrified and holding on for my life during last years holiday to not holding on for my life and enjoying it this year. What joy.

We decided to wath the 9:00pm Fantasmic becase it never gets boring and even though we arrived late, we still got good seats, two rows from the front. The people who sat next to us decided to move to higher ground soon after the show started because of the wind blowing spray from the water over us. Oh, did I mention that I took some pictures of my day off? I'll post them when Blogger allows me to.. Silly Internet Grrr!

Well, that was my day off... Yesterday was more work, but my 8 hour shift went pretty quickly and smoothly... I won't talk much about the dirty side of my job, like the blocked toilet I had to un-block in the Tower of Terror, by the Cast Members break room because you don't want to know about that. I had two trash runs which I successfully completed and the rest of the time I was just sweeping the streets with my trusty pan and broom and talking to the guests for the day... not all 24000 of them, but only a select few. I witnessed one of the Hollywood Tower Hotel's Bellhops performing a Magical Moment and the family was very excited about it which made me smile.

I did talk to some really cool people though, it was a rather large family headed towards Tower of Terror, but the father was adamant he wasn't going to ride it, he was with another guy, I'm unsure of how they relate to eachother, I was just talking to them. They had to stay and look after one of their daughters so I stood ad chatted away, recommending parks, shows, things to do and stuff. It was a nice conversation and at the end of it I told them to have a great night, they both shook my hand and said, "Well it's nice to meet you, Ben". That made me happy... and the manager was about too, standing over at the bottom of Sunset Boulevard. Hopefully he noticed my "guest service" skills. There's one learning target accomplished, right there. So, that was the highlight of yesterday, because I really like when people who I've never met before call me by my name. It makes me feel special! Woohoo!

Ahhhh, well, actually, something else very exciting happened to me, it was on my break at Take 5 (the cafeteria, remember). Basically, I had ran out of money and was starving, so before my break I went to the ATM by the Cast Member entrance and got myself $100 to last until I get time to go to get my bank account sorted. I got a $20 note changed so I could use the vending machines. Put a couple of dollars in and key in 163 (I think) for a packet of crisps and then the machines starts beeping like its having a fit of some sort.. poor thing, but then I read this, scrolling across the screen ":: WINNER ::" and then it vended my crisps, then gave me my 85 cents back. I was amazed, and instantly declared myself one of lifes winners. It was great!

Then I finished my shift and came back to my apartment. Next week, I'm working 5 days a week, like I should be, but my days off ar not consecutive, but at least its two days off, rather than one!

Better dash now, must go to Walgreens or something so I don't starve again!

Cheerio, hope you enjoy this long blog.

I worked at Fantasmic again...

2006-06-17T15:47:00.000+01:00

...and it was fun, but full of responsibility like always. Whilst I was pre-bagging (making sure each trash can has 6 to 10 bags in) the area it started to rain. But this wasn't any normal rain, it was thunder and lightning, huuuuge monsoon rain. I couldn't put bags in the trash cans under such situations so I threw on my 2XL rain gear and took shelter. I had PowerVac duty for the 5:30pm parade (which I never had to do as it was cancelled) so could finish pre-bagging quite easily indeed.

I had lunch at 6:15pm and by the time I had finished at 6:45pm the rain had sorta stopped so I got back up to Fantasmic to get everything looking nice for the guests. I squeegeed and dried every trash can and another custodial bloke was sweeping the leaves and between us, we had it covered.

I watched the first show at 9:00pm and will never get bored of it, really. Its wonderful! I had SK-25 again and had to call for first aid on it after the first showing and in this time, I also get rid of all the trash, there was a few overflowing trash cans.

Second show went like usual and then after cleaning up after that it was time to clock out, hand the radio back to the manager and get the bus back. Job done.

Now it is my day off and everyone else is out so I dunno what to do. I have $17.00 in change, and two paychecks for $67.00 which is pretty crap pay really! I set up a bank account at the very beginning, and don't even have an account number yet. So whats to do!?

Well, I better go and have some fun. Anybody fancy a ride on Tower of Terror or Rock 'n' Rollercoaster or any other of the Disney fun rides... Expedition Everest? Anyone?

Well, I'll find something to do!

Ben

Ahh, I'm going to request some days off, seeing as I know how to do it now!

My Duties for the Day!

