Celebrate a Dream Come True

Four months ago I thought four months would go by so slowly. I’ve changed my mind. Four months is a very short amount of time. Four months. One huge adventure.

When I first heard about the Disney College Program I day dreamed about getting to go to Disney World and make people smile. As long as I didn’t have to do the same kind of job I did at KFC I would have done just about anything. After thinking about it though I just didn’t think me going to Florida all by myself was a good idea for two reasons. 1. I was worried that I’d lose my testimony of the religion I love because I wouldn’t be able to attend church every Sunday. 2. I didn’t think I could do it. ‘It’s too big. This kind of thing only happens in movies’ I thought.

In the biggest semester of my life I put in my application and got chosen to be part of the College Program. Even after being accepted I had fears and doubts about going. In the end I decided that if for nothing else I needed it to keep me busy during an 8 month engagement and anyway it’d be fun.

I am so glad I was given the opportunity to work for Disney. I’ve learned so much. Here’s some of what I’ve learned.

-          My testimony of the church is strong. It’s something I can rely on. How I learned it: I’ve never really been in a situation where it was entirely up to me to attend church. There have always been roommates or parents or friends helping me to make the decision to go. Out here I worked on Saturday and Sunday nights. Usually I didn’t get off Saturday night until 1am or 2am. For church I had to be up at 8am. There were a lot of days I just couldn’t do it, and I saw the difference in my life. It’s been a long time, and by a long time I mean probably since high school which only ended three years ago for me, since I’ve been around people who are not of the same faith as me, and I’ve never been around college kids who aren’t members – the joys of attending an LDS college. I’ve never been around drinking or drugs or anything like that. On my program people were so nice to me and so respectful of my beliefs. It was wonderful to see.

-          Magic doesn’t have to be big. How I learned it: Most days the tiniest of things could make or break my day. It’s something I want to apply in other aspects of my life. Before coming on this program I felt like I didn’t really know what it meant to serve others. On this program, even though I was being paid, I was able to learn about service. Not huge things like building houses for people or giving them money, but the little things that are hardly noticed sometimes. A Guest with a crying child is grateful to the Cast Member who shows they care. The Guest asked to move down the queue line would hardly think twice, but the one at the very end of a very long line gets to move twenty feet closer to the attraction. It’s the little things. There’s a scripture that says that the Lord creates miracles by small and simple means. I feel like I understand that much better now. Disney is made up of thousands of little moments that turn into memories that people remember for the rest of their lives.

-          I can do big things. How I learned it: I got to live in a fairytale for four months. It didn’t always feel like a fairytale. There were hard moments, but how often will I ever get to go into Disney World whenever I want? When will I ever have a job where I talk to thousands of people every day again? When will I be given a job where I’m paid to go out of my way to make children smile? It was a fairytale even when it was difficult.

-          It’s hard to be happy with anything if you only look for the things that are hard. How I learned it: Even on a fairytale job when your job is to make people smile it is possible to find the bad things. I have to stand for a couple hours at a time. I have to work with people who don’t understand I’m trying to help. I have to tell people no. All I’m doing is pressing a little flashing green light. The job is a lot better when you look at all the good things. Anything in life has some bad things, but it’s the good things that make it worthwhile.

- -          I learned to appreciate the people who do the behind the scenes work. How I learned it: I did it. I’ve been behind the scenes before. I’ve been behind the scenes many times in the theater, but never like this. There are a lot of things that are done at Disney that Guests will never see. It’s all part of the magic. Every place is like that. There are things we’ll just never see.

I’m just amazed at how my perspectives have changed. I hope I can take the magic making skills I’ve learned and apply them to 

more areas of my life. I would recommend the program for 

anyone. It’s not a cake walk, but it’s incredible.

Sounds of the Mountain

A few nights ago I listened as the Mountain stopped working and started working. When we are trained we're told to listen for unusual sounds as the ride runs. At first every thunderously approaching rocket, every creak of the track, every rattle of the chains is an unusual sound. The soundtrack of Space sounds and music adds to the general din and it's hard to tell what is unusual and what is usual. After a week or two the sounds jumble together and you learn what the Mountain sounds like.

