Geeky Girl: I got the Disney bug, bad (part 1)

I missed Wednesday because I had a fit of the spring cleanings, I figured it was better to keep cleaning than break my rhythm and write a blog =P But now that my house is clean, I'm on to the next obsession... Disney!! After living and working there twice, I'm so wanting to take a trip down again, I'm so spoiled and I want my disney fix! So I went through some of my fav. shots and memories, that'll have to tide me over until I can visit again! I had way too many to just make one post, so I'm splitting it in two parts... work and play!!

Part 1: Working for the Mouse....


(warning, photo overload!! I'll make them all small previews, click to see bigger!)


My first time working for the mouse was during college, I took a semester off to do the Disney College Program... I highly recommend this program for college students, it was awesome! I chose to do operations, which is a fancy way of saying 'make ride go'... I took a gamble, when I signed up I could have gotten stuck in parking, now they separate them (parking made more money, so I figured either way was a win for me) =P During my original interview, they asked what my likes/interests were in order to figure out what ride would suit me best if I was selected for a ride, and they matched me perfectly!



Space Mountain!! I told the interviewer how much of a Star Wars fan I was, and she asked if I would want to work Star Tours, but I remembered it being rather boring, from an operations stand-point... So instead I guess she figured Space Mountain was a great substitute!

 It was so much fun learning the innerworkings of the roller coaster, and because of a safety feature, it breaks down often, which meant I worked my ass off frequently because I'd always volunteer for the position that required the most running up stairs to reset (5 flights!) Basically it was where the 2 tracks connect there in the middle on the top, I took this pic in the queue area one time when I visited and it happened to be broken down (naturally =P) It was awesome to be at the top of the mountain, plus it allowed the most guest interaction, which was always fun... I'd have people give me their cameras so I could make them getting stuck on the ride into a fun and memorable occasion, I mean everyone rides Space Mountain, but who gets to see it with the lights on while on the ride, right? Plus if you were at the very top, you got to ride the entire thing with the lights on if it broke down!


 For a while the I had sounds from the ride as my ringtone, but then every time I went to the park I'd think my phone was going off, lol! Here's the old queue line (they've added a few posters to this part now I think) its normally jam packed full, but I hopped in line right after it started working again, and was able to get a solo shot!


I also had another job while I was down there, I got to operate Splash Mountain on the recruitment video they were filming, it's periodically still available I think on the website, if you really want to see it =P Mostly it was just fun to film, I got to hang out with lots of super fun people and get paid to have fun for a few days haha!

 But after 6 months, I knew it was time to head back to college, without my degree I just didn't see how I could secure a job in anything except operating the rides, and while fun for a while, that's just not what I wanted to do for the rest of my life hehe... But once I graduated, I found myself seeing great potential for the mouse house as a more permanent job, so back to o-town I headed! This time around I secured a job that, while mostly entry level, required skill in theater costuming and had quite a bit of responsibility... Plus it was more likely to get me promoted I thought, and would have been had they not closed pleasure island (where a lot of specialty costuming people worked, because of the comedy club performers and DJ's) That flooded the market since they didn't fire those workers, and ultimately it played a huge part in my leaving, since I knew promotion was unlikely for quite a long time... but that's neither here nor there =P

I worked behind the scenes this time, putting together and delivering custom costumes for professional actors to wear to private events held in the parks' conventions...It was so much fun, and I created so many one-of-a-kind, off the wall outfits it was absurd! I met so many amazing performers, too, they were always a joy in the green room! I can't really show off many of the photos I took of those performers, since they were for private events and I wasn't exactly invited lol =P  But I did run into quite a few of them while they were out and about in the parks with their alter-egos, and they were always happy to stop for a few pics!

 I even got the chance to work with my absolute favorite "characters" ever, the coral!! The first pic is back in my college program when I tracked one down for a photo, he shrunk up for me because I thought that was the coolest thing ever that they could melt and grow lol! They used to parade around Epcot near The Seas, but they had been retired... Lucky for me, they retired to my new job! The first time I got to go to an event they were performing at I was so excited to help them get dressed, it was like meeting an idle lol! One time I was doing an event with them, and the party had moved on, so myself and the other costuming and cosmetology people got to enjoy the party, so glad I took my camera with me that day! Even though I look like crap in my work uniform (the second pic) I still love the coral! Plus it shows how tall they are!

In addition to working with amazing people, I also got to work all over property, which is something very few jobs at disney offer... Most of the time you are stuck working at one or maybe 2 resorts or parks, but every day I was off to every corner of the park, and even to offsite vendors in downtown Orlando, or to the airport, or to the main offices in Celebration... (I still can't believe they let me drive all over the place like that, lol I'm not exactly the world's best driver =P They even let me drive a box truck from time to time, which was way scary but so fun to tell people haha! ) And because it was such a small department, they grouped the costuming, cosmetology, floral, and design staff all in one small (relatively speaking, for disney =P) building, so even though I was working for a huge corporation it all seemed very cozy and close =)

And while ultimately Disney wasn't exactly right for me, it taught me so much about business, customer service, organization, and way too many other skills to mention... In all my other jobs, I have found myself comparing it to Disney, and finding situations that other workers may have trouble with come very easy to me because I was put into so many unusual and challenging scenarios at Disney.

But let's face it, the real fun is partying all the time at the parks, right? lol that's to come in part 2 here!!