Exploring

Yesterday was my day off. I started it as I do every off morning-- cup of coffee in hand and a wee bit of writing. As I sat there contemplating my day, I realized it was more than ordinary off day-- I'm at Disney World! I decided I should get to know the Magic Kingdom a bit better, so I showered and dressed for 82 degree weather. Everyone else had gone into the parks the previous day or they were working. I made a promise to my friend Ashley that I wouldn't be a hermit, so I packed up my camera and went into the parks by myself. It was an adventure, let me tell you.

I went to the Chatham/Patterson bus stop to catch the next Transtar bus to Magic Kingdom. The schedule for both buses said "awaiting prediction." As far as I've gathered, this is usually code for "out of service." There happened to be an EPCOT bus pulling in. It's possible to catch a monorail from EPCOT to the Magic Kingdom. I thought, "Why not?"

I boarded the bus and showed my ID-- (We have to show a housing ID to get on the bus. The drivers are pretty good about that, so it's super safe.) The apartments interns live in are not on Disney property and we had to stop at Vista Way for a bit. I had no set time to be anywhere, so I chilled and listened to music while I waited. The EPCOT bus was interesting to ride because all the international students are heading to the World Showcase for work. It was fun trying to guess which country people were from, and which land they worked in. Eventually we did make it to the backlot of EPCOT. That in and of itself was an adventure. I had to ask at least 6 cast members where to go because I was lost. Made a friend on the bus with a girl named Chrystol. I believe she was working at Magic Kingdom as well. We exchanged numbers. (Always good to make friends in a new environment).

I made my way to the monorail just behind EPCOT's main entrance gates. Much to my surprise, I see a sign that says the resort monorail is out of service. Thankfully the monorail still ran to the Ticket and Transportation Center (TTC). I boarded the monorail and made room for other people to sit. A young girl from New York sat beside me, and being the sort of person I am, I immediately diffused the awkward tension usually accompanied with sitting by a stranger.

"I love your pins," I said with a smile.

She grinned sheepishly and said, "Thank you."

I went on to ask her about her trip, all the while doing my best not to mention that I'm a Cast Member-- no need to say unless I'm asked. One of the ways I try to preserve the magic. Besides, being a CM is a privilege. It doesn't mean I get bragging rights. The conversation did steer that way, however, when she asked me how long I'd be staying. I explained to her that I was here on the Disney College Program. She said she'd love to work here, so I told her all about it and said she could work here if she kept her grades up and picked a good college. Her mom finished her phone conversation by then, so she joined the conversation. I asked if they'd seen the ceremony for Park Opening at the Magic Kingdom. They didn't even know there was one, and the mom said they'd have to come back again just to see it. I'm astounded by how many people don't know about things like park opening. Then again, they can only fit so many people in front of the train station for the ceremony.

When I got to the TTC, the other monorail was out of service, so I had to take the Ferry Boat to the Magic Kingdom. It was peaceful, and the breeze felt great through the 80 degree haze. There was a little boy standing next to me marveling about how big the castle was. I smiled and said, "It's 189 feet tall." His eyes got big. And then I went on to say why it wasn't 190-- because then they'd have to put a beacon on the top so airplanes wouldn't hit it, but Disney wanted the castle to be magical. So, they made it 189 feet and didn't have to put the beacon on top. I then went on to ask him if he'd met Mickey yet. He said he hadn't met any of the characters, so I told him where all the cool places were he could meet them. I mentioned he might run into Peter Pan and Wendy if he goes to Fantasyland, and he got really excited.

