A perfect electronic storm

Electronics storm would be a more accurate title, but it doesn't flow as well in my opinion. Since it is my blog I can be inaccurate if I want to! Jeeze! Really, it's lucky that I am even able to write a blog at all right now...

Conquering the Kingdom

I have done so! Every ride and every show that The Magic Kingdom has to offer has been viewed or ridden by yours truly! It's only taken 22 years of my life and countless trips into the park to finally get them all... I'm still proud of the accomplishment though. I'm going to clear the big board of everything in every park before I go home but yesterday was reserved for the Astro Orbiter, Flying Dumbos, and the Hall of Presidents.

For the record, how high up are we?

Those were the words I uttered to the life guard at the top of Summit Plummet before sitting down for my turn. The answer he gave me was a cool 120ft. He also informed me that it was high enough to feel free fall before you start to slow down which was really reassuring for someone like me who has little experience with water slides. I had just watched two children go down and there was a third behind me... I was going to look pretty lame if I walked away now.

No Promises

I really shouldn't promise that I'm going to post when I have no idea how a given day will play out. Even with my mornings off all I want to do is sleep. Sleep, eat, work... that's about all I have time for recently. There are so many people here for Easter I can't help but laugh at the absurdity of what I see.

Besides the endless hours that I'm spending at the Magic Kingdom, I've also managed to catch the cold that's been traveling through the Haunted Mansion staff. Almost everyone has been sick at one point or another over the last two weeks and low and behold I'm the last one to get it. Just in time for 12 straight busy Easter week shifts too...

Despite my sickness I've planned out a podcast for you all! I said I was going to make them while I was here and I'm finally going to do it... When? I can't say for sure... My microphone is all set up and ready to go, I just need to find the time and willpower to get up and do it one morning.

Cheers,
David

Song of the day - The Late Greats by Wilco

Summertime!

And the livin's... not too bad! I've had some free time to spend with my friends this week because I've taken on fewer extra shifts. I have tomorrow and Monday off as well, and I have some fun things planned which is exciting. Monday I'll be eating at the Hollywood Brown Derby! It's the first "nice" dinner since Liz came to visit in early March so hooray for good food!

Work-a-thon Complete!

Remember a few weeks ago when I said I didn't remember what sleep was like? I forget again... I didn't know it was possible but I actually worked MORE hours this week. I think I have a sick addiction to overtime. Deployment called me today and asked me to come in again but I put my foot in the ground and held firm. This is my first day off in 13 days and I'm taking it.


There were good days and bad days, but I managed to hold on to my sanity despite the constant crazy being thrown at me by guests. It did take a tole on my blog again though. I had three or four ideas for posts that I wanted to write but I never had the time and now I don't remember them. It's a damn shame, and I'm working my schedule so that I have every other morning free from here on out so that I have time to write.

The past three weeks of insane hours have taught me something very important about me and my future priorities. Work isn't everything. I feel like I should have learned this earlier in life, but better now while I'm young before I let too much life pass me by. The last month down here is going to be amazing and I'm not letting anything hold me back.

Cheers,
David

Song of the day - Never Quite Free by The Mountain Goats (New song!)

It's about to get real

I've been doing a lot of thinking about the future of this blog in the past few days. Maybe it's because my Disney time is winding down, or maybe it's because I've been spending a whole bunch of time on the unload belt at the mansion... either way I've been thinking.

Wizards and Working

This is going to be a fun one. I've had so many thoughts kicking around in my head since Tuesday that it's a wonder I didn't pass on sleep earlier in the week to get it all out. Since last week I've explored the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, worked some 60+ hours at the spooky house on the hill, and met one hell of a bus driver. I'm also just about half way through my program now which is weird to think about so I'm not going to dwell on it. Harry Potter was the highlight of the week so I'm going to start there.

I've forgotten what sleep feels like...

I've spent 24 of the past 48 hours working at the mansion... I think I'm making up for all the time I spent away with Liz while she was down here last week. I'm up over 60 hours for the week now, with more than half in overtime (I'll give you the final number tomorrow after my shift today). Granted I need the money after all I spent at Disney on "stay-cation," but as the wise maid Katie said: "They paycheck will be good, but you can't spend money if your dead..."

