A magical moment!

Well, after quite frankly an awful day on Thursday (involving angry guests shouting at me, awful weather, bitchy cast members and various other things) I had a much better day yesterday, on Friday. I knew it was going to go well when I got given PAC as my first assignment so I got to see the parade and do the audience control which was good even though I didn't have a clue what I was doing with the ropes. I have it all figured out now though so if I have to do it again I'll know what to do.

It was very very hot outside though, and after forgetting to put sun cream on, I spent all of my time outside trying to have my back to the sun so that my face didn't get burnt! After the parade was over, I went back inside and got my assignment and spent the afternoon mainly doing normal rotations - flying starspeeders (aka sims), photocell, greeter, etc. Then just as I was coming from Sim 2 to go to Unload (my favourite position of course!) I walked around the corner by tower to see a load of CODE V!!! Yes, for all you non-Disney folk; this is vomit. It also used to be known by the name 'protein spill'. Some small child had eaten half a ton of candy and that mixed with the hot weather and probably some dehydration had caused him to vom all over the waiting area for Sim 4. Now, not only was this the most DISGUSTING smelling sick I think I have ever had the misfortune to smell, but it was right in one of the most obvious places for all the other guests. The co-ordinator on duty told me we nearly went '101' (i.e. closed the attraction) as not only was it disgusting for us, but it's the last thing the guests want to see before they get on a motion-simulator!

So, I went into Unload trying not to vomit myself... and the SMELL had already seeped all the way down the bypass corridor into Unload and about 3/4 of the Unload corridor stank as well. So, I stuck to standing at the furthest end of the corridor, directing guests towards the exit until showkeeping (aka custodial) turned up and cleaned it. Then the custodian went around with pine smelling air freshener which did the job, but nevertheless it was pretty vile.

Apart from that the rest of the shift went smoothly with it getting quieter and quieter as there was no Fantasmic last night. At about 8.30pm I was given 'tasking' as my assignment (this is when there is nothing else for us to do!) and my co-ordinator Matt gave me (and another friend Nick) a task to go and find a family, give them a VIP trip on Star Tours and generally just "make some magic". This really excited me because this is the kind of fun stuff we don't get to do in attractions half as much as in merchandise. So, Nick and I went outside the ride and found a family of two boys (Adam and Austin) and their Dad... they had seen Star Wars but never ridden Star Tours so that was great! We went through the queuing area making up the stories for all the things you can see, then we showed them what the operating panel looked like with all the buttons before getting them into their own star speeder. Best part was: I got to ride with them!! So, in costume, got to actually go on the ride! :D So much fun. Then, Nick took them into Tower for a Tower Tour and me and Matt went into the store next door and got them complimentary lightsabres which they totally loved! We gave them a certificate and some mickey stickers and we all had warm fuzzy feelings! THAT is what working for Disney is all about.

Then to top off my evening, I got tasked to tidy up the Yoda Room (aka, Manager's Office). And on the desk was a Guest Service Fanatic card (of which I have none so far!) which had been filled out but clearly not given to the cast member in question. On further looking, turns out it was for ME! And it hadn't been signed by a manager but had just sat on the desk for a week! It was in relation to the guest we'd had after Jedi Training (the 'rediculous' one... see previous post) and the GSF had been given to me by Travis, the co-ordinator I was working with at the time. It slightly irritated me that I wouldn't have got the GSF any time soon unless I had personally found it and then asked for it to be signed really... GSF cards aren't given out very often in Attractions so I felt really happy to get one. They go down on your record card like a gold star but other than that they just make you feel like you've actually been appreciated. :)