It was announced at this morning's Track Talk, Captain EO will be returning to Epcot (his original home!) on July 2nd. I'm very excited, and it does mean there will be quite a few changes for us currently working at the Imagination Institute.
HISTA will close next next weekend, and the theater will undergo refurbishment for about two months. For those who are cross-trained on other attractions in the park (many full-timers also work at Soarin', The Land boat ride, Innoventions, the Seas, etc), they will move to those other attractions for that time. All of us who only work Image, we'll be exclusively at Journey Into Imagination for those two months.
The current story of our pavilion is that we are scientists who work at the Imagination Institute, welcoming guests to tour the institute's sensory labs at Journey, and presenting our annual Inventor of the Year Award next door at HISTA. When Captain EO arrives, our current costumes (red/orange collared shirts with lab coats) won't really fit in with Captain EO's theming, so they're currently working on costumes that we can use at both attractions. We're speculating that the shirts will change, and we'll wear our lab coats at Journey and take them off at EO.
Being at Journey Into Imagination for two months straight may be a drag, BUT how cool will it be to claim that I was part of the re-opening team for Captain EO at Epcot??!! Another feather for my Disney hat.
To think, I learned those spiels for nothing! Not really, I'm actually really grateful for the experience. Talking in front of a few hundred guests a few times a day has done wonders for my public speaking abilities. But I will miss watching full-grown men scream like little girls when the "mice" enter the theater.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Sunday, April 25, 2010
My Very First ER
I took my very first ER today. I think it stands for "early release." We can request one through our computerized Cast Deployment System, and depending on how busy we are or how many cast members we have, we may be granted the request (we can also request to extend our shift through a similar process). I don't think I'll be doing this very often, as I don't want to cut my paychecks short, but since this week I was scheduled only one day off, I felt it was deserved.
Clocking out at 3pm, I took the opportunity to change into street clothes, make some phone calls and enjoy some more of Epcot. It's definitely my favorite park, and there's still so much I haven't seen there! I spent some time at The Seas, watched the manatees for a while. I was told that the main aquarium there is large enough to fit all of Spaceship Earth (the big Epcot ball, seen in the photo at the top of this blog), and still have room for a Disney bus to drive around the bottom! I'm not really sure, but would be really cool if it was.
I then took an obligatory ride on Test Track, my favorite attraction in all of Walt Disney World. I ride it every chance I get, though I don't go out of my way for it. It's the fastest attraction that Disney has ever built (your vehicle usually hits 64mph), and the longest attraction at WDW.
I also made my way to the Italy Pavilion to check out the Italy Liberation Day festivities, but when I got there there really wasn't anything going on. No big deal though, walking through World Showcase is pretty awesome anyway.
I've been at home for a few hours now, watching the HUGE storm outside from the couch. It's so cool, one minute torrential downpour, the next nothing. But lots of lightning :-) Looking forward to a full day off tomorrow.
Clocking out at 3pm, I took the opportunity to change into street clothes, make some phone calls and enjoy some more of Epcot. It's definitely my favorite park, and there's still so much I haven't seen there! I spent some time at The Seas, watched the manatees for a while. I was told that the main aquarium there is large enough to fit all of Spaceship Earth (the big Epcot ball, seen in the photo at the top of this blog), and still have room for a Disney bus to drive around the bottom! I'm not really sure, but would be really cool if it was.
I then took an obligatory ride on Test Track, my favorite attraction in all of Walt Disney World. I ride it every chance I get, though I don't go out of my way for it. It's the fastest attraction that Disney has ever built (your vehicle usually hits 64mph), and the longest attraction at WDW.
I also made my way to the Italy Pavilion to check out the Italy Liberation Day festivities, but when I got there there really wasn't anything going on. No big deal though, walking through World Showcase is pretty awesome anyway.
I've been at home for a few hours now, watching the HUGE storm outside from the couch. It's so cool, one minute torrential downpour, the next nothing. But lots of lightning :-) Looking forward to a full day off tomorrow.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Re-Theme
Changed up the Blog heading a bit. I figured it was more appropriate, since I'm not working at the Magic Kingdom. Maybe I'll work on an Imagination Institute theme for later :-)
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Busted!
Today I got busted for having my spiel notes sitting on the console in front of me at the photocells (an alternative type of turnstile) at Honey, I Shrunk The Audience. It's not that I don't know my spiels... it's just kind of a security blanket. I don't want to get caught in the middle of my spiel and get stuck, that's really embarrassing! So, the coordinator who busted me confiscated my notes and told me that if a manager had seen me with them, my certification for that attraction would have been revoked. Which would be really bad for me.
Not to worry though, I did get my notes back later. I got the full, more reasonable explanation from another coordinator: I'm allowed to keep the note cards with me, though I can only refer to them offstage. I'm not supposed to have them out in front of me while I'm spieling. I'm okay with that.
I really just didn't like the feeling of being "in trouble." I knew that many of the other CP's had kept their notes on them for a few weeks after their trainings, so I was really frustrated that I'd been scolded for it. This, on top of trying to re-learn my tasks during set shows (now that the spring break crowds are gone, we are doing shows every 30 minutes instead of 20, which requires fewer people running around doing more things). I was quite flustered.
After this little scare, I'll probably never need to look at my notes again 8-)
Not to worry though, I did get my notes back later. I got the full, more reasonable explanation from another coordinator: I'm allowed to keep the note cards with me, though I can only refer to them offstage. I'm not supposed to have them out in front of me while I'm spieling. I'm okay with that.
