ICP stands for I'm Closing Pools

Ive almost been here a whole month! It doesn't feel like it at all, its gone so fast, especially now the proper work has started!

I finished my on the job training a week ago. It was over three days where we wore our costume (i STILL haven't taken a picture!) and trained at our location. 

The first day was at Coronado, and i was late because of a stupid social security appointment, where Disney didn't really care that i had work early and did nothing to help me get there as soon as possible. But anyway, it was nice to finally see where i would be working, and we got to learn all the zones of the pool, how to close for weather, we did some vat training to see all the blind spots of the pool, then we got to go on the water slide!

The second day was at Animal Kingdom Lodge, and it was a closing shift, so we did the same as we did at Coronado, but also learned how to close the pool at the end of the night, which was going to be very useful as i learned CP's basically get all closing shifts! Animal Kingdom Lodge has two pools as it is kind of split into two resorts. There is the main part, Jambo house which has the bigger pool, then there is Kidani Village which is part of the Disney Vacation Club, which has its own smaller pool. We closed for lightening for like 4 hours so we spent most of the day at Kidani. This was pretty boring, just sitting around, but this is Florida and its going to happen a lot this summer!

We had to have an extra morning to make up for the training we missed at Jambo, but this was just another day of slide testing, vat training and zone learning so it wasn't too bad!

Then i had my kapa, which is the on the job test you have to pass before you can go on stand on your own. There is a written test, where i only got like two wrong because some of the questions were quite badly worded. Then a practical test, where you go on stand for real and the coordinator will drop a vat somewhere in your zone. I got it in 3 seconds and i passed! 

I went straight into my first ever shift the afternoon of my kapa. It was a long day but hello overtime! Luckily i was at Kidani so it was a nice ease into it and i did quite enjoy myself! The hardest part in my opinion is when you're on the stand with the slide. No matter what pool you are at there are kids that like to test the rules, and of course its your job to tell them off! I now know from experience that no matter how hard they pretend they don't understand my accent, they do. Ive never shouted 'feet first buddy/princess' so many times in my life!

I also jumped in for the very first time, on my very first shift. A little boy ended up too far out in the pool and started panicking and crying, so i jumped in, at the same time as his dad… I felt a bit stupid when his dad just picked him up and took him out just as i got to him, but the other lifeguards all said well done to me so i felt a bit better.

My life since then has basically been the same as that pretty much every day! I work 1:45-10:15 and i have now worked at every pool. My favourite is definitely Kidani. I like meeting new people i work with since there are so many guards at Coronado and Animal Kingdom, and the guests are always nice to chat to, especially when they see I'm from Scotland.

My least favourite parts are weather closings. We have to stand and make sure the pool deck is clear while the pool is closed. Some guests get quite annoyed the pool is closed, even if there is thunder and lightening right over head! Others just get angry that you don't know EXACTLY when the pool will reopen, I'm sorry i cant predict the weather! 

Ive had one or two days off but they just sort of blur into one, so heres some photos, i hear everyones enjoying my photos!

 A trip to magic kingdom on my own meant Mickey pretzels!

The new Tangled themed bit of Fantasyland.

Looking extra scared on Dinosaur. 

Meeting Russell and Doug!

My camera has been out of battery for the past week or so and i am yet to charge it...

Officially a Disney lifeguard!

On Wednesday we had our final day of lifeguard training which meant one thing, tests, tests and more tests! First we had our group test in the pool, where we would come out as a team with everyone else in the pool, as if we were actual lifeguards on duty, then two things would happen where we would have to act. My team was second to go. We came out and straight away we had a vat (a silhouette of a person made out of material) on the bottom which another girl jumped in for. Then my flatmate Rachel started to 'drown' and i immediately blew my whistle and jumped in, without really thinking about it. We had to do an unconscious rescue using a backboard, then do AR (artificial respiration) and then CPR using a trauma bag, which has oxygen and a defibrillator in it.
We passed! There were a couple things we did wrong but we wouldve saved her life in the end, so we "made it work".

