Not Johnny...but he'll do!

As a cast member in Walt Disney World, you can hear some pretty cool things and get some inside tips that none other than a cast member can get. one of those inside information was the supposedly non-fiction rumor that Johnny Depp was going to be in the Magic Kingdom. Not only that, but that he would be suiting up in his Jack Sparrow attire and performing one show of the Pirate Tutorial in Adventure land. So what does that mean I did? you guessed it, i high tailed myself over to The Magic Kingdom the very next day to catch the Pirate Tutorial with my roommate Anna. While we were unsuccessful in seeing Mr. Depp, we were lucky enough to catch what most of us here in Disney like to call "hot wednesday Jack" (or at least some variation of the name) Basically there is a guy that plays Jack Sparrow who is absolutely gorgeous and amazingly similar to Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow, and this fine actor plays Jack consistently on Wednesdays in the MK. But to luckily be at his show on a Thursday was great. Even though we couldn't see Johnny Depp, I had no qualms about watching "Wednesday Jack's" show. This day, apart from being a fun time spent with my friend Anna, was a fun realization of how my life is crazy, yet awesome. Being able to, on a whim, frolic off to The Magic Kingdom just to potentially see one of my favorite actors, and yet still just enjoy the pleasures of just being in the Magic Kingdom was great. I don't think I will ever take for granted the fact that what most people save up for years to be able to do, I get to do on a whim, on my days off.

Universal Adventures

After much inner debate, I decided to purchase an annual pass to Universal Studios, to which I have never been before. Last wednesday, me and three of my friends headed outside of our "world apart" that is Disney and be-bopped over into those very parks. While I did feel like perhaps a slight traitor, I was exceptionally excited, for many reasons. I was about to enter into two parks that I had never been inside before. There is nothing quite like that brand new feeling you get from doing things for the first time and everything that I would be experiencing at Universal would be completely new. I was also excited because I was about to see, first hand, the amazing structure that is The Wizarding World of Harry Potter which is to be opening soon. This day trip to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure was a ton of fun. In the parks from open to close, we were able to do just about every single ride we wanted with little to no wait. (and let me tell you, being able to just walk on to The Hulk and Dueling Dragons was a fantastic feeling.) This trip offered us all a chance to escape from the all encompassing world of Disney and get away from it all. I laughed that on my day off away from Disney, I still chose to spend it inside a theme park, but hey, that's just my life right now.

Working and Learning in the Seas.

Working at Disney is teaching me a lot. here are just a few of the things that I am learning from the Seas

1. Make a complete strangers day.
2. How to give top of the line service to those who do not return it.
3. That communicating with those who do not speak any english can be one of the hardest and most frustrating things to do.
4. Most people like to be helpless and go to you for the answer without pausing to see if they can answer it themselves.
5. Moving someones stroller can be cause for you getting yelled at by that person.
6. Kids can say the silliest things when given the opportunity to talk with a Sea Turtle.
7. Having a Disney name tag that says your name on it actually says to the guest, "Hi my name is, Kelsey and i can answer absolutely ANY question that you have on ANY of our Walt Disney World parks, resorts, restaurants, night life, transportation, the Orlando area, the Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, Disneyland Paris/Hong Kong/ Tokyo, and the weather."
8. You don't always have to make the magic, but rather, a guest can make the magic for you.
9. Living in "the happiest place on earth" can be the most difficult job that you will ever love.
10. Everything is what you make it, and that in order to survive, you must try never to be too serious and that to take each moment in, they won't all be pleasant, but there will be that one guest, whether it is an adult or a child, that will make everything, the 70 hour work weeks, the stress, those disgruntled guests, your aching feet, your exhausted and dwindling patience, they will make everything worth it if you let them.

