The Running Thread - 2018

[Jules76126]

Q: If you are allowed to, what are some interesting stories you can share with us? Making magical moments for guest, rude guest, guest thinking that cameras are watching them and behaving poorly. Anything good or bad...

So SSE has no cameras (or it didn't when I worked there) so who knows what happened. We did have senors if people left the cars and the ride would stop. One really cool thing was SSE went down for refub when I was there. So the last week the ride was open they let us walk the ride and take photos in the ride scenes which was so cool. I have photos with the greeks, romans, the newspaper boy, the scenes that no longer exist. We were just asked not to post them on social media. We also used to get to walk the track in the morning which was super cool.

I had people ask me out on dates and we definitely had aggressive guests, especially if they enjoyed world showcase drink carts too much. We usually could get them to move on. We had someone bring a knife on the ride once. That got them escorted out of the park. We had someone fall asleep on the ride and you are not allowed to touch people. So we sent them around again and they were so mad they complained to guest relations. Luckily, the managers and supervisors have your back so generally you only get in trouble if the complaint is legit because people complain about everything.

At Space, people would freak out when the capsules closed so sometimes we needed to reopen the ride for them. Definitely people getting sick. We had a special room right after the exit to send them to if they felt sick or if they needed to get cleaned up.

One of my favorites was during the refub, we had to just hang out in the post show area and tell people the ride was closed. That was kind of boring. But there was a lounge for Siemens above us and they were hosting an event and we had to show the caterers where to go. We made a comment that we wanted payment in food. Later on that night on our break, they actually gave us an extra meal and dessert and it was amazing, especially to poor college kids who don't cook.

 

[LSUlakes]

Q: knowing what you know about the program and things you experienced, would you recommend it to others? I'm not sure if you have a children or not, but if you do, would you encourage them to go into it?

 

[LSUlakes]

Q: How did you end up working the places you worked? Did you get to pick or is it the type of deal where you apply and you get what you get type of deal?

 

[LSUlakes]

I want to thank you for taking some time out of your afternoon today to answer questions from those who were able to attend today. I really appreciate the conversation! If anyone else has a question, go ahead and ask if not we will let @Jules76126 get back to her Friday afternoon.

Again, thank you for participating!

 

[Jules76126]

Q: knowing what you know about the program and things you experienced, would you recommend it to others? I'm not sure if you have a children or not, but if you do, would you encourage them to go into it?

I do not have kids yet, but I would encourage them and all interested kids to do the program. Honestly, the CP was an amazing experience. Who does not want to live at Disney World? We got to make and experience magic every day. On our days off, we would be like, where do we want to go today? Maybe MK just to ride Space Mt or AK for EE. We had season passes to Universal if we wanted to do something else. It was a contained enough environment (Disney took the money for the apartment out of your check) so you were safe, but still different than college as you were way more on your own. You had to learn to live with different people. I was not super close to my roommates, but we all got along. I was there during the year of a million dreams giveaway and that was so cool. The other thing was the parks were not overly crowded as they are now so I think that made my program really enjoyable. I didn't go down planning to save money and that was a good mindset to have as I never worried about if someone invited me out if I could afford to do it. The real world comes way to fast so it was fun to experience this while I could. It also made masters program in London less scary as I knew I could live away from home and make it. I encourage all kids to do the program if you want to. You can do the semester after you graduate if you do not want to take time off of school. It was an experience I still talk about. My husband jokes that when I get together with my CP friends, he better bring a book because after 30 minutes of life small talk it turns to Disney and he has nothing to contribute. But we all have great memories from the experience. Some choose to go full time or do a professional internship. Really it is what you make of it.

Q: How did you end up working the places you worked? Did you get to pick or is it the type of deal where you apply and you get what you get type of deal?

I did not get to pick. You apply for a type of job. Like you can apply for attractions or photopass or quick service food and beverage. The most popular choices are attractions, character handler, and merchandise. They ask everyone if you want to do QS and if you say you will consider it, you will get it. I knew that so I said absolutely not. Do not say yes to anything you don't want to do, because if you do - you are most likely getting it. My friend wanted attractions, was asked during the interview if he would consider custodial, said yes and then ended up there. He later extended his Spring from May to August and switched to TT at that point. I always say only sign up for what you want to work.

