WOW! Boy does time fly when you are having fun. Never in a million years did I think I would be where I am today. I spent a whole year as a Jungle Cruise Skipper and 5 months exploring the Caribbean as a Pirate! My only regret throughout my entire experience was not blogging about it every step of the way. Looking back now, all I have are the pictures, friends, and memories of all the wonderful time I spent in Adventureland.
So where am I today, 1.5 years from my last blog post? Wow. I don’t feel like I have done a lot but lets pick up from my program. I was lucky enough to extend my Jungle Cruise stay on my CP to another 5 months. With that extension, I got to cross-train at Pirates of the Caribbean (A DREAM). I met some of my best friends in this area including Taylor! My best friend who I am planning on living with in the near future. And my current roommates, Rodolfo and Dustin. I still am lucky enough to see or talk to my friends from Jungle/Pirates almost every day!
In May, my college program ended and I did not stay on part time with the company. I went through a rough month of going back and forth if deciding to live down here permanently was a good idea because job offers were not exactly plentiful. Nobody seemed to be hiring in the summer, which I found very weird. I took it personally that I wasn’t’t getting interviews ANYWHERE. But finally, SeaWorld called me and offered me a job in Guest Relations. I have been there since June and feel like I do my job very well.
But after being away from the Walt Disney Company for 6 months and a few days, I applied to get my yellow shoe back in the door and took anything I was offered. Which happened to be…..parking. Womp womp. I can’t say I am ecstatic to start my training or meet new people because it’s not exactly the path I saw myself taking. But I am not at all discouraged and I am humbled to be back with the Company in my favorite park, Magic Kingdom! I have only heard great things from people who have personally experienced parking and I am honored to be part of the ohana again.
So enough about work.
In January, I got to relive my dreams and experience the magic as a guest of Disneyland with my best friend Chelsea. And guys. If you work for The Walt Disney Company for any amount of time, some may say that you “lose the magic” because you are on the other side of the magic. However, if you ever need that extra boost of pixie dust, please visit Disneyland. I have been planning my return trip ever since and it has killed me being away for almost a year already. Plus, my best friend Jordy lives and works there so I have every excuse to go visit her and Kara, who works at the Museum of Ice Cream in California.
If my experience here in Florida has taught me anything, it’s that life is too short. And I have been sitting around my apartment far too long to not go out and experience life and I am ready for my next step with the company and seeing where I end up.
Until next time!
Skipper Shelby Signing Off
Shelby in Plaid 
Glad your Disney DCP experience went amazing!! Okay so, three questions (since you already answered the losing the magic question)!
1) When you “cross-trained” at Pirates what role(s) did you have for that ride?
2) So if you’re now back at WDW working the magical parking grounds, does this mean you’re no longer at Sea World? Or are both part-time jobs?
3) For your guest relations position at Sea World, is it a lot of replying to emails from visitors? Or being out in the frontline greeting customers?
Have an awesome day!
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Hey Nate! Thanks for reading! To answer your questions:
1. Pirates involved greeter, fastpass entry, stroller parking, tower (the person in the box right above you), port and starboard (the people who push the button to make it go), grouper (sort people into rows), fastpass merge, wheelchair runner, and unload. I loved training at pirates. It was a much easier job compared to Jungle cruise 😂
2. Being back at WDW Part time allows me to stay at Seaworld PT also. I work weekends at Disney and the rest of the week is open for Seaworld to schedule me or to pick up extra shifts at WDW.
3. The guest relations job I have at Seaworld, I am front line in the parks solving guest situations.the people who answer emails/phone calls is an entirely different position at Seaworld and falls under “the call center”. So I rarely answer phone or email questions. I make guest correspondences that are sent out to all of the Seaworld parks and call center but that’s just for the guests inside the park.
Let me know if you have any other questions!!
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