2006-06-15T03:21:00.000+01:00

Today went really slowly, I was in work at 12:00pm and finished at 8:30pm, which wasn't too bad really. It was raining really hard to begin with so got my 2XL rain gear out which was super big on me but kept my costume dry. I had nothing special to do until 6:00pm when I had to do a trash run at Tower of Terror so I spent the afternoon sweeping and talking to the guests at and around Rock 'n' RollerCoaster. I found that quite enjoyable but the music that continuously plays in the courtyard got annoying after the fifth time of listening to the playlist in the background.

I had my first break and was super hungry so got two cinnamon rolls from the vending machine at Take 5, I've decided I really like them! So that killed 15 minutes. After break I headed back to the Rock 'n' RollerCoaster courtyard and noticed alot of chewing gum on the ground... grrr.. people shouldn't do things like that at Walt Disney World, but whatever, people were amazed at my technique of removing the gum so that made me happy.. I gathered quite a crowd *smug face*.

Well, later in the day, I started my trash run at Tower of Terror after picking up the walkie talkie from the person who had been using it before me, the name escapes me, however. The very moment I put my headset on, this happened:

"SK-22, this is Tower Base"
(I was SK-22 today)
"This is SK-22",
"We have a protein spill..."
"I'll be right up!"

So I before emptying any trash, I had to clean up a protein spill, inside one of the elevators so I stocked up on towels and picked up a bottle of disinfectant type stuff to clear the mess and make it smell nice afterwards so the waiting people could get on the ride as soon as possible. The Bellhop who called me up to the protein spill felt bad for me because every time I have cleaned one up, she has been the one to call me up to it, I found it amusing... it wasn't to bad though and cleaned up a treat, not that you all wanted to know that but this blog is about my job here, and part of my job involes that kind of stuff. The Bellhops were very appreciative of it though and thanked me so I got back to my trash run feeling quite proud indeed.

The trash run was pretty difficult seeing as Tower of Terror had 80 minute long queue lines so it was near impossible to get the trash cans around it. Accomplishing this task involved a lot of "excuse me", "thank you". One person standing in line was riding for his first time (along with probably hundreds of others) but I told him he was in for a real treat so he got more excited and felt happier about waiting 80 minutes for a 4 minute ride so that was good.

So I finished my trash run after about two hours and then it was time for me to go back to my apartment. I was very tired, almost fell asleep on the bus back. People seem to be doing that alot because it is tiring stuff.

I have to be at work in a couple of hours so better go see to my laundry! It should be done now.

Bye for now.

Ben

Its...

2006-06-13T17:04:00.000+01:00

...Raining again

It feels like...

2006-06-13T15:36:00.000+01:00

...I have fulfilled yet another ambition, well two actually. Because it rained lots yesterday I did finally get to use the big squeegee which made me happy. In fact, a fellow Cast Member working at Beauty and the Beast said, "Hey, nice squeegee" as I merrily squeegeed by so I stopped for a chat about the niceness of my squeegee, I then decided I should introduce myself and like always, he asked where I am from (that always comes up in conversation) he was a good lad though but we never actually finished our conversation as he was interrupted by something or other, so I squeegeed on for a while longer.

Ohh, and the other ambition I fulfilled was that I got to wear my Disney issue "rain gear" which consists of a very thin waterproof coat with detachable hood, I never wore the trouser type things though because the coat ripped because it was cheap so I need to get another one soon for if/when Alberto strikes.

I was working at Rock 'n' RollerCoaster and Tower of Terror yesterday and had to do trash runs in both at the end of the night. Rock 'n' RollerCoaster wasn't bad, but walking through/inside Tower of Terror at night, with nobody else inside is quite eerie indeed, more so when one of the Bellhops walks into the Boiler Room around a corner (which is where I was emptying trash). I think we scared the crap out of eachother!

Not much else worth mentioning happened that day other than a situation with Fantasmic, It just stopped, music and everything and then Mr. Announcer came on with a "Ladies and Gentlemen, due to technical difficulties, tonights performance of Fantasmic cannot continue...blah blah blah" (he never actually said "blah blah blah" but you get the picture.

Well, that is all for now, I'm working at 3:00pm at Main Entrance, which I've not done before... Should be fun!?

ByeBye for now

Ben

Another day at Fantasmic

2006-06-12T18:07:00.000+01:00

My 4:00pm 'til 11:30pm shift yesterday was exactly the same as my shift on Friday, working on Fantasmic which was very enjoyable and I got to use my hand held squeegee on the trash cans which was exciting in its own little way. I bet every one of you has envied the window cleaner at some point in your lives when you saw them using one. I had a walkie talkie again too which made me feel all important as I get to listen to management discussing managerial type things, like a "trash can" overflowing at Star Tours and stuff like that. Its quite fun, really.

