And they lived happily

Wow… It’s over.

For 10 years now, I have been dreaming and praying for a chance to be a part of Disney.

Since the 6th grade: I have not dyed my hair any color that doesn’t look natural. I have attempted to keep the length of my hair and fingernails conservative. I have refused to get any tattoos or more than one piercing. I have measured myself fairly often to make sure I was still the same character height.

To be fair, some of my dreams did not become a reality. I wanted to be a Disney Princess, and that clearly did not happen. But I am so glad I was blessed with Kilimanjaro Safaris.

Safaris was in some ways an answer to all of my deepest desires. 1. I love to talk. 2. I love to teach. 3. I love animals. 4. I love kids. 5. I love Disney.

However, as many of you know, it was not all a walk in park (see previous posts for reference).

I have been pulled, stretched, beat, and bruised. I have been mentally and physically exhausted. I have been filled with intense love and hate for guests and animals.

I have been so focused on showtimes that I have forgotten to thank my guests for coming. And I have been so invested in my guests that I have a 25 minute showtime even though no one was in front of me.

I have learned multiple new languages: phrases in Swahili, Portuguese, ASL, Spanish, and all the radio codes.

I have accumulated a strange knowledge of good and bad quality strollers and how to fold and/or put the parking breaks on said strollers (even the foreign ones).

I have heard elephants trumpet, lions roar, and hippos grunt.

I have seen giraffes sprint, okapis lick their eyeballs, and antelopes spar.

I have been on broken down trucks and have had to entertain 40+ guests for an extended period of time with only bushes for inspiration.

I have learned to sneakiest ways to tell a guest ‘no’ and still make them feel like I just won a new car.

This blog is not enough to tell all of the stories I have stored in my memory from this place. And these stories will last me for years and years.

Thank you- To those who have been by my side at Safaris. Kwaherini my friends. You made every day an adventure. From the times you danced with me at Departure to the times we panicked about the addax, you have made an imprint on my life and I will treasure you in my heart forever.

Thank you- To my sweet and wonderful roommates who were either there to sit and complain about a long day with me, or force me to go do fun things. We have been through so much together and you will all forever be in my prayers!

Thank you- To any of you who have followed this blog. Whether you are a family member, Sagebrush member, friend, or random internet user, thank you for caring about my life and reading the words I type. Sharing in these experiences with all of you has made it even more fun than I had expected!

Thank you- To my family who supported this dream, even though they didn’t fully understand it. I would never have gotten here without you!

Thank you- To Maddy Potter, who walked this entire journey with me, from beginning to end. From the application, to the audition, to Traditions, and to our final days here. We are going to need a support group when we get back to Virginia.

Thank you- To my best friend, Georgia Schaefer, who had the craziest schedule in the world when she came down here and yet still made time for me even though she clearly needed sleep more than another ride on Splash Mountain.

Thank you thank you thank you- To ALL who were part of this journey. I stepped into a fantasy when I first came here. A fantasy that became a nightmare that became a Happily Ever After.

On to new dreams and new adventures! Wherever God leads!

Love to you all,
Megan Dorine

How to Make a Cast Member’s Day: A Guide

When people come to Disney, they want to have magical moments. They expect a lot out of cast members, and that is a completely fair expectation, but what many do not realize is that there is a lot of magic out of making a difference in another person’s life.

The people who need the most magic at Disney are the people that work there!!

So here is my guide of a few simple things you can do to have awesome moments with cast members.

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1. Say hello.

Simple right? But you’d be surprised how many times a day we get overlooked by guests. This is especially true for those not directly involved with an experience such as show keepers (custodial) or tram drivers. They don’t get as much thanks as waiters or even attractions cast members.
Also, when saying hi, use their names! We have name tags for a reason. Please don’t address us with, “Hey lady!” If you can read, you can call me by my name.

2. Ask them about their home town.

Another really convenient thing on our name tags is a conversation starter! Have you been to our hometown? Want to go there? Have no clue where it is? Want to know how to pronounce it? If you see a university on the tag, they are in the college program. Ask them how they are enjoying it or what major they are pursuing.
My favorite thing to ask New Yorkers is what the best and worst things are about Orlando in comparison with New York. Ten times out of 10 they will say the worst thing about Orlando is the pizza. It cracks me up!

