On our best behaviour

Because all the higher ups are staying at the lodge at the moment. Tom Staggs (boss of EVERY Disney park around the world); Meg Crofton (boss of Disney World) and even (I think) James Cameron are all pottering about the place, causing the various managers to run around with stressed looks on their faces. It are very amusing.

Catching Up

Phew. Life gets away with you here. A whirlwind of work, exhaustion and good times that leaves very little time for things like this blog.

But then I remember that one day a lone little African CRP may be surfing the net, lost and confused, wondering what to expect from their program, and I felt duty-bound to continue. That, plus I've been up to some most excellent stuff in the past month:

* Dinosaur walk through work team builder (we went on a lights-on tour of the ride, then rode it with the lights off). On the same day, we went to watch Lion King in 3D at Downtown Disney. The 3D was lame, but c'mon - it's the freakin' Lion King.

* Grocery Bingo. Housing arranges tons of events. Grocery Bingo is the most appealing. You can win packets of groceries. I didn't (must be rigged).

* Cici's Pizza - All you can eat, with salads, pasta, pudding and drinks for $5.50. Ridiculous.

* Cast Connection/Property Control - sooooo much cheapness.

* Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party - Awesome.

* Weird Al at Hard Rock Live - the best concert I've ever seen.

* Universal Halloween Horror Nights - Even more awesome than Mickey's Halloween.

I may get some pictures up if I have energy in the next week.

Watch this space

I'll post an update soon, promise. It's kind of hard to motivate yourself in your spare time.

Animal Kingdom Day

So today was Animal Kingdom Day, and the final day of training. It. Was. Awesome. Epcot Day was cool, but I think this one edged it. Emily (one of our co-ordinators) was taking pictures, so I'll have to grab them when I have time.

We started off with a couple of classes, then went on a shortened version of the backstage safari at Animal Kingdom, checking out the behind-the-scenes bit at Rafiki's planet watch, the animal pens, feed preparation rooms, surgery rooms, etc.

Then we popped onto Kilimanjaro Safari for a little trip with Mel (another co-ordinator) giving us a private rundown of all the nifty little hidden tricks and imagineering.

Afterwards, there were prizes to be handed out (for participation in previous training classes) and the official earning of the ears, but the best part of the day was getting to visit the elephant pen, where we met 2-week old Jabali, who is due to go out on the savannah tomorrow. He was immensely cyoot. His sister was immensely protective, and his mother was immensely cheeky with her food demands.

To finish the day, we had VIP seats at Festival of the Lion King (a show at the park). I was the designated "attractive warthog" (people who have seen the show will know what I mean), so as I say, I'll have to get photos from the co-ordinators.

New roommate from Wales has just arrived and is setting up. Bit of an adjustment not having a room to myself anymore, but he seems nice enough.

Yup.

I jinxed it.

Ssshh...

New arrivals on Tuesday, and I still haven't got any kind of letter about a new roommate, so hopefully I'll have a room to myself for a little longer.

I've completely jinxed it now, haven't I?

Should've done some learnin'

Assessment day tomorrow. I haven't studied much, but I'm not too worried.

Hit Animal Kingdom on Thursday after waking up far too early to sort out social security (apparently I'm not on the immigration system. Also, apparently that's not a problem). Vicky, Megan and Myah happened to be going as well, so we all went together.

Animal Kingdom is a great place, but as an entertainment venue, it's lacking a bit compared to the other parks. Expedition: Everest was fun, especially when it started pelting down with rain. Since we were soaked, we hit Kali River Rapids a coupla times before going home.

Listening to others, I'm tempted to argue early on that the Savannah Guides have the best program here, but I'll do some more research (read: tons of work) and get back to you.

Training away

Let's see, it's been a week since Traditions. What have I been up to?

Lots of training. I only "earn my ears" this Saturday if I pass an assessment based on a 300 page booklet. I've had some on the job training, so I've learnt a little about the operation here (basically standing around chatting to people, then occasionally doing an activity with 'em). One bummer is unlike the other countries, we don't get new arrivals every month, only every 3 months - so I'll be a noob until Novemberish.