Next we had the written test. This was multiple choice and really easy, i passed fine and only dropped one mark!

While the written tests were going on, they took two of us at a time to do the CPR test. We were tested on adult, child, then infant CPR. My adult went fine, then i thought my child was going fine until i realised that i hadn't called for help, but i did it as soon as i realised so it ended up ok, then my baby was going ok until i was trying to clear the airway and got confused, but i still sorted it all and passed them all!

So finally i was a fully trained Disney lifeguard with an Ellis licence!
We went to Downtown Disney to celebrate with an Earl of Sandwich. I had the chipotle chicken avocado, and it was one of the best sandwiches i have ever tasted!
Then i had five days off to do whatever i liked!
Thursday:
Rachel also had the day off, so we went to Epcot! Epcot is my favourite park and we did spaceship earth and the new test track, the nemo ride and ellens energy adventure. Then we had a wander round the lands. We met Donald in Mexico.

Then i had my first funnel cake of the year in America!

Then we came back to Patterson and sat by the pool for a bit when Bex was back from her training. Magic Kingdom was open until 12 that night so we thought we would go. I finally managed to get a good photo of the castle too!

We managed loads of rides since it wasn't too busy including the three mountains, space, thunder and splash! We also went to Gastons Tavern and tried Le Fou's Brew, which is mango and passionfruit juice/slush with marshmallow foam on top and it is goood.

We also went to meet Ariel.

Then we had to get the bus back, which is always an experience. We went to the contemporary thinking it would be quiet, but everyone had had the same idea as us and it was busy! We had to stand all the way back too, chivalry is dead! But it wasn't too bad, there was just a few moments that i thought i would end up sitting on the people behind me.

Friday:
We decided to have a bit of a lazy day. We went to Cast Connections in the morning. Cast Connections is a shop for cast members and their families where they sell discounted Disney merchandise, most of which is out of date, broken(but still in pretty good condition), or display items. They also sell some food really cheap! I got some apples, a bottle of water and some postcards, and it cost me about $4, whereas if i had bought it in the parks it would've been about $10!
Then we came back and sat by the pool. My tan is coming along nicely, but i can tell when i start working I'm going to get some strange tan lines.
We went to Cici's Pizza for tea which is my new favourite place! Its an all you can eat pizza buffet, and with cast member discount, it only cost us about $2 each! And the pizza is amazing! They even do a macaroni cheese pizza which is so wrong, but yet so right!

Saturday:
Bex had the day off, so we went back to Epcot! We got fast passes for Test Track and we went on Soarin, which only had a TWENTY MINUTE QUEUE! It was definitely longer when we got off. Then we went on Mission Space. I had only ever done green, which is the 'less intense' version, but we went on orange, where they spin you so you feel g-force, and it was so much more fun! Then we went to Test Track, and the new bit where you design your own car is so good! I think we got a bit too into it, making the least eco friendly car possible.
We also met our new boss,

Mickey!
Then we did the usual trip around the lands, then headed home for a trip to Walmart.

Sunday:
We had planned to go to Animal Kingdom, but i managed to catch a horrible cold, in Florida of all places! So i stayed behind, and spent the day in bed trying to recover before i start work on Tuesday! I felt a lot better in the evening though, greatly helped by my roommates finding a tv, which had been sitting outside the apartment across from ours all day and security said they could take! So now we can watch all the trashy American tv we want! Our new favourites include Long Island Medium and Breaking Amish.

Today I'm giving myself another day to recover from my cold, beside the pool of course. And tomorrow i have my orientation at Coronado Springs! Which I'm really looking forward to.

Traditions and Training. Where the Fun Starts...

Friday was Traditions day! If you don't know what Traditions is, it is a class at Disney University that all new disney employees take, it is everyones first day of work at Disney.

