The Sweetest 48 Hours

I will never be able to describe every thought and emotion that came with being in the parks the last day and a half before the Coronavirus shut down. They were some of the most magical days but there was no happiness in my heart. Every interaction I had with guests, other cast members, and other CPs were so special. Having part time and full time cast members go out of their way to make those days a little more magical did not go unnoticed. I will forever cherish the last 48 hours being considered a CP before packing up and leaving Florida. Here is my best shot at describing those emotional, horrible, magical, fun, and draining last couple days. 

Saturday March 14- I got up and got ready for work Saturday morning just like any other work day. I got to work at Cooling Hut that morning for the first time and got to work with one of my sweetest coworkers. Around noon one of my trainers came over and told me there was a CP meeting in the leaders office at 12:45. My stomach started turning because unfortunately, I knew what the meeting was going to be about. We went into the leaders office and they read an official statement from Disney Programs about our program being suspended. We were all so numb. A few of us were crying so they handed us Kleenexes and told us to call who we needed to before going back on stage. I called Audrey because I knew she was going to be going into work and was probably going to be told once she got there. I then called my dad to tell him and arrange plans for getting me home. I was still very upset at everything so I went back into my leaders office and requested an ER. They gladly granted me my early release, gave me a huge, and told me how much they appreciated me and all the magic I made. I had a shift the next day so they told me how to go about getting the day off and wished me safe travels home. To get to the leaders office I have to walk through the Kitchen of the lodge and the breakroom for all of Blizzard Beach. The sweet coworker I worked with prior to the meeting was on break and could tell I was upset. Her and the other CM on break were so kind and gave me lots of hugs. Nica took me over to the computer to clock out and made me stop to look at Mickey thanking me for making the magic. I will forever be so thankful for that extra feeling of love leaving a place I only worked at for six shifts.  

I headed back to the apartment and my roommate Ellie was home but was getting ready for work. I started making lunch and changed out of my costume before telling her the news. She had to head to work so after she left I finished eating lunch, talked with my roommate Bri for a while before we headed to Magic Kingdom. We met Audrey, Courtney, and Emily in Magic Kingdom where we watched Mickey's Royal Friendship Faire. It was so weird being in "the happiest place" but seeing cast members crying and seeing guests make magic for CMs. During the Friendship Faire we stood next to a sweet CP, Hailey and Prince Naveen made some magic up on the castle stage. Right after MRFF, Move It Shake It was starting so we went over to the hub to watch. A parade director made magic for us by sitting in front of us so we got super fun character interactions. Audrey and I went up to the castle to dance with Mickey and Minnie before the parade left. One of the dancers came over to us, hugged us, and thanked us for the magic we made. It was pretty obvious who the CPs were in the park because we were crying everywhere, but the small acts of extra magic those cast members made reminded me why I love the Disney Company so much. I know there were CPs performing in the castle show and the parade but they kept up the show and continued to spread that Disney magic to us.

After the parade, we went to Sir Mickey's to be Pixie Dusted. Emily worked in Magic Kingdom and one of her leaders made some magic for us by giving us princess stickers after we were dusted. We went out around Fantasyland to soak in some magic and then went to see our roommate, Ellie at work. 

After seeing Ellie we went to Pecos Bill's for dinner. Rebecca met us over there and we all ate while Audrey got to see some of her coworkers. During dinner I made my post to update people. Our suspension was out to the public so I figured I should tell everyone that yes it was true. After dinner we met up with Courtney's friend, Erin then went to see our boss. The cast members at Town Square Theater were incredible. They allowed us all the time we wanted to talk to Mickey and the photopass photographer made so much magic taking lots of pictures. It was to say the least very emotional. We waved bye to Mickey then headed up to the castle to catch our spot for Happily Ever After.

Me crying during Happily Ever After isn't anything out of the normal, but this show was so much different than any. Being there with my best friends on the program knowing it was one of our last times seeing it as a CP was hard. After HEA, we all sat around the castle for a bit before we went over to Splash Mountain. One of Rebecca's friends rode with us and it was so bittersweet knowing it was probably going to be my last time on my favorite attraction for a while. 

We watched "A Kiss Goodnight" before going over to see our friend, Myah at the dessert party. We then left Magic Kingdom for the night and went home knowing we only had one more day of magic. 

 

Sunday March 15- I got up around 9 on Sunday and turned in a leader call back so I could get the day off. My leaders approved my ADO right away so I started getting ready for my last park day. I got to Magic Kingdom around 10:30 am. The magic I felt overwhelming started at the TTC. I sat in the back of the tram and the parking cast member talked to me all the way to the TTC and gave me a Mickey sticker. Then at bag check the security guard noticed my name tag in my bag with my college on there and asked if I was a CP. I said yes and he started thanking me for all the magic and telling me how I could come back to make more magic. I chose to take the monorail to MK and as soon as I got on and realized it was my last monorail ride I lost it. Those poor families I was next to had to think I was crazy because we hadn't even left the TTC yet and I was crying. When I got to the touch points there was a CP working them who gave me a hug and told me about some extra magic happening in the park that day for CPs. One of those was that Mickey was having a special meet and greet for just CPs. I decided to go over there since the line didn't look that long. CPs were allowed as much time as they wanted with Mickey which was so special, but made the line super long. After waiting about 45 minutes and only moving up 7 people in line I decided to try and come back later. I took my Traditions ears to the Christmas Shoppe to be painted and then went over to Frontierland to meet Audrey. It was so nice just sitting in not a very busy Magic Kingdom watching guests.

