Rafiki Ya Wanyama

Hi all! As promised, I have an update on my last few days of training. Also, if you want to know what the heck the title of this entry means, it's Swahili for "Friend of the animals." The kids who complete all 6 of our KDCs earn a "Rafiki ya wanyama" stamp in addition to an activity book. I love this phrase, especially because it reminds me of The Lion King.

So Thursday the 30th was a day off for the presenters. A computer repair man came to my apartment to fix the right click button on my laptop touchpad and replace the framing around my screen, but Dell hadn't sent the palm rest that was necessary to fix the button. (They later called to say that they don't have any in stock and may not for a while) Thanks, Dell. I appreciate your help. I'm glad you realize how hard it is to function without a right click button. 

Anyway, after he left, Sonia and I went to Magic Kingdom for the first time since we've been here. Unfortunately, the second we boarded the monorail, the clouds opened up and a torrential downpour started. While we waited for the rain to stop, we talked to a CP (college program) student from Harrisburg that goes to Penn State. I love meeting fellow Pennsylvanians! Unfortunately, within 2 minutes of getting off the monorail, we had been walking in water up to our ankles. We ran for cover inside Monsters Inc Laugh Floor, and it was so COOL! It was an impromptu comedy show with the monsters from the movie, and it was hilarious!!! After riding a bunch of rides, we saw the "Move it! Shake it! Celebrate it!" parade, and then headed out. Our GPS got us super lost while on a quest for food, so I was very happy when we finally got home.

Friday, July 1st was a relatively uneventful day. We had more classroom training, and learned about some of the mammals and birds in our collection. Then we went through a presentation about biodiversity and the different kingdoms (basically a review from every college class I've ever taken). On an unrelated note, when I got home, I found out that Jagr and Talbot had chosen to sign with the Flyers over the Penguins. Let's just say I was not a happy camper. Of all the teams, did they have to pick Philly? Oh well, at least they got the money they wanted.

On Saturday the 2nd, we took a more thorough tour of DAK in small groups. That day, a light bulb went off in my head, and I finally started to remember a good bit of info about the KDCs and animal exhibits. After a fun day at work, a bunch of my friends and I went to the pool at Cumberland. It was definitely good to cool down and just relax.

Sunday the 3rd was another day off, so Sonia and I went back to the costuming building to get a few different sizes of costumes (my shorts could have fit another person in them). Then we went to the Animal Kingdom Lodge to explore. It is a really neat resort with savannah animals right outside the rooms! We went to Chipotle for lunch (I haven't had so much rice and beans since the Galap!) and then went home so I could nap. We, along with Cassie, decided to go see the Independence Day fireworks at Magic Kingdom. The sun was just setting as we arrived to the park on the ferry, and it was soo pretty! It was an absolute mad house when we got there. I felt like we were all sardines, stationed in front of Cinderella's Castle. The show was awesome, and I'm glad we went that night instead of the actual 4th of July when it would be even more chaotic.

Our last day of classroom training was on Monday! In the morning, we completed a sort of scavenger hunt slash way-finding activity. My group didn't finish everything, but it kind of helped us get more oriented within DAK. The highlight of my day was definitely the Flights of Wonder bird show in Asia. IT WAS EPIC. They had an Abyssinian Groud Hornbill, Bald Eagle, Eurasian Eagle Owl, Red Legged Seriema, Gray Crowned Crane, Harris Hawk, Toucans, and Macaws, among others. When I go to the show as a Guest, I'm going to try and volunteer so I can sit onstage and take a video of the hornbill flying right at me. I was so jealous of the Guests that got to do that!

After lunch, we did a role-playing activity and then took our assessment to make sure we knew the information from our training manual. I'm hoping this is the last test I ever have to take, because it made me feel like I was back in college again! Next came a tour of Conservation Station. We saw a Tawny Owl presentation, looked into research windows, heard rainforest sounds, and saw Rafiki, Jiminy Cricket, and a very pale Pocahontas. We then reviewed our test (I did better that I'd expected), and left work early!

That night, Sonia, Cassie, Alyssa, and I went to Epcot for the real 4th fireworks. They were probably some of the best ones I've ever seen. Half of my pictures look like the sky is on fire because they were so bright and filled the air with a lot of smoke. Probably one of the cooler parts was when we saw fireworks from Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios in the distance. So we saw them from three different parks in one night! Pretty neat, I'd say.

One more thing that I've been thinking about...Every time I go on an attraction at Disney, I look at all the details in the artwork and architecture, and see the themes that they create to help the Guests immerse themselves in their own imagination. I've decided that one of my dreams is to be an Imagineer. I'd get to help make Walt's visions come true by designing exhibits, rides, and shows to keep the Disney magic alive. I think that would seriously be the coolest job ever.

"They say if you dream a thing more than once, it's sure to come true."--Briar Rose, Sleeping Beauty

Getting My Feet Wet In Sunny Florida

Jambo! Namaste! Viva Gaia! Howdy, campers!

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