
5/23-(Car Trouble) Well my car only lasted 20 mins into the ride to Florida so I drove down to Orlando in my mom's new Camry.
5/24- I had an interview with Todd. I officially got my job at Disney as a seasonal attractions host at Liberty Square and Adventureland. I had to watch a video, take a math test, and receive a ton of papers with company procedures.
5/25- I had the day off.
5/26- I had my first class at Disney University(Traditions). Two instructors went through all of the Disney history and secrets. We took a tour of the Magic Kingdom Tunnels. I was chosen to be group leader by my fellow cast members. I met a lot of nice people. I hope to see some of the people in my group during the summer. I had a lot of fun at Traditions. My second day of Traditions is early on Friday morning.
5/27- I had the day off. We went to Wolf Gang Puck's for dinner.
5/28- I overslept and missed my last Tradition class. I was lucky enough to be able to reschedule for Saturday morning. I plan to wake up for this one. I participated in the Goofy Mystery Tour at Disney MGM Studios(Disney trivia contest and scavenger hunt).
5/29- I finally went to my second day of Traditions. It was a day for cast members at the Magic Kingdom only. The name of the class was "Once Upon a Time......is Now." We toured the Magic Kingdom, learned the secrets, and rode some rides. My mom, aunt, and uncle came down to Orlando to bring me my fixed car and to visit with me and my sister.
5/30- I had a class for cast members at the Adventureland/Liberty Square section of the Magic Kingdom. I found out today that the ride that I will be working on this summer is the Pirates of the Caribbean. I was very excited to find this out. The Pirates of the Carribean ride has the best air condition and the best costumes (pirate costume).
5/31- I had the day off. I start training for the Pirates tomorrow.
6/1- I started my training for the Pirates of the Caribbean. We were able to walk all over the ride. I fell through the floor of one of the scenes. I found out today that the Pirates is the most complex and technical ride at the Magic Kingdom. There is so much information that I have to learn. We got quizzed, and I was clueless on every question.
6/2- It was another day of training at the Pirates. I did much better on the questions this time. My trainer took me through the four rotations. I went on the castmember sneak preview of the new Winnie the Pooh ride in Fantasyland twice.
6/3- My last day of Pirates training. I lost my pirate bandana during opening procedures. I have to buy a new one. I recovered a camera from the water that a guest dropped in the loading station. I had to take a long pole(10 ft), and I had to grab the camera with the grabbing device at the end of the pole. When I was lifting the pole, my foot fell into the water because the pole was so long. I have to take a Pirates training check out test tomorrow.
6/4- I finished my training today. I passed my Pirates check out test. The test was 134 questions. I had to get every single question correct or else I would be relocated to another attraction. I am now officially a Pirate of the Caribbean. I found my pirate bandana that I had lost.
6/5- Gay Day. I luckily had the day off. I went canoeing and toobing with Bonnie and David. Bonnie saw a snake by her and totally freaked out. Very funny.
6/6- Happy Anniversary mom and dad. Today was my first day of work without a trainer looking over my shoulder. I posed for some pictures with some girls. I had a lot of fun working the ride by myself. I met some people from Louisiana.
6/7- Today was a very busy day at work. I posed for a pic with some kids. It was cute and funny because the kids did the exact same pose that I did. I worked the Main Street Electrical parade. It was really fun. I entertained the crowd and directed traffic. People were more amused by me then the parade.
6/8- Tonight was a very long night. It was an E-ticket night. An E-ticket night is when guests staying in Disney hotels can stay three hours later to ride certain rides for a cost of an extra $10. The Pirates is one of those rides. I signed two autographs. It was really funny because I apologized about my signature, and the dad said don't worry all Pirates have sloppy signatures because they are drunks. I thought that was funny. It felt good giving little kids my autograph. The bad part of the night came into place when I accidently pushed the Emergency Stop button. I luckily had a good crew of cast members along side me so they fixed the problem fast, and I didn't look as bad.
