Flower Show!

Beginning March 2, and continuing through May 15, is Disney's annual Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival. During this time the fabulous groundskeepers and florists that work for Disney set up beautiful displays of Disney characters! The event has over 75 Disney character topiaries among over 100 topiaries arranged throughout Epcot.

A fun video from Disney:

Here are a few photos of the finished products:

The Disney website says that this is the first time the festival will include Disney Pixar character topiaries! This, of course, includes Buzz, Woody, even Lotso from Toy Story and Lightning McQueen from Cars!

However, there is more than just flowers (because it's Disney) and they also have Bambi's Butterfly House where you can walk in and see beautiful butterflies also enjoying the flowers.

That must be so fun, especially for children! For moms (and maybe some dads) there are presentation by HGTV designers, who were responsible for some of the designs. The flower show itself is actually brought to Epcot by HGTV.

These are the things that I am especially excited to take advantage of while I'm there. I will be able to see all the festivals and special events (such as Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party!) that we are not normally there for. Victoria and I really want to make sure we take advantage of the things we wouldn't be able to do as guests (unless we were FL residents, or had a lot more money than we probably ever will). I'll be posting about more special events in the future!

If Your Actions Inspire Others to Dream More...

This is such a beautiful story that sums up what I believe Walt truly wanted the employees of the Disney corporation to be like, and I couldn't help but share.

In this excerpt imagineer Eddie Sotto, who was the designer for Main Street in Disneyland Paris, as well as the Indiana Jones Adventure ride and Adventureland re-vamp in Disneyland, among others, shares a wonderful story of how "dreams really do come true."

"When I was a young boy I fancied myself as a 'Disneytologist,' dreaming of one day becoming an Imagineer. It was January 1971, our family was vacationing in Florida and through a friend of the family we were introduced to Don Edgren, the project director of Walt Disney World. Although he didn't know us and was over-his-head busy, Don graciously gave us a VIP tour of what was taking shape.

I still remember gazing at the raw steel and white fibergass facades of Main Street through the rear window of his dusty Chevy Impala. We saw the whole park the way Walt saw it, in a state of becoming. To experience that at age twelve was extraordinary, never to be repeated.

Fast-forward to March of 1986 and my first week at WDI as an Imagineer. Everyone was piling out early to attend the retirement of a Disney Legend. I decided to tag along and see if I could meet this guy. When I got there a man took the stage that looked familiar. It was Don Edgren! They asked if anyone had any stories about Don. To his shock, a much older twelve-year-old stepped up to the mic. It was a short tory of inspiration and a man who didn't have time, but gave enough to inspire a young mind with a ride down Main Street, only to find that twenty years later that same kid would get hired as the show producer/designer for the next Main Street in Paris!

We had a great reunion, and years later, on that French construction site, I remember many happy times walking alone after the crews had gone, strolling through the steel framing of Main Street waiting for that familiar feeling to come over me. I was twelve again."

I have to admit, when I first read this my eyes welled up with tears. Mainly because of all the things I have read about Walt, and what he wanted his company to be. This is an example, of what I took Walt's dreams to mean.

It's incredible to me that one man's high standards for all of his employees remain true today. As I've blogged about before, the employment process is VERY difficult, and once you are hired, the "Disney Look" requires their employees to look a certain way (for women, almost no makeup, natural hair color, and for men no facial hair, and a short, well-maintained haircut - those are just a few.) All these elements help to make Disney stand apart as a very different type of theme park, it is so much more than that, still.

An element of training I am particularly excited about is Traditions, which I will blog more about at a later date, but for the purpose of this entry I will say that it is a course all employees must complete where we learn all of the history of the theme parks, and about Walt himself.  From a business perspective, he is a genius.

Here is a picture of Sotto around age 12 with a aerial view of, I believe, Disneyland, next to him.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

When Nate and I went to Disney over this past winter break to visit my friend Joe (who is "good friends" with Goofy, Tigger, and Woody :) ), we learned that Disney is re-working and adding on to the Toontown area in Magic Kingdom.

When I was younger, a very exciting part of Toontown was seeing Minnie and Mickey's houses. I loved going into Minnie's kitchen and looking around, and hearing the radio in Mickey's living room; it was so fun for me.

Sadly, we learned that Disney is changing this, and from what I've read and been told, Mickey and Minnie's houses may be disappearing indefinitely. I've also heard mixed responses as to what will be replacing the Mickey's Toontown Fair section of Toontown, but my best source is Joe and he says that he knows part of it will be some form of the princess' houses. My guess is it will include the houses of the five main princesses in MK: Belle, Cinderella, Aurora, Snow White, and Ariel. However, in place of Ariel (since she already has her grotto in MK, perhaps Tiana? or Rapunzel? - both have been met with huge support from the Disney audience so I would consider both as potentials).

