Training Begins

So it is finally the time to start my training and officially start the working part of working for Walt Disney world. In all honestly I was so terrified as to this part as it was something I had never done before and I felt as though it was a huge responsibility and was unsure if I could do it.

My training schedule consisted of 5 training days and an assessment day. Days 1 & 2 were both closing shifts meaning that I closed the attraction, and then the other 3 days were all open shifts meaning that I was there when the attraction opened. For my training I did have someone going through it all with me except for day 4.

So day 1 was actually not as bad as I thought it would be and I really enjoyed it. Getting introduced to the people that I would be working with, as well as the positions. I am so fortunate that I am working with some of the most amazing people I have ever met and that it truely seems like a great place to work.

Day 2 was a shift that did scare me again as it was closing tower, the eyes and ears of the entire ride and the responsible person. However obviously they don’t just throw you in, both of us training we’re there with our trainer walking us through and it was actually fun. Tower was the one position that I was most nervous about however closing tower on day 2 opened my mind up to the position.

After a couple of days off it was time for my open shift. I got to open the track on day 3 which was an interesting experience getting to see how different the opening process is compared to the closing process. Definitely more checks have to be done and more paperwork to fill out.

Day 4 was perhaps the biggest day of all for me. Open tower day 4 just me and my trainer. Despite being really nervous I went in and gave it my all and actually ended up loving tower after this experience. It was something I was really surprised about, that the one position I was super worried and hated before starting was now my favourite.

After another day off was time for day 5, going over the test and getting in some real time training in the positions. This day just really helped our trainer to make sure we are ready for the assessment day, and also to help us feel more comfortable.

Assessment day finally came around and in all honestly I was bloody terrified because if I didn’t pass this then I was going to have to change my role which I really didn’t want as I loved my work location and the people that I am working with. The day started off with meeting the assessor and taking the exam. Out of 122 questions I managed to only get 3 wrong which I was very impressed with. After we went over the exam we had a short break before doing positions.

We did basically ever position ( we skipped some because of the way the ride works we have two sides to station and those positions double up so no point doing the same thing twice). We basically spent about 10-15mins each in every position (I spent a little longer in grouper because I said it was my least favourite position) just to make sure that we can do the position, know what we’re doing and can do it effectively. We also got asked some questions at the positions just to make sure.

In the end we finished up really early so after a break we went to go watch the Nemo musical which was nice to do. Then we had a meeting with the leaders to make sure they were comfortable with us. Then we were approved and taking off our earning my ears tags. Also at my ride we have a tradition of putting a dinosaur up on a wall in the breakroom to commemorate us working there so after we passed we got to do that.

So I am officially 100% a cast member and able to do solo shifts. All in all training was a lot more fun than I thought and really changed how I looked at the positions. I am super excited about my location as it’s really cool and I love who I work with as they are all amazing people