What have I done in training? Mostly the usual values, safety and policies stuff. But we also went behind the scenes at The Seas (Disney's aquarium, the 2nd biggest in the USA) and rode Soarin'. Not too much to worry about with the job, but I do have to learn some stuff before I go out there by myself. Oh, and I got freebies from the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund: a snazzy badge they usually only give to people who donate $100 or more, a shirt and a little cardholder thingie. Score!

Let's bullet point!


* Went to Hollywood Studios with 3 Canadians and a Scot. They got drenched. Then we ate at Mexico (the pavilion, not the country). I had chicken-something-or-other, and it. was. AWESOME. Plus, you get to eat in here:

So what if it's heart-stoppingly expensive?


* Been on tons of rides already - luckily Disney's generally less intense than Universal, and I'm getting better with the whole motion sickness thing. Currently my favourites are Tower of Terror, Soarin' and Haunted Mansion. I still haven't been to Animal Kingdom. Also, PhilharMagic is AWESOME.

* In fact, pretty much my entire first trip to the Magic Kingdom was awesome. Went on Haunted Mansion 3 times (walking on to a ride is most excellent. Unlike Peter Pan's Flight, which I'm going to have to get fastpasses for at some point), ate at Cosmic Ray's cafe and ended by watching the Electrical Parade and Wishes.

* The lamest ride I've been on so far? Tomorrowland Speedway. Avoid.

* Next day off: Animal Kingdom. Don't know exactly when that'll be though. If I get through my social security ish on Thursday quick enough, I may be able to do it then. Otherwise I think I may be off on Sunday.

Traditions

On Saturday we had Traditions, which is (for the uninitiated) Disney's introductory training course. Even the CEO's and higher ups have to do it.

It started with a visit from the union, who tried to get us to sign up without mentioning weekly costs and so on. Very dodgy, and I chose not to. After the union, we got a boring "working with integrity" introduction, and then Joe came in and started our Traditions class.

Disney have pretty much got this down to a fine art. The facilitator hands out exclusive toys to those who answer (so pretty much everyone ends up getting one - I got 4, and so did several others), there's a mix of him talking, video, gentle interactive bits - but no sign of the usual awkward roleplay ish that these things involve. In fact, at one point Joe said we should split into groups and come up with scenes to show the "four keys" (Safety, courtesy, show, efficiency). Just as everyone was mentally running for the door, he said "or maybe we should just visit the Magic Kingdom instead".

Hell Yes. Of course, while we were at the Magic Kingdom (mostly underneath the Magic Kingdom - Utilidors ftw!) we had to keep an eye out for the 4 keys, but I couldn't be bothered - there was far too much going on to actually attempt work.

When we got back, the boss himself showed up to distribute name badges and hand out a few more critters (I got 4 in total - they're totally unique to Traditions. Most people end up getting at least one). After a few closing issues, we headed out, with me at least having really enjoyed the whole thing.

Busy, and not so

 When I arrived in Orlando, I stayed in a cheap motel-y place (which made me extremely happy. Motels are very much part of the American experience, after all - as are the local ads from dodgy car salesmen and lawyers which were plastered all over the TV) which had pretty damned decent rooms.

Met up with some UK CRP's who I had met on Facebook (Daria, Myah, Vicky & Matthew - holla) and we marathonned Universal.

We spent about 12 hours between the 2 parks. 12 hours. In mid summer in Florida. It was crazy, but somebody had to do it. My first ever proper theme park ride (I'm not counting the twee little haunted ride at Durban beachfront, though as a kid, that thing was AWESOME) was Spiderman, followed up by the Hulk.

That's the Hulk rollercoaster in the background.

I had already been nursing a cold upon arrival, and the intense heat did nothing to help the motion sickness. I'm going to get some meds or something, otherwise I'll have to take it easy and do one or two rides a visit so I can recover (I've certainly got the time...). I struggled on Forbidden Journey (the Harry Potter ride), so I definitely have to come back and give that a full go when the crowds are a bit more manageable.

On Tuesday we all waited at the wrong place for half an hour (our driver had taken the printed directions he was given at the gate, glanced at them, then set them on fire and thrown them back at security. Ok, he didn't do that last bit, but he could've. Maybe), then got checked in.

