Amber Earns Her Ears: My Secret Walt Disney World Cast Member Diary (22 page)

THE MOST EXCITING THING this week is that they have changed the laundry machines.

That’s right. No longer are we using the little pay cards that were such a hassle — it took a five dollar bill just to get a card (which itself cost three dollars out of that five), and then you could only use cash to put more money on it. Now they have switched to card readers, so you can use your credit or debit card to wash your clothes. Which kind of sucks for those people who do as I’ve done in the past, and just load up the cards with money so you don’t have to worry about it again for a while. Luckily, I kicked that habit, and my card only has four or five dollars left to use up.

All this excitement, and yet due to the rainy weather that instills instant lethargy in me, I have yet to make it down to the laundry room to witness said momentous event.

Honestly, the longer this program goes on, the harder it is to find things to write about. Should I go into detail about my roommates waging a passive-aggressive war against one of the other girls and refusing to take out the trash until she does so first? Or that somehow my measuring cup always gets put back in the pantry with oil residue in the bottom, making my rice stick inside the next time I use it? Or that no matter how many times I say I’m finally going to clean my room, it always ends up with more clothes strewn about the floor?

The thing is, a dull routine has set in that I just don’t have the energy to break. Work, sleep, eat, clean a little here and there. Read. Then work again. And it’s not even a lot of work — I’m not entirely sure where all of my time goes these days. Thirty-three hour weeks, and nothing all that productive to show for my time. It is kind of sad; I know that while right now all I want to do is go back to school and take some bloody English classes, at some point next year (probably during math) I will be wondering why I squandered my time here. Maybe I’ll remember how completely unmotivated I feel at present, but I doubt I’ll find that an acceptable excuse.

Even now I’m racking my brains to come up with some bit of interesting information, something those of you who don’t work at Disney would find interesting. I doubt the revelation that we identify alcoholic packages with a little red dot on the green shipping forms fits the bill.

Two of my friends who did the program last year are making plans to come back. Danica, one of my roommates last year, applied to become a cultural representative, which means she’ll be working in the Canada Pavilion (last year she was a life guard). The other is planning to take whatever he can get, though his preference is entertainment. Disney has its addictive qualities, both for guests and for Cast Members.

The moral of this entry, I suppose, is that time spent working for Disney isn’t always exciting. There isn’t something always happening. I’m sure others would tell you differently; I’m sure that right now there is a group of people out there always working, drinking, socializing, and doing god knows what else, and defeating the purpose of my so-called moral. But I just put on my work shoes, which still are disgustingly cold and soggy, and I’m rather distracted.

Auditions are coming up again, and Lindsey is persistent, if nothing else. She plans on spending yet another morning at Animal Kingdom, waiting with at least a hundred other hopefuls to fill just a few spots. This time it’s character auditions, not face, but at this point, she has succumbed to the Disney addiction, like many others before her, and has found that her goal in life is to remain here.

There is something to be said about the addictiveness of working for Disney. I myself fell victim to it during my first program, which is largely the reason why I returned this year. Something about the combination of co-workers, your job, and working in the happiest place on Earth all culminate in one huge desire to stay here for the rest of your life.

It’s really becoming noticeable now, as the wave of people who came in on the Fall Advantage programs have just over three months until they’re sent home. Business attire is a common sight lately, as people are dashing off to interviews for professional internships and full-time positions. It can be a daunting task — one of the guys that I work with ended up sitting across a table from about eleven corporate Cast Members, elaborating on why they should hire him as a full-time Cast Member. Another friend has applied to as many professional internships as she is allowed.

It’s as if Disney is its own black hole here in Orlando. People get sucked in by the pixie dust and euphoria, and it makes their previous lives seem mundane. I know it sounds more than slightly cynical, but it happens — to
many
people. Your life can be entirely on track, and then when you come down here and find yourself having so much fun in a work environment, you begin to doubt if you truly know what you want from life.

