Week 9 Reflection

  Oh Sunday… I looked at my schedule and went to work excited because I thought that maybe I would get to be fly. Oh how wrong I was. I got put as Support in the tower on the busiest day of the week. I went in feeling like I was stuck up creek without a paddle. I did not even know where my cart or supply room was! Support is not supposed to start until 9 AM but as I sat there waiting in the break room, the calls just kept building up! I was never trained as support in the tower so, I did not know where anything was or how to operate in the tower. I asked the manager where to get my supplied were supposed to be and he explained that they were completely gutting the room and moving everything out! I was so upset because, not only was this my first time working alone in the tower, but he sent me to three different places after telling me that. I finally found the closet with all of my supplies, all the way on the 14^th VIP floor, outside…. The calls were never ending and I ran around like a chicken with my head cut off. DF came and helped me get caught up on my calls on her lunch, she was fly in the tower for that day. The calls slowed around 3 PM and I went with DF to help with people’s beds. We almost ended up missing the bus but we made it home and I was excited for my days off.

     This week I finally got to do something that was related to my field of study. Monday, I woke up around 7 AM, excited as can be. I thought to myself “today’s the day!” By this, I meant, today was the day I got to go to the K9 Unit and command center for all of Disney World. Because Monday was the field portion of the Criminal Justice class, we had to meet at the bus stop, no later than 7:50 AM.  Luckily, for me, the location of the bus stop was less than 50 steps from the front of my apartment building. I got to the bus stop at 7:30 AM and waited for my instructor with two other girls, who were also there. Slowly, as time went on, more people started to show up. The bus that we took was a giant, comfortable charter bus which, I was not use to riding because the busses to work are really cruddy. Our instructor was very strict so I was very confused when she ended up arriving just 5 minutes before we were supposed to leave. We students, got on the bus and off we were off!

     Our first stop was the K9 unit. We were told that we would be back by 10 o’clock AM but we did not arrive until 8:30 AM. (It does not take a genius to realize that 2 hours –travel time, was not enough to go to the K9 unit and the command center) We tried to refrain from asking a lot of questions because we wanted to have enough time to go to both places and see everything possible. When we got to the K9 unit, we started by standing in front of a building. One of the K9 officers stood outside and explained the history of the K9 unit, here at Walt Disney World. He also told us, where they get the dogs, why they originally got them, and how the unit has improved since it started. After he explained the history, we followed him into the building. On the right hand side, there were containers with special diet dog food and on the left, the dog’s kennels. Before going to the unit, I thought that there were only German Shepherds. After going however, I learned why they also have Labradors. Being that they are Disney, they want to have dogs that are not going to bring any attention to the operation. Labs, are a more friendly face to the public and do not cause people to get scared. He told us that in other countries, and even in other places in the United States, law enforcement just let their dogs loose and do not care whether the dog attack the suspects. The dogs happen to be outside when we got there, so after we saw the kennel, we when outside. The dogs were barking a lot but the officer described it as, they were barking as a competition; one dog barks and then the others feel he need to compete. They took one of the dogs out and showed us how they go through the training courses. Next, they took us over to one of the K9 SUVs and showed us how the dogs ride safely and that the vehicle is automatically designed to be climate controlled. This means that the second the car hits 90 degrees, the air conditioning turns on, so the dog does not suffocate. We thank the officer and he answered final questions. We returned to the bus and it was time to go to the command center.

     We arrived at the command center and we were all thinking the same thing, it was already after 9:30 AM and we were wondering what the point of going here was. We entered the building and realized that there was no way we were getting back by 10 AM. We were lead into an office space and all sat down in very comfortable office chairs. The woman asked the people in the back of the room to please find somewhere else to sit and we thought she was being rude until we saw why. She touched something on the wall and all of the sudden, the entire wall lit up with life camera feeds from all over property, she showed us a couple cameras and in one of them, there was a girl at Animal Kingdom picking her wedgie! Talk about a wakeup call! We learned that across property, there are 4,000 cameras. This means, everything you do in a Disney park, someone can see what you are doing.  You know that booger you wanted to pick so you looked around to make sure no one was watching? Yes, someone can still see that. We also watched a guy pull up to the main gate at Epcot because, we imagine, he meant to go to Magic Kingdom and ended up at Epcot and did not want to pay for parking twice. He got out of his car and right when they were about to dispatch people to him, he got back in his car and drove away. The lady explained how important these cameras are very important when working in emergency management on property. She drew us a diagram, explaining how far away the set up should be from the scene and how to hide everything from the media, so only certified people will be able to put out correct information. After this, we walked outside and saw the emergency truck, tent, and supplies. After asking and answering of final questions, we thanked the lady and got back onto the bus. By the time we got back to the apartment it was already after 11 AM. I got home and started to get caught up on homework and then start to plan Gabriel and my honeymoon. The rest of Monday and Tuesday were nothing but relaxing.

     Wednesday and Thursday, came and I was well rested and ready for work. I had 4 checkouts both days and was happy. The days seemed to breeze by and I went home to relax. This week, I really started to feel like an older person. I would come home and watched Jeopardy, then Wheel of Fortune, and go to bed.

     Friday was my busy day. Not very difficult but I ended up with 7 checkouts, which was the 2^nd most out of everyone that day. Luckily, CS was fly squad and helped make 3 rooms of beds for me. All but 1 of my checkouts had two people in it and looked almost identical. In the main room they all only used one bed but there was private dining with the same plate of chocolate covered strawberries. The bathroom was almost completely clean, with the bath tub and toilet paper not even used and only 2 towels used but all of the bathroom amenities were used. It creeped my out but I finished and ended up finishing on time but the families in the rooms were absolute pigs. Half of them smelt like one giant, fecal infested diaper. There were clothes and garbage everywhere. I cleaned as best I could but some smells you just cannot get rid of. The manager of the day was a Professional College Program intern named Tyler. He told me a CS that Sunday was going to be very busy because there were going to be 349 checkouts between tower and South. We hoped for an easy day Saturday as we went home preparing for the weekend.

     Saturday was a really great day! DF had no checkouts, S had only 1 linen change and no checkouts, and CS and I had 2 checkouts. They were selling rooms so I bought 2 checkouts. I had, probably the scariest moment so far in housekeeping. A woman had been staying for a week and had not once, taken her Do Not Disturb off of her door. I had the room the last two days and she was supposed to be out of her room and checkout by 9:20 AM. It was 11 AM and I was very scared that there might be a deceased woman in the room. I called the housekeeping base and they told me that the woman had not checked out of the room but there was a credit card on the account so she could do the express checkout and just leave. DF said to call her when I was going to go in so “we could both be traumatized and transferred to another role”. I called her and we went in. My heart was racing like Usain Bolt, as I opened the door and peaked in. I looked in the bathroom and then on each side of the beds. There was no one there; I felt so relieved! The bathroom was not even touched, trash and glasses were not used, and the only thing I had to do was make one of the beds. I had bought an out of inventory room which, was already cleaned and all I had to do was punch it out. DF came and helped me finish my last 4 occupies and everyone was done by 3 PM. We all knew what Sunday was bringing so we figured this was the “calm before the storm”.

     Sunday, we were prepared for a day from you know where. We went up to go and get our boards and I was support in South! On the busiest day ever I just knew I would be running around like crazy again… but I did not. There were very little calls and in my spare time, I helped make beds and take out trash for the housekeepers. So many people called out that there were 9 open boards. This means that there were 9 boards, with no one to do a single room on them. Everyone in the South had at least 7 checkouts, except one that had only 2 checkouts. The runner, person that brings cribs, vacuums, etc.… had to go and pick up 9 people from another resort to make sure that all of the rooms were going to be cleaned. One of the poor people that came from another hotel had to get the board with 14 checkouts! I would refuse to do 14 checkouts personally. We got done on time but stuck around to help the managers make sure that the rooms were done before DF, her mom and grandma gave me a ride home. The rest of the night I relaxed and prepared for my last class on the next day. 

