Showing posts with label DCP. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DCP. Show all posts
Friday, July 15, 2016
Lifeguarding - Audit's
Let's take a minute to talk about the thing all CP lifeguards fear coming into the program - audits. If you know what you're doing, and you do it well, audit's are quick and simple. Basically, and audit is a test to make sure you're doing your job the way you should be, to the standard Disney and Ellis hold us accountable to. Easy right?Who does audits?
There are different groups of people who can do an audit. There are coordinators, Tier 2[Managers], Tier 3[Disney Higher Ups], and Ellis. Coordinator audit's don't count unless a manager is present (which usually makes it a Tier 2 audit), which means they rarely audit.
What is an audit?
There are multiple types of audits. The first, most common, is a VAT, which stands for Visual Awareness Training. Then there are visual audits, technical audits, and audit's that test your knowledge of the resort and the pool deck (a.k.a. the once a year Tier 3 audit).
What is a VAT?
A VAT is a weighted silhouette that gets laid at the bottom of the pool. There is a tan (light) side and a dark side. When a VAT gets laid you have to respond to it as if someone was drowning in the bottom of the pool. This means spotting it in 10 seconds, reaching it in 20, calling the coordinator, activating your EAP, everything.
What is a Visual Audit?
A visual audit is when someone come's out and watched you on stand. If it's a manager or a coordinator, they'll just watch you for a while and maybe take notes. If it's Ellis, they'll record you with a video camera. They're looking to make sure you maintain your 10/20, that you're not falling asleep, making sure you're in Disney Look, you don't hold extended conversations, that you rule enforce, everything.
What is a Technical Audit?
A technical audit is the big scary that hardly anybody ever has to deal with, also known as a 3 Whistle Audit. This is where you respond to a VAT, reach it, and someone says "This is an audit". At that point they start enacting one of our "worst case scenarios" and we have to treat it like it's a real situation. Clear the pool, do "CPR", the whole 9 yards. Technical Audit's are a big deal, and Ellis only does them once a quarter per pool. In some regions, the managers do technical audits, but those aren't quite as big of a deal (still a big deal)
That being said, most CP's spend a lot of time freaking out about VATs. VATs are usually relatively easy to spot (in fact, I've seen them in other people's water before...) and they only do the bare minimum each month. Once you've been on stand for a month or so, you'll be able to recognize your managers and coordinators in the pool and know a VAT is coming.
Personally, I've been through several audit's. I have been visually audited by Ellis, one of my managers, and a manager at Art of Animation. I was technically audited by a manager in my region. And I was Tier 3 audited at Coronado a few months ago (Did you know Coronado has the longest resort water slide on property?) Once you know what you're doing, audit's seem like nothing. In fact, there are days when you'll be on stand wishing someone would VAT you because it's so hot or you're so bored. Getting in the water is the quickest way to cool off, and no one looks at you funny when you do it to get a VAT!
Thursday, July 14, 2016
Life Update
A lot's happened since I last wrote. I got extended through the summer as a lifeguard. Animal Kingdom Lodge and Coronado Springs got divorced, which was a huge change. I'm the only CP that got statused at Coronado. I hardly ever worked there for the first month, I was constantly getting deployed, and I loved almost every place I got deployed to. I, along with all of our spring CP's, got denied for an extension through the fall. It was crushing. I can't tell you how many times I almost quit and went back to camp. Even now the mountains call to me every moment of every day. But I'm determined to make my dreams a reality, and to follow this through.
So I decided to stay in Orlando full time. Which is... wow, it's hard to make that kind of choice with so little time to follow through. My sister is staying with me as well, and our puppy Ginger will eventually be coming down. We've gone through a few potential roommates, and now we know for sure we're going to be living with another guard I work with, Kallie.
Trying to get a job is the worst part. As a CP, you can put in for a full time/part time transfer 6 weeks before the end of your program. I applied for Attractions and Resort Activities (CAC), which requires an interview to make sure you're an appropriate choice for the role. During my CAC interview, they asked me if I had an prior experience with children, and I nearly fell out of my seat laughing, since that's basically all I have experience with. There were no open positions in either of my chosen roles, so the wonderful recruiter who interviewed me helped me find a position that was open that I would be willing to take. I ended up accepting a part time job in watercraft at Sassagoula.
