Can you take the Heat?

Well, it's officially May and with the first of this month Florida has brought with it some extreme heat. I have never been so hot this early in the year. I was sweating before 10am. The heat mixed with thousands of guests makes for a bad combination. Angry guests, crying babies, smelly odors, and exhausted cast members. With 90+ degrees of heat beating down on you, you're going to be hot no matter what. But when you are wearing navy blue Polyester pants, high cuff black socks, heavy black shoes, and two shirts, being out in the heat can make you feel like you are literally melting away. As a member of The Seas crew, I am one of the many who must endure the long, hot hours in the EPCOT attire. Now you might think that EPCOT stands for Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow but i've come to find out that that is incorrect. No, after this last week working in what feels like a gigantic outdoor oven, I have come to find that EPCOT really stands for Evil Polyester Costumes Of Torture. Without the ability to wear shorts with our costumes we at the Seas must endure numerous hours trapped within these devices they call "themed attire." Having to be in the costume alone is torture, but then having to deal with all of the other disgruntled and sometimes enraged guests who, for some reason can't be happy on their vacation and have to complain to the very people who's job it is to make sure that their time is as magical as possible, is just cruel and unusual punishment. A cast member's ability to be courteous and respectful to all guests when under these conditions is the true Magical Moment that can be seen throughout the park. Not quite sure what I mean? let me give you an example.

---The following is based on a true story---

The Scene: Stroller Parking (aka The Netherworld)

The Talent: Kelsey Perron: Disney's College Program Intern
Nameless, Stroller using Guest (aka complete Jerk)

The Story: It's 11:35am and the sun is rising ever higher over the gardens of EPCOT, focusing what seems to be all of it's rays on the lone, stroller parking attendant at The Seas, Kelsey. She is currently fighting a losing battle against hundreds of guests as they haphazardly jostle their strollers into spots that couldn't fit an umbrella, let alone their monstrosity of a three seater. With one goal in mind, "Get to Nemo," the guests carelessly leave the helpless cast member to single handedly rearrange the parking area to find some order from the chaos that they are so content in increasing. With rows backed up and double parking happening left and right, she attempts to clear out the walkways for those who are leaving. After much deliberation and careful strategy she has victoriously cleared not one, but both stroller walkways leading from the Seas to The Land. Resisting the urge to jump for joy, she is about to engage in a small victory fist pump when a guest brings his double stroller and parks right in the walk path that she has just cleared. dumbfounded, Kelsey clears her throat and kindly says, "Hello, sir? I'm sorry but no more strollers can be parked at the end of this row as it will block the path out of the parking area. If you could please move your stroller to a different spot that would be..." but she is unable to finish and the guest, who shall remain nameless, jerks his stroller around, jostling those beside it and rounds on Kelsey and interrupts barking, "Well where the hell do you want me to put it?" Taken aback, she motions to the spot just four strollers down which will perfectly cradle the man's stroller, "Over there would be alright, sir." Unhappy with this simple and obvious solution, the man then throws off his strollers brakes and launches it forward, catapulting it's contents which cascade all over the side walk. exclaiming unintelligible sounds of rage he glares at Kelsey throughout his tantrum as though it was all her fault as he hurls his contents back into the stroller. Annoyed beyond belief at this toddler like display of rage from what she had thought appeared to be a grown man, Kelsey, feeling more than a little wronged by this mans behavior, dons her most Disney like voice with just a hint of her uncontainable sarcasm and says, "Sorry for any inconvenience that this has caused you. Have a magical time!" And grabbing another stroller, she continues about her business. It is 11:37.

Visual Fun

I can't believe it has taken me this long to finally do this, but here is a fun short movie that I made showcasing some of the fun I have been having here in Disney.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJTS9GIp_O

Questions that May be the Death of Me

Throughout the day working in Disney I have to answer hundreds of guest questions. Now, that may not seem so bad, and believe me, some of them aren't. I have no problem trying to help a guest find Norway, or tell them what the ride Imagination with Figment is like (it's awful in case you are wondering, but i'd never tell a guest that.) No, it's not these questions that bother me, it are the other ones, the ones where guests either show just how stupid the human race can be. Here I have compiled a list of just a few of the questions that I am so sick and tired of answering that I think they might end up killing me within the next 35 days before i go home. And they are...

