Congratulations Coilback!
The first week for me was the most hectic. The first day for me was check-in and the program welcome meeting was that afternoon. I had Traditions on the third day if I remember right so I spent the 2nd day arranging my room, cruising around Orlando and hanging out at Downtown Disney. We couldn't get into the parks until Traditions when I was there but to compensate they did allow us access to Pleasure Island at night with your Housing ID.
The 3rd day was Traditions. This was definitely the most fun class. Heres a tip from my experience...If you don't know the area I do not recommend driving. I did get lost and was late. Luckily there was a 2 great cast members facilitating the class and one of them stepped outside with my roommate and I and gave us the quick version of what had been covered and the forms that were filled out to catch us up to the class. Otherwise our training would have been delayed and it would have been a huge mess. So...Take it from me, the guy who loves to drive his car... take the bus like everyone else. If you get the morning class you'll have plenty of time to take the bus back to the CP housing and go to the parks afterwards.
4th day was Park Orientation. Very fun day. Woke up at 5 am and headed to my home park...The Disney-MGM Studios (It will always be Disney-MGM to me). Checked in and met my group of about 7 or 8 CMs which was great because we got to ask questions and orientation was very informative and fun. We cruise around the park for a few hours before it was open and then before we went backstage for videos, computer training and costuming, we stood in front of the hat and watched our first rope drop
After that was on-the-job training and that about covered the rest of the week. It was a very hectic time but soooo much fun. I'll stop there because I can go on for a long time. Probably have gotten too elaborate already LOL.
Just one last piece of advice, follow their rules. Disney is extremely strict and doesn't mess around. I had a roommate and numerous coworkers who all got the boot for reasons such as attendance and their behavior at work, at home and playing at the parks. I had a reprimand after about 2 weeks because of late clock-in on CDS (Cast Deployment System). Make sure you understand this system thoroughly. If you have a question about it ask a manager because if you are supposed to be there at 1300 and you clock in at 1301 you will get a notation on your record card.
Alright i'm done. Most of all have a Magical Time! These are memories you'll cherish for a lifetime. Congratulations again and Good Luck!
-Jake
