my disneyland college program.

FTPD <3

Let’s begin.

The last week... It begins on Sunday (so in about 2 hours). I have 4 more workdays at the Disneyland Resort. I have 1 more off-day during my term of employment. And on Friday morning, I am leaving housing and driving up north to my new home. That was fast. Well. Something cool that happened this past week was being chosen as the Flight Agent of the Month!! I got a cool little blurb written about me up in the lead office and a unique, custom-made Tours-themed pin! It is such an honor to have been chosen for something I had no idea I was even in the running for. It's something I will cherish for a long, long time. I will truly miss my Tomorrowland (and Disney) family. My fellow cast members. My superiors. Being able to call someone a princess and not have them think me a lunatic. I'll miss it. I will. But life awaits. That's what happens, you know. Life. It just decides to happen while you're off making other plans. Well, life, here I come. Bring it on.

So, you know how some workplaces will form sports leagues in order for employees to have fun with coworkers in a new environment and let loose and all that jazz? Well, Disney is no exception!! For the past couple of months, I've had the opportunity to be on one such team - a softball team! It's been really fun! Our games are once a week and this past game we scored 6 runs! That's actually pretty darn good. Considering we haven't won a single game this season... But that's beside the point! I brought my camera and took some cool shots during the game as well as a team picture. Sports are invigorating. And I am so stoked that I've had the opportunity to get to know a few other cast members I wouldn't have otherwise (in my short time here). Anyhow. Softball is fun.

Two weeks from today is D-Day. The day the Program ends, the day I say goodbye to Carnegie, the day I leave Anaheim and become an Alumni of the Disney College Program. Bring. It. On.

Ahh! So. Today. After the fireworks, I took a picture in front of the castle for these two girls. They wanted one straight in front, but I told them where we could get a better shot and they trusted me! So, we moseyed on over to the owl on the right and I took a knee and snapped a few shots. It was cool. Then, as I'm walking over for our post-pyro huddle, a gentleman (named Adam I believe) asks me the following: "I know it's a little bit of a burden, but I was wondering if you wouldn't mind taking our picture?" He gestured to his pretty lady friend (his girlfriend) standing in the spot I had just taken pictures of beforehand. He continued: "I just saw you take a picture for those other girls and I was just wondering..." I replied: "It's no burden at all!" And then he shook his head. "No, you see, I kind of want to ask this girl to marry me." At that, I was sold. I became the impromptu photographer for this couple's magical moment. And what a magical moment it was. I took a couple pictures and, when I asked, "one more?" He got down on one knee! She was speechless and didn't move, so I got kinda nervous for the guy for a second there... But, she eventually covered her mouth with her hand and nodded "yes" to him! After she had time to calm down, I offered to get them straight onto a ride and we picked Space Mountain. It was neat, and they were so appreciative. It's little magical moments like this (as simple as being able to take a picture for someone) that I will miss when I leave in two weeks.

Just 25 days left in the college program and I am SO excited! It's been an incredible journey so far, and I have forged many great connections within the company. It's a bittersweet thing knowing that I am leaving in less than a month, but I know that if ever I return it will be a return to open arms and smiling (sassy) faces. Today I have to go up to management and alert them that I will be separating from the company once my program is over; that's gonna be a tough one. But hey - once I tell them that is one less thing I have to take care of before I move!! I am so excited about the future, you guys. Things are lookin up!

Hiya folks! I know, I know. It's been far too long since I've updated y'all on my happenings!! Well, here goes. To the best of my recollection... I have gotten a guest compliment! It was cool going up to the office and getting recognition for my hard work with a neat little certificate and a Four Keys card. I finished my first DCP course and had perfect attendance and earned my "Ducktorate" degree. I am almost through with my second and last DCP course; maybe I'll get my "Mouseters!" I have joined the Tomorrowland co-ed softball team. We are the Inglorious Batters. That is all you need to know. (: I have become really close with some of my coworkers and two of my fellow CPs. We three are the three musketeers - I even planned one of their weddings (and stood in as an unofficial photographer). I have, however, grown apart from my roommates for reasons unknown to me. I'd rather not get into that here, but let it be known I am glad I only have 38 nights left in this wretched apartment. I have chosen to leave the company come August. I'd have loved to stay, but bigger things are happening for me elsewhere. I have enjoyed my time here and made many, many great friends and had many an enjoyable interaction with our guests, but as with all great things in life, it is time for this door to close so I may open a new one. I have packed up everything I do not need for the next 40ish days and stuffed this in my vehicle; I am so eager to start my new chapter in life. (: Overall, I love Disney, but I do not love my living situation; I also love the bonds I have formed with many an individual whilst on my program. Thanks for reading - hopefully I will remember to update sooner next time! <3 dinneylann

But I also made magic for a little boy and it rocked.

