Cast Member Charlotte (Disney's CEP 2018!) Day 6!

[EvilQueen1937]

I hope you will all forgive me for being late for yesterday's post, it was an incredibly busy day and I didn't get home until 2am so I went straight to bed!

Yesterday morning we started our training. It began at 7:30am so I had to be up at 5:30, to get the bus at 6:30. I was so tired! We had something called "operations" in the morning, which was like a universal training for all cast members. There really wasn't much to say about this even though it lasted a good five hours. It was very tedious and people were literally falling asleep during it! It was all very important information though so I'll try and give a brief outline.

We went into yet more detail about the four keys, particularly safety. Disney are really big on their health and safety policies so our training was very thorough. We had to watch videos about various crisis situations and what to do if they occurred, and also had to do an interactive video training session on the correct way to lift and move etc in order to avoid injury. It wasn't the most interesting of stuff, and 5 hours was a long time to be cooped up in a classroom, especially after getting up at 5:30! But I appreciate the importance of what we learned and I have renewed respect for Disney and the cast members because I now see just how far they go to ensure the safety of the guests!

We got a 15 minute break in the middle. This is probably the most exciting bit of my morning 😂 at various places all over WDW there are cast member merch shops called "Company D". There is one at Disney uni so I visited during my break! They sell exclusive merch just for cast members, and I found a lanyard for my CM ID with a Chatham Square pin which I HAD to get! I also got the luggage label, and the lot cost me just over $5!

We also got a lunch break of 30 minutes but I spent it queuing in the cantine. There were literally no veggie options by the time I got to the front so I ended up with a little fruit parfait thing, which didn't fill me up at all so I was starving.

After lunch, we moved on from Operations which was five hours, to a merchandise specific training which was another two hours. This was much better and more interesting, much less serious and more disneyfied! The guy leading it was a leader at the Emporium too, so he talked about the Emporium a lot, much to my delight!

The days training finished at 2pm so I ran to the bus, hopped on, got home and quickly got changed before jumping back on the bus on my way to the Magic Kingdom for the afternoon...

I got off the CM bus at the contemporary and walked to MK from there. It was my first time using my own ID to get into a park so I was very excited! I was also on my own, as I didn't want to spend the day waiting for people to get ready and having people cancelling on me at last minute after I've waited, which has happened before, so I wanted to go by myself. I had arranged to meet a friend later so this suited me just fine!

I meandered round Main Street, taking it all in. I went in the hat shop to get my ears from Traditions embroidered with "Charlotte CEP 2018" and they told me it would be 30 minutes so I headed straight to Edy's for an ice cream! I met a lovely couple in the queue who were on their last day before flying back home to England. They asked about my program and we had a good natter, before I made my order and took my ice cream outside for the traditional castle pics! Unfortunately, the heavens opened just as I was queueing in Edy's so the sky was all grey and I was battling the rain!

I went and sat under the yellow umbrellas outside Edy's and just watched the world go by. I felt amazing and had a bit of a moment where I realised I was finally here, in my favourite place in the whole world. It was chucking it down and thundering and lightning but I didn't care, it just added to the atmosphere if I'm honest! I was literally sat on my own in the pouring rain on Main Street, eating ice cream. It was FABULOUS!

I went back to collect my hat but it wasn't ready! I was told that they weren't allowed to write "CEP" on them for some reason as it was on a list of unacceptable acronyms. No one could tell me why, and they even rang operations and they didn't know either. But they said you can literally have anything else but not CEP for Cultural Exchange Program. So I got ICP instead, for International College Programs. Very strange, but I still love my hat!

I also bought my first plush and used my 20% off merch discount for the first time! For anyone that doesn't know, I collect Disney plushies and have over 60 at home. I had asked on the Dibb for suggestions of park exclusive cuddlies and someone told me there was a Dole Whip, so I got it straight away from a shop on Main Street!

