Aladdin on Broadway

This weekend I took a trip to my favorite city in the world, NYC. The main purpose was to see two of my best friends from college and to see Aladdin on Broadway. Of course, give me an entire weekend in NYC and I'll find tons of things to do.

The weather was not the best on Friday so we decided to poke around Times Square for a little and then head back to the village to order-in food and watch movies.

Found a minion at Toys R Us in Times Square

Saturday was our big exciting day. We started at Lincoln Center, pretending to live out my dream of dancing on one of those stages. Then we headed down to Central Park and walked around, taking pretty hilarious pictures on the huge boulders. After that we went to FAO Schwartz to see the big piano and then down to Rockefeller Center to see the ice skating rink.

Then, since we are all How I Met Your Mother fans, we went on a search for McGees, the pub that McClarens is modeled after in the show. Of course, we had to stop and get a drink in honor of the end of the show.

And in our search for pre-show dining on a college budget, we stumbled upon a bar and grill called Characters which had delicious burgers and drinks for very reasonable prices.

Finally, it was time for the main event...Aladdin on Broadway!!!!!!!!!! The show was fantastic. Since it is still in previews, there are of course things that can be tweaked to make it even better. But overall the show was absolutely worth the money and was great entertainment. The saddest part? The exclusion of Abu from the stage version. While his replacements, Aladdin's three buddies, were funny, they were no match for Abu. And I may or may not have completely geeked-out every time Jafar spoke. He is played by the same actor who voiced Jafar in the original movie and he was absolutely fantastic!

Our night was complete after my traditional post-show Junior's Cheesecake and a subway ride back to the village.

Sunday was spent down in the village window shopping all the expensive boutiques and spending hours browsing my favorite bookstore in the world, The Strand. Miles of books stacked high inside and outside for ridiculously cheap prices, even though I still spent way too much money.

It was a perfect weekend away and a great way to see the city one last time before I move even farther away from it. No matter how much NYC changes, it will always be my favorite city in the world! <3

Hope you're having a magical day, I know I am!

The Happiest Place on Earth

I hear it all the time at work, "You HAVE to go to Disneyland! It's so much better!" This year for Spring Break I decided to see for myself.

I quickly realized that it is impossible to reasonably compare the two. For starters, they were built for two very different reasons and for very different guests. But I took a step back and just enjoyed the park the way Walt had originally intended...as the happiest place on Earth.

As always, I was mesmerized as soon as I stepped through the gates...the camera was put to work immediately. Walking by Walt's apartment above the firehouse on Main Street almost made me cry. And knowing that Walt spent so many of his days there playing around like every other guest was absolutely heart warming. Going into the lands that don't even exist in WDW; New Orleans Square,  Critter Country, and Disney California Adventure were really interesting.

I went a week before they started doing their fireworks and Fantasmic shows every night so I missed those, unfortunately. But I did get to see World of Color which was absolutely amazing! The water projections and effects were so cool and fun to watch and definitely captured the magic of Disney parks.

But, the best part may have been getting to spend time with two of my best friends from the DCP in Florida who now work at Disneyland. It was as if we hadn't been apart a single day. The bond that molded our friendship during the program, was still just as strong.

Even though it was a short trip across the country, I appreciated the break from reality and was thrilled to go somewhere on my bucket list and spend time with amazing people!

I truly love Disney, the company and the stories, and I couldn't think of a better place to start my career in entertainment and creativity.

To those who have thought about applying for the DCP or are debating on accepting your role, do it! It continues to change your life even after the program itself is over.

Hope you're having a magical day, I know I am!

Round Two?

I never thought about doing it a second time, but why not keep my options open? Earlier this week I was looking online for apartments to move into after graduation that will put me back in the Orlando area so I can get back to work at Walt Disney World. Becoming an adult is hard. There is no sugar coating it anymore. The candy store has been cleared out and it's time to get in the kitchen and start cooking. So in my search I started trying to figure out what alternate options I would have. Then I thought about doing the College Program again.

One of the perks of the program is that all participants that complete it once have the opportunity to do it one more time. So I thought, I might as well try for it and if I don't get in, I'm not losing anything. So I started the application process all over again. The personal information and the web based interview questions were just like I had remembered. Long and repetitive but I understand their importance. I was honored, but not surprised, when I was invited to complete a phone interview.

Today I sat down in a quiet place on campus and was able to chat with a Disney representative for about a half hour about all the possibilities included in the program. The interview was so different than my first because this time I know what I'm doing. Not only have I been through the process successfully before, but I have worked in a role that has exposed me to new experiences and taught me how to deal with anything under any form of pressure.

I was also so much more relaxed this time. It was more of just a simple chat with the representative than interviewing. So once again, my fingers are crossed in hopes that I can repeat an amazing and life changing program that I'm sure could be just as fulfilling and rewarding the second time around.