8th week reflection

     This week was more mentally challenging then physical. Monday, class was cancelled because this week and the next are very busy, due to Easter and spring break occurring at the same time. In class the last week, the instructor said that most Cast members will be working anywhere from 45-60 hours a week, due to extra magic hours as late as 3 AM! Sunday, the day before, was a hard day, like all Sundays, so I took advantage of not having class and slept in. Like all Mondays, I sat around and watched TV and relaxed until DM got home. I asked her if she wanted to go out to Carrabba’s Italian Grill for dinner and she said she would love too. She changed out of her space outfit and we were off. When we got into the car, I called the restaurant and got our name on the list, they said there would not be a wait. When we arrived, they told us that there were two different locations, one on AVE and one on BLVD. We happened to call the wrong one but she said there would only be a 25 minute wait. We waited and were seated pretty quickly after. On the menu, DM could not believe it! Ever since I got here, on February 2^nd, I had been looking for an Italian soda because DM had never even had one. She looked at the menu and to her surprise, an Italian soda! We originally thought that Carrabba’s was a Mexican grill and I happen to not be a very big fan of Mexican food, so we had never gone there. After telling the waiter that I had been looking for Italian Sodas everywhere, he replied “why didn’t you just think to come to the Italian grill”. We told him that we thought it was a Mexican grill till I saw it on TV that day and he said “well that makes sense”.  We got our food and it was delicious and not too pricey either.

     Tuesday, I had to deal with some financial business. For my first semester this year, I lived at the Grove apartments in Pullman. Before leaving, I sub-leased my apartment and was supposed to get a $330 refund from my last month’s rent minus the $250 fee from sub-leasing my apartment. I had been relying on this large sum of money starting mid- January. They said that the latest I would receive the money would be mid-February and still, nothing. I had spoken with the manager at the Pullman location and she worked very hard to at me my refund. I had yet to see anything 3 weeks later so I called the headquarters, on this Tuesday to complain. The woman in the accounting section of the company asked what I needed. I explained that I had been waiting since mid- January for my refund and she said that it had just hit her desk that day! I was absolutely livid, I could feel myself becoming extremely enraged and I kept calm as much as I could. I asked when I would receive the check and she said anywhere from 3-5 business days. I asked if there was any way I could pay extra for them to ship it over night because I had a large sum of money I had to pay in 2 days. She said that given the circumstance, she could ask what she could do and call me back later. I agreed but was annoyed by the whole situation. Less than 45 minutes later, I received a call back from the lady. She apologized for the entire situation and said the check was in the mail and was being sent overnight through FEDEX at no charge. I was extremely grateful and appreciative of this woman’s kind actions.

     Wednesday I felt really sick at work and we had a “town hall” at our break out which, was said to last one hour. When the “town hall” started, I could see that it was going to be a long day… for some reason, they felt the need to translate every single word into both Spanish and Creole. They would say a sentence in English, then in Creole, and finally in Spanish. The meeting could have taken only 20 minutes without the translating and we had work to do; 16 rooms were not going to clean themselves. I was so nervous about the package coming to my apartment that I started to feel like I was going to vomit.

     After the meeting, I went to go clean my rooms. Due to the long meeting, they only gave us 13 rooms. I started to clean and went into the restroom, just to vomit into the toilet. I called the manager and she said she would come and see if I was okay. I finished my first checkout and an occupied, then moved into my second checkout. By this point, I had vomited 3 times and told my manager I had to go home. 

     I got home 5 minutes before the man came with the check! I was so relieved that I already started to feel better but still laid down to rest for the rest of the day.

     The rest of the week seemed to drag on but it was just like any other week. Saturday, I dealt with a very difficult guest who, I am pretty sure was just looking for free stuff from Disney. Side note: by working for Disney, I have learned that the more you complain, the more you get. Anyways, this particular man was extremely rude to me, for something I could not even control.

     I was doing an occupied room and a family walked by and asked where room 6111 was. I told them that if they continued forward and turned left, it would be on their left hand side. They were very kind and thanked me for my assistance. A half hour later, I went down by their room to service another room that had requested later service, and they were still there. The man started to yell at me about how they had been waiting there for someone from the front desk to let them in their room because their magic bands would not work. I replied that I would be more than happy to help them get into their room but I would have to call the front desk to confirm they were at the correct room. I called the front desk and they confirmed the guests name and said I could let the family in. They also said that they would be sending someone out to the room for them to get a key to get into the rooms. I explained to the family that sometimes, if the front desk types in one wrong number, none of the bands work. The man thanked me but then started to yell at me once again saying that this ruined their whole vacation and he thought their family deserved free meals and a free room up grade. I told him that unfortunately, I could not do anything but I was more than happy to let them into their room at any time until I went home. I went into another room and serviced it. When I came out, the front desk woman was with the man, explaining what they could do for the family. He was very nice to her but after she left, he started yelling at me again! I smiled and said front desk would be the only people that could assist him any further, and he walked away. I had a couple rooms left but finished on time, somehow. I went home and slept like a baby, awaiting a busy Sunday ahead.

Seventh week reflection March 22-March 29

[This week is more about me personally, then my actual experience] What a miserable week at work. Saturday I ended up working a 10 hour shift with no food, water, or even a break. I got to work at 7:45, clocked in, and off to work I went. I got done with 6 check outs and 100 occupies by 3:45 pm. The manager asked if I wanted to “buy” any rooms and I said yes. When you “buy” a room, this means that they pay you $7 or $8 to clean an extra occupied room and $13-$14 for a checkout. I replied that I would love to, given I had only 2 days of work that week. I ended up staying 2 hours after and cleaning 25 rooms overall. I got $53 for the rooms plus overtime but I could barely walk let alone keep my eyes from weighing down. Luckily, there was a bus that arrived 5 minutes after I got to the bus stop but by the time I got home I just wanted to pass out. I ate dinner, talked to Danielle for a little bit, and went to sleep.

If I thought Saturday was bad, I really had another thing coming to me on Sunday. DF, me, and another CP Steven, were supposed to be runners instead of housekeepers. This means that we were not supposed to clean rooms at all, in fact, all we would have had to do, was bring housekeepers items for the rooms. A bunch of people called out, so Steven and I ended up getting horrendous boards. I ended up with 10 checkouts and he ended up with 9. Luckily for DF, she was support for the day, which turned out to be very difficult as well. By about 3 o’clock, all I wanted to do was curl up into a ball and cry. I was not even done with my checkouts and I had zero help in any of my rooms. There were 3 checkouts left and my amazing manager Santa came to help me. She stripped all of my beds and took out my trash. Around 4:30, I still had 5 occupied rooms left and I could barely move. I was ready to just walk down to the office, throw my hands up, and leave my ID. DF came and helped me with my last 3 rooms and kept telling me that it was going to be okay. This was new because that is normally what I end up doing with her at the end of the day. This truly made me appreciate the family aspect of working in housekeeping. People help out each other in their time of need at work. After we finished my last rooms, she helped me clean my cart and I helped her with the last couple things. By this time, it was 6:15 PM and we just wanted to go home. I went and turned in my board and Santa asked DF and me to go check some rooms. 2 were clean and 2 were dirty so DF texted Santa. We clocked out and returned our keys. Steven had also just gotten done, so we all roe the bus home together.

Monday and Tuesday, yet again, were my days off and I milked them out for everything there was. I slept and relaxed to no end after a hard week. Wednesday, both DF and I had 10 checkouts and goodness was she upset. They had given here mandatory overtime of a whole day! She was only given Saturday off and was so torn down all week. I finished all of my rooms and came to help her out. She could barely move, she was in so much pain. Every time we talked, I just wanted to try and make her laugh, in order to get rid of the negativity. It was hard but every day, somehow, I make her smile in the end. This day, in particular, has given me a little more hope about this program. The fact that I can take such negativity, and turn someone’s day around, makes me believe that I can get through this program.

Someone posted on the Disney College Program page “I have been reading a lot of the Disney college blogs and have seen a lot of either want to term their selves or they had many points or were sick. I know sometimes that people do get sick, but do people realize that if they not want to be there why even apply. Did they think Disney college program was going to be all fun and games? Many people would like to be in the Disney College program and work many hours just to get the experience and knowledge Disney can offer you. Yes you may have to work many hours but if had read from the past cast members should have known it would happen. Not all things in life are all fun and games just have to take the good with the bad.” I respectfully replied to this statement with “I thought the exact same thing after reading what people had to say about things here at Disney. I have had difficult jobs and definitely did not think that this would be all fun and games but I was hoping for at least a little bit of happiness here. I thought everyone was dramatic and overreacting. Then I got here and realized that I judged everyone for no reason. I feel like self-terming every day but I push through it. You cannot judge people, no matter how old you are and how many experiences you have had, until you are here. It is really easy to just say everyone is overreacting because that is what I did. Give us an update once you've been here for a month or two.” I made it clear that, before I got here, I though everyone was over reacting to the work situation here at Disney. Some people may be annoyed while reading my weekly reflections because they think “I have a hard job, why are you complaining about working in the ‘Happiest place on earth’”. I have learned a lot being here and on my own for the first time and the biggest thing, is that you must never judge other peoples situations because one day, you may be struggling in the same way.

