Today's blog post title really encapsulates how I've been feeling the past week...for all the right reasons and you'll just have to read til the end to see what I mean.
Sunday: Sunday turned out to be the best day of work I've had so far. Why?! Well one the perks of being a CP - college program aka closing the park cast member - with really nice managers, when you work late enough, you get to see dress rehearsals of the parades befor the public. That's right I sat on Main Street USA with roughly 100 cast members as we watched fellow cast members bring Mickey's Not So Scary "Boo to You" Halloween Parade to life.
(Please note: I have never been to parks as a guests during anytime of the holiday season...and I believe when we came down in Sept. 2002 we must have JUST missed as the pre-Halloween festivities).
I have been told the Halloween Parade and Halloween fireworks show at the Magic Kingdom are two of the best shows Disney puts on in the parks. Well I can now say without a doubt the Halloween parade was the coolest thing I have ever seen. Let's just say there was a real dog, a real horse, crazy villains, and costumes, AWESOME dancers, shovels, and naughty cowboys (that only my friend, Gina, and I picked up on - hilarious).
Sorry no pictures...can't get fired now can I ;) You'll all just have to come down one year and see if for yourself.
It was great to be with all the girls I work with at the Emporium, sitting outside the Emporium, watching a parade...with music and lights, on Main Street, in the Magic Kingdom, and nothing else. Even with the parade the atmosphere was so intimate and I had another magic moment of thinking this was truly what the magic of Disney is all about. That also had to be one of the best dress rehearsals the cast members in the parade could have asked for because we were, indeed, felt/acted like we were five years old..and it was all genuine and totally worth it. Did I mention there was free popcorn left over from the food carts that we got to eat. Well the was :)
I went home really excited and couldn't fall asleep til 3 am.
Monday: I woke up early to get to the park before work. It was a beautiful morning and since it was my "Friday" I thought I'd treat myself to Starbucks and take a picture of the moment.
I should take out stock for Starbucks and become a member of their PR department ;)
My friends and I still couldn't get over how cool the night before was and we thought that, even if we couldn't make it to a Halloween party (because even with ticket discounts the tickets are still expensive), we saw the main attraction, except the fireworks but I'm sure I'll catch them.
My Monday work day went really well and I went home and relax before going out with the roomies at night for a couple of drinks. They were airing Monday night football so I got to see that the birds won, EAGLES. Yay.
Tuesday: I had a bit of rough night sleep Monday night and decided not to join Katie and Lauren as they ventured to Animal Kingdom and favored sleeping for another two hours, but the rest was well worth it. In the afternoon I met up with up them to see some ballet. Perk of being a Cast Member #2: the Orlando Ballet Company practices at the ESPN World Wide of Sports and to "thank" Disney allows Cast Members to sit in on rehearsals from time to time. I was totally in "Center Stage" mindset. It was really nice to see some classic ballet preformed by truly amazing dancers. I felt very posh ;). We saw bits of performances of "Romero and Juliet", "Cameron", "Swan Lake", as well as dances from their "Hollywood on Point" showcase, aka ballet dancers to music from Hollywood movies. There was a male dancer who preformed a solo called "Time" that he choreographed and composed the music for himself. The music was amazing. There was also a dancer from Philly in the company who preformed and she was really good! Go Philly!!! Their last performance was a modern, fun piece called "La Cafe". It was evident on the dancers faces that they enjoyed preforming it. It's always fun watching performers when you can see/know they are having fun. At the performance I also met a CP named Hanna from England. Overall it was a lovely afternoon. Hanna and I decided we will definitely be going to see the final production in October in downtown Orlando. We did note though how sometimes seeing rehearsals is actually a better experience because, even though it is sometimes not fully polished, it is more raw and real. No costumes or lights to hide the sweat and struggle of it all. During a lot of numbers you could hear a pin drop and when the music was low (or not on at all) you could hear the dancers breathing heavily and their feet hitting the floor. It also served as a wonderful creative writing inspiration experience...so I've been rolling along with that.
Tuesday night, Britt, Lauren and I went to Citywalk to see what the competition does wrong ;). We made the most of it as they were not a lot of people out. We went into a club called The Groove and tore up the dance floor. Britt and I just wanted to dance. It was evident we were the youngest people there by 15 years and I guy told us a majority of the people there were members of some company in Orlando for a science conference at the Orange County Convention Center. Some good moments, some funny moments...Britt and I even made a magical moment at Universal... The cutest little boy was dancing around outside to the music that was playing over the speakers. We saw him and cheered him on and danced around. His older brother then proceeded to throw his small basketball at us so we had a little catch. The parents were laughing and seemed to be appreciative. So appreciative they asked if we would be in a picture and we said yes of course. And that's how it's done folks hahaha.