I hope you're having a magical day, I know I am!

A Break from Reality

Spring Break came at a very necessary point of the semester this year. I have been working nonstop trying to keep up with all my classes and such to make sure I don't fall behind. Luckily this year I had planned a real vacation. I went to Disneyland! With the perks of being a cast member and the knowledge that two of my friends from Florida now work at Disneyland in CA, I just couldn't pass up the chance. Cast members are surrounded by reminders of how inspirational Walt was to Disney employees so it was a very inspirational trip for me to be in the place that Walt lived, worked, and devoted so much of his time. As if being on the west coast wasn't amazing enough, I got to spend my days in the happiest place on Earth. I flew over with one of my best friends from high school and met up with my two friends from Florida when we got there.

Our adventure started with a drive down sunshine heated roads that looked to be straight out of movies about southern California. I got used to seeing palm trees when I was in Florida but in Cali, there were dozens of them lining every block. It was absolutely breath taking with the sun making them shimmer in the dim wind.

Then we arrived. The gates of the original. The gates that opened for the first time on that infamous day so many decades ago. The place where Walt made sure he had a place to stay so he would never be too far from one of his favorite successes, his playground. Seeing the light flicking in the apartment window (the symbol that Walt is always watching over the park), was a very emotional moment, as it is for most cast members that finally get the chance to see it.

And then, at the other end of Main Street USA was Aurora's castle. The rest of the evening I spent in awe of all the sights in Disneyland, doing nothing but smiling and taking photos of everything.

The next day we spent all of our time in Disney California Adventure. Took pictures with Mickey and Minnie in their adorable newsy and flight attendant outfits, rode California Screamin' and watched World of Color. I had to make sure I did things I couldn't do in Florida before I did anything that has a duplicate in Disney World.

Our last day was spent back in Disneyland seeing all the classics and ended our day with a ride on the carousel that Walt rode countless times before us.

 It was by far the best Spring Break ever and I am so glad I get to finish out my senior year on a great note. Cheers to all the exciting and emotional "lasts" yet to come and it time to start the countdown to graduation...maybe not yet, makes it too real.

Hope you are having a magical day,I know I am!

An Endless Journey

Even though my CP might be over, I now have the opportunity to apply for Disney Professional Internships. I, along with all the other seniors at McDaniel have started our frantic after-graduation-job search. I am very excited to know that no matter what I will be going back to Florida to continue working in Walt Disney World, I also have not stopped searching for extra jobs. That led me to the Disney career website once again. I found, what I think, is the perfect internship for me. It is a internship helping write scripts for entertainment things in the parks. It's writing and entertainment all in one! It's basically a dream job!

So I sat down and reworked my whole resume and add in the jobs that I have had since my last edit. It was a much larger task than I anticipated but I know it'll be worth it. I made sure to meet with people in the Center for Experience and Opportunity to make sure that the changes I was making were actually making it better and more acceptable for a possible employer. I made sure to tailor my cover letter to highlight the skills Disney is looking for in this internship and I put together a portfolio of my strongest creative writing samples.

They also gave me a choice of two scenarios to give dialogue to. One was about Jack Sparrow and the other was about Flynn Rider and Rapunzel. I chose to work on the Rapunzel and Flynn scene because I know them better. I had to write a scene of them teaching children how to dance in the town square. I think it turned out well.

The last bit of the application was my transcript which the Registrar happily helped me with in order to get everything in on time. At this point, I know the Professional Internships are very hard to get so I do not want to get my hopes up. It would be fantastic to get this opportunity but I know that everything will work out the way it should I just have to have faith, trust, and pixie dust as Peter Pan would tell me.

Keep your fingers crossed for me, if you're looking to apply for a Professional Internship with Disney, go to their Disney Careers website to explore your options! They are also still taking applications for the College Program for Fall 2014.

Have a magical day, I know I am!

PDCPD: Post Disney College Program Depression

Waking up every morning and not seeing the castle, Spaceship Earth, Sorcerer Mickey's hat, or the Tree of Life is something I never thought would be strange. People in the real world don't see these amazing sites every day...but when you work at Walt Disney World these things become regular sites. I've been away from the program for exactly a month and I miss the strange things.

I miss...

Seeing the dads covered in pixie dust that has worn off their little princess' perfect dress.