I really just didn't like the feeling of being "in trouble." I knew that many of the other CP's had kept their notes on them for a few weeks after their trainings, so I was really frustrated that I'd been scolded for it. This, on top of trying to re-learn my tasks during set shows (now that the spring break crowds are gone, we are doing shows every 30 minutes instead of 20, which requires fewer people running around doing more things). I was quite flustered.
After this little scare, I'll probably never need to look at my notes again 8-)
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Not so bad after all
Okay, I know I kinda trash-talked my attractions a couple weeks ago, but now I'm over it. Let me start by saying I LOVE Epcot. Working at Epcot is awesome for a lot of reasons. I get to ride the bus to work with all of the international students who work in their respective World Showcase pavilions, and so I get several different languages buzzing in my ears every morning, and I've met some really interesting people. Also, the Flower and Garden festival is going on and the gardens all around the park are amazing:
The dark glass pyramids in the background are the Imagination Pavilion (where I work)
Both of my attractions are usually open from 9am-7pm (except for Extra Magic Hours Fridays until midnight), which is waaaay better than Magic Kingdom's hours last week, 7am-1am (EMH until 3am). Also, IllumiNations is definitely the coolest fireworks of any of the resorts.
I really love working Journey into Imagination. It's fun to work with all of the families with kids, who think the ride is pretty cool. I love pressing buttons. My favorite is walking the track at the end of the night checking for lost and found items and anything unusual. The ride system is actually pretty interesting because the trains stop and go between scenes and rotate to face the walls. One of my coworkers was telling me that there are a lot of old components from the old version of the ride still in the building behind some of the scene walls. I'm looking forward to a more in-depth tour soon!
HISTA is still kinda fun, but I really don't like spieling. HISTA seems to be a lot more popular here than in CA, we nearly fill the theater for every show between lunch and dinner times (575 people!) I have a three-page script that with spiels for the show. I have them mostly memorized, but I still refer to my sticky notes before I pick up the position in rotations. I was soooo nervous about getting on the mic in front of all those people, but now that I've been doing it for a week, it's not really a big deal. I've stolen a lot of jokes from my coworkers. It's fun to watch people watching the show. Seeing them scream and pick up their feet every time the "mice" enter the theater never gets old. When the snake comes around we almost always have to let mothers and children out of the theater, despite having verbally warned them twice about the nature of the show (and numerous printed warnings). Park guests are an endless source of entertainment.
Did you know that the Imagination Institute staff cleans not only the HISTA glasses, but all of the 3D glasses for all four theme parks? This includes MuppetVision 3D, Mickey's Philharmagic, Toy Story Midway Mania, It's Tough to be a Bug, Innoventions, and more! That's one of my positions in rotation is operating the glasses cleaning machine. It sounds like a drag, but it can be a nice respite from crazy co-workers and park guests.
At home, we've got two new roommates, bringing our total count to 8. They're cool, I'm really glad that despite having that many guys in the apartment we all get along really well. One of the downside of having that many people is that all 8 of us will never have free time together, e.g. one roommate works 5am-1pm, I work ~11am-7:30pm, and the new guys work 5pm-2am.
I've got lots more to talk about, but I'll have to save it for another night! :-D
The dark glass pyramids in the background are the Imagination Pavilion (where I work)
T
Both of my attractions are usually open from 9am-7pm (except for Extra Magic Hours Fridays until midnight), which is waaaay better than Magic Kingdom's hours last week, 7am-1am (EMH until 3am). Also, IllumiNations is definitely the coolest fireworks of any of the resorts.
I really love working Journey into Imagination. It's fun to work with all of the families with kids, who think the ride is pretty cool. I love pressing buttons. My favorite is walking the track at the end of the night checking for lost and found items and anything unusual. The ride system is actually pretty interesting because the trains stop and go between scenes and rotate to face the walls. One of my coworkers was telling me that there are a lot of old components from the old version of the ride still in the building behind some of the scene walls. I'm looking forward to a more in-depth tour soon!
HISTA is still kinda fun, but I really don't like spieling. HISTA seems to be a lot more popular here than in CA, we nearly fill the theater for every show between lunch and dinner times (575 people!) I have a three-page script that with spiels for the show. I have them mostly memorized, but I still refer to my sticky notes before I pick up the position in rotations. I was soooo nervous about getting on the mic in front of all those people, but now that I've been doing it for a week, it's not really a big deal. I've stolen a lot of jokes from my coworkers. It's fun to watch people watching the show. Seeing them scream and pick up their feet every time the "mice" enter the theater never gets old. When the snake comes around we almost always have to let mothers and children out of the theater, despite having verbally warned them twice about the nature of the show (and numerous printed warnings). Park guests are an endless source of entertainment.
Did you know that the Imagination Institute staff cleans not only the HISTA glasses, but all of the 3D glasses for all four theme parks? This includes MuppetVision 3D, Mickey's Philharmagic, Toy Story Midway Mania, It's Tough to be a Bug, Innoventions, and more! That's one of my positions in rotation is operating the glasses cleaning machine. It sounds like a drag, but it can be a nice respite from crazy co-workers and park guests.
At home, we've got two new roommates, bringing our total count to 8. They're cool, I'm really glad that despite having that many guys in the apartment we all get along really well. One of the downside of having that many people is that all 8 of us will never have free time together, e.g. one roommate works 5am-1pm, I work ~11am-7:30pm, and the new guys work 5pm-2am.
I've got lots more to talk about, but I'll have to save it for another night! :-D
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