Some people stay and find ultimate contentment. One of the managers I work with has been with the company for fifteen years, and just now got moved to a corporate position. Clearly, he loves what he does. My sole condition to going on the program last year was that I return to school, because although I am a nerd and love school, the pull of Disney is not to be underestimated. Two people from my last program are still here with the company, and likely will remain with it for the rest of their lives. Most of my roommates want to extend their programs; Lindsey doesn’t want to leave.

So fair warning. Some people come down here and it makes them reconsider everything. Some stay for a while, and decide that it’s really not for them. That’s why I’m glad I came down this second time; I’ve realized that this isn’t for me. Others, however, have found their love of Disney refortified, and now find it impossible to leave again.

As far as my daily life goes, little has changed. I’m getting more days in the West now, which is a nice break from the monotony of package pickup, although I haven’t decided whether I like being back. It seems as if hours will start picking up again — a good thing, since I’m not a fan of the hundred dollar paycheck.

My family returned at the end of last week, which was wonderful. I spent mornings in the parks with them, and then worked in the afternoons. Mom remarked upon the rather poor job the woman at Kingdom Kutters (the Cast Member salon in the Magic Kingdom Utilidor) did on my hair, and convinced me to stop by Target to pick up some hair coloring. On my next day off, I bought some stuff that said it was auburn — fairly close to the color of my dye back home.

With my mother’s conviction that if my aunt can dye her hair herself, I can, I put on the cape and plastic gloves, mixed the color in the bathroom, and felt like a complete fool squeezing red goop into my hair. I was a little wary of just how red the dye looked, but at that point, there was nothing I could do about it.

About fifteen minutes later, when I emerged from the shower where I’d rinsed everything out, I refused to look in the mirror until I’d blow dried my hair.

I looked like freaking Ariel from
The Little Mermaid
. Bright, anime red hair. It was brilliant. And not at all in the Disney Look. When I called my mother to tell her exactly how her advice had turned out, she didn’t take it as seriously; she even told me that one of my friend’s reactions (
Fix it. Fix it now.
) was a little extreme. And then she received the picture. “If I were there, I’d bring you about a pound of chocolate and some bleach.”

The next morning I woke up early to venture to a salon I’d noticed behind my Barnes&Noble out on Sand Lake Road. I got there at ten — I didn’t have work until three, so it should be plenty of time — and walked in, hoping they’d be able to fix the damage I’d done. Thankfully, when I pulled down my hair and showed them just how bright it truly was — think Coca Cola red, Pikachu’s cheeks red — and they learned that I worked for Disney, they found time.

Four and a half hours and lots of money later, I less resemble an animated character, and could go to work without fear of being sent home.

IT’S BEEN A FAIRLY busy couple of weeks.

Whereas of late, the days have been creeping by, now they have sped up — whether that is due to my awareness that I now have less than two months left, or I’ve found more to do, I’m not sure. Whatever the reason, I still can’t decide whether I’m glad of it or not. Part of me is absolutely thrilled that it’s almost time to return to school and start working toward something again, and part of me is still sure that there are things I’m going to leave undone.

A few months ago, I bought an annual pass to Universal Studios. Not that I actually like Universal Studios — I can’t stand SpongeBob or
The Simpsons
, I’m not really into comic book characters, and I possess an unnatural loathing for Dr. Seuss — but I felt, as a Harry Potter nerd, it was necessary. I haven’t really had a chance to go there much, but last Monday, one of my roommates, Christina, happened to get a free ticket to Universal, and wanted to use it at Wizarding World. Who am I to refuse the company of someone who will spend all day wandering the replica-streets of Hogsmeade?

We woke up early so we’d get there just after opening, and following the back-road directions I’ve got written down in some compartment in the car, we drove to Universal.

It was a beautiful day; clear blue skies, not too hot, but still warm enough that the shade wasn’t uncomfortably chilly. We made a beeline for the Forbidden Journey, and while we had to wait a good thirty minutes in the greenhouse because the ride had broken down (it tends to do that a lot), we knew that as soon as we left the line, it would start up again, this time with a wait of an hour.

