The Happiest Summer On Earth *My WDWCP Experience*

[Disneyolic]

Very nice! I love the journal entries. I can wait to read more.

Okay, you are going to think I'm nuts but when I first saw your name, I didn't get it. I was reading it as llama geek. So sorry!!! I totally get it now and I don't know what my brain was thinking at the time.

Anyway, I'll be waiting for your next installment. PS..do you live in California? Just curious about whereabouts just because I have family in Southern California and it is always cool to meet someone from there.

 

[lamagique]

That night, I had trouble sleeping. I was too excited! I couldn’t believe that in less than 24-hours, I would be officially starting the college program. I kept having dreams about my indecisiveness concerning which apartment complex I wanted to live in.

Some explanation: The College Program (CP) has two options for CPs to live in: Vista Way and Chatham Square. The rent is taken automatically from our paycheck each week and it ranged from $69-$81/week. All of the complexes have only Disney CMs living there.

Before I even saw them, this is what I gathered about them through online research: Chatham Square: Bigger, nicer, quieter, but less social. The apartments are spaced out, and the transportation hub is at Vista, so it's easier to catch buses at Vista. Vista Way: Smaller, dirtier, louder, more social. The apartments are closer together and the transportation hub is here. It can get crazy at Vista, but you'll never be bored.

In my journal, I wrote: “Last night, I lay awake thinking about the choice. Did I want to go with the nicer place and have a quieter atmosphere? A lesser likelihood of roommates that would party and get me terminated? Or, did I want to take the adventurous route? I didn't know what was waiting for me at Vista, but it was kind of exciting.”

I couldn’t make up my mind! Maybe to you, the choice is obvious for whatever reason. But I could see the pros and cons about both. I just didn’t know.

Well, I still didn’t know by the time my mom and I arrived at Vista Way for check-in right around 9. There were already people there, but not too many. I was given a nametag and then a bunch of forms to fill out. After I filled out the forms, I waited around a little bit outside of this one room because they were backed up. I talked a little to this lady named Peg, I believe, from Arkansas. Then, I was able to go into the room: this room was where the housing assignments were being given out!

At this point, I was still so unsure about where to live. My line inched forward and soon, it was my turn to receive a housing assignment. They asked me first, "Lower rent or higher rent?" I said lower. (I wanted to live with 6 people.) Then they asked me which building I preferred. I didn't want to say Vista, but I didn't want to say Chatham. So, I said no preference. I decided that I would let Disney choose for me. And they chose… VISTA WAY!

So, I proceeded forward but I kept thinking to myself, "Did I do the right thing? What am I getting myself into?" But then the girl behind me said that she had done the CP before and had lived in Vista Way and was living there again and loved it. She said that Vista Way was more interesting, and so I started to feel better about my (non?) choice.

Well, I was almost done in this building when all of a sudden, I turn and see someone familiar out of the corner of my eye. "That looks like that girl who goes to my college," I think, but I go, "Oh, it must not be her." Soon, I have to leave the room, but I decide to take a chance and go up to her to see if it really was her because she was standing sideways and I only saw her profile. Well, it turned out that it was Beyonce (names have been changed to protect the innocent, haha), the girl that I thought it was! We both semi-freaked out because no one from our school does the CP. Well, I had to go but I gave her my cell. After leaving that building, I continued to stations and went through things such as fingerprinting (the line for that was long) and showing that I had the Disney Look (no visible piercings or tattoos) and stuff like that.

After check in was done, I went to my apartment. I was a little scared to know what it looked like inside, thinking that it might look really bad.... but I entered and.... it wasn't too bad after all. I was actually pleasantly surprised. All the message boards online said that Vista Way was “ghetto” (their words, not mine) and that it was horrible and dirty and nasty, but it wasn’t bad at all. It was older, but it was liveable, clean, and bigger than I thought it would be.