Cast Member experiences

After working numerous hours a day and too many hours a week working in Disney World can start to wear on you and sometimes you can almost dread going to work, just knowing how much you are going to have to face from long hours on your feet, disgruntled guests, silly and mindless questions, and the long hours through it all. Yet there are some things, that despite the tough conditions that we are all under, that I have found to make the long hours worth it all. Here are a few short stories/examples:

Every park does what are called Extra Magic Hours, or EMH's as referred to by the cast. These hours, for those who do not know are hours when the park stays open for just it's resort guests, that is, those staying in Disney hotels. These hours can either be before the park opens to the public, or after the park has closed for it's regular hours. EPCOT has both, one night it opens one hour prior and on Friday nights, it stays open till 12am for it's resort guests. Working EMH nights can be and is grueling. Everyone is tired, the Nemo ride has very few guests due to the fact that it is a children's ride and not many families stay in the park that late, some do, but not enough to make the time go by fast. This last Friday I was working till 1am on EMH night. While this felt like just another typical day/night at work, it was the walk home that made it magical. Standing beside Spaceship Earth at 1am, after the guests had left, the park started to dim and shut off some of it's main lights, usually this hardly ever happens, and especially not this early in the night. With the lack of these lights, the sky opened up and the stars could be seen. As I continued my walk, gazing above, when I got between Spaceship Earth and Mission: Space the coolest and most uncommon thing happened. The park music went mute. Never has a guest walked through the park with the music off and very few first and second shift workers get to hear the park silent. This lack of sound coupled with the stars was absolutely amazing and stopped me in my tracks. With Spaceship Earth lit up in it's beautiful colors and Mission: Space silently glowing and the Earth spinning it has easily made it's way to the top of some of my favorite Disney moments. Nothing is more peaceful.

Sunday night I was able to participate in what we call the Goodbye wave. This is something that I have wanted to do since some of my first trips as a guest. at 8:45 I walked to the fountain view plaza to meet some other cast members where we donned white Mickey Gloves and made our way onto the Fountain area itself. From there we were able to watch illuminations (EPCOT's fireworks show. from our raised platform with the dancing fountain behind us. That site alone was cool but what really made this moment fun was when illuminations ended signaling the park officially closed for the night, I had the absolute pleasure of being able to wish goodnight to every guest the walked past in my Mickey Gloves. Giving High Fours has never been more fun. It was a great experience that will easily become one of my favorite things to do in the parks.

And finally, as a cast member, i have the absolute pleasure of being able to meet, work, and become friends with people from all over the world. For a small town girl from Iowa there really isn't anything cooler than meeting people that are from places that I have only dreamed about visiting, like Sydney, Australia where my friend Scott is from, or Wellington, New Zealand like David, or Japan like Yuna. having the ability to work and live with all of these amazing people is a great pleasure. I'm sure they all get so tired of me asking tons of questions about their city and cultures, but I can't help it. It all seems so amazing to me, to meet people whose backgrounds, cultures, and customs can be so different from mine, even the differences such as "What do you eat for breakfast?" or "What do you do for fun?" I just find it all so amazing and feel completely blessed to be living and working with people from all over the world.

Stories: By Disney

Walt Disney has been known as one of the greatest storytellers of all time. And for years, Walt Disney World has honored that and carried that legacy on within everything they do in their parks and resorts. I got to see just how amazing stories told by Disney can be as i went on the Expedition Adventure Tour. This three hour tour involved the 15 cast members being led around the Animal Kingdom park and told the stories that the park tells every day to guests who are willing to listen. The amazing thing about this tour however, was that he did not tell us the reasoning behind the story, or why Disney chose to use this story as their theme to the park. No, from the first moment he began speaking, he told the stories as if they were fact. And the beautifully woven tail of both history and legend that Disney has created for this park was so true and honest that it became almost impossible to distinguish what was fact from what was fiction. From the forests of 65 million years ago, to the Ancient forests of today, Disney has told a story that speaks of respect for all animals, from the ones who lived in the past, the ones who live in the present, and those that live in our imaginations.