Its all about the four keys of Disney, safety, show, courtesy and efficiency, and how we work towards these in our job everyday, and how it is our responsibility to uphold them. I don't want to ruin it for anyone, but you do take an exciting trip to a magical place around the corner.

Then we got a visit from someone very special, who brought us a present…

Our name badges! We had been wearing little sticker versions all day so we got to get rid of them and put the real thing on. And Goofy is the critter i won when our table named the most disney characters in a minute. Not bad for a day of work.

That night was the first time we were able to use our cast id's and get into the parks… FOR FREE! We of course went to magic kingdom, with a detour at the Polynesian Resort on the way.

Ive never stayed in any of the disney resorts, but we are trying to at least have a look around all of them because they are all beautiful, and the pulled pork nachos at the Polynesian are fantastic. Yacht and Beach is also my new favourite,

just look at the view.

Anyway, Magic Kingdom. We got there quite late as we came home after Traditions to get changed before we left again. So we only had time for a couple of rides and some food in Tomorrowland before Wishes! (Said in the disney employee style, if you have done the recreation class, you know what I'm talking about) Then since it was open late, we went and had a look around New Fantasyland, which is beautiful! And because it was so late everything had short wait times, so we went on dumbo and the new little mermaid ride, we also had a look around Gastons Tavern and of course went to the Tangled bathrooms.

Also, a word of warning for current/future CP's. If you want to get a bus back from the Magic Kingdom at closing time, get on at the Polynesian, not the Ticket and Transportation centre, unless you are prepared to said over an hour and a half for a bus that can actually fit you on…

The next day me and my roommate Bex had a day off so we went to Hollywood Studios for the last Star Wars Weekend of the year. I had also never been on Rockin' Rollercoaster or Tower of Terror, so i was dragged on them…twice… My face was indescribable in our picture from Tower of Terror. Its not my favourite ride. We also had a look around 'Darth's Mall' and of course went on Star Tours, then we headed back and sat around the pool at Patterson for a bit.

Then on Sunday we had our 'Welcome to Recreation' class at Disney University, where we spent most of the day doing e-learning, but we also got our schedules and things and learnt more about our costume for when we get it.

Finally today (Monday) we had our first day of Ellis lifeguard training. And i have to say, i was expecting the worst but i had quite a fun day. Apart from doing so much cpr i now have carpet burns on my feet from moving around so much. But i actually feel quite confident that if something did happen in a swimming pool i would know how to act, and i would feel comfortable doing so. And this is only after one day!

I have training for the next two days and, if all goes well, i will then be a fully licensed lifeguard! Then i have FIVE days off before i start at my location, so plenty time to play in the parks!

I thought the definition of a CP was meant to be overworked and underpaid, but just now i just feel underpaid… But i'm loving every minute of it.

My Location and the Dreaded Swim Test

I had my lifeguard swim test along with all the other lifeguards from the UK and Hong Kong at 6pm last night at Mickeys Retreat, which is an area for cast members and their families where theres a pool and tennis courts and a little beach etc. There were two lists, one had the names of the people in water parks, the other was the people in resorts, i was on the resort list, and we did everything second.

First we had an eye test, just like when you go to the opticians, i don't need glasses or anything so that was completely fine for me. Then the watermark lifeguards did their test. They all had to do the deep water test, regardless of whether they were a deep or shallow water guard. They had to swim 8 lengths of the pool (200 metres i think…), tread water for two minutes with their hands out of the water, then pick up a brick from 8 foot deep water.

Then we had to do the shallow water test, where we had to swim two lengths of the pool (50 metres?), then we had to pick up a brick from 5 foot deep water. Its safe to say we all passed, although a couple people struggled with the brick, but its disneys choice…

We then got told that we would have to do the test all over again when we start our proper Ellis training.

Then, the moment we had all been waiting for, we found out our locations!

You get a bit of paper with your schedule for the next few days, and the top right corner looks like this,

So my main resort will the Coronado Springs Resort! 

