johnsdcp2024

[johnsdcp2024]

To top it all off 😭💙

[johnsdcp2024]

DiSNEY IS the Magic

Im waiting for fantasmic. My shift ended an hour ago. It’s 10:27. My number. I am obsessed with my life. I GET to clock out run to my car, put a sweatshirt on and see a show. How lucky am I??? I am so grateful so so grateful. This is my life that I am currently living. Bless me oh lord. For without you none of it would be true.

[johnsdcp2024]

1 month later

Where to even begin. Time mores different down here. A week can feel like a month. So much happens in a day it seems.

I’d like to first start with finding Warren. I say finding because it feels like star crossed soulmates arriving in the same space in time. We had our first date 8 days ago at Waffle House. Warren had never gone and it was inevitable that we go. So why not for a first date? I ended up asking him to be my boyfriend that morning. We have been inseparable since 😂

Every day we go to Dunkin for cold brew. Now instead of asking for 1 I get to ask for 2. 2 is the new norm for me. For so many years I’ve done everything alone. I love spending time with me, I have learned to be so comfortable with it over time. It’s been an adjustment and every day it’s like coming home to another person. I GET to do things together with someone who makes me feel so seen. I don’t feel obligated it just feels right.

A few nights ago 2 of his friends from the UK flew in. They are about to start their own program. The program is called the Cultural Representative Program (CRP). They are the sweetest and so genuine. I really see us being great friends over time. People online would always say “you will find lifelong friends here” and I never believed it would happen to me. Here I am now with a boyfriend and 2 new great friends. Like I said, 2 is the magic number today.

I walked down Main Street USA holding hands with the love of my life. We then kissed in front of the castle. This is what dreams are made of! 😭💙 it truly feels like my life is just beginning. All the trials and tribulations in the past. I am growing so much as a person and it’s been 1 month only.

I mean to post in here more often. It feels like a personal journal and I’ve really missed writing. Now here are some pictures and highlights since I last posted.

[johnsdcp2024]

A day in the life

I woke up today well rested and happy to stay in bed a little longer. Since starting on location I have been working my body a lot more than I am used to and slowly but surely adjusting. I am going to sleep faster than ever and staying asleep the whole night. I’m also waking up later and I think my body just needs as much rest as possible.

Chipotle was lunch and work right after. When I clocked in the first thing I was assigned was Cold Brew. I had to “harvest” all the cold brew made the day before as the first step. After harvesting I took all the pieces back to dish. While I waited for those to be cleaned I ground 6 five pound bags of cold brew coffee beans. This took some time and the aroma was so nice to be around. I still have small specks of grounds in my uniform from doing this. Next was making the cold brew. 7 liters of water on the grounds, 7 liters of water on the bag. I repeated this process 6 separate times until I was finished. In total it took 2 hours and 15 minutes from the time I clocked in till the time I finished. It felt great to take on such a big task! And do it efficiently.

There were cast members coming up to me and being like “you’re doing cold brew?? I’ve been here a year and still haven’t made cold brew”. So I felt awesome being trusted with such a big task.

There’s something so magical about going outside to clean tables and being surrounded with the ambiance of Disney. The music, the smells, the people wearing Disney merch. I absolutely love it so much. Also the guests are so friendly and you can pretty much go up to anyone and ask them how their day is going and they will talk to you. We are encouraged to do this actually. So as I wiped down tables, outside I couldn’t help but smile as I did so. How is this my reality???

Here’s a picture that shows just how happy I am.

I would take more pictures but we aren’t allowed to take any pictures backstage. Backstage is anywhere guests can’t see. That includes the massive break room with a working subway, salad bar and grill. We also have picnic tables where we can relax on our breaks or before and after our shifts.

[johnsdcp2024]

First day at location working!

As I’ve mentioned before, my lab training at Disney university completed last Friday. I didn’t work until Tuesday (yesterday) and that was a park tour with computer training videos. Then TODAY. In costume working on location with a trainer.

I got to learn how restock and clean things for most of my shift today. I know, so fun. Many trash runs, learning where everything is. I made so many whip creams and vanilla sweet cream. It was so fun I had to wear a puffy winter coat and pump vanilla and pour milk in a walk in fridge.

The real fun began when I was placed on register. The first drink a customer ordered from me was a grande latte and a grande mocha oh and a Mickey shaped chocolate chip cookie. It was raining all day so a lot of people were ordering hot drinks.