The other night I listened as first the vibrating rumbles from the other side of the walls stopped signifying a stop of the lower and main lifts. I listened as the hiss of brakes stopped and the sound of moving lap bars disintegrated. The soundtrack was muted and a different voice came over the intercom handing out information about the issue at hand. Twenty minutes later I listened as the Mountain got back to her feet. The normal thunder began again to the cheering applause of the Guests still in the building.

I love Space Mountain. I first rode the attraction in California. The one here in Florida is different but I fell in love with this one too. I complain about the Guests and I get tired of everything but the magic of Space Mountain is still there. The magic of going into space is what Space Mountain is all about and I love it. I will miss Space Mountain.

Sorry about the long wait on the next chapter! It's been very busy!

Last week my sisters came for a visit! It was great. I'll get those pictures uploaded tomorrow and on here as soon as I can. Their visit was a blast. Unfortunately spring in Florida means a lot of sunshine and warmth that I'm not used to and then every few weeks two, three, or even four days of absolute pouring rain. We happened to choose the rainy days for their trip. Monday night as they flew in there were thunder storms. It didn't effect their flight but it was very wet. I worked that night. Tuesday it was clear the entire day. Sunny and warm. Wednesday it was beautiful until about 4:30pm. At 4:15 we ran over to the castle to see Dream Along with Mickey. We watched the entire show which is only about 15 minutes. After that we walked over to the little ice cream parlor on Main Street. We got in line and turned around and the sky was literally black. The thunder started and the sky opened up, the wind was so strong and I was a little scared we'd see some funnel clouds. I haven't worried about funnel clouds in eight or nine years since the move from Texas, but that's really how it looked. We got to the ice cream parlor at about 4:30 by 4:50 the sun was about to come out again. It was the craziest thing I'd ever seen. After that the temperature dropped and we left as soon as the fireworks were over. Thursday we went to Hollywood Studios and it poured rain the entire day. It didn't stop once. Friday it was sunny and warm and beautiful and they left around 2pm. It was depressing. Oh well. We still had a ton of fun.

The Mountain has been running particularly well lately. We haven't had as many down times the past week and a half or so in comparison to the way it's been since I got here in January. It's been kind of nice. I wonder what changed.

There are so many interesting little tid bits of information and stories that I have that I hardly know where to begin. I don't think I can even write them all. I don't think I remember them all.

A very exciting thing happened the other day! I was at Unload 2. That's the person who tells you which direction to scramble out of the rocket and where the pictures are. As preliminary for this story there are a things that must be known about Space Mountain. The first thing. There are two different sets of lights that the Guests think of as "work lights". The first is our actual work lights. They light up absolutely everything and they're what we use when we are broken down. Then there are the lights from the People Mover. The People Mover is a Tomorrowland version of a train. It only goes through Tomorrowland and it goes through just about every attraction in our land. This means that it also goes through Space. Occasionally the People Mover will stop. I was on it once when it stopped while we were in the Mountain. It is actually extraordinarily dark and frightening even for someone who knows Space like the back of her hand. When it goes down it turns some lights on so we don't give little ones and grown ones nightmares. The second thing to be known is that the inside of Space Mountain reflects every speck of light a hundred times. It's Space. Its magical. It just works that way.

On this particular night the People Mover just happened to be stopped and the lights had been turned on. Guests usually say something to us and I'd been asked a few times already why the lights were on. A very tall man got out of seat 6 and came to talk to me about the lights. I already had my speech ready. I explained to him about the People Mover. I elaborated a little and told him that it happened quite often and that there was nothing we could do about it. I told him it was a problem. All of a sudden he says "hmm... well it's only happening because we have the wrong kind of glass up. I'll talk to some of my guys about it and see if we can't get something done about that." I was speechless. The only reason to say something like that is if you're an Imagineer and you're a higher up who could actually change something. I had to recover quickly and respond. I think I said something about one way glass so the Guests on the People Mover could see Space Mountain but Space Mountain couldn't see the People Mover. He said goodnight and left and I about died. Here's this possibly important person and here I am making suggestions. I don't know if anything will actually get done but still...