Tuesday was also my Grandmom's birthday and I was happy she got her Minnie ears and autograph book that I sent her so she's all set for her trip!
Wednesday: I spent Wednesday filling out some professional internship applications. I wanted to go to Magic Kingdom at 5 pm for the retiring of the flag as it was 9/11 but I realized I missed the bus I should have taken. I went to bed early Wednesday night.
Thursday: Yesterday I had work from 12:45-7:15. It went fast as my day was broken up by a training session that was Halloween themed. It was neat and we got candy - yes!!! I also had two magic moments at work yesterday. Magic moment #1: I saw a little Princess Belle and said "Hi Princess." She turned so that she was facing me at attention, said nothing, just curtsied. I curtsied back It was adorable. Magic Moment #2: I met a couple from NH who told me (after I told them where SJU/where I was from) that everyone they've ever met from Philly was a (quote) "real person". I thanked them for the compliment and it made me really proud to be where I'm from. Miss you Philly!
Last night I came home and went back out to the Oktoberfest housing event that was being put on by WDW housing. I spent my time there with my friend from work named Thea. We had a lovely chat and were laughing at all the kids dancing. I promised her we'd make sure she'd learned all the dances that she had been told she'd need to know in order to be able to attend American wedding. You all know them - electric slide, cotton eyed joe, cupid shuffle, wobble, da whop, electric slide part 2, single ladies...the classic and the new classics. We talked about school and what gap years are like...I am in total support of the US adopting this concept.
I personally think a lot of American students are starting to take "gap years" when college is over and Thea said that's what a lot of Americans she's met on her travels have said too. The norm is go right into school, not knowing what you want to do with your life, and finish school, with loads of debt, still not fully knowing what you want to do with your life (or so this has been the case for me and many of my friends).
I suppose you could say my time in Disney is in fact a "gap half year." I am taking it as a great opportunity to get started with the Disney Company but in all honesty I'm also here because I didn't have a full idea of what I wanted/should do next. I knew I will go to grad school (and I'm grateful for that) but this experience is helping me figure the rest out.
We also concluded that guys, no matter where they're from, that are in their early 20s are the same aka dumb haha. I promised her I'd try vegemite, though I'm scared. She also told me some of her plans after her program is over (for international CPs the program is a year long) and how she plans to go live/work in London. I told her I was jealous/I find a way to come over so I can work and live their too - since we realized that's our shared dream haha.
I returned home and Lauren and I watched a little bit of Pitch Perfect before going to bed. I am ashamed to say I haven't seen the whole thing but I will soon haha. What I saw was really funny.
Friday: Today I woke up and came to Starbucks to work on cover letters and blog. I heard a crow or raven when I walked outside this morning and that was a little unnerving considering it's Friday the 13th. I am at the Starbucks near Vista - it has so much more seating as it is a proper, full store, Starbucks. I had a flashback moment to the Starbucks in Covenant Garden as they are set up/look very similar.
I know several of my room mates are going to the Disney Friday the 13th Villains gathering at Hollywood Studios tonight but, alas, I'll be working. I'm in the middle of my work week but I have Monday and Tuesday (and hopefully Wednesday off).
Now in regards to this week title. First of all I love the phrase "dog it" and want to bring it back into mainstream America in a classy way. But I digress...after this past week I look at it/consider Walt's words in a manner of gratitude. Gratitude because, though my experience at Disney hasn't been all I thought it was going to be, I can truly say it has given me the kick I needed to start writing again. Writing, everyday, for the sake of it, because it is what I love to do. I guess being surrounded by the world's leading/largest creative company 24/7 can have the affect on you. I knew before coming down to Disney I'd love to be in their creative field. My time here in Disney has made me see that indeed a creative position is where I'd love to see myself in the company in the future - whether it'd be Disney creative teams or ABC or any of Disney's affiliated companies!
I have been writing non stop and have been feeling really creative - which I haven't felt in while and it feels like a saving grace at times. Now it's time to start putting the pieces, figuratively and literally, together to make things happen for myself. I also have been reading a lot more which has helped and I can't wait to read some books about Walt.
Keep Dreaming,
Mary-Kate
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