It's not something I ever would have imagined myself doing, but I'm excited about the upcoming opportunities. I'm always willing to try something new, and it's not lifeguarding! I'll be able to talk to people and get the guest interaction I came to Disney to get.
I will also be able to pick lifeguard shifts for the next 6 months as long as I continue IST. That being said, I can't rely just on a part time job. So last week I had an interview at Universal for an Attractions job. It went really well and she said that I (and my sister) had both been put through, but they want us to finish our program. So we go back next week to decide what we want to do.
I'll admit, I'm a little nervous. They interviewed me for a leadership position, which I had originally decided I didn't want to try for yet. I have no experience with working in a theme park, which I would like to do before working a leadership role there. Ultimately, if that's all they're willing to offer me, of course I'll take it, but I'd rather build up some experience first.
A lot of not work related things have happened in the last few months as well. For as big of a disappointment as my first set of roommates turned out to be, my second set more than made of for it. Mary, Jenna, and Courtney turned out to be some of my best friends on this program. I was heart broken when they went home, and I can't wait until they come back to visit. At first it was awkward, because I was so messed up from the weirdo's that were my first roommates, and because our schedules so often didn't line up. In fact, I didn't even meet Courtney for the first week. Eventually though, things got worked out and we became fast friends. It just goes to show that sometimes rando's are better than people you plan on living with.
We had terrible tragedies strike Orlando one after the other. Going to work after everything that happened got more and more difficult. Disney was amazing with the way they responded to things and offered their cast members any support they needed. But, inevitably, people will take their frustrations out on you. Guest interactions were intense for a few days, but it's amazing how short people's memories are...
I went home this last weekend. I'll do an entire post on my love of Chicago, but right now I'm just sort of overwhelmed. Coming back to CP housing was and is strange. I feel all sorts of out of place and in between adventures right now.I wasn't ready to leave the Midwest, but it's time for me to start something amazing.
At 24 years old, I'm finally starting to feel like a adult. Not a college kid, not a teenager playing grown up, but an actual adult. It's a scary feeling. Picking out an apartment, job hunting, and knowing this time I don't have anything to fall back on. A big part of me wants to run back home with my tail between my legs. How could I ever think I could move so far away from home and everyone I love. A significantly smaller, but infinitesimally more stubborn part of me is insisting I stick it out and work through the panic attacks and the anxiety. I can do this. I can live my dreams and my life without letting things get me down. I will do this.
Friday, March 25, 2016
Magic Kingdom With Lindsey
We started off the afternoon at the laugh floor! I love the Monster's Inc Laugh Floor, because every single time you go it's different, and so it never gets old. This time That Guy was a little to full of himself, but they had the funniest little guy from Canada on screen for a significant amount of time, which was awesome. The lady sitting right next to me was picked for something, and I had a brief moment of panic thinking they had chosen me. I'm so not good at being put on the spot!
After that we headed over to Stitches Great Escape. I like the Stitch ride, probably because I love everything Stitch, but I know a lot of people don't like the ride. It's very loud and in your face, so it can get a bit intense. At one point, Stitch starts bouncing on your shoulders, which hurts a lot of people. The simple fix for this is to shrug your shoulders up when they start to lower the "body scanners'. Then release your shoulders once they've stopped dropping. This keeps them from resting on your shoulders to much. You can also push them up just a bit once they've settled to give yourself some relief.
After Stitch we headed to the peoplemover. I love the people mover for the amazing views, and because it gives you a chance to relax and take it all in. Recently they have been having a problem queuing people, with lines wrapping back towards Space Mountains, but since it's a ride that doesn't stop, the wait is never long. People have a hard time telling where they beginning of the line is without any real queue happening, and so I have seen more mom's scream at other parents "for trying to cut in line" here than I have anywhere else...
I have ridden every ride in Tomorrowland more than once since starting my CP, but somehow I still suck at Buzz. Maybe because it was closed fora few weeks, or because I just don't have an affinity for video games? Whatever the reason, I consider myself lucky if I average 350,000 during the game. Whereas I have gone on with people who get to Galactic Hero halfway through the game. I guess it just gives me something to work towards? After Buzz we headed over to Main Street to watch Move It! Shake It! I love the excitement of this parade but it always gets so crazy!
