Halloween in September?

Well, life here in Florida has gotten pretty crazy. I'm working pretty regularly now, and I'm even picking up shifts most weeks just to make sure I have a little extra cash flow. I have become very obsessed with pin trading to the point that I'm pretty sure I doubled my collection in the short time that I have already been here. I haven't seen as many characters or shows, but that is mainly because I have been working a lot and trying to not kill myself by over doing it.


For anyone reading who doesn't know, I broke my foot in January of this year which meant I couldn't go to the character performer auditions for the College Program. But it turns out all the walking and standing I've been doing has hurt just as much. I keep going back and forth on trying to decide whether I should say something and get myself transferred to a location where I would have more chances to sit. But when I think about it, nothing really pops as far as locations that sit, so I also don't want to transfer and ruin my program by getting stuck in a horrible job. For now I'm trying to take it easy and sit down as much as possible. I'm also excited because I can finally go to some auditions. There is one next week that I am planning on going to with some friends from my work location and I'm pretty pumped. It'll be my first audition in a while, but it's just what I need to get myself back on the horse again. I'm a little hesitant because if I got through the auditions it means I would extend my program and stay in Florida longer, but I have decided that if I do make it all the way, I will decide what to do when the time comes.

I don't feel like I have anything too exciting to share since I do work a lot but I do have two things that come to mind that are kinda exciting. Before coming down to Florida I made a bucket list of all the things I hoped to achieve while here (this can be seen here) and one of those things was to become a Galactic Hero on the Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin. One day I worked in the morning and decided to take the afternoon to just go on the Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin so I could become a Galactic Hero. Since it is in our slower season, the wait time was only 5 minutes so riding it multiple times was no hassle. I ended up going on the ride about 20 times and got Galactic Hero 5 times! The Cast Members were definitely starting to recognize the crazy girl in the Buzz Lightyear shirt who was constantly getting off and getting back on again. But it was a great day for me and it made me really happy to achieve my goal. Since then I have all but mastered the ride and I am working on teaching a couple of my friends all the tricks.


My second story is a bit more magical. I was working the opening day at the Princess Fairytale Hall and of course the lines were crazy and everyone was excited about all the new things they could take pictures of, including the princesses. Now, Walt Disney believed in drawing his crowd in, which can

be seen in the perfect example of Main Street and the Castle (either Sleeping Beauty's or Cinderella's, this is true for both parks). The Imagineers decided to follow this same example inside the Princess Fairytale Hall by placing Cinderella's glass slipper at the end of the queue line to draw all the guests into the building. Of course, this shoe has now become a focal point that every guest wants to take a picture of. As Cast Members, we have to encourage guests to take pictures quickly as they walk by, and we can't let them take pictures as they wait. I know this seems like it sucks, but trust me, there is a reason for everything. Anyway, back to opening night, pretty much every guest in line asks if they can take a picture while they wait, and the answer is always no (we Cast Members joke that we could have a separate line just to meet the shoe). But one particular guest came up and had to be an exception. Like every other guest they walked up and asked to see the shoe, when I told them they would have to wait, he told me he was an Imagineer who worked on Princess Fairytale Hall. The woman with him proceeded to tell me that he had brought her into the Hall on a 'Sneak Preview' a few weeks before and when showing her the glass slipper, he actually had a replica made, but inside that shoe was the ring he used to propose. How magical is that?! Of course I let them look at the shoe but I asked them to wait until the next group went in. Of course they understood why I had to ask them to follow the same rules as other guests and they were great when I told them I couldn't let them stand by the shoe much longer. But still, I met an Imagineer! How cool is that! And what a romantic story his new fiance told me! I almost started crying right then but obviously I had a job to do and couldn't let myself be overwhelmed by the sappy romance.


For now all I'm really doing is working. I'm loving working the Halloween Parties because its so fun to see all the costumes everyone wears. I'm still working on getting to go myself and I can't wait to go and meet all the new characters and try all the fun treats like candy corn ice cream! And once the Halloween Parties stop, the Christmas Parties begin! I definitely picked the right time of year to spend 5 months at the Happiest Place on Earth!

The Most Magical Job on Earth

Well, I have officially started working here at the Magic Kingdom. Right now I am still a trainee but Monday I will take my 4 hour assessment and hypothetically "earn my ears". Though, we don't earn ears, so I don't know why they call it that. Maybe I will have to buy myself some ears. I am working at the Prince Charming Regal Carrousel (not to be confused with King Aurthor Carrousel at Disneyland) and Mickey's Philharmagic. Once it opens, I will also be working at the Princess Fairytale Hall.

