You're Cut Off! (Food and Wine Festival 2013)

Epcot is the park every adult loves. Especially the World Showcase and especially during the Food and Wine Festival. Every fall Epcot hosts Food and Wine. Booths from all different countries are set up all over the World Showcase and the purpose of the festival is to celebrate and try food and drinks from all over the world. As a guest, it is an absolutely wonderful festival. They have been doing it for so long and have perfected it along the way. Cast members who work in Epcot are on high alter for very "festive" people during this time of year and in my role, I have to make sure that they don't annoy my characters too much. Some of the people are harder to deal with then others and sometimes I get a really entertaining story out of it. Here are two of my favorite moments from working Food and Wine 2013.

While working with Duffy (Mickey's teddy bear Minnie made for him to travel with) we got a lot of shout outs from people passing by. Duffy is located right at the end of Future World and the beginning of the World Showcase, so everyone passes by him, although he is not as popular here as he is in other countries so his line i never very long. It was a few days before Halloween and Duffy wanted to wear his Halloween costume so he was dressed as a pumpkin, which was absolutely adorable. We heard the normal shout outs such as, "Duffy! My man! I love you!" and "Hey you look like a pumpkin! Awesome!" But one stood out because it was absolutely ridiculous. Duffy and I were going back inside to get a cookie and as we were walking through the large crowd of people a man who had been enjoying more drinks than food shouts out, "Hey! Chipmunk! Over here! Chipmunk!" then turns to his friend and says, "the chipmunk ignored me!" As we passed by him I said, "that's because Duffy is a teddy bear." The guy and his friends were sitting down as Duffy and I passed by on our way back to his gazebo after getting a cookie and Duffy tried to wave to him and give him a high five and the guy shook his head and said, "nope! You ignored me! No love for you chipmunk!" I again reminded him that Duffy is a teddy bear, not a chipmunk. Someone needs to cut him off from the "wine" part of the festival.


Germany is one of those countries that people go to for drinks rather than food during the festival so being with a character in Germany all day, I knew I'd get some good laughs, but I am always surprised by guests an what they will say. I had spent the whole day with Snow White and the "festive" people had pretty much left us alone. We got to the last few minutes of her greeting guests and she had a completely full line. A group of four adults came up to me to see if they could slide their way into the line. Of course the answer is no but they tried very hard. It was a group to two women and two men. The women had a beer in each hand and the men (one younger and shorter and the other older and taller) each had a beer and food selection in their hands. One of the women comes up to me and asks, "is there any way you can let us in? We love Snow White." "I have already turned others away so unfortunately I cannot let you in the line" I responded.
She continued to try by saying, "please! What do I have to do? I'll give you a dollar?"
"I'm not allowed to accept bribes."
"How about this, I'll give you the first sip of my beer!"
"No, I'm sorry. That's your beer. You paid for it. You shouldn't give up any of it."
"Well come on, look at him (pointing to the taller, older man) he's on his last days. His final wish is to meet Snow White. Look at him he's so old!" she continued.
"He's not old! He's got years left in him! I'm sure he'll get another opportunity to meet her."
She then tried another excuse. "What about him? (pointing to the shorter male in the group) he's a midget! He's had a rough life!"
"No, I know much shorter people than him. Have you seen Snow White's dwarves?"
"Yes! He's a dwarf he has to see Snow White." she tried as well.
"Well if he's a dwarf then she will see him later at the cottage. In the mean time why don't you all go back to the festival and try some of the food at the Germany booth. Snow White said it's her favorite booth," I responded and then turned to Snow White and said, "how about we go for a walk?" We then took the long way back to her cottage through the Germany pavilion in the World Showcase so she could say goodnight to all of the guests.
When Snow got back to her cottage she said to me, "the people who choose to celebrate the 'wine' part of the festival should also try the food, that might help them a little bit at least."
It was definitely an entertaining way to end the day.

I am glad the festival is over because it will be a little calmer in Epcot but we will always be on the look out for people choosing to "drink around the world" in the World Showcase. Walt Disney World guests will never fail to surprise and entertain me.

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

SURPRISE! GO GREEN TERROR!

