******warning***** random note taking ahead of my experiences as a boat captain that means nothing to most people.
Just clocked out of my last shift that I might ever work at Disney and parked my last FriendShip in the marina. I canât sleep because all I can think about is driving the boats and dicking around with the captains. Also I havenât written down anything about the boats and boat captains and if I donât, I know Iâll fucking forget, so here it goes.
FriendShip 1: It does everything you want it to do and keeps up speed. It also doesnât have the step down. Only disadvantage is the annoying door handle that everyone tries to GRAB AND FALLS OVER PULLING THE DOOR HALFWAY OUT GOD.
FriendShip 2: HAS THE FUCKING HANDLE ISSUE TOO AND ITâS SLOW AF and the number on the boat isnât even there anymore itâs such a pos but itâs always in the lagoon so itâs all good.
FriendShip 3: the STEERING, UGH kind of slow too.
FriendShip 4: My assessment boat.....I hated it at first because it always came in so fast and reacts too quickly and in general is just super powerful but once you learn to harness it...it became my favorite boat. Broke down a couple times on Brenna and started bleeping itâs oil light every time you brought it down to 6. I still love you 4.
FriendShip 5: slow af and last boat to drive in the marina..also âdidnât turn it offâ apparently. I blame the boat.
FriendShip 6: Eh, slow, always in the lagoon. Nothin special
FriendShip 7: I drove ONE day on NYE when it was finally back in service and it was basically the 3 but even less responsive. However itâs super fast. Itâs also a lot longer than the rest...making it annoying to tie up.
FriendShip 8: ...The beloved 8. Zachâs favorite boat. Super fast, super responsive....just sometimes too damn fast.
As for the boat captains, we had too many funny times to count. There was all the times Marc went to managers for some tussle he had with guests. There as Jacob always turning on the damn fans and exterior mic like a dickwadd. There was Zach always ranting and raving over the 8 and IllumiNations (who freaked out as much as I did when we witnessed the dry run of it in the lagoon that night). There was Danny and his crazy ex wife and random stories out of no where. There was baby Mike that was not so baby and wanted so bad to break the rope at yacht and beach after leadership thought the best way to fix an old rope is TAPE IT. There was Brenna always welcoming me to the dock with âhey beautiful!â. There was Lucy saying âiâll just quit im not gonna take that shitâ with a straight fucking face when the managers said we all failed our audits and weâd get a talking to (also my training partner and AmGard pal). There was Cole who got hit on by every woman alive and partied like crazy but somehow we still saw eye-to-eye on life outlooks and the people we worked with. Heâs also the only other person that got along with Marc with me. There was Jason N that was always so goddamn sarcastic to me and claimed he hated my jokes but then offered to drive both ways because I know he actually loved them and me...There was Jeff that offered some serious life advice. There was Zac A that was a little shit but made me feel like a part of the family with the boat captains and was always happy to see me.
There was also the older CPâs and the other night two old ladies started harassing Chris for yelling at them to get off the dock. They were fucking crazy and even when provided a coordinator, they only wanted to talk to Chris. He ended up crying which was pretty sad and pathetic lol.  Our coordinator Dave was pretty awesome too. We bonded one night at the china bridge when I asked him about his history. He said âwhatever you do, donât get sucked in. Donât let Disney suck you inâ. Ever since then he was always so happy to see me and he usually worked the mid day shifts where I would constantly complain about how hot and sunny it was. It was kind of a tradition between the two of us.
There was so many âDoes this boat go to magic kingdom, grand floridian, port orleans, disney springs, contemporary, epcot when itâs closed??â
And the phrase every boat captain loves most âOur car is at Hollywood Studiosâ.
There was the time Marc went up to guests - âDoes this boat go to ___?â âSorry maâam only on Thursdaysâ *Man stares for 15 seconds completely infuriated* âHA IT IS THURSDAY!â
There was the time Cole and I kept ringing the bell over and over at people down the Disney channel and guests are motioning âWHAT??????â like weâre trying to signal them something.
Of all the things Iâm gonna miss, Iâm gonna miss zach, Iâm gonna miss Marc, and Iâm gonna miss driving those stupid FriendShip boats.
Iâve been crying all day and now I canât cry anymore. Iâm just sick to my stomach with regret now.