My mother has been extremely supportive, telling me that I can make it through and that she knows I am strong enough. Monday, I was ready to pack up all of my things and catch the next plane home. Well, there are two reasons that I did not do this. The first reason is that, obviously, I have $0 to do so. The most important reason is my mom’s inspiring words. She said that I could do it and that she believed in me. She said that she knows that I am a strong and hard working person and that I have the strength to get me through this program. This talk really gave me the drive to make it through the week and lead me to my next positive experience, which made me realize my purpose here at Disney.

I want to quit housekeeping every day I do it but seeing how I can, not only affect the guest’s experiences, but also my fellow cast members, makes my experience worth it. I can have the worst work day of my life and no one would know, except my momma or maybe finance, because I keep it to myself. I prefer listening to other people’s hard times and thinking that my life is not so bad, rather than making myself a burden on other people. Talking to DF every day is really hard because of the negativity. I actually learned on Friday that, back home, DF was a full time student (18-21 credits a semester), who graduated with her associated degree with a 4.0 GPA, was a TA for a psychology class, which she taught solo most of the time, and also worked 40 hours a week. I thought to myself, if she is having a hard time with this job, while not doing class or anything else, maybe I am not being dramatic when I complain.

Anyways, back to the week. Friday, I only had 4 checkouts but someone checked out early so, it ended up being 5 checkouts. This was not too bad I thought but I did not end up taking a break, yet again, and I did not get done until 4:15 pm. This was crazy to me because I finished all 10 of my checkouts on Wednesday, by 2:30pm. This goes to show, you must always be prepared for the worst. On Friday, the rooms were just horrible. There were 6 rooms with at least one tray of private dining and one room took me over 15 minutes just to clean up garbage! After I was done, I clocked out, returned my key, and went home. When I got home, I saw on the DCP Facebook page that we had two celebrities in Disney World, Steven Tyler and Steve Carell. I wanted to go out and see them but my bed was calling my name.

Saturday was the same as Friday, the rooms were just horrible and I only had 6 check outs. I remember a little under 2 months ago, checkouts would have been the death of me and it is crazy to think that I would refer to it as, “only 6 checkouts”. I got done just before 4:30 but I caught the bus on time!

Sunday DF was back, from her one day off. She told me that Ricky Martin, singer of livin la vida loca, was staying in the resort on the fourteenth floor. I was scheduled to do support and figured both of us could get an ER, Early Release, and make our way up to his floor and maybe see him. When we got to work however, they wanted me to do fly and I had not been trained, nor had S. the other CP. They gave me one of the other female CP’s board and let her train S in fly squad. My board had 4 check outs and a suite on top of that… I was not pleased with this. None of my checkouts were done until 11 AM, which made it very difficult to finish on time. I actually ended up getting done early at 3:45 PM, as well as DF. We changed our clothes and went into the service elevator to the 14th floor in the tower. I did not truly think this through because when we entered the floor, the woman at the desk gave us a nasty look and we scurried back in to the service elevator. Had we have been in our costumes, she probably would not have thought twice about it. After having a day off, DF was all smiles and giggles, which made the day a lot easier. We hopped on the bus and went home. C, one of the female CP’s invited us to go to Hollywood Studios with her and her friends for her birthday celebration but both DF and I fell asleep while contemplating whether we wanted to go or not.

March 21 - March 22

What a miserable week at work. Saturday I ended up working a 10 hour shift with no food, water, or even a break. I got to work at 7:45, clocked in, and off to work I went. I got done with 6 check outs and 10 occupies by 3:45 pm. The manager asked if I wanted to “buy” any rooms and I said yes. When you “buy” a room, this means that they pay you $7 or $8 to clean an extra occupied room and $13-$14 for a checkout. I replied that I would love to, given I had only 2 days of work that week. I ended up staying 2 hours after and cleaning 25 rooms overall. I got $53 for the rooms plus overtime but I could barely walk let alone keep my eyes from weighing down. Luckily, there was a bus that arrived 5 minutes after I got to the bus stop but by the time I got home I just wanted to pass out. I ate dinner, talked to DM for a little bit, and went to sleep.

If I thought Saturday was bad, I really had another thing coming to me on Sunday. DF, me, and another CP Steven, were supposed to be runners instead of housekeepers. This means that we were not supposed to clean rooms at all, in fact, all we would have had to do, was bring housekeepers items for the rooms. A bunch of people called out, so Steven and I ended up getting horrendous boards. I ended up with 10 checkouts and he ended up with 9. Luckily for DF, she was support for the day, which turned out to be very difficult as well. By about 3 o’clock, all I wanted to do was curl up into a ball and cry. I was not even done with my checkouts and I had zero help in any of my rooms. There were 3 checkouts left and my amazing manager Santa came to help me. She stripped all of my beds and took out my trash. Around 4:30, I still had 5 occupied rooms left and I could barely move. I was ready to just walk down to the office, throw my hands up, and leave my ID. DF came and helped me with my last 3 rooms and kept telling me that it was going to be okay. This was new because that is normally what I end up doing with her at the end of the day. This truly made me appreciate the family aspect of working in housekeeping. People help out each other in their time of need at work. After we finished my last rooms, she helped me clean my cart and I helped her with the last couple things. By this time, it was 6:15 PM and we just wanted to go home. I went and turned in my board and Santa asked DF and me to go check some rooms. 2 were clean and 2 were dirty so DF texted Santa. We clocked out and returned our keys. Steven had also just gotten done, so we all roe the bus home together.

Sixth Week Reflection March 14-March 21

What an amazing week! Saturday was a pain in the tookus. I had 7 check outs and 9 occupies. The rooms were filthy and all that got me through, was telling myself that my Greek family was coming from Pullman the next day. I called in to work and told them I was taking a personal day Sunday. They did not ask what for but I was going to surprise the family at the airport, when they arrived. That night I could not sleep Saturday night and ended up only getting about 4 hours of sleep.

I woke up and was ready for the week. The Magic express (the complimentary transportation that takes guests to and from the airport) was having problems loading the flight information. They explained that I could not ride the shuttle, unless I had a flight reservation. She said that she would but me coming in on the same flight as my little (in Greek life, a little is like a little sister or brother. I am like a mentor in a way). Before going to the airport, I had to go to Disney’s Art of Animation and pay for the hotel. I hopped on the G bus and off I was; so excited to see people from home. I got to the hotel, paid, and asked if there was any way to check into the room before 3 PM, the designated check in time. Not even a second after (not even being dramatic) I asked, the lady at the front desk looked for a room and *Ping* a room was available on the fourth floor just like I asked for (I asked for the fourth floor because I didn’t want kids running above us)!

I picked up my luggage and headed up to the hotel room. We stayed in the cars family suite, in the Mater building next to the pool. As I was walking into the building I looked over at the “front desk” of the cozy cone. When you walk through the Cozy cone “front Desk” building, you enter into the pool area. Around the pool, there were absolutely adorable cones, like from the movie, which, were used as pool cabanas.

Walking into the building with our hotel room, I took the elevator to the fourth floor. Once out, I went to the left, all the way to the end of the hall to the last room on the right. I walked in and thought it was so tiny! I was very disappointed and hoped that my family would not mind how small it was, given 5 of us were staying there. Because I am a housekeeper and have heard of things that housekeepers do to save time, I looked around at the sheets and in the bathrooms. As I was laying on the bed, resting sure to the lack of sleep, I heard a knock at the door. As I walked to open it, a woman and the most adorable beagle ever walked through the door. I happen to know that this was a pest control dog but the lady was very embarrassed to have walked in. She apologized and said she was told the room was vacant for the time being. Before I could tell her it was okay, she slammed the door and disappeared.

At the front desk, they told me that I was unable to take the free magic express to the airport because I did not have an outgoing flight. Instead of going on the shuttle, I called a private car company, similar to a taxi, Uber. They arrived no more than 5 minutes later. I had never ridden Uber but had heard great thing, so I was very nervous. The lady was extremely nice and talked to me the whole way there! Luckily, I had an Uber code for $20 off of a ride so, the ride only cost me $17, instead of $37.