Here are what some news sites are saying:

"As many of you know, we’re in the midst of the largest expansion in Magic Kingdom history, which will nearly double the size of Fantasyland. In order to make way for this transformation, it’s important to let you know Mickey’s Toontown Fair will close in early February.


Fantasyland construction will be completed in phases with most new experiences open by 2013. This expansion is particularly exciting because it will enable us to share treasured stories with you in a whole new way. We’ll share more with you here as our work progresses."

(from Disney's website)

Another website shows posters that are up in MK of "Storybook Circus", the new section they are building in place of "Mickey's Toontown Fair", however it doesn't say exactly what will be included. It does give us some ideas on features and rides:

"In 2012, as part of the New Fantasyland expansion, Mickey’s Toontown Fair will become Storybook Circus, featuring the highly-anticipated double Dumbo and a revamped roller coaster. Little is known about what else will be featured in Storybook Circus, though new preview posters hint at what we can expect...

While it has been announced that Storybook Circus will include "The Great Goofini" roller coaster as a makeover to Goofy’s Barnstormer, Pete’s Silly Sideshow and Big Top Souvenirs are new and may or may not actually appear inside Storybook Circus when it opens in 2012. But it is possible (and likely) we’ll see these posters adorning construction walls when they’re erected by the park’s opening Saturday morning."


(from Inside the Magic)

Of course we never know exactly what they're up to because it's Disney, however, I will be able to update while I'm there!

I feel as though I am teasing you to add some fun facts from The Hidden Magic of Walt Disney World on Toontown since it will not be possible to check them out, however there were a few cute things I thought I'd mention:

At Goofy's Wiseacre Farm:
"The glass lamp inside the barn is a subtle joke, based on the industrial lighting term jelly-jar lamp. Here at wiseacre, they take the term literally."

At Minnie's Country House:
"Head into the kitchen next for a few surprises. If you look in the oven, you see the cake she is baking, and it's definitely falling. Luckily, she has a backup for tonight's treat. Hear the popcorn popping in the background? If not, press the button."

More to come! Here is a picture of Nate, Joe's "friend" Goofy, and I from winter break:

As you can tell, we were VERY excited to see Goofy, almost as excited as he was to see us!

A Waiting Game

As graduation approaches I'm feeling increasingly more sentimental towards my time at Gordon. I find myself actually going to Lane and Jenks (those who know me know that I have avoided both buildings since freshman year), and trying to take in my last few weeks (!!) here at Gordon. Just when I started to wish I was continuing to be a student, I read my Hidden Magic of Walt Disney World and those desires almost immediately faded.

It's becoming more of a reality that Victoria and I will be living in Florida in the fall. I found a gym called Anytime Fitness (which is open 24 hours! - hence the name) that has Zumba, Pilates, and Yoga classes. For those who don't know, I am taking my PE class this quad (yes, I waited until 4th quad of senior year), and I chose Zumba. It is SO wonderful. I absolutely love it. If you want to get some exercise AND have fun, you need to take a Zumba class. I honestly don't even feel like I'm working out, and it feels good to be dancing again. Zumba is a Latin dance inspired aerobics class that focuses on total body fitness, and man does it target every muscle in your body! I was sore in places I didn't even know you could be! They advertise Zumba as a "dance party", which I thought was corny, but it's true! I literally feel like I'm a part of a fun Latin/Caribbean party dancing with the islanders. Needless to say, I am VERY excited that I found a gym within miles of my Disney apartment where Victoria and I can take classes (when we're not getting exercise from walking around Epcot's World Showcase of course!).

The whole point of this entry was to update you on a few more Disney facts I learned from my book. I'm still in the Magic Kingdom section (it's 63 pages, and I'm taking my time) so here are some facts I thought were especially interesting (and I of course am including pictures - for those who haven't been, and Stevie):

On Tom Sawyer Island:

"As you explore, you may come across a paintbrush carelessly left by Tom as he rushed off to the swimmin' hole. If you turn the paintbrush in to an Island Cast Member, you'll be rewarded with a Fast Pass for a Frontierland attraction. You need to arrive first thing in the morning for the best chance at finding the brush."