1) been licked by a small child 2) been hissed at (and therefore spit on) by a medium-sized child 3) dealt with many down times for my attraction 4) met some of the greatest people I think I will ever meet 5) worked for a mouse 6) seen C-3PO have a bad day 7) called in a down time ten minutes before closing (which resulted in the easiest closing ever) 8) watched Frozen, The Little Mermaid, Mulan, Brother Bear, Star Wars IV, Spaceballs, Hook, and more multiple times in the break room 9) made magic (my favorite part)! Overall, I'd say this is a pretty neat job. (:

It was a good day.

Last night, I worked my first split shift. That means you start your shift at your attraction and, once you hit the middle of the shift, you are rerouted to become GSO for the remainder of the night. I was pretty interested in the process; it was new and exciting! When else will I be able to walk around the castle in my costume? (: Now, I was placed in a safety position on the castle's east, making sure guests didn't attempt to enter a dangerous zone! It was cool - it was my first time this close to the castle for the actual show. That was, it would have been. Less than 15 minutes before show time, an earthquake hit. Now, I've lived in Southern California for 2 years at this point; I've lived through my share of earthquakes. But this was the first time I actually felt it and saw its effects. I was facing Tomorrowland and saw some swaying, and it all felt so surreal! We've been feeling the aftershocks for a while after, as well. I've read somewhere we'll be feeling them for a few days. Back to work today... Can't wait for my weekend this Mon/Tues!! I'm reading Divergent now so I can see the movie and have a better understanding of what's going on. (: Toodles.

This past weekend, I had the most amazing time! After working 9 days straight, I started my 5 hour trek north. I had originally planned to visit my boyfriend and that was that. We had a lovely time; we went on dates, had boba, went on a nature walk... It was an adventure filled, tasty food weekend. On Sunday, however, I threw a curveball. "Want to surprise my family?" I asked. He looked at me and said sure, so the plan began! My sister just moved into a new apartment, so I sneakily got her address (I claimed I was making her a cool package, which I am, and snatched her address for my phone book), and we were on our way. I checked find friends to make sure my parents were at their respective addresses, and we were off! We arrived at my sisters' place, and she was surprised. (: It was great!! We took a quick tour and schemed surprising Mum as well. As my sister got ready to hang with our Mum for a bit, I took my boyfriend and headed up to my dad's house; he was still home, according to the app! We turned the corner into his neighborhood just in time to see him leaving - oh no! Thankfully, my stepmom noticed it was me and Pop turned around. We had a quick encounter before he left once more for his earlier engagement. After that, it was off to Mum's! My sister kept texting, saying how impatient Mum was getting and that they were about to get on their way. Thankfully we were close by! We rounded the corner to see my mum, sister, and stepdad playing with the neighbors' dog and chatting. Mum jumped up and down when she saw me (I have video evidence!), and my boyfriend and I were invited to go wine tasting. So we did! That was my first ever wine tasting trip, and it was phenomenal! I ended up with the coolest little decanter (it's a dolphin's head), a bottle of bubbly (raspberry flavored), a red wine, and 4 plastic champagne glasses (it's safer that way haha). After all was said and done (and I snuggled my kitty, who hated it but she's just a grump), the boyfriend and I had to leave town once more (as he had work early in the AM). We parted ways and drove back, making it home just past midnight. The next day, we had lunch and I drove back down to Anaheim. It was great to see everyone, and I can't wait to go home again. I miss them all. ):

