I know it's been a while since I've posted, but I have been so busy! And when I'm home and I'm not busy, I'm pooped! The last three days (Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday) have been my training days.
As I said in my last post, I work at Royal Street Veranda in New Orleans Square. The Veranda is basically a little window that guests walk up to, order their chowder or gumbo in a bread bowl, pay and walk away. For New Orleans Square, Quick Service Food and Beverage cast members often cross-train at multiple locations so that they can have more shifts and more hours. New Orleans Square and Critter Country restaurants come as a package.. sort of. So when I was hired at the Veranda, I was also hired at Harbour Galley in Critter Country. Harbour Galley is a little shack (although it's a lot bigger than the Veranda) right across the way from Splash Mountain. They also sell soups and gumbo in bread bowls. The Galley serves pre-made salads and for a limited time (because its Mardi Gras in New Orleans) they have a lobster sandwich on a garlic butter roll (YUM) and a shrimp cocktail with mango slaw (also YUM). I got to sample everything they sell..... ;) Also for a limited time only (because the Troubadour Tavern in Fantasyland is closed) the Galley is selling three kinds of baked potatoes that are normally sold at the Tavern. These include the Loaded Baked Potato (sour cream, chives, cheese and bacon), the BBQ Chicken Baked Potato (...gag) and the Broccoli and Cheese Baked Potato.
via flickr.com
This is the Royal Street Veranda. Behind that window, it is basically the size of a closet.
Monday - the first day of training - wasn't really even training. It was more like a preparation for training. I had two trainers who took two other college programmers and myself to the costuming building backstage. They have these fancy touchscreen computers that you can click where you work, what you do and whether you are male or female, and it shows you a picture of your costume! Then you can print a list of the items you need to get, each of them having their own location code. I walked into a giant room, costumes (many familiar to me) hanging everywhere. Disney is very organized. On my list, their is an aisle number, so I can find my costumes. I have two - one for Veranda and one for Harbour Galley.
Then we all go to the dressing rooms to try them on. Once the other girl trainee and myself were done, we still waited about ten more minutes for the guy trainee to change! One of my trainers said "it's always the guys that take longer".
Once we got our costume(s), we went to the scheduling building to sign some paperwork regarding breaks during work. The rest of the day was basically touring the backstage areas around New Orleans Square and Critter Country, the kitchens where all the food is cooked, and inside some of the restaurants in the area. We also went over some safety precautions such as where the fire extinguishers can be found, where all the evacuation spots are and where we can find AEDs.
Tuesday - my second day of training - we actually got to begin working! I started my shift at Harbour Galley, as a cashier. The Galley is very slow - because it is the slow season but it is also not the most popular restaurant. Helping guests and talking with little kids was fun - besides the family of foreigners who I couldn't understand for the life of me. After a few hours, I counted out my drawer. Disney's process for this is so complex and confusing... It took almost an hour for the other trainee and myself to do it. My drawer was even though!
After our lunch break, we went to the Veranda and worked in there as runners, helping the cashiers serve the food. At the end of our shift, we helped close down the Veranda and do some major cleaning.
Wednesday - my third and last day of training - we worked at the Veranda for the whole day. At first, I was just running and serving food for the cashiers, but after a few hours I got to cashier as well. The Veranda is so much busier than the Galley so our day went by quickly. With just a few hours of our shift left, the other trainee and I went to the managers' office for a "check-in". This is just so they can check in with us to see how we are doing, if we have any questions and to quiz us on some of the things we should know. It was nice to sit down and talk with the managers. They were funny and very helpful, giving us advice about work and the college program in general.
I then became a certified cashier at both Royal Street Veranda and Harbour Galley!
Thanks for checking back on my blog! I will post pictures of my costumes soon!
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