I was so excited and had a million and one butterflies. I walked around and got a Panda bowl (Half fried rice/half chow mein) and Starbucks (Venti, chilled, raspberry, white chocolate, mocha). After finishing eating, I went to the board with all of the flights and saw when the plane was arriving. They arrived through gate 42, so I went to the terminal heading out to the general public. I waited about a half hour and hid behind a large man, so they wouldn’t see me. Finally, I saw them and walked up. JP was the first one to see me and I hugged him and Frock, then finally, my boyfriend Gabriel.

Gabriel was very excited and would not let me go. We walked to an area, in the food court, and sat down to relax. JP and Frock went to get food and Gabriel and I sat to talk about the flight and what we wanted to do while they were here.

Finally, Sarah, my little, arrived and we found her. She had checked a bag, so we had to go wait for her to get it off of the conveyer belt. Now was the most stressful part of the airport, finding the magical express. We ran here, there, and everywhere trying to find it. Up elevators and escalators and back down until we finally made it.

                The shuttle was giant and so comfortable too! We got to the hotel and I apologized for how tiny it was, explaining that it was made for mice. Everyone told me I was being dramatic but I did not think so. It was a one bedroom, 2 bathroom, with 1 pull out, in the living room (this is where JP and Frock slept) and a murphy bed that was also the dining room table (this is where Sarah slept). Everyone was comfortable so , we rested for a little bit and went to downtown Disney. I had made reservations for the Rainforest Café, so that’s where we went. I checked in and we walked around the store for about 20 minutes, then they called us to the podium. We waited about 10 more minutes and then were seated. The waitress was very nice but busy. The food was delicious! Gabriel got crab dip and steak while I tried to stay cheap, and got soup. Surprisingly the soup was absolutely amazing.

After dinner, we went across the way to Goofy’s candy shop and had DM (my roommate) meet the fam. She had her friends visiting and Frocket was instantly in love with all of them because they were skinny, blonde, and beautiful. It was quite amusing watching this interaction, especially when I pointed out the stain on his shirt and he got embarrassed.  Apparent, during dinner when I went to go talk to DM, Frocket changed plates with Sarah, in order to make it look like he had not eaten all of his food. Anyways, we walked back to the bus, went home, and slept. Awaiting what the next day had in store for us.

I woke up around 6:45 AM and went out to “wake up the children”. Everyone got up but we ended up waiting on Sarah because she did not want to get up. We went to Animal Kingdom and we had fast passes to Mt. Everest and Kahlika Rapids. Mt. Everest was really fun but the rapids ride was not. Gabe and I ended up being backwards on the drop and got “swallowed” by the wave. Everyone explained us as so joyful, as they saw the wave coming to destroy us. Gabe was wearing jeans and I was wearing jean shorts so, we did not ever actually dry off. Right before we left Animal Kingdom, we went to watch the Finding Nemo show. It was more geared towards children and all of us slept during it. We got up and left for Epcot.

When we got to Epcot, we went of one ride, then I wanted to go get tickets for everyone. Gabe and Frocket were the only people that needed my discount. JP had a military discount and Sarah’s dad gave her his tickets because he works for Disney. We went to guest services and JP got his tickets but thy told me to go to the company D store to get Gabriel and Frocks. They explained that you go behind Mexico, in the world showcase, and across the street. We all walked to the Aztec temple, in the world showcase, and I went backstage and across the street to Company D. On my way, I asked 6 people directions and none of them bothered to tell me that they were closed on Mondays. I walked back and we continued to the different countries. We stopped in Italy, to eat dinner. Frock and I got the spaghetti with viel meatballs and it was delicious! After Italy, we walked around the rest of Epcot and stopped to watch the Illuminations show (Epcot’s firework show). After the show, we walked to the rides but they were both closed so we went home and slept.

For Tuesday, Gabriel and I got a private, 1 bedroom hotel so we could have a night alone together. Check in was a 4 PM, so we knew we would have to leave the park by 3:30 pm. That day, we were going to magic Kingdom, which is right across the street from the Bay Lake Tower (the hotel we were staying at). Everyone woke up and we got to the park before it opened. We had fast passes for Space Mountain and the Haunted mansion but Space Mountain was down so we got fast pass+ instead. This means that we had a choice between going on one of six rides, whenever we wanted. Because Sarah’s fast pass was booked separately, we went with her at 2:10 PM. When we got to the Haunted Mansion, we had 30 seconds left so we sprinted and luckily got on.

After Space Mountain, Gabe and I left for our time alone. We stopped to talk to Danielle and then took to bus to the Art of Animation, to get our clothes. We had reservations at the California Grill (a classy restraint, located at the top of the Contemporary Resort), so we brought our fancy clothes; I brought a black dress and Gabe brought his grey suit. We were exhausted from walking around all day so, when we checked in, we went to the room and napped because our reservation was not until 9:45 PM. We woke up and took showers, then got ready to go. At 9:15 PM, we went to check in to the restaurant on the second floor of the Contemporary Resort. From here, they reserve a private elevator, up the 15^th floor, where the California Grill is located. We were promptly seated and served water, which Gabriel described as being the best water he had ever had. When the waitress returned, we ordered and went out onto the balcony to watch the fireworks. From the balcony, you could see everything! I was freezing, so Gabriel gave me his jacket. We watched the fireworks and when the Genie talked the man next to us said “that’s the dead guy”. What the heck!? Were they stupid or something!? Gabe and I looked at each other with a look of surprise and disgust. We finished watching the fireworks and went in. We ordered sushi and for the price, honestly, it really was not worth it. I really think you pay more for the view then the food. Gabe suggested that while we were in nice clothes, we should go to the park and take pictures in front of the castle. We got dessert to go (I got pudding cake filled with Nutella and Gabe got banana fritters).

We hopped onto the monorail and entered the park, then walked to the front of the castle, where the sculpture of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse was. There was a nice College Program girl with a Disney camera right there so we figured we wanted pictures from her. Right when we wanted to take a picture, the electrical parade started. Gabe asked the girl how the picture would come out and she said that he probably wanted to wait until the light went back on. We wanted the parade and then the lights came on. I was getting frustrated because Gabe was being very picky about the people being in the background of the picture, he is just like that so I thought nothing of it. I turned around and there was a line so I said we had to go now! We took pictures and right as we were about to go, Gabe said one second. He reached into his pocket and I said “are you really going to do this now?” He knelt down and asked “Will you Marry Me?” I replied with “Of course I will marry you!” The camera lady was super sweet and said “Get back out there. This isn’t my first rodeo. Why didn’t you tell me!?” She took a lot of pictures, we left the park, and went to bed.

We woke up and met everyone at Hollywood Studios. We went straight to Tower of Terror and then the Rockin Roller Coaster. On the bus the day before, the bus driver told us to go to a specific food place and gobble like a Turkey, they would give you a free turkey leg. I looked it up online and sure enough, it was true. I went up to the counter, gobbled like a Turkey, and flapped my arms like a turkey. The lady was very rude and yelled at me saying “THAT IS SUPPOSE TO BE A SURPRISE! WE ARESUPPOSE TO PICK YOU, OTHERWISE EVERYONE WOULD BE UP HERE DOING THAT”. I was so embarrassed I didn’t even want to eat but I got pulled pork with macaroni. We didn’t have anything else to do, so we went on the Great movie ride and left to Epcot to ride Test Track and Soarin.

We got to Epcot and the line for Soarin was ridiculous, so we waited in line for Test Track for an hour instead. It was really fun but not worth the wait. We ate dinner in Japan, we got sushi and teriyaki beef and chicken. After Epcot we walked over to the Board walk. The Board walk is probably my favorite part of Disney. We walked around, went to an art gallery, watched a magic show, and watched part of Hercules on a blow up screen in the grass. We went over to the Yacht and beach club, on the other side of the pond, and sat on a swinging bench on the beach. Gabe and I sat on it, while Frocket sang “can You Feel The Love Tonight” and pushed us. When we left the beach, we tried to enter Epcot to catch a bus home but they were closed so we caught a bus to Magic Kingdom then went back to the hotel and slept.