6/9- I flew into New Orleans because I had to go to LSU Orientation the next day.
6/10- I went to Baton Rouge to attend LSU Orientation.
6/11- Another day of LSU Orientation. I flew back to Orlando at night. My plane was delayed almost eight hours. I had to stay at the airport the whole time. The plane was suppose to leave at 8:00P.M., but the plane did not take flight until 1:30 A.M. It was a very exhausting night and early morning.
6/12- I ate lunch with Bonnie, David, Bonnie Lou, and Todd at the Yacht and Beach Club Peaches and Cream restaurant. I forgot my nametag at my apartment so I had to get a replacement. My name was Steve, and I was from Terre Haute, Indiana. Bonnie came to work today and took pictures of me in my costume.
6/13- The ride went "101"(technical difficulties) while I was working turnstiles. I had to clear the area and give technical difficulties speils. I was scheduled to work the two Main Street Electrical Parades tonight, but it was cancelled due to rain. I basically had a three hour break.
6/14- The ride went "101"(shutdown) today while I was at the load position. There was a stuck boat at the top of the downramp. I worked both Main Street Electrical parades tonight. I had a lot of fun entertaining the crowd. One little boy wanted me to be his babysitter. I met a family from Kenner "America's City." I posed for a picture on the parade route. I picked up my paycheck from last week today. My mouth dropped when I saw the amount. That is a good thing by the way. I also picked up my cast member sneak preview ticket to ride the Rockin Roller Coaster on Wednesday.
6/15- Bonnie and I went to Property Control(the place where Disney merchandise that is damaged is sent, and cast members can get the merchandise at a greatly reduced price). I found a great Haunted Mansion poster for $25 on sale for $5. It was in great condition. I also found a picture frame for my mom. I got $31 in merchandise for $8. I worked both Main Street Electrical Parades tonight. Both parades were rained out. We basically played in the rain and gave out directions for three hours. A family came up to me and said, "remember us from yesterday." I had no idea who they were. It turns out that I have an identical twin that works at the Tower of Terror. They could have sworn it was me. Boats were stuck at the chase scene of the Pirates of the Caribbean, and guess who had to free the boats. After I freed the boats I acted like an animatronic figure, and I just moved like a robot and a part of the ride. The guests thought that it was pretty funny.
6/16- I went to Disney MGM Studios with my friend Scott from the Jungle Cruise. We went on the sneak preview of the new roller coaster(Rockin' Roller Coaster). It is a great ride, but kind of short. We went on it three times. The theme of the ride is the rock band Aerosmith, and the cars that you ride in are limos. A Spanish girl got frightened of the downramp, and she jumped off the boat onto the scene right before the boat dropped. She was scared of the 15ft drop. The girl was escorted out of the park.
6/17- I had the day off.
6/18- Nothing too exciting today. I saw Austin Powers today. I worked both Main Street Electrical Parades.
6/19- I worked both Main Street Electrical Parades today. Someone hit me in the head with a stantion(the poles that we set up for parades). I met some guests from Metairie.
6/20- Happy Father's Day. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh's(new ride) grand opening was today. I bought some Pirate souveniers from the Pirates of the Caribbean shop. The ride broke down for four hours today. I stood in front of the ride and told guests that the ride was shut down because a great white shark is in the ride and animal control is still trying to catch it. They were easily amused by that one. I lost my nametag so for the next three weeks I will be Steve from Kissimmee, Florida. I worked both main Street Electrical Parades. I went out after work with some of my friends from work.
6/21- Today was a really busy day. I posed for four different pictures today. I managed to knock a very important button on the console into the water. It is lost forever, but it was quickly replaced. My microphone knocked it off. After work I went to Shake and Steak with some of my friends.
