Day 4!!! Lots of Chipmunk!

Howdy!

So day 4 was super exciting!! We started at Animal Kingdom. We got to tour the Entertainment Base and talk about clocking in, checking in, costumes, areas, blah blah blah. Then we went to Hollywood Studios to do some sets!

First we went to the Animation Building where you can meet Wreck-It Ralph, Vanellope, Sorcerer Mickey, Minnie Mouse, and the Incredibles. We observed how all of the queue lines work, as well as the rotations. After a little observation we got to try. Alex and I got put with Wreck-It Ralph. It was fun, not too difficult because of the continuous line.

Then came the harder part of the day. At Hollywood Studios a bunch of characters do meet and greets under the sorcerer hat. The trouble that arises for character attendants in this situation is the controlling of the lines since they basically form themselves, while keeping an eye on the character interactions, timing, and all the other surroundings. As attendants we have to be ready, prepared and calm during this entire thing. So we practiced. TJ and I were with Chip and Dale. TJ stayed upfront to assist with the character interactions and I too care of keeping the line neat, talking and interacting to guests and spieling to them. That part was fun, there were a lot of great conversations with the guests in line. One of them was with a young lady who said "When I get up there, can you take a picture of me with my very, very, very close friends?" I realized exactly what she was hinting and told her that TJ would gladly do it since he was up there. She was super sweet, and had a personality similar to that of Snow White ;). She also interacted with me and these two princesses waiting in line behind her. They had been to the Bippoti Boppiti Boutique. One was dressed as Princess Tiana and the other was dressed as Princess Aurora, they were very sweet and playful.

After a about 15/20 minutes, one of our trainers from day 2, Ashley, came to say hello to us. She also hinted that I might want to think about closing my line. I love how the trainers are really good about looking out for you, even when they aren't on the clock. So, I switched spots with TJ so he could close the line and I got to help with character interactions. It was awesome. Chip and Dale are so much fun to be with.

Oh and did I mention that I had my first Make A Wish family? Well I did. The Wish Child was so sweet, his name was Von. The family was sweet too and it all went smoothly. It breaks my heart, yet at the same time warms it. I mean that it is sad, but the way these children smile while they are on this trip is so wonderful.

Anyway, we were able to close the lines without any problems and then we decided we would do the last of our sets at Animal Kingdom. So we headed back and did some sets at Camp Minnie Mickey. Again I got to be with Chip and Dale, but this time by myself. So on top of everything we already have to think about as an attendant we added pin trading today. And if you know anything about pin traders, you know alot of them are extremely serious and determined to check it out and trade. So the meet and greets seemed a little more hectic, but not bad.

Well after that we took a test so now our basic core training is finished and we have core plus sunday and monday. We get more area training on these days and set practices at Magic Kingdom!!!



Training has given me a whole new outlook on Disney entertainment as well as a whole new appreciation for these cast members that I have come across in the past.