I have never stayed in any of the Disney resorts, but my roommate says it is one of her favourites so i am quite excited to start.

It also says AKL beside my area so I'm assuming that this means that i will also rotate between Coronado and the Animal Kingdom Lodge!

I officially start work on Friday with Traditions, then i have my recreation training on Sunday, then i start my lifeguard training on Monday and i am on my way to being Disneys newest qualified lifeguard!

(Pictures are not mine)

Arrival and the First Few Days.

I arrived in not so sunny Florida at about 4pm (9pm uk time) after travelling for about 11 hours, and having not slept for about 24! This was not so fun. But all my flights went fine, immigration wasn't as bad as i was expecting and we easily got a mears shuttle from the airport to Vista Way using the discount vouchers sent by Disney, so it only cost us $16.

Now, after travelling for hours and feeling horrendously jet lagged, of course the first thing they do is take your picture! This is for housing id's, and i found out that i was in Patterson Court.

Patterson is the newest of the apartment complexes, and in my opinion, the nicest. It was my second choice on dorms, but that was mainly because there is no bus stop, it shares the one at Chatham. But this was made out to be a 10 minute walk away, when really, it takes about 2 minutes. I also like how close it is to The Commons, and its within walking distance of the outlet mall, where we went for lunch in one of our breaks between hours of meetings at The Commons Clubhouse.

Most of our time so far has been spent either checking paperwork, filling in more paperwork, and learning what we can and can't do. Its pretty dire, but Disney try their best to make it bearable, and its quite nice not having anything too strenuous to do while you're still jet lagged.

So i arrived on Monday night, and heres a little summary of whats happened so far:

Monday

The dreaded Walmart trip. I was lucky that i managed to fit bedding in my case and i am SO glad i brought it! I went to walmart because i wanted food for the morning but i didn't really have to go, but i felt like a zombie the whole way round, it was horrible, but i did get a phone and hairdryer and things so it wasn't a wasted trip.

Tuesday

Im lucky that two of my roommates, Bex and Rachel are lifeguards too, and they were meeting another lifeguard, Curt, for breakfast, so i tagged along. We went to Applebees and i got french toast, it was amazing but i couldn't finish it, there was just so much! Then we had a drug test in one of the apartments at Vista Way where we met the rest of the lifeguards, and let me tell you, peeing in a cup is more stressful than you think! Then we all stuck together and went to The Commons where we had a passport check, then got lunch at the outlets, then went back for our housing welcome session. Then i had some time to myself and skyped my mum and sorted my phone and everything. Then we met up with the other lifeguards and some other people and went to the Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney for tea! Its safe to say i slept well that night.

Wednesday

We had an early start at The Commons where we got told about the Disney Look and checked to see if we were sticking to it. Then we had hundreds of forms to fill out for social security stuff and we were told more about what would happen if we broke the law and why we shouldn't break the law! But we also got our times for Traditions, and mine is on Friday at 2pm, which is when we finally get our cast member id's (which let us into the parks for free!) and our name tags. Then we headed over to Vista Way where we killed some time while attached to our phones because of the wi-fi. Then we had our 'recruiting welcome' which is where most people found out there work locations, but we won't find out until after our swim test at 6pm tonight!

So its been a busy few days, and I'm so glad we have tomorrow off! Although i don't have any plans for it yet, but that might be a good thing!

Disney and exams!?

So my past few weeks have been great fun.

Its exam season. And luckily i only had two, but they were both pretty near the end of the exam period, and pretty spaced out, which at first sounds like a good thing, but once all your friends are out on their celebratory end of exam nights out, and you've only had your first one, it gets quite annoying.

Anyways!

I was a bit stupid. During my January exams, i pretty much did anything but study up until the very last moment, meaning one thing. Resits. In August. When i will be working in Disney.

Whats that you say? Its a shame ill have to self terminate and come home early? Before I even know what it'll be like?

Hopefully, not so much!

