Well hello there! It's been a little while, hasn't it? Well I promise you it's not because I've been meaning to neglect this blog. I've just been a tad bit busy. So what's been going on?
Well, I've been doing Fantasmic! A LOT. As in just about every night. I have favorite parts of the show, have memorized much of the music, and I'm well on my way to knowing Mickey's finale dance. And even then, it's still an amazing show and I'm mesmerized each time I watch it. Crazy huh? It also means I know when maybe there were a few goofs. One night the Dragon (whom I have since learned is called "Vivian") was too wet to open, so Maleficent stood on her really tall podium and swung her staff around a lot. And John Smith was having a heck of a time last week. One night he didn't swing across on his rope, and then the next night he swung too far and slipped! Oops! That's okay, it made the action more harrowing. 
When I first went into this internship, I was REALLY EXCITED! Each night I looked forward to going to work because it was going to be something new! Something exciting! And I thought to myself, is it really going to be like this all the time? Surely once I've gotten the routine down, it will become duller, more like work and less like a new adventure. 
Well, after a month, I think it's time to reflect a little. I'm not going to say every night is still an exciting experience like those first few weeks were. That would be a bit of a stretch. But I will say that each night is something I still look forward to. Only now it's for different reasons. I've made tons of friends and now I look forward to going and seeing them. And without a doubt, interacting with guests is always a high point. When I worked for the rock gym at home, I used to joke about how my job sometimes meant making children cry. It was the truth in that case, because at the end of the day, the look on their face when I brought them back down from the very top was worth the "tough love". Well now my job is, without a doubt, to make children smile. I've begun to lose count of how many children I've made laugh and how many sad faces became smiles. That ability has become what I look forward to each time I go to work. Knowing that I can make family memories. I've been in tons of vacation photos and filmed a few times, dancing to some song decked out in Glow. Just last night, me and my fellow Cast members of Tower of Terror Merch put on an entirely improv concert for our guests, complete with High School Musical songs, some pretty funky beats tapped out on the Front desk, and dance moves that maybe got a bit out of hand... But the cool thing is, is that families will go home and look at those photos and that video and say "Remember when...". It's an amazing feeling, and one I hope I don't lose as I start racking up the months.
So this is an internship program...I guess a fairly reasonable question would be "What have I learned?" Well last week I learned how to deposit the money for the night. I don't think anybody would argue that Disney make A LOT of money. It takes a lot of dough to feed The Mouse. When I was first learning to count out the night's earnings, I found myself pausing and turning to the Coordinator that night, Andy, and saying "I don't think I've ever really held this much money". It's pretty intimidating! And your counts have to be correct too! The actual process is sort of long and requires a fair bit of paperwork and sequential actions. The cash room itself, where we go to deposit is SCARY! It's probably a bit smaller than your average dorm room and there are about fifty billion cameras in there. Okay...maybe not fifty billion, but still they can see EVERYTHING that goes on. And when you're making deposits you have to show your face to the camera and all sorts of other stuff. It's basically like going into a prison (not that I've ever done that before, just so we're clear).
In addition to counting money, I've also been learning a bit about the Disney style of leadership. There are posters all over the manager's offices. I was reading over them yesterday and I had to chuckle. Why? Because there were three "tenets" of Disney Leadership and once you got past the more Disney-esque flowery words, they all got whittled down to "Be, Know, Do". At that point the leader of that night was wondering why I was laughing. When I explained it to him, he thought it was cool, but didn't really understand why I was laughing. I guess you just have to go through NYLT for as many years at I have to understand how loaded those three words are...