I was working with a lad called Miguel, from Mexico which I found quite difficult as he couldn't understand me much but then there was another lad called Matthew who was doing the restrooms at Fantasmic. He helped alot and I learned a heck of alot from him, he's no manager or trainer or anything... Just a generally nice guy who knew exactly what he was doing. We both did a real good job with the PowerVac up there, because of all the leaves. We got Fantasmic looking Fantastic!

Parade duty at 5:00pm didn't go too well, I kept messing up and missing all the popcorn spills but it was only my second time, so the manager didn't mind!

So then I had lunch, followed shortly after by a break and then it was time to get back to Fantasmic to get everything ready for the guests to come in at 7:30pm which we did. Everything was basically the same as Friday, only I had to clean up two protein spills this time.. eugh! All part of the job though I guess. Thats all for now, its raining and I must get ready for work!

Ben

Protein spill is Disney-ese for a guest being sick

And it rained, and rained, and rained.

2006-06-11T18:48:00.000+01:00

Like yesterday, it has just started to rain.. ALOT. Back in England we would refer to it as "pissing it down" but the rain here is so much more.. well.. wet, I guess! I have to go to work at 4:00pm and hope it stops by then but even if it doesn't I have my "rain gear" as part of my costume which I can wear today! Thats exciting! OOOH.. I may even get to use the big squeegee at work today!

I took a picture from my apartment window but I don't think it came out very good but you can click it to make it bigger - I'm good like that!

Cheerio!

I could do with a brolly, really!

Such a long day!

2006-06-10T06:52:00.001+01:00

Two updates in one day... how lucky you all are! Today has been full of mixed feelings. There were times when the sheer heat was getting too much for me and was becoming more and more exhausted, the cold water in my water bottle was becoming warm water within minutes. There were also times that I felt that it was all worth it to see how happy the guests were experiencing the Disney Magic for themselves and also, the smile on a little childs face when I traded pins with her because she really wanted the princess I had on my lanyard. It felt like I helped make her day just that little bit more magical.

It was my first full shift at the Disney-MGM Studios and what a shift it was. I arrived there at 2:30pm, got changed into my costume and went straight to "Take 5" (The Cast Member's canteen place) to buy my lunch as I was absolutely starving and by the time I had finished everything I went to clock in for my shift as it was 3:30pm. I picked up an Action Plan and found out that I was working at Fantasmic all day. I was still unsure of what to do when working Fantasmic but Track Talk (like a "mission briefing" type thing) was just about to start so I went to meet with the other Custodians and the manager there. One of the managers was glad to assist me in deciphering the Action Plan and a fellow Custodian called Jackson took me around Fantasmic and filled me in on the duties up there. Basically, I had to put bags in all the trash cans and make sure each bin had 8 to 10 bags. Then I had to go to do Parade duties at 5:00pm which involved pushing the power vac along the parade route after it had finished because there are alot of popcorn spills along the route where people sit on the curb to watch the parade. That was quite good fun though and toward the end of that stint was when I did alot of pin trading (because the manager gave us all a lanyard with 12 pins to trade with guests yesterday) including the princess pin scenario!

The parade duties ran late so I missed lunch... Oh well, its lucky I had something before my shift started! Oh yeah, I felt really important though, I was given a walkie talkie thing all day so that the manager could keep in touch with me about progress at Fantasmic, which leads me on to after the parade I headed straight up to Fantasmic to help pre-bag the area (another Cast Member was already there doing some) and suddenly in my earpiece I heard "SK-25" (that was me). The manager wanted to see how I was getting on at Fantasmic so we had a chat about things regarding duties and such. That alone made my day a little bit more exciting! Next it was time for me to pan and broom the area to make sure it was all nice and tidy for the guests which I did up until one of the Cast Members working on Fantasmic who tells the guests where to sit came over to me to inform me of a "protein spill" soon after the guests were piling in so I quickly had to get this cleaned up. I am pleased with how I handled the situation... Exactly like Dave had showed me two days before and after it was cleaned up one of the security guards came over to tell me I did a "Good Job". That made me happy!

So after that incident I went to have a break for 15 minutes, took off my earpiece as I didnt want any distractions while I was sitting in Take 5, relaxing, on the phone. The 15 minute breaks seem to go so fast though. I had to rush to get back up to Fantasmic to empty the trash cans, clean up the entire place and there was a big spill I had to attend to aswell. The trash was overflowing, but the Custodial team had it all covered! We only had 30 minutes to clean up before the next group of guests came in for the second showing but that was easily done! I watched Fantasmic (Wonderful show) then emptied the trash cans again, put the trash in the big dumpster, came home, had a shower, posted this blog and now I'm going to sleep. I'm so tired and have a day off tomorrow... yayy!

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy reading about my day. This is only my day in a nutshell too... Its impossible to remember/write about exactly everything I go through each day at work!

Oh.. one of the guests called me by my name too, which made me smile and feel special. His son wanted to pin trade with me but couldnt find any he liked on my lanyard and his dad said to him, "We've already traded with Ben today!" I smiled and said, "Yep.. I do believe you have! Have a nice night and enjoy the show!" Its the little things that make life as a Custodial Cast Member so enjoyable and worthwhile!

Toodles,

Ben

I've Earned My Ears!

2006-06-09T18:16:00.000+01:00

Hello all. Quick update before I go to work for 7.5 hours! The past week I have been training for my job as a Custodial Cast Member. A man called Dave trained me and two other people, Miguel and Chad (who had Anthony on his name tag). Dave was a really good trainer with lots of passion for what he does. Even cleaning the restrooms! We got taught all of that too, its not as horrid as you would imagine, especially spending time in a nice air conditioned restroom after being in 90+ degrees most of the day before. I particularly enjoyed "trash runs" though, basically you walk around your assigned location with a big bin and empty all of the little bins along the street into the big bin (I wore gloves) and then had to replace the bin bags. It was a really good way of killing time as they can last up to 2.5 hours per run.

I got taken around the two attractions on Sunset Boulevard (Tower of Terror and Rock 'n' RollerCoaster) because there will be days I have to do a trash run around them. Yesterday was assessment with Freddy. We all passed which means I am now able to walk around the streets on my own to do my job. I finished yesterday just walking up and down the street in the sunshine with my pan and broom sweeping up, talking to guests, helping guests and it was fun, actually!

Well, I'm going to go eat something now because I have to be in work at 3:30pm. I wanted to take the day off but they put me down to work instead. At least I get tomorrow off... But then I have to work every day next week which I'm not sure why because I'm supposed to get two consecutive days off a week, I don't even know if it is legal for me to work 7 days a week, 8 hours a time with only a half hour lunch break (one of my shifts is 9 hours long though!). I promise I'll post some photographs up soon. I've had no time at all!

Keep commenting my posts, and writing little remarks on my "TagBoard" thingy but be nice.

Have a nice day,

Ben

*scoots off to work*

First day off!

2006-06-06T06:44:00.000+01:00

Today I wanted to lie in bed for a long time as I was so exhausted from the early starts every day but a couple of friends knocked on my door to see if I wanted to go to Blizzard Beach, which I did because I was already awake now and would be impossible for me to get back to sleep!

I got my work shoes too, finally... Black "sneakers" (which would actually be good for sneaking in the dark, not so good in light). They look very comfortable and seem so too, I've only worn them for 5 minutes at the most, not 8 hours and 30 minutes like I have to tomorrow! They were an absoulute bargain, like $20, which is like, less than £15!

Then I came back to my apartment, called Lindsay for a while, and now I'm going to go to bed! I'm tired and have to be in work at 12:00 noon!

Night

Wanna see some pictures of some things?

2006-06-05T04:16:00.000+01:00

My apartment key. Complete with Mickey Mouse keyring from Walmart
Disney University. Every Cast Member must attend Traditions here and also seminars relevant to their role
This is the entrance to Disney University
My Disney I.D which I got at Traditions, I need this to clock in and out of work, and to get into the parks, amongst other things! (I thought I would pixelate the things that seem important so no fraudulent activity occurs or anything.. I'm wise, you see)
My name tag, so everyone knows who I am.
Yeah, this is the pin I got given for attending Traditions. It makes me happy!
This pin is only given to Cast Members that work at Disney-MGM Studios after the "On with the show" class!

So, thats it for now! Maybe a Ben in Costume picture soon!

Thanks for looking!

Ben!

That was earlier than expected!

2006-06-04T20:45:00.000+01:00

Well, shortly after I posted my blog yesterday I was asked if I wanted to go to Animal Kingdom for the evening, an offer which I gladly accepted!

First stop, Expedition Everest, and WOW, I would say it is AWESOME, but that wouldn't be very British of me, so I'll just settle with this, that ride was absolutely fantastic! So go ride it!

Ben

Not much time on my hands these days!

2006-06-03T20:29:00.000+01:00

Just another update from here in Orlando, Florida where it is 31 celcius today (87 farenheit)...

Yesterday was "Traditions" which is a full days long class at the Disney University where a group of us are taught just about everything there is to know about the company by watching videos and listening. It lasted 8 hours but I got my Disney ID and name tag which was nice! Our teacher, called Bob, was really funny too. He got us all in the Disney spirit and it was fun! Theres not much more to tell about Traditions, its one of those things that you need to experience for yourself!

In the evening, after Traditions some friends and I went over to Disney-MGM Studios for a play and rode Tower of Terror twice and Rock 'n' Rollercoaster Starring Aerosmith once (Both amazing rides indeed, you should all come here and ride them now!), also we went on the Great Movie Ride which is always fun to do but the main reason for our trip over there was to go and see Fantasmic and it was brilliant! The special effects are really good and Mickey saves the day like usual! I had to be at Disney-MGM Studios at 7:15am the morning after so we all went home to sleep!

That brings me to today which was my first day of training and it was super hot out in the park. Me and the rest of the Cast Members went on a tour around the whole place with two Trainers (by which I mean, people who teach people how to accomplish a certain task by sharing the experience they have gathered over a number of years, we didn't walk around Disney-MGM Studios with a sports shoe in each hand!) I learned all sorts on wonderful "tid-bits" about the park which I never knew before, so I can pass them on to guests and stuff during work! Next was lunch for 30 minutes and I was really really hungry so had a 12" sandwich from Subway which filled me up very adequately! I had to do a spot of eLearning after lunch in "Bungalow 4" which is backstage, it was just watching a video on a computer which had little tasks integrated into it. I got them done no danger! I got given another pin which is nice. I have two now, one for completing Traditions and one for completing "On with the show" which was what today was called and only Cast Members from Disney-MGM Studios get the "On with the show" pin so I just need a lanyard now to put the pins I have on so I don't lose them!

OOOH, I got my Costume today too because I need to wear that on Tuesday because my REAL custodial training starts then and on Thursday I am going to be sweeping the streets of Sunset Boulevard by myself, so its all go from here, I'm really looking forward to it all. Creating the Disney magic for the guests is going to be fun!

I'll upload some pictures soon, I've literally had NO time at all to do anything other than listen to talks and sleep. I'm off on Monday though so I MIGHT go to Disney's Animal Kingdom to ride Expedition Everest... just need to find someone who would be willing to come with me who also has the day off!

So, stay tuned and thanks for all of the wonderful comments, keep them coming and I'll post some pictures soon! I promise!

Toodles, I'm off to Walmart to get some work shoes!

Ben

First day Today!

2006-06-01T00:38:00.000+01:00

I landed in Orlando yesterday night (at around 7:30pm) and was met by a couple of Disney people to take me to my home for the next three months. The coach journey wasn't too far though but it was nice to see the area surrounding us, we even passes Sea World which was pretty nice to see. I saw Kraken (a big rollercoaster they have) in the distance, I'll get to ride that someday soon I hope!

I arrived at Vista Way after about a 25 minute drive and had to line up for about an hour so that I could get my room key and sleep after a days worth of flying! The flights were comfy though!

I got my apartment key and typically, my apartment is just about as far away from the main entrance as possible. It was quite difficult carrying a massive suitcase, another bag and another bag all that way! I then went for a walk around and met up with some more friends where we went to eat as I hadn't eaten since the day before (back in England) because the food on the plane was rubbish. A piece of chicken surrounded by grated cheese (ewwwww)

So today, I didnt have to be out of bed until 9:30am to be at The Pavillion for 10:30am for check-in and lots of other administrative stuff until 3:00am and then it was time for an hour long talk about everything housing related which in true Disney fashion, the speakers made rather entertaining indeed! Then we had to go to Walmart for the food shopping!

I then came home for some food, and also unpacked my bag seeing as I was far too tired to do it last night but thats all done now... So I posted on my blog!

Tomorrow is more listening to talks and I should find out where I what my job will entail, so looking forward to that! Well, better dash. I think we're meeting at Downtown Disney tonight :-)

Next post soon!

I'm just going to say...

2006-05-30T02:51:00.000+01:00

I'M LEAVING IN A FEW HOURS!

I'll get back to all of you avid readers soon after I arrive, promise! Just need some comments now to make me feel that little bit more confident about it all!

Cheerio for now

One Has Ones Visa

2006-05-16T21:20:00.000+01:00

On the morning of Wednesday 10th May I had to be on the 3:26am train which I wasn't pleased with. I wanted to go to sleep on the train but was worried I would miss my stops so I had to resist that temptation, which was very difficult. It was the day of my visa interview at the US Embassy in London. The whole day went rather smoothly actually, the confirmation letter said to expect to be there for several hours, which had me believe the whole process was going to be a long drawn out affair but it was nothing of the sort. I arrived at the Embassy at 9:00am and was all done by 10:30am, which made me happy because I had the rest of the day to do as I pleased so I decided to take myself on an adventure around London. The last time I went must have been a fair few years back so on this occasion I got myself lost a couple of times but did eventually see all the sites and got myself home in one piece.

6 days later, a rather jolly looking chap knocks on the door with a package for me. It all looked very important because I had to sign for it. On closer inspection (meaning, opening the envelope and extracting the contents) I learned that it was my passport which they had returned, complete with a nice shiny visa.

So that's it, two weeks today and I'll be there for my first night...

...Exciting huh?!?!

Find out in my next post!

P.S. Any comments will be greatly appreciated.

Almost ready!

2006-04-19T22:18:00.000+01:00

Just to let you all know! I'm nearly "all-set". All that awaits now is the visa appointment at the US Embassy in London. Today I paid the £63 visa application fee at my local Barclays Bank and had the photograph I need for the visa. The photographs cost £9.99 for four pictures. I was not expecting them to be that much, I imagined it would be alot cheaper. But at least I got them done!

Thats all for now!

Toodle Pip

The Journey so Far... (Part 4)

2006-04-12T16:04:00.000+01:00

I'm hoping this will conclude The Journey so Far so that I can get onto the more current things, including the appointment at the US Embassy on May 10th, so I can get a visa to permit me to work in the USA. But now, the conclusion of my application process.

While waiting for my interview, rumours were circulating that the recruiters were running half an hour late so I was expecting a long drawn out wait. Unexpectedly, Julie opened the door and called my name, "Okay, so Ben..." I sat there somewhat shocked, I felt I wasnt prepared enough and replied, "Wha'... me?!?" Julie answered, "Well is your name Ben?". Slightly embarrassed I responded "Well, yes!". "Then it is you!" said Julie, "Come in". This had amused the rest of the candidates, which made me feel a lot more at ease about the whole thing. I took a seat and soon felt at home, chatting away to her.

I don't know why, but I was expecting a really intimidating interview where there are questions that are almost impossible to answer. This was different, Julie sat there for a few seconds looking over my CV and application form. "So you're in college?" She asked. "Yeah, I'm studying for a Fine Art degree, specialising in sculpture and really enjoying it!", I answered as enthusiastically as I could. The recruiter seemed interested in my course of study and responded with, "So you're going to be the next Henry Moore, then?". I was liking this interview, I had never felt so relaxed. I was talking about something I am interested in, in the hopes of participating in a once in a lifetime oppurtunity! I responded with, "Well, he is my favourite sculptor!". And guess what. Julie really likes Henry Moore's work too. We were talking about art, sculpture and Henry Moore for the most of the ten minutes this interview allowed.

Later, it got down to the "Why Disney?", "Why did you choose Custodial?" and "Why should I hire you?", general job interview questions, the questions I was dreading. I was not nervous at all, I felt I had befriended Julie and my answers came naturally and enthusiastically and before I knew it, that was it, the interview was done. "Very good", Julie muttered. I was thanked for my time, told that if I don't hear from Yummy Jobs by the middle of December, then I was to call them. I shook Julie's hand and said "Goodbye", I left the interview room knowing I had perfomed to the best of my ability, if not better!

I breathed a sigh of relief and took a seat while I waited for the friends I was to get the train back to Chester with to finish their interviews. While I waited I had a chat with Jason from Yummy Jobs and learned about lots of other cool Disney related things like, there is a year long Cultural Representative Program where you work in Epcot at your native countries pavillion. So that was it, all I could do now was wait until I heard from Yummy Jobs whether I was successful. I knew I had done my best so the train ride home was comfortable. Looking back, the whole application process so far has been exciting and I have made a whole lot of new friends. I knew that if I was successful, the move to Florida would be easy because of the sheer amount of new friends I have made along the way.