Homecoming is one of the most fun weekends at McDaniel. The campus is full of students, alumni, and our families. My first Homecoming I spent with my new friends and met so many new people that would end up being some of my favorite McDaniel people. Sophomore year, I woke up to a blizzard...on Halloween/Homecoming. Getting to see all the recent grads I had befriended the previous year was great and spending the day celebrating team spirit...in the snow...created some awesome memories. Last year I knew even more alumni and even more students so it was even better than the previous two years. This year the only thing I was really sad to be missing was Homecoming. After talking to all my recently graduated friends and hearing their plans for going back for the weekend, I knew I just had to get there somehow.

Start of the game. Look at those silly visitors sitting on the bleachers.

I started planning early and was able to book a last minute flight for pretty cheap. I only told 2 people about my plans, the one picking me up from the airport and the one I was staying with. The surprises started as soon as I was picked up at the airport. Three of my favorite people came to get me! As soon as I got to campus I was able to surprise some of my favorite faculty members and some friends I've had since Freshman year. The rest of the evening was spent visiting friends...they all had the same reaction, "hey! Wait. Aren't you supposed to be in Florida?" Everyone was so happy to see me and I was so excited to be reunited with everyone! It made the weekend even better.

Sorry Kelsey, there weren't many pictures to choose from. :)

The game Saturday afternoon did not result in a win, however, the tailgating that we all love did not fail and we had a great time anyway. Sunday I was able to go to brunch with a few of my closest friends before catching my plane back to Florida. And then after a long day of travel, I was finally back in the warm state of Florida and ready to get back to work the next day. As much fun as it was to go back to campus and see everyone I have grown so attached to, it was also great to come back to Florida and know that I love the reason I am here. January is going to come too fast but I am glad I have one more semester on campus with all my friends. See you in January McDaniel!

Johanson's Brunch

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

The Magic of Magic Kingdom

Working in Magic Kingdom can be stressful because of all the people, but it can also be the most fun all at the same time.

Recently I have had the pleasure of working with Peter Pan and Wendy, Cinderella's Stepfamily, Aladdin and Jasmine, and Lotso. All of which have been so much fun to work with. Each one gets to create magical moments with guests every day. An important thing to remember is that the Magic Kingdom is the most magical in the morning before it is flooded with the thousands of people that walk around all day.

Every time Peter Pan and Wendy come back to take more pictures. They skip their way through a part of Fantasyland. They surprise people and make them smile while distracting them from staring at the map and making them realize that if they just look up and experience the atmosphere, they can see some of the most magical things Walt Disney World has to offer. After all, Disney wouldn't be a magical place if it weren't for the characters and stories it is created around.

Lady Tremaine, Anastasia, and Drizella start every day by riding Prince Charming's Carousel with three lucky families. The sisters go on the hunt for their own prince charmings and Lady Tremaine finds a fun family. It is such a great moment for those kids to be able to ride the carousel with characters they have most likely never met and only seen through a television screen. To bring that magic to life and create a great first experience of the day is something not many people can do.

Speaking of early morning surprises, Aladdin and Jasmine get to ride the magic carpet ride every morning with a lucky family. They head up to the ride and pick a family to sit with. When the ride is over, they bring the family over to their photo spot for some pictures and autographs. The smile on that first kid's face is like nothing else. It is that pure magic just beaming through to the surface. They are able to make a truly unforgettable experience for one family every single day.

Now, my experience with Lotso was a little different. He only makes meet and greet appearances for the Halloween party and since he is not one of the villains included in the Boo to You parade, he gets to watch it with all the guests. The first parade of the night, Lotso found a family to stand with that had an elderly grandmother in a wheel chair and the grandmother turned into a child again. It was absolutely adorable! Everyone in the parade would find Lotso in the crowd and wave to him and it gave them that extra burst of energy. Lotso especially loves the Villains unit. All his friends are there; Maleficent, Cruella DeVil, Big Bad Wolf and so many more! Even the pirates were happy to see Lotso. The dancing cowboys even said "howdy" to Lotso as they passed. Everyone standing around the large huggable bear had so much fun not only watching the parade, but also watching Lotso. During the second parade, Lotso found a little girl in a wheel chair to watch it with. But by the end of the parade, she had gotten up and started dancing with Lotso. It was absolutely magical! It is worth it to pay for the extra special events Disney has throughout the year because there are less people in the parks for them which means you are more likely to have these very special moments with the characters throughout the parks. I can't wait to see what magical moments the Christmas parties bring to the table!