Next I was sent over to hot bar where I made so many drinks for an endless line of people and cups. They just kept coming. Luckily we have someone putting whip cream on lattes, putting ice in my drinks, and passing them out. So all I have to do is make 90-95% of the drink and don’t even have to say anything to the customers. It’s like I’m a machine cranking out drinks. A literal dream that I never knew could exist working for Starbucks. Corporate stores have nothing against a Disney Starbucks!! I’m blown away. I even had someone pouring my milks for me. It was an enlightening experience to say the least.

The highlight of my shift was when a man came up to the bar and demanded to know who made his drink. It was a chai latte with lavender and lavender cold foam on a hot drink. He was so ecstatic and pleased with how great the drink was. I was literally beaming with happiness. The magic of Disney too. Like everyone is on vacation and happy and really appreciative of the hard work we’re doing.

So blessed truly to be having this experience. It’s finally all coming together 2 and a half weeks later. I have one last final training day tomorrow and I’m home free. Ready to take on the rest of my days with Disney.

Thank you Lord for the many blessings you’ve given me!

[johnsdcp2024]

Photo Dump 3/31-4/2

Animal Kingdom Tiger path

Animal Kingdom Pandora

Dinner with friends at Universal CityWalk

Marjorie!

[johnsdcp2024]

Hollywood Studios Day 2

More friends more fun! Spent most of the day in bed recharging. Then off to Hollywood Studios. First thing we did was Mickey and Minnie’s runaway Railroad followed by Muppets 3D. We ate at the sci fi dine in restaurant which was very tasty. After dinner we rode Rise of the Resistance and Hannah took a funny video that I attached. Next we did Fantasmic and it didn’t end early this time! Great show. Wish I could show you a video but I can only attach one video per post.

Grateful for good friends and good times!

[johnsdcp2024]

Disney University ✅

I completed day 5 of my barista training! No more commuting to DU which I’m going to miss the routine. Get up, Dunkin, 20 min drive. Will have to make a new routine going forward 😀

Went to Hollywood Studios to meet up with friends, ride Tower of Terror and watch Fantasmic.

Well Fantasmic ended after 3 minutes. Technical difficulties is my guess. The line at guest services was so long as we exited the park. Perk of living here is I can just go back whenever I want! Still a little disappointed it ended so soon. Rather it be in the beginning and not the middle though. As to not ruin the show.

Oh ok so dinner was Korean Pork Belly with slaw and mashed potatoes.

I also got a new pin ! Second time using my discount.

Now I have 4 😊

Relaxing chill evening.

[johnsdcp2024]

First Day Access !!!

After waiting for almost two weeks we were all handed out of admission passes that come complimentary for working at Disney. After training today Creed, Isabelle, and I drove to Epcot to use them for the first time. I’ll let the picture speak for themselves. We did Spaceship Earth first, then Gran Fiesta Tour, and then walked around the countries stopping in at Italy and Japan. We met up with Hannah and Carter in England for fish and chips. Chefs kiss best I’ve ever had hands down. Then Remy ratatouille adventure! My NEW FAVORITE ride. The most immersive and realistic ride I have experienced. The ride vehicles?!? Hello?? They move by themselves and just do everything flawlessly. My brothers will LOVE this ride. I want to do it over and over and over again.

We then tried to do Guardians but they wouldn’t let us ride since we didn’t have a virtual queue or lightning lane. We came up with a fake story and everything lol. We had so much fun tonight. Laughing and telling jokes non stop. So so fun. I’m happy to have friends already.

The next stop was test track. A brand new ride for me (they’ve redone it since 12 years ago). I was screaming/laughing the whole time and this just made everyone else laugh with me 😆. Much more fun than I remember. Also felt faster. Maybe because it is at night? Just a blast.

Oh by the way I forgot to mention that the British guy I matched on tinder with was working at the fish and chips shop we got food at. That was cute and funny.

The last thing we did was all use our company ID’s to buy new merch. HEART FULL 💙

[johnsdcp2024]

What’s the best park🥹

Hollywood Studios!! 😎

[johnsdcp2024]

Disney University Day 1

Bright and early 5am wake up call. I beat the alarm, excitement courses through my veins. Today is the day. I have training at Disney University starting at 7am. I’m in costume (finally) and ready to go. My Dunkin habit has reached new heights so naturally my car my two left hand turns right into the parking lot. I can’t help it!

Also peep the “earning my ears” red ribbon. How cute!

After getting ready I headed to Dunkin (yikes) and had the usual $3 cold brew thanks to a deal and a wake up wrap. My commute this morning was shared with a full moon in Libra. And she was radiating let me tell ya. I arrived 15 minutes early and waited in the lobby with a few of CP’s that were familiar to me. By 7am we were ushered through a cafeteria into a small classroom decorated with old Disney Starbucks signage. A projector and screen, two POS systems and tables for us to sit at.