Some pictures:

The Living Room:

The Kitchen:

The Dining Room:

My room:

After entering my apartment, I found out that all of the rooms were taken except for the back one. I also found out that everyone in my apartment knew each other except for the girl who would be rooming with me. They all knew each other because they were at Disney with a different group: Crusade for Christ. (That meant that they also got different jobs! Some of them worked attractions, some of them did merchandise. Even though they were there for the same exact time as I was…)

But anyway, I was so happy that my roommates were there with Crusade for Christ. Not just because I am also a Christian, but the night before, when I had been thinking about living in Vista Way, I was afraid that I was going to get roommates who wanted to drink and sleep with their boyfriends and break the rules and basically get me terminated (Disney speak for fired). But when I found out that they were there with C4C, I was like, "Hallelujah!" No threats of alcohol in our apartment (except maybe communion wine! )

I settled into our apartment and arranged my things. I met the girl who would be rooming with me and we spoke for a while before we all left for a Property Meeting. I was so excited… I couldn’t believe that my CP had finally started!

Coming Up: You’re from the DIS boards?

 

[lamagique]

Beyonce and me at the meeting

At the property meeting, they basically told us that we could get fired for pretty much anything and to not break any of the rules or we would be fired and even if we didn't break the rules but our roommates did and no one confessed, we would be fired. Oh yeah, we signed a form that said that we could be fired for no reason at all. (We also got a lot of paperwork, people won some prizes, we laughed a lot, were told rules.)

Besides fearing random termination, I was really excited at that meeting! When I stepped off of the bus, I started hanging out with Beyonce. I found out that she is going to be a custodian too! I talked to her and her roommates, two of which happened to be girls that I met randomly before.

Anyway, I was very excited, but it was at this moment that I would find out that not everyone working at Disney had the Disney spirit. On the bus ride back to Vista from the meeting, there was this girl sitting on the bus and she kept badmouthing the program on her cell phone. She was like, "Ugh, is it another arrival day? People are all over the bus... This job sucks, this job is the worst job ever... the only good thing about it is that I get to get drunk every night..." I was like: that is NOT the Disney Spirit! That’s seriously what I thought. I was so mad at that girl! First of all, she was talking so loud, so that she could be heard by the whole bus. Second of all, I thought it was pretty rude to ruin the excitement for a bunch of new CPs. We were all excited about working at Disney. Just because you came for the wrong reasons doesn’t mean you have to ruin it for other people!

Anyway, I went back to the apartment to put away more things, then my mom (yes, she was still around!) took me to Super Walmart to buy some food. That's right, ladies and gentlemen... for the first time in my life, I was going to have to cook for myself: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This meant that I bought lots of dry foods such as easy mac, cereal, cup-o-noodle and other fun things such as Chef Boyardee and tuna and peanut butter and jelly and (the stuff for) grilled cheese sandwiches. I was terrified, but I knew that I would make it through… right?

Well, at 8 o'clock, it was time to meet up with some people from the DIS Discussion Boards. That’s right! You heard me! THESE BOARDS! Here’s a little story: while I was searching for info on the CP, I randomly found these boards. But I only went to the College Board section. I discussed my excitement going down there with some other CPs who were going at the same time. Since we all had the same arrival date, we decided to have a Meet-N-Greet after check-in. We were to meet at 8pm at Downtown Disney in front of Raglan Road (an Irish pub/restaurant).

After my mom dropped me off, I realized that I did not know how I would identify them. I waited and waited, wondering if I would see a big group of people my age. I didn’t. But I did see these two guys standing and looking like they were my age and possibly CPs, but I wasn't sure. Finally, I wasn't seeing anyone else so I just went up to them. It turns out that one of them was from here and the other was one of his apartment roommates. Then, three more people came and we didn't want to wait any longer, so we just went in.

We got seated quickly and ordered. I ordered the prawns, thinking that they were going to be fried—but they weren’t. So that made for awkward times as I tried to get those slippery suckers in my mouth. Well, other than that awkwardness, we had a nice conversation. We were all excited. Two people, Talin and Brian, were going to work QSFB and the rest of us were going to be custodians. We still hadn’t received our park/resort assignments yet, so we were excited to see what we get. I didn’t know where I would be working, but I of course was hoping for Disney-MGM Studios, my favorite park.