Space Mountain being a dark roller coaster we get a lot of young children who are a little bit nervous about going on. I have a whole speech for those crying youngsters and 5 out of 10 times I can convince them to ride. Recently I've found a way to get almost 7 out of 10 to ride. Pretend you're scared of the ride and you're not sure you want to go. This girl in an official, kinda odd looking outfit, comes over and kneels down in front of you. "Hi honey. Are you nervous to go into Space?" You nod. "Aww I'm sorry you're scared sweety. Have you done any of the other roller coasters today? Have you been on Thunder Mountain? Yes? Well guess what! This ride goes half the speed of Thunder Mountain. Have you been on Splash Mountain? Yes? Wow! You're really brave! That drop is SO big! The one single drop on this ride is half the size of that one and instead of going almost straight down it goes more out." That's what I would usually say. Usually they decide to ride. Now here's the additional piece I've added. So far it only works really really well on the little boys. "Have you seen Star Wars?" Their little eyes light up and they usually nod. "Do you like Star Wars?" They smile a little and those eyes are shining and they nod. "Well guess what! Space Mountain looks exactly like you're a Jedi and you're going out into space in one of their space ships!!" So far it has only not worked once and the little boy was so sweet about it. The parents are usually really excited that I took the time to kneel down on the ground and talk to their little kid. It's so cute. It makes everything else worth while. I absolutely love it. The first time I tried it I asked the little boy to tell the girl when he got off if he liked the ride and I'd call down and find out. I almost burst into tears when about three minutes later the girl at unload called me back to tell me that the little boy not only liked it but he wanted to go again. He'd been crying when I put him in his rocket. It made me feel good.

That's all I can think of tonight. Thanks for still being interested! :D Have a magical day!

Strangest Question

Yesterday I got Grouper a lot. It's not my favorite, but it does make time go fast. Right now is "Band Kid Season" I've decided. Having once been a band kid I love having them with us. Teenagers are always interesting and it's an ego boost to be told countless times a day that you're loved by teenage boys...

Those tidbits are both important for this story. :)

I was grouping my third or fourth group of band kids. This particular group was very excited about Disney and very talkative. They asked a lot of questions about the roller coaster and my job. I tried to answer in a short amount of time so that I could timely get them on the ride. Right before I seated our young Guests one boy in the line asked me if I would give him my  name tag... what? LOL I told him no and he asked again this time offering me all the trading pins on his lanyard for my name tag. I still told him no. I'm pretty positive I'd get in trouble for that. It was the strangest question I've ever been asked.

Do you want to know what the most common question is? "How long is the wait time?" I don't understand that question in the slightest because the only time I've ever been asked it is when I'm standing directly beneath a sign that says: "Standby Line wait time is ____ minutes". It's right there... okay.

:) Night night!!

The Little Things

Yesterday I was asked to attend a training class about the Basics. The Basics are the things we do to make Disney Service the best there ever was. I really like the classes. Some Cast Members think it's too much, but I think it's a wonderful thing to be reminded again and again of what's expected of us.

The class yesterday lasted about two hours and we just discussed ways we could more fully use the basics. The four basics are:

- I project a positive image and energy.
- I am courteous and respectful to all Guests, including children.
- I stay in character and play the part.
- I go above and beyond.

Sometimes doing those things is hard. Working becomes exactly that... work. The lady suggested that we notice what the little things are that remind us of why we do our job. Mine is Space Mountain itself. I love it. I love that ride. I was able to go on it last night before I left work and every time I go I'm reminded again why I love it so much. It's beautiful. There is so much to imagine in there. It's like a science fiction book in one experience. That's my reminder.

What are the little things that remind you that you love what you do?

Have a good day everyone!

Overview

It's been such a long time since I wrote! I don't know what to write about...

I got yelled at on Monday. I felt really silly because I let it get to me. I know I shouldn't have and I won't again. It was the first time I'd really been yelled at since I started at Space Mountain and it'd been a long night. There were 66 thousand Guests in the park. At Christmas time, the very busiest time of year for Disney, we average about 70 thousand. We'd broken down about an hour before and wait times were at about 2 hours and 15 minutes for standby and about 30 for Fastpass. We try to get Fastpass in and out in about 10 minutes. That's how crazy it was. I was on assignment as Mountain 3. That's the position that helps Guests in wheelchairs into and off of the ride. Each time one of those parties comes through it can take us between 5 and 10 minutes for just one of those parties. This is because we wait for that Guest to get completely on the ride, we note the number of the rocket and where in the rocket they're sitting and then we personally wheel the wheelchair downstairs and wait for that Guest to get off the ride. It's usually one of my very favorite positions. We create magic in that position. But Monday night the Mountain was understaffed and there were about 30 parties with wheelchairs. That takes a lot of time. Most of the time when we're that busy Mountain 3 would have an assistant. That night, being understaffed, I had no assistant. I did the best I could as fast as I could but they wait times for that line kept climbing. One woman was angry because she'd been in my line for about 20 minutes. Her daughter had fallen asleep and they no longer wanted to ride and she wanted to see a manager.