How fun? I am especially excited to share this information with some younger cousins who will be going to Disney in the fall! (Although there are a few "big kids" who might enjoy finding Tom's paintbrush as well... :) )


On Tom Sawyer Island is a section called Fort Langhorne. Anyone know off the top of their head who this is named after? I'll give you a hint: his full (and real) name is Samuel Langhorne Clemens. You've probably guessed correctly that it is Mark Twain, the author of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer!

If you ever go to Disney and pay a visit to Tom Sawyer Island, my dad and I learned that right around midday when the weather becomes very hot and you're ready for a nice break to cool down, there is a wonderful ferry ride around the island, that is breezy and refreshing. The entrance, I believe, is actually in Liberty Square (which borders Frontierland), and it is called the Liberty Bell Riverboat. Perfect in the afternoon when the sun is high!

As you travel from Liberty Square to Frontierland, you are symbolically traveling, just as some Americans did, from the thirteen colonies on the east coast across the frontier to California. In the book it says:

"Having reached the West Coast and the train station at the terminus of the transcontinental railroad, you can't miss the two mountain ranges reaching skyward...head up the stairs to the train station itself, then stop and listen. You will hear Morse code emanating from the telegraph office, transmitting Walt Disney's opening day speech at Disneyland in California."

I love learning these little things, I think it really makes you appreciate the parks that much more. It also helps gain even a slight understanding of the work that went into the imageneering of the parks.

All this reading about Magic Kingdom is really making me want to work in that particular park. It's possible that I will work in multiple parks, and it is also possible that I will want to work at whichever park I'm reading about on a particular day. But for now, Magic Kingdom sounds wonderful.

That's all for now! I'll post soon with some more fun facts about Walt Disney World. Since it is the section I read today, here is a picture of my dad and I at the foot of Splash Mountain my sophomore year of college.

"I can never stand still. I must explore and experiment. I am never satisfied with my work. I resent the limitations of my own imagination." - Walt Disney

Theatre in the Real World

Our audition was last week! Here is how our few days went:

On Thursday Victoria, my dad, and I drove to Philadelphia. We were very excited because the car my dad rented had the number 11 in the license plate. For those of you who don't know, 11 is my lucky number, as well as a number that comes up a lot in my family.

We also made two CD's of all of our favorite Disney songs to sing during the drive. Luckily my dad enjoys Disney songs just as much (if not more) than we do!

We went to sleep that night very excited for our audition but also feeling so so happy that the outcome almost didn't matter in a way because we are going to be working for Disney in the fall regardless of whether we are characters or not.

As you know from reading this blog, what I ultimately want to do is be in parades and shows (or do voiceovers, but that's a different part of the company), and we can't audition for those until we are down there.

We got to the audition and there were SO MANY people in the room! I could NOT believe it. On the Disney Auditions website they said there was an audition for the cruise line that day but I was under the impression that it was separate from the college program auditions. We learned that I was wrong. They were going to be auditioning us together. This was a bit confusing because we didn't know how they were going to be able to tell if you were for the cruise line or for the college program but we figured they must have a way to tell. While in line we had to fill our the audition sheet. Luckily Victoria and I brought our headshots and resumes which they accepted if you had them.

After waiting in line for almost an hour, we approached the table where there was a cast member waiting for us to sign in. We signed in and were given a number. Mine: 164, and Victoria's: 165. After signing in we immediately went to another cast member who measured us. My height measurement was 5'3.5". Having known enough people that have worked for Disney, we knew just how important height is to be a performer. To keep the integrity of each character, the actor portraying them has to look just all the other people. This is why everyone wears the same wigs, makeup, and costume. And to be honest, this is one of the things that makes Disney so different from all the other theme parks.

After getting our numbers, and height measurements, another cast member took our picture and we had to wait in the middle of the room. As you can see we were very excited...

While we were sitting and waiting for the rest of the people to be signed in we realized our numbers were more special than we thought. Again, mine was 164 (1 + 6 + 5 = 11!!!!) and Victoria's was 165 (16 - 5 = 11!!) You could probably figure out any set of numbers to be 11 if you really wanted but we thought this was special :D

In case you're wondering, we didn't realize we were wearing the same color shirt until we were at the audition...

So after waiting another 15 minutes or so after we checked in, the cast member who signed us in stood up and told us that because they had so many people auditioning they had to do a type cast first before they could start the audition. Uh oh. This is not good, what a type cast is is they look at all the people who are auditioning and take them out of the running based on type. This type can waver based on what they are looking for at the audition. However, since Disney is so largely based on height, we knew it would be a height typecast and knowing that, we also knew that at least one of us would not be able to audition.  This being because if they chose 5'3", I would be able to audition, but not Victoria, if they picked 5'6", she would and I wouldn't, and worst, if they chose any other height, neither one of us would be able to audition.