Anyway, we had a nice chat and our server ended up being someone else who had done the program. I think he gave us our cast discount even though we didn’t have our cast IDs yet (which was really nice… let the magic begin)! After dinner, we explored DTD and just looked at the shops and the lights and pretty much repeated 100x that we couldn’t believe that we were finally there and that we were actually going to be working for the mouse!!!

At the DisBoards Meet-N-Greet

 

[Disneyolic]

Hey -- changing the names to protect the innocent. Come on, you have to think of a better name than Beyonce. She looks more like, uhm, hmmmm, I don't know. Maybe Bethany? I guess the name tag gave it away...

 

[lamagique]

Hey -- changing the names to protect the innocent. Come on, you have to think of a better name than Beyonce. She looks more like, uhm, hmmmm, I don't know. Maybe Bethany? I guess the name tag gave it away...

You got me! Hahaha. So, I guess she'll just have to be Bethany. Haha.

And you made me crack up when you said you thought my s/n was "Llama Geek." Hilarious.

 

[Goofster57]

Great Updates, looking forward to hearing all about the CP experience

 

[Glendamax]

Ahhhh Man! You know how you stumble upon a really good movie on TV then realize it's NOT a cable station when it goes to commercial! AGH!!!!!!!!! Well, I was REALLY hoping for another installment when I came to the end of the page OH Well . . . .

This report has been sooooo much fun. Oh how I wish I could rewind the clock and be back in college . . .

Can't wait for the rest!

 

[LITTLEKID58]

Waiting patiently for the rest.....

 

[robinne83]

I absolutely love reading about your CP experience so far! I have been accepted into the college program twice already. The first time I had to turn it down because of school. The second time, there were personal reasons I had to decline but I am still planning on being in the WDWCP before I am done with school. Right now, it looks like I'll be applying for Spring of 2008 and I am beyond excited about it! Reading your experiences just makes me want to go down there right now!!

And I just have to tell you that I couldn't help but laugh when you were talking about the beautiful Moroccans! I have had my share of Moroccan boys...Trust me. In fact, Ive met about 5 or 6 them at Epcot and out of those, about 3 want to marry me. Seriously. They may be cute, but they are persistent and once you get them, you never get rid of them!!!

 

[Disneyolic]

And I just have to tell you that I couldn't help but laugh when you were talking about the beautiful Moroccans! I have had my share of Moroccan boys...Trust me. In fact, Ive met about 5 or 6 them at Epcot and out of those, about 3 want to marry me. Seriously. They may be cute, but they are persistent and once you get them, you never get rid of them!!!

Now I really want to see some pictures of these Moroccan boys!

Lamagigue - Did you ever get any photos of them? Do we have to patiently wait?

 

[Glendamax]

And I just have to tell you that I couldn't help but laugh when you were talking about the beautiful Moroccans!

I forgot about that part! I HAVE to go by Morocco in September! If I see any cuties, I'll make sure to post their pics here!

 

[robinne83]

Did you ever get any photos of them? Do we have to patiently wait?

I was wondering the same thing because I might actually know some of them. I know about 2 or 3 of the guys who worked there last summer and I was curious to see if your Moroccan was one of them! Let us know!

 

[lamagique]

Disneyolic - Yes, I do live in California (when I'm not at my college, which is in Michigan). I'm from Northern California, though. San Francisco Bay Area Represent! Haha. But if I was from Southern California, there would be no doubt that I would have an AP for Disneyland. Oh... my mouth is watering at the thought...

Goofster57 - I'm glad you're still on for the ride!!! I guess you must be boot-strapped in... (ohhhhh I'm so punny!)

Littlekid58 - Hey, welcome to the thread and YAY! I'm glad you're here! A new post will be coming soon...

Robinne83 - You, too! Welcome!!! I'm glad you're enjoying it so far. If you do the program in Spring of '08, we might have some dates that overlap (if you do Advantage). I'm hoping to do it one last time after I graduate, so that would be in Fall '08. And the Moroccans... oooh, I love them, even if the majority just want their green card. Haha. You must tell some stories!

Gmax & Disneyolic & Robinne83 - I unfortunately did not get any pictures of the Moroccans because I was too scared to take pics! I was also tazered by their beauty. But definitely take photos for me if you find any while you're there. *Drools*

Hmm... and Robinne, the one I was in *love* with had the prettiest eyes. They were like... gold. Haha.