I'm back! And right about now I feel like a drowned rat, or I guess it would be a mouse ;) A thunderstorm blew in tonight and I was outside. Needless to say, I got a little soaked...
This last week I've been working Fantasmic non-stop. What does that mean? Well it means all of my shifts are from 6:30 pm (18:30) to 12:30 am (00:30). Yep, so they're at night, and a fair bit of the shift takes place AFTER the park has officially begun closing. Rather than go into detail about every day this week, I'm just going to talk a little bit about what a Fantasmic shift is like from the Merchandise side of things, and maybe I'll regale you with some of the more interesting stories!
Well, first things first, as I said, a Fantasmic shift goes from 6:30 at night to 12:30 in the morning. So it's relatively short, as shifts go. I mean, I've worked 10- and 12-hour shifts at Rockin' Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror. Six hours is nothing. Fantasmic, either you like it or you don't. I've fallen into the category of liking it and here's why. Everything has to happen on a time schedule. We're working around two shows, one at 9 PM and one at 10:30. In the middle of that, the park officially "closes", i.e. we start to shut down everything and gesture people towards the exit, at 10 PM. So we have a very small window to sell as much glow stuff as we can. Usually by the time you've counted your stock and initial funds, you get out onto the streets around 7:15, 7:30. At this point, they begin to let guests into the Hollywood Hills Amphitheater to begin seating for the 9:00 showing. 
There are three different kinds of positions that the average Fantasmic merchandise cast member can be assigned to: a cart, one of the theater kiosks, or "necklace", which means you put on an apron and load as much stuff into your pockets as you can. I've been on a cart and I've done "necklace" in this week. The carts are okay, but the real fun is necklace! Those aprons can take A LOT of stuff. I'm talking upwards of twenty swords, a bunch of spinners, and then you hang as many light-up necklaces and Mickey ears off your arms as you can. It usually takes another person to help you put on your apron (sometimes two). Standing there with your arms decked out, being tied into your apron, I imagine it's just a small taste of what astronauts feel like when preparing for a space walk. Being on necklace for a night is a bit like being pregnant in that you weigh twice as much and you can't see your toes. By the end of the night, if your back doesn't ache a bit you're not doing it right.
Necklace is nice because you really have an incentive to sell items. The more you sell, the less you have to carry. Everybody wins! We walk around up and down the stairs in the theater until the first show goes. By then, I'm usually out of stock (those swords go fast!). During the show you re-stock and then head on back out for when the first group of guests leave. Lather, rise, repeat for the second show and you have a basic Fantasmic necklace experience. Oh, did I mention they play awesome Disneymania songs. My favorite to sing and dance along to is "Part of Your World". Sure it's done by Miley Cyrus, but it's so applicable and my shenanigans never fail to bring a smile to guests' faces. =)
On cart, things are a bit different. If you get a Theater cart, then your timetable is pretty much the same as the necklace people. But you could also get a cart that is stationed around the park. There are three locations, Sunset Boulevard, "HoJo" (aka, Hollywood Blvd Junction), and Main Entrance. The carts stay out, selling as much as they can, and then they come back in at set times, based on how the park typically empties (so Main Entrance is always the last one in since everybody has to leave that way).

Everybody who works at Fantasmic has to wear at least one item of "glow" (i.e. the merchandise!). Here is a photo of me with my Sunset Blvd cart...
It's part of "Merchantaining" and all that fun stuff. Basically it means that I HAVE TO play with the glowing light up Mickey Sorcerer Sword. It's what I get paid for! Actually it's rather interesting how much you sell of a particular item as soon as you start playing with it. Seriously, you let it sit there, you won't sell any. But if you twirl the sword around in a few figure-eights and suddenly it's amazing! Moral of the story, play with the toys. And switch it up too! Tonight I was giving high-fives with a glowing, Michael Jackson-style white glove. The night before I was wearing blue, flashing monster eyes on my head in honor of the Monsters U Homecoming party taking place at the nose (aka, the Sorcerer Mickey Hat).