What they did was have everyone leave the room and then they called us in in groups of 60. Once we were back in the auditioning room they had us stand in rows of 10 in the back of the room and taught us a moving "routine" (which was essentially marching) and we moved toward the judges. After everyone in the room had gone the cast member stood up and announced who should stay for the audition and who should go. She started by saying that if this is what you really want to do you have to come back, because you never know what they're looking for and at each audition they are looking for different things. Then she called out numbers, she called Victoria's but not mine.

I was so so happy that one of us made it! Although I wish I would have been able to do the audition, what I really want to do I can't until I get down there, so it didn't really matter what the outcome was. Victoria said when she got into the room to audition they asked to make lines, in the front if you were 5'0" and in the back if you were 5'6". They were looking for people to be friends with Mickey and Minnie or 5'6" dancers for the cruise line. It's comforting to know that there was nothing I could have done to change the outcome (unless I could magically grow 2 inches of course!)

My sister and I talked a lot about how exciting it was that we already knew we would be working for Disney in the fall. Imagine how it must have been for all the people that came to the audition and weren't able to even go in the room knowing this was their chance to work for Disney? We were so so happy that we could go to the audition knowing that we are going to be working for them regardless of the outcome.

Overall, the experience was really fun! And I learned not to audition for the cruise lines since all the dancers aboard are 5'6"!

I'm still reading my Disney book and will post soon more interesting Disney facts. Until then, remember that "all our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them."

Tomorrow!

The day has come! Tomorrow Victoria, my dad and I will be heading to Philadelphia for our audition. The audition isn't actually until Friday morning but check in starts at 9 am so the best thing for us is to stay overnight. Our plan is to leave our house tomorrow morning and get there with enough time to go to some of Philadelphia's historic sites. I have been lucky enough to have been there before but Victoria has not so I hope we get to see the Liberty Bell and perhaps even Betsy Ross' house. We shall see!

I am so so excited for my audition. I think it will be really fun. I know we learn a dance and will do some improv but besides that I don't know what else will happen. I am bringing my tap shoes, jazz shoes, and character heels so I'm prepared for any type of dance, and I'm also going to bring my sheet music in case I have to sing. I have never heard of them asking people to sing, or do other types of dance, but you never know! At least if they do I will be prepared. I am thinking because there is a regular Disney audition going on, (as opposed to the Walt Disney World College Program audition we are going to) it is possible, though not likely, that they could put us in there if they wanted to see more. I'm thinking this won't happen, but like I said earlier, if it does, I'll be prepared.

My mom bought me a book called "The Hidden Magic of Walt Disney World" which details some really fun and interesting aspects of all the parks. The imagineers, as well as Walt himself, are so very creative and detail-oriented, they think of everything! Having been so blessed to have gone to Disney enough times to be picking up on these things myself, it is so fun to read even more things that I haven't noticed or simply didn't know about the history of the parks.

I thought it would be fun to every once and a while put in my blog some of the information I thought was especially fun from the book. The first chapter I read was on Magic Kingdom. There is so much information to choose from that I will have to blog again about it. Though I've never been to school in another state, I imagine colonial American history is a bit more exciting to those of us from Boston, or any of the historically rich colonial cities. Since we are heading to Philadelphia tomorrow, I have been thinking a lot about the history there as well as in Boston. Because of this, the fun facts about Liberty Square in Magic Kingdom really popped out at me today. For everyone who has been, you know the square is set as colonial America and has some attractions that reflect that, as well as some shops (spelled "Shoppe" of course :) ) that sell things such as fifes, drums, and other colonial goods. For those of you that haven't been, here are a few pictures:

The last picture is from a trip we took to Disney my senior year of high school with dance. It was very fun - we were able to dance on stage in Tomorrowland, and it is what first sparked my interest in the Disney College Program.

Now to the fun information I've been promising for the past few paragraphs...

"There are four eras represented in Liberty Square, with a New England feel surrounding the Columbia Harbour House restaurant, colonial Williamsburg near Ye Old Christmas Shoppe, and the more modern Dutch New Amsterdam as you near the footbridge to the Hub. The Haunted Mansion attraction is technically part of LIberty Square, representing New York's Hudson River Valley.

...

