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Work Update: Back to Epcot (for good!)

I have a major work update for you today!! You may remember in my last update back in June, I had just moved from Epcot Guest Relations over to Magic Kingdom Guest Relations.

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Like I mentioned before, I wasn’t able to stay at Epcot the whole time because there simply wasn’t enough room for all of us on a TA (temporary assignment) to stay. But it wasn’t all bad news – I spent a lovely three months at Magic Kingdom Guest Relations, where I learned a LOT.

MK GR was very intimidating at first and I was nervous to take on the beast that is City Hall. But I quickly found that though it’s super fast-paced and busy all the time, that just meant I had the opportunity to help guests with new challenges that I had never seen before. I was able to learn so many new things so quickly, and everyone at MK GR was amazingly helpful in my growth there.

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I wasn’t there for too long though – in mid-July I received an invitation to come back to Epcot GR on a new temporary assignment that would last until January!! I eagerly accepted and couldn’t wait to get back to my favorite park. I was so excited to be back for Food & Wine and the holidays, plus Epcot’s 35th anniversary which took place on October 1!

It was a lot harder to say goodbye to MK than I had imagined though – I had made heaps of new friends there from all over the world, and I was really sad to leave them!! We promised to visit and pick up shifts at each others’ parks to keep in touch.

My first day back at Epcot Guest Relations was September 1st, right in time for the start of one of our biggest events of the year – the Food & Wine Festival! I was nervous about returning but everyone was SO amazingly welcoming in my return, it was seriously so nice. I truly felt like I was going back home <3

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It was also so great to be on a TA that was set to last longer than a month – I was used to being on the “month to month plan” as we called it haha. This time my TA was set to go until January, so I could really focus on showing my managers everything I had learned at MK and showing all of my skills without worrying about my end date.

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This pic is from when I received a #castcompliment on twitter – a guest tweeted about me <3

However…I didn’t have to wait too long to find out some unexpected news. On September 27 my managers let me know that my TA was actually going to end earlier than expected…..because they were offering me a full time STATUSED position in Epcot Guest Relations!!!!!!

There are not enough party hat smiley face crying emojis to express how excited I was. I was in SHOCK that they were statusing me so quickly – I hadn’t expected to hear anything about it until at least January!! I thanked them profusely and of course accepted right away. As of this week I am officially a statused Epcot Guest Relations cast member and I could not be more grateful and excited about it <3

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Back in the Epcot GR lobby <3

With this newly statused position comes a lot of things – first of all, the huge relief and weight off my shoulders that I know where I’m going to be working during the wedding haha. I was so stressed about that before – not knowing if I would be working in GR or back at Pop Century or somewhere else all together, and whether I would get all the days off I needed. Being statused also presents a whole slew of new opportunities, from being trained in new areas to auditioning for guided tours! I also really think I’d like to be a Guest Relations trainer eventually. I was a trainer at Pop and sharing knowledge with the new cast members was one of my favorite things to do, so I would love to be able to do it at GR as well.

Whatever happens next, I am SO thrilled beyond words to have an official “home” in Guest Relations. It’s such an honor to be able to put on the plaid every day and help guests the way Walt himself intended. I know that I’m only just beginning my journey in GR but I hope that it will continue for a long time. Just like the Epcot entrance area music says – we’ve only just begun to dream 🙂

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I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about my latest endeavors in Guest Relations!! If you’re curious about how I got into this role or what my journey has been like so far, please check out my other work-related posts to see how it all started! This isn’t the end of my work posts by any means, as I’m sure I’ll have plenty more to write about now that I’m at Epcot GR permanently!!

Thank you for reading as always, and all the nice comments and congrats I’ve gotten so far from everyone 🙂

❤! Kaela

3 Comments

  • ShelbyShedrow

    I’ve been reading all of your Guest Relations posts and it is super inspiring! I recently received a TA in Magic Kingdom Guest Relations and I have eagerly been looking for blogs about what to expect! So thank you so much for blogging about your experience!

    • Kaela

      Ahhh that is amazing!! Congratulations! I’m so happy my blogs could be helpful to you 🙂 Let me know if you have any questions at all and if you ever pick up shifts at Epcot I’ll be around!!

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