Our last day was the best way to end a trip with the best friend. Sarah slept in because she had to leave at 2 PM and we went back to say goodbye. Gabe, Frock, JP, and I woke up and went to the park. We didn’t know that there were magic hours so, when we raced through the park, we found a long line at the mine train. We went on a bunch of rides then went to watch my favorite night time show, Celebrate the Magic. As we waited, it started to monsoon. We were soaked as we watched the show but it was worth it. We went on Splash Mountain twice in a row and did the same picture. When we went out, the guy yelled at us for an “inappropriate picture”. Gabe and I were kissing, and JP and Frock were pretending to fight. They deleted the picture and I really frustrated me because it was a great picture. Finally, we went on the mine train and went back to the hotel.

Saying goodbye to my fiancé was so difficult! Knowing it would be over 2 months till we got to hug each other again sucked. We had to rush back and pack then we literally ran to get me on my bus back to my apartment but you know what they say, “quick goodbyes are the best!”

Fifth week reflection March 2-March 9

           I am not really sure how to start this, this week. It has definitely been eventful, tiring, and exciting, all in one. Monday started the beginning of something that could change my experience in the Disney College Program. If you remember, at the end of my last reflection, I wrote a statement about my room roommate to security. This was because she was very aggressive and was saying untrue things about my roommates and me both by mouth and social media. So anyways, Monday came and I was supposed to go to my Security class. The night before, when I made my statement, I got a paper stating I would have to go to the housing office and speak with someone about the situation. I slept on the floor in my roommate’s room because I did not feel safe in my own. I was woken up by a phone call to the apartment land line, asking me to come down for my meeting. It was 9 AM and I got dressed and went down to the office. They met me and we walked over to the apartment across the way. They sat me down and asked me about my roommate situation. I explained to them that I felt horribly unsafe, due to the various posts on Facebook and the aggressive attitudes towards me in the apartment. They told me there was nothing they could do, given social media is normally off limits as far as using statements from people because  people can pretend to be anyone they want on the internet.

            I left the meeting feeling very unsatisfied with my answers but my roommate had a meeting with the same people shortly after I did. I had papers that I needed to scan into my Security class through Disney, stating that I could not attend my class, due to a meeting with housing. In the club house, I sat down and sent my papers then went and rented The Lion King ½ and relaxed in the club house watching it. I also took this time to call my banks and get my Debit cards sent to me ASAP, due to the loss of my bag because I had to cancel all of my cards, just to be safe. Each of them costed me $25 for a rushing fee.

            After the movie was over, I went back to my apartment. Here I found my roommate, who I had reported, and her two guy friends, moving her stuff out. Her friends and she, did not look very happy, so I awkwardly sat in the living room talking to Gabriel (my boyfriend) on the phone. When I hung up the phone, I left the apartment so I would not have to sit there. I made one lap around the apartment then called Gabriel back. He insisted I go back to the apartment, to insure she was not going to take anything that did not belong to her. When I got back, she was gone.

            One of my other roommates got back, TV, and she noticed the roommate had moved. She asked what happened and I replied that I had gone and talked with housing about how I felt unsafe. She texted the moved out roommate and asked her what happened. The roommate replied that myself and DM, had gone and turned her in for a posting she had made. She also said that she was being investigated and would be staying in another apartment, until further notice.

            Tuesday I did not have to work, so I stayed home and thoroughly cleaned the apartment. When DM came home from work, she told me that, on the Disney College Program Facebook page, our roommate posted that she had been terminated. She also used a few choice words to describe me for turning her in but she was gone, so it did not really matter. All three of us roommates went out for dinner and had a great time. I felt so free! I did not have to worry about my safety in my own apartment anymore.

            Wednesday came and I went to work, got my board, ad all of that good jazz. After work, I went to Magic Kingdom with TV and DM. We had a great time and rode Splash Mountain, Thunder Mountain, the teacups, and the Little Mermaid ride before the park closed. In one of our Splash Mountain pictures, we even decided to look dead, which was weird but fun! After the park, we went to Walmart to get some food for the apartment. TV’s boyfriend was supposed to come visit her Thursday but unfortunately, there was a snow storm in Kentucky and his flight was cancelled. She was in a very upset mood and was hoping that he could come on Friday because the snow was supposed to clear up.

            Thursday was nothing special. Worked all day and came home to sleep. Housekeeping has been really hard, especially with up to 8 checkouts, aka ½ a whole board. I go to work, don’t eat anything, come home, eat, and finally pass out. Unfortunately, the bus from work doesn’t get me home until 6pm so, it has been difficult to get anything done, especially my school work. This week in particular has made me fall behind exponentially on my school work and I am glad that I dropped m criminal justice course because I definitely would not have done well.

            Friday was easy, not too many checkouts but we got really sad news at our morning meeting at work. David, from Bay Lake Tower aka BLT or the other part of the Contemporary, announced that he would be leaving to the front desk. Given I had not gotten to ever work with him but the following news was heart breaking; Ron, my favorite manager ever, would be taking his place at BLT. When everyone heard this news, I thought a riot was going to break out. Everyone was so unhappy, they were yelling and saying rude things to him. I guess this really hit me hard because if it was not for him, I would have gone home after my first day. Having Ron there really made a difference. People respect him and felt comfortable opening up to him about problems they are having. With other managers, they just do not care if you come to them with a problem. Normally, they say “it comes with the job”.  Having Ron as a manager really helps me to realize what kind of person I want to be, when I go out into the work force. To be understanding, caring, kind, and to work with people instead of telling them to just “buck up” or “just deal with it”. Never in my life, have I encounter someone so loved and respected as a manager and one day, if I am put into a managerial position, I hope to be just like him.

            Saturday I was so ready for my days off that I was just completely out of it. I even went as far as cleaning someone else’s room because I was on the wrong floor. One of my first rooms had feces on the bed and vomit in the sink. Another one had bodily fluids and one room even had a child urinate on the bathroom floor. I was about to walk out of that hotel and never look back. I was so close but I took a deep breath and kept working. When I went to go turn in my board, Ron had come back from a week of not being there so I asked if I could interview him for my internship class. I told him that I almost walked out and he said he was glad I did not and that he was proud of me for working through the problem. I interviewed Ron, turned in my board, clocked out, put my key away, and went to catch the bus home. Of course, the cherry on top of a wonderful day, I saw the bus and started running but it drove away. Well, fun fact, the buses only come once an hour so I waited on the curb until the next one. By the time I got home it was almost 7:30 and I hadn't eaten all day. I was parched and hungry but the exhaustion set in and I passed out in my bed around 8.

            I woke up Sunday, well rested and ready to begin my Friday. When I got to work and looked at my board I had 7 checkouts and 4 linen changed, essentially occupied checkouts. I got my cart and quickly went to my rooms knocking on every floor. DF came up and told me no one was awake and she wanted to help me because she could not even touch her rooms. All my rooms still had people except one. It was an occupied and we went quickly then we did not know what to do. We went to go help our fellow CP, College Programie, out with his rooms. We walked into one room and it needed to be supplied before he began, so we went and helped him with another checkout. I went to my rooms and started all my checkout, then finished my occupies. I was the second person done out of the whole building, so I went to go help DF. We did not finish until 5:30 and DM picked me up because we were supposed to go shopping but we were way too tired from work. I hung out in the apartment and relaxed thinking, two days of!        

Fourth Week Reflection February 23-March 2

WOW, what a week this has been. On Monday I had my security class and it was very informative but I did almost fall asleep a couple times. The presenter came in and told us about his position with the Disney Company. In his position, he deals with protecting VIP guests, along with the use of nature, in order to help in the security of Disney World. He talked about what Disney security can do, legally, in order to help in the security of celebrities or any “high security” guests. After this class, I went out to catch the bus back my apartment. This is where I stayed until Wednesday morning.

 Tuesday, all I did was relax in my apartment and rest up for the days to come. I knew that the rest of the week was going to be difficult because starting Friday, I would be having to start a full board of 16 rooms.

Wednesday, I went back to work and Mr. Ron was not there. I was supposed to have a board, of rooms, of 14 rooms but I only ended up having 11. This made it a bit more difficult, for me, going from one day of 11 to 14 rooms on Thursday and 16 rooms on Friday.

