To all who come to this happy place - welcome

It's 2:40am, and coming off of a week of driving, exploring, and playing hard, I should be fast asleep. But it eludes me, because I am far too excited for August 18th, 2010 - the day when my dream finally comes true and I become a cast member for the Disneyland Resort.

This day has been a long time coming. Forget my love of Disneyland as a child. Let's start with freshman year of college. I heard about this crazy thing called the Disney college program. Now as a Disney-phile, I of course had to learn all about it immediately. I did some online research, watched the e-presentation, and was about 2 seconds away from applying for WDW right there and then. My mom talked me out of it because I still had a lot going on at school. Not only would going to Disney for a semester put me behind in school, but I would also miss the fall musical and my planned semester overseas in Florence. So I put the dream off. Sophomore year was busy with traveling and rehearsing, and so the college program stayed on the back burner. Come junior year I was starting to feel antsy, so I came up with a plan that had me doing the WDW college program first semester of my senior year and finishing up school the next fall. But it just didn't make sense - if I had so little school left, why shouldn't I finish it?

So that brings us to the this spring. With graduation looming and no real plans for the future, it was finally the perfect time to apply for the college program. For the past four years I had planned on aiming for the program in Florida, but this fall I realized I would be better suited in Anaheim. Not only do I know the park and like it better, but I also would rather stay in California than be stuck in Florida for the next few years.

Once January hit, I applied for the program as soon as I possibly could. I got my application in and interview done by January 26th, and then it was a matter of playing the waiting game. Which was TORTURE (as I'm sure anybody still waiting to hear knows. have faith - it'll come soon!) I marked guest relations, attractions and photopass as my top choices. Guest relations was definitely number 1 - I go to the park every other week, so I'm very familiar with everything it has to offer. I also read a lot of books on Disneyland - cast member experiences, random trivia facts, pretty much anything I can get my hands on. My ultimate goal is to be a tour guide, so I figured guest relations would be the best place to start. Unfortunately, I wasn't given my top choice, but I was accepted into the program as an attractions hostess!

Now I've got my fingers crossed that they put me on jungle cruise or storybook land. As a lifetime performer I know that I would have much more fun on a ride where I get to interact with guests as a character acting out a script. Plus, I already have the majority of the jungle spiel memorized. :) "And now for the 8th wonder of the world....the backside of water! Here at the jungle cruise we like to call it O2H" I know I'll be happy wherever they put me though - I mean I'm working at Disneyland. Plus it's all about the networking I can do while I'm there. I'm finally on the first rung of the ladder...now all I have to do is climb.

To everyone else who will be joining me this fall - I can't wait to meet you and hear your stories! I'm so curious about what brought people to Disneyland, and more specifically, this program. What are your dreams? And to everyone still waiting to hear - have faith! Disney won't let you down

And now I must try to sleep because I have a long day ahead of me. I hope to have sweet dreams of being a cast member, because in a few short months those dreams will be a reality