It has been almost two years since I trained at the Matterhorn and I am a bit nervous about training this weekend. Now I did train on Winnie the Pooh, but it was a bit different. I went there when the ride was not open and learned the ride from the general lead and the imagineers and maintenance workers over a period of three months. Not since June 2002 have I actually been out there in the field learning something.
I still am haunted by my four and a half days of training on the Matterhorn (June 7-16, 2002 – It wasn’t five days in a row but Friday, Saturday, Sunday, then Tuesday, and Saturday). Now mind you, I probably would have been signed off in three days, but the mountain conspired against me. At least I was able to lick my demons when I became a trainer a year later.
The attraction I am learning is vastly different than the ones I knew before. The good news is that it is considered a D-ticket which means I will have now worked all of the different ticket attractions. What does that mean? It means I have worked an A-ticket (Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, Carrousel), a B-ticket (Casey Jr, Alice), a C-ticket (Pan, Dumbo, Snow, Toad, Tea Cups), the forthcoming D-Tickets (Mark Twain Riverboat and Columbia Sailing Ship), and an E-ticket (Matterhorn Bobsleds).
Ever since I was a kid, I’d always have trouble sleeping the night before starting a new class or semester or year in school. It still happens today as I start a new adventure at the Happiest Place on Earth.