Work- the real story!

Working at Disney...it was always one of those things that sounded completely amazing, but also something that would never actually happen. Now that I'm here though, I figure I should share the story of how being a "Disney cast member" actually is. 

The ride to work is so easy! It is about 8 minutes from my apartment and, from start to finish, I only have to turn on three roads (which is great news for a person who is very prone to getting lost...). Also, who can complain about getting this view on their everyday commute?

Once you've made it to the resort, you walk up to this breezeway, to the right is the main lobby and to the left is my store! 

My home at Conch Flats

There is also another entrance if you'd rather not go through the breezeway

The store sells a lot of the Disney vacation club items (since club members are our main visitors) 

But also the normal souvenirs sold at the other Disney stores....we have food too!

I either work "front of house" or "stock". As you know, I like to talk a LOT, so you would think working out front would be the job for me...false!!! Nah, it's really not THAT bad-- it's just very similar to working retail anywhere else (which is what I've been doing for five years already) and it gets kind of boring. Also, I am getting the same old comments:

"Do you play basketball?"

"Please tell me you play sports!?"

"Are you standing on a platform?"

"Ma'am, could you help me get this item, you're just so tall!!"

*guy awkwardly looking around the counter* "uhh, can I help you?" "Oh sorry, I was just seeing if you had heels on" -_-

Heh, but let's face it, I doubt most people will ever have to deal with that particular issue. So, moving on, working out front is pretty boring...but at least I work with very nice people! Here are a just a couple of my fabulous coworkers

Another fun part of working in the front is pin trading! We get a lanyard with twelve pins and we get to trade with guests all day! 

It's interesting to see how different my pins are before and after work 

Another thing that makes it kind of interesting is if you leave your name tag at home and you're someone else for the day!

I made a lot of friends when I was Kate...touched a lot of lives...I may just stay Kate forever.

But anyway, stocking is what I prefer. Though I don't get as much of the customer interaction, I am able to stay busy the entire time and it makes my day go by twenty billion times faster! (No, I'm not exaggerating at all)

One part that is kind of lame is that the majority of my shifts are closing shifts, meaning I work til 11:45 at night. But honestly, the more I work these shifts the more I don't mind. It means I have most of my days free! It's not a problem at all for me to go to typhoon lagoon and chill by the wave pool for a few hours and then go work afterwards. (And at least I don't have to deal with extra magic hours...no 3:30AM drives home).

Overall, I like being down here a lot! I have met a lot of great people and done a lot of fun things....but most of my memories have come from times outside of work. Don't get me wrong, I think that working at Disney is a great experience, and I would definitely recommend it, I just think that you have to remember-- it's still a job. 

-Kate