Magical Moments: August
Hey guys! Instead of posting each story individually, I thought it would be fun to start a blog series of Magical Moments from each month and share them with you in one easy-to-find spot! Sooooo here we go!
I'm so glad that this is my first interesting memory:
Living with the Land was down for about half a day during my training because one of the fake trees fell over into the waterway. I got to see it from a secret window above the ride and it was truly hilarious.
During my very first experience as Grouper (the role where you group guests into the trains), a group of TWENTY THREE PEOPLE came in and I panicked. I don't do math well under pressure, so my first thought was, "Can we even fit 23 people on one train?" Yes, yes we can. In fact, we can fit around 28-30 people on a train. Pro-tip: My trainer advised me to finish loading the current train using other people behind them and then wait for the next train to stop moving before the crazy free-for-all so that nobody hurts themselves when they all rush the car. While it was terrifying, I'm glad that it happened while my trainer was there to help me!
Fun Fact: There are 8 Hidden Mickeys around Journey into Imagination and one hidden Buzz Lightyear! Have fun searching for all of them!
One of the doors we use to get backstage at Journey into Imagination is in the queue area and it's labeled as the "Flubber Room." It's always really awkward to cut through the line of guests to get to it.
On one of my training days, we had to cut through the standby line to get to the door, and my trainer turned to us and said, "Guys, I want to show you one of my very favorite things to do." He took us through the line and said to the people standing there, "Hey guys, excuse us, but Flubber got loose and we need to go in and catch him!" Then the three of us stood outside the door and he said, "Okay guys, are you ready to run?" He counted to three, opened the door for us, and we all ran in. We could hear the people in the line laughing through the walls!
And then he took it one step further.
The door has a window that is backlit with a green light, so he stood in front of it and waved his hands around like Flubber was attacking him! Then, he started dancing around and they laughed even harder. It was such a cool example of how you can make anything into a Magical Moment for a guest - even walking into a backstage door!
At the "Merge" position in the Magic Eye Theater, when we take guests in wheelchairs or
motor vehicles into the show, we have to take them through a special back row with only one other guest (just in case there are more people in wheelchairs who need that space) and the rest of their party is allowed to sit in the row in front of them. During my first time training in the Merge position, a family of four with a young girl in a wheelchair came through. So far, the guests in wheelchairs who had visited us that day never had more than one other guest with them, so we hadn't needed to explain this rule to anyone yet.
I was immediately nervous.
I didn't want to come off as a bad guy for splitting up the family!
I went up to the girl in the wheelchair, did the "Disney Bend" to get on her level and instinctively said, "Alrighty, YOU get to choose ONE lucky family member to come sit with you! The rest of you can stay towards the back of the preview room and sit in the row in front of them." She smiled and immediately picked her dad to go with her. She seemed really excited that she was being treated like a celebrity! When I returned to Merge, my trainer exclaimed, "That was literally perfect. I want to steal that line from you!!!" He had been spouting all kinds of puns and clever lines throughout the day, so I was really proud that he liked one of mine!
There was a family coming into the Pixar Short Film Festival at the last second, and the mom was telling her little son to hurry, so he was running. I did the Disney Bend and cheered him on as he ran towards me, yelling, "GO GO GO! YOU CAN DO IT!" And then I gave him a big high five when he made it. It's the little things :)
When we were going to the Flubber door to take our break, a 12 year old girl walked by with her family in a PERFECT Rapunzel Disney Bound outfit [if you don't know what Disney Bounding is, check this out] with flowers in her braid and everything, and she was wearing a birthday sash. The family stopped in line RIGHT next to the Flubber door, so I knew I had to take the opportunity to compliment her. As we crossed, I looked at her and said, "Soooooooo us your favorite princess........ Rapunzel?" And she said, "Haha I thought that's what you were going to say!" Then I told her Happy Birthday, asked her how old she was turning and if she was having a good day, and then I said goodbye before going backstage. It was so adorable and you could tell she felt really special!
Fun memory: On August 27, I went to the final showing of The Music of Pixar LIVE! at Hollywood Studios! It only existed for one summer (May to August), and the only time I saw it was at the very last show. As a huge fan of both Pixar and movie soundtracks, it was so amazing to experience some of my favorite Pixar songs live!
On August 29, I crossed off one of my more difficult Bucket List goals. For the first time ever, I was chosen on Star Tours as the Rebel Spy!!!!
Right before we got on the ride, I had been talking to my roommates about how much I wanted to be the Rebel Spy. I mostly wanted the t-shirt, so I made it a personal goal to get picked (even though I literally have no control over that!). So when my picture appeared on the screen as the Rebel Spy only minutes later, I couldn't contain my excitement! It was SO magical!
So obviously I bought the t-shirt. Who cares if they only sell them in kids sizes? Not me!!!
On August 31, I passed my training assessment! YAY!
I can't wait to see what September holds!