Tomorrow is my day off and I really need it. If deployment calls and wakes me up to ask me to come in again I'm going to freak out. Wizarding World of Harry Potter Review, Butler Overtime, and a little about my new favorite bus driver, Stan, to come tomorrow.

Cheers,
David

Song of the day - Hannah by The Freelance Whales

The Swing of Things

It's hard to get back into them after a vacation, especially a vacation to Disney World. I remember my parents saying that they needed a vacation from our vacations down here in the past and I never really understood the feeling until now. There is very little time for your body and mind to relax when your running from one park to the next trying to stuff as much excitement into a single day as physically possible. Liz and I tried to make a conscious effort to move slowly, but Disney got the best of us and we ended up running around like any other visiting family.

Disney in a Day

Or how I learned to keep walking no matter what.

Rachel and her friends came down to Disney as part of their spring break and I was lucky enough to get to hang out with them during their one day in the parks. I put on my tour guide shoes and decided to do everything I could to get them as much Disney in a single day as humanly possible. We were able to work our way through the big three parks and, apart from completly ignoring the Animal Kingdom, it lived up to all the theories I had about doing Disney in a day.

Basics, Balloons, and Butler Mood Swings

Just a heads up before you settle in to read this post, it's probably going to be fairly long. It's been a few days since last I wrote and I've been thinking about a lot of random things, heard some new music, and just have lots to share in general. I was going to try to keep it in chronological order but I think I'm going to categorize the events instead. Here......We.....Go....

Countdown to Excitement!

GET IT! It's like the old name of Dinosaur at Animal Kingdom! No? Whatever, it still gets the point across. I'm excited because the next few weeks are going to be filled with friends and family! Not to mention that it's spring break season so there are going to be extra people in the parks which always makes work more interesting too.

The King of Limbs

I'm not referring to the oak tree in Savernake Forest so any botanists out there can reign in their excitement. But David! If you're not talking about the famous tree what ARE you talking about? Thanks for asking because I'm going to tell you! For any of you not versed in the music scene The King of Limbs (TKoL) is the title of the newly released Radiohead album. Those of you who have never heard of Radiohead yet might want to reconsider your stance on music. This is one of only a hand full of bands that I will always love unconditionally. They've moved up in the world from a relatively unknown alternative rock band to 3x Grammy winner with 3 nominations for Album of the Year but who's keeping score?

"How far do you walk on that belt in a day?"

Never far enough to escape that question... I think the real answer is about five miles on an average day, but it's more fun to make up something witty or creepy than to give a real answer and the guests seem to like that more too. I've been working a lot since last we spoke! I picked up on of my friends extra shifts to I'm up to 40 hours this week! Cue the balloons and confetti... Well I was excited...

Evacs and Fanatics

Today was a good day by all accounts! I know I've had good days before but everything about today was fun or exciting and it was just all around enjoyable and I'm very happy to be reflecting on it now. I'm smiling just thinking about it.

A Happy Working Song

I had my first kitchen explosion last night. I freaked out and just tossed everything I was working with in the sink, poured a bowl of cereal and went to bed. It was a combination of frustrations last night. 1) I'm owed about $20 still by two of my roommates for supplies I bought the night we moved in. 2) Those kitchen supplies are running low especially paper towels which we currently own none. 3) Random bits of my food keep "mysteriously" disappearing but I have an idea who's eating/drinking it. Last, and maybe the final straw last night: 4) the butter.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...

But I'm going to start with the worst of times because it came first. It's always easier to work chronologically. First of all, I forgot to clock out of my shift on Thursday. This isn't really a huge deal, but I was feeling a little stupid about it because it's a routine thing that after three weeks I should have under control. It's not a big deal for me or anyone at the company, but apartness the mansion took offence and decided to level some karma down on me for my mistake.

You can't win 'em all

I think I got a little worked up about nothing the other day. First of all, apparently I can't comprehend fine print. Within 10 days rather than more than 10 days before. Duh. That makes more sense. Thanks Missy for pointing out my stupidity. The hours bit was also a little hot headed of me. The more I see how Disney works the more I realize that EVERYONE is getting less hours than they want. Seasonal, part-time, full-time, everyone. CPs seem to get more hours than a lot of other people which doesn't seem fair in the big picture but there isn't much I can do about that besides give up my shifts which I can't afford to do either.

