IM NOT AFRAID OF MY LIGHT

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us." - Marianne Williamson. The first accomplishment I have gained as a College Program Student was not being afraid to shine and lighten up the dark corners of other people’s lives. Working for Disney I am encouraged to do whatever it takes to make a guest happy, the most rewarding part is it makes me happy. The best example I have of this experience was from when I was lifeguarding. There was a guest in the pool criticizing Disney’s customer service to another older gentleman. He said “That’s Disney, once they get your money your done, and they treat you like crap for the rest of your vacation.” This really upset me, I am a part of Disney and I don’t want to be a part in something with a reputation like that. So I called my coordinator to the pool and asked what we could do to make this guest happy. Now this was a difficult diction on my coordinators part because the guest never directly complained to me. She told me she would think about it and went inside. I still couldn’t help but to walk by this man and apologize. I let him know how sorry we were for what had happened and that I would speak with my manager to see if we could do something to make his experience more magical. My coordinators looked at me with the Your Crazy Look, we did have a time problem too now because the guest was checking out in thirty minutes. “Even more of a reason we need to do something, I don’t want his last memory to be a crappy hospitality incident”, I suggested, begged, my coordinators. Exactly 30 minutes later as the guest was leaving my coordinators came out with four very new plush toys with balloons attached to them and told me to hand them to the guests children. Everyone was happy, so happy they forgot they needed to check out five minutes ago. My manager took my photo with the kids and I felt so accomplished my plan worked. As I was walking back my coordinators turned to me and said “we are very proud of you”. This probably saved us from losing a couple vacations because instead of that guest going home and bad mouthing us to seven people he is going to brag to seven people. At the end of the day I’m glad I’m very persistent when it comes to doing the right thing. It’s so important to me that my work is meaningful and because of this experience I feel like I have improved on my personal and career development.

The second lesson I have learned so far is how important safety is over everything. Disney is the beast of people management and it’s very surprising how little accidents happen here. When they do they are taken very good care of with close detail on making sure there isn’t a repeat. When I was lifeguarding I noticed one of my fellow cast members wasn’t watching her water very actively. Then she actually left her pool to walk around the deck and talk to another guard. I was floored because in the five years I have been a lifeguard it’s big deal to leave a pool unattended. Her bad behavior as a guard continued for the next couple of days and it was really starting to make me mad. I finally asked one of my coordinators what to do without telling them who the guard was. Because of my previous roles as a leader back home I have been trying very hard not to interfere with the leadership here at Disney. I tell myself that it’s not my place here. I explained all of this to my coordinator who then asked me if I wanted to be the parent of the kid the bad guard wasn’t watching in a pool. The point was taken very fast, never be afraid to step on toes when safety is at risk. I never did get to tell a manager though because I have yet to see this horrible lifeguard again.

The last, most important, skill I have acquired here a Disney is the importance of communication. Only two days before I typed up this paper there was an incident at a pool dealing with a child. For the people with weak hearts or stomachs this story does have a happy ending thanks to great communication, teamwork and skills training. The guest was a small boy I had been watching for an hour at a waterslide. It was five minutes before I was going to be bumped off stand for a break. This boy came out of the slide with a very confused look on his face, and then he put both hands on his neck. As a lifeguard this is a sign of a spinal or neck injury and is a very delicate rescue operation. I placed myself in the water next to the boy and put him into a vice grip and began to walk around the pool. That’s when it sank in what was happening, everything up until that point was auto pilot and now I have this kids future in my hands. The wrong move could have devastating consequences for this guest and his family. I was having a hard time getting the child to calm down so I asked my fellow lifeguard to get into the water to back board him instead of the proper way at the edge of the pool. We got him on the board and with the help of my coordinator took the boy out of the pool. We asked his parents plenty of important questions, and we asked the boy detailed questions as well. When the paramedics arrived we had all the information they needed so they could quickly assess the boys injuries. They came to the conclusion that they thought the boy was ok and could be removed from the backboard with the ok from Mom and Dad. They also suggested a free trip to the emergency room on Disney, but the parents thought he was fine. The next day the boy was riding a rental bike with his parents and they came by the pool I was at. He stopped, waved and yelled thank you across the pool. Even though it was a happy ending if we didn’t have the intense training from Disney and Ellis this could have been bad. Everyone had a specific job to do and they executed it very well, the end result was very satisfying.




References

Williamson, M. (1992). A Return To Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles. Pages
190-192, New York, NY: HarperCollins Pubslishers.

*Photo by Casey Dooley 2008

Its, ah.. ok.

