Day 2 and 3 in Plaid: ATS and More

Day 2 at DU was another day of just a guest relations general overview. We explored the Hub much more in-depth, which is our Disney Internet, and found all the different ways we could use it as a resource! It has A LOT more information than I’ve ever given it credit for. But, it will also be home to a lot of the apps we will be using in GR that you don’t use anywhere else on property. So we got to have a crash course on the Hub and then did a fun scavenger hunt on where to find some common and not so common questions we will almost definitely run into while working in MK, we did some D-learning which is basically like interactive slideshows that do the teaching for the facilitator, and learned about one of the applications we will use to book dining reservations!

On Day 3 is where we started really getting into our hands-on training! Today and tomorrow is our ATS or Automated Ticketing System (if you haven’t noticed, Disney loves acronyms) and there is a LOT to remember. And for the most part, it’s all pretty straightforward so far, but there is just a ton of different options someone could want to do! And it’s our job to know the difference between all of them. So yeah, that’s going to take a bit of practice. It was cool to start the day off because we learned about the timeline of our ticketing! When Disneyland first opened, all of the tickets were weighted the same (so there was no A-D tickets until 1956) ad the E ticket was actually didn’t come until later on. Then when we built more parks in 1982, we introduced a multipark ticket! There was even a time when tickets included a photo of the guest to use as a security measure of not sharing tickets! It wasn’t until mid-90s that we switched to our current system (ATS) yep, we are STILL using that system! We then went into great detail of acceptable forms of payment and miscellaneous add ons to your vacation.

After our learning, we got to do “real-life” scenarios using ATS to print a paper ticket and also adding them to media like magic bands! There’s a lot to the system and i’m grateful we get two days to learn it all. There just doesn’t seem like enough time with all the different options and things that could go wrong!

But so far I am LOVING my training and the people I am training with! There are 5 of us total (Chelsea, Raevon, Katie, and Mohammed)! It’s like we were meant to train together because we all get along soooo well! I mean, there’s always that bond when you go through life milestones together and I think we were all just lucky that we have such a small group that we really get to know each other! And we are all heading to MK so it’s fun!

Day One in Plaid: Guest Relations Overview Day 1

As of today, I am officially in training for that Golden D pin and pretty Plaid vest! I have been searching the WordPress universe for months for something to prepare me for my next two weeks of training. But nobody documents their time in Guest Relations apparently. People going through the training could be super excited or not really into writing about their experience or some other reasons! So I am here to up the post quota!

So Day One: here it is.

I started off the day at 6:30am! TWO hours before my clock-in time, I had my business suit and heels laid out and my hair and makeup done and left the house by 7:40. I had my coffee in hand and I was getting SUPER excited driving to DU (Disney University). I wasn’t even tired even though I was on like 5 hours of sleep. Once I got to DU, I followed a small group of people into DU who either knew each other or made friends really fast. Either way, I walked in solo and waited behind the bffs group and they checked into the ladies handling the welcome wagon, they were checking into their day one class of Club 33!! AND they had GOLD NAMETAGS! I was sooo jealous. I want fun name tags! Anyway, back on track.

I was given my room number but still had about 15 minutes, so I decided to find the room and then maybe sneak a few pictures!

We had a small, “candle-lit dinner” size of class as my facilitator called it and we all started feeling like a GR Fam very quickly. Most of the class was a general overview of the role description and learning about a few in-depth details to our Disability Access Service (or DAS) pass and dealing with difficult situations. For the most part, I felt as if I could handle what is about to be thrown at me these next few months!

We had to read OG (operating guide) about the DAS and I would say that was the only part that made the day slow down, everything else we talked about was super interesting and I am just so excited to learn more about the role! We even got to learn a little bit about the history of the Guest Relations role and who the first GR cast member after Walt was and she has a window on DLR Mainstreet!

Tomorrow will bring even more overview of GR but more in-depth on the applications we will use as tools in our everyday tasks.