There was a brief introduction and history lesson between Starbucks and Disney and then we were split into 3 groups. It was so cute to see all the different costumes. There were baristas from all 4 parks and each unique to each park. Once we were divided the fun began. They walked us to the kitchen and inside the kitchen was a “lab”. A full espresso bar and cold bar just like at a real Starbucks. I’ve bins, blenders, sinks, triple filtered water. It was ALL there.

For the remainder of the training we rotated between cold, hot and learning the POS system. At Disney they still write in cups for drinks which makes my heart sing. Oh how I missed it! Also not to brag but I was the only one in the room with writing on cup experience. Happy to have that skill in my back pocket😅😄 the day was a refresher course for me. I didn’t forget any of it but the main takeaway is that they are very specific about how you put the lid on the cups. We have to only touch half the lid and make sure the mouthpiece faces the siren logo. It’s all about aesthetics, presentation and honestly, perfection. We were constantly told that people are on vacation and paying lots of money to be in the parks and they are not only expecting a great Starbucks experience but also a great Disney experience. So double expectations. I’m here for it! Corporate stores have so many things “wrong” with them and shortcuts that people takes. They were sure to point this out.

We had a lunch break and got to mingle with the others. Some friendships are starting to blossom and I love that. After my shift of training I went and got Raising Canes. Later I folded my laundry, reorganized my room/tidied it up. Finally I went on a 3 mile walk that included getting groceries at Target. Getting ready for bed and day 2 of training! Night!

#starbucks #disney

[johnsdcp2024]

Traditions

Today was the first paid day of work. It was orientation. We learned a lot about the company and why we are so important. Two main takeaways were 1. We create Happiness and 2. Disney chose us to work for them.

We were all given a pair of Mickey ears which was really nice. My first pair! Also right before they gave us our name tags Mickey literally shows up. Seriously gave me a shock. Overall it was a special day. Happy to be working for the most magical place in the world. Oh and real quick one other thing. They told us that out of all the parks around the world we are the only park to have Walt in the name. I thought that was really special also and will be remembering.

[johnsdcp2024]

Pandora at Disney’s Animal Kingdom

#animal kingdom #disney

[johnsdcp2024]

A short day 4 at Animal Kingdom

firstly. I had written an entire post and the app crashed so this won’t be as detailed. I spent the morning at Pandora riding Flight of Passage. The ride stopped after 10 seconds because someone threw up. We had to reboard and start the preahow all over again. Next I headed over to Expedition Everest and it was just a great as I remembered it as a kid. The ride I was most looking forward to riding was Dinosaur which up until now was my favorite ride. I enjoyed it but it felt subdued and almost like it wasn’t working to its full capacity. Definitely not as terrifying as I remember it being. Lastly, I went to Rafiki’s Planet Watch. A new experience for me. Guests board a train and it takes you to a remote location with an informational building and a petting zoo. I was able to attend an animation drawing lesson where I learned how to draw Mickey! That was the highlight of my day. One thing I wasn’t realizing until after this session was how tired I was! 3 days in a row of very early mornings, late nights, and 10 miles of walking and I was about ready to crash. I made a beeline to my car and when I made it home I napped for 4 hours. And that’s it! I have relaxed ever since and about to head to bed. I have my first day of work tomorrow and my Disney Traditions which is a coveted experience as I’m told.

[johnsdcp2024]

Day 3: Hollywood Studios

I woke up today at 4am and couldn’t get back to bed. I had a test due this week so I headed down to the community center and completed it. I played some Overwatch and then went back to bed for a little and passed some time until my parents arrived for the day.

We arrived at the park right as it opened and headed to our first ride: Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railroad. A new favorite of mine! The technology used was fascinating and something I will try and figure each time I go. The other ride I felt similarly about was Rise of the Resistance. This was on a much larger scale or WOW that I can’t describe unless you go for yourself and experience it. We were able to go in every single ride and do so leisurely. The park’s crowd was mild for spring break (again).

For lunch we had some hotdogs. I can’t remember the name but it’s the sailboat near the blue dinosaur. And for dinner we ate at Round up Bbq. A unique family style bbq experience where you are considered a “toy” and have to be still when Andy come looking to play.

I could write more I’m sure but it’s not 11:30pm and I feel like I’m crashing out lol.

I will remember this day for a very long time. It was so special having my parents with me at what’s soon to be the place I get to go to work at. I love them so much and they truly mean the world to me. They even wore matching shirts!🥺

#hollywood studios

[johnsdcp2024]

#magic kingdom

[johnsdcp2024]

Flower and Garden Festival at Epcot

#epcot #disney #flower and garden festival