6/22- I worked both Main Street Electrical Parades. I posed for two pictures. I was talking to one of the guests in a wheelchair. It was his first time to Disney, and it was also his birthday. So I went around my whole section, and I got the whole crowd to sing Happy Birthday to him. After that was done, he said that really made his day. A woman came up to me and said it is my mom's birthday can you please sing to her. Well it turned out to be seven guest's birthday so we sang to each one. I met a family from Harahan.
6/23- I had the day off. I went to the Magic Kingdom, and then I hung out with my friends after work.
6/24- I went to the movies to see Austin Powers again. I took a picture with a kid, and I signed an autograph. I went to Pleasure Island after work with some of my good friends.
6/25- Today was a bad day. I took a picture with two kids. The second parade was cancelled due to rain. I pulled a muscle in my chest while I was lifting a stantion. I cut my thumb on the clips during the end of the parade. I lost my pirate bandana.
6/26- It was my first day working at the Pirates without my bandana. It was a very slow but busy day.
6/27- Today was my favorite day at work so far. I only got two hours of sleep last night due to the fact that I couldn't go to sleep. I had to go to work early today. I saw Barbara and Joe from Muss Bertolino Playground(Kenner America's City). I took the Cast Excellence Survey. I worked the 3:00 parade. This is when the real fun began. I signed fifteen autographs, and I posed for four pictures. I was mobbed by people. I even had a line of kids for my autograph. One of my managers saw what I was doing, and he presented me with a Guest Service Fanatic card. This is a hard card to get. Only a manager can give a castmember this card. The cards are put in a box and each week there is a drawing. If your name is picked, a whole group of people come to see you at work, and they present you with prizes. Its kind of like the Publisher's Clearing House Prize Patrol. It was truly a great day.
6/28- I saw a lot of interesting guests today. There was a group of about ten guests, and each guest had a shirt on that said, "I am with stupid." So I asked them who Stupid was. They pointed at the guy in the back of their group. He had a shirt on that said Stupid. I thought that was funny. I also saw some celebs today. Courtnex Cox and David Arquette went on the Pirates of the Caribbean. I love my job.
6/29- I worked both Main Street Electrical Parades. I posed for four pictures. Bonnie came to the parade, and she also took some pictures. I signed six autographs. I had a line of people waiting to get autographs. I signed a kid's Goofy hat.
6/30- I had the day off. I went to lunch with Bonnie at the Dixie Landings Resort.
7/1- I had the day off. I saw the new South Park movie. It was the most obscene movie that I have ever seen. It was hillarious. I went to Pleasure Island.
7/2- I worked both Main Street Electrical Parades. I signed one autograph and posed for one picture. The train broke down in front of the parade so there was a big delay in the parade. My car stalled in the Magic Kingdom parking lot.
7/3- Something went wrong with the speakers in the queues at the Pirates. The Speakers started blasting the theme song to the Main Street Electrical Parade. After that it played theme music from Frontierland. After that it blasted the fireworks theme music, and then back to Frontierland music. It was so funny. A couple of mins after I closed the turnstiles for the night, 25 people had removed the chain that I had put up and opened the doors. They were trying to get on the ride, but we were closed. They couldn't get the point of the chains and closed doors. I saw the new Adam Sandler movie Big Daddy.
7/4- Happy 4th of July. The Magic Kingdom was packed with guests today. The Pirates of the Caribbean actually had a wait. The Magic Kingdom had a nice firework display. I posed for four pictures. A couple jumped out of the boat at the top of the downramp while I was working the tower position. I yelled at them, and I told them to stay right there. They jumped into another boat, and another pirate yelled at them when they got off the ride.
7/5- I saw another celebrity today. Vanilla Ice rode the Pirates of the Caribbean. He was even wearing one of his concert shirts. The other Pirates and I sang his song all day long. I posed for two pictures.
7/6- I worked both Main Street Electrical Parades. I had a great crowd. I signed one autograph, and I posed for four pictures. Katie Holmes was at the Magic Kingdom, but I didn't get a chance to see her.