            Wednesday was an easy day for me and I only had 4 checkouts and 7 occupied rooms. One of my checkouts was awesome. Despite all of the garbage and linens, they left me a $20 tip and lots of goodies. Among these “goodies” were 5 large decorated boxes. There was one for Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Donald, and Goofy. I knew that I could not get all of my stuff home on the bus, so I called my roommate DM, who had the day off, and asked her if she could come pick me up. By the time I was done, it was only 3:30 pm, so I went down to help DF with her rooms. We got done around 4:25 pm and went to the office, to make sure that all of our rooms had been punched for the day. Unfortunately, I forgot to punch one of my rooms so, I ran back to the room and it turned out that I had completely forgotten to service the room. I sprinted back up to the office, and asked DF if she could help me and she said yes. We hurried to get the room done. Carrying all of my “goodies” from that day was a lot of work and I was just grateful that these two girls helped me out and we ended up giving DF a ride home. After we dropped DF off, DM asked me if I wanted to go to the movies, in Downtown Disney, and watch “The Duff”. I had been wanting to see the movie so, we went back to the apartment to change and headed out to the movie. We parked and went to the AMC Theater, where we watched the movie. After the movie, we went out to walk around Downtown Disney because I had not been there yet. It was absolutely beautiful! Lights everywhere, music, fresh food, etc... We did not go shopping or anything but just hung out and enjoyed the views and happiness of all the guests.

            Thursday was a great day until the end. I had 14 rooms and started getting myself prepared for my 16 rooms the next day.

Finally, Friday came and I had my full board. DFwas not there, so I know that I had to get done on time; otherwise, no one else would have helped me. Luckily, I got all of my rooms done on time. After work, DM picked me up after she got off of work and we went back to the apartment to change. We knew that we did not just want to sit in, so we decided to go Magic Kingdom! We got into the car and went back to the Contemporary, where I work, in order to park. This is because when not on the job, cast members have to take the monorail to go to the parks. Also, after parking in the guest parking lot last time, we had to take a car to the parking lot, then, from the parking lot you have to take the tram to the tickets center. Finally, you have to take either a boat or monorail to the park.

We decided just parking and getting on the monorail, at the Contemporary, would be easier. While at the park, DF contacted me, saying she was there too. We ended up meeting up and going on a couple rides including, the teacups, Pirates of the Caribbean, Splash Mountain, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. We split up and DM and I decided to go home on the monorail. While on the monorail, the firework show was happening and it was very beautiful. We got back to the Contemporary right when the water light parade started, so went down to the pier to watch. On the way, Peter Pan walked up behind DM and started walking, as if he was her shadow. He too was going down to the pier. I set my bag down on one of the benches while I was watching Peter Pan great the boats that were sailing in. I walked away to go take a picture on one of the water crafts and walked to the car, just to realize, I forgot my bag. We got into the car and not 5 minutes after I had put it down, I sprinted back to the pier and my bag was gone. I went to the front desk and filled out a report. I called my mother and she was worried beyond belief. I had just bought hers and my Fathers tickets, worth over $700! I called and cancelled one debit card while my mother cancelled the other. Because my work ID and housing ID were in the bag, amongst other important IDs and my phone, I had to call out from work.

Saturday was what DM and I like to call our good bad day. Because I called out from work, I was sleeping on the couch in the living room, because my roommate made me feel unsafe, when all of the sudden I hear someone crying. I woke up to find DM in tears. I asked her what happened and she explained to me that while doing laundry, she fell down the stairs. It was raining very hard and DM had on flip flops, which caused the initial fall. She called the front desk and they sent over security. DM filed an injury report and we went back to the apartment to relax. I called the Contemporary to see if there was any news on my bag and they transferred me back to their lost and found. The lost and found reported nothing and transferred me to the overall park lost and found. I asked them about my bag and they reported that they had my bag. We went to the lost and found, which was next to the ticket and transportation, and got my bag. Everything was in it and I could not have been more relieved. After going to get my bag, we decided to go to Walmart and get dinner. Since my debit cards were deactivated, DM bought dinner and I cooked it. We made breakfast for dinner which included eggs, pancakes, sausage, and breakfast potatoes. After dinner, we hung out and then went to sleep, awaiting Sunday, the big checkout day.

I woke up Sunday and went to work. I had 16 rooms again which, consisted of 5 checkouts and 11 occupied rooms. I got done around 3 o’clock, and decided I had earned a lunch break. At 3:30, I went up to the office to turn my board in, just to find that 2 of my rooms were not punched because the phones did not work. I went back to the rooms and punch out and then headed down to help DF with her last 2 rooms. After we finished, DF needed to talk to our manager, Ron. She explained that she did not think that she could do the job because her rooms, and I completely agree, are always really dirty compared to other peoples’ rooms. She also talked about how she had been holding off about talking about her knee she injured while working. Ron told her that she was doing great work and that she was going to be okay with working in housekeeping. He also told her that she needed to go to the doctor about her knee and report back to him. He is an amazing manager and I love that he actually cares about the housekeepers and their concerns.

After work, again, DM picked me up and we expressed out anger about one of our roommates and how she wanted to go talk to her about some of the issues that she was having with her. After speaking with her, DM was very upset and I decided that it was my turn to do something. I had not felt safe in my room and felt personally attacked due to statements on social media. This led me to file a report with the security office, simply stating how I felt. After filing the report, I was very upset and just needed to go and relax. DM and I went to Disney’s Boardwalk and it was so relieving. We walked around the lake, with the wonderful smell of food, music, and a calm pond. We went over to in front of the Yacht and Beach club, where I sat on wooden swing and just swung. This gave me time to think about what I want out of this experience. I have missed everyone back home so much, and all I want to do is hug them but I told myself that, this program will be whatever I make out of it. I got up and we took a boat back to the entrance, where we got a pizza. After we ate we went back home and I slept on the floor in DM and TV's room, until the next day; awaiting what would come out of my report… 

Third Week Reflection February 16-23

This week has been the hardest week yet. The amount of times that I have had to tell myself that this internship is only 4 months, has been exponential. I never thought that housekeeping would be so difficult. Every day, I get up at 6:00 AM just to get to work by 8:00 AM. The bus gets to my apartment at 6:45 AM and gets me to work at 7:10 AM. I wish there was a bus that left later but I would get to work at 7:50 AM and I do not want to take the chance of being late, due to traffic.

            Monday and Tuesday were my days off this week. My first time working forty hours a week in about two years has been exhausting. Monday, I slept most of the day and stayed in my apartment, trying to recuperate. Tuesday, I went to the Magic Kingdom with my roommate DM and had a great time. I had no clue what Wednesday had in store for me.

            I woke up on Wednesday and thought it would be like the other days that I had in my training. What I did not think about though, was that Wednesday, was the day I had to start cleaning rooms by myself. I got to work and clocked in. I had made friends with a girl names DF, who had gone through all of my classes, trainings, and orientations with me. Her first day cleaning rooms alone was Monday, so I asked her how her last two days had gone, cleaning alone. She told me it was the hardest thing she had ever done and that she did not know if she could do it anymore. (Luckily, through Disney, housekeepers go through something called ramp ups. They know that their college program students have never been professional house keepers, so they start you off at eight rooms for two days, ten rooms for two days, twelve rooms for two days, fourteen rooms for two days, and finally, sixteen rooms. Every house keeper is responsible for 16 rooms per day, on their own. There are also two different types of rooms, normally; checkouts and occupies. In a checkout, everything needs to be stripped and removed from the room and replaced whereas occupies, only need restocking, trash taken out, and the bed made.)

DF l and I sat in the room with all of the housekeepers after clocking in and listened to the managers talk. They waste time in the morning speaking to us because normally, when people go on vacation, they are not awake at 8:00 AM. After they stopped talking, we walked up to the table at the front of the room to pick up our board (our list of rooms for the day). On top of the boards, they put a door stopper, so you do not have to worry about opening the door when you go into the rooms. I was informed that if you lost it, you got a reprimand. This made me ask what a reprimand was and how to get it. I was not told by a manager about this, only my trainer, Maria. She explained that there is a point system in Disney. If you call out for a personal day and do not get it approved, you get one point. Three points make up a reprimand and if you get three reprimands in ninety days, you are terminated. My mind was completely blown, when Maria told me that losing the door stop was equal to a whole reprimand. Anyways, back to work.

 I had six checkouts and two occupies. I ran all over the place and moved faster than I ever thought I could. Every time you enter a room, you go to the phone and punch in 665. This tells the front desk that there is a housekeeper in the room. It is also linked with the computer system with housekeeping. Unlike other jobs, where you punch in and out once a day, you have to punch in and out of every room you go into. After you are done with a room, if it is an occupied, you punch 664 and if it is a checkout, you punch 663. If you do not punch out, the guest’s keys do not work on the room and you get into very big trouble.