If someone ever says to me that Disney World has lost it's magic touch, I have evidence to prove them wrong and I'm sure all the other cast members, especially ones that work closely with the beloved characters, that magic happens all day every day in the parks and you just have to be lucky enough to find it.

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

My First Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party

"Boo. To you. Boo to you and you and you. And you and you and you. Happy Halloween!"

Yes, I've heard the parade go by over and over. I finally got to experience it a as a guest. I got to follow candy trails, ride rides, visit rare characters, and experience all the Halloween only magical entertainment experiences. As soon as I got into Magic Kingdom (dressed as Drizella for the evening) I found Lotso standing in the corner with a generally small line so I hoped right in. Yes his tail squeaks and is one of the most adorable things I have ever seen!

After catching up with a few friends, we went off to find candy trails. One of them had never been trick or treating so we had to change that. We all visited friends and roommates that were working at various attractions and then went on an adventure to visit characters you can't normally find in the parks.

We ended up finding Woody, Jessie and Bullseye at the dance party in the Diamond Horseshoe and danced with them for a while which was really fun! I had never met Bullseye before so that was awesome! We also got to meet Tarzan, Jane, and Terk at the Adventureland Veranda. They were a lot of fun because I am not very familiar with Tarzan so it was funny to see these characters talking about what they know and not being familiar with it. I need to watch Tarzan again. Later we went over to Town Square Theatre and met Mickey and Minnie dressed in their Halloween costumes as vampire and a witch. And at the end, we were walking down Main Street and the Tremaines spotted me from the top of the train station and demanded I wait for them to come down the stairs. They ran down and gave me hugs and were so happy I had dressed up like one of them. We walked over to Main Street to get a picture right in front of the castle. It was a great way to finish our hunt for characters.

From the Diamond Horseshoe porch we watched the Boo to You parade and it was so cute. To see all those great characters, heros, villains, sidekicks, dancers, and classic friends all looked fantastic! We also got to the see Hallo-Wishes Fireworks Spectacular and Celebrate the Magic. They were really cool. It was all Halloween themed, even the specific fireworks were Halloween themed. Disney magic strikes again!

I had such a great time and I can't wait to hopefully go again next year! It is definitely an awesome event Disney throws!

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

This Week's Crew

Hugs, perfection and sorcery are the only words to describe my week last week. I had great experiences working at Epcot with Goofy and Mary Poppins and at Hollywood Studios with Mickey Mouse.

I was up bright and early to work at Character Spot with Mickey, Minnie and Goofy the other day. It was my first day there having Goofy instead of Pluto. The poor puppy has been moved to the front of the park in the sun. Instead, Goofy has now taken over the center spot at Character Spot. The three of them are great fun to work with. Goofy is always causing trouble and running around the room. Minnie makes sure Mickey is behaving himself and Mickey tries to keep Goofy in line. My morning started with a big hug from Goofy and after that, as we would wait for guests to visit us, we would just dance and have a great time. We had so much fun!

The next day I was with Mary Poppins in the United Kingdom. She really is practically perfect in every way. She was such a joy to work with. We had two little girls dressed up like Mary come through the line twice and then another little girl had on a perfect replica of the Poppins dress and was even more adorable than the two previous girls. The challenge of the day: working in the World Showcase while people were enjoying the "wine" part of Food and Wine. But like every challenge thrown at me, I worked well with Mary to make sure she stayed safe while the grown ups enjoying the festival came to visit. Over all it was a practically perfect day (pun completely intended).

Then, the day of the Tower of Terror marathon, I got to work at Hollywood Studios for the first time ever but with my friend, Mickey. He was so cute dressed in his sorcerer outfit. That mouse knows how to dress for an occasion, that's for sure! It was a fun day and I had a great time working with the boss once again. I will definitely work at Hollywood Studios again. 


Have a magical day, I know I am!