3. Don’t stand there awkwardly for more than 10 sec.

Count to 10 mississippi and then start a conversation. We don’t like standing there awkwardly either. This is a great time to ask about some behind the scenes stuff: How many vehicles do you have? How many people do you load a day? Do you like your job? What is the most magical moment you’ve had while working at Disney? Cast members are all story tellers, so give us a prompt and we will entertain you!

4. Pick up your trash

Nothing makes a cast member smile like seeing someone else pick up their own trash. Bonus points it you take time to recycle.

5. Watch your kids and get them talking.

I really admire the parents that let their children get involved in the vacation planning. The kids that are aware of how their vacation is going to work are the ones that are paying attention and understand the significance of their time at Disney. Parents, PLEASE COME PREPARED!! Wait times will be long, create games to play in line. Make a bingo card for seeing if you can get cast member to do certain things like do the hula or make a super funny face. Make waiting part of the experience.
At the very least don’t let them climb on anything or zigzag from FastPass+ to the Stand-By line. It just stresses everyone out.

5. Wear interesting t-shirts.

Maybe this is just me, but it have the best conversations with people who wear cool shirts. That is my way of making interesting conversation. Wear obscure fandom tees and see how many people comment. Weird people work at Disney, there is a very likely chance one of us will watch that show or web series. Just go into your closet and look for something with words and you’re probably good to go.
If you don’t do t-shirts, then DisneyBound! Any Disney fan feels really good when they can figure out your subtle nod to a Disney character.

6. Take a photo with them.

If a cast member makes a difference in your day, ask to take a photo with them. It will make us feel just a little extra special and you can delete it in like 2 sec if you really don’t care to look at it again.
Even better though- if you are planning to post it on social media tell us what hastag you are using and we can go find it later! That is pretty fun for us!

7. Get excited!

Our job is to be excited at all times of the day 5-6 days a week about the same thing. Safaris is really lucky in that our attraction changes on an hourly basis depending on the animals’ moods, but that poor Toy Story cast member has to pretend to be genuinely excited about serving the 2,579th guest of that day.
When you are excited about going on our attraction, or eating our food, or buying our merchandise, we can get genuinely excited too!

The main thing about making a moment with cast members, is treating them like human beings. We are so often dehumanized by guests and it is exhausting. When you remind us that we are not a Disney robot, but a living a breathing person with physical and emotional needs, then you truly make our day.

Thank you to every guest who has made my job a little easier.

God Bless,
Megan Dorine

I could have any superpower right now, it would be the ability to crawl through this computer and give you a big hug.

So a couple of days ago I DisneyBounded as Honey Lemon to meet Hiro and Baymax. (Go to disneybound.tumblr.com if you have no idea what that means).

Baymax and Hiro are headed back to San Fransokyo on Monday so this was my last time to meet them. The line was tremendously long, so everyone waiting was a super fan! This made our interactions pretty exciting.

I was talking to a girl who had brought a box of legos to play with Hiro (which by the way is the cutest idea ever!). And over my shoulder I hear a mom say, “I’m so sorry, but my daughter was wondering if she could say hi. She’s a big fan.”

I had honestly forgotten about my Honey Lemon status until the little girl whispered, “Hi Honey Lemon…” I waved hello and asked her if she was going to meet my friends Hiro and Baymax later. She nodded yes and then really slow asked, “Where’s Hadashi?”

CUE HEART BREAKING!!!

I smiled and said I had to leave him at the front of the park because he got too caught up in the Frozen parade. She seemed to like this answer and the line moved up so we said our goodbyes.

That was the sweetest moment! I thought, I will treasure that forever, as I’m sure nothing like it will ever happen again.

Well God likes to bless us abundantly, doesn’t He?

A few more moments pass and I hear from across the building, “Oh my gosh!! HONEY LEMON!!!”

I turn and find two boys frantically waving at me from afar. I wave back and give them a peace sign. (Embrace it, right?) They start freaking out and go, “Wait! Where’s Fred??”

