Update on My Deployment

I just wanted to update everyone on how my deployment to Hollywood Studios has been going. I am still doing the same thing as before - handing out Olafs at the main entrance of Hollywood Studios. As I stated in my previous post about HS, the job is somewhat boring and mindless, but I have grown more accustomed to it. I do certain things to make my day more interesting and to pass the time. I really like talking to people, so if at all possible, I try to engage people in conversation about the park, Frozen, etc. instead of just handing them an Olaf and having them walk away. The little kids are also really cute, and it's fun to see how excited they get when I give them an Olaf and tell them all about the Frozen Fun events. The coordinators at the main entrance are all really nice and try to be as helpful as possible; one coordinator even gave me a Four Keys Card the other day to thank me for all of my hardwork and helpfulness. All in all, it's a job that I have to do for two more weeks. I'm trying to make the most of it, but I would be lying if I didn't say that I really do miss my old job at Nemo.

The good thing about my deployment is that it has made it easier to transition to the end of my program. I don't have the connections or emotional attachment to the people or park of Hollywood Studios that I did at Animal Kingdom and Nemo, so it's not going to be as hard to say goodbye in two weeks. I've received my final workweek schedule and my family is arriving for their last trip this Friday, so I'm excited to see them and spend time with them. Although my program is coming to an end and I am going to miss my friends and being in Disney World so much, I know that my time to leave has come. I've learned so much during my DCP and I'm ready to go back home and then back to Clemson and get back into the "real world" and put my skills that I've learned here to good use.

So, for the next two weeks, if anybody happens to be at Hollywood Studios, stop by the Main Entrance and get an Olaf from me! As always, keep on dreaming!

The First Few Days at Hollywood Studios

If you read my last post, you know that I'm currently working at Hollywood Studios. My official title is "Main Entrance Support" and by that, they really mean handing out Olafs at the main entrance. I was deployed from Animal Kingdom to help out with the Frozen Summer Fun Event. In all honesty, the job is not the most exciting thing in the world. I literally have 6-7 hour shifts where I only hand out Olafs to guests. The one thing I like about the job is that I have a lot of guest interaction; people are constantly asking me questions about the park, how to get places, and about the Frozen Summer Fun events. However, I hate having to be outside in the heat all day, especially since I'm both mentally and physically exhausted after my shift is over. 

With my new job I also have some new hours. I typically work one of two shifts: 9-3:30 or 3:30-10. I like the morning shifts because I finish and have the whole afternoon to do things, but I like the afternoon shifts because I can sleep in and I get to watch the Frozen fireworks at night. 

I am still really missing my job at Nemo and just working at Animal Kingdom in general. I still don't feel 100% comfortable with everything at Hollywood Studios, but I'm learning to just take it one day at a time. I have less than 20 days left in my program, so I know I can get through anything in that short period of time!

If anyone has any specific questions about my deployment, or about deployment in general, let me know!

On With the Show at Disney's Hollywood Studios

So, as I explained in my last post about my last day at Nemo, I have just been deployed to Hollywood Studios. Hollywood Studios recently kicked off its "Frozen Summer Fun" event, which essentially is a summer-long celebration at Hollywood Studios to celebrate Frozen and have people visit the park and participate in all the new events. There is a parade with Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff, a sing-along, an ice-skating rink, and a dance party every day. My understanding of the situation is that Hollywood Studios decided that they would need more people to staff this event, and that Animal Kingdom theater ops decided they were too over-staffed, so they shipped all the CP's from theater ops over to Hollywood Studios (and a few to Magic Kingdom). I wasn't given too much information about my deployment from Animal Kingdom, so when I went to Hollywood Studios this morning, I was really looking forward to getting some answers. I went in with a really positive attitude, thinking that it would be nice to have the opportunity to perform two separate roles in two different parks and it would make me a more versatile Cast Member and person. However, my experience today at Hollywood Studios was certainly an interesting one and not entirely what I was expecting.

Let me start at the beginning. When I arrived at Hollywood Studios this morning, the first part of my On With the Show class began with a park tour. We did a 2.5 hour tour of the entire property, and our leaders informed us about each attraction, restaurant, and merchandise location. I did find this part a little bit boring, especially because I am pretty familiar with Hollywood Studios and I didn't feel like they were telling me anything that I didn't already know. However, I got paid to go on a park tour, and even to ride the Great Movie Ride, so I can't complain too much about that! After our park tour, we had a quick break and then went into the classroom for a brief session about working at Hollywood Studios and being a Disney Cast Member. Since I was deployed from one theme park to another, I felt like a lot of the information was stuff I already knew from working at Animal Kingdom, but still, I understood the need for them to share this information with us, and it was interesting to see how another park handles their orientation and park tour. However, throughout the whole tour, I couldn't help but feel as though I just didn't belong in that park. I love working in Animal Kingdom, and being a conservation biology major, I feel as though that's where I truly belong and feel the most comfortable.