We also tried to hit up Pirates to see my sister but that was a bust. So we headed over to Big Thunder Mountain to explore before trekking all the way back to Tomorrowland for Space Mountain... I always forget how big the drop on that ride are until I'm in the middle of it going "OH MY GOD HOLY SHIT I CAN'T DO THIS!!!" but that's another story. We also walked through the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House. It was so cool, and so pretty, but a LOT of up hill walking!
Lindsey had never ridden Seven Dwarfs Mine Train before, so we decided to standby it since it was only a 50 minute wait. I ended up only being 30 minutes, and then the girl in the fastpass line let us go again! Recently Mine Train has felt very blah, because I've ridden it to many times since getting here. However, we got seated in the last row (usually my least favorite seat on a coaster) and I found some thrill in this thrill ride again. I was so much fun to rock the cart from side to side while coasting through the diamond mine.
Friday, February 26, 2016
So...I moved?
Surprise? Okay, but not really, since I didn't even know it was going to happen. I had this whole blog post written up from before shit hit the fan that I was going to post and just update but I realized I can't really do that so... here we go!I've been really down with bronchitis, but I've been trying to not let it stop me! I've been on antibiotics for several days now, so the coughing should stop soon... right? Things with my (old) roommates went south after my last post, as they all pretended to have never known there were any problems, and conveniently forgot/swept under the rug the times I attempted to talk things out before calling it quits... but that's not the worst of it. So they scheduled a housing meeting for Tuesday, which we will get to in a minute...
So after my last post we had a German Karneval welcome event, which I went to with my friend/neighbor Rachel and her roommate Kim! What originally was supposed to just be a quick trip for food ended up being 3 hours and a lot of fun. As I'm sure you've heard, there was no German food, only pizza, but that's okay with me because they had gluten free pizza!!! So. Much. Pizza.
We met up with
their friend Miggy (along with several other people who floated in and
out over the course of the evening) and found out that he and Kim (being
not American) had never heard of/learned a lot of the basic line dances
we grew up with. A disastrous attempt at the Cotton Eyed Joe lead to
more crazy dancing, and a fun night for all.
The next day I went to see Deadpool with friends from work (including a lifeguard that I still have somehow never worked with...) which isn't necessarily my normal sense of humor, but it was funny. I stopped into Erin McKenna's gluten free bakery, but everything is just so heavy. I wish one day someone would figure out how to make a gluten free donuts that isn't dry and dense, yeah? Lots of work and sleeping followed that before finally... we had our housing meeting.
Oh, what to say about the housing meeting? Well, I guess we can be simple. It didn't go well. It ended with the mediators rushing the meeting done very quickly after an hour, and a call from the head of housing that night asking me to please reconsider moving, because they didn't think I was in a safe environment... yikes! I met with them the next morning where they told me I was doing an emergency move, not to talk to my (old) roommates, or tell them I was leaving, and that I had to be done by 5 that evening. AHHHH! It was crazy stressful, and I never want to have to do that again in my life, but I am safe and settled, and that's what matters. My new room is still in the works because I've also been crazy busy, but it's coming along and I think it'll be better than before.
I am so grateful to be surrounded by so many people who care and worry about me. Thank you all for checking in on me and offering to help me (even when there was no viable way for you to help!) Hopefully this can be a new start and a new me. I really, really like my new roommates, and I can see us being great friends, even though I still haven't met one of them due to crazy schedules. The security guards have been so nice, and keep checking to make sure I'm okay, which is a huge relief. Things are finally really starting to look up (and not just because I'm sticking my head up in the clouds.)
Tomorrow is my last 11 hour shift, since we are FINALLY going back to split shifts! I can't wait for 7 hour shifts, where the days are going to fly by. And in just 6 more get ups my mom and Grandpa will be here! I have so many awesome things to look forwards to and I can't wait to share them with you! Have a magical day!
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
A Quick Trip Into Magic Kingdom
Continuing on the path of taking care of myself, I decided last night to go into Magic Kingdom by myself after getting ditched! So at about 7, I left the house and headed towards the parks!
I managed to get some pretty good fastpasses! I headed to Pirates first, bound an determined to find my sister. I went through all the way through the ride without finding her, and ever cast member telling me they had know clue where she was. (Because they couldn't tell we're sisters...?) I decided to try my luck at "mast" (the front of the ride) one more time, and there she was, just waiting for me. I stopped and talked to her and her coworkers for a few minutes, who were all super nice. It's so cool when you can just tell a group of cast members honestly like their job and each other, because they are just so happy. At that point pirates was walk on, so I went ahead an rode it again... I mentioned that this is my favorite ride, right?