I laughed and told them he ran to Star Tours the minute we got into the park. The boys turn to their dad and yell, “Dad! We have to go to Star Tours! NOW!!!”

Their dad waved goodbye and mouthed a “Thank you” in my direction as he was dragged away.

This is so cool! Is this what face characters feel all the time?

The line was moving pretty well at that point, until we got the dreaded message that Baymax needed to recharge for about 15 minutes.

Okay, so we will be waiting here for a little while. Pretty much everyone sat on the floor at that point, but heels, dress, and knowing how often they clean that floor kept me standing.

Now I was really sticking out like a sore thumb. A girl a few families down said, “Hey, Honey Lemon, I like your work. Actually I want to be a scientist because of you. Girls can do science too, right?”

Woah! Yes they can girl!! This character means so much to so many kids. Why in the world is she not part of the meet and greet??

After waiting 1.5 hours I finally got to meet Hiro and Baymax. Hiro joked that I had gotten shorter since the last time we talked so I told him Fred and I were working on that shrink ray. I got a hug and a fist bump from Baymax. It was great, but the magic still wasn’t done.

I started to walk away, and a family was running after me. A little girl grabbed my legs as her mother said, “Is there any way we could get a photo with you? My daughters are obsessed.”

“Of course,” I responded as I wrapped my arms around the two girls. We took some photos and I gave them each a hug.

I walked away feeling like I had made such an impact just by wearing my hipster glasses and putting on a yellow dress. I didn’t do much, but for some reason it created a moment for some little ones.

Disney, thank you for making strong, smart women who can still be cute and girly. Little girls have more to aspire to than waiting in a castle for Prince Charming in these females.

And thank you to every family that made my day magical! Those interactions mean as much to me as they do to your kids.

Honey Lemon out!
-Megan Dorine

Every day, like the one before…

I think I’ve hit a wall with Disney.

That is partly why I have been so infrequent with posting. I’ll start writing an update and halfway through I’ll just get bored. And if I’m bored reading my own writing, you all would barely make it past the first sentence.

So what is going on? Well, darling Disney has become daily, basic, ordinary Disney.

Every day I get up, go work at Disney, go home, and then do it all again the next day.

On my days off when I’ve done laundry, gone grocery shopping, and cleaned the apartment, I might go to Magic Kingdom, watch wishes and ride Haunted Mansion before going to bed.

And honestly, that is pretty cool. I’ll sit on the Liberty Belle and think, “Wow, I am so comfortable here…at Walt Disney World! I know how to get anywhere here in less than 10 min. I have my ‘own spots’ that I’ve claimed. I know cast members in every park and I can easily slip into conversations with guests anywhere, because they are basically visiting my neighborhood.”

That is absolutely amazing!!!  However, it is also a little unfortunate.

The idea of going to Animal Kingdom, or any of the parks doesn’t excite me like it used to. Wishes doesn’t make me cry any more. When I walk on Main Street, I notice trash on the floor before I notice Cinderella’s Castle.

There is something so odd about being familiar with a popular vacation spot. I know FastPass+ better than I know the workings of the US government. I can recite the safety spiel of multiple attractions, but I can’t recite my memory verse that I’ve been supposed to memorize for the last two weeks. Disney is ingrained in my being, maybe forever…

That scares me a bit, because I’ve also seen the underbelly of the beast. I’ve come to understand Disney in a whole new light, not necessarily a bad one, but one that has made my relationship with Disney morph into something so unfamiliar.

All of this said, I think I’m ready to go home. I will cherish this experience for a long time, and I will take advantage of every opportunity while I’m still here, but come August 7th, I think I’ll be ready for the next part of my story.

Sorry Disney, but the affair is over. I’ve lusted after you for quite some time now, and I now realize that you were a fantasy that could never be achieved. God has waited patiently for my heart and I can finally give it ALL to Him, Disney you don’t get to have it any more!

That was my prayer coming here: “God allow me to come closer to being a Proverbs 31 woman than becoming more like a Disney Princess.” And I think that He has done that. I still have quite a way to go, but FINALLY my focus is singular. <<PEACE and SMILES>>

This post was a little introspective, so I promise to post some more cute little stories soon! Just thought you all should get an explanation for my absence.