So more explaining. We generally have two coordinators. They're like managers but there are lots more of them so that the managers can manage more than one attraction at a time. The coordinators make sure breaks and bump outs(clock outs) happen at the right time. They make sure every one in the attraction is where they're supposed to be. They handle most Guest situations. They take care of situations where ambulances need to be called (aka Alpha Units) They're trained on every position. They have a direct connection with the managers who are on duty. They take care of the smaller manager-type jobs that the managers don't have the time to handle.

Monday night we had two great coordinators. With the mountain so busy there were lots of issues to handle. While the Guest at Load was yelling at me and wanting to see a manager, one coordinator had taken over a Cast Member position within the Mountain so they could have a break and the other was helping an Alpha Unit into the back of the Mountain to help with an emergency. I called the one dealing with the Alpha and then realized he was busy. After a complicated switch I ended up with both Coordinators saving me from several angry Guests along with the one particular angry woman.

Thankfully I was moved soon after the Coordinators got there and thought I'd get a break from angry Guests. I went to Merge Point instead. Merge Point is also one of my favorite positions surprisingly because at first I really didn't like it. Merge Point is where we merge Fastpass Guests and Standby Guests together. There were lots more angry people.

Needless to say, by the time I got my break a half hour after I was switched to Merge I was struggling to stay together. I hate making people wait. I'd love nothing more than to let everyone walk right onto the ride, but there's just no way. The evening did get a little better after that. By the end I was able to smile and wave and wish Guests a good night. I was able to create magic and still make people happy.

Tuesday was my longest shift yet. 13.5 hours. It was fun. Cameron Diaz and Arod (or whatever his name is) came through. That was interesting. I didn't see her. I was on the opposite side of the Mountain, but it's still cool to know that names like that come through.

I had a great day off today. Work tomorrow and then Elder Bednar is coming on Friday and I officially get to go! :D I'm so happy about that.

Goodnight readers. :) Enjoy the "Magic Moments" in your life!

Space Mountain Guidebook

History


http://www.wdwhistory.com/index.php?title=Space_Mountain

It was built in 1975 and ... that article pretty much covers it. :)

Numbers


The ride has thirty rockets inside. Fifteen for each track. The rockets are numbered 1 - 31. Disney was afraid that no one would ever want to ride in rocket thirteen so they skipped the number. Each rocket has six seats and is split in have by a joint making turning easier. The rocket would look something like this. - - - / - - - the slash being about a foot of space. Each rocket seats exactly six Guests at a time. One Guest to each seat.

Guests are required to be at least 44 inches tall to ride Space Mountain. This is a little taller than the other two Mountains in the Magic Kingdom because it's the only ride to require Guests to seat single passengers. It's heart breaking to tell little ones that they can't ride, but we do it because it's a  hazard for them to ride.

Loading and Unloading


Most of the time we have about a minute to get six Guests into line and onto the rockets. Occasionally if there are fewer Guests we have 30-45 seconds. Surprising, I know. The reason there is less time when we have fewer Guests is because there is only one person doing the job and the rockets are going out every thirty seconds.

Guests line up side by side with their parties, the gates open, they step into the rocket, lower themselves all the way to a seated position, and then pull the lap bars all the way down. The lap bars do not move on their own. The rocket is advanced by a Cast Member and another Cast Member asks the Guests to pull up on the lap bar. This is to make sure that the lap bars are locked. It's not to scare Guests.

The hardest part of the ride is unloading. Hardest part. For some reason the rockets are not built to be easy to get out of. I can't tell you how to get out of them because it's an individual thing. I've figured out but if you're a first time rider it's super complicated.

That's all I can think of tonight. :) I hope you'll all visit Space Mountain someday!