I'm at the Commons, tucked in the back in building 23 (an area which I've heard referred to as "The Ghetto"). I'm in a 4 bedroom apartment, which means I have 7 flatmates: 3 Mexicans, 1 Frenchman, 1 Canadian, 1 Irishman and 1, er, Hongkong-ian? who is also my roommate. They all seem pretty swell, and the apartment's nice 'n clean, so it's looking good so far.

Paperwork today. Two days off (what to do without my Disney ID?), then Traditions on Saturday.

Things I've learnt about America in a day

This is just across the road from my hotel.

* There really ARE infomercials from local car dealers and shady lawyers.

* There is an endless amount of kitsch and absurdity.


* Orlando is frickin' hot.

* I really like Southern accents.

* There's a very slight unease when dealing with traffic. I sometimes have to remind myself which directions cars will be coming from.

* I almost crapped myself when the weatherperson said it'd be "107 degrees with humidity" before I remembered the whole fahrenheit thing. Then I almost crapped myself again when I realised 107F is 41C.

Currently sitting in:

Charlotte, North Carolina, of all places. Coupla hours to wait for my connection to Orlando. And then, sweet, sweet hotel room (that flight was fairly brutal).

This won't be helpful to South Africans...

... but I got my travel insurance with Direct Travel in the UK. They were cheap as chips and I confirmed that they covered all the minimums, but other African CRP's would have to look elsewhere as you have to be a UK "resident" to use 'em.

The whole dual citizen thing comes in handy quite often.

And that's it, I think. Everything's sorted. Nothing else to do now but get to Orlando.

Sittin' in England...

Sitting in a cosy little lounge in a poky little English cottage, catching up with my good friends, Ben & Jerry. My family all have jobs, so I get the house to myself during the day. It was warm yesterday, but order has been restored and it's pissing down today.

Next Friday I fly from Bristol to Dublin, then from Dublin to Orlando on Saturday. I'm a bit worried about that one, actually, since US Airways don't have seat-back video screens, just an overhead display and a set 3 or 4 movies. It's like the dark ages of air travel. So I'm hoping I luck out and get several seats to myself (I had 4 on the way from Dubai to London. 4!) so I can just snooze.

Still have to sort out my medical insurance, but that shouldn't be much of a problem. I'm going to get the first 4 months then compare it to the Disney package once I'm over there.

Right, I'm off to download some more movies at 20 times the speed of South African internet. Ciao.

Veni, Vidi, Visa.

Even I'm cringing at the corniness of that title.

Today I had my visa appointment. Drove to the consulate in Durban, left everything I didn't need in the car, strolled in and queued.

I was a bit worried because of my dual citizenship and the fact that I earn money overseas and locally - none of it with any proper invoices or anything, but after waiting for 45 minutes, I was called to a window for fingerprints, then called to another for a quick chat with someone about why I was going, where I was working, what I do here.

And then, my visa was approved. Just some insurance to get and I'm all set. Soon I'll actually have something to put on this blog...

The Update Monster

I took a break from this blog because blogger.com wouldn't load to let me edit it. Just a quick update. Hopefully, I'll have more photos and things to upload once I get to Disney World.

Some news:

* I've just returned from Namibia, where we did a play and workshops on Shakespeare for school kids. We were generally treated like royalty, almost everything was paid for, and we got rave reviews - so success all-round.

* When I got back, my Visa information pack had arrived, so I've been filling that out and trying to fit in appointments between play-dates. We've got 2 more weeks of rehearsal, then onto Grahamstown and the National Arts Festival.

* All my flights and accommodation are now booked. I'm arriving in Orlando on August 13 to recover from jetlag, explore and shop.

* Got a list of fellow South Africans arriving on my date. Sent them all an email, though no replies yet. However, on the way to Namibia, in a random little town, I met one of them - Sam, working at a biltong shop. It's a Small World indeed.

Now that Blogger is working again, a proper post will be on its way soonish.

Overdue

I've been busy with decidedly non-Disney things for a while, but since it's been a month since my last post, I thought I'd drop in.

