I know it's been forever since I have posted! After I received my job at Disney, life was hectic and amazing all at the same time! I worked two jobs and was trying to make ends meet. This was, after all, my dream... and I was living it!
As you could have guessed everyone wanted to visit and go to Disneyland, for the perks I'm sure... but also because they wanted to see my new life. Most everyone I know and love live in Utah so a trip out to California is not a weekend getaway! This required me to take off time at work, change my schedule constantly and plan things ahead! Don't get me wrong, how grateful I am to have so many supporters in my life.
My Mom and sister came to visit me sometime in September and I couldn't wait.When taking my Mom to the airport at the end of her vacation, something felt completely and utterly WRONG. Of course I'm going to miss my Mom and homesickness is completely understandable and expected, however, this was one of the worst feelings of my life. I pushed it away and continued on with my day to day tasks, but simply couldn't shake it off.
Meanwhile, working for Disney was so much different than I thought! Getting to see how the magic is created is absolutely incredible. It was hard. But so worth it. I will be eternally grateful for everything I have experienced. As a Photopass Cast Member we worked hand in hand with our wonderful friends from beloved Disney movies as well as a roll called Character Host. It was a wonderful trio. Spending time in Mickeys house with the mouse himself, watching the children run through the door and capturing those moments on film was incredible. One day I was scheduled as a "breaker" which simply meant I would travel to different destinations throughout the park for an allotted amount of time so the Photopass photographer at that location for the day could take their breaks. This day was one to remember.
To start out the day we would head to our headquarters for Photopass where we would gather our equipment and hear the news of the day. You walk a lot as a Disneyland Cast Member and the backstage area is quite large! So as a safety precaution I thought it was very neat that they require you as part of your shift to go down to the stretching room and follow a simple warm up video. You will be standing and walking so much that day, so you have to keep your body and mind energized and refreshed. What a cool system to incorporate, they truly care about their cast members.
I joined the hustle and bustle of the park that morning and got to shrink down to the size of a pixie to hang out with Tinkerbell and her animal talent friend Fawn! Though my time was short, I would be back later to help out again. (Shrinking down and going back to normal size is exhausting! Ask Alice!!)
After my first round as a pixie I was privileged to walk over all the way over to Toontown and see Mickey Mouse! Shooting with him is always the best time. If you haven't seen his beautiful home take some time on your next trip to take a tour, Mickey was filming a movie at the time and had taken a break to see all of his loving guests. You just might see him if he's not too busy!
After that I was honored to fly over to Arendelle in Fantasyland and see the beautiful Queen Elsa and Princess Anna. Seeing them interact with the sweet little kids was indescribable. They had waited an awful long time in line too so it was well worth it.
Back to Pixie Hollow I went! This is definitely a must see when visiting Disneyland especially if you've seen the new Tinkerbell movies. Located just to the right of Sleeping Beauty's castle, you can shrink right down into the blades of grass and meet the fairy herself. Tink spends so much time with each guest and it was truly amazing to see their interactions. Usually Tink has one of her fairy friends that you are able to visit with too!
Since this was right around Halloween I got the awesome opportunity to go see Jack and Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas! They make appearances starting in October and all the way through the first week of January. They're located over by their re-designed holiday ride Haunted Mansion in New Orleans Square.
At the end of the day I was exhausted. But never had I experienced so much Disney magic in one day. I'm sorry to say that was my last day as a Cast Member, the burden of my feelings when my Mom had gone back to Utah hadn't left. As much as I tried to convince myself that I simply missed my family, it seemed to be much more than that. It was a gut feeling that something wasn't right and I needed to go back to Utah. So I did... it was a long journey to get where I am today but I'm finally back home, settled back into my previous job, and still as Disney obsessed as before. Whatever you have heard about working there "ruining the magic" is completely untrue. It made it all the more amazing for me.
But don't you worry!!! I'm still an annual passholder and have multiple Disney trips planned this year!!! I will continue to blog about the wonderful things I have experienced with Disney as well and tip and tricks that you can experience with your own friends and family!
THANK YOU to everyone for being so supportive, it means the world to me to have people understand.
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