Oh and here is our GR Training Fam Photo:

Until tomorrow! TTFN, ta ta for now!

Regrets

There are many things in life that are worthwhile. For me, the personal growth through a blog is one of them. Self care is another. Between writing down my thoughts and taking mental health days away from work and people, I have been successful in my hopes to remain happy and healthy while living on my own in Orlando for the last 3 years (off and on). As 2017 comes to an end, I am reflecting back on my blog.

As this post is titled, there have been some posts in the past that I wish I could erase. But I feel as though it is not fair to myself or my blog to just simply delete part of my past. It has made me who I am today. And though I am struggling with myself on this decision to not delete any posts or sentences that remind me of the past, I am happy that I can always look back (should I choose to) and not remember only the happy but also remember the full extent of my time with the company.

There is also the major and main regret that I have with my blog: I only did one or two full, complete posts with my time at Jungle Cruise and Pirates of the Caribbean. I was extremely busy working 6 days during my second college program, but I feel as if that is not a good excuse. Looking back I really wish I would have blogged more about it. It is now only a memory of my last year and half in Adventureland, but I made very good friends at my time with Jungle. Without any one of them, I would not be thriving in Florida. I can say that with certainty. They are the ones who got me this far and I can’t imagine life without them now.

As I start the next chapter of my life within the Walt Disney Company, first with Magic Kingdom Parking and next with Magic Kingdom Guest Relations, I enjoy looking back to see where it all started. I have never more related to a quote before but here it is:

“Around here, however, we don’t look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we’re curious…and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”

Major News!!

This is the post I have been dying to write! I have accepted a TA (temporary assignment) in Guest Relations in Magic Kingdom! I still cannot believe this has happened. I am still in shock! I had just gotten home and showered when I noticed a missed call and voicemail. I have been waiting on this (407) number phone call and immediately assumed this was it. I listened to the voicemail and heard Nathaniel’s voice asking me to call him back for feedback on my interview for Guest Relations. I wrote down the number and called him back immediately, after realizing I dialed the wrong number the first time, I quickly rechecked the number and slowly dialed the RIGHT number this time. Nathaniel answered and I had no feelings, I was pretty numb trying to feel out the conversation. He kept his voice calm and professional, I had no idea what to expect, but I mentally prepared myself in case it was bad news.

He started out by asking me how I felt about my interview. I confessed that I felt confident in my answers, but felt as if I was nervous and didn’t let my excitement shine through. He quickly disagreed and mentioned how he really enjoyed me stating how much I really liked parking and that it stood out to him! He also mentioned how he liked how much of a diverse Disney background I possessed being in Merchandise in Epcot, Jungle Cruise in MK, and Parking in MK. He then said the words I had been waiting for. That he was happy to announce that I have been accepted into the GR Bench. To put in terms most people understand, I had been put on the list of possible people to be pulled from and could be placed in a park/Disney Springs. I could be pulled at any time from the list and I know people who have been on the list for months. BUT IT GOT BETTER. Nathaniel then asked me if I was ready for the next thing. I said, Yes. Not daring to get my hopes up. He then casually mentioned that I have been pulled for a TA Guest Relations in Magic Kingdom if I would like to accept. I ACCEPTED RIGHT THEN AND THERE! Because DUH! I LOVE Magic Kingdom! It’s been my home since Summer 2016! And I am going back into the park and I am so happy!

So of course I called all my family and friends who have been there supporting me from the start. I STILL cannot believe this is happening. My TA starts January 21 (so soon) and I believe I have training before that. I am just waiting on an email to give me the official details of my training! And will be even more excited when I get the details because that means everything will be official. I am so happy I cannot express it in just a blog post!

So until that email arrives, I am still officially in Parking which I picked up a nice short shift today because duh, overtime pay! So I am working 16 days straight and killing it.

Well I am off to get ready for my shift! TTFN, Ta-ta for now!