Games for Credit

Today I had the third class for my Creativity and Innovation class through the Disney College Program. Today was focused on looking into the future when thinking about new creative and innovative ideas. So to help us, our professor placed two different games on each table before class started. Now, before we knew what it was for, two people at our table decided to play Jenga on the break. Well it turned into the most intense Jenga game ever! We had the entire class circled around the table (including the professor) watching these guys play. Finally they got to a point in the game where it would come tumbling down no matter what they picked so they decided to call it a draw and we left the tower up for the rest of the class (it was not until someone was leaving after class ended and accidentally hit the tower with her bag that it finally came down).

Once everyone got back on topic, we were told that the games were there for us to deconstruct and create something new out of. We had Jenga and cards. So after brainstorming many complicated ideas we came up with a simple, yet challenging one minute game. The object of the game was to build the strongest tower out of Jenga blocks. However, the cards you were dealt were the way you figured out how many blocks you got to work with. But, you only had one minute to do everything. It was so fun, I think we were having the most fun out of the entire class.

It was a really fun class and we got to talk about trends in our specific passions at the end of class so we talked about the Youtube star trend and how easy it is to find new and creative talent from all over the world with just a few clicks on one website. We discussed ways that that could be improved in order for it to continue to succeed in the future. We also were able to share ideas we had all come up with in our creativity journals. Many ideas steamed from things we had seen in the parks that we thought could be improved. My table had a lot of ideas to improve Hollywood Studios, some other groups had ideas on making the MagicBands even more magical, and others even had ideas for ways to improve some of the entertainment aspects of the parks. Overall it was a really informative and fun class.

I love that for four hours a week I am required to think creatively and come up with new innovative ideas for anything I want whether it has to do with Disney or not. It helps my mind stay balanced with work and creativity. It is a great class! If anyone is on the border of whether or not to take a class while on the College Program, I say do it! You only get to learn from this company once so why not take advantage of that opportunity!

Have a magical day, I know I am!

Working the Party

Thousands of people come to Magic Kingdom with a special ticket on select nights in September and October for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. I have seen numerous photos of this grand event from years past but this was my first experience up close and personal with the party...while at work. The first night I worked MNSS (that's what we've shortened it to) I was with Ariel in her grotto in New Fantasyland. I didn't get to see the parade or anything but I did get to see all the costumes. Baby Sebastians, Peter Pan families, pirate families...you name it, I saw it! The things people come up with are so creative!

My next night at MNSS was when i was working, but this time I got to work with Aladdin, Abu, Jasmine and Genie in Agrabah right next to the Flying Carpet attraction. The line was never ending all night. They were so popular and there was never a dull moment. It was so much fun. Jasmine and Aladdin were commenting on everyone's outfits. It was really adorable! While there I got to see parts of the parade while I waited for Aladdin and Jasmine to come back from the parade. And I got to see a few of the fireworks light the sky right over Adventureland. Everyone was so excited to be there and fully in the Halloween spirit that it made it extremely easy to smile all night long.

I love seeing people of all ages get swept up in the magic of it all. I love that even the adults have on awesome Halloween costumes. One couple was dressed as Prince Charming and Cinderella. After greeting them as "your majesties" I asked the woman why she wasn't greeting people at Princess Fairytale Hall. She played along with the joke and told me that they were all imposters and they had taken over the kingdom for far too long so I should expect to see the "real" Cinderella up in the castle in the morning. We were all laughing and the time they had to wait while the previous family did pictures flew by. They definitely won for best couple costumes in my book for the night. My favorite family costumes were all Toy Story characters (Woody, Buzz, Slinky Dog/Rex, and Mr & Mrs Potato Head). I can't even remember how many princesses I bowed to that night! When working a MNSS, I know I will see at least one of each princess, Peter Pan, Wendy, Alice, Captain Jack Sparrow, Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse. But no two costumes are alike which makes it so much fun for the people working. I am very excited to attend the party as a guest because I can't wait to meet the characters that only come out during parties (Tarzan, Jane, Terk, Lotso, Jack Skellington, Captain Hook, Maleficent, etc.). Hopefully I'll get there this week, if not, I'm sure I'll be working there again soon!

Have a magical day, I know I am!