But less complaining more rambling!

Animal Kingdom and my first Disney rant

Happy February everyone!

After working only one day since last Thursday I'm really looking forward to some hours tomorrow. It's been a few days since I've written anything down so I'm going to do my best to get it all out. First, allow me to do a quick run down of my rankings for the Animal Kingdom where I spent the day today:

Disney's Hollywood Studios

Happy Saturday everyone! Yesterday was my first day off and I decided to spend it at Hollywood Studios with some of my new friends. This seems like as good an opportunity as any to start my personal rankings of the parks leading up to an overall list of my favorite attractions! I'm going to break down my rankings into two sections; rides and shows. For each park I'll do a top 5-10 depending on the number and my passion for a specific attraction. Let's dive in:

Tales from the Crypt... or Mansion

Today was another day of training at the Haunted Mansion. I learned the remaining positions and had to read the redundancy ridden Operating Guidelines (OG). The OG is all about safety procedure and how to proceed during unusual or less than optimal situations. I'm not allowed to get into specifics of the guide, but the training is very thorough and you should feel very safe when under the watch of Disney cast members. Communication is the "buzzword" in everything we do. Who cares about that though! I've got a story of a prank that took place in the mansion some time ago that will certainly amuse you.

The master will see you now...

I feel that so much has happened since last we spoke... I don't even know where to begin. The best that I can do is to give it to you in chronological order so that I don't leave any of the good, or bad, out of my account. Remember when I said Traditions was the big day? I lied. For those of you who are future attractions cast members, on site orientation is the real day that matters. Unlike your food, merch, and hospitality friends who find out where they work at casting, you find out specifically during on site orientation. I know where I'm working now, but that's a little later in the story. I'll start from the beginning:

And how do we keep our balance? That I can tell you in one word: Traditions!

Today was the big day! All the CPs that moved in on Wednesday were spit into two groups for morning and afternoon Traditions class. I had mine in the afternoon which was nice because my roommate that had his in the morning had to get up at 5:30am, not something I'm looking forward to. Traditions in the class that every student on the program has to take before they become an official cast member. It's just another long day on the college program.

It's been a hard days night...

Holy cow the last two days have been CRAZY. I know that word is tossed around a lot these days but I promise you that I mean it in this case. If there's one thing I've learned so far it's that The Walt Disney Company has shuttling around hundreds of college students down to a science. I think they said that 600 of us checked in yesterday and they managed to get us all processed and in our apartments over the course of 7 hours. It's quite the feat in my opinion, but I'm getting ahead of myself! Let's go back to my packing and flight first before I get into the Disney ordeal.

Song of the Day: Opposite of Adults by Chiddy Bang

Pretend I got this up before midnight, it's the song of the day for Saturday. Chiddy Bang drops a nice beat over a remixed version of MGMT's "Kids." If you don't know the original I've got that video for you too. I bought a new suit for the program today, pinstripes on charcoal grey. Classy.





Cheers,
David

Another day and nothing packed

Packing may have been futile thus far but my winter exploits have been fruitful! Another day closer to my flight and, unless you count thinking about doing my laundry, I am no closer to being physically ready to leave than I was when I moved out of my dorm about a month ago. Positives: I went skiing today, I'm getting a new suit and helping my friend with his movie tomorrow, and the Patriots play on Sunday. Negatives: at this rate I'm not going to start packing until Monday...

Either way here are some pictures from today's mountain adventure!

Procrastination > Packing

Those already down at Disney and those living outside of the greater New England area may not have been aware of the weather we've been having up here. Fear not! I shall inform thee! There was a pretty awesome snow storm during the duration of the day on Wednesday. From the moment I woke up until I feel asleep I never saw it stop snowing. At max height when I went out to shovel with my dad I think we had around 2ft of the stuff. I went outside and took a picture early in the day. You're lucky I like to document things because it was windy and nasty out there.

Here's what my house looked like around noon (notice the droopy pine tree and the general lack of sunshine):

A little wisdom I learned from Winston Churchill

Having a plan is a good idea. With t-minus seven days until my college program begins now seems as good a time as any to kick start my blog. Let me begin by saying welcome!

My goals for this blog are simple: