Something I forgot about.

I had completely forgotten about this interaction that my sisters and I had with Guitar Dan until I saw that my sister had this video on her external hard drive.

One day in July, we went to Camp Minnie Mickey to meet Pocahontas and to watch Guitar Dan. For those of you who don't know, if you give him a subject to sing about, he'll make up a song on the spot for you. I had seen him once before but it never actually occurred to me to request a song. Since my sisters were with me, we thought it would be a good idea to have him sing a song for our parents about how we wished they could be at Disney with us.

I thought he did a really great job! I think my sisters really enjoyed it too.

If you don't know, I don't think Camp Minnie Mickey will be around much longer since Disney is starting the development of Avatarland. I don't think they would get rid of Guitar Dan since he could easily be placed somewhere in the front of the park, but I can't confirm anything. Next time you're in Animal Kingdom though, you should definitely see if he's still making appearances. He really kind of made our experience at DAK.

My Disney College Program

A year ago today I got my acceptance letter for the Disney College Program. At the time, I had an idea of what I was getting myself into: I knew I was going to work long hours, learn to become self sufficient, meet people from many different walks of life, and make a lot of memories. Beyond that, I wasn’t sure what the program had in store for me.

What I got was so much more than I expected.

I saw a more confident side of myself, I made the Magic Kingdom my home, and I met some of the best people (friends, guests, and coworkers alike) that I will ever have the pleasure of meeting. I worked hard and played even harder. I became unafraid of approaching complete strangers, I learned my limits, and learned to cope with homesickness. I fell in love with the music of Main Street, went inside the Cinderella Castle Suite, became a voluntEAR, and was okay with only getting five hours of sleep every night. I reminded little girls of the princess inside of them, I saw Tinkerbell fly almost every night, I sang along to the Wishes exit music, and I even danced during a parade or two. But ultimately, I became a little more comfortable in my own skin, I learned to take pride in a job that others disparage, I made a whole lot of magic, and most importantly, I fulfilled an enormous dream of mine.

as an opportunity to show people that there is still magic in the world. I took a lot of pride in putting on a costume and being able to call myself a cast member because there was so much gratification in seeing a guest’s face light up because of something I did. Walt Disney once said, “It takes people to make the dream a reality.” I am so grateful for this invaluable experience and I am so proud to have been a part of making his dream a reality.