October 31, 1999, HALLOWEEN
Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida
We are employed once more! It has been a long time, almost two years since Keith and I sold everything and left California for our 'Round the World' trip. We just cannot believe that much time has passed. We now work, if you can call it that, for Walt Disney World (the happiest place on earth) in the Disney MGM Studios Merchandising Dept. Cindi is working at the Fantasmic show 8 hours a week and Keith is working about 14 hours a week in the biggest retail outlet in the park. We have really enjoyed the rides here that are not in the CA Disneyland like the Rockin Roller Coaster that zooms 0-60 mph in 2.8 seconds and the Tower of Terror, an elevator drop of 13 stories! Yikes! It is obviously NOT the mere $6.25 an hour we are working for, but the incredible benefits! We get into all the parks for free, get great prices on the Disney cruise (ours leaves Nov 14th for 4 nights), and get great discounts on merchandise, theatre shows, etc. We have already attended cast parties (read free food, live bands and dancing), free theatre plays, and a super Oktoberfest. This is our first time in Orlando area and we have found Disney is a city unto itself! It has it's own ambulance service, a wardrobe deptartment that stops your heart, and 44 acres of magically landscaped grounds and waterways. Of course, the traffic is horendous, I wouldn't want to live here and the scariest part is Disney is only 30% complete. That means more theme parks, more hotels and more traffic to come!
Finally our training is DONE! 72 hours of training seems just a tad over the top for selling glow jewelry out of an apron. I have been trained in register, cash handling, how to open and close, make electronic deposits, take a personal check, all those things that I won't be doing. Oh well, all those hours paid for the cruise to Castaway Cay and Nassau aboard the brand new ship, WONDER....can't wait! We are down here in Florida with our RV friends (about 20 Boomers) and just checked into our timeshare for the week. Keith's mom arrives tonight and will be staying here with us for a week. Part of our benefits is getting her into the many parks for free and reduced prices for Ben Hur musicals and Cirque Du Soleil tickets.
One of the most interesting things we did during training was to go below the park in the service corridor. Tunnels under the Magic Kingdom carry trash, water, and headless charachters around the park hidden from the guests eyes. However it is a bit worrisome the first time you see Winnie the Pooh holding his head in his hands instead of a jar of honey. Not to worry, I have since recovered. So we will be here in Central Florida, touring Cape Canaveral, swimming with the manatees, visiting the everglades by Airboat and enjoying the beautiful winter weather here until the middle of January when we head west to Arizona and California once more. Write when you can.
Hoping all your Halloween treats are of the chocolate variety!
Keith and Cindi Meyer
Please drop me a line at any time at cbmeye1@ibm.net