7/7- I went to Jungle Jims with my friends after work. Nothing too exciting happened at work. I closed unload.
7/8- I had the day off. I received my Haunted Mansion cd in the mail. I went to the Magic Kingdom to pick up my pay check. I went to Pleasure Island with Brandy.
7/9- I had the day off. I went to the Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom with Brandy. We ate dinner at Tony's.
7/10- I closed unload. I posed for four pictures. I went to the movies to see American Pie. I went to Waffle House with my friends.
7/11- I went to the Outlet mall with Bonnie. I bought a Hawaiian shirt. The Pirates of the Caribbean broke down five times tonight. Twice while I was working. It broke down when I was at unload, and the other time was when I was at tower. I didn't break anything if thats what you are thinking. It was an APD(Automatic Power Disconnect). We have no idea what triggered the APD.
7/12- Today was a very busy day. The ride broke down eleven times today. We actually had a line. I was suppose to work the parade, but four Pirates called in sick so I had to close unload.
7/13- I had the day off. I went and saw Tarzan with Bonnie. Tarzan is such a great movie. It is now one of my favorites. I went to Jungle Jim's with my friends from parade.
7/14- I had the day off. I went to Jungle Jim's with my friends.
7/15- Today was the 1999 Cast Summer Celebration. It was a party for cast members backstage at the Magic Kingdom. It was a lot of fun. It included free food, free license plate, and discounted merchandise. I picked up my pay check. I closed the load station at Pirates. I went to Pleasure Island with my friends, and the DJ dedicated a Vanilla Ice song to all the partiers that work at the Pirates of the Caribbean.
7/16- Bonnie left to go to Italy this morning. I closed the load station. The ride broke down once today. It was a very clear("914") day. I went to Jungle Jim's with my friends after work. I added pictures to my Pirates of the Caribbean page.
7/17- I worked a morning shift. I made up a new unload speil. I posed for three pictures and signed one autograph. I went to see the South Park movie again.
7/18- I made a deal with one of my pirate friends. He is paying for my Fear Factory concert ticket just so he could have my parade shift tonight. I closed the load station. I posed for six pictures. A guest rode Pirates all day long for a grand total of 40 times. We went to Dennys after work.
7/19- I worked both Main Street Electrical parades tonight. I had a group of 51 Spanish people wanting to ride Pirates of the Caribbean. I brought a sword with me to the parades. I fought the kids on the parade route that had swords. I fought Peter Pan when he went by on the float. I signed two autographs and posed for a dozen pictures.
7/20- The Magic Kingdom was packed with Brazilian tour groups today. I worked the morning shift. I posed for twenty pictures and signed one autograph. I went to Bonnie Lou's house, and Brandy's mom cooked me and Brandy dinner.
7/21- I closed the unload position tonight. I was stuck there for almost two hours. I went swing dancing after work at the Boardwalk hotel's Atlantic Dance Club. I learned how to swing dance.
7/22- I closed unload. It stormed today. I went to Planet Hollywood with my friends after work.
7/23- I went to lunch with Bonnie Lou. I had the greatest day of work today. I worked both Main Street Electrical parades. Brandy finally worked another parade shift with me. I bought special Pirate accessories to wear with my costume(swords, daggers, eye patch, and hook). I signed at least thirty autographs and posed for over a hundred pictures. I had a line longer than most characters. Everyone that worked the parade were hounded for autographs. I fought Peter Pan with my sword. During the second parade, I challenged kids to sword fights. We used the swords that I had bought at Property Control. It was really cute. Most of the parents took pictures of me sword fighting with their kids. They even broke my sword. It was so much fun. I did a cart wheel on the parade route. I was so exhausted after the parade.
7/24- I closed the load station. I met some people from Louisiana. We went to Perkins after work.
7/25- I closed the unload station tonight. I went to Steak N' Shake after work. Bonnie came home from her trip to Italy.