After that I headed to Haunted Mansion because if I went to Magic Kingdom and didn't ride Haunted Mansion, somebody would think something was wrong (Have you guys noticed how there STILL isn't a sarcasm font?) I managed to make it into the building just before they closed the door, and still manage to be the first one onto the ride, which was pretty sweet. It's gotten to the point where i can quote a lot of the ride, which says something since I had never ridden it until I started my CP...
Having made it 5 minutes early to my Mansion fastpass, I had an hour and a half until my next fastpass, so I decided to go ahead and go for Mine Train, since the cast member at the front told me that it was really closer to 40 minutes! (as opposed to the advertised 60 minutes) I've never gone through the standby line for Mine train because of the wait times, but it was actually a lot of fun! It's more interactive that I expected, with multiple areas to entertain yourself. The line moves fast, which was nice, because it made it feel like we were getting somewhere.
Little Mermaid had a10 minute wait, which means it's walk on, because it take 10 minutes just to walk to the front of Little Mermaid... There were easily 6 clam shells between me and the people on either side of me. Little Mermaid is a fun one, but I always have the hardest time not singing along because it's one of my favorite movies. With the people one either side of me so far away, I was free to rock out without anyone judging.
After Little Mermaid, I hit my last fastpass for the night, which was... PETER PAN! The day I ride Peter Pan without a fastpass is the day the world ends. That being said, it was my favorite ride when I was a kid, and it's still pretty high up there. I dreamed of flying off to Neverland as a kid, and I think I'm as close to it as I'm going to get working at Disney World.
After that, I figured I was pretty much done for the night, but there was one more surprise in store for me. As I walked towards Main Street USA, a second showing of Celebrate The Magic started up on the castle unannounced, giving me the opportunity to get a good view. Celebrate the Magic is my favorite part of the nighttime shows at Magic Kingdom, and I know all of the words by heart. It was a perfect end to a great night in Magic Kingdom.
I met so many cast members who honestly seem to love working at Disney, and it made me so happy. That's what were here for. To be happy, and to create happiness. It felt good to go into the park by myself, to see things from a different perspective, and I can't wait to do it again!
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
Explanation, Catching Up, and Getting Happy
Oh man! Life has been crazy. I feel like I haven't had a single chance to sit down and clear my head since we got here. Between work and training (we're always training as lifeguards...) I've been running around every second of everyday. 3 days a week I get up, go to work, come home and sleep (I work 11 hours a day right now, so I'm gone 13 hours a day). Lifeguards have 4 hours of in service training to fulfill every month, but we've been picking up extras for extra hours. Then I've been trying to fit every minute I can into my days off.. when I'm not sitting on the couch.
To be honest, the reason I haven't been writing or online is because I've been hiding. Hiding from my roommates, hiding from the world. I've been depressed, and I allowed it to take it's toll on me. My roommate situation is bad. Very bad. I only get along with one of the five of them, and I don't feel comfortable in my own apartment. It's hostile and everyone blames all of the problems in the apartment on me, so I don't feel safe or welcome. I've contemplated asking for a voluntary move several times, but I know other people who have much worse roommate situations, and I don't want to put myself in that position.
But I've decided I won't let them effect me anymore. These negative, hateful people don't get to have a say in my life anymore. They don't get to bring me down and ruin the experience for me. I'm standing up for me. We can coexist without ever having to talk or speak or look at each other... right?
Despite all the negativity and depression, there have been several good points!
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| Jambo House Pool |
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| Samawati Springs Splash Pad - Kidani Village |
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| One of the many over looks at DAKL |
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| My Coronado Springs training group - 6 lifeguards! |
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| Kidani Village Pool |
For example, I love my job! I love my co-workers, I love my managers, I love my coordinators. Life at DACO (Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge/Coronado Springs Rec department is called DACO) isn't always perfect but it's pretty close to it. My coordinators like me, everyone is so incredibly helpful and nice, it's wonderful. Disney is in the middle of undergoing some big changes and DACO is working really hard to make it not so painful for us.