The Carrousel (also not to be confused with the Carrousel of Progress) is pretty easy but it's typically a one person job unless it's busy then you have someone to help load everyone up. I was really worried about getting sick just watching it go around and around all day, but once you actually focus on watching the people, it's not too bad. Mickey's Philharmagic is a 10 minute 3D experience that takes Donald through some beloved Disney Classics. This job is slightly terrifying. While greeting people at the front (greeter) and bringing people into the theater and finding them places to sit (theater) are not too bad working the line and making sure everyone gets in is fast pace and demanding. Our theater fits 486 people and 10 wheelchairs, so you have to be careful not to let more people than that in. Of course, my first time doing it myself, I did let too many people in. Working at Philharmagic is much more involved and there are a lot more jobs through the day so I'm excited to get going on all of those. I also have one more job that is secret, but I want you to know that it makes me smile and reminds me why I work at Disney.

Mr. Incredible pulling me away from Frozone

Before I started working, I had plenty of time off and days off in between some of my different training. I used this time to visit the parks, but I also tried to focus more on the stuff that would help me out. People may not believe me, but as much as I love meeting the characters, I'm also using it to study. While waiting in line I do watch how the characters are responding how the characters are reacting to the different guests that come to meet them. Everything from the a guest with a disability, to the kid in line who won't stop trying to say hi when they are with another family. I've noticed they treat kids coming to meet them different then me, the adult woman who is coming to say hi alone. I've had Baloo try to take me on a date, Rafiki who wouldn't stop kissing me, and several different characters who I've been impressed with how in character they stay, though they tend to have a more adult conversation. I've also found it my fun challenge to try and have conversation or interaction back that is character relevant. When Mr. Incredible kept trying to pull me away from Frozone, I told him that I wasn't Elastigirl, I made him sad, and then I cheered him up by saying I was sure she was waiting at home for him. When Pocahontas asked me what was in my pouch, I told her that I had money for trading and a map so I wouldn't get lost while exploring. I think this gives them more for them to go off of, and more for me to observe.

Many different types of puppets

I've also started watching shows and parades since I've come to Walt Disney World. While I pay attention to the show, I find myself watching for more of the technical side of things. While watching the Festival of the Lion King, I was amazed by the lighting design of the show and how expansive and intricate it was. At Finding Nemo The Musical, I found myself watching the puppetry and how they made all the different sea creatures work, while also integrating them with their human counterpart. Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage was just pure gold. Both the on-stage and back stage performance was spectacular. I said on Facebook that one day I'm going to go watch all 5 showings of it one day, and I will. The lighting was awesome, the costumes were amazing, the quick changes were impressive, the lip singing of the minor characters had me thinking they were really singing, the singing of the main characters (mainly Belle and Gaston unless the Beast is singing inside the suit) had me very impressed. The only part it lacked were the transitions from the Prince to the Beast and vice versa, and I can see why they didn't focus too much effort on those, because I'm sure the untrained eye pays very little attention to them. I'm sad this show is going away because I would love to be apart of it. Dream Along With Mickey was also really entertaining.

Dream Along With Mickey

This didn't have as many technical elements, but I do believe it is the only place in Walt Disney World where Mickey Minnie Donald and Goofy actually talk (don't quote me if I'm wrong). I guess what was impressive about this was the script or the plot line. The transition between parts of the story was pretty seamless and the lead ins were pretty fun. I like to watch the Fab Four perform because it gives me a great idea of just how animated you have to be to be a performer. Intimate meet and greets and watching the face characters aren't the same as performing to a crowd who could be watching from any distance. This is especially true for Fantasmic! which I don't like as much here, but the theater can seat up to 10,000 people, and you want all 10,000 people to have the same experience. I will definitely be going to that a lot more to study the performance.

I'm really excited for my classes to start, though they aren't starting for another month, and I will also be getting 'Wishes' trained soon which means I could be on crowd control for the fireworks show. I may not have been to happy about my role placement to begin with, but since I am in Fantasyland at the Magic Kingdom, I get to interact with a lot of children, I feel like interacting with them will help me to become more comfortable with interacting with them when I'm not myself. I also found out that I might be able to shadow a character, so I'm going to look more into that and hopefully doing that once or twice. I've already taken off the day of the entertainment department networking event so that I can go to that and see what connections I can make. So there is a lot coming up, and I am definitely just getting started. I am looking forward to everything that will unfold and the weeks go by and I can't wait to see what is next in my Disney Future!