I was already helpful as a guest to Disney parks, but now that I'm a Cast Member I can't help seeing people that need aid everywhere. I went into the park with the intention of moseying and taking pictures. Being in the parks alone gives you a lot of time to people watch-- good practice for work. It's our job to anticipate the guests needs, after all. One of the things on my To Do list was Tom Sawyer Island. I couldn't remember the last time I'd actually had time to go over there. It's this little island in the center of the water by Frontierland and Liberty Square. The Liberty Belle, an old paddle ship from the steamboat days, transports guests around Tom Sawyer Island. I got in line for the ferry to the island, and I happened to be next to another little girl, this one wearing pink Mickey ears. Naturally, I asked about her day and if she was having fun. I asked if she'd seen Wishes yet, the fireworks show over the castle. Her mother answered that they caught the end of it. As a frequent guest, and now a Cast Member, I couldn't let them miss one of the most spectacular fireworks shows in the history of fireworks. I told them Wishes starts at 9 p.m., but the parade is always just before. I then preceded to tell them there was a place to stand on the Tomorrowland bridge during the parade. Once the parade was over, the parade control will open the streets and let the guests flood in. If they're standing there, they'll be able to get a spot right in front of the castle. They smiled and thanked me for the tip.

I ventured around Tom Sawyer Island for about half an hour, taking pictures and exploring all the neat tunnels and caves. I felt like a kid again, and wished dearly that my sisters were there to goof off with. I was able to help another family find the Little Mermaid ride, habitually using the Disney Point-- I'm never going to be able to stop doing that when my program ends. Chelsey, my old CA (Community Advisor) from school happens to be doing the program too. We hadn't seen each other in over a year since I'm not living on campus anymore. She texted me and asked what I was doing, so I told her where I was. She drove over to the park and met me on Main Street. We moseyed around together. She got a Dole Whip in Adventureland, which I'm told is a must on a Disney vacation-- sadly, I'm allergic to pineapples. We walked slowly through Adventureland towards Pirates of the Caribbean. We weren't in any hurry. There was no, "Oh my gosh, we're running out of time!" We simply walked through the park with no intention of riding anything or doing anything-- it was amazing. I've always wanted to do that-- just walk through the parks for the sake of walking. We sat at a table in Tortuga Tavern to finish our treats-- I'd gotten a Root Beer Float. We took the time to chat and catch up. This squirrel kept acting like it was going to attack my foot. I realized it was trying to get a piece of popcorn near it, so I tossed the popcorn away for it.

Chelsey got really excited and asked if I liked the Laugh Floor, an interactive comedy show featuring Mike Wasowski from "Monsters Inc." I replied that I love it, so the two of us made our way to Tomorrowland. Part of the magic of the Laugh Floor is you can text in a joke. I've always wondered if they really use them, so I sent one in and I got a text back from Mike Wasowski saying, "Not bad...for a human! Kidding! We'll try to use it if we can!" I thought that was pretty cool. Chelsey and I got so excited when Marty, Mike's nephew, suddenly says, "And this one's from Arielle in Alabama!" It was so epic! I got to be part of the show!

As always, the show made me laugh. I love how it's different every time. When the show was over, I asked Chelsey if she'd done the People Mover or the Astro Blaster. She replied she hadn't, so we made our way to the "Tomorrowland Transit Authority"... AKA People Mover. I loved watching her grin as we went inside Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear. The People Mover is a seriously underrated ride. It's a great chance to get off your feet and enjoy watching people down below. While we were riding around, we noticed the wait for Space Mountain was only 25 minutes, so we quickly headed over. It was a great way to end the night.

We parted ways after said adventure-- she had to pick up some friends in EPCOT, and I was getting hungry. The only problem? I'd taken the bus to EPCOT to get to Magic Kingdom, so I had no idea where to pick up the bus when I'm in the parks as a guest. Of course I knew where to go when I'm working, but I wasn't sure what to do if I was a guest. I walked to Storybook Circus and asked the Cast Member working at the front of Dumbo. She was incredibly helpful. Since I had my Cast Member ID with me, they let me go backstage and catch the bus. It was nice to skip the hectic mayhem of Main Street at park closing. The only downside was Wishes-- it was going on as I walked backstage. Let me tell you... it looks great from Main Street, but being backstage? It's so loud you can feel the boom in your chest. And we're in a firework drop area, so little bits of the fireworks fall atop the bus stop. It was still pretty cool to see it from that perspective though. I caught the necessary two buses home, and Skyped for two hours with the lovely Ashley Cazer-- best friends are the greatest.