I've Found My Happily Ever After

Walt Disney said, "All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them," And come true they did indeed for me this week when I became an official Cast Member at the Walt Disney World Resort!

I started my week off on Monday like any other CP by moving into my housing on Disney property. I was lucky enough to be placed in Vista Way, which was my first choice, as it is the cheapest, closest to most things, and was the housing housing complex where I was guaranteed not to get bunk beds!

Checking in was really a breeze! Just like everything else Disney does, they put together a seemingly perfect system to get everyone checked-in, find their buildings, and obtain housing IDs and parking decals. After only about 10 minutes, I was able to meet my roommate, Aubrey, and see our apartment for the first time! As I was getting moved in, I met my other three roommates, Emma, Alaina, and Tessa.

From our first meeting, we all got along very well, and we all realized and bonded over our shared love of Disney and what the Magic of Disney means to us. Before arriving at the DCP, I had never met so many people who had a common career goal - to work for Disney. Now here I was, and all of these people were just like me, sharing a common interest for a company that has meant so much to them over the years, and having the goal to turn that passion into a career.

On Tuesday, Aubrey and I attended our very first housing event! The event was a watch party of Aladdin and Meet and Greet with Genie and Aladdin following the film. To go along with the movie, we were given popcorn by Disney Housing staff - like there would be any other way to watch a classic film!

Of course Disney always knows what they're doing and has a wonderful method to their madness - and I, like I'm sure so many others are, am completely excited for the new live-action Aladdin film. It has come out, but I have not had the chance to see it yet. Watching the original film has resparked my love for the classic film, and I can't wait to see it with a new, live-action twist!

Of course on Tuesday, we couldn't quite yet get into the park to enjoy Happily Ever After, but we could still watch them! So my four roommates and I headed over the Polynesian Resort to watch the fireworks from the resort beach. This was definitely a new and exciting experience and something that I will definitely do again! We got to watch the fireworks AND have a comfortable seat for the viewing! This was a wonderful end to a wonderful day, and a wonderful way to kick off our living as roommates!

Prior to heading over the Polynesian, we got off the bus at the Contemporary Resort and did some exploring! This was another new experience for me as I had never seen behind the Contemporary Resort before! I had only ever accessed it from the monorail. Behind the resort, we got our picture taken with a steel Mickey, and might I say, it turned out pretty cute!

From left to right: Tessa, Aubrey, Emma, Me, and Alaina

On Wednesday, I spent the day with my parents and brother, golfing at Disney's Oak Trail, exploring Disney Springs, and we even took a quick detour over to All-Star Music Resort to check out where I will be working! My excitement for my location of work grew more and more as we continued to venture through the resort, checking out the lobby area, the gift shop, the cafeteria, and the pool area. Being over at my home resort really helped to make everything feel more real! I actually was starting to realize that I am going to be working for DISNEY!

Finally Thursday rolled around and it was the day of the event that I had been anticipating since moving in! It was the day of the Wicked Welcoming! If you can't tell by name, the Wicked Welcoming was a Disney villain themed party in which we got to meet some very rare characters: the Evil Queen as the Witch and Hades with Pain and Panic! Not only did we get to meet those characters - we also got free pizza and the decorations were amazing! One of my favorite moments of this night was when the Evil Queen realized she was on my villain ears and bowed to me in appreciation!

It was definitely a whirl-wind of a week with getting moved in, meeting a whole group of new people who would be doing the same thing I would be doing for the next 7 months, and of course going through Disney's ever-famous, Traditions! My Traditions class was on Friday and I can't share much about what Traditions is, but I can tell you that Traditions is basically a right-of-passage for all Cast Members, and is the first step to becoming a full-fledged member of the Walt Disney World Resort family. Disney Traditions is the first real day of work and where future Cast Members learn all about the History and Heritage of the Walt Disney Company. Needless to say, a lot of people do cry during Traditions, including myself.

The first time I put on my name tag which states, simply, "Where dreams come true," I felt such an overwhelming sense of pride, joy, and excitement overcome me! I was finally a real, actual member of the Disney family and could say I am indeed a Disney Cast Member! I know that I am not the only one who felt this way following Traditions, and I'm so excited to be working with people who will also be just as passionate about their roles within Walt Disney World as I already am!

After Traditions, Aubrey and I made our way to the Magic Kingdom for the first time as official Cast Members with the Walt Disney World Resort! We watched Happily Ever After, rode Pirates of the Caribbean, and ate a hot dog on Main Street USA - what can be more Disney than all of that? Maybe a Dole Whip? But I'm sure I'll have my fair share of those!

Watching Happily Ever After for the first time as a Cast Member was one of the most humbling experiences of my life. So many people from all walks of life - young, old, men, women, boys, girls, English speaking, Japanese speaking, Spanish speaking - were experiencing this wonderful show and all of the magic it has to offer for the first time. As I watched the show on Cinderella Castle, I also made it a point to watch the faces of some of the people around me. So many faces lit up with joy and excitement when they saw their favorite character grace the Castle. So many children, even those who did not speak English as a first language were shouting out the names of the heroes as they came into their view - Lion King, Moana, Genie, Merida, Rapunzel, Aladdin, and so many others!

Watching the show at that moment, I knew, this is exactly where I am meant to be. I am proud to be able to call myself a Cast Member at Walt Disney World Resort, and I am so excited to start sprinkling some pixie dust and to make some magic for Guests!