They do ask your favorite parks and rides and you can request things. When I was there HM and TOT were the most requested. No ride is off limits so really you can ask, but no guarantees. I said Epcot was my favorite park. I thought SSE would be so lame. I really wanted to work at like Space or TT or Soarin, but it turns out I loved SSE. It was way better than when I worked at Space. There was no height requirement issues, no issues with sickness or scared kids, or FP (No FP+ back then). So it was way more laid back. I think I got Space as people heard I was coming back for another program and requested me. I had friend pull where I was working and my schedule before I even arrived in Florida (most of the time you find out when you check in).

You do need to additional for the characters.

 

[Jules76126]

Thanks everyone. This was a lot of fun. If anyone has nay questions that you think of definitely post this afternoon/night and I will answer them. I am heading to the airport and will be hanging out for a few hours so I will have time. I may run in Ireland more likely drinking lots of Guinness so if anyone wants to follow along, find me on Instagram at Missjulie815. I am really concerned on how long this thread will be when I get back. Good luck to everyone racing!

 

[opusone]

...we definitely had aggressive guests, especially if they enjoyed world showcase drink carts too much.

I'm glad you kept their names private... cough @Keels... cough @FFigawi

 

[sylkai]

Soccer is like hockey except slower and with even fewer goals, right?

I don't dislike it as much as I dislike a lot of other sports, so I guess it's got that going for it, but in general, if it's not hockey I don't pay attention to it.

 

[DopeyBadger]

the newspaper boy

I've always wondered, does he have a complete face? His back is turned and you can't quite make out whether it's all there.

 

[LSUlakes]

I've always wondered, does he have a complete face? His back is turned and you can't quite make out whether it's all there.

Per this pic the answer seems to be yes. Not sure how current this actually is. Its a good question, and i had to google to see lol.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

Planning ahead is key!

Guess that means I need to keep an eye on how the Kringla Og Bakeri refurb in Norway is going to see if it will be open for marathon weekend or if the current kiosk will be my choice. My little sister quipped last night that she wants to buy something during the marathon to say that she did it.

It is the largest and most popular sporting event in the world, and I'll watch as many matches as I can. The matches are shown on the TVs at work, and for the important ones later on, they'll turn the visualization lab where the geoscientists normally use the monster screens for 3D VR modeling into a TV and open it up for anyone to come and watch. No vuvuzelas allowed, though, thank god. As far as teams go:

Who will win - Germany. Too much overall depth
Who should win - Brazil. Best attacking side but not as great in defense
Who I want to win - Argentina. I'd love to see Messi get the 8000-lb. monkey off his back

And for the haters, here's a little joke for you. Why do so many American kids play soccer? So they don't have to watch it.

I made that mistake once. I first played soccer in Kindergarten or first grade. And one day during practice, I took a soccer ball to the face. Yep, from then on, I hated the sport. Years later, my younger brother got into it so I signed up of my own free will because I didn't feel like hearing about it all the time. And during a game that second season I took a soccer ball exactly where it counts for guys. After that, I was done with soccer. It's abundantly clear that soccer has it out for me.

I will watch college soccer in the fall, but only when BYU is playing. And only then if there's not another BYU game going on at the same time. And when BYU struggles like they did last season, my interest in watching soccer at all disappears. I once attended a BYU soccer game in California and a players family member asked me if I really loved soccer. I honestly replied no and said that I really love BYU, which is why I was there in the first place. I've come to appreciate some of the points of the game, but can really only watch it if I really care about one of the teams involved.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Per this pic the answer seems to be yes. Not sure how current this actually is. Its a good question, and i had to google to see lol.

I'm thinking of this one. Is it the same kid?

 

[rteetz]

I'm thinking of this one. Is it the same kid?

Yep same kid. Instead of fixing him they just turned him around. A shame...

 

[Jules76126]

Yeah SSE needs some work. There always seemed to be some animatronic that needed some help.

 

[Waiting2goback]

QOTD: What is something that has happened to you that you did not anticipate due to running?

ATTQOTD: No one ever told me that if I run in a singlet, that my armpits would get chaffed. I anticipated places like nipples and thigh area, but armpits! When I am running I use a stick of body glide in no time lol.