In the end, the most important part about the Fantasmic shift is just to have fun. It's even more important than in the other shifts because it's late, people are tired, and let's be honest, parents hate the stuff that you're selling. But if you're smiling and dancing funny and just having a good time, then your good mood is infectious. I can't tell you how many people I've seen walk towards me with a tired, angry, annoyed, pouty face, and suddenly grin at some goofy thing I'm doing. It can turn a day around, I swear, and it sends the guests home with a good feeling at the end of the day. Because for the majority of the guests who attend Fantasmic, us cast members who work there are the last they'll see for the night and we're responsible for making sure they go back to their homes or resorts with big smiles on their faces. You want to wrap-up their day at Hollywood Studios on a high note and really make sure that from the moment they step into the park to the moment they leave, they get the full Disney Experience.
So I hope I've given you a good idea of what it's like working Fantasmic. Don't worry about me, I'll dry out.

Okay, so maybe we won't go THAT far, but I can say that my training is officially over and I have now "Earned my Ears". Yay!!!! What does that mean? I get to take the little red ribbon off my name tag and now when guests ask me a question I really should know. =/ Even though I've gone through training, I really am still learning about a few things and getting into the hang of living and working down here. I commented to one of my co-workers last night that each shift feels like an experience. I go and it's something new every day or night. It's wonderful, but just mentally and physically exhausting! That's why I haven't written anything since last weekend. This week has just been a whirlwind, but I'm here and I'll try to give you the highlights.

Tuesday: Day off. I slept and went to Wal-Mart, and that was the eventful part of my day. Meh...

Wednesday and Thursday: This was officially my second day of training, since my trainer called in sick on Monday. I had a wonderful lady as my trainer, named Aleida. Aleida es de Cuba =) We were together for both day two and three and she was exceedingly patient with all my questions and roundabout explanations. While with Aleida I had a few cool expereinces. I pin-traded with a deaf couple and got to use what limited sign language I knew (Basically "Have a good day" and "Thank you")  and I got to make a few Magical Moments. One in particular involved three little girls, Bailey, Lainey, and Whitney. They were at Disney World celebrating Bailey's and her sister's (Who was on Rockin' Roller Coaster) adoption. Bailey, Lainey, and Whitney were too short to ride the roller coaster, so they were waiting. We colored in pictures of the Disney Princesses and when they were done, I had them sign them and told them to make sure they went up on the fridge at home. It was adorable!!!

Friday: This was my Fantasmic training night. Fantasmic shifts are much different from normal shifts. I can understand why some people may not like them because they really are very tiring and they are only six hours long. =/ So you don't make as much money. But I enjoyed my Fantasmic shift. My trainer, Charlene, and I took a cart out to "HOJO", or the junction of Hollywood and Sunset Blvd, right in front of the Sorcerer Mickey hat. And of course, it was the first day of the last Star Wars Weekend, so we were out there for the Hyperspace Hoopla! I might have looked a little silly wearing so much blinking, spinning stuff and dancing to remixed Star Wars music, but I had a blast doing it, so there! I believe Charlene was thoroughly amused. We sold quite a bit too, so I'd say it was a successful night.
Because Fantasmic is a night shift, I didn't have to report until later, so I went to the park a bit early so I could get a Darth Vader chocolate, peanut butter cupcake. OHMYGOSHITWASAMAZING! And while I was in Darth's Mall (Get it??) I met up with a few members of the 501st, Florida Garrison. For those of you who don't know, the 501st was a legion of Clone troopers/Storm troopers known as "Vader's Fist". Anakin fought with them during the Clone Wars and kept them around after the Purge. The real-life 501st is a group of Star Wars fans who do appearances and charity work through foundations like Make-A-Wish, etc. I got to "talking shop" with them and they were pretty cool. Two were Cast members too. They gave me their cards and told me to drop them a line if I thought about joining up. Wow! I'm not much of a fan of the Empire or the Dark Side, but these guys were pretty cool and they are super-nerds of Star Wars like me! I might have to consider it!