7/26- I had a bad day at work. I worked both Main Street Electrical Parades. I went to Bennigan's after work.
7/27- I worked both Main Street Electrical parades. My parents came in town to Orlando today. They watched me work parade. I went to Jungle Jim's after work.
7/28- I worked both Main Street Electrical parades. I had a great crowd in my section. My section was fired up for the parade. We did cheers and dances. A Spanish girl used a whole roll of film on me. It was so much fun. I went swing dancing after work.
7/29- I went to lunch at Wolf Gang Puck's Express with my parents. I worked both Main Street Electrical parades. Kids chased me with swords and beat me down. My aunt, uncle, and cousin came to Orlando. My family came to the Magic Kingdom to watch me at the parade. I went to Bennigan's after work. We had a coaster fight at the table.
7/30- I had the day off. I went park-hopping with my cousin and his friend. I saw Fantasmic for the first time. Fantasmic was amazing.
7/31- I had the day off. I went shopping with my family. This week is "no tax" week in Florida. This means that there is no tax on all clothes items for one week. I bought a shirt. My family and friends went to dinner at the Polynesian Resort. I went to the Magic Kingdom after dinner.
8/1- I closed the unload station today. It was a very slow day. I went Pirate of the Caribbean shopping. There was not enough people working at Pirates so I was pulled from my parade shift. It rained today which caused all of the outdoor rides to close down. This causes the Pirates of the Caribbean to be packed. A firework came down from the sky during the firework show, and it caught a tent in Mickey's Toontown on fire. They had to bring a fire truck on stage to put the fire out.
8/2- My parents returned to New Orleans. I went to Animal kingdom with Wayne and Sarah. I worked both Main Street Electrical parades. I received my second Guest Service Fanatic Award. I got it for entertaining the crowd. A little girl kept on hitting me on the head with her magic wand. She changed me into several different animals. I had a sword fight with a girl except this time I only used my hook. We went to Jungle Jim's after work.
8/3- My car stalled before I left for work. I had a morning shift. I went to the Fear Factory concert with BJ and Jennifer. The concert was intense. I had a great time. We went to Steak N' Shake after the concert.
8/4- I got my haircut at Kingdom Kutters in the tunnels at the Magic Kingdom. I worked both Main Street Electrical parades. I went to Bennigan's with my friends after work.
8/5- I closed the unload station tonight. I went to Jungle Jim's with my friends after work.
8/6- I had the day off. I bought a Gaston t-shirt. I went to Brandy's party.
8/7- I had the day off. I went out to dinner with Bonnie and David. We ate at Max's Grill at Celebration. This cafe has fries called Steven fries(cheese fries). We also saw the new Bruce Willis movie 6th Sense. It was a great movie.
8/8- I worked both Main Street Electrical parades. I brought my camera out to the parade route to take pictures, but the camera didn't work. I fought with Peter Pan as usual. I talked one of my Haunted Mansion friends into surprising Snow White with an apple on the parade route. Snow white played it off quite well. She looked totally afraid of the apple. I clipped the ropes at the parade route for the first time. I did very well at clipping.
8/9- I worked both Main Street Electrical parades. I clipped again. I went to Bennigan's with my friends after work.
8/10- I lost my voice today. I worked both Main Street Electrical parades tonight. Tonight was my last day at parade because I switched with someone for tomorrow. I will really miss working the parades. I went to Perkins with my friends after work. Tomorrow is my last day of work.
8/11- The end of the summer is here. It was definitely a great summer,one that I will never forget. I made the greatest friends, and I learned a lot from my experiences at Disney. Disney has definitely changed my life for the better. It feels weird saying that it is my last day at Pirates. I haven't even left yet, and I already miss my work and my friends. It was really hard for me to leave work. I felt sad. I went swing dancing with my friends after work.
I can't wait until the next chapter of my Disney career unfolds. I wake up from my dream, and the real world comes into focus.
THE END?