Au Revoir,
Megan Dorine

Cuties!!!

Time flies when you are having fun! I’ve had a lot of visitors these past few weeks and I’ve also been working ALL THE TIME!! Spring Break is no joke in Walt Disney World. Today I don’t have to work until this afternoon though, so here is another addition to Darling Disney.

One of the privileges of working at Disney is the interactions you have with little kids. Sure, sometimes they are grumpy because they had to skip a nap in order to see Festival of Fantasy, but they always win your heart with a little smile and that unfiltered honesty!

So I thought I’d share a few of my favorite Disney kid moments (:

Baby Elephant

Some kids just don’t quite understand biology. Every antelope is a zebra, and anything larger than that is a giraffe.

If it has ears it’s a dog, if it has legs it’s a cat. I will never understand how they make these assumptions, all I know is that all my correcting them on the safari does absolutely nothing to change what they see.

One such cutie was in the 3rd row of my safari. He was amazed by every animal and always tried to reach out and touch them. I was getting pretty annoyed by the end of my safari (because that is a safety hazard). Finally we get to warthogs and I see some white rhinos that are going to be pretty close to our truck. So I say, “Please remember to keep all hands and feet inside the vehicle as we go past this rhinoceros.”

The kid’s mom gently holds her sons hand and points the rhino saying, “Look sweet, a rhino.”

The child’s eyes got really big as he saw how close it was. He slowly raised his hand and waved whispering, “Hellow baby elwephant. I wuv you.”

I melted. Stick your hand out of the vehicle any time kid. You’re adorable!

Wild African Disco Ball

As we start heading into the reserve, I look in the back and see an overwhelming amount of kids. They were all very talkative and were already asking a lot of questions. I knew from the beginning this would be an interesting trip.

Everything goes as planned until about halfway through the journey.

I look to the left and right and see a whole tower of giraffes. I’m talking about them and giving out all of my giraffe facts. I slowly run out of things to say about them, so I just say, “Phew! That is a lot of giraffes, huh folks? It’s just a big giraffe party!”

One kid yells from the back row, “It’s not a party! Where is the disco ball?!” Great question kid. I mean, what kind of party is it without a disco ball? There is some real logic there.

Well he was clearly waiting for a response and some of the other kids started to agree with him saying, “Yeah! Where is the disco ball?” “I don’t think it looks like a party at all!” I was going to have a mutiny on my hands! So I say the first thing that pops into my head…

“Well the rare African disco ball isn’t found in these parts much any more. In fact, they have become pretty endangered since the 1970s.” That got a big laugh from the parents and seemed to satisfy the kids.

Now every time I see the giraffes running around like it’s a party, I find myself looking for the wild African disco ball. Just incase (;

Warm Hugs

Frozen is EVERYWHERE! I see more Elsa dresses in one day than any other person should see in their lifetime. It’s last year’s Halloween on steroids. So when I see someone with Frozen merchandise, I usually don’t even acknowledge it, but with this kid I just couldn’t resist.

I was loading trucks, and I see two little boys in matching Olaf shirts that say, “I give warm hugs.”

I got down on their level and asked, “So who gives the WARMEST hug, hmm?” The youngest looks down really shy and the older brother says, “He does for sure,” then talking to his brother, “Go on, give her a hug!”

I don’t like to force kids to hug strangers, even at Disney, so I assured the little boy that he didn’t have to hug me, especially because he looked so reluctant. I put up my hand and asked for a high five instead. He high-fived me and then retreated back to his mom.

I talked with the older brother for a bit asking him what his favorite animals were and getting him excited for the trip. Just as I was about to let them go, I see the younger brother creeping forward again. I just smiled at him and gave him another little wave. He slowly walks up to me and gives me the biggest and best hug in the world.

I smiled after he let go and said, “Wow! You do give warm hugs! That one is going to keep me warm all day.”

The older brother laughed and hugged me saying that his hug was to keep me warm the day after that. I let them get on the truck then and watched as the littlest boy turned back around and gave me a little wave. “These are the moments that make it all worth it.” I thought. “No matter how difficult other guests might be and no matter the heat and the pressure and the hours- THIS is why I work at Disney.”

-Megan Dorine