To start this journey, it’s only necessary I post an entry all about the origins of this obsession.
Tough to nail down precisely when/where it all began, but sometime before the age of 2. I had a Mickey Mouse t-shirt I loved, and I could tell you exactly who was on it. I’ve been in love with the same mouse for 20 years. I also liked to sit in my highchair, which my mom would move to the living room, where I’d eat/drink and watch The Little Mermaid on a regular basis.
But those are just the oldest memories.
From that point on, I was hooked.
As soon as I learned how to tell someone my address, I was ordering Walt Disney World Vacation Planning videotapes every year, and I remember the first year they sent a DVD instead.
Like every kid, I had a ridiculous amount of Disney-themed clothing, movies, and toys.
But, UNlike every other kid, I developed an obsession.
I had a dream… a dream to go to Walt Disney World. I made a sign on computer paper that said, “Disney or bust!” and had it hanging on my bedroom wall for years. Yes, YEARS. Until we finally went in the summer of 4th grade.
My life was complete. Right?
Wrong.
This only furthered the obsession. From that point on, I knew for a fact that I wanted to live there. I wasn’t sure how. And it wasn’t until later I realized that I, too, could be a Disney employee. A Cast Member.
Some years passed, the Disney obsession never once subsiding, except for a brief stint with Pearl Harbor the movie, which may have taken over in 7th grade.
But the next year, summer of 8th grade, a camp counselor changed my life. I remember this moment more vividly than almost anything else. I was busy being a CIT down in the Teen Center of the YMCA. A counselor named Elizabeth was down there as well, and we were casually chatting. A conversation came up in which she mentioned she would be doing a college internship at Disney World in the school year. Well, needless to say, I flipped. I asked question after question and ran home to tell my family about it and how I was gonna do it when I got to college.
They weren’t too encouraging.
Lack of family support didn’t phase me. I immediately went to the computer and searched. I found the Walt Disney World College Program website, with a little area where I could type in my email address and join their mailing list.
I did.
And I’ve been a continuous member ever since.
I kept up with this idea throughout high school, checking the website every once in awhile for anything new, to look at the application process, etc.
The obsession continued to grow.
Freshman year of college, I printed out the application. I filled it out and was ready to go. But when the day of the presentation came, and I thought about giving up my 1st semester of Sophomore year, and holidays with family, I panicked. I skipped it. But I saved the printed application.
Sophomore year. I was still thinking about it. I pretty much decided I was going to go, Fall semester of Junior year. But I wasn’t positive. I was still skeptical. The Fall season wasn’t as appealing - I wanted to be with family - and I didn’t want to leave Wilmington - AKA I had a boyfriend. But in December, this boyfriend and I decided we had to go to Disney World on vacation. We booked it for Spring Break, March 6-13. I hadn’t been since I was 9, and I was dying to go back to where I belonged. A part of me was worried. I had really only been once, and I was a child… what if this obsession was all built on some sort of imaginary place in my head that wouldn’t be as magical as I dreamed? Boy, was I in for a shocker. It was the most magical experience of my life up to that point. My first time seeing Wishes was absurdly perfect. I smiled, laughed, and cried. And cried some more on the way home, once the trip was over. I knew for sure. I was going. The presentation at my school was scheduled for April 2… not much longer to wait at all! Though I was positive I wanted to go, the idea of having a boyfriend still made me a bit hesitant. So, as if by divine force, the night of April 1, I was dumped. What seemed like a horrific experience then turned into the best thing that could have happened to me. I went to my presentation the next day, got the number to call for my interview, and was ready. I was going to dive into this thing full-force, no reservations. A week or two later, I did my interview on the balcony of a hotel at Myrtle Beach. It went marvelously. After all, I am a charmer. I could tell she loved me. Less than 10 days later, I got my response and learned I had been accepted. Somehow I managed to convince my best friend to go to HER Disney presentation, apply, interview, and she was accepted too.
Holy cow.
Was this for real?