"Is this The Seas with Nemo?" (standing right in front of the sign that says the attraction name, and beside the Nemo sculpture. "why yes sir, it is.")

"Is this a real aquarium?" (nope, we just use it as a front, all the water you see here is completely fake and is hiding all of our character performers while they remove your beloved mickey's head, revealing their 4'5'' chinese performer inside") "Yes it is actually, it is over 5.7 million gallons of man made sea water."

"Was that dolphin real? or an animatronic?" (You tell me sir, can animatronics swim in the water without exploding? No? hmm, well then it must be!) "Yes, it is. we have four dolphins here in The Seas"

"Do you get tired of walking all day and going nowhere?" (Not as tired as i get of you dumb guests asking me that question) -laugh as if I have never heard that before, "hahaha, have a magical day folks!"

"Are there Fast passes for this ride?" (You mean the ride right behind me that is only a five minute wait? No you lazy person, there are not, now please get in line) "Unfortunately folks we do not have a need for fast passes here at this attractions, you'll find that our wait is very short"

"I have to get on it while it's MOVING??" (You? of course not ma'am, I know you just watched about 30 people before you get on it while it's moving, but those were just trained professionals, haha fooled you! For you, we will of course be able to stop the entire ride.") "Yes, Watch your step please."

"Is this a show?" (You mean the ride behind me that clearly states it is, in fact, a ride? No, it's not) "No sir, this is a ride." "so i can go in?" "Yes" "when does it start?" "It is continuous sir, because it is a ride." "So there is no wait?" "None other than the one it will take before you can get on the ride." "So it's not a show?"

"Can you tell me exactly what this ride is like?" (I could, or you could just ride it sir.)

"Is Crush real?" (You mean the obviously animated cartoon Crush that swam down and talked with the audience directly? I don't know sir, you answer me, Have you ever heard of a talking sea turtle before? especially one that was in a Pixar animated movie? hmm, i'm gonna have to go with 'probably not'") "It's Disney Magic, sir. Have a wonderful day!"

"Where is turtle talk with Crush?" ( i look right behind me because I am standing right beside the large, overly colorful, sculptured sign that says, in huge letters, TURTLE TALK with Crush) "It's right here folks! TADA!"

"Is the park closed?" (nope, we just felt like closing down all of the attractions, dining, and shopping throughout the entire park just to mess with you!) "Yes, unfortunately the park did close at 9pm tonight. We will open again tomorrow at 9am if you'd like to come back."

Now those are just a few of the never ending attack of stupid questions from even less equipped guests. It honestly worries me sometimes the people that I meet in the park and wonder if they ever challenge themselves to try and answer their own questions before they utter them. And believe me, i don't get those questions once a day, I get them constantly, every hour, sometimes back to back. haha, it is almost painful sometimes and other times, i can hardly suppress my laugh as I have been asked, once again, where stroller parking is, as i stand underneath my umbrella right in front of 200+ strollers.

Water fun Disney Style

For the first time this week, i was able to finally go inside one of disney's water parks, Typhoon Lagoon. According to the Imagineers' legend, a powerful typhoon wreaked havoc on a seaside village and left ships, surfboards, buoys, and other flotsam strewn about its lagoon and rivers in its wake. At the rear of Typhoon Lagoon now sits the Miss Tilly shrimp boat, perched perilously and incongruously, atop a volcanic mountain. Every few minutes, the mountain lets loose a volcanic tremor and sends an enormous wave rippling across the lagoon.
With it's rich backstory and beautiful water we dove right in and began our adventure through the park, riding the water coaster The Crush n' Gusher, sliding down huge slides, lazily relaxing in castaway creek, and swimming with sharks. Going snorkeling was amazing. Getting in the water with a lot of underwater sea life, seeing my dear friend Dory swimming around, and some very big sharks (don't worry, they were the kind that didn't have teeth) swimming underneath me was absolutely amazing and was something I have always wanted to do, and while it wasn't quite the ocean, it was still absolutely breathtaking. Typhoon Lagoon was a great way to spend a hot day off in Walt Disney World and made for a great water park experience and I can't wait to take on Blizzard Beach in the next few days.

