Always watch your children!

So this is a funny little story, but also a warning.  It ended well (except for our fence) but I would prefer things like this didn’t happen.

The other day, a little girl got her knee stuck in a fence in our queue.  I guess she was climbing, and slipped, and her knee just fell in there.  Apparently her dad tried to use some sunscreen to lube it out, but it just go stuck a bit further.  We had to call 9-1-1 and stop letting people into our line so they could figure out the best way to get her unstuck.

After a bit of trying to get her knee unstuck, they eventually had to use the jaws of life to wedge the giant matches that made up the fence apart. The girl got free relatively unharmed (most likely just a sore knee), and the family got to go meet Mickey.  Of course, then we’ve got to deal with our broken fence, to make sure no one gets any splinters from the broken wood.

Obviously we’d prefer this didn’t happen for everyone’s safety. That’s why we don’t like letting people climb on our fences, in any queues. There are places you could get stuck, or fall from, and get hurt.

And getting hurt isn’t magical at all.

A Pirates Life for Me!

This week has been so fantastic so far. But this week I’ve been working the Pirates Sneak Peek preview for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. I’ve been wearing the Pirates attraction costume, and also talking like a pirate (not necessary, but so fun!). The shifts are really easy, because we basically load people in, and have them exit, and don’t really do anything between that time. Well, we get to watch the show, depending on where we are. And we get to guest interact.

Guest interaction is one of my favorite things. Especially when I get to do so in an awesome pirate accent.  All of the Cast Members working the event are using Pirate lingo, which makes it so fun. We’re all pretty much in good spirits and just having a blast. The extended scene is fun to watch (I’m not going to spoil, so you should go see it yourself!), mainly because Blackbeard is just… awesome.

I’m going to just say a bit of a Blackbeard lines. Which we all keep quoting through the night, because of how he says it. You’ll understand when you see it but “Gentlemen. I be caught in a bewilderment. There I were…. Restin’.”

It’s going to be fun when I go see the movie and quote the entire scene when most people won’t have seen it.  But it also really makes me excited for the movie.  It looks so good.  I know there are people out there who were quite against it, but I hope that the rest of the movie turns out very good. And with a cast of Johnny Depp, Ian McShane, Penelope Cruz, and Geoffrey Rush (And of course the return of Kevin McNally as Gibbs), it aims to please.

One of the other fun bits, is that after the preview, Captain Jack and Angelica (Penelope Cruz’s character, First Mate to Blackbeard) are both out for people to take pictures of as they exit.  It’s been so awesome because Jack has taken to calling me “Red” because of my red hair. And he was talking to another pirate saying “She’s the red head!” and it made me giggle. A couple times he would grab one of my shoulders, turn to some people and be “Everyone! This is Red!” which just made me kind of laugh. He’s fun to be around.

Being around friends and fun guests and Pirates makes for a good experience. I hope if you’re in the area you can go see it at Disneyland by the Big Thunder Ranch! If not, On Stranger Tides is in theatres on May 20th!

Hope you all have a good night! Or day!

Another reason I love my job

For those of you who know me, you know I love pirates. For those that don’t know me… you should know I love pirates. Throughout the internet, I use the name PirateLyssa. Youtube, dailybooth, twitter, and here. I’ve got a few pirate costumes. It’s kind of obvious my love for pirates.

Tonight, my love for pirates came in quite handy. I was working the Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides sneak peak at Disneyland. I got to wear the costume for those who work the Pirates ride, and direct some guest flow in or out of the viewing/show. I’ll also be doing this every night through Thursday. It’s all kinds of awesome.

I got to watch the sneak peek, which was (of course) amazing. I’m really excited for the 4th movie in the Pirates series. I know a lot of people felt let down by the 2nd and 3rd, but I think they’ll be redeemed by this 4th one. I mean, come on, Penelope Cruz, Johnny Depp, and Ian McShane, as well as the ever lovely Geoffrey Rush reprising his role as Captain Hector Barbossa.

But Pirate advertising aside, I enjoyed this shift at work. It has probably been one of my favorites.  Being paid to dress as a pirate and talk like a pirate (optional, but I did it and impressed my coworkers!) is definitely something I enjoy doing haha.

