Disney Fun

Well, I've been doing parades for a few months and I'm having a great time! The first parade was a little scary, and it felt like I had no idea what I was doing. But, I've gotten the hang of it now and am always excited when I have parade shifts. I don't get scheduled too often because of the Christmas party's going on now. When there are party's the Christmas parade goes on instead of the Electrical parade. Sometimes I get schedule to do untrained roles in the parades, which is even more fun and exciting. Here are a few pictures of the parade when I am in it!

Sneezy in his first Electrical Parade!

Mickey made an extra special appearance in the parade!

Christmas is in full swing here at Disney. It doesn't feel like Christmas at all though. It's still warm and sunny without any snow. Main Street at Magic Kingdom and Streets of New York at Hollywood Studios have fake snow, but it's definitely not the same. The Christmas decorations are amazing here. I went to see the Spectacle of Dancing Lights at Studios and it's awesome! It's so fun to see that many lights on all the buildings. They play music and the lights blink on and off to the music; it's really cool. I still need to go back and take pictures. I have gotten to work a few Christmas party's which is always fun. I even picked up a shift handing out hot chocolate and cookies to guests. I actually got to talk to them! And I get to wear the cutest holiday costume ever! Cinderella's castle looks amazing right now, all decked out in icicle lights. The first time I saw it was when I was high up on a float for parade. It was magical!

Donald in his super cute lumberjack outfit for Christmas Party!

Minnie went to the Christmas Party too!

My program is ending in January and I have decided to stay. I just love this job too much to give it up and I know that this is where I should be right now. I will not be extending my program, but instead I have put in for part time and full time status. It could take a while for me to hear anything from them about it. In the meantime, I will go seasonal and just stay down here for a very long season! Despite this being the best job in the world, I will most likely have to get a second job to keep up with expenses; a small sacrifice for doing what I love.

Disney Parade

I had two days of rehearsals for the Electrical Parade and it was so much fun! I learned all of the roles in the Snow White unit (except Snow White of course), but I am only able to do four of them because of my height. So I am officially friends with Sneezy, Sleepy, Bashful, and Grumpy! The first three are on the float and Grumpy dances in the street. It should be a good time! I have my first parade shift next week and I'm really excited and a little nervous.

Halloween is here!!! Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is the coolest thing ever! I haven't been yet but I have worked a party so I got to see some cool things. First, there is the parade, which is awesome. So far it's my favorite that I have seen. You can only see it at a party. There are special 'HalloWishes' fireworks. You go trick-or-treating throughout the park and get tons of candy. Trick-or-treating in Magic Kingdom? Yes please! And then there are the characters. All the villains are out, of course. The princes are with their princesses. Tarzan, Jane, and Terk are out. Donald is a pumpkin, and he is so darn cute! Mickey, Minnie, and Daisy are dressed up too. There are two dance parties: Woody's Hoedown and Stitch's Club 626. My family is coming down in October and we are going to a party and I can't wait!

Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Daisy in their Halloween costumes!

Dead Waltzing

Haunted Mansion ghosts

Disney Dream

It has been several weeks and a bunch of exciting things are happening! I have been going to workshops as much as I can, including a twirling workshop. This workshop was for the candy cane drill team for the Christmas Parade. I've never twirled before, but by the end I was starting to get the hang of it...until we started going across the floor. That's when I knew that I would not be auditioning for this particular part of the parade. I certainly enjoyed learning some of the moves though!

My training group had a reunion when we were scheduled for a feedback session. It was so much fun seeing everyone together and reminiscing about all the great things that happened during training.

Everyone has their favorite character and mine has always been Cinderella. However, now that I have been working for a while, I am officially obsessed with Donald and Stitch. They are just the cutest guys I have ever seen! They are so much fun and are so mischievous. They can get away with being crazy and silly and they always get a laugh!

The other day I was a spare, which means I wait around until they need me to fill in. I got pulled to be friends with the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland! The White Rabbit and Alice got to ride the teacups with a little boy, and I know that White Rabbit had a blast! White Rabbit could ride the teacups with Alice all day!

Halloween decorations are up in Magic Kingdom which means that the holidays are approaching! I have never been to Disney for the holidays, except for our New Year's trip last year. Most of the Christmas decor was already down, but we did get to rave in EPCOT. I'm really excited to see all the cool stuff that they do for the holidays. There is a cast preview for the Halloween parade tomorrow which I will be going to. I have a couple friends in it and I can't wait to see them! Also for Halloween they have Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. You get to dress up and trick or treat in Magic Kingdom, see characters in their Halloween costumes, and of course ride the rides! I have been scheduled to hang out with Stitch for opening night of the party's and I can't wait!