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| Saludos Amigos! |
I loved going through the resort orientation and learning about both of the resorts. Learning the stories behind each resort and the way they go above and beyond. I love learning about each of the pools. For example, at DAKL, Jambo House has a bigger pool, but Kidani Village has a better slide. I love that I can use that information to help guests and send them to where they need to go. I love listening to kids flying down the slide laughing hysterically, screaming "THIS IS AWESOME!" and knowing every word to the pool party playlist and singing along with the kids who inevitably congregate under my stand.
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| The lanterns at DAKL stay on day and night to help our guests find their way home |
Most regions went back to spring hours on March 5, but DACO stayed in winter hours, so 3 days a week I open and close our pool. I even love the guests, despite some crazy experiences. (For example, one lady tried to push me into the pool because I was in her picture, while a different day a man announced loudly to his buddies that I am too fat and ugly to be a lifeguard... oh goodness). So I've had lot's of time to myself, which I've tried to take advantage of!
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| Spaceship Earth is one of my favorite rides, even if I do regularly call it "The Golf Ball" |
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| Haunted Mansion |
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| Streets of America... I can never seem to find the time to just go to Hollywood Studios... |
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| All you need is a little faith, trust, and coffee. |
I've spent the most time in EPCOT, but I've ridden Haunted Mansion the most, and my favorite ride is still Pirates (which isn't just because my sister works there). I've only gone and gotten beignets once, but I've had zebra domes three times. Animal Kingdom has my favorite show, Festival of the Lion King, which I try and see once a week. But Mickey's PhilharMagic is a close second, and I've only seen that once.
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| Frying pans, who knew! |
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| France pavilion in EPCOT |
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| Tree of Life - how many animals can you spot? |
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| Main Street USA |
One of the families I use to nanny came and saw me last week! O and B are 8 and 4 (almost 5!!!) and I was almost positive B (the 4 year old) wouldn't remember me. When I walked up to them in the Lego store in Disney Springs the night they got there, however, O screamed and B hugged and hugged me, and then kept looking at me like I was going to disappear. They came into town late one night, went to Magic Kingdom the next day, and left the day after. I meet up with them around noon and we flew around the park the way you don't really do when you work here. we did 18 rides, 10 character encounters, 3 shows, 2 parades, fireworks, and so much more. It was good to spend a day with people who love me unconditionally.
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| So...much...candy... |
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| Homemade marshmallows! |
For Valentines day, my Mama sent me a huge box full chocolates and gummies and my favorite chocolate covered gummy bears from a local candy factory! Best of all, though, she sent me a bag of homemade peppermint marshmallows, which are like gold in our family. I also got a cute card from my puppy, Ginger, who seems to know when I'm on the phone with my mom, because she stick's her head into the phone every time.
Two of my roommates and I tried to go to EPCOT to meet princes on Valentines day, but that was a bust. However, I did get to meet my twin (Snow White) who everyone always tells me I look like! I've meet several characters over the last month, though my favorite was when I met Mickey at Tusker House!
One day I tried to go to the post office and ended up on an adventure! Celebration is a cute little town that reminds me of a lake town in Michigan without my beautiful lake. I suppose that's why I fell in love with it at first sight. I haven't spent a lot of time there, but I have plans to go back for market day! Things in Florida are a lot different than at home, and sometimes you just need a piece of home (or in my case, you need a piece of home a lot.)
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| Lunch at The Mara at DAKL |
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| Sushi in the Japan Pavillion |
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| Hard cider from Rose and Crown |
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| Uno's Pizza! |
I am, without a doubt, a "foodie" (even though I HATE that word...) I love food, but most of all I love flavor. One of my favorite things about Disney is how many different flavors there are, and how easy it is for me to eat. Macaroons in France, beignets at Port Orleans, and zebra domes at Animal Kingdom Lodge are just a few of my favorite things here is Disney. However, my best find was Uno's Pizzeria chain. No, it's not the real Uno's. But guess what: it is real Chicago pizza. It has a nice thin crust with a great sweet sauce, and it's relatively cheap and close to the apartments!
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| Bits and pieces of the Flower and Garden festival are starting to show up! |
I'm excited for the things to come. Tomorrow my two Disney classes start, and I managed to sign up for the two classes I want during the next mini semester. My mom and grandpa arrive March 3rd, just in time for Flower and Garden Festival, which is my favorite time to be in EPCOT. The first time I went to EPCOT was during Flower and Garden and it's hard to go when it's not all decked out and beautiful. But mostly, I'm looking forward to being happy, to not allowing others to take control of my life. Here's to taking control of my future.
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