This past weekend I went through basic training at the Disneyland Resort. This is the training that every employee goes through. Whether they are out in the park or backstage in costuming, every Cast Member goes through these classes. My training lasted from Friday to Sunday. Each day was a 6-8 hour work day. I went through 4 different classes in that time and I want to share with you a basic overview of each class.
Traditions: Friday Nov. 28, 2014 7:30AM - 5:00PM
Each class has a different reason and rhyme, this is the first one that anyone attends, it's that first big "Wecome to Disneyland" impression. Everywhere I turned there was another cast member congratulating me, and reminding me how incredibly lucky I am and how many people wanted the position that I am in. We started the morning off with what was the most boring part of the day, but we all understand it's something you'd have to go through in any job. We watched as out very 90's animation video guide Chris took us through all the legal information we needed to know. A 45 minute snooze fest. After that we broke into smaller groups and headed into different class rooms to start our day. We watched inspiring videos (that I must admit I cried during.) We learned Disney mottos and just how important every single person is to the "show" We even took a quick tour of the Disneyland Park. Taking in the moments being made by both guests and cast members. After our tour we made our way back to the class room and after discussing everything we learned, a few minutes later with a knock at the door in came our boss... Mickey Mouse! With a big box of gifts for all of us, and as if seeing Mickey wasn't good enough he brought us all our official Disneyland name tags! When he came into that room each of us turned into a little kid on their first trip to Disneyland. A long day can always have a happy ending.
Our California Story Saturday Nov. 29, 2014 8:30AM - 3:30PM
This class isn't offered to everyone, it is specifically for people who will be working in Disney's California Adventure Park. We discussed the history of the park and even though it's only 13 years old this park has so much History especially since the Buena Vista Street redesign and addition of Cars Land in 2012. We again took a tour of the park, here in California Adventure when we were out there we were supposed to look into the history of each park and why it has significance being there. Every place in the park play part in a story. A Disney story. This day was our shortest day but happened to be my favorite. I loved learning and exploring California Adventure, it taught me so much.
Welcome to Operations: Sunday Nov. 30, 2014 8:30AM - 12:30PM
This class is what I would call "the boring class" but the "extremely important boring class" We learned about OSHA we learned how to carry things with out damaging your self or the object and we learned how to be safe, during everything we do in our roles at Disneyland. This class was short but extremely informational.
Welcome to Entertainment: Sunday Nov. 30, 2014 12:30PM-5:15PM
For the first time all weekened we split into our respective jobs. Everyone going into Attractions headed into one area and everyone in Foods headed to another and so on. My job falls under the Entertainment category, our time spent in the class room was short but wonderful we watched a couple videos of what being in Entertainment was all about. And again we left out on tour of the park. While I can't describe what we did and say I'll say this working for Disney in any job is a true gift. You are cared for and important whether you are sewing costumes or cleaning dishes, everything you do builds and creates what Disneyland is.
While my training classes were long, I did my best to enjoy every second. I can't wait to see where this opportunity leads me.
No comments:
Post a Comment