Columbia Harbour House offers more than just good food. Maps, artifacts, and nautical knickknacks adorn walls, both on the first and second floors. Look closely and you'll notice each section is dedicated to either a ghost ship or a ship lost at sea. And, if you look out the front windows from the top floor, you'll notice it faces the Haunted Mansion. Coincidence? I think not!

...

Notice the slightly skewed angle of the window shutters. During the Revolutionary War, colonists had to use every scrap of available metal for making bullets; their ingenuity led them to recycle the metal hinges on imported shutters, replacing them with leather hinges, as was the tradition during pioneer days. With time and weather, the leather hinges became less taut, and the shutters slumped sideways. 

...

In keeping with Walt's desire for authenticity, there are no restrooms in Liberty Square, except for those required inside the full-service restaurants, just as there would have been no indoor toilets during colonial times.

...

Notice what looks like a river of brown gravel running through the pavement in Liberty Square? It represents an open sewer, where waste would have collected in the middle of the road, having been thrown from the upper windows of homes.

...

Now look at the upper window of the home next to the door with the number 26 on the front. See the lanterns up there? They represent the two lanterns hung in Boston's Christ Church steeple in APril 1776, to warn Paul Revere the British soldiers were arriving by sea. Walk around the corner of the same building and look at the upper window on that side. The country folk may not be up, but they certainly are armed! During the Revolutionary War, the townsmen would place their rifle in the window to indicate they were home and ready to answer the call to arms."

This is all SO interesting! There are some fun historical facts in there that I didn't know! And some rather gross ones.... Still, the creativity of the Disney imagineers is astounding. There is a lot of information I didn't include about Liberty Square, so if you thought it was interesting, the book again is "The Hidden Magic of Walt Disney World" by Susan Veness.

I hope you enjoyed the fun facts! I'll surely be blogging again after the audition! Think magical thoughts :)

SO close.

I have received two new emails from Disney! Here is the first:

The title of the message is "Welcome to the Team". Essentially what the email contains is information that we will need to have before we arrive. There is a countdown (158 days as of today!), information about the courses they are offering, and it also mentions Disney's game, Mission: Timekeeper that was created to help us learn important information about Disney's history. It was nice to receive an email from them because to be honest, as the excitement of first finding out was fading, I got back into my every day routine, forgetting where I will be in the fall. The email was a happy reminder of why I am taking so many classes this semester: so I can go to Disney!

The next email was entitled: Audition Reminder. Here it is:

It's a bit hard to decipher but the scrolling gold letters say "Picture your dreams coming true." It seems corny that my sister and I keep saying "dreams really do come true" but that is sincerely how we feel. Every time we went to Disney as children, there was this overwhelming feeling that this was where we were supposed to be. I wish I was less sentimental and emotional, although knowing my parents, it's not surprising that I am, but when my Dad and I left Disney my sophomore year of college to return home, I cried. Haha. It felt so weird to be heading back to school when I felt so at home in Disney. Naturally, most people do not want to leave a vacationing spot and return to every day life, but it was so much more than that for me, it felt wrong leaving, like I was supposed to be there. That feeling is what is making this experience even more incredible. I feel so so grateful to be able to be fulfilling this dream. It will be so incredibly difficult to be away from my family and Nate and though that has been weighing on my mind, I know that this is where I am supposed to be and what I am supposed to be doing, and that, along with the wonderful support and encouragement I have been receiving, is what is getting me through the heaviness of leaving.

On a lighter note, our audition is Friday!! I can't believe it's already been a month since we found out we made it into the program and almost two since we had our phone interviews. Time is really flying by! The plan is to drive to PA on Thursday night, stay at a hotel in Philadelphia and then go to our audition at 9 am! I don't know what the process is or how long it will take but I suppose we will be done in a few hours. You can expect a post within a few days after the audition detailing the experience! This has been a crazy audition process! It makes sense, since Disney has very high standards for their employees, but I never thought there would be so many steps involved! I suppose on one hand it is good because it gives you many opportunities to show off your best self!

I haven't decided what I would like the outcome of the audition to be. Ideally, I would love to be in parades and shows, and they don't audition for that at the Disney College Program auditions, you have to wait until you are down in Orlando. So right now I just feel like I will go, have fun, and do my best, and hope that what is meant to be will be!

I really am hoping that my sister and I will be in the same group (they say you audition in groups of 5) so that we can give each other feedback on our auditions and what we think the judges thought. We will definitely be checking in together which will mean our numbers will be one after the other but I hope one of us isn't the last of one group and the other the first of the next.

So many thoughts, and hopes! Expect a post soon! Until then, think magical thoughts for us :)