Invasion: My house has been accosted by ants (in their millions), rats (in the roof. They don't seem to like my poison), frogs (my window opens right onto their home) and numerous other bugs (thankfully no cockroaches. I hate cockroaches). I'm embroiled in an ongoing campaign against them, but it's a losing battle.

On stage: After spending some time away from acting to do some writing, I've finally got back into it. We're Doing "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)" at the National Arts Festival. It's a fuuuuuunnny play, and I'm doing it with friends, so it's been great so far.

Wedding: My brother's getting married at the end of May, so I've been dragged to a lot of wedding-y sort of places (like a massive flower warehouse - who knew that sort of thing even existed?).

Sundry: I've also been organising family photos (all sitting in a box), writing some new things, answering questions for a living (the other day we got a question from a fellow Disney-ite) and generally pottering about. Oh, and it was my birthday last week.

So there you go. Like I said, not much Disney. I'm keeping my eyes peeled for the first sign of a ticket sale to Orlando, because at the moment prices are ridiculous, but other than that, I'm more focused on the here and now.

No doubt that'll change in the coming months.

Toilet Gas (It's not what it sounds like)

So I have a maid come in twice a month to get in all the corners that an eligible bachelor doesn't get around to. There's nothing quite like a freshly laundered bed that you don't have to make, but that's beside the point.

She visited the loo and decided to cover up what she had left in there, so she gave it a liberal spray with a random canister that (to her credit) looked entirely like some kind of air freshener.

Then she knocked on my door, showed me the canister, and said that it was "a bit strong". Nonsense, I thought, this looks like air freshener. I strode confidently into the loo, and immediately my face, nose and eyes started burning.

After an hour or two of open doors, fans blowing and hands waving, we managed to get rid of the offending gas. Just got off the phone with my mum, and it turns out that my cousin (a cop) had randomly given us tear gas in the very distant past. My mom had been searching for it for years, but apparently had neglected to try the place with all the tear gas-y canisters lying about.

So I can now add "being tear-gassed" to my life experiences.

Oh, and in Disney news - total fail with the CRC. Even the man in charge claims ignorance and computer error and I'm too lazy to chase it up, but at least I've now sent my clearance form to Disney.

The Saga Continues

It's going to be VERY difficult to positively "represent" this country if I'm asked about the police service.

If you recall, I first sent my clearance application on Feb 15, 2011. I called twice, first about 3 weeks after, then on Mar 15, 2011. Both times, they told me very clearly that it had NOT arrived, and was likely lost in the post.

So on Mar 15, I paid a hefty price to have another application couriered to the Clearance Centre, and it arrived there on Mar 16, no problem.

Until today, Mar 22. And what do I have in the post? A clearance certificate, DATED MAR 14, 2011.

So essentially, the police service LIED to me, twice, and put me out of pocket. Is that not fraud? So now I'm on the warpath (cue dramatic music). Emails have been sent! Calls have been made! I know I'll never see my money again, but I won't rest until I have an apology, and hopefully a sacking for the corrupt/lazy individual in question.

The Police Service's standard day.

So Disney tourists - my advice is to never mention the people running my country, unless you want to be on the receiving end of a tirade.

I'm going to sulk now (good luck to everyone starting today).

Triple Facepalm

On Thursday (March 10) I rang up the CRC (Clearance Records Centre, I think) to ask if my police clearance application had reached them.

It had not.

Bearing in mind I sent it on Feb 15, this was my first Facepalm moment of the week. I'll have to re-apply on Monday.

The second Facepalm came on Friday morning. A strange thunderstorm passed over. It was still sunny, and there was maybe 30 seconds of rain, but 2 massive thunderstrikes.

On the second strike, I saw an electric pop out the corner of my eye, and I'm offline. Yup, with no surge protection, my ADSL router had got itself fried, so I had to drop a not-inconsiderable amount on a replacement (plus an impressive-looking red surge protector).

The last Facepalm moment came earlier today, when I switched on my printer. It flashed a warning light like a raised middle finger and refused to do anything. Then I followed its cable to the plug point. Same as my router.

