If someone had asked me 10 years ago (when I was a sophomore in High School) what I wanted to be doing at this point in my life, I would have told them I wanted to be in Disney. I’ve always loved Disney. I was raised on the movies, visited Walt Disney World for the first time when I was 7 years old, and had always spent my daydreaming time wishing I was back in that magical place where anything was possible and the fun never stopped. In high school I would spend my time copying drawings of Disney characters, hoping to someday be a Disney animator. I followed that dream to an art college, where life led me to film instead of animation after I realized that drawing was not my passion. I still never lost my love for Disney, in fact it only got stronger, and I ventured down to Florida to take part in the College Program in 2005. While it wasn’t exactly the dream experience I had hoped it would be, it still didn’t dampen my love for everything Disney stands for in my eyes.
After graduating college, I looked for work in NYC as a film editor for a year with no results. Realizing that the film industry without Disney was not somewhere I wanted to be, I changed directions. In fact I made a 180 degree turn as I enrolled in Massage Therapy school. I figured that while I was figuring out my next step that this would pay the bills. Instead, it turned into my golden ticket. I got jobs at local spas and soon realized that I could do this job anywhere. Anywhere including Disney World. I had never been attached to New Jersey, where I grew up, at all, and I realized that this was my chance to go for it and live my dream. I saved up, made my plans, and put all my ducks (a whole lot of ducks) in a row over this past year. Two weeks ago I moved to an apartment right next door to the Walt Disney World Resort property, and one week after that, secured a massage therapy job in one of the Disney Resorts.
I hadn’t realized how much I wanted this until I arrived and saw for myself just how well this life fits me. The weather, the people, the local sights, and of course Disney being right next door all make this my own personal paradise. I find myself awe-struck at least once a day at the sight of the clouds here; the skies seem to go on forever like giant abstract finger paintings. Even the monster rainstorms have been a source of amusement for me. Being used to the way it rains in New Jersey (the skies stay gray for a week and it drizzles depression the entire time) I have been reveling in the huge rainstorms that come and go so quickly. And while it’s not always rainbows and sunshine (yesterday I killed my first cockroach with a now forever-bent Swiffer), I have been counting my blessings every day since I arrived. Not only am I close to “Mecca”, but this is also my first apartment; I have been adjusting to the solitary life quite well. To my great frustration, I have not gone to the parks yet; I’m waiting until I get my Cast Member ID access card (and getting mighty antsy). Tomorrow is the big day when I officially become a Disney Cast member (again) and really begin my adventure. For now, I’ve been relaxing and enjoying a short vacation from life.
Just this morning, I lay swaying in a hammock on the sandy shore of the Seven Seas Lagoon. A few joyful tears filled my eyes as I surveyed the scene before me. There were kids playing in the cool sand as quiet waves lapped against the shore. To my right, far off in the distance, the Magic Kingdom train whistle blew, just barely audible below the sound of the ferryboat arriving at the Polynesian Resort’s dock. I stared up at the leaves of the palm trees holding me up, rocking back and forth in the tropical breeze, and I let those tears fall. Because this is it. This is the dream that I’ve worked toward for the past 10 years.
I live three miles from Disney World, and for the first time in my life, I am home.
