One More Disney Day!

So for those who didn’t notice, February had an extra day this year. Well if you didn’t take notice, Disney certainly did! To commemorated this occasion, Disney Parks held a special 24-hour event: One More Disney Day! On February 29th, 2012, for the first time ever, both Disneyland Park and Magic Kingdom Park stay open from 6am-6am on March 1st. That’s 24 hours of more magic, more memories, and more fun! The above video is a promo Disney Parks publish on their own YouTube channel.

My friend Matt and I got to meet Ariel and Eric!

This sounds insane, yes, but it was actually a really fun event! I was there with my Friend Matt and although we were only there from 3pm-midnight (darn morning work shifts), we had so much fun! Early in the early morning and at night, characters were appropriately dressed in their pjs, along with plenty other guests, and even special characters came out to play, like Tangled‘s Flynn Ryder, the most popular special character in my opinion — I waited 2 1/2 hours in line and still didn’t see him because we got fed up with the waiting.

We caught Peter Pan before flying back to Neverland!

Also, at around 1am, there was also a special “Dance the Night Away” dance party in front of Cinderella’s Castle with, I believe, Donald, Daisy, Goofy and Pluto. Guests were able to dance with some of their favorite characters and find that second wind to keep going through the night to see that 6am sunrise, or whichever comes first. Judging by the size of the crowd when we left at midnight to the day crowd, apparently it was “the cool thing to do” to be at Magic Kingdom from midnight to 6am since an opportunity like that doesn’t come around everyday. I wished that we could’ve been one of those people, but alas, work does have to come first.

A free little gift for every guest as they entered the park was this One More Disney Day button.

Overall, I think this event was a total success just for the pure fact that it hasn’t been done before. People went as far as to try and stay in the park for the full 24 hours. If anyone succeeded in doing so, congrats! Not everyone can say that they’ve spent 24 consecutive hours of their life in Magic Kingdom. I hope Disney Parks decide to do this again in the future!

 

So this is a late addition, but I was told that there were some people who even did both Disneyland and Magic Kingdom IN ONE DAY! Like starting in one park in the morning for a couple hours, then flying to the other and spending the rest of the time there. Now that is just ridiculous, but so cool! I can’t imagine the amount of planning and such it took to do that, but to those who did that, a HUGE congratulations is in order!!

I’m Back!

Yes, believe it or not, I’m making a comeback to this blog! New title and all! I know it’s been like 4 months since I last posted anything, so let me just give you a quick rundown of what’s been happening.

I extended my college program so my program now officially ends in early May (I forgot the exact date already haha). I moved into a new apartment for the spring, going from a 4-bedroom apartment to a 2-bedroom. My roommates now are pretty cool so that’s a plus. No awful roommates to deal with. Our neighbors below us however…pain in our butts!

After a lot of thought, I’m leaning towards staying down in Florida beyond May and gaining seasonal status with Disney. That means that I would be an actual cast member for Disney, not just a CP (college programer). I mean, I’d possibly need a second job to help pay the rent, but hey, I’ll still get to do what I’ve loved doing for the past 7 months.

After the way 2011 ended for me on a personal note, I’ve decided to make some New Year’s Resolutions and make the year of 2012 all about me. Even my unofficial theme song of this year is “Stronger” by Kelly Clarkson (LOVE HER). Some of my resolutions include: losing weight/living more healthily, doing things for me more often, and, oddly enough, to keep up with my blog. So I guess I’m finally taking care of that one.

Now having past the 6-month mark since moving here, I’m starting to feel very at home at Disney. I’m getting used to the area, including Lake Buena Vista and Kissimmee, and knowing how to get to different places now. Also, since new CPs came in for the spring these past 2 months, I feel like a veteran in terms of answering their questions and being there for their first experiences at work and at the parks. It’s just a little thing to be excited about, but to me it’s nice to be considered not that much of a newbie anymore.

Alright so I’m going to keep this post kind of short. I just wanted to give everyone an brief update on my life at my new home away from home. So if you were bored while reading this post, sorry! I will definitely try to keep up with my blog now. I’ve even already started working on future posts so stay tuned for those. I’m even going to attempt to revamp the look of this blog a little bit. So keep a lookout! Ryan is back on WordPress!

Happy Birthday Mickey Mouse!

Yesterday, one of my best friends and boss, Mickey Mouse, turns 83! I’m feel to honored to be able to be here at Walt Disney World and celebrate with him. It’s been a real treat to be able to help him spread the magic of Disney and help make people’s dreams actually come true. Disney has always been a big part of my life and it’s been a dream come true for me to be able to work in this company doing what I do.

Now to celebrate Mickey’s birthday, Disney Parks has decided to bring the magic to the beloved city I call my playground, New York City! The big jumbo screen about the Disney Store has been augmented so that people can interact with some of your favorite Disney characters on the screen. It looks so cool! The link above the video is linked to the story on mashable.com. Really makes me wish I was back in NYC so that I could do this!

Mickey Mouse Brings Disney Magic to New York City

So you know that announcement that I mentioned in my last post. I GOT TO EXTEND MY PROGRAM! So that means I’ll be down here for another 5 months until May! Literally feel so fortunate to be able to continue my time down here and be able to help spread the magic of Disney at least for a little while longer. Thanks to everyone for all your support and for reading my blog. I’ve had the time of my life down here so far and I can only imagine what else Disney will have in store for me over the next 6 months! So Happy birthday Mickey and let the memories begin!

So You Think You Can Dance?

So tonight I participated in a Beginning Movement workshop exclusively for character performers. And I tell you it really kicked my butt! Now, before this, I thought I wasn’t all that bad at dancing. In fact, I thought I was pretty good. However, after this workshop, that statement definitely has changed. We started off with some extensive warmups, which made me realized that I’m a lot more flexible at some stretches than I thought and not so flexible at others. Then we moved on to simple movement techniques like moving across the room, kind of like parade style. Next was a short, 16-count parade routine, and last was the full-out dance routine. That was the part that kicked my butt.

Some of the techniques were pretty difficult at first and the tempo was FAST. I struggled, other struggled, it was one big failfest in the beginning. However, towards the end everyone, including me started getting down this routine. It got to the point where we kept requesting to do the routine one more time, and then another time and then another time again. It actually started becoming fun!

However, this was a BIG eye opener for me. I realized A) how much of a dancer I’m not, B) how much I need to up my game if I’m going to be in a parade or a show, and C) how out of shape I am. I feel like if I were in better shape, my dancing could drastically improve. Of course, I would need to work on my dancing technique as well. Therefore I have made a goal for myself. I’m going to actually get in better shape so that come next time auditions come around, I can at least be a little quicker on my feet. 🙂 Wish me luck!

PS – I have a big announcement for my next post. Make sure you keep a lookout for it! It’s a pretty big deal!

IT’S MY FAVORITE THINGS!!!

So yesterday, I was at Disney’s Animal Kingdom with my friend Alex and he took me to see Festival of the Lion King for the very first time. I wouldn’t even know how to describe the show to someone who hasn’t seen it before. I even asked Alex, who has seen the show plenty of times and loves it, to describe it to me and he basically said that I had to see it for myself. And so we did. It. Was. Spectacular. Like I mean purely amazing. The show itself was just so entertaining and engaging. The acrobatics and dancing were fantastic. Just the overall “showiness” of it really captured the essence of The Lion King.

I enjoyed this show so much that I decided to take a page out of Oprah Winfrey’s playbook and make a “Favorite Things” list of my own. My list, however, will be my top 10 favorite attractions, in no particular order, here at Walt Disney World.

1. Festival of the Lion King (Animal Kingdom)- already explained how much I love this show. It is the highest rated show/attraction here at Disney World so DEFINITELY worth checking out.
2. Fantasmic! (Hollywood Studios)- I also saw this show for the first time when I cam down for the college program. If you truly embrace the magic of Disney and love it as much as I do, you will definitely be a fan of this nighttime spectacular.
3. Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster (Hollywood Studios) – Hands down the best roller coaster at Disney World (just because it’s the only one that goes upside down). The only drawback to this coaster is that it’s a pretty short one, so prepare to rock, but only for a mere minute and twenty-two seconds.
4. Expedition Everest (Animal Kingdom) – This roller coaster at Animal Kingdom where you travel through the darkness of the mountain caves at times and encounter a dangerous yeti! Yikes!
5. Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor (Magic Kingdom) – I first experienced this ride during my senior year spring break trip this past march. So funny! We had to see it twice because of how funny it was. Best part: the pre-show video with Roz!!
6. Soarin’ (Epcot) – A classic ride. So much fun to be flying through the air and smell the smells of pine trees, ocean, and especially oranges.
7. Space Mountain (Magic Kingdom) – Another classic ride. It’s been here since I can remember and I’ve loved it ever since my first time riding it.
8. Star Tours: The Adventure Continues (Hollywood Studios) – This ride has been completely revamped with all new adventures. The catch with this ride is that the adventure you go through is different every time! You’ll never know which string of scenarios you’re going to get!
9. Toy Story Midway Mania! (Hollywood Studios) – SO MUCH FUN! The entire ride is in 4D and it’s a game between you and your partner to see who can gather the most points! Tip: GO THERE EARLY! Whether you want to ride it first or just get a FastPass ticket. The wait time ALWAYS gets pretty high early in the morning and FastPasses go VERY quick.
10. Tower of Terror (Hollywood Studios) – A perfect ride to round out my top 10. Who doesn’t like the thrill of experiencing what happened on that frightful night of October 31, 1939 when the Hollywood Tower Hotel elevator shafts were struck by lightning, mysteriously sending the people on board into…..the Twilight Zone (DUN DUN DUN!!!).