So I’m going to apologize it’s been awhile since I wrote on here. The program is going by so fast right now. I have made some more friends, lost a few but life will go on. My job is pretty cool over at Port. It is starting to get busy and the pools are filling up. I have all ready jumped in twice in one day. I haven’t had much time to go to the parks since the first week, the best week. The cool thing is how much I am learning. I feel like I have Disney under the microscope everyday trying to figure out how it works. I still don’t understand it to tell you the truth.
I have had a little bad luck on the journey too. I was super sick last week and then had my wallet stolen on top of that. Suggestion to anyone here, DON’T LOOSE YOUR WALLET! Its quite pricey to replace the Disney IDS. I have made at least two new close friends here too. One of them is from AZ too so we will be able to stay friends after the program. Roommates are ok, dishes keep piling up and it smells bad in our apartment.
I have learned a lot about myself in my classes as well. Its funny how the personality assessments actually help you understand yourself. I mean , its not like I didn’t all ready know these things about myself. But it was cool learning what other people with similar traits struggle with. Disneys a blast guys, hope everyone else here is enjoying it as much as me!

A Fantasmic Time

Let me start of by apologizing for the gap between blogs, but my computer broke so it’s going to be this way until I get it back. Last weekend was my week long lifeguard training, stuffed into two and a half days. Good news is I passed with 100%. I was really surprised how nice my trainers were here. Ellis back home was like lifeguard boot camp, here in Florida they were nice. It didn’t mean they were easy on the job they place in your hands, just genuine nice people. I met some cool people in class too, hopefully new friends for the duration of the stay.

The night after the test the gang and I went to Hollywood Studios, formally MGM, to see Fantasmic. We were all a little too happy for the night from a prior choir practice we participated in. Pass the sprite please, inside joke. Anyways I got to ride Rocken Roller Coaster for the first time, not even know anything about the ride. Freaking amazing is all I have to say. It is the same coaster as Screaming in California but with 4 loops all shoved into a small warehouse.

Yesterday was my first day of OJT, on the job training. For the record Disney abbreviates EVERYTHING. OJT was fun and I had a great trainer. I got lucky because the pools I was to be guarding, for the first time on my own, were down for repair. So my trainer and I hung out all day. I got to see all four resorts I could be working at too. If you are considering becoming a DVC member, Disney Vacation Club, do it! Its so cool and they treat you like gold! The end of the night came and I went home to watch the last five minutes of the game.

All Around The World

I feel like I can finally say that I’m settled into my apartment. I have set up relationships with my roommates, made some new friends and I have a decent supply of food stored in the kitchen. It rained today and the best way to describe it is to hold a blow dryer up to your face and then spray it with water. My friends and I took a trip to Animal Kingdom and Epcot today and talk about amazing!

Animal Kingdom is breath taking. You walk into the park and it’s an over whelming feeling, like you just entered a new world. The plants are fantastic and the animals make it better. The first thing we did was visit the 3D show, Its Tuff To Be A Bug. After that Sarah took us to the Mt. Everest for the ride of my life. I was expecting a similar ride to the Madahorn in California but it wasn’t. Sarah kept the best part of the ride secret and going backwards was a thrill. I was just so amazed by the detail into the scenery in Animal Kingdom, you really feel like you’re in Asia. I still have a lot more of the park to see but the park closed and we had to leave. On the way out though we got to see the parade, it made me think of my family because I know my sisters would have loved it.

The best part of the night was Epcot. I had know idea what to expect and I wasn’t disappointed at all. Did you know what Epcot stands for? Every Paycheck Comes On Thursday. Sarah took us into the back way of the park. The first thing we did was the GM test car ride. It was cool because they had a photo of the facility ride down the street of my home in Gilbert. After that we went in the Epcot ball, or in all due respect, gods left nut. It was really cool though because they go over the past of the human race and where we will be. Then we went on Mission Space and I have been waiting so long to ride this ride. Best time of my, you really do feel like you’re going into space. Now on to the magic, the firework show. We did miss the first part but my breath was still taken away by what I did get to see. This glob lights up with video of animals and people from all around the planet. This glob is the size of my house and its in the middle of the lake too. The fireworks were spectacular but it’s a Disney firework show and that’s expected.

After the firework show the park began to close but we wanted to see the countries represented tonight. I really did travel all around the world in one knight and I got to do it with three really cool people. First we tried to stuff all four of us in a phone booth, in England I think. Then I really wished I was in a relationship when we entered Paris. Talk about love being in the air and being alone sucked. Once we visited Germany I really wanted a beer. The best part was when we got to Italy and stopped at the fountain to make our wishes, when in Rome do as the Romans right? Well Orlando works too. Asia made me miss Jaime a lot back home. I know she would of loved it. The most important part of all of this was the fact we were alone. The four of us traveled the world and there were no other tourist to spoil it. It did feel sort of apocalyptic but it was a lot of fun. Everything was just so magical and I can’t wait to go back to Epcot over and over again. If you are curious to what my wish was in Italy, well that you’ll never know.

A Whole New World

This has been a crazy few days. It all started on the 26th when I took an insane trip across the country. It took almost 6 hours to get to Orlando and I was exhausted! Although long, my flight had two very fascinating moments. I sat next to a 59 year old woman who was just as obsessed with technology as I am. She was asking me questions about my Zune and trying to teach me things on her Iphone. This was such a slap in the face to me because of my Windows obsession. As much as I try to avoid the truth about apple, moments earlier I saw a 5 year old boy in the air port playing on an Iphone too. Kudos apple you have successfully hit every demographic. The second was how much land is in America. It is very common to hear people say the planet is over populating and there isn’t enough water, well people need to fly into Kansas City and say that again. Yes I understand we are over populating on a larger lever but I never knew how many small towns and open land still exists in America. On top of that how many lakes, ponds, and rivers there are? I live in the desert and when I left there was a mosaic of swimming pools, when I flew over the south there was a mosaic of ponds. Defiantly puts a cool perspective on America.

When I landed I was soon greeted by my new roommate Tyler Burt. As always my baggage was last to come off the belt and we then looked for Mears to take a shuttle to the Hotel. We ended up meeting another cast member going to the same hotel so we ended up sharing a cab for half the price. I hate cabs now and I’ll explain why later. The hotel was all right for what it was, a Howard Johnston outside of Disney World. Although I still think the Crayola room would have been fun but Tyler said no. We went to a BBQ restaurant by the hotel and I ate the best ribs I have ever had. Now on to why I hate cabs in Orlando. Our Cab greeted us at the Hotel like planned and took us to Vista Way Apartments across from Disney World. Ever had the feeling your heart stops and you just feel empty, I think mothers get it when the loose children at the mall, well I left my cell phone back at the hotel and didn’t notice this tell $20 into the cab ride. Tyler had also forgotten his paperwork packed with personal information, and the cab turned around. All in all, we have now created a $60 cab bill with tip is $70 bucks, this is a FML moment ladies and gents but we did finally arrive at Vista Way. When Tyler and I were in line I pulled out the map my aunt told me to give to the driver. The hotel was right down the street and the cab driver took the long way plus a freeway to get their all three trips, again I hate cabs and this will be the second FML moment.

Registration was ok as was expected; a few long lines but it went pretty dang smooth. I did obtain a cool I.D. that lets me into Fort Vista Way, well it feels like a fort because security is off the wall here. After we registered Tyler and I moved into 3503 and the first sign of good luck hit us, we were first. We snagged the master bedroom that has its own shower. Six guys live in my apartment and only Tyler and I have this bathroom to share and we each get our own sink. We didn’t get to unpack because we had to go catch a bus to the Disney Casting complex.

The Casting building was epic and that’s even an understatement. I couldn’t believe that people get hired like cows led into pins. There was a line for call backs, a line for first timers, and a line for everything you could possibly think of when it comes to hiring an employee. In other words, it’s like the Costco of people. After the first hour of paperwork and Disney look guidelines I had to get my figure prints taken and what an adventure it was. It was down the hall way with the crazy wall paper, and then on to the stairs, you can follow the arrows if you get lost. Then down another hallway that was so long the cast member at the end of the hall looked two feet tall. They take finger printing very serious and ill end that experience here.

The worst part of the day was to find out that my Lifeguard test was that night at 6pm. This wouldn’t normally freak me out but I was exhausted and hadn’t eaten since my ribs the night before. Tyler and I decided to get Subway a few hours before the test but it didn’t make that much of a difference. We had to swim 200 yards, lift a brick from the bottom of a 10 foot pool and then tred water for 2 minutes. So having no water and nutrition all day I got the worst cramp in my leg 100 yards into my swim. I have never experienced pain like that from a cramp in my life. I did finish the next 100 yards and completed my brick test. I start training on Sunday for the Port Orleans Resort.

The next day went smooth as well. The only thing holding me back would be the lack of sleep from the beds. If one of us just rolls over it sounds like someone is putting packing tape on boxes. It’s ok though, I’ll go get some memory foam next payday. We went to our housing rules meeting for a few hours. The only highlight of that was the guy speaking reminded me of the Allstate spokesman. Didn’t do too much for the rest of that day until the party that night. That was a crazy party too, it started off slow but Disney isn’t as PG as you would think. It was a little bit lame because the party ended at 7pm. I finished the night in the Vista Hot Tub with some strangers who had already been playing truth or dare. It was corny but I figured it would be fun to express my darkest secrets to people I would probably not ever see again. Nothing to crazy happened besides me taking a dip in a freezing cold pool.


Today was my Traditions class and my first day to play in the park. Traditions was a lot of fun and who would if guessed how much Disney owns, no pressure right? It was a interesting to see why Disney has the “Disney Look” and why they do so many other things they Disney Way. At the end of class I was given my name tag and it really did hit a warm place in my heart. Tyler, another one of my roommates and I then went to play in The Magic Kingdom, three hours and we got three rides. I will end this entry with my new favorite quote I tweaked from the Traditions course. “You never know when something you learn will someday be something you teach.”