A Series of Fortunate Events

Guarding the Wall. For 6 hours. 

What I thought was going to be a long boring day guarding the wall blocking Test Track until it reopens late November turned out to be one of the most eventful days I've had so far. 

I was officially supposed to start at 10am but I arrived early to talk to a manager about where to clock in and what my responsibilities were. No managers were available but a friendly secretary made a phone call and I talked to a lady who was sending someone over to pick me up. 

The lady who got me at the managers' trailer was very friendly and it turned out that I had met her in passing during one of my training shifts. While I changed into my wall guarding costume (blue shirt with purple accents and khaki shorts) she had my start time changed to 9:30. I was surprised that I could start working early but I didn't complain since I could use the extra money. 

On our way to the Energy brake room to store my bag, a manager called and met us outside of Mission Space. Turned out that I was needed at the Seas. The elevator bringing wheelchairs up to the undersea viewing area was broken so me and another girl became elevator escorts for the morning bringing those who asked about the elevator around the building to the alternate elevator and through the VIP room to get there and waiting for them until they wanted to be taken down. Wedding receptions and special events take place in the VIP lounge with comfy couches with windows to the aquarium, the second biggest in the nation. 

When guests with wheelchairs were not upstairs, I got to walk around downstairs answering guests questions, greeting guests, and handing out the coveted Micky Mouse stickers. I loved all the guest interaction.  

After the elevator was fixed around 1:00, one of my coordinators told me that I should go to the 30 day countdown to Epcot's 30th anniversary cast party taking place at the Wonders of Life pavilion (which is no longer open to the public). Impressive is a great way to describe the party. Catered buffet lines of delicious food and free Premium Bars and Mickey ice cream sandwiches were more than I could have asked for. To top it off they had delicious strawberry lemonade. As we ate, a dj was playing with people dancing, and a spirit crowd went around cheering at each table and handing out a special gift bag. There was a movie on cast member's memories of the opening of Epcot, and a little gallery showcasing the park's history and Walt's vision. A five tiered cake showcasing Epcot's beginnings on the bottom levels, the millenium celebration, and more recent additions such as Test Track, Mission Spaice, The Seas with Nemo and Friends, and Sorin at the upper levels. Spaceship Earth as it appeared for the millenium with the Mickey's hand and wand was on the top of the cake. There are 30 hidden Mickeys on the cake and there was a contest to find them all. 

The best part of the party was the characters. Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy wore fancy outfits and Donald and Pluto were there too. They walked around the building visiting with all the cast members. Of course I had to take a picture with my favorite, Minnie Mouse! She loved the fact that I was "earning my ears" the next day. 

After the party, I went out to guard the wall. This turned out to be pretty fun because I was stationed at the huge intersection in front of Test Track. I got to see a couple performances of a group singing car related songs by the model cars and the Jamitors, a rather comedic group of "janitors" who quit there job to play music. Plus, the other cast members stationed there were very friendly. I even talked to the Chevrolet specialist who was there to answer questions about the model cars. Thanks to him  I now have the company's discount code for GM, which will come in handy when I buy a car soon. He even gave me a piece of paper to fill out to get information on the car models of my choice. He told me which ones were hatchbacks (which is the type of car I want) and which ones have good gas mileage. 

Overall, the day was excellent. I got to spend my morning talking to guests, had a delicious free meal, met Minnie Mouse, met some friendly cast members, and got information and a discount for when I buy a car. This just goes to show that even what appears to be a bad day can turn out to be great.