Asking guests where they have traveled from 

Being asked when the next parade is (RIP Celebrate a Dream Come True)

Watching the parades strut down Main Street USA

Visiting the Boss and all his friends 

Visiting all my friends when they are working 

Knowing when there are 5 minute wait times for the most popular attractions 

Getting to Hollywood Studios at 5pm just to see Fantasmic 

Going into the Magic Kingdom just to watch Wishes and Celebrate the Magic 

Watching Illuminations from every country in the World Showcase 

Walking outside in the warm Florida sun 

Reliving my childhood in the most magical place on Earth

Visiting "That Other Theme Park"

At work when I see a kid in a Minion shirt or a Dr. Seuss shirt I like to joke around and pretend they are in the wrong park. Well I, along with some of my good friends decided to escape Disney for a day and visit the competition. So we hoped in the car and went over to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. Two of the people I went with had never been before so we tried to do as much as we could. Of course, the entire day was spent secretly comparing Universal to Disney. At the end of the day we came to a good balance of which park does things better. They are pretty even if you really think about it and they just have their own styles of doing things. But it was fun to feel like a real tourist even though all Universal's "Team Members" could spot our Disney vibe from a mile away. One of the cool things we have noticed in the months that we've been here is a lot of people work for both companies. So we actually knew a few people we ran into throughout our day, which made the day even better.

We got to meet and see some of their most famous characters, Betty Bop, the Minions, the Simpsons, and Spongebob and his friends. But my favorite part of the day was seeing all the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons in person. I have watched the parade every year so it was so cool to be able to be right there and see how big the balloons really are. It was fun to be able to just have fun and not worry about anything for a day. It felt like a mini vacation.

Muggles waiting for our Hogwarts letter...in front of the castle

Betty Bop

Disney has Santa and Universal has the Grinch

Meeting a transformer

Chillin' in old Hollywood

And They Lived Happily Ever After

I cannot even begin to describe the joy this program has given me. It was truly life changing. The program came full circle during the final week while we were working or just visiting the parks one last time. It was absolutely magical and I could not believe the time passed so quickly. All the people I met added something different to my experience. And I would not have had the same amazing experience without them.

During the last week, two of my best friends and I visited Animal Kingdom to say goodbye to Camp Minnie Mickey and see some of our favorite shows one last time. The day was complete with magical visits with the characters, thrilling attractions, over the top shows, and even a run in with a celebrity. Camp has given me so many memories from working there so often and I am very sad to see it go away to make room for new improvements to the parks. So visiting one last time was bittersweet.

Seeing the shows that we love, especially Festival of the Lion King was magical because we know so many people involved with the show and we even got to see someone that we had met on one of our first days in Florida. After seeing Finding Nemo the Musical, we were pushed into a crowd of people and ended up walking directly behind Clinton Kelly from What Not To Wear and the Chew. It was awesome to see a celebrity just walking in the crowd just like everyone else.

We even stopped by Dinoland to visit our favorite puppy, Pluto and say goodbye to him with good boy treats (aka Mickey ice cream bars). Later in the evening we went to Expedition Everest multiple times and it was a thrilling way to end the day. I'm not sure what I'm going to do without seeing the sights of Walt Disney World every day. I will definitely miss it.

As Mickey Mouse says, "See ya real soon!"

Until later, Disney.

Twas the Night Before Christmas...in Walt Disney World

My Christmas traditions have been the same for 21 years. A big all day Christmas party with family and friends on Christmas Eve, church at midnight, early morning travel on Christmas Day to my family in NY, watching the Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade with my cousins, and a huge family feast with cookies for breakfast the next day. It's a routine I could do in my sleep. This year was not so routine. I worked with the Fairy Godmother from Cinderella during the day on Christmas Eve, then met up with my four closest friends here to exchange presents and feast at the classiest restaurant...Denny's (yes, that is sarcasm but it was delicious), watched the parade on Christmas morning and knew many people in it, and then went to work with Mickey, Minnie and Goofy in Epcot that evening.

Gifts for the Fab 5 (my 4 best friends on the program and myself)

Even though I didn't get to celebrate my traditions, I was able to help so many families celebrate their own holiday traditions. Mickey and friends have the tradition of course of welcoming everyone to the parks with the Christmas Day parade. They all get dressed up in their best holiday apparel and saunter down Main Street USA giving out happy holiday greetings. Even Santa came around for the big day! It was truly magical. Everyone working was in high spirits too because even though we couldn't be with our families on the holiday, we were with our Disney family. Even some of the other College Program participants in my apartment complex were able to keep their spirits high by caroling throughout the complex. But they were not singing traditional holiday tunes, but rather in true Disney fashion, they were singing verses from one of the new songs from Frozen "Do You Wanna Build A Snowman". It was absolutely adorable and appreciated by all.

I was told by all my friends and family back home that it snowed for the holidays. Well it snowed here too! During Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party Main Street USA was filled with big snowflakes that looked perfect for everyone's holiday Christmas card pictures and every night in Hollywood Studios during the Spectacle of Dancing Lights snow would descend from the tops of the buildings as Christmas lights danced to the classic holiday tunes. I was lucky enough to work during one of the evenings. Goofy, dressed up as Santa would turn on the lights each night and meet and greet with guests during the evening. And one of the funniest things I have ever seen is Goofy dancing to songs from the Nutcracker while dressed as Santa. If you hang around long enough you never know what you'll find in Walt Disney World!