 

[Disneyolic]

Gmax & Disneyolic & Robinne83 [/B]- I unfortunately did not get any pictures of the Moroccans because I was too scared to take pics! I was also tazered by their beauty. But definitely take photos for me if you find any while you're there. *Drools*

Hmm... and Robinne, the one I was in *love* with had the prettiest eyes. They were like... gold. Haha.

Bummer...but I will be going in June and I will try to get some photos with, what I consider, the cutest Moroccans. I hope we have the same taste... Note to self: look for the prettiest eyes.

 

[720L]

First of all, cute glasses! Second, awesome trip report!

 

[lamagique]

Before I *officially* start this installment, I just want to let you all know that as I delve more into the World of Disney, feel free to ask me questions at anytime! Especially if you are going to be a CP and want to know more! Okay, that said, let us begin!

At WDW, as I had found out before I left through various online resources, there is a general Cast Member orientation/training called "Traditions." For new CPs, this meeting takes place about two to five days after arrival. The days before this meeting are pretty low-key. I had about three or four days before my Traditions class and I spent my time saying good-bye to my mom, reading (the Walt Biography!), finding shoes for work, finding out my specific work location (to be revealed later) and getting to know some of the other CPs at my complex.

Why didn't I spend these couple of days in the parks? Well, you can't get into the parks (for free) without your cast ID. And you don't get your cast ID until Traditions. So even though we were all already excited for Traditions, we were ALL super excited for to get our cast IDs and go to the parks we all know and love.

Traditions, a required class for all Cast Members, is held at different times and on different days. It is around 5-hours long for CPs. The "Disney Look" is required for this meeting. The "Disney Look," outlined in a nifty looking pamphlet, is a way of making sure that everyone looks their best and professional. If people are not within the guidelines of the Disney Look upon arrival to their Traditions class, they are turned away and rescheduled for another meeting. This next meeting could be the next week, which means that (1) this cast member cannot enter the parks until then and (2) this cast member is not going to be receiving any payment until they take the Traditions course, which means, they have to pay for a week of rent out of their pocket. So it was very important that we dressed as Disney asked us to.

Another big thing for Traditions: punctuality. Again, Disney is a very professional company. The Traditions meetings start promptly. If one is late to their particular session, that person has to reschedule their meeting and the same consequences that I explained before may occur in this situation as well.

That all said, the morning of my Traditions class, I was super-dee-duper excited. I set my two alarms and woke up in plenty of time to be ready for my 12:30pm class. (I was lucky and got the early afternoon meeting... some people get the really early morning sessions.)

I planned on meeting Bethany at the Vista Way bus stop at 11am so that we could be shuttled over to Traditions using the transportation that the CP provided us with. Well, at about 10:40am, Bethany tells me to go to her apartment because we were going to get a ride. I said okay...

Now, I just ended up saying yes but as I hung up the phone, I was thinking, "Why did I say that?" I was thinking that I would end up regretting that choice. What if the car broke down? What if we got lost? If you miss Traditions, it throws off your whole work schedule. Also, I was hoping to meet some new people at the bus stop and before so I could chat and stuff with them. But I also wanted to sit by Bethany during Traditions, so I just hoped that it would be okay anyway.

Well, I went over to her apartment at about 11:45 and I found out it was Lexi, currently MIA, who would be driving us. She was still eating lunch and at a different apartment. This made me a little anxious... But she finally showed up. We didn't end up getting out of the house until noon, but I was feeling okay. I had asked Lexi if she had driven to the Traditions building before and she said, "Yeah, tons of times." She was an alumni so she had worked at Disney before. Reassured, we got in the car and then she realized that she forgot her keys. So she had to dash back and get them. And I'm starting to get more anxious... Well, finally, she comes back and then we were on our way. We were just barely out of Vista when Lexi goes, "Wait, are we going the right way?" And I'm like, "Oh no she didn't!" in my head. All I could think about was that I should have just gotten on the bus like everyone else. Instead, Rosie (another alum) was like, "Oh, go this way..." because she was sure she knew the way.