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. Let's start off by saying this: I finished college in 3.5 years at two separate 4-year universities, and I did this straight out of high school. I've held some amazing (and some odd) jobs in my short life thus far; I've done literary research, essentially run a small theatre company, worked retail, bussed tables, enjoyed some time as a personal assistant of sorts in the TV production business, and now, I have the privilege to say that I work for one of the most amazing companies I can think of - The Walt Disney Company. However, I haven't the foggiest notion of where I'm headed to next. When I was very young, I dreamed of becoming a veterinarian; that dream died when I found out vets didn't just play with animals all day, instead administering shots and (very sadly) humanely euthanizing some poor souls. After that, I wanted ever so badly to become an actor; I was bitten hard by the acting bug (although now I've chosen a more behind-the-scenes type role in the theatre). I then decided I would one day work for Disney (specifically at Disneyland), and I would say I've accomplished that at this point... Anyway, I digress. Freshman year of high school, I was inspired to become a teacher. This inspiration grew so much that I decided I would go to school for it!! I haven't yet, but I began my journey in pursuit of a teaching credential -- I have earned a Bachelor's in English and I'm very proud of it. Although I have earned this degree, I am now at a loss as to how I should put it to use. Should I earn my credentials and begin to teach? I'm becoming less fond of that idea by the moment. Should I apply to become a technical writer? I do have knowledge of most things technological; I know the terminology, the languages, and the like. Should I, then, become a journalist?? No, of course not; the journalism profession is slowly but surely dying (although the world will be less bright (both in intelligence and illumination) without then). What then? What am I to do with my degree? Maybe I just need a moment to myself. A moment to breathe and attempt to discover who I truly am! As melodramatic as that sounds, I have been moving forward nonstop since my first day of kindergarten (notice how I didn't say preschool...they didn't help me move forward whatsoever...I digress, again). I've always made solid decisions and stuck to my guns. I have always had an end goal. But what if that end goal is no longer something I believe I will find satisfying? Some may say that I will not know how happy I will feel until I try it out, but I say that I do not feel the need to waste money going to school to earn a credential I may never use. Maybe I'll get a nice talk in with my parents and other family members about this soon...get them to weigh in their opinions. I'm just sort of lost right now. Sorry for the downer/philosophical post! In other news, we've been doing test runs of Big Thunder and that's been rockin! Peace.

Yesterday was my Friday; it was also Dapper Day. I worked in the morning and thoroughly enjoyed the dress-up outfits some of our guests were sporting. Therefore, I concluded that I must return later and take some lovely photographs! This was the poorest decision of my day. Sadly, no more than ten minutes into hanging out on Buena Vista Street, I found I was missing something rather important: my wallet. I spent the next half hour speaking to every cast member possible, asking whether or not a responsible guest had turned in my lost item. I had some phenomenal guest service (shout out to Kaitlyn at Elias & Co for going above and beyond), but unfortunately the wallet did not turn up. Thankfully, I was able to file a report with our amazing Lost and Found department and, as I was feeling defeated and had finally decided to head home, I received a call that someone (whoever you are, I thank you immensely) had turned in my wallet! When I retrieved it, every single item was inside - my ID cards, my debit and credit cards, et cetera. Needless to say, I am so very thankful to have lost my wallet at Disney (as it is the safest place to lose an item - or a person, honestly). Anyhow, it's currently my weekend and I'm just going to relax, rest my feet, and enjoy some Netflix and read some of my book. See ya soon!

Hi there friends! Sorry for the huge delay in posting - I haven't had much time to breathe between work, sleeping, class, and enjoying the farmers' market every Thursday! Alright, where to begin? First off, I've had a few GSO shifts since we last caught up! When you work GSO, you are responsible for crowd control during the shows on Main Street U.S.A. It's pretty fun, actually! I closed for the first time (and since then, many more times) at Star Tours, and that's been great too! I really enjoy the company of my coworkers - they truly are wonderful (and sassy, which totally fits my personality, mind you)! I was also able to enjoy a special ride through of Space Mountain after hours - it was pretty neat!! Side note: not everything is fun and games, unfortunately. Living in housing wasn't the best decision I've made; my roommates are fantastic people! However, our neighbors are less than fantastic. We have had vandalism, extremely loud banging (constantly) from the floor above, and a few members of the apartments have slept in the courtyard for a few nights. Now, coming from someone who has lived in apartment complexes for several years on my own, I understand what it means to be courteous to your neighbors and respond kindly to a face-to-face noise complaint. Unfortunately, I was faced with rudeness when I confronted my upstairs neighbors and, as such, will have to take matters a bit further. As a note, I am glad to have a place to live in Anaheim; however, I know now that I should have searched other options before opting into housing. More on that later! I digress. This week has been phenomenal! I began my 6-day workweek on Tuesday after spending a lovely Valentine's weekend with my boyfriend. We went to the parks and indulged in a character breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen. Sadly, it's been a week (come midnight) since he's left, and I am figuring out when I am next able to see him again!! Anyhow, tomorrow is my last day for these 6 straight days of work, and I'm "free" (schedule-wise) until Wednesday. Needless to say, I'm really looking forward to a small break - it'll be fun to sleep in on a Monday! (: Until next time (and may next time be sooner than this)!