Training and a Little Pixie Dust

Day 2 of Training was fantastic!! First, I started the morning off bright and early and headed over to the Animal Kingdom Wardrobe center to be picked up by my trainer. I got there early, as per usual, so I managed to read a couple chapters of my current read while I was waiting. Unlike yesterday, today was sunny and perfect, so it was nice to be outside and read in the sunshine while killing some time. Shortly before 9am, my trainer arrived, I punched into the system, and it was off to the training room in Maingate. As we sat in the car, we went through the same obligatory introductions that I've gone through every day of training so far - names, where we're from, where we went to school, and then a scattered "favorite" of something Disney - character, ride, park, etc.

Well, this time, it was a bit different... because my trainer, Kristin, was from Greenfield! It was so exciting to have someone from Wisconsin in my midst. As I soon learned, she attended UW-Parkside and actually knew my cousins Janell and Joe -- and my "cousin-in-law" Anna! It was one of those "it's a small world!" moments. (Insert the Small World song here, if you so choose)

During Day 2 of training, we reviewed everything I had learned in Day 1, and then had a few more powerpoints on icon photography and the PhotoPass system that were more in depth. They were long, but afterwards it was time for lunch at Hollywood Studios and then out into the Studios for some practice! I went up and down Hollywood Boulevard and the Streets of America with Kristin taking icon photos of the giant hat and Tower of Terror with her and other cast members as my "guests". We did some role play excersises, which let me practice my guest interaction a little more.

After taking photos for a while, it was back to Maingate to look at my photography (only a few crooked shots, but everything else was great!) and then have a few more powerpoints on troubleshooting and what to do when things go a little less smoothly. Before I knew it, it was 5:30 and time to head back to my apartment to change before meeting my roommate and her dad at the Magic Kingdom.

The bus ride took FOREVER with a long change at Vista (another apartment complex), but I was soon on my way to the Magic Kingdom -- I took the monorail from the TTC and had the hugest smile on my face as I approached the gates. As I swiped through the gates for the first time as a cast member (eek!), I was grinning ear to ear as I went down Main Street. I stopped to take a few photos for families along the way, but sadly had to rush through most of it because I was late to meet my roommate by about forty-five minutes. In retrospect, I wish I would have slowed down because the feeling I had went entering Main Street was amazing, and irreplaceable.

Main Street was packed because Wishes had just finished up and our new castle show was about to go live but I made it over to Erica and her dad in front of Pirates in Adventureland. Her dad was so sweet, he bought us light-up Mickey ears which are adorable! We rode Pirates of the Carribean (one of my favorite rides, definitely) and then walked around the lands, taking everything in. We managed to ride Haunted Mansion, Monsters Inc Laugh Floor, Mickey's Phillhar Magic and explore all the shops along the way before the park closed at midnight. They were floored by my Disney knowledge as I filled them in on little facts and tricks about the park throughout the night.

As the park closed, we took a monorail back to the TTC, where her dad was nice enough to give us a ride back to our apartment so we didn't have to take the bus after a long day. Which, leads us to now, as I write this very long post!

I have off tomorrow and Monday, so I don't know what kind of fun and mischief I'll be getting myself into... only time will tell!