 Needless to say, by the end of the day, all I wanted to do was go to the boss and quite. I thought to myself, “This is way too hard. I cannot do this” and “I will never be able to do sixteen rooms a day”.

I ended up getting done at 4:00 PM, which is a half hour early. My feet ached because I had not stopped moving from 8:00 AM- 4:00 PM, not even for a break. An unspoken rule of housekeeping is that, if your work is not done, you do not take a break. None of the housekeepers at the Contemporary, ever take a break or even eat anything! I had never experienced something like that in my entire life.

After you are done cleaning rooms, you take the housekeeping cart back to the linen room and clean it off. This means removing all of the dirty linens, garbage, coffee cups, and drinking glasses. Then, you take the shelves with bathroom amenities and other supplies and replace them with fully stocked shelves. After cleaning the cart, you gather up your belongings and go up to the office. I work in the South Wing, in the Contemporary Resort, also known as the training wing. This building is three floors high and the manager’s office is on the third floor. I handed the manager my board and he made sure that all of my rooms were punched in and out for the day. He said I was good to go and I left.

I clocked out on the time clock in the lunch room and sat down for a well-deserved meal. After I ate I went to the housekeeping office to speak with the people in charge of the college program and housekeeping. I walked in and asked to speak with someone about potentially switching roles. They asked me why and I told them that I could provide medical documentation that I have severe anxiety and could not do housekeeping. They told me that it is highly uncommon for college program students to transfer to another position.  They also told me that if I put on medical documentation it could go one of two ways; I could get transferred or I would be self-terminating myself by telling them I would be insufficient in my current position. They told me to wait until the next day, when Ron, the head manager, came back. I decided to stick it out and I went home to sleep.

The next day, I met the most amazing manager I have ever met in my entire life, Ron. The day started out just like the rest. I woke up and went to work with nothing but a feel of confidence and positivity. Little did I know, my positivity would pay off. When I sat down in the room before I started, Ron asked all of the people in the south wing to stay behind for a meeting. He explained all of the problems that he had gotten calls about while he was on vacation. The women and men started yelling about how he does not care about them and reading him the redact. He kept a positive attitude the whole time and invited them to speak with him privately in him office after the meeting. When the meeting was over, he approached me and asked me to come to his office to speak about the previous day.

He took me to his office and sat me down asking about the previous day. I asked him questions regarding a possible transfer and he told me it did not happen often. He then asked me what he could do to help. I replied that I did not feel that I was competent enough at housekeeping. He then explained that no one can just walk in and become a house keeper over night that it takes time. He asked me what problems I had and I explained myself. He told me he was going to do whatever he could to help me. This gave me a whole new drive to do a great job. Having someone tell me that I could do it was a great feeling. That day I had another eight rooms; four checkouts and four occupies. I got done by 2:30 PM and had an amazing day, I even got a break before going to help other people with their work.

Friday and Saturday were very easy as well and I started to get a feel for what I was doing but then, Sunday came. There was a Princess half marathon so, even though I got to the bus at 6:30 AM, the bus did not get there until 7:15 AM, normally 6:45 AM, and we clocked in late to work. When we got to the room, I had six checkouts and six occupies. I had the same board the day before and I got done really early so I was excited. Then, all of my rooms were not ready until 11:00 AM so the rest of my day was completely rushed. I did not end up getting my checkouts done until 4:00 PM and I still had one occupied room left. One of my last checkouts had some of the people that did the Princess half marathon so, they had food, garbage, glitter, and crafting supplies all over! I thought I was going to break down. I also got my first complaint for not dusting however, even when you dust, within a couple minutes it just comes back. Finally, I finished my rooms, cleaned my cart and went to put my board in. Ron said not to worry about the complaint and that it was not a big deal. I felt so much better! DF and I went to go get on the bus but we missed it. We went into the Additional building to the contemporary and got to see their break room. We were amazed at how bug and beautiful it was. After a while, we got on the bus, around 6:00 PM, went home, and slept for the rest of the night. 

Second Week Reflection February 9-16

This week I started my housekeeping training. On Monday and Tuesday, I went to Disney University. On these two days, I learned numerous tools and skills that are required to work in housekeeping. We were told that it is the hardest position in all of Disney World, which is very nerve racking. On Monday, we went over operations in a four hour class. This class went over proper working techniques that make it easier for you to perform your task and not get injured. This included working in your green zone, versus you red zone. This means that, instead of reaching in an area that will put a strain on your body, you instead, use muscles to take the weight of areas such as your back. On Tuesday, I went to a class named “Welcome to Lodging”. This class was only two hours long and talked about the different roles in lodging and why they are so important to the success of the Disney Company. This included going over all of the resorts and what their ranking is on a scale of 1-5 diamonds, mine being 4. The instructor explained that in order to have a 5 diamond resort, you must be exclusive, which is not the Disney way.

            After “Welcome to Lodging”, each of us, students, went into our separate classroom, based on our role. The class of housekeepers was 8-10 people and included people in the Disney College Program, along with people that were training for full time. This class taught us exactly how to do our role. At the end of the class, the instructor came us to me and another girl, who was going to start at my resort, and handed us a piece of paper. It was a schedule saying that we started training the next day! We were so over whelmed we did not know what to do. Our instructor, Miss Benny, told us to go straight to costuming the next morning, so we could have clothes for training.

            Wednesday came and myself and DF, the other trainee, were not prepared at all for what was about to happen. We both got there an hour early, in order to go get our costumes. What no one told us, was that the costuming center was not open on Wednesdays. This meant that we had to run around, like chickens with our heads cut off, trying to find a manager to help us. A manager let us into the costuming room and we tried to ask him for help but he said he had no clue what we needed, then he left. We had a picture of the costume on our schedule, so we matched it up, (keep in mind, this is a room with at least 50 different costumes, each has at least 2 parts) and tried to check them out. Well, because it was our first time using out card to check out costumes, the machine would not let us! A woman came in as we were trying to check out and got very snarky with us saying “I’m not supposed to even be talking to you” as she grabbed the garments from our hands and helped us check them out.

            Unfortunately, this was just the beginning to a horrible day. On our sheets, it told us to go o the Tempo Bay Training room, in order to begin our training at 8 o’clock AM. Up until this day, we had been in classes with ten people at the most, and expected Wednesday to be no different. We got to the classroom 20 minutes early, so we would not be late. As soon as the clock hit 7:45 AM, all hell broke loose. It was one of the scariest moments of my entire life. I felt like Simba, during the wildebeest stampede in the Lion King. People were yelling and shoving, just so they could get to the time clock and clock in 15 minutes early.

            After the people clocked in, they shoved us into the Tempo Bay Training room, where we were told to be. We sat at the front of the room, in chairs, waiting to see what was going on. At the front of the room, 3 very important looking people stood, observing what was happening and taking notes. While this was happening, I had no clue what was going on. All of the people were either speaking Haitian or Spanish and I could not understand a single work they were saying. Both DF and I were in complete vulture shock. Not only did we not understand people but we had no clue what was happening. One of the meant at the front of the room began to talk and everyone stopped talking. H explained that the people there with him, were very important and that everyone dressed in the “Disney Look” and had been doing a great job. After he spoke, everyone walked to the front of the room, where there were tables with pieces of paper on them.
These papers were assigned by name, to everyone in the room, excluding trainees. I was sitting in my seat, not knowing what to do, when a woman gestured for me to come over to her. Her name tag said Gisselle She explained that she would be my trainer.

            We walked out of the building and into the break room, where she had me read information about the position of housekeeping, while she went and put her stuff away in her locker. We went to the South wing of the Contemporary Resort and she showed me how to load a housekeeping cart. This included how to restock, fill chemicals, and make sure the cart is clean and organized. We went into our first room and Gisselle taught me how to clean a bathroom. She mentioned not feeling well but I did not think anything of it. We finished our first room and went to a suite. Gisselle told me she was going to the doctor and that I should clean the bathroom until she got back. As I was cleaning the bathroom, Gisselle rushed through the door and told me she was going to the emergency room! She also said I would have to get a new trainer.

            So much was happening at once and I began to panic. Luckily, my new trainer, Maria, was extremely kind and helpful. Originally, I was only supposed to do 8 rooms because I was training however, because I changed trainers, I ended up doing 18 rooms.