We drive and drive and it feels like we're not going anywhere. Rosie keeps saying how she's seen the buildings that we're passing before, but all I can think about in my mind is how we have basically gone in a big loop and are back where we started. The panicking sets in. In my head, I am like, "OH MY GOSH, I'M GOING TO BE LATE... MY VERY FIRST DAY OF WORK AT DISNEY AND I'M GOING TO BE LATE. OH NO. OH NO."

I keep looking at the clock on the dashboard. We're cutting it VERY close by this point. Bethany and I are in the backseat, squeezing each other's hands. I have the most petrified look on my face.

Long story short (sorta): we make it about 30 seconds before Traditions starts.

Inside, I am relieved, but I am also a little upset (and sweating from my Michael Johnson quick-dash in heels to my Traditions class which was being held on the 3rd floor (I believe) of Disney University).

But my anger quickly dissolves as I am handed my CAST ID!!! and my NAME TAG! OH MY GOSH! THE GLORIOUS CAST MEMBER NAME TAG.... *Angels sing... OH HAPPY DAY!* I am going to make dreams come true! I am... a part of the magic!!! I was sooooo excited. But I couldn't just stand there and be excited, I had to hurry up and take a seat!

Now, I can't tell you what happened in Traditions because it's a big secret... if you want to know, just become a Cast Member! But I will tell you this: we did fill out paperwork during the class and every time I signed something, I felt like, "Wow, it's OFFICIAL!" I was grinning from ear to ear.

JOURNAL EXCERPT

Traditions was really great and I just thought it was interesting and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It made me reflect on how truly great a company that Disney is and how amazing Walt Disney was (and his legacy still is amazing). I would get chills at some points during the meeting. I mean, Disney is truly magical. There was even this part at the end where I just felt like crying. Because I am going to be a part of that [making magic moments for guests]! And you know what? I haven't started working yet, but I just love the Disney Company and I really hope to be a part of this in some more ways in the future. ​

 

[lamagique]

Well, I have given you all a LOT of text in the past couple of installments. So now it's time for some pictures.

The first park I entered was EPCOT, right after Traditions. Okay, not right after. I changed out of my panty hose and heels and got into some more comfortable clothing, then headed over with Bethany and her super cool roommates that I really got along well with. It was early evening by the time we got to the park, so we got on Test Track first and then we got on Soarin'. It was so weird to be in the park as a Cast Member for the VERY FIRST TIME! It felt like I was carrying around a secret. All around me, vacationers were in COMMANDO mode, ready to take on the World with as much as they could because they didn't have much time, enough time (is there ever enough time?) Me, on the other hand, I had the whole summer. I was looking at the parks in a whole different way. It felt strange. I wondered if the people around me could tell that I was a CM (of course they couldn't). I worked at DISNEY! I WORKED AT DISNEY!!!! I was smiling and excited the whole night. Every now and then I would go, "Guys, we are going to WORK here!" It was surreal.

Here are my girls in line at Soarin'

That evening, I took advantage of my free CM entrance to EPCOT and later on, I used my free entrance to the clubs at Pleasure Island. I am not much of a club person, as you read earlier, but I was ready to get out and dance... I had hot feet that wanted to interpretively express the secret inside that I was carrying (I WAS A CAST MEMBER!!).

Me and a friend at PI. That's water I'm holding. I'm under-21, you silly-billies!

Since my training wasn't until a few more days after Traditions, I took the next day to go to Disney-MGM Studios--MY FAVORITE PARK! Now, I think I mentioned that in the beginning of this TR, but it doesn't hurt to say it again. The Studios houses my favorite WDW rides: Tower of Terror and Rockin' Rollercoaster. Excellent themeing. Woohoo.

When our group got to the Studios, we watched Star Wars Jedi Training, which was cute and involved little kids, and then we went on Star Tours. I was super excited and the lady who ran the ride noticed and pointed me out. After that, we went to Muppet Vision, which was hilarious. I love the pre-show!

After Muppet Vision, we went on the awesome Rockin' Rollercoaster, followed by Tower of Terror.

