Dana

Well, I am back in the Northwest. I traded in my Mickey ears for a plane ticket back to cold weather and mountain country. I flew back Thursday to Washington State for my college graduation at The Evergreen State College. I stepped off the airplane and was immersed into the world of Priuses and Starbucks. My mom and I spent the afternoon tinkering around Seattle. We went to the mall and did a little shopping. She helped me buy my very first suit. I recently acquired a new job working for the Admissions staff at Evergreen, which will begin late this July. So I will literally go from one job to another, and exactly one day in between. But I am so excited about this new job, and all the opportunities I will have to preach the gospel of Evergreen to others.

Graduation was on Friday. My family and I drove onto the Evergreen campus early in the morning to stake our seats. I was back in the world of dreadlocks and patchouli. It felt eerily nice to be back on my campus. It was a sight for sore eyes. And to see some of my friends again was a real delight. I graduated sitting next to some good friends and feeling more confident than ever. I was a graduate. I was going to enter the working world sooner than I anticipated with a fun and fulfilling job with the college I had been enjoying so much over the years. Graduation was practically perfect.

And now I’m back in Wenatchee for a couple of days, spending time with my family and enjoying Father’s Day. I feel lucky to have such a loving family who has supported me in all my endeavors over the years. I had 11 family members at my graduation cheering me on. And 16 total for the evening dinner. I feel blessed.

So here I go, off to work and be an adult. But who knows what might be next in line for me. I certainty wasn’t expecting to play a 12-year-old British girl at The Happiest Place on Earth. From this experience I have learned that I should always stay flexible. I never know what new and exciting opportunity might be around the corner. So the you all I say:
Omnia Extares “Let it all hang out!”

Posted by Dana at 09:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I feel like I have been on the go for so long that I can’t remember where one day begins and another ends. The last three days I have been working 10-14 hour days, and I’m also getting over a cold. When I come home my body is aching and I’m asleep before my head hits the pillow. It’s summertime now, and I can tell that these next months I will be working myself hard.

Two days ago I was friends with Alice all day, and yesterday I had the privilege to be friends with Wendy. I hadn’t been friends with Wendy since my training, so I was so thrilled to spend some time with her yesterday. Wendy spent the day with Snow White outside Toontown, greeting the guests. They had so much fun skipping and laughing together!

Today I worked at the Crystal Palace dining with my friend Winnie the Pooh. It was my first time meeting Pooh, and I was surprised how loved he is by all the guests. All day Pooh heard comments like “Oh Pooh, you are my favorite!” or “Pooh, our child has been waiting her whole life to meet you!” It felt really great to bring joy to all those families.

I leave on Thursday to fly back for graduation. I’m looking forward to seeing all of my Evergreen friends. I’ve missed a lot of them since I’ve been gone. All of my family is coming into town for graduation as well, so this will be really neat. I have 2 aunts and 2 uncles that also graduated from Evergreen, so it will be great to share this experience with them!

Posted by Dana at 01:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here is a picture of Alice with her friends Pooh bear, Tigger, and Eeyore. What sweet characters!

This is a big time in my life. I have been enjoying my internship at Disney more than I thought I would, and now I have another opportunity to represent the Evergreen State College next year, which will be amazing.

I am very excited that I will be coming back to Washington state, because I am seriously missing the mountains and the dry climate, but I am sad that I will have to leave Disney. This has been such an amazing experience and my plan if I didn't receive the Evergreen job was to continue with the corporation. But as many friends here have told me; Disney will always be here for me. I can come back sometime later if I want to.

I also wanted to let you all know that I will be graduating in just a few short weeks. I'm flying back to Seattle on the 12th of June to participate in the graduation ceremony on the 13th at Evergreen. I will be in Washington through the 20th, and I'm hoping to make a quick stop back in Wenatchee. I'm very excited to be walking with the class of 2008. Doing college in three years is big stuff, and I'm very proud of my accomplishments.

I miss you all so very much, but I will be back in Washington for good starting August.

Posted by Dana at 02:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Oh man, what a long week it has been for me. I’ve been getting up at 4:30am the last three days for work, and I feel like it is starting to take a toll on my body and energy. So tonight I’ve decided to lay low and just hang out with some friends at my apartment. There is always so much to do and see at Disney, and I feel like I am constantly on the move, even when I’m not at work. So it will be good for me to stay home tonight.