Now for the BIG news! Last week I found out that I am going through parade orientation!!! I will be able to do parades now, and I can pick up untrained roles. Then, when the new schedule came out, I found out that I will be trained for Disney's Electrical Parade! This is a really big deal for me because I have been waiting anxiously for this opportunity. I start next week and can't wait to find out exactly what I will be doing. I know that I'll be with Snow White; perhaps I will be friends with a dwarf!

Here are some pictures I took of the parade:

Here's Dopey driving the mine cart!

Sneezy mining some jewels!

Disney Dance

I just got back from a Disney dance workshop! It was so much fun and made me miss dancing everyday. We did jazz across the floor and a cute combo. I recognized the one across-the-floor combo from Disney's Electrical Parade, so I put the charm on (not that I didn't do that the entire time) and one of the instructors said "Thank you for smiling!". Our center combo was video taped in small groups and we had to say our names like an audition. They said that it wasn't going to talent casting, but I'm almost certain that they are casting parades off of this workshop. So, cross your fingers that I get into something!!

Now my search for a decent studio has begun so I can stay in shape while I'm down here. I wish that PAA could just pick up and move to Florida, but I don't think that will happen any time soon. (Miss you guys!)

Disney Magic

I have been out of training for two weeks now, which feels really good. I am finally getting into the swing of things and have become a pro at pulling costumes. (We have to get our own costume every morning, making sure we have everything before we go to our location) Training was just about as awesome as training could get. I was with an amazing group of people, and our trainers, Bill and Amanda, clearly have a passion for what they do. They made it so easy to look like a fool and their encouragement made me feel like I could actually do what I do today. It was interesting when someone said that they thought the trainers were being kind of mean by singling people out. I thought nothing of it because I knew that they were just trying to make us better. I guess all those dance classes made it easier to accept corrections. After all, if they correct you it means that they care. I love when all my life lessons from dance sneak up on me like that. So anyway, the last day of training we were all in tears because it had been such a wonderful experience and we were all so eager to get out their and make the magic happen for ourselves.


It's rare to find this many characters hanging out together in the park! Donald is quite handsome, if I do say so myself.

I'm not going to sugar coat it; my job is hard. I have mostly early and long hours. It gets hot sometimes, but its not unbearable. Some days I just want to call in and sleep for the rest of the day. I don't because I also have the coolest job in the world! Seeing the smiles on the kids faces is such a reward. I have the most fun when I get a little bit more time to interact with people who are excited to interact with me. That's when I get to play around with them: dance with some kids, sneak up on guests. That's when the magic happens.

I love that I get to work at every park. Yes, I have already worked at all four. Each one is slightly different than the other. I need a map at Magic Kingdom because the tunnel is a maze. Not really, but it can get confusing. Epcot shuttles you around everywhere so you don't actually have to know where you are going. MGM (Studios) is still new to me, only having worked there once. Animal Kingdom is also new, and bigger. I'll be working there a lot next week. Most of my days are spent at Magic Kingdom, which is fine. I have come to like Epcot a lot though so hopefully I will work there more often. I shared a break room with Mary Poppins and Alice the other day. Today, at Magic Kingdom, I rode the elevator with Princess Tiana and Jack Sparrow. Yea, I have a cool job.

Since I work in Entertainment, I get to express interest in various shows and parades based on the color code I received at my audition. The color codes are a way for management to assess our skill level. I am quite pleased with my color code. So, I have expressed interest in the Halloween and Christmas parades, a parade at Magic Kingdom called 'Move it, Shake it, Celebrate it', a parade at MGM called 'Block Party Bash', and Fantasmic, a show at MGM. Hopefully I get to do at least one of these. I love doing what I do now, but I'm a stage performer. I'm a dancer. I need that in my life. Plus, it looks really fun!

I'm sure everyone is wondering what exactly I do down here. Well, I can't tell you. It's a secret. But, I can say that I am becoming very good friends with some of the characters. My friends list includes Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Stitch, and Piglet. I spend a lot of my time with Mickey. He's such a cool guy. Donald is also one of my favorite friends. Next week I get to meet Thumper, and I'm sure we will become fast friends as well.