Hope you're having a magical day, I know I am!

The Final Countdown

As December encroaches, my program comes closer and closer to an end. That means the first of many "lasts." I had my last class this week. Which consisted of all the groups presenting their final projects. The assignment, generally speaking, was to create a product and sell it to a specific audience. The entire presentation was the pitch to that audience. So with each project, we had to pretend to be a different audience. There were pitches of organic stores to young activists, new concepts for a reimagined Hollywood Studios to Disney executives, and a new pair of eye glasses that also make coffee to a room of college sophomores.

Usually group projects are the vain of my existence. But I had been working well with the other people in my group since the beginning of the class. We all worked well and balanced each other out which is why we decided to do the final project together. Our teacher gave us three weeks to work on this because one week was Thanksgiving and she knew we would all be working too many hours to devote a decent amount of time and energy to her class.

So we immediately got an idea into our heads so we had plenty of time to come up with a fully formed product and work out every little detail. We decided to sell a small cupcake shop to Starbucks executives to create a business partnership. We met a few times throughout the three week time period, divided up the work evenly, put together the presentation, researched the Starbucks company, and each baked a dozen cupcakes to share with the class.

When we walked into the classroom we immediately won everyone over because we brought free food but then we got up there and began our presentation. Everyone in the class took their audience role to heart and asked us some really tough questions while in character about our proposal. It was challenging and fun all at the same time because it was something that we had invested a lot of time and thought into and we had an answer for everything.

After the presentation was over the class broke character to give us feedback and they said we were very professional and we had really thought of everything. One of our classmates told us that he used to work at Starbucks and he was really impressed that we had researched that company in order to convince them the partnership was a good idea. And then of course, we got to eat the left over cupcakes. It was a great way to end an awesome class!

I learned so many skills I can use in the real world in that class and I am very grateful that I had the opportunity to take it. It was absolutely worth my time and it was nice to just be able to think creatively with a group of new people that I had never even thought to talk to before that. I have heard nothing but good things about all the Disney offered classes on the College Program and would definitely recommend them to anyone considering whether or not to take them.

Hope you're having a magical day, I know I am!

Traveling the World in Search of Friends!

One great thing about working in entertainment is the fact that I get to know those famous Disney characters very well. I love getting to spend the day with them and hang out with them. Of course, I have to visit them on my days off! So there were still a few I had not met yet that I needed to check off my bucket list. I enlisted the help of one of my other attendant friends and we made our way through World Showcase meeting just a few of our friends before my shift that night.

It is still a magical moment every time I meet a character and they reach out for a hug! No matter how bad my day was or how many times I've met them it never fails to make me happy. Our first stop of the day was right at the front of World Showcase, Duffy! Duffy is possibly the most adorable teddy bear anyone could ever have. Kudos to Minnie for making him that way. I still need to buy a Duffy to take with me on my travels just like Mickey does. But when Duffy came out to meet us, he was dressed for Christmas in his little Santa coat and hat. Sorry Goofy, Duffy makes a better Santa than you! He was so cute we just HAD to give him kisses!

Then we went over to the United Kingdom to meet with our friends Winnie the Pooh and Tigger. I've met them before but I have yet to work with them. I have had many encounters with them in the parks though so I had to go say hello. Pooh was so adorable asking us if we brought him any honey but we told him we were sorry and our honey was all gone and then Tigger bounced right over to us for big hugs and all honey-less thoughts disappeared. We are bigger Tigger fans than Pooh so we had to get a picture with just our bouncy buddy and he insisted on kisses as well. It was so heartwarming to be loved by such memorable characters!

We eventually made our way over to Norway to meet some new members of the Disney family. Anna and Elsa, the new royal sisters from the movie Frozen. Of course, they wouldn't reveal any secrets about their story but just their personalities were enough to make me glad to have them as part of our ever growing family. Anna's dress is so detailed and as practical as a dress can be. Elsa's resembles ice in so many ways, it reflects the light and just glistens with every movement. They were sweet enough to autograph my bag and we had a great time meeting them for the first time.

Our last stop was a surprise visit by Flynn Rider! He was searching Epcot for Maximus. It was great to be able to visit with Flynn without Rapunzel there. I love Rapunzel but Flynn is just so much fun when he's not acting like a proper prince. We asked him if he was keeping Rapunzel's crown safe and he said that he always keeps it with him and then he showed it to us. It was absolutely beautiful! He also had apples in his satchel to help get Maximus to his duties as head of security.

We stopped in France for lunch and to get some goodies to take home for later. I love French food! I would eat there every day if I could! It was a great morning in Epcot. I love being able to go into the parks without a strict agenda or small time frame. I like not being rushed to get everything in the parks completed.

Have a magical day, I know I am!