Saturday: Saturday was my last day of training and I had Donald. Not Donald Duck, another Donald. He seemed quite impressed with my track record thus far and after seeing me work for about an hour out at the Rockin' Roller Coaster cart, determined that I was thoroughly prepared for my final test. So we went and did that before lunch and despite a few tricksey questions, I passed! The rest of my day consisted of stocking, though, because I had a weird shift time. It was also pouring, so there were a lot of people in the shop. Queue more Magical Moments! One little boy in particular stuck in my memory. His name was Josh and he was from England (it's so cute listening to a child speak British English!!!) Josh was a huge Star Wars fan and his favorite character is none other than THE OBI-WAN KENOBI! The Force is strong with this one! =) Josh was too short to go on Rockin' Roller Coaster, but we talked a bunch and it was so fun! Afterwards I got to meet Josh's dad (an ex-rocker himself) and we talked a bit more. It was still raining when they left, so Josh challenged his dad to a race to Tower of Terror. =)

Sunday: AKA Yesterday, was my first Fantasmic shift ALONE!!!! DUN DUN DUUUUNN!!! Nah, it wasn't really that bad. In fact, it was pretty fun. I took out another cart, this one on Sunset Blvd, right near the entrance of Fantasmic. We took rain gear and ponchos, but thankfully our pre-planning meant the weather held off. I sold A LOT of glowing, spinning stuff, but the cool part was that I got to finally see Danielle! Danielle first tipped me off to the College Program and  we'd been trying to find a time to meet up since I got down here, but all of our attempts fell through until one night Danielle came to Hollywood Studios and BAM! there I was! Go figure. She took a picture, so I probably have a picture of myself with my glow on floating around the Internet somewhere. It was really cool to meet up with her again. She starts her training for her full time position at Animal Kingdom Lodge today.
I also met another Star Wars fan, a young man named Danny. Danny was in Tae Kwon Do and of course had his lightsaber with him. He wanted to spar with me (I was waving around one of the Sorcerer Mickey Light Swords when he came by). Unfortunately I had to tell him no, but that I could teach him a few actual lightsaber moves. ;) Since the street was basically empty at 10:30 (the park closes at 10, but the last Fantasmic show is at 10:30), I had plenty of space to teach Danny a few of the lightsaber moves that I knew. His mom thought it was so cool that she filmed part of it. I rounded off that night coming back about fifteen minutes late, but Danny and his family went home with huge grins on their faces and hopefully a very fond memory of the last day of Star Wars weekend. Mission accomplished.

Tonight I have another Fantasmic shift. In fact I have a lot of Fantasmic shifts coming up. Since they're so short, I'm going to have to pick up a few more hours, but that just means I'll be looking to work at other locations. I've got my eye on a Merchandise shift on Main Street, USA. Hmm...

Whew! Well I finally have a day off. Training has been a whirlwind of interesting times. Let me see if I can break it down for you.

Saturday: Saturday was a classroom day...and also a really bad day to be riding the CP buses. It began at 0-Dark Thirty, also called the crack of dawn and a few more unsavory names that are not appropriate for Disney films and therefore will not be typed in this blog =] 
Unfortunately it didn't seem that our bus driver wanted to wake up early either, because the bus was late. And it continued to become more late during the run as the driver waited for exceedingly longer amounts of time at each stop, before coming to the last stop, Westclock and Disney University. It was a mad dash off the bus and a scramble into Disney University but I managed to clock in with only two minutes to spare. Made it!
My Disney University course was one all Merchandise cast members have to take and it had the Seuss-ian name "Merchantainment". (See what I did there =P ) But what is Merchantainment? Well according to the big letters on the back of the classroom, it's "Merchandise" + "Entertainment" = "Merchantainment". Got it? Good! The class itself was fine. They discussed a lot of things, including Loss Prevention techniques, so on and so forth. But then for the second part of the class, we got to move over to the registers. Because this Merchantainment room was not just a classroom with chairs. It also had about 20 registers set up in rows (think computer classroom style) that were fully armed and operational--eh I mean...functioning. That morning I rang up what must've been over 30 Tigger plush toys and 10 DVDs about Walt's life. But I got to learn the basics of the registers without having to feel bad about making the guest wait for me to find the right button. How cool is that!
After Merchantainment I went to Studios and picked up my costumes, and then proceeded to wait two hours for a bus that never showed. Riiiight...