Today I had the privilege to work with my buddy Jessie, from the movie “Toy Story 2”. She was so much fun to spend the day with. I really like her spunky personality. It was also fun seeing Woody today, he’s such a gentleman.

Woody and Jessie, the best of friends!

I know I’ve been writing a lot about my work experience here at Disney, but I would also like to mention that Disney allows an academic experience for those who need it in the college program. Some people (my roommate included) take part in the academic classes at Disney, and once a week they have class. My roommate has about 8-10 hours of homework a week and about 8 hours of in-school time. I think this is a wonderful opportunity for students to gain college credit while they are a part of the program. My roommate is taking a course titled ‘Marketing: You” where she learns about how to network and sale her talents and abilities to companies and work environments. I just think that having the option of taking classes while in the college program is really nice to have.

Posted by Dana at 05:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hey all.

Okay, so I know I’ve said it before, but I absolutely love working at Disney! Yesterday I went to the Magic Kingdom with some friends to ride a few rides and get some ice cream. We only went to the park for a few hours, but I love that I have the option of going to the theme parks whenever I want to. I thought I would get tired of the Disney theme parks, but I’ve been here for two and half months now and I still get giddy ever time I enter the parks.

Today I am going back to the Magic Kingdom to watch my roommate in the Dreams Come True parade. Yesterday was her first time in the parade, and she was really nervous about performing. But I guess she did really well because she was thrilled after the parade with her dancing and all. So today I’m going to go take loads of photos of her. I’ll be like a proud soccer mom at a tournament!

Although Disney is a lot of fun, it’s also nice to have a chance to get off the property and go do some fun things. Later today my boyfriend and I are meeting up with my friend form Disney for coffee at Starbucks. Her name is Jennifer and she is also from Washington State (Yakima, to be exact). I was so thrilled to meet another Washingtonian when I got here!

Alina, Me, and Marge waiting in line for Toy Story Mania, one of the newest rides at Hollywood Studios.

Posted by Dana at 09:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wow. What a fun week! My parents and my aunt and uncle came into Orlando last Sunday and we all spent the week together hanging out at the parks. It was so much fun! I got the whole tourist point of view of Disney once again.

I was scheduled to work a few of the days while my family was in town, but I was able to get one of them off so I had three days to spend in the parks with them. On their first day we all went to Animal Kingdom for the entire day. The first thing we did when we entered the park was ride the newest roller coaster called “Expedition Everest”. My dad loved it, but the rest of the family was quite fine with only riding it once.

My family and my boyfriend Ryan were able to come meet Alice at the Grand Floridian for breakfast last Tuesday. It was a lot of fun, and I know they enjoyed meeting her. Also at the breakfast were Mary Poppins, Pooh, Tigger, and The Mad Hatter. It’s a pretty interesting bunch of characters. I guess they’re going for a British theme.

It was great getting a whole week to spend with my family. The next time I will see them is at my college graduation, coming up this June. I am looking forward to graduating so much! I am especially looking forward to being back in the Northwest, even if it’s only for a few days. It will be so nice seeing some of my college friends again; after being away for three months.

We all got to meet Donald together! What a sweetheart!

Posted by Dana at 07:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I’ve been scheduled a lot more shifts with my friend Alice lately, and I’m not complaining! Alice is so much fun! Yesterday I worked at the Grand Floridian with Alice. She and the Mad Hatter went from table to table greeting guests, signing autograph books, and posing for photographs. It was so much fun! The Grand Floridian is a beautiful hotel with a wonderful garden outside.

Talking to the flowers

Yesterday Alice was out at the Epcot UK Pavilion. She had a wonderful time playing in the mazes at the UK, and spending some time with her favorite nanny, Mary Poppins. I have a few pictures from her day, and you can see how much fun she was having.

Lost in a maze garden

I personally am having a blast here at Disney. I don’t think I’ve had a bad day yet. This has been an amazing experience for me, and I appreciate every day I go to work. I love being able to make magic for families from every part in the world. I feel like a celebrity when I’m at work, in the costumes, and then at the end of the day I get to take it all off and be my regular self again. That’s a pretty good life.

My family is coming to visit tomorrow! My parents and my aunt and uncle will be visiting me for a week, and I’m so excited! They haven’t met Alice or any of my friends yet, so this will be wonderful.

Posted by Dana at 06:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)