After the park orientation and information session is when the day really took a turn for the worse. I learned that I essentially didn't have a "job" to perform at Hollywood Studios. As of right now, I am scheduled for Olaf distribution shifts at different areas in the park. Basically, another part of the Frozen celebration is that they are handing out Olaf on a stick to people throughout the park and encouraging them to selfie with Olaf and then put the seflies on social media and hopefully have a chance to be displayed during the nighttime fireworks. So, yes, as of right now, my job for the remainder of July will be to hand out Olaf on a stick. Nothing else. Now, that's not to say that tomorrow, when I report to my first real day on the job, that things won't change, but as of now that is what I am scheduled to do. The more disappointing part of it is that no one at Hollywood Studios seemed to have any answers about what we were doing. It actually seemed like someone just made up this job. They weren't sure what costumes to give us, what shoes to have us wear, where to have us meet in the mornings, and they weren't even aware that we were scheduled to be placed all around the park. I understand that my deployment was thrown together very quickly, but I was really disappointed in my whole deployment experience. However, I am extremely hopeful and I have faith in the Disney Cast Members that things will eventually work themselves out. I hope that as the Frozen celebration continues to grow and expand that I will find my place and be happy making magic for the thousands of guests visiting Hollywood Studios. So, for now, look for me handing out Olaf's throughout Hollywood Studios! I will update everyone more once I actually begin to work.

And hey, as for my experience today, some of my favorite Disney characters may fondly remind me to "Let it go..."

My Last Day at Finding Nemo

Well, I have quite the shocking update for those of you who have been following my blog: as of yesterday, I no longer work at Finding Nemo The Musical. Apparently, because It's Tough to Be a Bug is closing for five weeks, the management team decided that the remaining theaters ops attractions would be too "over-staffed" so they decided to deploy all of the college program participants to other parks. As you can probably imagine, I was extremely upset by this news, and not only by this news, but by the way that the news was presented to me. I came into work earlier this week, and found a training schedule with my name on it sitting next to the computer where I clock in. Honestly, at first I thought it was a mistake. I have less than one month left in my program, and I couldn't believe that they would make me leave Nemo, especially since Nemo will still be operating normally for the remainder of my program. However, that was not the case, as I soon discovered that my deployment to Hollywood Studios was NOT a mistake, and I had to begin there almost immediately. I had two days notice that I was leaving Nemo.

I'm going to make more posts about my deployment to Hollywood Studios, but I wanted this post to be dedicated solely to my last day at Nemo. For those of you who know me personally, you know how much I loved my job; and for those of you who don't know me, I hope this blog has conveyed my adoration for Finding Nemo and the Cast Members there. I've always bragged that I had the best job in the college program. So, as you can imagine having to leave Nemo before my time was over, and especially with such short notice, was extremely difficult.

The CPs attempt to make an arrow on stage for our last day together

To make our last day somewhat memorable, we had a mini party for the CPs. We brought in food and desserts and took pictures during the show breaks with all of the Cast working that day. I made sure to say goodbye to everyone that was working, and there was lots of hugging and wishing one another good luck in the future. It's sad to think that I may not see some of these people ever again. It's even more sad that because I had such short notice, I wasn't able to say goodbye to those people who weren't working or who were on vacation. I do plan to visit Nemo again before I leave Disney for good, but visiting just isn't the same as working there. Even though my last working day wasn't even that great (I had all outside positions, I never even saw the show), I was very sad to leave at the end of the day.

My coworkers on the CP's last day at Finding Nemo

To those of you who I said goodbye to and left at Nemo, I miss you already. To those of you who I didn't have the chance to say goodbye to, I hope to get the chance to say goodbye to you before I leave in August. I miss my "Nemo family" already, and I can't believe I won't be back to work again. Working at Nemo has been a true privilege, and I can't imagine my college program without all of you having been a part of it. The Cast at Nemo are remarkable people, with unique personalities that make it an awesome place to work. I hope all my fellow fish remember to always go with the flow!

"Bye Dad"
"Bye son... *big sigh*"

End show.