Everything Is Not What It Seems | DCP Spring 2022

Sunday, May 1, 2022 was another well-needed rest day. I used the time to catch up on my WordPress friends’ blog posts and what good is reading without some music? So, I played Judas Priest’s Rocka Rolla (1974) and Angel of Retribution (2005), Deep Purple in Rock (1970), and Queen’s News of the World (1977). I listened to all of these albums on YouTube, of course. I also watched some YouTube videos and finally finished all three seasons of Imagination Movers (2008 – 2011).

Monday, May 2, was a special day because I met up with my cousin and his wife for lunch at Raglan Road, an Irish pub and restaurant that’s located in Disney Springs. I had fish and chips for my main course and chocolate mousse for dessert; the latter was ok, but I wouldn’t order it again next time. It was nice to see a couple of familiar faces from home stop by for a visit. When I got home, I prepped my dinner for the next five days of work at the Polynesian Village Resort, and I did it while listening to Bon Jovi on Spotify! I also ordered a couple of books from Amazon, one of them being Martin Popoff’s Judas Priest: A Visual Biography. I should’ve ordered it the day before because it was cheaper then, but I was stupid. 

On Tuesday, May 3, I got an email from Disney about applying to extend my Disney College Program and I kind of want to extend my program. However, I want to experience my job a little more before deciding whether or not to extend; I finished my job training this past Thursday. The deadline to apply for the extension is Tuesday, May 31, so I have time to think about it. Also, one of my books from Amazon arrived today; it’s Martin Popoff’s Iron Maiden: Album by Album. I’ll have fun reading that one this summer. So yeah, I had a lot of time to chill before working from 4:30 p.m. to 1:00 a.m.

On Wednesday, May 4, I went to Magic Kingdom before work. I took the 7:25 a.m. bus to the ticket and transportation center, got there at 8:02 a.m., took the ferry boat to Magic Kingdom, and got to the park entrance at 8:27 a.m.; the park opened at 9:00 a.m. for non-resort guests. I did all of the rides I wanted to do: ‘Pirates of the Caribbean,’ ‘Splash Mountain,’ ‘Big Thunder Mountain Railroad,’ ‘The Haunted Mansion,’ ‘It’s a Small World,’ ‘Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid,’ ‘The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh,’ and ‘Peter Pan’s Flight.’ All of the attractions were great, except ‘Peter Pan’s Flight’ had a longer line than I expected; the wait time said 55 minutes, but it was really an hour and a half. I did some reflecting about extending my Disney College Program too. My shift was from 4:30 p.m. to 1:00 a.m.

On Thursday, May 5, I worked from 2:15 to 10:45 p.m. My shift started off good. Most of the guests were nice and I was getting the hang of the computer system. I even got a cast member appreciation message from a guest.

However, I had a very unpleasant experience with a guest towards the end of my shift. I won’t go into details, but that ended my night on a bad note. Hey, no one said working for Disney was all rainbows and sunshine.

On Friday, May 6, I went to Hollywood Studios before work. I took the 6:28 a.m. bus to get to the Hollywood Studios cast services building at 6:44 a.m., so that I had time to walk to the park entrance. I got there at 6:52 a.m. and the park opened at 8:00 a.m. I rode ‘Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith’ three times (not all in a row) and the second time I got off the ride, live versions of Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love a Bad Name” and “Wanted Dead or Alive” were playing in the background. I swear Bon Jovi has been everywhere since I moved to Florida. In fact, on my first day in Florida, during the shuttle ride to pick up the rental car, Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love a Bad Name” was playing. And with criticism of Jon Bon Jovi’s voice on his 2022 tour, I can’t escape this band!

I also did ‘Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway’ twice,’Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run,’ and ‘Toy Story Mania!’ The lines for the big popular attractions were really long, so I watched a few shows like ‘For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration,’ ‘Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy,’ ‘Muppet Vision 3D,’ and ‘Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream.’ The latter was what I needed to lift up my spirits after having a bad encounter with a guest the previous day. I even got to meet characters such as Sulley, Pluto, and Olaf! They were so cute, especially Sulley. 

I worked from 4:30 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. and thankfully, I had a better day at work. However, going to the parks before work is exhausting, especially because I like to get there before the park opens. I’m on my feet for like five to six hours at the parks and then I have to stand for another eight hours when I’m doing concierge stuff. To preserve my energy, I’ll just stick to going to the parks when I don’t have to work that day.

On Saturday, May 7, I tried to be productive before work. I cleaned the toilet and swiffered the floors, which strangely enough, I enjoy doing those things. I like taking care of the apartment and keeping things as tidy as possible. I worked from 4:30 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. It was another good day at work, but towards the end, I got a few questions from guests about Genie+ and Lightning Lanes (the new paid FastPass system) and I struggled with what to say. Everyone at work is really nice, though, and they try to help each other out, which makes things easier for me.

The strangest thing happened on my walk back to the apartment, however. There was a raccoon on one of the steps to get to the third floor. It was kinda of cute, but at the same time, I didn’t want to make it mad, so I chose to go up the stairs on the other side. I was too exhausted from work to take a picture of it. Plus, I could’ve irritated it by trying to take a photo of the creature. I also picked up my Judas Priest: A Visual Biography book that arrived that day.

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Take care and see ya real soon!

Lana