Do you know that moment when you feel so many different emotions at the same time? That was how this first week here in Orlando felt like. It was a crazy week – but certainly not the last crazy week – a lot of sight-seeing, meeting new people, learning and understanding things, and most importantly fun.

On Monday we checked in at Vista Way, a place close to Disney World where interns can live. The check in went well and I found out that I was going to be roommates with three other classmates and two Chinese girls. After check in and seeing the new place (losing the room with own bathroom to Kim and Marieke) we went to Walmart to get some stuff for the house. There is a bus going there which is free for whoever lives in Vista or any other place organised by Disney. I think it was maybe 3 hours later when we finally left Walmart again to go back to our new homes.

After the check in the first few days were nice and calm, not much to do. But then on Thursday we had Traditions at 8 in the morning. There was a bus that was going to bring us there and left vista way at 6:45 (I am not good at mornings). But unfortunately the stress of early mornings was not over for me yet. The first few days after Traditions were filled with different kinds of training, all in the early morning making me get up at 5 am. I found out that I was going to be in parade audience control on the main street in Magic Kingdom.

Parade audience control – I’ll be referring to it as PAC – is crazy. It sounds simple at the beginning, just make sure that the guests are behind the lines during parades and shows and that they stay safe. But it ends up with a first day of training and an overload of information. Before the parades start the main street needs to be set up, you get assigned to a place on main street where you will be taping lines on the floor (these lines show where the guests can stand) and you have to put poles in the ground and lines in between them to keep the guests away from the parade. But while the parade is already going on, but not yet close to your spot, there is still a walkway free for the guests to cross the street. PAC needs to make sure that those guests can still cross the street, but also that they are going to the sidewalk again immediately. When the parade gets close all the lines will be closed and then it is making sure that the guests cannot cross the lines for their own safety.

Talking about safety: it is the most important thing when you are a cast member at Disney (no we are not employees but cast members). It is constantly repeated until you will be dreaming about safety. The nice thing, and one of the things I like most about the company, is that everybody has a name tag with only their first name on it. This way every cast member – no matter what role or status – is acquainted on a first name basis.

Kisses,
Martine

Ps. The weather was not that nice this week…