Following ToT, we saw Power Rangers and stood in line for the Lights, Motors, Actions live stunt show from the Walt Disney Studios in Paris. It was cool, but cars aren't really my thing.

We rode RnR and ToT one last time before leaving te park.

In line at RnR

TO BE CONTINUED...

 

[lamagique]

After we left the Studios, we headed to the All-Star Cafe at Disney's Wide World of Sports for dinner.

It was pretty good and the themeing was cool. There were TV screens everywhere showing different sports and they had a cool little box on the table that you change the channel for in order to hear the sound for whatever sport you decided to watch. I was really surprised that it wasn't busier because it was cool and the prices were great!

Later on that night, we had to stop by Pleasure Island, of course. It was a Thursday Night, an "unofficial" CM night.

We went to Motions, my club of choice while I was down at Disney. It was packed:

Just for contrast, here's what it looked like the night I met the Buffies:

We had a good night, just dancing with each other and meeting new people. It was lots of fun!

The next day, it was TIME. Time for me to finally enter... THE MAGIC KINGDOM!

And now that I had time, I was able to watch a parade (for the first time since I was like, 7). Even though it was really hot where we were sitting, the parade was so good! I really enjoyed it!

I especially liked when the characters came by. They got so close and shook our hands. I felt like a little kid again... MAGIC!

The Zoom is not on for this picture! They were this close... YAY!

Coming Up: Why I Work Here

 

[Lan]

Hi Lamagique,

So what type of men did you meet this trip at Motions?

 

[lamagique]

Now, I have a little magical story about this day at Magic Kingdom.

The whole day, we had been accompanied by a guy named Tevin and his friend Michael. Michael had a bad home life, which probably explained why he seemed to be socially behind the rest of us. He was a sweet guy, though. He came along with us to the Magic Kingdom. Now this guy's favorite character was Stitch. He absolutely loved Stitch. All he could say during the parade was, "When are we going to see Stitch? I can't wait to see Stitch! Will we get to seem him?"

After the parade, we knew he had to go on Stitch's Great Adventure. Now, this is probably one of the least favorite attractions at WDW for a lot of people, but Michael absolutely loved it. I was sitting next to him and it was more fun to watch his reactions than the show. He would smile, laugh, and sort of squee with glee. He would hit the little sensory bar in excitement. I couldn't believe it. I smiled just sitting next to him. It was amazing to watch someone get so much joy out of an attraction. Truly.

When the ride was over, we went into the Stitch store. Michael was in paradise! We probably spent at least a good 45 minutes there while he decided what he was going to get. He just didn't know. Well, as I was talking to him about what he would get, he said, "I'm sorry if I embarrassed you guys on the ride, laughing and everything." And I said, "No, if you enjoyed it, that's good." And then he said, "It's just, that's the first time I've been happy down here." And I totally felt like crying! It was like, the most emotional moment ever.

(Here's a picture. I didn't want to show his face, but I wanted to show you what he looked like in the store. He was so happy! Hopefully you can tell that by his body language.)

It was at that moment that I realized that Disney World is for people like Michael. Yes, it's for everyone--the vacationers, the dreamers, but it's mostly for people who have been hurt, who have been sad, whose reality is not that pretty. Because you can take a break from reality while at Disney World and step into a story. You can be happy. You don't have to worry about what's going on outside of life--you have a new one right here. Michael felt so happy on Stitch and that made me happy.


Well, Michael finally decided to buy Stitch ears. As we left the store, we saw that the real Stitch was meeting kids in this one corner of Tomorrowland, and Michael got so excited! But unfortunately, the CM didn't let Michael meet him, because Stitch had to take a break. So it was REALLY sad. It was like the saddest thing in the world. But we did go on Buzz Lightyear next and it was cute how all the Cast Members called Michael "Stitch" or "Trouble." He got really excited and cheered up right away.

It was at this moment that I realized how happy I was to be a CM, to be a part of the magic atmosphere that was one man's dream. "I may only be a custodian," I thought, "but my attitude here will make a difference to someone!" I was committed to preserving the magical experience for Disney guests. I had enjoyed magical moments at Disney all my life, and I was delighted to be able to give those to other people.

Next Installment: PG 5, #68