I seemed to be waiting an eternity for a telephone call. Yes, I was told they would be in touch via telephone, not email which seemed to be Yummy Job's preferred means of contact. I checked the answerphone for messages every morning and each time I finished work. There was nothing. The middle of December was nearing. I was beginning to think I had been unsucessful until I logged into my email account and saw an email from Walt Disney World International Recruiting. It was just a thank you for interviewing email so at least they didnt forget about me! I seemed to be analysing this email for clues. For all I knew it could have been a "thank you for your time, but you are not what we're looking for" email, something I was dreading to hear.

This, however proved to be just an email that is automatically sent out to all of the candidates by their interviewer. Around a week later, I logged into my email again and "(No Subject)" from Alexis Jacobs was waiting in my inbox. The excitement grew as this time, I knew who Alexis was. I was reluctant to open the email at first as it was either a "YES PLEASE" or a "Nah, thanks, but.." I had to open this email, it seemed as though my whole future depended on this letter. I clicked her name in my inbox and within seconds her message appeared on my screen "Get your passport ready as congratulations are in order!" is what I saw. I forgot the rest of her email existed as my eyes were locked on these nine words. I was shaking! I was sucessful! I had been accepted! The dream is alive! I'M GOING TO WORK AT DISNEY WORLD!

Within the next three months, I recieved information from Yummy Jobs, booked my flights, recieved an information pack from Disney (including the "Disney Look Book", luggage tags and Mickey stickers to wear at Orlando airport. EXCITING) and I also booked an appointment at the US Embassy for a J1 Visa.

So, that concludes my story so far. Stay tuned to read about my appointment at the US Embassy on Wednesday 10th May and any other things that happen before I leave on Tuesday 30th May.

Thanks for reading

-Ben

The Journey so Far... (Part 3)

2006-04-11T02:50:00.000+01:00

Yes, so like I was saying, I went to buy a new suit for this interview at a local menswear shop. The suit I bought was a nice one with a silk red lining in the jacket. It got me in the mood for the interview and yeah, I was so committed to getting accepted that I went to get interview advice and tips at the Student Guidance and Support Service at University where my friends mum (she works there) helped me out a whole lot and gave me some booklets to look through in preparation for the big day. I also learned that my CV was too long so I had to shorten it to two pages - so if any of you are thinking of applying, keep your CV brief. Two pages in length, to be precise.

I had to be up bright and early to get to Liverpool in ample time, especially as I had to go by train. So 7:30am, I was at the train station and the train arrived on time at 7:45am. I boarded the train, fitting in rather well with the professional businessmen in their suits, except I was lacking a briefcase, take-away coffee from Costa and a copy of the Financial Times. Instead, I pulled out the booklets I had been given the week before and for the 45 minute journey to Liverpool, I was taking in any advice these booklets had to offer.

On arrival at the train station, I headed straight to the Costa shop and bought a Mocha something or other and a Chocolate Twist. I had an hour until I had to be at Liverpool John Moores University to meet Jason and Alexis from Yummy Jobs and the other successful candidates. I arrived early, but not too early at approximately 9:15am. In the foyer of the University (which is where we were told to meet) I met up with the same two people I had my pre-screen interview with so I was talking to them until Alexis came round with some application forms we all had to fill out which included space to put our preferences in terms of the role we would like to undertake in the three months in Florida (I never brought a clipboard with me though, I just leant on a wall instead). I left this part blank for now because I wanted to find out more about each role in the presentation before making any final decisions.

We were later ushered up a flight of stairs by Jason, along a corridor into a small room. We were greeted by the two recruiters, Julie and Ann from Disney World and were all given an information booklet with the International Programs motto along the front page, "Do more than imagine... live the Dream". This got me excited and in the Disney mood. I sat enthused, waiting for the presentation to begin.

Julie took to the floor and over the next hour or so filled all of our minds with little bits of Disney history and information about all the different roles that were on offer. We watched a series of short videos and I was close to choosing Operations as my first choice but then one of the Custodial Cast Members came onto a video and this really appealed to me. Working independently, lots of guest contact which means a lot of oppurtunities to create Disney magic. I liked this and I figured that the most job satisfaction would come from this role as I would be maintaining the cleanliness of what is quite possibly, the cleanest place on Earth.