I stood by the partners statue watching the world go by and watching families take pictures. I kept offering to take them for them so they could get full family photos, and I took about 6 for different families altogether! Eventually one family returned the favour for me which was nice 😁

I love the castle so much so spent a lot of time lingering around the entrance!

I then walked to Liberty Square to go to the Haunted Mansion but the queue once again was huge because of the rain. I went inside Momento Mori again and got chatting to the CM who worked there. She told me about "Cast Connections", a huge Disney warehouse exclusively for CMs which sold slightly damaged or discontinued merch, as well as unused props from the parks! She said she got a HM snowglobe for $3 when you could but it in Momento Mori for over $40. The only thing wrong with it was that a bat had snapped off the top. If she hadn't pointed it out on the display snowglobe I wouldn't have noticed! She said she just painted over with black nail polish and it looked as good as new! I can't wait to visit Cast Connections now, I'm going to need to bring another suitcase home at this rate.

When I left the shop I thought stuff it, I'm going on HM as it's my favourite and I was dying to go on it! So here's a picture of myself with all my old friends 😂

I saw County Bear Jamboree for the first time too, it was cute but I was surprised at all the little innuendos in it!

I went on Big Thunder Mountain after that, as it had just reopened and the queue was short. But there had been some flash flooding which was disrupting it so I still queued for a good 40 minutes.

I then met my friend Rachel, one of the girls who I had stayed in a hotel with before moving into CM accommodation. She was late getting there as she fell asleep, so it was about 8pm at this point. We went on the laugh floor quickly before settling for the fireworks...

...and they were amazing! It was my first time watching the Happily Ever After show, although me and my dad had watched it live over the internet on the opening night.

We then wandered round looking for somewhere to eat, but kept getting distracted by short ride lines! We went on a lot of rides, including the HM for a second time as the 20 minute wait was too good to resist, even though it was about 10pm and we still hadn't eaten!

We also found this lovely photo spot in Fantasyland...I love this photo so much!

It was about 11:30 and the attractions closed at 12 so we legged it to Space Mountain to get on whilst the line was short. It was better than I remember and we laughed all the way around! When we got out, even though the park was open until 1am, we needed to leave as our CM bus was at 1:05 outside the Contemporary.

I had wanted to stay on Main Street to take some good photos whilst it was quiet but we were knackered and really didn't want to miss the bus! I suppose I do have two months to get these pictures 😂

I finally got to bed at 2am. I had been up for nearly 22 hours so I'm sure you can understand why it's taken me until now to update the Dibb! I woke up at 7:30 this morning as my roommate had set her alarm because she has training. It's my day off today though so I'm going to Hollywood Studios woooooo!

Thank you all for continuing to read my posts! I get my costume tomorrow so stay tuned 😁

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New Photo Added by EvilQueen1937 - 23 Jun 18 3:02 PM.

[JudyC]

Sounds like you are doing great. I remember my daughter telling me how tiring the first week was.

[mick]

Sounds like you had a brilliant time in MK

Joan

[PABBY]

LOVE the photo with the lanterns!

[Custancia]

Great photos! So glad a family finally offered to take one of you!

[Dizzny Momma]

Another day in paradise, glad it's all going so well for you and that you are making some new friends.
Margaret

[Disneycraft]

Fabulous day indeed . So pleased you’re enjoying it all and thank you so much for taking the time to share

[bigplan415]

Hi Charlotte, been following your posts - it all sounds so exciting. I keep telling my 14 year old son about your adventures in the hope that he'll consider the CEP in a few years. I tried to read out your "special moment" sitting in the rain in MK to him but I got all tearful as I'm ridiculously sentimental about WDW too! You really seem to be making the most of it and it's so interesting to read about, thanks for writing about it on here, good luck with the rest of your prep time and starting work.

[floridafan101]

Wow 5 hrs training sounds full on. There’s certainly no half measures is there! This experience must stand you in good stead for the future in terms of jobs. Look forward to hearing more.