They’ve got a bit of a pre-show, with a bit of a description, which is fun. Some guest interaction, and pirates all around. While you’re standing in line before you go in, they’ve got a talking parrot to interact with, as well as some musicians. It’s about 20 or so minutes all together, and I enjoyed what I saw. If you’re around the parks this week, or in the weekends leading up to the release of the movie (May 20th!) I’d suggest making a detour to check it out! Starts at 7:45-8pm and goes til park closing!

Hope you all have a wonderful week!

Spring is in the air

And ducklings are on the ground. Seriously. For those who have been to Disneyland, you understand the significance of ducks. Well, maybe not so much a significance, but they’re everywhere. And when spring comes around, you’ve got the ducklings.

Adorable, fuzzy little ducklings wandering around the park with their mama duck. Mainly around the castle and frontierland areas.

Today, my shift was working the parade route for the Diamond Dance Classic. After we were heading back towards Toontown to assist getting some of the kids into the park to their parents. But on our way we got distracted. By ducklings. We were pretty much the awesome Duck Squad. Or something.

First off, I need to say that if you’re in the park, NEVER touch any of the ducklings. If you touch them, the mama can’t recognize their scent any more and won’t accept it as her duckling. And little baby duck will end up on his own and most likely won’t make it.

So what we did, the ducks wanted to get across from the Pixie Hollow fountain area to the Castle moat part. So we cleared a path, and allowed them to cross safely without any interference or getting run over. It was all kinds of awesome. And of course, there were people glad we were able to help the ducklings, because they’re adorable. And no one wants ducklings to get hurt.

That was pretty much the highlight of my day. Helping fuzzy adorable ducklings (and their mother) cross the path.

At Disneyland, we also make magic for ducks.

Little kids and bubble guns

Ok. I love bubbles. And I wish to goodness that when I was a kid we had these bubble guns. They’re a fantastic way to entertain kids, especially at Disneyland  waiting for parades, fireworks, or whatever.

Today I was working on Main Street for Fireworks setup and guest control. Until the show starts, there’s not much we do, except guest interact. So I basically walk up and down Main Street with my cool little light wand and answer guest questions. And interact with guests. Little kids are the best to interact with. When they’ve got bubble guns, I’ll go and run up and start playing with the bubbles.

They LOVE that. The cutest thing happened today when I was playing in the bubbles. First it was just the little girl in her princess dress and tutu. I was like “Ahhhh bubble attack!” And then her little brother comes over and starts shooting bubbles at me too. I started spinning and they loved it. socute.

Best part? So I mentioned this girl had on her little princess dress/tutu. She also had her face painted. With a DINOSAUR on it. Best little kid ever. A princess with a dinosaur on her face. That’s like me. I’m a princess with a love for dinosaurs.

Again, little kids are the BEST.

I love and live the magic

I’ve tried blogs. I’ve not done too well with them so far. But let’s see if I can do better with this one.

I work at Disneyland, if you couldn’t tell by the “magical place” and whatnot in my bio. It’s been my dream since I was little. I’ve been here a little over a month now, I think. It’s been amazing so far. I meet awesome people, I make magic, I talk with guests and share memories. And out of this, I thought it would be a fun idea to share magical memories (among other random happenings).

THE cutest thing happened when I was in the park on Saturday. My mom was with me and we were by Snow White’s wishing well. It was us and this little girl and her father. I handed her a penny so she could make a wish, as her father had been looking for coins. She kind of leans on the well, penny in hand, and makes her wish. In the most adorable little girl voice ever.

“I wish… thatIhadaunicorn.” -penny drop-

Her dad hands her a couple more coins “I think that might need more than a penny.”

It was so cute. My mom and I kept quoting her the rest of the day. She said it like I typed it. A break after wish, then “that I had a unicorn” really fast. I mean, who doesn’t wish they had a unicorn?

I encounter adorable little kids on a daily basis in my line of work. Some of them are more cute than I can handle. This is part of the reason I love my job. Now, I don’t want kids of my own for a while. But the ones I see at work? They’re adorable and I love seeing the magic alive in them.  I relate to them so much because my inner child is still so much alive. I’m a little kid when I’m playing in the park, or when I hear the opening to Fantasmic! or the fireworks show, Remember, Dreams Come True. I also love frolicking in the bubbles blown by the bubble gun things. It’s all magic.

So, I’ll bring this first post to an end and will do my best to keep bringing you adorable happenings from inside the Magic Kingdom.  Little happenings, big happenings, and some in between.

Remember to keep in touch with your inner child, it’s also fantastic therapy.