‘Tis the Season

‘Tis the season for Disney to have their holiday decorations up and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party in full swing. And with the holidays come guests. LOTS of guests. So Disney is preparing appropriate defense mechanisms by hiring from within their ranks to fulfill the needs. So once again…..

I did something crazy and I applied for a PT TA in GR. For those of you who don’t speak Disney acronyms: that is a part time temporary assignment in guest relations.

!!!!!!

And I got an interview. My interview is scheduled for December 11 at 11:30 am and boy am I nervous as can be.

As I didn’t truly believe I would make it to the next step, you can imagine my astonishment when I read the email confirming my next step was to schedule an interview.

I have already been reaching out to people for help and advice on how to nail this interview, because honestly this is what I came for. This is where my talent lies. I can rock guest relations and this is my chance to shine through and show them I can. Okay, that was super cheesy. But to be honest, I have always looked at GR as a foreign concept to me and something I could never take on. But after working for Seaworld GR, I feel as if this is my next step in the world.

I’m trying not to get my hopes up, but at the same time I am trying to believe in myself , which is a hard line to toe. I’ve known so many people in Guest Relations and they did their job well and loved it. Now it’s my turn!

---

I’ve had this post on hold for awhile hoping to write more about my interview and my feedback from the interview. So let’s start with the interview!

On Monday, December 11 at 11:30 I was sitting in casting once again, one of the few who were in interview business attire and wearing a name tag. At casting, the only people who get to wear the name tags are the people currently employed by Disney, which seems like a no brainer, but usually once you are a part of the company, you have very few reasons to return to casting because most of the internal promotions and transfers are done online and with your managers. Guest relations is not one of them. I checked into the front desk and sat down with a handful of others who had no nametags while Monster’s Inc. was playing on the TV screens (during my initial company interview it was Mary Poppins).

After a few people came down the long hallway and checked into the front desk to see who had checked in to their interviews, they called our names. “They” referring to our interviewers! And I definitely recognized a familiar face. The person who called me was Nathaniel, 2016 Walt Disney World Ambassador and current Guest Relations of the Magic Kingdom. I followed Nathaniel and another guy who I guessed I would be interviewing alongside for the GR job. Which was really weird and cannot imagine why they set up the interview like this. Besides Nathaniel, Nona and Francesca were my other two interviewers. And the name of the person I was interviewing with was Ryan.

First, the interviewers introduced themselves giving very brief information. They gave us a rundown how the interview would take place and then start asking us questions. I went into the interview thinking they would have 2 interviewees asking one a question and then asking a different question to the other. But they said we would both get a chance to answer all the questions which made me feel like it was a fair fight. Then they started with Ryan, asking him to tell them about himself and why he wants to do guest relations. The other questions were:

1. Talk about a loss to win guest recovery.
2. what is the “GR role” to you?
3. Do you feel like technology is important?
4. Tell me about a time when you partnered with another line of business.
5. Do you have any questions for us?

I feel like both Ryan and I answered the questions fairly well to the best of our ability. But now the wait has been agonizing. I mean, the good news is I will always have parking to comfort me at night, but to be placed on the Guest Relations Bench would be a dream come true. A dream I had no idea I was in reach of. But I am also concerned if I don’t impress them this time, how can I possibly go through all of this again. What if in their minds, you only get one shot at this? These are just the negative things going through my brain as I wait for that fated phone call! I keep hoping “today is the day” but so far it looks like Monday might be my shining day. Hopefully. The good news is that I felt confident and ready to take on the role of Guest Relations, let’s just hope the interviewers felt the same way!

Surprise, I’m Back

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

Short and Sweet

My days are literally running together! I finally get a little bit of time off tomorrow and Thursday! Yessss! The shock of being at Jungle Cruise still hasn’t sunk in yet. I can’t believe I was placed there! I am already so excited that I youtubed a bunch of cruises to start figuring out appropriate dialogue! And then today at my training (which I promise I will blog about tomorrow or Thursday!) we got to ride Pirates (one girl in my groups location) and Jungle Cruise (the rest of our location). And it is SOOO different from this perspective. Like these are the tours I am going to have to take with guests VERY soon! A little too soon in my opinion! 😉 but I think I can handle it because Disney says so!

