My feet are killing me and I'm tired as hell...
Yet I'm still totally in love with my job and I never want to return home. Every last person who knows me knows that I will not wake up before 10 a.m. for almost anything. This morning I was up at 4:30a.m. to go to work and it didn't really bother me that much. That is how much I love working at Rockin' Roller Coaster. As for my feet, I can barely walk, but I don't care all that much. I've got a giant welt on my left foot and an annoying blister on my right, don't care. I miss everyone, but life in Ladysmith seems to maudlin after working here. Everyone will just have to move to Florida with me so I can have the best of both worlds.Yesterday my shift started at 6:30 a.m. which meant I had to be up at 5a.m to catch a 5:30a.m bus so I could get to Cast Services ( place where Cast members enter the park) by 6a.m. It was still dark out when I got to Cast Services. After I was dropped off I started walking towards the RRC break room, of course I was so tired I ended up walking in the wrong direction and I found myself over by Star Tours instead of Hollywood Boulevard where I meant to go. So instead of going backstage and back tracking I just walked across the park towards RRC. It was very cool to see the place so empty. It occurred to me I may never see the park so empty again. It is a very cool place but even cooler when there aren't hordes of people everywhere. It was just me and the maitenance/janitorial people. Although funnily enough, the seem to keep the theme park music going at all times cause even without guests it was still going.
After strolling through the empty streets of MGM I made it to the break room. The other girl I'm training with was already there. About fifteen minutes later BJ and Josh showed and they took us for a walk around the empty building. We walked into the Gravity building, which is the building where the actual coaster is and saw it all with the lights on (to those unaware it's an in the dark coaster). It's kind of weird and kind of freaky. After our little walk we returned to the break room to get the keys, checklist and binders required to do the interior opening. There are three opening people each doing a different section. Our job was to check all of the doors in the building and make sure they were locked and stuff, cause if someone some how opens them the entire ride shuts down. We also had to climb like 101 stairs to get to the very highest point of the coaster when we were doing power resets. We did a lot of other things which aren't worthy of mentioning but the entire thing involved a lot of walking around.
After opening we went back to launch base and we got to ride the coaster twice. Once in the light which was so freaky cause you could see everything and where you were going, the second time we rode in the dark. Then we had 'track talk' which is the managers little opening chat with the cast members. Then we opened. Our little training group headed off to unload where we were taught the two positions there. Unload in which you tell the guests where to get off the coaster and check the first four cars and then Unload advance which is where you check the last two cars and actually push the button that sends it to load. We stayed there for a while and then I think we may have had a break. Again I'm not exactly positive of the order we did things, so bear with me as I try to remember. We did front grouper at some point, which is where you group the people into the limo cars. Make them line up at the appropriate gates. Front grouper is only in charge of the first six cars of the train. After that I'm pretty sure we may have gone outside to work at greeter or fast pass distribution. I do remember that we spent a lot of time at both locations yesterday. I know at some point we sat down and kind of reviewed the stuff we'd learned. I know we tested another car at some point later on. And I had a chicken salad for lunch. Then I came home, did a couple loads of laundry, ate dinner and went to bed. It was all very exciting.
Today I got up at 4:30 a.m. It was nuts being up so early. I don't really recommend it. Today was extra magic hours early edition, which means the park opened an hour early at 8a.m. for hotel guests only. Because I'm still doing the opening rotations, had to be there two hours before opening so we could do it. The girl I'm training with though didn't show up until after nine cause she had slept in. So BJ and Josh took me through the exterior walk through, then I rode the coaster in the light all by myself, then they taught me the load position. We then had a break and then went out to fastpass return. A few minutes after we got out there she showed up. After we did fastpass return awhile we went over Studio B, the place where you get to say a little spiel to the people. I like that position best I think. We did that a few times then went in Studio C where the actual little show is. They don't always have a person working in there but when they do they get to talk as well. I liked it in there as well.
After those two positions we went back out to Greeter and Fastpass Distritbution and hung there for awhile before heading off to lunch. I had a 6 inch Chicken Bacon Ranch which was delicious and very reasonably priced at just $3.55. You may or may not know this, but that is like the most expensive sub on the menu in Canada, so I rarely get it cause it's like two dollars more than all the other ones. Finding it so cheap at Take 5 was awesome. It tasted fabulous.
After lunch we went back out and I think we may have Load/Load Advance. Which is where you load the guests on the car. The two positions are on either side of the car. It involves a lot of walking. Then we worked MERGE which is where you merge the fastpass and standby lines, count them, measure the small ones, and then send them up to the show. It's a very fast paced position but I think I can get the handle of it. It's also outside, though, which sucks because of the heat. The last thing we did was back grouper which is probably the most fast paced of all the positions. You have to send people up to front gouper, then group people into the last six cars of the train. You also have to measure heights of small children, deal with FLIK cards (cards you give to guests to measure the wait time) and remove wheelchairs to unload when a guest with one comes through. It was all very fast paced and I didn't even do all of it, Josh was helping me out. Apparently I'm doing pretty good, though, so that's nice.
After grouper we got to clock out then Josh walked Claire and I over to the bungalows to pick up our checks. I got a whole $48, woohoo. On the bus home I was falling asleep. All in all it was a pretty good day. I love the job and the people are really cool.
Josh and BJ are lots of fun as well. Although they've taken to pushing us around, literally. I don't mind, though, as I just push em back. literally. I may come home bruised but I don't even care. That is if I ever come home...lol.
Now I'm back home. It's like 6:00 and all I want to do is go to bed. I'm so tired. I'll try and stay awake a couple more hours though. I still have to eat dinner. Another frozen meal, hooray. I have another shift tomorrow at 7a.m. which means I must be up by 5:30a.m. Then I have three days off, which I kind of don't like as I like my job so much and sitting around won't be nearly as fun. Would it be sad if I spent one day at MGM going on RRC over and over again? I do have to go to Animal Kingdom, though. So I may try and get over there, and I'd like to go see Click if I get the chance.
I must be leaving now as I don't really have anything left to say. I'll update when my life becomes newsworthy again.
Brynna
After that we went back inside and
I want your job.
I may have to mug you and steal it... *ahem*