The "magic" of the number FOUR...

This week has been kind of an interesting week for me...  I have been thinking about everything that has happened in the last few years... the last FOUR years to be specific... You see, FOUR years ago, I pursued my dream of working at the Happiest Place on Earth... Disneyland.

On June 4th 2008, I started working at Disneyland.  I had wanted to work there since I was very young, and had always thought it was "just a dream".  I never thought I would have the means to leave pretty much everything behind and actually try and GET the job there.  Looking back on it now, I can honestly say it was one of the scariest things I have EVER done.  And while it was a truly scary thing to do... it was one of the best things I have ever done.

Here I am, FOUR years later, and there isn't a day goes by that I don't miss every single little detail about that wonderful place.  I can still hear all the sounds that echo through the Temple of the Forbidden Eye, or the train going around the spiral after B Lift...  I can still smell that musky, natural gas smell that comes out of those jeeps...  I can still feel the joy and excitement every time I heard the phrase "Hit it Skip", or the rush of adrenaline when circular flow stops in the CFA lane in the plaza, and it HAS to be cleared out quickly and safely.  Those are the memories that I will NEVER forget. 

I always thought that IF I ever worked there, I would slowly become jaded to all of the "magic" that happens around the park.  I didn't want it to happen, but I had read too many accounts of that happening to other cast members.  Truth is...  that NEVER happened!  Not a day went by that I wasn't excited to be going to work.  And very quickly, I realized that it wasn't the park itself that I was excited to be going to, or the attractions I was going to be working on... it was the people.

To this day, I don't think ANY of my fellow cast members know how much of an impact they all made on my life.  And to all of you that I had the PRIVILEGE of working with, all I can say is THANK YOU... From the bottom of my heart.  YOU are the reason I have so many wonderful memories of that place...  And while I can still hear the sounds, smell the smells, and feel all of those feelings, YOU are the reason that place is so special to me. 

Even though I can't be there in person, I still might be able to pass on a little inspiration for all of you that are still there.  Whenever you step through those gates, whether it is at the Egg Gate, next to the Inn Between, or even behind Frontierland, remember this...  There will ALWAYS be at least one person that truly believes in the magic...  There will ALWAYS be someone who has never experienced the attraction you are working on... There will ALWAYS be someone who hasn't seen the fireworks over Sleeping Beauty's Castle...  Remember that YOU are that something special that keeps that magic going...  Cherish every moment you have there.  Always try and make somebody else's day special... you never know the impact you will have on their life.

Part of me will always wish I could go back.  And who knows... maybe someday I will.  But that dream will have to wait a while... And even though my entire life has changed in more ways than I could have ever imagined (both good and bad), the thing that sticks out to me is how special my time was at MY Happiest Place on Earth.