Tips for Character Meet and Greets

Having been working here for two and a half months now (OMG HOW HAS IT BEEN TWO AND A HALF MONTHS ALREADY?? WHERE HAS THE TIME GONE????), I’ve made several observations here at the parks. Perhaps the biggest things that I’ve noticed are the interactions between guest and characters at character meet and greets. Sometimes guests on line will get upset if they don’t get to see a character because the family in front of them took too long. Ultimately from what I’ve observed, this problem results from the just the lack of knowledge of efficiently interacting with a character, where you can still spend time with them and create those magical moments, but not take up too much of that character’s time so they can see other families as well.

So to help with this, I’ve come up with some tips for guests meeting characters.

1. Have your autograph books open and ready.
2. Hand your autograph books and pens FACING the character so they can easily grab them right side up to sign.
3. Taking pictures is something everyone should do. It’s encouraged! BUT try not to take a thousand pictures, for example, a solo picture of each person, try all different combos to people and then a huge group shot. It takes up a lot of time and isn’t fair to the other families.
4. If your child is deathly frightened by a character, maybe taking pictures isn’t the best idea.
5. Try not to manhandle the characters too much. Characters have feelings too.
6. Along with number 5, when you see your child hitting a character, like on the head, in the eye or on the nose, or pulling on a character’s tail or ear, please tell them to stop and not just laugh and think it’s cute.
7. Do not ask characters to hold your baby. It’s not appropriate.
8. When a character has to walk off set to go get something to eat or check on their friends, please don’t get mad. When the character attendant says they’ll be back in about 5 minutes, they’re not lying. It’s only 5 minutes.
9. DO NOT bombard the characters as the character is walking to and from their meet and greet location with autograph books or picture opportunities. You can have that opportunity if you wait in line like everyone else.
10. ACT EXCITED!! You’re meeting a Disney character! They are considered “celebrities” at the parks so be excited and lively when you see them! Characters love to see your enthusiasm!

These are just some tips on how to go about character meet and greets. Of course, you are encouraged to spend time with the characters and have fun with them because, really, when else can you do that? But just be mindful of the environment you’re in and that others came to Disney to do the exact same thing you are. Everyone deserves to enjoy their magical moments.

It’s You’re Friendly, Neighborhood…..Character Attendant??

This post is going to be completely dedicated to certain cast members who really work wonders within the entertainment department of Disney World: the character attendants. For those of you who don’t know who character attendants are, they are the people wearing the light blue button shirts with khaki shorts or pants who are constantly with the characters. From what I’ve observed, their list of duties include:

1. Controlling the flow of the queue line for character meet and greets.
2. Assisting characters/guests during meet and greets (offering pens, taking pictures, speaking for the characters.
3. Helping characters get ready before going out on set.
4. Answering any guest’s questions.

Now, most people wouldn’t realize that there is one more thing that character attendants do that really commands a lot of respect and admiration from me. So their 5th duty is (pardon my language): taking a lot of shit from guests. I learned today just how bad things can get for character attendants when it comes to guests being a bit unruly and just overall ridiculous. For example, when a character leaves set (the meet and greet location) to go back and grab a snack or check on their friends, guests complain about why they have to leave when they’ve been waiting on line for ‘x’ number of minutes. Or a guest will complain that their kid(s) didn’t get to see Mickey or some other character. The utter nonsense that these character performers face is just ridiculous.

I’m not trying to badmouth any and all guests that come to the parks and see characters. I’m just trying to shed light on how much character attendants do for the characters and guests and how some situations aren’t so simple and perky as you would think. I’ve become so appreciative of what they do and have gained so much respect for them. Guess the saying, “it’s a tough job but someone’s got to do it” really des apply to them. To any character attendants reading this, I would like to thank you form the bottom of my heart for making my job that much easier to do. And to everyone else reading, next time you’re at a character spot at Disney World or Disneyland and you see a character attendant, just remember what I said and make sure you help them out and make their job that much easier like they do for me and you.

Make-A-Wish

So I know my posts so far have been deep and meaningful (at least to me), but this story I have to write about because it just made my day. I was friends with Agent Oso today for Disney Junior’s Play ‘N Dine at the Hollywood and Vine restaurant at Hollywood Studios. For those who don’t know, this is a character dining event where characters come around to your table as you’re eating and you can say hi, get autographs, and take pictures with them. At one of the tables was this one kid, maybe 5 or 6 years of age, who was a “Make a Wish” child. He was in a wheelchair. As Oso was making his way around the restaurant, Oso’s attendant told him about the Make-A-Wish child and that when he gets the chance, he should go on over and say hello to him and his family. So he makes his way over to the table and I see the giant smile that just grows on this child’s face as Oso is walking over. He starts waving his arms and acting really excited. It was soooo cute! They took pictures together, Oso signed his autograph book, and they just had a really good time.

Play ‘N Dine does this thing called “Celebrations” where there are two actors called Play ‘N Dine players who come up and sing Playhouse Disney songs for everyone and the kids are invited to come up and dance along. Well while Oso was with this Make-A-Wish child, his attendant thought it would be a great idea if the two of them went up and celebrated together. So they did and Oso held his hand while dancing and it looked like the two of them just had a blast. When the celebration was over, the child’s mother thought it’d be nice if Oso brought him back to the table. Normally, that could be considered a no-no because there’s the risk of injuring the guest somehow, but it was such a short distance and given the circumstance, it was ok. So Oso grabs a hold of the wheelchair and pushes the child back to the table. All in all, Oso spent at least a good 5 minutes with this child when usually it should be between 30 and 60 seconds.

Seeing this today literally made my day. It was so cute to see the pure joy a child can have and the big smile that they get when they get to interact with a character. It really reminded me what why I do what I do and how just spending time with a guest can make all the difference in the world to them. Now, this isn’t the first time I’ve seen interactions between characters and Make-A-Wish children, but today just was just…different. It reminded me of how precious life can be and how my job can directly have a positive impact on a person’s life. It’s a beautiful thing.

On October 3rd he asked me what day it was…. “It’s October 3rd.”

October 3rd. I can’t believe it. I’ve been down here working at Disney World for over a month already! Some days it will feel like I’ve been down here for only a week, other days it feels like a couple months. But no matter how it feels, it’s still so surreal. I think the best part so far is that I still haven’t lost my love and devotion for Disney. You would think after working here and seeing how things are done and how some of the magic is created that it would basically kill it. Let’s be real, it has….A LOT, but I still get that feeling of overwhelming joy and excitement whenever I see Mickey Mouse or when Chip and Dale wave at me as they scurry on backstage to check on their acorn pie. That magic still exists.

One prime example was at Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party last Tuesday night. For those who don’t know, Halloween is a 2 month long party starting in September. It’s called Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. This is a special event is held at Magic Kingdom from 7pm-midnight throughout September and October where the entire park is themed to Halloween and guests can dress up in costume. Several characters make special appearances in their Halloween costumes, the nightly “Wishes” fireworks show becomes the “Hallowishes” fireworks show, and there is a special parade called the “Boo To You” Halloween Parade. Cast members even give out candy in certains spots for trick-or-treating! It’s so magical! Anyway getting back to my point, my friend Caleb and I attended Mickey’s Halloween party last Tuesday night and we got to meet Mickey and Minnie at the Town Square Theater! Mickey was dressed up as a pirate and Minnie as a princess. We got to hang out with them a little bit and then take some pictures. Here’s a group photo. I went as Buzz Lightyear (yes I did make the shirt myself thank you!) and Caleb went as the Phantom of the Opera:

Adorable no? Seeing these two at the Halloween party was so much fun and they both looked so cute in their costumes. It truly reminds me that even though I do work for Disney now, the magic isn’t gone. I still see these characters for who they are. I would even say that working here has only enhanced my love for Disney because I get to be a part of the magic, which makes me happy to be doing what I do.

Now as to what I have been doing lately, I’ve been working all over. As a performer, I work globally, meaning I can work in any of the 4 parks and resorts. However, I’ve mostly been at Hollywood Studios working around Animation Courtyard with Disney Junior or in the Animations Building. Although, I have spend some time over at Camp Minnie Mickey at Animal Kingdom and in Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom as well. It’s fun to be able to work in different locations. Different park brings a new environment, new characters and new people. Outside of work has been fun too. My roommates are all awesome and we’re basically from all over the country, but mostly in the NorthEast. We live in a 4-bedroom apartment set up by Disney that’s only a short drive from Disney property and free bus transport is provided to go to and from work for those with no car or choose not to drive. It’s basically like an extension of my college career, that is if my college was in Florida, at Disney World, in warm weather, and only a hop and a skip away from the place where dreams come true. But overall, if I could give this past month a grade for how awesome it’s been being down here, I’d give it an A++.

PS – for those who don’t understand the title, it’s from Mean Girls. Look it up. =)

I’m Your Biggest Fanatic!

So for those who don’t know, here at Disney World there is something called a Great Service Fanatic card. It’s something that guests can fill out for a particular cast member if that cast member goes above and beyond to help the guest with whatever they need. These cards are given to our managers so that they know that a cast member did a fantastic job in the eyes of the guest. Pretty cool idea, right? I think so too. Now, being on the entertainment side of the business, I didn’t think that I would be eligible to receive any Fanatic cards. Today, however, turned out to be a pleasant surprise.

My shift today was a “spare” at Hollywood Studios. Being a spare just means that you’re there for a set number of hours and you can be pulled to something if you are needed. Today I was called for a 7am-4pm shift (waking up before the sun rises should be illegal) and was pulled to help out at the Play ‘N Dine at the Hollywood and Vine restaurant. Play ‘N Dine is where characters go around to each table while the guests are eating to say hello, sign autographs, and take pictures. It’s mainly aimed towards entertaining our younger audience, but it’s kind of cool since you get to see these characters in a different setting other than a character spot or meet and greet area. So originally I was to be friends with June, one of the Little Einstein characters. However, June and I don’t necessarily get along on all levels and luckily there was another cast member who was to be friends with Agent Oso, another Playhouse Disney character, and didn’t get along with him either. So we switched, simple as that.

So we go about our day at work, hectic as usual, until I get a phone call from the duty base, where we check in when we arrive for our shift, asking if I’d rather stay and get my hours or get an early release. I opted for staying since, well, I like getting paid. Turns out, I’d be getting a little more than I bargained for. Not too long before I would finish at Play ‘N Dine, I was told that I was going to actually have to continue my shift there, but being friends with another character….June. The character that I wanted to avoid in the first place. The worst part of it is that after being friends with Oso, I would have to go back to costuming, help Oso put his stuff away for the day, help June pack up, and then get back to Play ‘N Dine all within an hour. Not an easy task by any means. Plus, I didn’t even get to eat lunch! I mean, I got an extra hour paid, since we don’t get paid for lunch, but still! It’s hard to go through a strenuous day without having a real meal.

So after I was all done with being friends with June, I get back to the duty base and check back in with the dut officer, her name is Vicki, to see if there’s anything else for me. She say no and thanked me again for having to back to the same place to help with June. Now, I don’t mean to beep my own horn, but when it comes to a professional setting, I’ve learned to just adapt to change and just be as flexible as I can be without putting on my “cranky pants” (thanks to four amazing years with the Syracuse University Marching Band). So I just said something along the lines of “Oh yea no problem. You do what you gotta do right?”

Then, as I was just hanging out waiting to clock out, Vicki comes up behind me, taps me on the shoulder and hands me a fanatic card. I literally was speechless just because it was so unexpected. The card had read that I received the card for being so cooperative  and flexible with today’s schedule. To think that something that I’ve been used to doing for the past eight years of my life (including high school marching band) was seen as showing exemplary effort. Before this, I thought it was only guests that could fill out Fanatic cards so I never thought I would get one, but I guess I was wrong. I know this post just sounds like I’m telling a story of how awesome I am and if you’re thinking this, you’re missing my point. My point is that I felt so good knowing that my past life experiences have made a huge difference in who I am now. The fact that my flexibility was noticed made me feel like I’m doing something right with my life and that this is a truly unique life experience that I can learn from and take with me wherever I go. It reassured that being down here at Disney was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made for myself.