The Norway Pavilion Epcot

Today I had my first class training at Disney University on my own initiative. I attended the class: “Elevating your professional image.”

Learned a little about how to act professional, etiquettes, first impression, verbal and non-verbal communication, businesslunch and how to respond to fellow Cast Members and guests in a proper way using different ways of communications.

It was interesting, and I plan to attend as much classes as possible while Im here to learn more of various themes…

I got a Great Service Fanatic card from my manager along with a letter from Disney with a comment from some guests that really liked how I helped them out when they visited the Norwegian pavilion. A Great Service Fanatic card is something you can get for helping fellow Castmembers, going above and beyond for them and the guests etc, creating magical moments etc…

The comment from the guest was:
“Alexander from Norway in Epcot was an extraordinary young man. He gave my family a fantastic tour of the Norway museum, provided us with tons of info, helped us to find Maelstrom and Akershus. Wow what an asset!”

Oh… It was so cool getting a comment like that, thanks a lot to the family that sent in the comment, it really made my day.

Had a great day at work today, and was in the restaurant for a long time. I was running photo the most of the shift, the photo guest get included in the price as a gift from Belle, when I had a very special moment with one of the guests.

So I sat down with one of the guests who was in a wheelchair when I brought them the picture, it was also the guests birthday. When I showed her the photos, her face was full of expressions, and she nearly started crying, it really moved me, and I also nearly started to cry. She was soo happy and exited about the photo she just got on her birthday, and told me to tell Belle that she loved her and thank her very much. It was so special, and I was so touched I just had to go backstage for some minutes. I went to the cast that makes the photos and got them to make a special photocard for her, with Tinkerbell, pixiedust and “Where Dreams Come True” on it. When I went over to give the guest the photo, she started to cry for real, and I also got some tears in my eyes…

Its moments like these that makes your day and work feel special.

Yeey! Today is my birthday, Im turning 20… Its not really my birthday in America yet, but in Norway Im now 20….

Turning 20 apparently dont mean anything here. Damn. Well well, I just got home from a great day at work. Today is a throw in party for the new arrivals (hey, Im no longer the new guy), so me and Marius are going to dress up like Karius and Baktus, since its a “superhero” theme for the party. (Karius and Baktus is my superheros) So I stopped by Walmart and bought some clothes so I could look like my character…

Tomorrow, the 6th of February which is really my birthday, me, Joey and Sue are going to Animal Kingdom in the morning. Then were going to Epcot and eat in the Norwegian restaurant Akershus, then were off to Magic Kingdom for Extra Magical Hours… I think it will be a great day! Thanks for all the facebookpostings, mails and messages guys, I really appreciate it, and I really feel homesick when I read em… <3

Today I read the Norwegian newspaper “Kapital” that Disney is considering throwing Norway out of World Showcase in Epcot to replace the pavilion with a Scandinavian pavilion instead.

This is terrifying, and it really could happen. It would be totally understandable if Disney decided to offer exhibition place to Sweden and Denmark. Norway has abandoned the pavilion, the reply I got from the PMs office was that this was a matter for the department of trade, but they just rejected a contribution application….

Im really disappointed  about Norway at the moment, and we cant take it for granted that our pavilion with over 11 million visitors every year will stay there forever if we dont do anything to keep it updated… But luckily the Kapital also says that the ministry of trade is reconsidering the application now, so lets hope that some sense come out of that…