The End of this Chapter

Having to leave Walt Disney World meant leaving my amazing job that I truly loved, and the wonderful guest interaction. It meant not living 10 minutes away from Disney and getting to have fun adventures in the parks whenever I wanted to. It meant leaving the best people that I had the pleasure of living and working with for the past 7 1/2 months. It meant saying "see ya real soon" to so many people, but not actually knowing when "soon" would be. It meant driving towards Texas, but driving farther away from my real home. It meant the end of my Disney College Program, the one thing I had been waiting and wanting to do for TEN YEARS prior.

But it also meant the accomplishment of my biggest dream, goal, and wish for the last decade of my life. It meant that all those years of wishing to be a Cast Member during the Wishes fireworks show had actually paid off. It meant that after all those years of admiring Cast Members' name tags during our many vacations to Disney, I now had my own. It meant that after being a guest myself for so long, I had been able to make an impact on so many guests' vacations every day. It meant being so inspired by the legacy of Walt Disney, and striving every day to be a Cast Member that he would be proud of. Most importantly, it means that now, I can dream up my next wish. Because to quote Jiminy Cricket, in that fireworks show that I made this exact wish on so many times, "You'll never run out of wishes. They're shining deep down inside of you. Cause that, my friends, is where the magic lives."

So here's to my next wish. Here's to my next dream. And here's to the next chapter in my Disney story. Because that was only the first...


And of course, I couldn't leave this post without some wonderful pictures from the end of my program to finish it off:

My very own Walt Disney World name tag. Being able to put this on every day for the last 7 1/2 months was an absolute honor. This name tag means so very much to me.

My Vacation Planning home, Epcot. Wow, my time here sure did fly, from my first days of training back in June until now. I was so blessed by my location, my co-workers, and my role. Walking up to the main entrance at Epcot will always be a special moment for me.

Me in one of the Vacation Planning booths! I am so thankful to my family for taking this special picture. I got to help so many guests at these windows, and I learned so much. I love these booths with all my heart.

I had so much to celebrate as I wore this button on my last day in the parks. These buttons have a more special meaning to me now, after getting to make them for so many guests. Whether it was for the girls who won their cheerleading competition, the dad celebrating Father's Day, or the little boy who got straight A's on his last report card, I loved being able to spread Disney magic.

This is the place where magic lives, and I got to experience that magic every day of my program.

This meet and greet with Mickey was so magical. Wearing my DCP shirt and graduation ears led to a huge congratulations from the boss himself.  It was all started by a mouse.