As I drive away from the unforgettable Vista Way today, I am hit with an overwhelming feeling of sadness. No, reflecting on my squeaky bed, ant-accessible window, and princess shower curtain are not the cause of this. There is a part of me that's sad that I'm leaving the House of Mouse, but I am officially locked in for a Seasonal job there in the fall, so it's more like I'm taking a vacation.
The real reason I am experiencing this melancholy feeling is that I am leaving behind an outstanding group of people at DAK Main Entrance Merchandise. Coming into the program, I had a pretty good idea that I would be making some new friends throughout my Disney adventures, but never did I expect to connect in such meaningful ways to the CP's I would work with.
From day one, it was easy to connect with the other CP's. We all had many things in common, from our college lifestyles back home, to our late night closing shifts, and even our unanimous distaste for any vehicle labeled "Transtar". Working with these familiar faces really helped to make work a place I wanted to be at and "going to work" quickly became "going to see my friends".
Our experiences outside of work showed me that I had found not only a great group of co-workers, but an exceptional group of friends. Whether it was a hysterical game of Telestrations or Mafia, a trip to the park for a final viewing of Wishes/Fantasmic, or a mediocre half off appetizer served by one of Applebee's finest, each occasion was proven worth it regardless of the lack of sleep or money afterwards.
Here are some of the people I encountered:
- An extremely giggly person who thought I was pregnant
- Someone who re-sparked my passion for Imagineering and the way that Disney works
- A girl who wore the same work shoes as me and once creeped on me at the Magic Kingdom
- Someone who clarified for me that Mexico wasn't just tacos and sombreros during a great chat during Stack/Unstack.
- A guy who started the program two months too late, yet still left an amazing impact on me
- A friend who introduced me to a different world view and said my hair looked like old moss.
- A roommate who was willing to stay up till all hours of the night, being real and living his life.
- A girl who braved night terrors to tell me the origins of Hello Kitty and who surprised me with a deep statement one late night at Applebees.
- An extremely happy person who loved taking out the garbage at night.
- A girl with one of the most unique senses of humor I've ever met (keep working on the driving!)
- A guy who loved to talk movies, tell stories, and whom I could trust to understand why I was laughing at something when I looked across the room at him.
- Someone with a contagious laugh who tried to convince me to go jogging with them in the middle of the night in my costume.
- A friend whose differences in opinion ended up strengthening our relationship, helping to break down each other's stereotypes
- A girl who was constantly smiling, whether in her Main Entrance costume or her Restaurantosaurus costume
- A hard worker and great CP who was too nice in letting me call them a slacker at PPU.
- A guy who lived on the edge by testing the limits of his beard and hair length
- A girl who was nice enough to invite all of us into her home for an awesome game night
- A girl whose sense of humor was definitely the most similar to my own, was super fun to mess with, and had too much fun making fun of my finger.
- An amazing friend who was there for me from the beginning while I wrote a "love letter" to one of our Coordinators. It is amazing to look back on that first meeting and see where we stand today.
There are so many more things I have to say about these incredible people, but I will selfishly store them in my mind for the future when I am in need of a good memory.
Thank you to all of you CP's for making my program as amazing as it was. I can say with sincerity that it would not have been the same without you. I wish you the best in everything that you all do with your lives.
See ya,
P.W.
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