The Best Place to Work Ever :)

I’m in love. Head over heels in love. With Chris, of course. :) But also with this place. Tonight I’m feeling so inspired by Disney. I’ll get into that in a minute.

Today started at 6 a.m. I started work at 8 a.m. and got to be a part of the opening events for Tomorrowland. Every day Tomorrowland chooses a family and they get to ride whatever they want first. One of our trainers chose the family. While he took the family to their ride of choice the rest of us stood and talked to the guests waiting outside our land. It was exciting to finally interact with guests. There were two little boys right in front who were very excited to get in. One was eleven and the other was five. We had a nice Space Traveler to Space Traveler talk about Buzz Lightyear and Space Mountain. It was great! I can’t wait for more things like that.

After Tomorrowland opened we spent the day learning about Fastpasses and reloading machines, we learned the role of Greeters, and we saw the individual break rooms for those working in different parts of Tomorrowland. After a while we ate lunch and then spent three hours going over regulations for our park. It sounds boring, and it was a little, but it was wonderful at the same time. After three or four exhausting days it was great to have a day with a little less craziness. So much has been packed into the last few days that it feels like I’ve been here for weeks already. My fellow Cast Members and I are having trouble remembering what day of the week it is.

Why am I in love with this place? Tonight Chris asked me why I was at Disney. It’s something I’ve been thinking about since I got here. Not in a bad, or homesick way. I wanted to come to Disney since I heard about the program, but I didn’t think I’d ever really do it. I didn’t think I was “big” enough for that, “big” meaning I didn’t think I had the personality to work in the happiest place on earth. I know all of you are thinking “yeah right, I’d have placed you with Disney in a heartbeat.” “You are your own worst critic” as the saying goes.

In the first few days of our training the goal of the classes we take are to teach us the basics of working with Disney, obviously, but also to inspire us into the kinds of “actors” they want for the part they’ve cast us in. We watch videos of fellow Cast Members talking about the program, we listen to people tell about little moments that could reach into the coldest of hearts and spark warmth, we watch old videos of Walt Disney himself, we watch Guests in the park; all in the hopes that we will realize the magnitude of what we’re a part of.

There are a few things that have really touched me as I’ve gone through this inspiring process. These are out of order. I realized that this isn’t as big a leap from a normal, everyday job as I had originally thought it would be. All of what I will learn to do here is going to be applicable to every job I have for the rest of forever.

One of the first insights I had was probably something I should have thought of, but didn’t realize. The people I will see every day might have saved their money for years to make this trip. They are expecting the time of their lives. That’s a big deal. I will see them for two or three minutes at the most and I can either help with that dream, or I can take it down a few notches. When you’re dealing with people’s dreams you’re working with the most fragile stuff in the world.

Another insight that I had is that this is the first time that I will ever be paid to act. Disney World is a monster of a theatrical show. The Cast Members are the actors and the Guests are the audience. Theater is my career. It’s my passion. I can do this because this is something I love very very much.

All of these insights, particularly the second two, have really made me think. After I realized that I would never be an astronaut, or a movie star, I decided that if I could do one thing in this life that I would want to change someone’s life in some small way. I always thought that that wouldn’t begin for many years when I started teaching. Through this program it will start a lot sooner.

I’m glad to be at Disney World. It’s not just a theme park, or a job. It’s not just a place for Guests. It’s not just a place for Disney Princesses and Mickey Mouse. It’s for anyone who just wants to imagine that the world isn’t as big and scary as it is and that is a really big deal.