Alrighty… so here we are on day two of this wonderful whirlwind adventure. Today was my first real workday here at Walt Disney World, and boy what a day it was. I put faces to many names that I have traded email with for many months. It was really fun to compare the real version with the version I had cooked up in my head.

Before I get into the work day though… I want to start from where I left off in my last blog post. The dinner meeting with the team.

(in case you’re wondering, I’m purposely leaving out details of just who I’m working with and why. Those of you who do know those details from real life conversations can understand that if it was public knowledge it could put me in a tight spot. )

My dinner with the team went great. We at at Flying Fish. It’s a very sassy little restaurant at the Boardwalk resort. The decor is this really interesting mix of contemporary colors and textures with prints and visual references from a coney island boardwalk type place. The kitchen is a big open air operation centered around a huge wood-fire grill. Prices were pretty high but portions were good and every bit of food was absolutely to die for. It’s the sort of place that strangely is perfect for both a casual (but nice) dinner, as well as something a little more formal.

Right away I knew I was going to click with this team. They were so wonderfully inviting made me feel right at home. We talked industry gunk for a while and that led into the project that brought me to WDW. We didn’t linger on that too long since we’d have plenty of time in the office for that. We really spent most of the time talking about “a day in the life” for all of them. It’s important that I know how they work and the particulars of some of the road-blocks they currently have. We dug right in… they told me what they thought, and I told them what I thought. We learned a lot about each other (as much as can be expected at one dinner) and then we called it a night. It was very enjoyable.

So lets skip forward to today.

I got on the road at just about 8:45 AM (my body clock thought it was still 5:45 AM so that was a kick in the pants). My destination was something called the Maingate Office Complex. It something I’ve seen many times on paper, but really had no concept of. I had pictured it like our Team Disney Anaheim building, but I was dead wrong. the operation is so huge down here, that if they tried to shove everyone into one building like we have in CA, it would have to be immense.

I spent the morning meeting everyone who will have something to do with this project. It’s a big team. after that it was in to meetings and such to refine scope… and then more learning for me on how everything fits together.

Before I knew it 3:00 had rolled around. I have no idea how the day went by so fast. I was taking in so much new information that I just didn’t notice so many hours fly by. I did my best to finish up quickly, because one main thing I’d like to do while I’m here is see as much of the atmosphere talent that is currently out in the parks. The last show of the new High School Musical was at 5:00 so I had to boogie.

I finished up what I was doing and headed back to my hotel to change. Luckily, this hotel is basically in the front yard of the Magic Kingdom so I was there in a flash.

I actually got in the gate just in time for flag retreat (something I love in CA and will always make time for). I stopped to watch. They did a fantastic job. I’m not partial to the very military style the WDW Band drum section takes. They are clearly from a Drum Corps background… while I see Disney bands as something different entirely. So my beloved Disneyland Band is still #1 in my book. One cool thing they do for flag retriet is naming a veteran of the day. They find Guests with military history and allow them to participate in the ceremony. It was heartwarming and very cool. I had good Disney chills for this moment.

When that was done I cruised down Main Street toward Tomorrowland to catch the HSM show. I arrived just about on the last line of the show, just in time for a streamer blast. DAMN! I would have made it if I didn’t linger so long in town square. Ahhh well. I’ve got a few more days to catch it.

I did see this cute little bunny running around the grass between the Liberty Square and Adventureland entrances.

I think that’s about it for today. Tomorrow I will be attending an ‘event’ to help me better understand all the things I learned today… to see it all in actual practice.

For today though friends, it’s past midnight and I am beat. I’ll see you all tomorrow.

Have a magical night 😉

I had every intention of being asleep by now. I unpacked (even hung up all my shirts and pants), showered, returned email, made some calls, phoned a goodnight to my girlfriend, and laid down in my bed. I stared at the ceiling for a while and realized that my body just wasn’t on the right schedule to make this work. So you shall be the beneficiary of my insomnia…

I’m in Florida… Walt Disney World to be specific. I’m here on business, but I make no bones about the fact that I am planning to fit fun in anywhere it’s possible. I do have a pretty tight schedule lined up but I think I’ll be able to fit in a show here and a ride there. So far the trip has been quite an adventure.

Here’s the readers digest version of the day:

It all started about 4:30 this morning when I got up and finished the last bit of my packing. On my way out I stopped by Janey’s place to say goodbye then I was on the road. The trip to the airport was fine. I had a bit of trouble with security but it was no big deal. I flew from Long Beach to Salt Lake in a VW Bug with wings. The main cabin was hardly larger then my apartment (and those close to me can attest to the miniscule size of that). I had a 30 minute layover in Salt Lake and boarded a much more sturdy Boeing 757 for the remainder of the trip to Orlando.

Upon arrival I headed for baggage claim only to find that the wonderful TSA had rummaged through my carefully packed suitcase. I hate this, and think it’s very very very stupid. I could go on for hours about why… but I won’t. From their I headed to the rental car area and spoke to a very cranky woman named Elise who took my credit card information as if I had spit on her first. She handed me some paperwork and when I asked if she could give me driving directions to Disney Property she says “There’s a map in the folder” and turned away. She must have had a rough morning. But I was in a fantastic mood. A little tired and ready for a shower… but happy.

I finally did get some driving directions from the very nice girl working the exit booth at the rental car lot and I was on my way (although about 30 minutes behind where I wanted to be). While driving the 30ish miles to Disney property I was slammed with this amazing downpour of rain. It actually made me a little shakey. I haven’t driven in real weather like that in some time. Nothing like that happens in So Cal.

I got a little lost along the way and must have missed my turn because before I know it I was pulling up to the Animal Kingdom Lodge… but I was shooting for the Contemporary. A very nice security guard turned me around and set me in the right direction. 10 mintues later I was standing in the Contemporary lobby getting checked in.

Fast forward a bit… I had just enough time to throw my suitcase in my room, splash some water on my face, and it was time to go out to a dinner meeting with the team I will be working with down here in FL. They were great folks and it was fascinating to hear stories of the kind of volume they work with down here as compared to Disneyland. It was a setup to what promises to be a fun and very challenging week.

So dinner was over and I made it back to my room… now here I am not sleeping when I should be.

Alrighty, now that I’ve got it all down on paper I’m actually tired.

This is the beginning of what I hope will be a good string of blog entries this week. Who know’s how tired I will be… but I will do my best. more to come…