Well done, lightning, you struck twice in the same place. And my Disney savings are less because of it.

Shiny new bucket (list).

In my spare time, I've started putting together my bucket list for my time at Disney. I've also started thinking about where I want to travel during and after the program, but I still need to work on that a bit.

Take a look. There's a shiny new button up there under the header. You know you want to.

From next week, the Clearance Records office is going to be bombarded with calls from a certain someone asking them if they received my application yet. That certain someone is this weird homeless guy who hangs around my house and likes to douse me in wine. I told him he didn't have to do this, but he insists. I think he's just happy about his new iPhone 4.

I hate iPhones.

Second time lucky

Today I went back to the police station, back to reception, and back to Room 9 on their advice. Once again, the door was open. Once again, nobody was in. After standing around aimlessly for a few minutes, someone came out of Room 8 and asked what was going on.

"I was told to come to Room 9," I said jauntily, "I need a clearance certificate you see."

"Room 9?" he chuckled, slapping me on the shoulder. "Room 9?! Ho ho ho, you silly boy. Don't you realise that 9 is the highest number we police can count to?"

And then he summoned his mysterious goblin librarian, who croaked "Follow me, young sir, there is but one other room that matches the number you have been given."

He had brought me to room 18. 1 and 8. 9. Of course. It all made so much sense now.

Except it really didn't. Luckily, room 18 was home to an efficient old lady and, long story short (well, not actually THAT short), I now have my police clearance application.

Still have to post it though.

Oi... so it begins.

I'm glad I left myself with plenty of time to get a police clearance certificate.

Today I popped in to the police station, asked at enquiries where I had to go and went there (the ominous "Room 9"). The door was open, but there was nobody there, so I figured they'd be back shortly. 10 minutes later a passing policeman informs me in a confused mumble that he thinks the offices are closed.

We both stare at the open door as we ponder his statement.

"Any idea when they'll be open?" I ask, not unreasonably. The officer shakes his head, looking at me as if to say I have a lot to learn about the ways of the world.

"Maybe," he shrugs, "maybe later." He turns from me and stares into the distance. I stare off into the distance as well, imagining a time when all this was just hills and you didn't need a bloody clearance certificate to visit another country, just a spear and a deathwish.

Eventually, like an indecisive mist, the officer floats away, leaving me staring at what I now realise is a telephone pole.

Oh well, I'll try again tomorrow.

Nifty Sites

So I'm going to apply for my police clearance tomorrow (a lengthy process in South Africa - it's unlikely I'll see it until at least April), but tonight I was just browsing my favourite Disney-related sites, and thought it might be a good idea to do a quick post about 'em.

WDWIP - Chances are you found this blog via this site (and if so, hi). It's got a wiki section which is vaguely useful (but poorly maintained and fairly out of date, especially the Africa section) but the real appeal is the forum, which is packed with info from current and past participants. If you haven't been here yet, go. Now. I'll wait.

WDWmagic - My first choice for general information about Disney World. The forums here are great as well, especially the Trip Report section, which got me excited enough to apply for this job.

Official International Programs Site - Some good info on this site, but not that specific about a lot of things. The site gives details on the first step of the application process for each country, so it's a good kick-off point.

Official WDW Site - Currently the best place I've found for photos and information about Animal Kingdom Lodge (the place I'll be working).

If I think of any more sites, I'll either add them to this post or add a new one down the line.

In other news, just over 6 months to go now. I've already booked a flight from SA to London to see my folks before I go. Now I'm scouring the net for a deal on a London-Orlando flight.

A welcome Welcome Pack.

So things have been a tad hectic over the past few weeks, since we've been moving house (and when I say "we" I mean my mother and I, because the rest of the family had "things to do" - brushing their hair, and the like). But in amongst the madness, I got a nifty little package from Mr. Mouse:
Once you've been through the interview process, perused a few websites and had a few emails, there's not much in the welcome pack that you don't know, but the Look Book looks impressive, and the fact that there's something in your hand makes it feel just that little bit more real. I've still got 7 months to go, but now that 2011 and the welcome pack have arrived, it doesn't seem that far away.

I've got some things to organise.