The answer is really way too long. But, I never anticipated liking it. I signed up TOT thinking it would be a one time thing but somewhere along the way I learned I was capable of way more than I ever imagined. I learned I have the ability to be proud of myself. I have helped encourage a few people here and there and made a great friendship with someone, and ended up in his wedding. I have gotten to meet some great people. I ran a marathon with @MommaoffherRocker, and did DOTW with a few more. None of these would have ever happened to me if not for running. Overall, it has made me a much happier, and healthier, person who is finally experiencing life!

ATTQOTD: Going to Disney so frequently. My wife is the Disney fan. I told her before we had G that we might go every few years once G was born. I ended up going 5 times in a row for Marathon Weekend, and G has been a total of 6 times even though she's only 4 and we live in WI. Not what I envisioned when I started running.

So are you a Disney fan yet, or is it still just about the running?

Fun Friday QOTD: Yesterday was the start of what some would say is the biggest sporting event in the world! Do you plan on watching any of the World Cup and what team are you pulling for?

ATTFFQOTD: I will not be watching. For starters I am not a big soccer fan, but for big events when the USA is involved I will watch... BUT NOOOOO, this time we did not even make it in!! No soccer for me. Maybe next time.


REMINDER: Q&A around 12:45 this afternoon!

I like soccer but I won't be watching. By the time I can sit down at the end of the day I am too tired to watch TV.

 

[avondale]

Has anyone heard of or tried the High Performance Lifting program by Jason Fitzgerald? I'm looking for opinions on it.

The program is supposed to be geared for runners, and I suspect it would be good for tennis as well (which I play a lot of). I know Fitzgerald is pretty well-respected in the running field. But, it's a chunk of money for the program and I'd have to invest in some equipment. Also, Fitzgerald is a very tireless self-promoter, which I find very annoying, so I am really trying to separate the hard sell from the actual product.

I already do quite a bit of strength training, but I have to say it's probably not as good as it could be for my main sports goals of running and tennis. You can find a lot of advice for different handfuls of exercises you "should be doing" for running, but nothing it put together into a whole, periodized program, which is what I find appealing in principle about High Performance Lifting.

I'm hoping someone here has experience with it!

 

[DopeyBadger]

So are you a Disney fan yet, or is it still just about the running?

I enjoy it because my daughter enjoys it. But if there would come a time that I was going to race in Disney and they couldn't come with (like 2018 was going to be), then I'd probably just hang out in my hotel. I don't have a strong desire or interest to go to the theme parks and stuff. But I am interested in trying some of the new rides that come out, just not interested in riding the same things over and over in a short span of time. So I guess yes, and no.

 

[DopeyBadger]

HOT2Trot HM recap

It was a hot one as all week suggested. T+D was 140 to 148 throughout the race. Race was less against the clock and more against those around me. Able to secure 3rd place overall and my first AG win! Final racing time was 1:41:21. If you'd like to read all the details, then check out the link above. Time to start Chicago training!

 

[Sailormoon2]

Able to secure 3rd place overall and my first AG win!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

 

[Keels]

Has anyone heard of or tried the High Performance Lifting program by Jason Fitzgerald? I'm looking for opinions on it.

The program is supposed to be geared for runners, and I suspect it would be good for tennis as well (which I play a lot of). I know Fitzgerald is pretty well-respected in the running field. But, it's a chunk of money for the program and I'd have to invest in some equipment. Also, Fitzgerald is a very tireless self-promoter, which I find very annoying, so I am really trying to separate the hard sell from the actual product.

I already do quite a bit of strength training, but I have to say it's probably not as good as it could be for my main sports goals of running and tennis. You can find a lot of advice for different handfuls of exercises you "should be doing" for running, but nothing it put together into a whole, periodized program, which is what I find appealing in principle about High Performance Lifting.

I'm hoping someone here has experience with it!

Probably not the answer you're looking for, but I didn't want you to get ignored!

I looked at the plan but wasn't willing to shell out money for it without at least seeing a sample plan.

Since I'm a real phase of "farming local" when it comes to coaching and training these days, I asked my friend who coaches the state champion cross country team in my area what strength and lifting plan his girls use and this is what he shared with me that I've been "roughly" following:



I haven't had to shell out for any extra equipment because my gym has everything. I usually do this workout the two days I swim. I'm definitely enjoying it more than going into the gym and just forcing myself to do 45-60 minutes of circuit training.

I AM interested to see how/if it helps my golf game next week ...