I found out through Yummy jobs that Disney offer proctoring (invigilation) services through Disney University. So i have spend the past few weeks, whilst on my study breaks of course, sending emails back and forth to my department at university, writing formal letters to try and find a way for it to be possible for me to sit my resit exams in Disney World. Its not been confirmed yet, but i think its looking positive, I've had the thumbs up from my department, i just need the final yes from the university and i should be good to go!

I know this probably sounds horrific to some people. Sitting exams and having to worry about studying whilst you're in the happiest place on earth. But really, i could do a lot worse that being able to study somewhere with a view like this.

(Not my photo)

Now i am two exams down, with my fingers crossed i won't get any more resits, and with 13 days to go!

Visa Appointment

In my opinion, this was the most daunting part of this whole ICP experience. The interviews are nerve wracking, but they aren't the difference between whether or not you're allowed into a country! Even though I've been to the states a few times, i was really nervous when i went to get my visa!

There are two embassies in the UK that you can choose from to go to, either London or Belfast. As I'm from Edinburgh, this is really annoying. I would say that Belfast is probably the cheaper and quickest option travel-wise, but i chose to go to London because i know my way around better, so if i would've had to go by myself i wouldve been alright.
I booked my appointment for Wednesday the 3rd of April, and all J1 visas (the type you need for a 'cultural exchange') get an appointment at 11.30 in the morning. Yummy jobs sent all the necessary paperwork, and all you need to do is pay the booking fee, the sevis fee, and fill in an online form.
The online form is the trickiest part. The yummy jobs instructions were quite hard to follow too, so make sure you set yourself up a nice cup of tea and a biscuit or something to stop you smashing your computer while filling it out.

Me and my mum travelled down to London on the Caledonian Sleeper on the Tuesday night (which i would highly recommend!) and arrived on Wednesday morning stupidly early, but we found a Pret to have some breakfast. We killed time with some shopping and wandering around until it was a more reasonable time.
I met Rosie, who i had met at my second interview, so we could go to the embassy together. And it was good because i didn't have a clue where i was going!
We also went to Goulds pharmacy to leave our phones etc en route. I have to say, i was very sceptical about the whole 'leaving your phone in a random pharmacy' thing because i didn't really trust how reliable it would be, but it is very professional and trustworthy, i would really recommend it because it meant my mum could go and do her own thing, but still know i could get it touch with her once everything was finished.
We then went and joined the massive queue to get into the embassy. If you are going to do this in March/April time WEAR WARM CLOTHES. When we got asked for certain bits of paper, my hands were so cold i could barely move them! It was also nice to have some company in the queue.
Once we were in it was pretty straightforward, you get given a number, which you get to know very well the amount of times you check it, then you just wait to get called to a window. I thought this would be it, so i was very impressed when my number was called after only being there for about an hour or so, but it turns out this is just where they collect the paperwork…
I was lucky and got a lovely american man who was very chatty and happy, and he took my forms and my passport then gave me a form to fill in which was for my passport being couriered back to me.
Then you sit back down, and realise why some numbers are called in order, and some randomly.
There was a little group of us all going to Disney, so it was nice to have people to chat to, i didn't even need my book! We were told that it could take from 2 to 5 hours until we were called for our interview, but i was really lucky and my number was called in what felt like another hour or 2, i was the first out of the Disney crew! I went up to a different window, got asked what my plans were after Disney, what university i went to and what i studied, then he told me my visa was accepted and my passport would be sent back to me, easy as that!

I was probably in the embassy for a total of about 2 or 3 hours.

So for all you current/future applicants, my visa advice would be,

• Dont stress. Its not as bad as you expect it to be.
• Meet someone before if you can. The Disney guys are all friendly (we are employed by the 'happiest place on earth') and it helps put you at ease, and keep you occupied during the sitting about.
• Double and triple check your paperwork. And take an extra, different set of passport photos.
• Put your electrical stuff in the pharmacy. Its only £3 and saves SO much hassle.
• Eat before you go. I was so hungry…