Spring Break = CRAZINESS

Well, spring break is finally upon us. Over the few weeks since my last post, we have seen a steady increase in guests within the parks, going from about 25 thousand to over 45 thousand on a daily basis. This increase in guests means extra magic hours nights each week, longer wait times for our lines, rapid fire questions from all sides, and of course the disgruntled guest here or there (somedays it feels constant.) This increase in guests also means an extreme increase in hours. I'm talking 60-70 hour work weeks for some cast members, including this Nemo cast member. I can tell you that being the one and only kid friendly ride in the park means that we are insane busy. I have never seen the park this busy, and I can honestly tell you that I have no idea why anyone would want to come to the park when it is like this. There are lines for everything: rides, food, bathrooms, show performances, check-out counters. Honestly, there are so many people here and it is only going to get worse in the next two weeks. Lost children happens almost constantly and this is the first time that I have ever been in favor of the "Child Leashes" that some parents adopt when they come to the park.
It's been a week full of long hours and even a few meetings about how we should all be prepared to combat the long lines and the tidal wave of people within the park. I now know that there is a mathematical equation for our guests and their happiness within the park. If they are able to ride 8.5 or more rides on their visit, then they will be happy and much more likely to come back on a return visit. So for our park, that means they have to ride just about everything, and when Soarin' is at a 3 hour wait, i doubt that that is going to happen. (why would anyone wait 3 HOURS for a ride like soarin? i just don't get it)
But for most guests, this extreme business is all they know the parks to be. Not everyone is able to come in the off seasons in November/December and February. So a word from the wise, if you want to come to Disney World, Please do so during those months, you'll be happy you did.

Midway Reflections

It's hard to believe that I am already into the second week of march. My program is already halfway over and I am torn between thinking that it has gone by so fast and that it is taking forever. I really love working here in Disney World and I am dreading going back home in a way. I don't really know what all I will be going home to and it will be the big test to see if this internship was really worth it. There is always the option of extending my program and staying through the summer, or even into January but I am not really sure if i could or should put off my schooling that much. The other part of me is ready to be home. I'm definitely missing my family and the knowledge that I have a puppy waiting for me to play with when i get there is just the cherry on top. Being here in Florida has really cut down on the times that I actually get to talk with my family and I feel like i have no idea what is going on in there lives which can be a bummer sometimes. Even though I am working in one of the best places and have a lot of fun, it doesn't really mean that much when you can't share it with those that are most important in your lives. Now, if i could just add a few people here to my experience...that would be great! i don't think i'd ever leave. It's definitely going to take a lot of prayer and reflection to know just what I am suppose to do with these last 2 months, whether it's stay and extend them, or go home and see where this takes me.

Not Johnny...but he'll do!

As a cast member in Walt Disney World, you can hear some pretty cool things and get some inside tips that none other than a cast member can get. one of those inside information was the supposedly non-fiction rumor that Johnny Depp was going to be in the Magic Kingdom. Not only that, but that he would be suiting up in his Jack Sparrow attire and performing one show of the Pirate Tutorial in Adventure land. So what does that mean I did? you guessed it, i high tailed myself over to The Magic Kingdom the very next day to catch the Pirate Tutorial with my roommate Anna. While we were unsuccessful in seeing Mr. Depp, we were lucky enough to catch what most of us here in Disney like to call "hot wednesday Jack" (or at least some variation of the name) Basically there is a guy that plays Jack Sparrow who is absolutely gorgeous and amazingly similar to Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow, and this fine actor plays Jack consistently on Wednesdays in the MK. But to luckily be at his show on a Thursday was great. Even though we couldn't see Johnny Depp, I had no qualms about watching "Wednesday Jack's" show. This day, apart from being a fun time spent with my friend Anna, was a fun realization of how my life is crazy, yet awesome. Being able to, on a whim, frolic off to The Magic Kingdom just to potentially see one of my favorite actors, and yet still just enjoy the pleasures of just being in the Magic Kingdom was great. I don't think I will ever take for granted the fact that what most people save up for years to be able to do, I get to do on a whim, on my days off.