03.07.2020
While this whole journey is so amazing and I constantly think about how lucky I am to be able to experience this program, some moments stand out, and there is no other word I can use to describe them than "surreal." Last night I had one of those moments. 7:55pm rolled around, and I pulled the Astro Orbiter position that has me run the ride from up top. In case you’re unaware, from the Astor Orbiter you can see almost all of Magic Kingdom, including the castle. At 8pm, the nightly Happily Ever After show began, and while I always sing along out loud with my fellow cast members, last night felt so different in the best way.
Lately I’ve been feeling homesick. I miss my family back home, my friends at school, seeing my awesome professors every day, going to dance practice, coaching, and everything else life entails back home. But in moments like this one, it all feels too real that soon this experience will end and I need to remember to take it all in and enjoy it while it lasts. Life will snap back to a real reality real soon, so every moment I have working at THE Disney World shouldn’t be taken for granted. People wait their whole lives to make a trip here, everyone has a relationship with Disney, and this place has such a special place in my heart. I am so blessed to be able to have this job, talk to thousands of guests daily, and see the Disney magic from a whole new perspective.
Last week, Disney opened an all new attraction inside Hollywood Studios. As a cast member, we're granted the opportunity to be the first to experience the attraction! I last minuted decided to sign up for a cast preview, and I'm so glad I did. The new attraction, Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway was probably one of the cutest and coolest rides I've ever been on. The art work and technology that was put into the attraction was breathtaking! Partaking in the cast preview also granted cast members the one day admission into Hollywood Studios as we are currently blocked out of it for our complimentary admission passes. I took some time to walk around and see all there is to see in the park before heading over to my home park at Magic Kingdom to ride the People Mover and say "hi" to my fellow cast members and friends.
My dad had some family vacationing in Disney this past week, so I was able to catch up with them and show them around Tomorrow Land aboard the People Mover! It was so nice to see a friendly face from home!
Since my last update, I took a mini vacation with one of my closest friends I've made since arriving for my program, Isabelle. Izzy is from Northern California, and we instantly connected when we discovered both of us were studying hospitality and emphasizing our studies in event planning. Last week, our two days off for the week were the same, so we booked an Airbnb and ventured three hours south to see Miami. We had SO much fun! We stayed one block inland from the beach right off of Ocean Drive. WE walked up and down the strip to see all the cute restaurants and night life there is to experience, spent a day at the beach, drove to the Wynwood Walls to see some incredible street art and murals on all of the buildings, took a millionaires mansions cruise, and had the best time exploring South Beach. We were able to get away from the Disney Touristy place we call home and see all the college spring breakers and Miami life as well as enjoy an 85 degree and sunny day relaxing after long days of working prior. While we spent the day catching rays at the beach, we were visited by many seagulls that wanted to snack on my Salt and Vinegar ships with us and saw a shark that wanted to enjoy the beach, too! It swam within 20 feet of where we were walking through the water capturing our "insta worthy" beach pics. We spontaneously bought tickets for a boat cruise tour that showed off many millionaire mansions just off of the shopping and recreation area called "Bayside Market." Prior to heading out to sea, we walked around the Bayside Market area and saw lots of cute little shops, a Disney store (yes, we went in,) and a man walking around with several birds perched on his arms and shoulders. On the tour, we saw homes of celebs including Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, Matt Damon, Will Smith, Jackie Chan, and MANY more as well as a $100,000,000 property and the location where the Adam's family was filmed. This just-before-sunset cruise was a great way to sit back and relax while thinking of the perfect dream home I hope to have some day ;) Anyway, the two day trip was an easy drive and great get-away from the craziness of Orlando. We're hoping to make it there again soon if time allows as well as venture to other cities including Tampa and Daytona in the near future!
Unfortunately, lately the People Mover has been going through some technical difficulties, so there hasn't been much for us to do when we go in for our shifts. On the bright side, however, we've been able to grab some cast member lanyards and pin trade with guests! I had so much fun trading with guests and giving them pins to finish or add to their collections!
I'm so excited for the coming weeks as my family comes soon to take on Orlando and Disney with me and some exciting plans for the end of the month! Stay tuned for more updates and thanks for following along!
