Wow it has been a LONG time since I’ve posted sorry about that. So much has happened in the last few weeks (months) that its been hard to find tome to write it all down. I’ll try and cover as much as I can in this post, but will probably skim quite a lot of stuff…
One of the coolest outings on this programme has to be when I went to a baseball game, to see the New York Yankees play the Tampa Bay Rays! Going to an american sports match was something I was really interested in and it was loads of fun to watch and experience- especially such a well know team! Although I obviously supported the home team!
I also went to an awesome concert- one of my favourite bands- Sabaton( who usually headline in Europe) were supporting a Floridian Rock band called Iced Earth and were playing in the House of Blues. I always enjoy seeing Sabaton, but I mega enjoyed Iced Earth as well. I had not heard of them before but by the end of the set was a converted fan- I eve caught a guitar pick that they threw into the crowd, and got the guitarist’s autograph and photo afterwards!
The most important thing to have probably happened since my last post is to become a server! It was a long time coming- my first day was on my sixth month anniversary of being in America, which was later than the three months in I was lead to believe in when I applied for the job. Being on podium for longer than a lot of people wasn’t a problem for the first five months, but by the last month on podium I was getting very bored with the repetitiveness of the job and I couldn’t wait to move on.
So-training. the first day you have is culinary, where you don chef whites and spend a day in the different stations in the kitchen learning how it works. It gives you a chance to see how the food is prepared and how long things take in the kitchen, for example to make fish and chips or a shepherds it takes a fraction of the time compared to say a well done steak.It’s important to know these things so that you can pace the meal effectively for your guests, and make sure that things are fresh when they go out, and don’t get to the table to quickly or too slowly. At lunch time you also get mini portions of most of the food. It was nice to actually taste what I would be selling, although we were scheduled a menu change 3 days later and some of the items on there I still haven’t tried. Another training day is bar day, where you go into the service bar and make all the alcoholic drinks, which was loads of fun. Then you have 2 days of food running, which is in essence taking food from the kitchen to the table, with a few other bits of sidework I liked food running more than expected, though they are very long days and exhausting because you are constantly carrying heavy plates and trays back and forth.
After that first week you have your first tipped week of food running. After 6 months on podium wages it felt incredible to be earning tips- theres a pretty big difference in pay I will say that. Although you definitely work for that money! The third week of training is then the actual service training its only three days which is less than I thought it would be, considering now vastly different the job is. and you literally get thrown straight into it. I’m not even going to lie, I was terrified. But I had really good trainers that kept me calm even when I made mistakes. I dropped a drink on a guest on my fist day which threw me off and I thought the whole thing was going to be a disaster, but over the next few days things got better and better. You do an AM shift, a mid shift (am and pm), and then a final PM shift as well as a few classes on the different wines and alcohol that we sell. It was all really interesting, and I was super excited to do my test
On test day you have your own section as normal, but its a smaller section with only three tables (most sections have 4) so it feels pretty easy when you’ve been pushed to do 4,5 or even 6 tables during your training. One of the tables is a manager who you have to pretend is a normal guest which is kind of weird. They make sure you bring out everything on time, in the right order, do enough spieling and are generally a good server. The thing I struggle with most is spieling- I don’t want to sell people stuff they don’t want or make them feel uncomfortable. I think its the British in me though- whenever I do it to Americans they love it! Passed my test no bother, and became a full on server! So proud!
So I passed in late may, had a few days serving, then my family came. I was nervous to be going back after 10 days off, but I got back into the swing of things pretty quickly. And I have to say, I love love love serving. I actually feel like I’m using my brain in work, it varies from shift to shift, and it can be a lot of fun depending on what shifts you get.
So yeah, that was the other big thing that happened- my family visited! I told them I would have to book the hotel and everything to get the discounts, and I told them I was going to book us into port Orleans, but I surprised them and booked them into a club level at animal kingdom lodge. I wrote them a letter to open on the plane which told them this so they didn’t now until they were already in the air. I had to hope and pray the plan worked out as otherwise there would be a lot of confusion when they checked onto the magical express! It all worked out fine- they got to the hotel just a couple of hours before I finished work. I was super lucky as well that I had nearly all the timer off approved, and the shifts that didn’t I managed to swap ( bar one short am shift) so I am super grateful for everyone at work that helped me out there.
The holiday was amazing- I think it was really ready for the time with my family. I’m really close to them but also quite independent, so generally it hasn’t been super hard being away from them. But after 7 months I was really starting to miss just hanging out with the, so the time I had with them was really special. We’d been on amazing holidays in Disney when I was younger. Being in Disney world has kind of lost its shine after being here for so long, but being with them in general was just magical. The other good thing was that I kind of dropped off the radar while they were here and didn’t see any of my friends as I wanted to spend all my time with dad and lee, and after a few days I started to really miss my friends and my life out here with them. So dad and lee coming out also helped me appreciate how amazing my life and my friends in Orlando are, so the holiday was super medicinal. Of course I was sad to see them go, but I know I’ll see them again in a few months and I was excited to continue my life in Orlando which is only a temporary.
I also finally finished my classes. I did my final presentation as I did most of my classes- hangover after lasses. Still got a 95% pass grade in it though! I enjoyed the class but I’m so glad its over- I did sign up for another onewhich sounded interesting but decided not to go so I could spend my time off doing other fun things. I would consider maybe doing one next semester, but for now I definitely need a break from them.
Housing put on an amazing event recently as well. It only happens once a year, and its called starlit splash. They basically rent out the typhoon lagoon water park for the night for Disney cast members! This was definitely a highlight of my programme- nearly everyone from work was there and we all had so much fun! It was kind of a surreal moment to be in typhoon lagoon at 12 at night, watching fireworks from the wave pool. A moment to remember.
Done quite a few more resort stays as well with different people- still hoping to stay in as many as possible by the time the year is out! I’ve stayed now in boardwalk, beach club, all star sports and another stay at Caribbean beach. The staycations are nice as we usually go out to dinner somewhere nice as well and its so nice to get to chill out together without worrying about housing (as your not allowed in other housing complexes after a certain time).
The saddest thing that’s happened recently though that Tom from my arrival group decided to leave. He had a job opportunity at home that was too good to pass up- it was definitely the best thing for him to go but he was one of my best friends here so I was sad to see him go. We went to the rose and crown for dinner and to watch the fireworks. It was strange that that was my first time in there as a guest, and I have to say I really enjoyed it, and it was pretty special getting to see the fireworks from our table. Sad as it was to say goodbye to Tom, I know that at least ill see him again for sure when I get back to England.
I also took part in the expedition Everest run Disney challenge. It was a 5km run around animal kingdom park at night followed by a scavenger hunt. it wasn’t so much a race as you stopped on the way to meet characters and go on rides and stuff- going on expedition Everest in the dark is incredible. there was a group of us who did it so it was loads of fun, though it was very expensive for what it was. It was something on my bucket list though to do a run Disney event so I’m so glad I got to do it!
So these are the main things that have happened, though it only just scratches the surface of what the last few months have been like. The programme so far has been far from easy with one thing and another, but it really is turning into everything and more I hoped it would be. Ive been lucky enough to have some amazing experiences, and have met some wonderful people who I am now lucky enough to count as friends. I hope the programme continues to be just as amazing! Will try and not leave it this long until my next post
Lots of love xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Emma's Disney Blog 