My roommates got to visit with Mickey and Minnie! Those lucky ducks! Minnie is so cute!

If you think I don't get head-over-heels excited when I see characters out in the park on my off days, you are mistaken. The other day, my roommates and I went to play at MGM and we all squealed like school girls when we saw them. Magic.

Disney Stories

I have finished two days of training and it's going really well! I have to be honest...I was really nervous going into training. I had no idea what to expect and all of the stories I had been hearing last week made me a little scared. Fainting in the Florida sun! Not what I want to have happen. But, it is so cool what I get to do everyday and I don't think I'll be fainting any time soon. After all, water will be my best friend and I will never be alone. One of the things that they made sure to tell us is that we are making an impact on all of the guests that we meet, even if we don't know it at that moment. The smallest things can make a world of a difference to the children and adults; we help make their favorite memories.

I get to learn a lot of fun facts in my job. Did you know that Disney has about 3,000 animated and live-action characters? That's a lot! Minnie Mouse has about 200 outfits in her closet. I wish it was my closet! But I don't know if I would be able to pull off all of her outfits. Only someone that awesome can pair bright yellow shoes with a red and white polka dot dress. I'm sure that when Minnie and I become best friends, she can give me some fashion advice.


The fun part of the job is getting to hear all the fun Disney stories that all the cast members have. Yesterday, I got to eat lunch at a table with three managers of parades and shows at Animal Kingdom. It was a blast listening to all the funny things that happen to guests and other cast members. There was one day when Snow White was standing by her wishing well and she went to wave. When she put her hand up, a bird landing right on her finger! Now that is Disney magic! The really touching stories are about children who are less fortunate or sick with a terrible disease who are meeting the characters for the first and only time. I always get choked up. Then again, I get choked up when we watch videos about Disney World. I guess it's because I hold Disney World so near and dear to my heart; most of my best memories come from here. Now, I have the best job in the world in my favorite place in the world!

Disney Traditions

For those of you who don't know, I am working in Disney World! With the Disney College Program, I will be living here in Florida and going to work in the most magical place on Earth. I auditioned for Character Performance in late March, and, after feedback from the casting directors that day and a phone call asking if I was available for Fall Advantage, I was pretty confident I had gotten the job. I then received my audition results, and sure enough, I got it! It was the most exciting news I had gotten, especially during the most difficult year at Penn State.

I arrived here in Florida on June 14th. I live on Disney property in a two bedroom apartment with three other girls. Two are working Kilimanjaro Safaris at Animal Kingdom and the other is working World of Disney in Downtown Disney. As for me, I am working in the Magic Kingdom!! I still don't know exactly what I will be doing, but I know I will be friends with one of the characters. I will find out more on Monday when I have my first day of training.

My first official work day at Disney was Traditions, a class every cast member must attend in order to work for the company. This class went over basic Disney Codes of Conduct, rules, and regulations. We also discussed Disney's past, present, and future. Yep, we found out what new things are coming up in Disney's future! Fantasyland in the Magic Kingdom is going to be expanded, a lot. Each princess will have their own area with rides, restaurants, and meet and greets. Dumbo will get a new ride too. I'm really excited to see the final product, but it will take a couple of years. If you are interested in the Disney Cruise Line, they recently added two new ships to their fleet. In our class, we were taken backstage of the Magic Kingdom and toured some of the Utilidor- the famous tunnel beneath the park. This tunnel was Walt's idea, after seeing a knight in Frontierland where there would normally be cowboys. He wanted to ensure that the magic was not lost by cast members trying to get to their location, so the tunnels enable us to get where we need to be without walking all over the park. It was really cool seeing where I would be working for the next six months! Mickey brought us our new Disney name tags and we got our Disney cast member ID's. It gets us into the parks for free!! and gives us a whole bunch of other neat discounts. Of course, after Traditions, we went to Magic Kingdom to have some fun.



I've uploaded pictures of Disney's Main Street Electrical Parade on Facebook. This MK parade is the original electircal parade and is only here for the summer, so if you would like to see it in person come down before mid-August! Also, as part of Summer Nightastic, there are new fireworks at the castle which are really awesome. Tower of Terror also has some cool effects. You can also visit me!

So now I have a few days to relax, go to the parks, and stock my kitchen before I start. My training schedule is rigorous; everyday for nine hours. I anticipate being exhausted when I come home from work, but I'm really excited to start and can't wait to find out what's in store.