Weekend at Disney!

Okay, so I just came back from my little weekend getaway to Disney World and I looked at everything differently there since I'm going to be a Cast Member. I actually noticed a lot of the things that they did and I even met and spoke with someone who was on the College Program.

His name is Sam and he's from Wisconsin, he was working at Disney's All-Star Movie resort. That day he was writing down when the buses were arriving and leaving the resort, so while I was waiting in line to catch the bus to Magic Kingdom, he noticed my totally awesome Avengers shirt and walked up to me and started a conversation. He told me that he LOVED working at Disney and he extended his program and I'll be able to see him when I start my DCP in August. We bonded over our love of Thor and Iron Man, why I wanted to stay in Chatham, and the fact that we're both college program Cast Members (well, I will be, I'm not an official CM yet.) So, in short, I'm already going to know one cast member when I get down there and I'm totally excited! He said he'd be looking for me in August, that made me smile.


While exploring Magic Kingdom, I noticed all of the different QSFB jobs at the park and the All-Star Movie resort and a lot of them were pretty cool, I noticed merchandise, and character attendants, but I mostly paid attention to attractions and the costumes. Some of them, honestly, are horrible. There's no way to look remotely attractive in them, but everyone is wearing them, so it's not like you are the only one dressed horribly. Haha. But then there are some when the inner nerd in me WANTS to wear them. For example, the new Fantasyland costumes.



New Fantasyland costume designs



You can't tell, but they have mini coattails. <3



I personally think they're wonderful and I would LOVE to wear them. The only ones that I have seen in person so far are the Dumbo's Circus ones, but I didn't think to take a picture myself, so I took this one off of the Internet, I have no idea who they are. Sorry! D:

But I also noticed the Pirates of the Caribbean costumes, and they were wonderful. I loved all of them. I'm not entirely sure, but I think they were just revamped or something, because I don't remember them looking that awesome. (I tried to find a picture, but I didn't find one of the new ones...) I want to wear one SO bad. I mean, to get to dress up like a pirate ALL THE TIME? That is seriously a dream come true for me. Haha.

The Haunted Mansion ones were the same, and they look wonderful, but I wasn't too thrilled with the CM's "performance" while I was there. Now, they are testing the new Fastpass system, which I don't know a lot of details about, but I really don't think that Haunted Mansion is in need of a Fastpass... But I'm sure I'll blog about that later when I have more details. Anyway, back to what I was saying, because of this new Fastpass line, the waiting queue is a bit messed up. They just added the Interactive Graveyard which is SO cool and the sign says "Entrance right" and "Entrance through the Graveyard left." But because of the new FP line, the right entrance is only for the FP people. You do have the option to wait along a hastily constructed green wall, or going through the slightly longer graveyard queue, but it's very crowded, and very uncomfortable and awkward. 

Now this is understandable because they just started testing the new FP, but the CM's did not seem "in-character." They were saying all of the correct lines like "Fill in all the dead space!" and "Step lively!" But they were SHOUTING them like they were just normal people doing their job. Maybe they were stressed, it was hot, but at the same time, it kinda ruined the fun of Haunted Mansion. Don't get me wrong, the ride was amazing, the new hitch-hiking ghosts were hysterical, I rode the ride twice in a row, but you're supposed to get the creepy vibe of the ride from the very beginning. The CM's are not supposed to be happy looking, (which in Florida heat and humidity is TOTALLY easy to pull off) and they're supposed to have dead-pan voices. Ha. I'm so witty They're supposed to make you feel like the house is really haunted, not that it's just another ride at Disney World.

Maybe that's just me, maybe you think I'm a crazy Disney-freak, but that's why I love the idea of Disney World. It's a place where you can get away from the real world, away from the annoying college students who are rude as you place your order at Quiznos, away from the stress of work, school, life, etc, and enter a "World" of imagination, fantasy and fun. You can visit the fairy tale characters you love, go on a wild and dangerous adventure, see the world of tomorrow, conquer the wild west, go back in time when things were simpler, and adventure into America's history in a fun, air-conditioned way all in one place.

The whole point is to tell the guests the story of the new world that they just entered, and to make them forget their stress; it's the cast member's job to help them. It makes me sad that no one really seems to think that way, because that's what Walt wanted the experience of Disneyland and Disney World to be. That's why he was so innovative and popular, he provided something new and wonderful to the world, but now it's considered old news. No one cares as much anymore, and the people that do are laughed at and called crazy. Story of my life It makes me sad.

But altogether, my weekend was WONDERFUL, don't get me wrong. I saw many characters and I remembered how much I loved the Mad Hatter. He noticed me and danced with me the three times I saw him during the Move it, Shake it, Celebrate it Street Party. I rode Space Mountain five times in one day, and took a picture with Mickey Mouse for the first time! The All-Star Movies Resort was awesome and I loved it, SO much. I even got a Mickey Mouse waffle for breakfast one day. Aha. Awesome.