Last Minute Thoughts

Packing in as much family time as I can these last few days in Indiana has been insane, but rewarding! I have been putting off watching my tv series, crucial packing, and other such not as important things than family bonding. Everyone has even agreed to make one last dinner date to the Colonial Inn in Kentland (at my request) which just makes me put off more “unimportant tasks”! But hey, I can always buy new jeans or have them sent if they are so important, right!?

There is so much to do and here I am just sitting and blogging, no regrets though! I enjoy the down time and just hanging out. My days have been so “go, go, go” and this is probably the first day I have had to relax, and I can’t stop talking about how much I have to do that it is kind of counterproductive. Oops!

These goodbyes are definitely going to be hard, my family is everything but they are all very proud and encouraging, and the hello’s I’m going to have next week are going to be some of the people who stick around forever! So, yes I am ready to leave but at the same time my family is holding my place here in Indiana.

Counting Down

I keep stopping myself from typing a title that reads “Final Countdown” because as close as I am to leaving (TWENTY.FOUR.DAYS! 24!!), I still have a bunch of days, work shifts, goodbyes to say and things to do before that magical day comes. So as much as I would like to title this final countdown, I will simply just settle for “counting down”.

So what is new this week? I received a text from Marissa this morning firstly reminding me that the first group of FA (May 16 date) checked-in yesterday. So now we are just ticking off each Monday until ours is the day! Secondly, she sent a link that gave us the new protocol for check-in, which just by looking at it, is INFINITELY better. We get to find out our apartment before we get there this time (still trying to find out exactly when we know which apartment, but at least we know it’s before the day we move into said apartment!). We also get to go straight to the apartment and it is rumored that it reduced the previous 2 hour wait to a grand total of ten minutes! And even if it takes 30 minutes, that is still way better than the previous system. And since there is no way around the hour at Casting, I can handle that morning! Which means I will hopefully have the afternoon with my roommates unpacking and the evening with my family!

Countdown: 24 days until I leave, 27 days until check-in!

Things to do before I leave:

1. New Hire Paperwork (still have not received this)
2. DORMS with roommies (fill out and link roommates)
3. double check packing list on google sheets
4. pack all clothes/bedding/shoes/electronics/chargers already in use
5. double check documents needed (IDs, DORMS, car insurance etc)
6. Get oil changed, car checked over, tires rotated, car detailed, gas filled
7. towels
8. coffee mugs
9. kuerig rack
10. 3 drawers

Buy:

1. tv/laptop situation
2. shampoo
3. conditioner
4. soap
5. makeup
6. earplugs
7. raincoat or dollar ponchos
8. power strips
9. Universal Annual Pass
10. groceries

Attractions

So as you may or may not have seen, I have been accepted into the DCP with the role of Attractions!! Typically, when I think of Disney and attractions, I think about the rides. Obviously.

Unfortunately, Disney has made some changes to this seasons new DCP group. Attractions will now not only include the rides, shows, fastpass+, and events like Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party; now it includes parking, park greeters, toll booths, tram drivers, and ESPN and water park ticket operations. Yeah. So even though I really, REALLY want Haunted Mansion or Tower of Terror, I could just as easily be placed in a not so well-loved “attraction”.

I literally remind myself everyday that your program is what you make of it and your attitude can make or break it, but I would seriously love to be placed in one of my interview-mentioned locations and not…parking.

Sadly, almost every blog or Facebook post I have read, the person also wants Haunted Mansion (or Great Movie Ride, Kilimanjaro, Jungle Cruise, or Tower of Terror). Those are obviously the “fun and high energy” attractions and everyone wants them and not everyone can be placed in their top choices, however I am wishing on the evening star really hard that because I mentioned them in my interview, they will be noted in my file and maybe they will take care of me 🙂