Sunday: Sunday was "On With the Show", in which they gave us a bunch of lovely things, most of which I already had because Don was very thorough. We had yet another tour of the park (Hollywood Studios), and it was SO HARD! Not because what they were saying was too difficult to understand or not interesting, nor because the park was exceedingly large (It really isn't. It's one of the smaller ones). Sunday happened to be the second to last Sunday of Star Wars weekends. So they had the Star Wars music going and characters running about and little boys dressed up like Jango Fett. It was almost too much for me to take. My fellow cast members had to keep telling me to put my nerd away. However we did get to play with some clone troopers a little. We were walking right by them when my fellow cast member Tiffany steps right up to one and sings "Stop! In the name of love!" I would've loved to see the face of the guy inside, but no such luck through those helmets. They did, however, proceed to follow her for a moment before moving on.
After our tour we went into a presentation with Wes (one of the cast members who was handling On With the Show). I will say this about all the training I've done so far. It has been entertaining. I have not met a single cast trainer who stepped up and gave a boring, monotone lecture. They've all been funny (and sometimes Disney-punny) and exceedingly well-presented. And if you didn't know this, each park has it's own vision for success. While I won't share the Hollywood Studios one with you directly, I will say that it incorporates the quote above. "We welcome you to a Hollywood that never was--and always will be." That's taken directly from the dedication plaque, from 1989, given by Michael Eisner. It tells you everything you need to know about Hollywood Studios, incorporating the parts that are historically accurate, and the few liberties that were taken. Hollywood Studios isn't an exact replica of Hollywood at any time, but rather it's an image of the glitz and glamour that people associate with Hollywood. I thought that was so cool!
After "On With the Show" I finally got to go out and enjoy Star Wars Weekend to the fullest! I got an Aurebesh nametag...

...Which I will be allowed to wear this coming weekend when it's the final Star Wars weekend of the year =( I also got an R2-D2 mickey ears hat, as well as a gift for a fellow Star Wars nerd back home who couldn't make it. I went on Star Tours (the line was LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG) and even got to see James Arnold Taylor's presentation called "Obi-Wan and Beyond". I thoroughly enjoyed that part. It was actually really inspiring! I also got pictures of a few characters, including Darth Maul, Shaak Ti, some Stormtroopers, a Tusken Raider, Captain Rex, and a really distant, creepy picture of Darth Vader (paparazzi style from the bushes). To round off the evening, I got to see Hyperspace Hoopla! That was really cool, especially because I'm scheduled to work all next weekend and won't get to see it again =(

Monday: Well...this day was a bit rough. I was supposed to have my first day of training, but my trainer unfortunately called in sick. Apparently he never does that, so I hope he gets better! But it meant that I couldn't work on register. I had the option of going home, but I'd already woken up super early and rode the bus an hour to get there...so I decided to stay. I learned a lot about stocking, including how fast ice melts in the Florida sun (on a good day, it might last 20-30 minutes, on a hot day, forget it!), how NOT to turn on the water to fill up the Squeeze Breezes (those little fan squeeze bottle things), and how to put t-shirts on hangers. Not one of the most exciting days, but I got to meet a bunch of pretty cool people over at Rockin' Roller Coaster, including the lovely Peaches, who runs the stock room over there. And I still got to interact with some guests. I was taking the Ice cart out to the stand to replenish the ice when a little boy came up to me and said "Excuse me, ma'am, can I look at your pins?" So cute!!!! And really polite! I see potential in that one =) Overall I still had a good day. The training that I missed out on will be made up tomorrow, which means I get overtime this week (Yahoo!).

So that's my update for now. I'll be posting my photos from Star Wars weekend. Friday is my first Fantasmic night and it will either go really well, or be "not my favorite". Apparently it takes a certain kind of person to like Fantasmic shifts...