Becoming Part of the Magic: My Time in Traditions

I've known I was going to work for Disney since I was six. I was too scared to go on The Great Movie Ride at WDW, and the cast member out front got down on his knee to talk to me. He assured me that I would be ok and that I'd love the ride. That's always stayed with me, and from that moment on, I knew I'd work for the company. So it's hard to describe how I felt going into Traditions.I was full of excitement and curiosity and knew once I walked through those doors, I was coming out as a Disney Cast Member. Someone built on using Disney's magic to create happiness for all those who walk through the front gates of the Disney parks. That's a tall, but amazing order to have to uphold. And I was absolutely up to the challenge. I got dressed into my new Disney look and walked out the door, knowing I was about to walk into the place that would be the beginning of my future.

Driving up to TDA was really cool, I didn't have to park in the visitor parking lot again, I got to park in cast member parking, and that's when it hit me. I really was working for the world's biggest, and greatest company now. I stood outside TDA with all the new hires, waiting to walk in, and I could feel the tension in the air because so many of the people that were there were nervous. But I knew there was no reason to be. I was excited to be there. They handed us our paper IDs for the day, as well as a name tag for the day to stick on our shirts and they walked us into the auditorium. We all sat there while a few CM's, who would be our teachers for the day, came out and welcomed us to Traditions and gave us a small overview of what we would be doing throughout the day. We got to get up and talk to the people around us, get to know each other a bit, and see who would be working where. That's when they played a video welcoming us to the company, which featured Walt Disney, the man himself, welcoming you to the company. I seriously began getting chills. Walt Disney, even in old video footage, was personally welcoming me into his company so I could be a part of what he created. I definitely had a bit of a fanboy moment.

Then they split us up into a few groups and we were sent upstairs to the Disney University. I loved this part of Traditions, because we got to look at the past, present, and future of the company. Being someone who knows a about the company, it was fun to see the facts and information I knew come to use while learning new things. My teachers were amazing, making things much more entertaining and fun, and it never felt tedious or dull. One of the guys, his name was Anthony, works over in DCA at Tower of Terror, and is seriously one of the funniest guys I ever met. Every time he spoke or was in the room, I was laughing. I swear, the guy could be a stand up comedian or character actor. He's that good. Then they announced we'd be walking through Disneyland, as well as getting a look at the backstage area of the park. Getting to walk behind the scenes of a park I know like the back of my hand and being able to discover what the backstage looked like was a lot of fun. I loved wandering around back behind the park. Seriously, what other class do you get to go to where you walk around Disneyland? It was amazing. We finally got back to TDA and had lunch at the Eat Ticket, which was great! The food was amazing, and not terribly expensive, which was even better. They may have had the best Paninis I've ever had. 

We went back to the classroom area to finish up our classes, but was admittedly hard to sit through because of my food coma. But eventually the class began winding down, and we ended up heading back to the auditorium. We went down and they started telling us about how if we were here, then there is something special and unique about us, and that we it was time for us to get ready to go. We were going to celebrate together becoming CM's, and they had one last video to show us. It was a goodbye video from people from Disney around the world, and welcoming us to the company. Then Walt came back on the screen, and it felt like he was directly talking to me again. I have to admit, I felt like I was beginning to tear up a bit. That's when they said, "Never forget, it all started with a mouse." And the door opened and Mickey stepped out to congratulate all of us! It was a bit hard to hold back tears of joy, and that's when they handed it to us:  our name tag. I couldn't believe it, I had it. And with Mickey at the door to say goodbye to us and welcome us, I hugged him and walked out to my car and sat, holding my name tag, tearing up. I couldn't believe it. And I still can't. I'm a Disney Cast Member. I'm here to make happiness with magic now. Easily one of the greatest jobs in the world. I work for Disney. I'm so happy. :)