Yesterday I had my first day of on the job training. I was at training from 12:30-9:30. It was a long day but at times it went by fast. I was training with another girl who is also doing attractions with me. We ended up on the same bus and we went to cast services together. We arrived quite early so we waited for our trainer Rebecca. Rebecca arrived with another girl Vicky. Rebecca is leaving in a few weeks so Vicky was learning how to be a trainer. We started off my clocking in and then going to costume. The sizes for costumes are not real life sizes so don't feel bad if you have to wear a bigger size then normal. After we got all sorted out at costuming we walked to Canada. There is a bus that goes to all the pavilions. They call it the "lazy bus" this is because if your country is close then you might as well walk. Granted if your country is on the other side of the showcase it's not that far but it's more of a reason to take the bus. Once we got to the pavilion we went Into the break trailer she showed us around there and we put our stuff down. After that we went to lunch. They have a lot of selection depending on what you like. After lunch the real training began. Rebecca told us it would feel like so much is being thrown at us and there was. It gets easier though as each day goes on. We learned the closing spiel which is I hope you enjoyed our tour of my Canada. Please gather up all of your personal belongings and exit through the doors on your left. Thanks and enjoy the rest of your day in Epcot". The first time I had to that in front of people just happened to be my first time saying it out loud. I went up there pressed the button and had a total brain fart. Lucky the trainer was just behind me probably just for this reason and took over. Before that I was stressing about learning the spiels and messing up. The cast on the attractions are all amazing people and always made me feel like what I did was fine. They would tell stories about how they messed up. I felt better about everything after that. We learned about greeter and the different situations. We didn't go over closer we went over illuminations though. When you do that you are alone and when you are closing there are other people there. Found illuminations makes you feel quite special because you have a walkie talkie and such. Overall a good first day, long but good! I ended up getting home at about 10:30. I got home ate food and then passed out.
Have a magical day!
Sam
Hi! First of all I love your blog! It's so helpful and fun to read about the day to day life of a Canadian Attractions CRP! I'll be joining you in April so I love reading all of it!
ReplyDeleteI was wondering about the spiels? and how hard they are to learn and what the other ones are?
Also hours, days off and shifts: what shifts are available what you normally work, how many shifts a week on average, how many hours a week? And days off, I know they try to give them together do they keep them fairly regular? like the same two days off each week? and I was wondering If I have like Monday Tuesday off, and my friend has Wednesdays Thursdays would I be able to switch mine to Wednesdays Thursdays?
Last question: (lol sorry for bugging you so much) For requesting roommates, have you ever heard of anyone who requested a roommate and didn't get them?
Thanks so much for your help! Love the blog,Can't wait to meet you and work with you!
Hi!
ReplyDeleteI had the same questions about the spiels myself! They are not hard to learn. I found the other two hard to learn only because I have a hard time memorizing things quickly thats why. The safety spiel actually although it was the longest I had heard it a few times I kinda knew it. The spiels although are basically the same although everyone basically says something different depending on who is training you so I will just say the main parts. The intro spiel; -welcome - narrated by martin short song by eva availa - 14 min long - stay behind the yellow doors.
Saftey spiel: Do not sit on the railing, stand at all times, if needed exit through the doors to my right, no eating drinking smoking flash photography and mobile devices.
exit: thank you, leave throughout the doors to right and have a good day.
So attractions are a bit weird as we have a schedule bid you are not automatically put on. I missed it by a about 3 weeks so I am currently not on it so I am a floater. You will most likely if a floater get three days off a week. Maybe depending on how many people are on staff. With being a floater I never know when my days off will be until the schedule comes out. How the schedule bid works from what I understand is that you say what three days off you work and what hours you want. They obviously go by seniority so the chances of getting they days off you want when you first get here is slim. I honestly don't know about changing your days but I don't think you can to be honest. I don't know for sure so you should ask when you get here.
About the roommates I don't actually know. They try their best but no guarantees. I put vista as a last choice and that is where I am. Doesn't hurt to try though!!
Don't feel bad about asking questions! I don't mind at all!!!!
Hey Sam,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info on spiels it was super helpful! And the schedule ones answered a lot too but definitely sparked a couple new questions! :)
Do you always get 3 days off or is that just floaters? Are your 3 days off at least together? How many people are on staff at Attractions now? Can you trade/give away/pick up shifts? (Also what did you mean you missed it by 3 weeks) Will you be put on it later then? Are floaters the only ones who request the schedule and people on the bid are automatically assigned? is this a weekly thing where you request your next schedule?
Lol Thanks so much for your help again, No worries if you can't explain it all it does seem rather complicated and I'm sure they'll explain it in good detail when I arrive! :)
Haha it may seem confusing now but believe me its not. You will figure it out once you get here.
DeleteYou will always get three days off. With being a floater they could not all be in a row. Mostly mine so far have been but next week for example I have wed, thursday off work friday but have saturday off. It really all depends. There are 12 people right now, two people have left in the last two weeks though. I think there will be three more before you come. Yes you can trade and give away shifts. The only thing is that you need to have a min of 30 payed hours for your visa. So until you get oared vacation days then you can't really give away a shift. You can pick up shifts and trade them though. I have no idea how often the schedule bid is but, the most recent one happened three weeks before I arrived in Florida. The next schedule bid I will be on it. I don't know when that will be though. My trainer who basically arrived the same day as me only the year earlier said she wasn't on the bid. I will try to explain this better. Okay so the schedule bid is basically a bid for your days off. I am not on it so I am a floater filling in what ever shifts are needed. They are all closing shifts because I am lowest seniority. The time of the bid is the only time you can request your regular days off. You can ask for a day off also if you wanted but thats something different. Anyway so me being a floater I don't request anything I do what they need me too. It is not weekly I don't actually know how often this happens. I am guessing that it is every few months or so. They didn't really explain this to be I just kind of picked it up as I went along.
One other thing I was nervous about and thought I would share is that the cast is all amazing! I was so nervous my first day of training with having to do the closing spiel but they are so nice and supportive. The obviously want you to do good. Probably because it makes their lives easier. Either way I think you will like them all. They have all been super helpful and are really nice about me asking questions sometimes dumb questions.
I know this is nerve wracking I was in your position not to long ago, you will love it though. The movie will get tiring very fast but you need to just find the fun in the job is all!
p.s get ready for some amazing (stupid) guest questions. The worse one I had so far was " is there summer in Canada? Like hot and sunny?"
Thanks so much Sam that really cleared a lot up! I'm Jessica btw! Lol I just realized I'd never said! I'm in the 2013 fb group too :)
ReplyDeleteAHAHA That is the best question ever!! I'm so excited to get to answer those!!
And it's so great to hear how wonderful everyone there is! I can't wait to join you all!
Thank you again for explaining all of this to me. :) I really appreciate it!