Day 2 is over!

Today we started at 9am again, but headed straight to Simba instead of going to Imaginations first.

First thing, three people from face formation came in with a clipboard to decide which of us they want to definitely fit for a face character on Monday. We all had to stand up and say a bit about ourselves whilst they looked at our facial features and decided what they thought. To be a face character you have to have a 'Disney face' which means big eyes, a little nose, and a nice mouth with good lips, as well as cheekbones. I don't think I have a 'Disney face' at all so my hopefulness for a face fitting has gone! Sorry for those of you who were hoping to be friends with a Tink or Wendy, but I think my chances of a fitting are slim. I find out for sure on Friday so I will let you know then.

When the face formation people had finished, Cyril taught us about the rules of being a character, such as what you can sign on, and what gifts you can accept. He also told us the emergency signal in case you are going to be sick or faint, or if you have complete blindness (like if your balaclava has fallen in front of your face). There are so many things to remember when you're in character, but I'm hoping that it sort of comes naturally on set.

We also learnt about how to enter and exit, as well as about our 'story' with each guest. Greeting them, interacting with them, autograph, photo, say goodbye etc. We were told how to sign autographs and how to pose for photos, and how to deal with certain types of guests such as shy, scared or demanding children.

We're not allowed to remove the character heads backstage until we're in a breakroom or the Simba building, so that we keep the Disney magic alive for other Cast Members such as catering or ride operators - I think this is a nice touch!

After all of this we had lunch, there's a new display from Toy Story 3 in Imaginations, with cardboard cut outs of Barbie, Ken and Lotso. I'm not sure if this means that there are some new characters coming to the park, or if it's just a pretty display! They were also putting up the Christmas tree which was exciting.

After lunch, we went back to the training room (Toon Academy), and our costumes were there! We were shown how to sort out the shoes, which involved a lot of velcro (I hate the sound of velcro) and then we had to put our costumes on. Mine felt so strange at first, it has big hoops it in to make Dale fat, as well as padding. Once we had our heads on, Cyril made us look at ourselves in the mirror and wave and blow kisses and just generally animate. When he told us to take our heads of it was quite a relief, as it does feel quite strange in there. He asked us how long we thought we'd been in our heads, and we all said 5 minutes, but it was actually 20. That was quite nice to know, as our sets when we start working are 20-30 minutes long. We then had to put on our costumes again, and Cyril put on the music to the hub show (the one in front of the castle) which we had to dance to and animate to really energetically. I know the Chip and Dale characters quite well, so I was dancing like them as much as possible. It takes so much effort because the costume is heavy and the crotch is really low, and I danced completely full out for the whole thing. It was 25 minutes but it only felt like about 10. I really thought I was going to pass out, when he said heads off we all whipped them off as fast as possible and everybody was bright red and dripping with sweat. I have a new found respect for characters - it is so hard! Hopefully in the park it won't be quite as bad because it'll be cold outside, and we'll have guests to focus on.

After work I headed over the Imax cinema to find out when Harry Potter is on in English. It is only on three times so I need to make sure I go next week.

I called up Disney reservations earlier as well to ask if there were any Cast Member discount rooms available - there almost none for the rest of the season! This means my family will have to pay full price when they come out to see me. I really hope they still come both times, on 10th December and over New Year, because then I always have something to look forward to. I don't think I can wait until I go home near Christmas! They were going to try and stay in the Disneyland Hotel, which has been my dream since I was about three, but it is really expensive so I guess we'll have to stay in a different one. There are rooms available in the Sequoia lodge over New Year, which I think will be quite a nice one to stay at then because it has a big fireplace and feels quite nice and wintery.

I'm in bed now, think I'm going to get an early night tonight once I've learnt my autograph!

Bon nuit! xxx