Was my lifelong dream about to come true?
I had no idea.
Tough to nail down precisely when/where it all began, but sometime before the age of 2. I had a Mickey Mouse t-shirt I loved, and I could tell you exactly who was on it. I’ve been in love with the same mouse for 20 years. I also liked to sit in my highchair, which my mom would move to the living room, where I’d eat/drink and watch The Little Mermaid on a regular basis.
But those are just the oldest memories.
From that point on, I was hooked.
As soon as I learned how to tell someone my address, I was ordering Walt Disney World Vacation Planning videotapes every year, and I remember the first year they sent a DVD instead.
Like every kid, I had a ridiculous amount of Disney-themed clothing, movies, and toys.
But, UNlike every other kid, I developed an obsession.
I had a dream… a dream to go to Walt Disney World. I made a sign on computer paper that said, “Disney or bust!” and had it hanging on my bedroom wall for years. Yes, YEARS. Until we finally went in the summer of 4th grade.
My life was complete. Right?
Wrong.
This only furthered the obsession. From that point on, I knew for a fact that I wanted to live there. I wasn’t sure how. And it wasn’t until later I realized that I, too, could be a Disney employee. A Cast Member.
Some years passed, the Disney obsession never once subsiding, except for a brief stint with Pearl Harbor the movie, which may have taken over in 7th grade.
But the next year, summer of 8th grade, a camp counselor changed my life. I remember this moment more vividly than almost anything else. I was busy being a CIT down in the Teen Center of the YMCA. A counselor named Elizabeth was down there as well, and we were casually chatting. A conversation came up in which she mentioned she would be doing a college internship at Disney World in the school year. Well, needless to say, I flipped. I asked question after question and ran home to tell my family about it and how I was gonna do it when I got to college.
They weren’t too encouraging.
Lack of family support didn’t phase me. I immediately went to the computer and searched. I found the Walt Disney World College Program website, with a little area where I could type in my email address and join their mailing list.
I did.
And I’ve been a continuous member ever since.
I kept up with this idea throughout high school, checking the website every once in awhile for anything new, to look at the application process, etc.
The obsession continued to grow.
Freshman year of college, I printed out the application. I filled it out and was ready to go. But when the day of the presentation came, and I thought about giving up my 1st semester of Sophomore year, and holidays with family, I panicked. I skipped it. But I saved the printed application.
Sophomore year. I was still thinking about it. I pretty much decided I was going to go, Fall semester of Junior year. But I wasn’t positive. I was still skeptical. The Fall season wasn’t as appealing - I wanted to be with family - and I didn’t want to leave Wilmington - AKA I had a boyfriend. But in December, this boyfriend and I decided we had to go to Disney World on vacation. We booked it for Spring Break, March 6-13. I hadn’t been since I was 9, and I was dying to go back to where I belonged. A part of me was worried. I had really only been once, and I was a child… what if this obsession was all built on some sort of imaginary place in my head that wouldn’t be as magical as I dreamed? Boy, was I in for a shocker. It was the most magical experience of my life up to that point. My first time seeing Wishes was absurdly perfect. I smiled, laughed, and cried. And cried some more on the way home, once the trip was over. I knew for sure. I was going. The presentation at my school was scheduled for April 2… not much longer to wait at all! Though I was positive I wanted to go, the idea of having a boyfriend still made me a bit hesitant. So, as if by divine force, the night of April 1, I was dumped. What seemed like a horrific experience then turned into the best thing that could have happened to me. I went to my presentation the next day, got the number to call for my interview, and was ready. I was going to dive into this thing full-force, no reservations. A week or two later, I did my interview on the balcony of a hotel at Myrtle Beach. It went marvelously. After all, I am a charmer. I could tell she loved me. Less than 10 days later, I got my response and learned I had been accepted. Somehow I managed to convince my best friend to go to HER Disney presentation, apply, interview, and she was accepted too.
Holy cow.
Was this for real?
Was my lifelong dream about to come true?
I had no idea.
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