Saying Goodbye and New Beginnings

         I apologize that it has taken me so long to update my blog. It’s been hectic here and very go go go since we checked in….

         These past three weeks have been the most terrifying, exciting, devastating, happiest and emotional weeks of my life. If that makes any sense. Up until three weeks ago, I didn't think leaving was going to be a problem. I thought it was going to be the easiest thing in the world to leave Oshkosh behind. I couldn't have been more wrong. 

I think I finally realized how hard it was going to be the day of my going away party. So many people showed up to help me celebrate and I had so much fun seeing people I hadn't seen in a while. It was really reassuring to hear about how genuinely happy and excited everyone was for me. I have heard of other people in the programs families being very unsupportive of the whole thing and I just felt really blessed to have all of my family and friends support. I had such a fun time preparing everything for my party, everything needed to be and was Disney related. All the food was labeled to be something related to Disney, I made Disney “photo booth props” and I had floating lanterns from the movie Tangled. 

The week after my party was very emotional. I don’t think there was a day that I didn't cry. A lot of goodbyes were said to a lot of people I care about and it was really hard. I didn't expect it to be. I know I’m coming back and I know that four months is going to be really fast but it’s still hard to know that I won’t being seeing people for such a long period of time. 

After spending the weekend packing and spending time with my family, Sunday arrived and it was time to leave. We left Milwaukee at 4:30ish and we landed in Orlando at around 8:30 PM. We spent that week playing in both Disney World and Universal studios and I had an absolute blast. It was a weird feeling being a vacation but also knowing that I wasn’t going home afterwards. At this point I was still sort of unsure if this was actually something I wanted to be doing. Leaving home was a really scary feeling and I already felt homesick but everything changed that Thursday when we went to Magic Kingdom. We stood on Main Street for Celebrate the Magic and Wishes, and as soon as Celebrate the Magic started, my eyes began to water and I ended up bawling through the whole thing. It wasn’t because I was homesick and wanted to leave but because it reminded me why I am here and why I wanted to stay. One of my favorite parts of Celebrate the Magic is when Walt Disney appears and says “I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing- that it was all started by a mouse.” It was here that I realized again why I fought so hard to be here, Walt was an incredible person who created this world of fantasy that families could go to and forget about all their troubles for a little while. It’s a place where magic is a reality and dreams actually do come true. Disney World was always this place that I knew about but never had the opportunity to go to and now it’s my home. How is that not a dream come true? I am just so excited to be a part of making the magic for all these families. 

Last Monday was check in day. We arrived at Check in at 7:45 AM and proceeded to stand in line for at least a half hour before we received our college program guide books and continued into another line that would tell me the fate of my role. It was such an adrenaline rush to know that I was finally going to know where I would be working. As my turn approached, the smile grew wider on my face, I knew that wherever I was, it was going to be up to me to make this the best four months of my life. Even if I wouldn't have gotten a role I wanted, it was going to be my attitude about it that would make the four months or break the four months. The time had come and walked to the desk and as the lady told my location, I knew it was perfect for me. I am attractions so I originally had this idea that I would be working a ride, I knew a show was a possibility but I didn't think that it would actually happen. But both things were wrong. I got Main Street Operations in Magic Kingdom. And you’re probably wondering what that is? I thought the same thing. Its parade audience control. So I will get to “watch” all the parades, shows, and fireworks that happen on Main Street every day while maintaining the audience of course. It’s going to involve a lot of guest interaction and I am really excited about that. If I was running a ride, I wouldn't be able to have conversations with the guests about their vacation and I wouldn't be able to create as many magical moments. I also found out that while waiting for the parades to start I get to play games in the street with the kids. Things like Hula hoops, ring toss, bubbles or other games I get to make up. I am really excited about that part. 

Another thing that happened on Monday was meeting my wonderful roommates. We all had been talking since the end of October and decided we wanted to live together. After three months of talking on the internet it was really cool to meet everyone in person. Their names are Courtney, Haley, Kelsey and Wendi, and then there is Sara who came from Oshkosh with me! We all get a long great and I couldn't ask for better roommates. We live in a two bedroom apartment, with three girls in each room. It sounds like it would be crowded but it really isn't that bad and most of the time at least one other person will be home. 

Left to Right: Courtney, Wendi, Kelsey, Haley, me, and Sara

         I am so excited for this adventure and I apologize again for the late update. I promise I will upload again soon with more on these past few weeks of training. Thank you so much for all of your support.