Back “home.”

Today I woke up way before any alarm, because the sun was shining through the blinds and a halfway jarring, halfway reassuring thought wafted through my brain…

I was going “home” today.

No, I wasn’t hopping a jet across the Pacific, or spending the day in comfy PJs around the house, but a different home, the one that I had been making for myself for the past (almost exactly) three  years:

(source)

Ah, yes – Epcot.  A curious, 300-acre playground for the mind, for kids of all ages.  Some might call it the ‘boring/learning’ park, or the place with the Giant Golf Ball, but if you were to ask me to choose just one word to describe it, it would be home.

It all started for me on May 20, 2007.  I had just completed two college program internships at what I think of as the “mothership” of the Walt Disney World Resort – the storied Magic Kingdom.  There, I had wrangled strollers until the wee hours of the night, talked with parrots, patrolled the parade route and even operated Magic Carpets for a good nine months – and I was eager to begin the next leg of my Disney experience.  I waited patiently for my trainer in the unfamiliar break room of the Epcot Cast Services Building, distracted by the overwhelming hum of not one, two or three vending machines, but a total menagerie of more than seven.  But before I knew it, I was shaking hands with Craig Owens, my Soarin’ trainer and hauled off to costuming, where I’d become accustomed to a whole new collection of Polyester, as I had never experienced before – for as everyone knows, EPCOT stands for Excruciating Polyester Costumes of Torture!

Hah!  Of course, that’s just one definition, but it sets the stage for the journey that was to unfold over the next few years, as I ventured from a Soarin’ flight attendant, to a scientist of the Imagination Institute – I even got to facilitate Discovery Days (new hire orientation) and become a trainer along the way!  Time flew quickly, and within that year, I found myself seeking support and advice from my leadership team to embark upon yet another path – one upholstered in Plaid and embellished in shiny gold buttons: Guest Relations.

It was November of 2007 that I first stepped into my plaid vest and navy skirt and blazer – a ‘Temporary Assignment” for the Candlelight Processional was my way in, and I quickly adjusted to the situations and new computer applications…I fell in love with the role, but it was just a taste of what was to come, as my two month stint grinded to a halt in January 2008.

The New Year’s Eve Crew, 1/1/2008.

For the next few months, it was a yo-yo game, as I floated between training shifts, Soarin’ and Imagination! – roles that I definitely learned a lot from and grew in, but just seemed to pale in dynamism and challenge as Guest Relations had.  I knew I had to get back, but realized it would not be an easy road.  On a whim, I applied and was accepted into the 2008 Magic Kingdom Dream Squad – an assignment and experience that words can simply not describe.  I cherished those days back at my old stomping grounds; meeting a host of fabulous new friends, but I knew that fall, when one of my mangers reached out to me for a second chance in Epcot Guest Relations – that was a sign.  I bid my farewells in a bittersweet departure, and haven’t looked back since.

Back at Epcot, I was re-energized; ready for new training – in the window, then in guided tours (Segway, Undiscovered Future World) and I was lucky enough to be accepted for Disney Special Activities VIP Tours.  I took any opportunity I could – working the kiosk for the Food and Wine Festival in the Fall, encoring in Candlelight Info Booth roles, and working Super Greeter positions when the chances presented themselves…and most recently, applying for trainer, and accepting a 6-week Cross-Utilization tour to Disney’s Animal Kingdom in GR.

Which leads us to today…to my homecoming – to the role that I cannot get enough of, though it may try me from day to day, it’s still a work in progress, but it’s something that’s mine…in somewhere I belong.

Thanks, Epcot GR Team, for everything.  And thanks for welcoming me back =)