            By the end of the day I went home, called my mom, and told her I wanted to come home. For the first time in my entire life, I was homesick. Everything all together was so overwhelming I was completely beside myself. I was 100% ready to pack my bags and go home.

            Thursday came and it was my second day of training. I signed in and there were a lot less people at the time clock then the day before which, already put me in a better mood the day before. I had the same trainer as Wednesday and we began immediately. We ended up doing a full board, list of rooms for the day, which was 16 rooms. I felt so much better than the day before it was awesome! I was getting better at cleaning and the work was coming more easily to me.

            Friday I had my third orientation day. The class was from 9:30 AM-3:30 PM and made me never want to leave the Contemporary Resort. The hotel was beautiful and the history, along with the restaurants. I felt like housekeeping could not keep me from staying in that resort for my whole stay at Disney. My day ended early, at 2:15 PM and DF and I went to the Wave, a restaurant in the Contemporary. We feared that housekeeping would get harder and we would have to leave such an amazing resort.

            Saturday I got a day off that was wonderful. All I did was take a break, sit down, and watch TV. I kept telling myself that I am strong and no matter what, I could make it through housekeeping or do the best I possibly could. It took every piece of my being, no to quite my first day and every day since has been better.

            Today, Sunday, I went back in for my third and final day of training. I was supposed to split the board with my trainer, so I could get experience doing it on my own, but we had 12 check outs, which means clean everything and it takes longer, so we did the whole board together. I had a great time and the day was great. I am really nervous about doing rooms on my own though, starting Wednesday.

First Week Reflection February 2-9

This is it! This was the week I had finally waited for, my check-in. On Monday, February 2, 2015 I checked into the Walt Disney World College Program. This all started a couple days before though. Let’s back up to Friday January 30, 2015. This was my last day in Pullman with all of my friends and also, happened to be my birthday. Friday was so difficult but I wanted to make it a day to remember. I woke up late because I wanted to sleep in and thought to myself that I should probably get up and talk to people. I hung out all day with my friends and then went out to a birthday dinner. After dinner, we went out and had some fun then went to be. Then Saturday came and it was an emotional one. As my boyfriend and two best friends dropped me off at the airport there was not a dry eye. It was very emotional and hard to say good-bye, knowing I was leaving until May. They left and I walked over through security and onto my plane. The ride over to Seattle was filled with thoughts about what the Disney program would be like. It would be the very first time, since kindergarten, that I would be doing something on my own, where I did not know anyone.

                The plane landed in Seattle and I called my mother to tell her. My mother and two sisters came to pick me up and we headed to an overnight at the mall with their Girl Scout troop. On the way there I received a call saying I would get to live in my sorority house next year and I was ecstatic. We went to the mall and it was fun but kept my anxiety away at the same time.

                The next morning I woke up and realized it, today is the day. The day I go away, all on my own for the first time in thirteen years. We left the mall and went back home. My mother and sister had set up a going away party for me at the old Spaghetti Factory in Lynnwood, Washington so people could say congratulations and good-bye. My nerves were so bad I did not eat anything but bread because I could feel my stomach was already upset from anxiety.

                After we ate, it was time; time for us to head to the airport. Time for me to go away, alone. We got to the airport and printed off, my tickets, put my bags on the luggage conveyor belt, and said our good-byes. My mother, father, and younger sister came with to say good-bye and it was very difficult. They left and I went through security, then off to the gate to wait for my plane. The flight ended up being delayed over an hour, which made me worry about making my connection flight in Los Angeles to Orlando. I got on the plane and fell asleep, awaiting our arrival in Los Angeles. Once we landed, the attendant announced to let the passengers with connecting flights off first because they feared us missing our flight. It was like in the movies! Everyone was getting out of our way and wishing us good luck on catching our flight. Running through the airport, I got lost a couple times but ended up getting to the gate and finding a line to stand in. Once on this flight, I slept as much as I could.

                I arrived in Orlando, Florida and got off the plane at six in the morning. I hurried to go grab my bags and get on the shuttle. I had previously spoken to one of my roommates about bunking with her until we checked in at ten forty-five that morning. I got dropped off at my roommate, Tierny’s, hotel. I napped on the couch until it was time to go.

                We got to check in and the line was giant! We stood in line and the lady asked our last names. Luckily, my last name begins with an A, so I got to skip half of the line to the A-L line. Once inside the building, we got our locations. I looked and saw that I would be working at the Contemporary Resort as a Housekeeper. I had never heard anything about this resort so I was very nervous. Next, they checked us in with our I-9 forms and forms of identifications. I used my passport card so I did not have to bring any other form of Identification. Once we were checked in legally, we went to go get our ID cards. Like always, mine looked horrible. Next we went and got our training schedules and spoke with people about proper dress attire. Second to last, we filled out our I-9 work forms, so we could legally work. Last, we got information about classes through both Disney and our individual Universities.

                After check in, my roommates and I went to check out our apartment. I was not as bad as we were expecting but it needed to be cleaned. After looking at the apartment, all four of us went down to the cars and brought our luggage up. It was hard being the only person in my apartment without my parents there but I had been alone before so it was not the end of the world. As the other girl’s parents left, they were extremely emotional which, is why I was happy, in a way, that my parents had not come down with me. The next day, I had to go to “casting” at eight in the morning so I went to bed early.

 I woke up and hoped on a bus to casting services. I got really lucky with where my apartment was located because the bus was only fifty steps from the building. Once we got to casting, we entered an amazing building with sculptures and artwork of Disney all over the walls. We got our instructions to wait in line until they told us otherwise. They called us back, one by one, into rooms, I got room eight. I sat down and one of the people put in all of my I-9 form information, while the other person explained my training schedule to me. They asked if I understood and I said yes. We shook hands and they send us to more people. They checked my form of ID, passport card, and sent me down a hallway to the next station. Here, they did all of my figure prints and background checks. Lastly, they send me to a room where they gave me a paper with information as to how to log onto the HUB, the cast online website, and change our mailing address to the apartment in Orlando. After this, we got back on the bus and went to our apartments.

That night, my roommates and I went out for dinner and set ground rules for the apartment. Then, we went shopping for food and decorations. When we got back to the apartment, all four of us pitched in and cleaned all of the apartment. We cleaned bathrooms, bedrooms, the kitchen shelves, dishes, the floor, even the couches and walls.

A couple days went by and I got really sick. I started to think it was my allergies but my mother though that I had caught something from the plane. It was hard to function but I kept going. On Friday I had what is called “Traditions”. My roommate Danielle and I, had to be to the bus at six fifty five in the morning.

We caught the bus and headed out on Friday morning. Our destination was Disney University for our Traditions class. Unfortunately, Danielle and I were split into different groups. I was on the second floor and she was on the first. I walked up stairs, following my group. We had to find our name on the sign in sheet and sign before we went into the classroom. Once inside, there was another person asking if the name to our school was correct. For reason, they had my school down as Walter State University instead of Washington State, so I had to have it corrected. The class was four hours long but was very important. The two instructors talked about courtesy, safety in the work place, and recourses that would make our work experience easier. When we entered the classroom, there was a red present in the middle of the table which, struck the attention of many. We wanted to open it so bad and the suspicion was killing us. In the middle of class, we got to open the present and inside, was our first pair of Mickey ears! At the end of the class, the instructors took us to Magic Kingdom to experience the magic that the cast members bring to the guests. This was my favorite part by far because I had never been to Disney World before. We entered the park through the tunnels that were under Cinderella’s castle. I could not believe it! The first time I ever went to Disney World, I could officially say I was under the Castle. After we went to the park, we took a bus back to the classroom and Mickey came and gave us our name tags. It was very special to have Mickey Mouse himself, come in and give us our name tags. This was my first week at Disney and it could not have been any better!

The week’s most rewarding aspects were receiving our name tags from Mickey and our first pair of ears. The most challenging aspect, by far, was being extremely sick but still going out and getting my work done. By working through this challenge I learned, that even though life can be rough, you can work through anything and the rewards are worth it. I would not have changed anything this week. My roommates are amazing people and my experience this week has been great. The assignment this week helped me to realize that even though I am in housekeeping, I can make a difference in the lives of the Disney Guests. This gives me the drive to work hard no matter what career I am in because no matter what I am doing, it will impact other people.