A Day In The Life

So let's look at what a normal day in the life of an Emporium Merch CP is like!

Five days a week I wake up either at 1 or later. Some days I get up at 4 PM for my 7 PM shift, and other days I'm up at 1 for a 3PM shift. I hang around the house and make lunch, eat, get into my costume and then I head for the buses. Because I live at Patterson I take a nice walk from my home to Chatham's bus stop and hang out for a few minutes until either the A bus or the B bus gets there. The A bus stops at Vista, Wilderness Lodge, Contemporary and then at Westclock, which is where I'm headed. It takes roughly 45 minutes to an hour, which is the same with the B bus. The B bus goes to the Poly and then stops at the Grand, before stopping at Westclock.

When I get to Westclock, most days I go straight onto the Cast bus, but sometimes I go into costuming. If I have to go to costuming I allow myself about 30 minutes more time than I needed, just in case I really have to hunt. Luckily for me, I wash my 3 skirts and my expediting costume at home, and only have to worry about getting new blouses and maybe a new tie if mine falls apart. After this I head to the Cast bus and ride it to our entrance of the Magic Kingdom. A couple days out of the week I stop in the Mouse and get Subway for dinner, but if I don't get Subway I head straight down to the Main Street USA area.

A lot of the time I get there early so I hang around the tables and talk with my friends or I'll read a book. Sometimes I hang out on the couch and relax, or fall asleep in the armchairs. This really just depends on what time I get to work! 15 minutes before I am scheduled to start work in the Emporium, I head upstairs to clock in. After that I'll head outside to relax or I'll wander around and talk some more. At the time my shift starts, I go back and get my assignment which can be anything from picking up Stock 5 or Register 17, straightening the charm table, assisting a register, merchantainer 1, door greeter 6, assisting Baby Care or going to Baby Care myself!

If I'm on register I normally hope for Baby Care, but if not I head out to a register where I will hang out for about 3 hours. During those 3 hours I will chat with guests, clean up my area, put things away and of course ring up merchandise. Sometimes we get pulled for other little tasks around the store, but mostly you stay put. After about 3 hours, I get a break and go downstairs or outside to hang out and eat. I then go back up and get a new assignment and head out again. After another roughly 3 hours in my area, I will get my second break and after that I come back for my final assignment. Once our store closes, I get a new task to help in a certain area, do the trash or fill the registers. Once that's done, I head for the bus and go home.

If I am a floorstock that day, I will pick up my radio and my earpiece during my 15 minutes before I start, do a radio check and go and meet up with my expeditor. Once I get my assignment to a floorstock or replenish position, I head out to my area and start to straighten and catch up with my morning person to see what's going on. I then start going back and forth to fill my shelves, and get my carts of merchandise my expeditor pulls for me. I stock, help my guests and jump on the registers if it's getting busy. Sometimes we're slow enough to watch the parade or just spend time with a family, but most of the time this is go go go! When we close, I'll get a door assignment, which is making sure people are only moving south in our store, and not allowing them to go north. Once we fully close, then we get down to the business of fully restocking our area, and then once we are done we head home.

While I'm expediting, I start at 2, which is the earliest of most of my shifts. For this I spend my day in the back breaking down merchandise and picking stuff for the stockers to put out on the floor. I love this role the most, just because I always have something to do and I can help my friends. It's also fun because you get some downtime to chill, without the pressure of being onstage.

After I hop on the bus I take a 30 minute or so ride back to Chatham, and hop off the bus. I walk to Patterson, show ID at the gate and head home. Sometimes my roommates'll be awake, but most of the time I'm the last person home. I'll turn on a movie and make some dinner, sit down and relax a little bit. Then I hop in the shower and get into bed, red a little bit and then go to sleep. By the time I'm asleep it's about 4 or 5 AM, and I will do it all again this afternoon.

Goodnight!
Kelci