My first choice became Custodial, my second choice, Operations; I can't remember the rest of my choices. The presentation finished and Jason from Yummy Jobs came into the room and read out a list of names along with the time of their individual interviews. Mine wasnt until the early afternoon so I went into Liverpool City Center with some of the friends I had made during the application process, we went to eat and look round some shops to pass the time. After a couple of hours we headed back to the University for our interviews and sat in the waiting area. I was nervous, I didn't want to waste this oppurtunity. I waited anxiously until Julie came out of the room and called my name.

Back story concludes tomorrow...

The Journey so Far... (Part 2)

2006-04-10T02:03:00.000+01:00

So, the interview with Jason. I was a little nervous about this at first, but nothing too severe. All I was going to do was to do my best but I wanted this badly, what would I do if I didn't get through to the next interview? This was my only chance to shine.

I sat on the stairs outside the interview room reading through notes I had made during the presentation and thinking about possible questions I could be asked. I could hear the candidate before me in the room already, chatting to him, laughing and joking. It was reassuring to know that Jason is a friendly character. He has to be, he's recruiting for Disney Cast Members. Next thing, another two candidates came and sat on the stairs beside me so I got talking to them which was nice seeing as I was to have my interview at the same time as them, in the same room.

It was time for my interview, a little bit later than scheduled but I didn't mind, I wasnt in any rush. The three of us sat down and gave Jason our CV's which he put to one side, he didn't look at them there and then, he just got straight into the interview, which seemed to be more of a relaxed chat.

I knew I had tried my absolute best in the interview and couldn't have done any better than I did. I felt I convinced Jason that I was worthy of the International College Program and spent the next week or so waiting for Yummy Jobs to email me with the result. It was an agonising wait. In the interview, Jason told us that we would hear by the end of the following week if we were successful but I still had nothing in my inbox.

That week, I seemed to be constantly checking my email and there was never any new messages waiting for me until one day, I came home from work and checked again, hoping for this email and with my email account, any new messages have a little window pop up on a white screen saying "You have one new message" and that is what I saw. I clicked "OK" and saw an email with "(No Subject)" from Alexis Jacobs, I thought to myself, I don't know anybody by the name of Alexis Jacobs. Oblivious, I clicked, the screen filled with text, text inviting me to Liverpool for the Disney presentation and interview. I had been selected and was very happy, I emailed Alexis back straight away gladly accepting her invitation. I was to wear "Professional Business Attire" so the next week, I went to buy a brand new suit, this was important, now the wheels were in motion. I was one step closer to realising my ambition.

More later...

The Journey so Far... (Part 1)

2006-04-09T08:57:00.000+01:00

Hello, and welcome to One Man and His Broom: The Blog of a Custodial Cast Member.

I have set this up to keep you updated on my experiences and challenges as I live at the Walt Disney World Resort as an International College Program participant from May 30th until September 1st 2006. As there is a hell of a lot of preparation involved before I fly across the pond, let me begin this blog with my journey so far.

It all began with a Work Based Learning Information Session at University which lasted an hour and a half, give or take. Sitting in that room was starting to become very tedious as it was all about placements in schools, offices, sports centers and working alongside professionals. This wasnt what I wanted to do, I wanted something else, something with more adventure. It seemed pointless to me, working in say, an art gallery for six weeks, when after I graduate, I will be working full time anyway, I wanted to have some fun while I could.

Later on in the information session, we were introduced to the lady in charge of all the overseas placements and this is when things began to get interesting. There were placements going in all sorts of exotic places but I didnt want conservation work, that isnt really my cup of tea. As soon as I heard the word Disney come out of this lady's mouth, that was it. I knew that was where I wanted to spend my summer, I had my heart set on this oppurtunity, I signed up for the Pre-Screen interview and presentation there and then. I wanted this, I WANT TO WORK FOR DISNEY!

I was excited. The day of the pre-screen interview was nearing, I spent all of my time before this day preparing for any questions I may be asked and how I would answer. I got to the presentation early to make sure I had a good seat, within the next half-hour the room began to fill up with other interviewees. I started to feel I had no chance, the competition seemed tough but I wasn't going to give up that easily. This is an oppurtunity I can't waste!

We were introduced to a man called Jason, Jason is a member of the Yummy Jobs team. Yummy Jobs are the Walt Disney World recruiting agents in this country so they decide who gets through to the final interview with the Disney recruiters. It was like Pop Idol or something, only a thousand times better. I sat engrossed in his presentation, each new slide evoked more interest and I was 100% comitted to getting through to the next stage and scheduled an interview with Jason.

To be continued...