Those are all the ways I will be greeting Guests that walk by my stations at Disney's Animal Kingdom. Before I tell you a little bit about the specifics of my job, here's a bit about my first week in Orlando.
On Saturday the 25th, my carpool group arrived at Disney University around 7:20am for "Traditions". We waited for about an hour, and then finally started the class. We watched several videos about Company policies and completed a fun activity to see if we could put important events in Disney history in order. One of the coolest parts of the day was our short tour of Magic Kingdom and the Utilidor (underground tunnels). When we got back to the classroom, we finished learning the required material, and then Mickey himself came in to give us our name tags! That was pretty exciting! After we were done with class, the Animal Programs group did a bunch of computer training. Then we finally were able to get our costumes that we'd be wearing every day on the job! The costuming building was HUGE. Rows upon rows of shirts, shorts, vests, hats, and belts. It took a while to find all my proper clothing, but we were finished around 3:30.
On Sunday the 26th, we had "DAKlimations" (DAK stands for Disney's Animal Kingdom). In the morning, we toured DAK to become familiar with the park, and we learned a little bit about the story lines of each "world" we'd be working in. The best part of the day was when we went on the Kilimanjaro Safari. There were a ton of cool animals but I don't remember half of their names haha. When we were done, we spent a longgg time inside learning about safety. After a seemingly endless day, my roommates Sonia, Alyssa, Cassie, and I decided to go to Disney's Hollywood Studios that night. We went on the Tower of Terror (which wasn't nearly as scary as when I was 9 years old) and Rockin' Roller Coaster (awesomeeeee). Then I met up with my friend Chris from home, who had been in Disney with his family. It was nice to see a familiar face for sure. After Chris left, we saw Fantasmic! It was so cool because they had enormous fountains of water on which they projected clips from Disney films, and there were a bunch of characters that acted out a mini-play.
Monday was a day off for us, so a bunch of Presenters spent the afternoon at Hollywood Studios. We went on the Back lot tour ride and saw some cool props from Disney movies. The coolest part of the day was when we met Sulley from Monsters, Inc! He's one of my favorite characters so I was really excited. Then we went to the Indiana Jones stunt show and Lindsay volunteered to be an extra! I'm jealous she got to meet Indy!
Tuesday the 28th was our first day of on-the-job training so it was also our first day in costume. Here's a picture of my sweet vest I get to wear. It has so many pockets, so I made a fun diagram of all the things I hide in there. Click on the picture to make it bigger and see the labels.
Most of our day consisted of classroom training and a presentation from the Primate Keepers. We received our Presenter manual which is HUGE. Our Core Team leaders taught us some interpretation skills, along with a ton of other information. It was pretty overwhelming, especially when we found out that the Presenters, as a group, will talk to 130,000 Guests in one month. WOW. I guess I didn't realize just how much interaction we'd have with them, but it's the most out of all Animal Programs interns. It's cool to know that what I say to Guests will have a big impact on how kids view animals and conservation in the future.
On Wednesday the 29th, we toured DAK a little more, and got to see cool birds on the Pangani Trail. It was fun to see what I could identify up in the trees and in the bushes. I also found out that out of all the macaws we have on exhibit, we will only be presenting in front of the Military Macaws. I swear, when we walked by them, they squawked loudly like they knew who I was. It's like Mac from the Aviary told them I was coming haha. In the afternoon, the Invert Keepers gave a presentation about our bugs we'd be handling at the main entrance and the Tree of Life (TOL). That evening, I talked to a few of my friends from home about frisbee. It made me realize how much I miss playing at school and at home, so I tried to find a frisbee league in Orlando. I found one, but it's a little far away, and the casual pickup team only plays on Sundays while I'm at work. I'm hoping to find some other interns to throw around with every once in a while because I'm dying to play!!
Alright, I think this is enough for one post. In the next one, I'll update you on my last few days of training and my first days actually working at the Kids' Discovery Clubs (KDCs) and exhibits!
"Animals and the natural world are as important to the legacy of The Walt Disney Company as Snow White and Mickey Mouse."--Roy E. Disney
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