After that, we meandered through the crowded stores (really? did they not think that lots of people would want to buy ridiculously expensive Harry Potter merchandise?), watched the performances, and sipped butterbeer. We ate at the Three Broomsticks, watched the Ollivander’s ceremony for the first time (a tad too corny for my taste; the dialogue was taken straight from the movie), and I restrained myself while Christina shopped away. We met up with some other Cast Members to ride a few rides, but they left to explore the rest of Universal, while Christina and I carried on with the magic.

By six that evening, we had done everything, been in the stores multiple times, and our energy was flagging. After Christina spotted two of the cast from
Vampire Diaries
and followed them to ask for a photo, she was ready to finish buying all her stuff and leave.

As if that weren’t enough excitement for one week, on Thursday Chris and I decided to visit Cocoa Beach again. After the last trip there with Lauren and Grace, I realized how much I missed it. A chance day off together, with good weather, was a perfect excuse for a mini road trip. I woke up early that morning to drive to Universal — yet again — to pick up a ball cap from Margaritaville; I had forgotten my debit card when I went with Christina, and apparently I’m not allowed to let sun touch this red hair of mine. If I was going to spend the money on a ball cap, I wanted a Parrothead one. While I was on my way to the shop, I decided that, you know, the single rider’s line for Forbidden Journey really is quite short, and Chris probably wouldn’t wake up until the afternoon. So I made my way straight to Hogsmeade, yet again, and jumped in line. Once I’d had my fix of magic for the day, I stopped and bought a pumpkin juice and some exploding bon-bons, and picked up my hat on the way to my car.

By then, Chris had woken up, so I went home and we prepared to take off. Lauren had sent him a gift card to Dunkin’ Donuts for his birthday, so our trip began with a stop at the Dunkin’ near Vista Way to pick up a dozen donuts and some coffee. The road trip did nothing but make me miss Dinosaur — this new car has no cassette player, so my iPod adapter didn’t work, it didn’t have the convenient change drawer next to the steering wheel that I use for change at toll booths…it just wasn’t my car. But once we reached the beach, it didn’t matter. I camped out on the sand, because it was far too chilly for me to get in the ocean, but I did clock some good reading time. Chris alternated between chasing the waves and building mediocre sand castles. At some point I dozed off, and woke up quite contentedly to a near-empty beach and the stars emerging in the sky.

Work has been fairly consistent. I made a voyage back to West for three days, and it was wonderful to actually work with people that I’d only been able to say hello to previously. Now, of course, I have no time over there in the foreseeable future, but I am on the lookout for shifts.

I got reprimanded at work for reading at package pickup. This I have a problem with, only because we are done with all the work by nine o’clock, and have to sit in the empty room for an hour and a half with nothing to do other than stare at the tiles on the floor. Which is perfectly fine, apparently; no one ever gets yelled at for doing nothing when everything’s finished for the night. But pull out a book to read during that time, and it’s interfering with work.

I try not to sound bitter when stating my side of the argument, but it hardly ever works. My point is, that if it’s perfectly fine to text or stare at each other when there’s nothing to do, why is reading worse? I’m sorry that a book isn’t as convenient to shove into my pocket not-so-covertly when you walk in the door, but is my reading distracting me from doing my work? No, because there’s nothing more to be done than wait for someone to ring the godforsaken bell, and then it’s easy enough to put the book down and go answer it. Granted, the manager had just come from confronting another Cast Member who was actually hidden away in a completely different room doing her schoolwork, and most probably had an attitude when he confronted her. But I resisted the urge to be a smart ass and held my tongue, and have made peace with the likelihood that I will get written up for reading before I leave.

I had a few things to look forward to soon. At the end of the week, three of the girls that I met in New York City were coming down for Universal’s Harry Potter event. Unfortunately, I did not make enough money to buy the overpriced tickets (another thing, I was making twice, or three times, as much money last year; tip: don’t choose merchandise if you wanna make money). Still, the prospect of seeing them again is absolutely wonderful.