 Audrey and I decided to go over to Hollywood Studios for a little while so we took a bus to go do a few of our favorites. Thanks to a super friendly cast member at the Guest Experience Team she was able to add Audrey to my Mickey and Minnie's Fastpass so we could go on it together. After Mickey and Minnie's we were able to pick up a Toy Story Mania fastpass but wanted to get a snack first. I was given a magical moment when I ordered my slushie and the cast member also gave me a Mickey pretzel which was so kind of him! We then went and played Mania (where I got my highest score yet!) and picked up a Tower of Terror fastpass! I got a Mickey Ice Cream Sandwich and did Tower then decided to head back to Magic Kingdom. It was so sad to leave Studios because it is one of my favorite parks! I was so glad I got to do my three favorite Studios attractions before leaving though! 

After buying my Mickey balloon we were told there was some extra magic backstage of Be Our Guest for CPs. They had some yummy food for us then we went to pick up our painted ears. They turned out so pretty so of course we had to take some pictures in front of the castle. There was a sweet guest whose son was a dancer in the Friendship Faire who gave us hugs and told us she knows how hard this must be because her son did a CP. She was so nice and wished us safe travels home. 

After watching a few minutes of MRFF, we met Myah over by the Casting Door. She had on the sweetest button saying "My friends leaving :(" so we took some pictures then got to celebrate her one year with Disney!! She got her new addition to her name tag which is so exciting!! We got to watch a little bit of Move It Shake It then we went to meet Mickey for the last time. 

When I went up to Mickey he acted like he was crying and all I could say was "I'm really sad, Mickey." He gave the best hugs and the Character Attendant and Photopass photographer made it so special. I just stood next to Mickey crying and the other guests in line were so sweet and understanding! I gave the boss man one last hug and said "See you real soon!" 

We went to Sir Mickey's again to get Pixie Dusted and I got to see my friend, Madison who I worked with in Asia. I was so glad to see her and get to tell her bye before going to dinner. 

Audrey and I then started over to the castle for our Cinderella's Royal Table Reservation. CRT is one of the hardest reservations to get so after we knew the parks were closing we got on MDE and scored a reservation! I can't think of a better last meal to have then to eat inside the castle with the Princesses. It was such a tasty meal and it was so fun to meet Cinderella at the beginning who told us that when she left the ball she didn't know if she would ever see Prince Charming but she kept wishing and her dreams continued to come true. Snow White, Aurora, Ariel, and Jasmine were so sweet inside during dinner and they all wished us the best and thanked us for our magic. 

After CRT we got to take some pictures at the back of the castle since it had been cleared for the fireworks. We then met back up with Myah and got some more magic made for us where they had cleared the hub grass for CPs to watch Happily Ever After together. The hub grass is one of the best spot and is normally reserved so it was so fun getting to watch HEA there with hundreds of other CPs. When the music started and the voice over came on and all I could hear were the CPs narrating the entire show, it was pure magic. One of my favorite parts of the show is when the music is playing Go The Distance and it says "and a voice keeps saying this is where I'm meant to be." Hearing hundreds of previous Disney Cast Members sing that line will be a magical moment I will never forget. There wasn't a dry eye in the hub area and after we watched Tink make her final flight and the finale, the hugs and encouragement from everyone was indescribable. There was just SO MUCH MAGIC. 

Disneyland had closed a few days prior to Disney World so we had an idea that they may be doing something special to tell the guests "see you real soon." We started watching "Once Upon A Time" when we wanted to head back to the train station to see if Josh D'Amaro (WDW's President) was over there. We were about half way down Main Street when we saw Mickey, Minnie, and Josh waving to guests as they left. Meeting Josh was pretty high up my "DCP Bucket List" so I was so excited to see he was in the park! Guests and the other cast members were making so much magic by starting chants saying "DCP" and giving lots of hugs and waves. After the characters left the train station we decided to hang out and see if Josh was going to come down. We saw him head towards the stairs so we headed that way. I've always assumed that he was a pretty great guy but I had no idea the magic he was going to make. When he came down he asked if we were CPs. When we said yes, he thanked us for all the magic, told us we were all amazing, and told us all "we will be back." We got a group picture with him then asked if we could get some individuals. Our president stood there and acknowledged every CP, took pictures, and talked to everyone that was up there. My respect for him skyrocketed and I will always remember his kindness and the magic he made that night.

 

I then went up to meet with Rebecca and some of her friends in front of the castle. "A Kiss Goodnight" had already played and sitting in front of the castle was so pure. We definitely did not want to leave. Unfortunately there was a cheerleading event that night so we had to leave before their event really got started. Leaving Magic Kingdom for the last time was very emotional. We took the Ferryboat back to the TTC and then I took Audrey back to Westclock to get her car and came back to Chatham. 

The love I felt those last few days was so special. It reminded me that I work for the very best company. Disney magic is real and I will always remember every magical moment made for me those last couple days. It is so sad to see pictures of the parks closed but I know keeping everyone safe is way more important then keeping them open. As much as it stinks  having my program cut short, Disney Programs has told us there is a possibility of coming back someday to make more magic. I left the parks feeling full of magic and I'm so thankful for that last day. 

My next blog will be on packing up the apartment and my last couple days in Florida. Thanks for reading!! 

Have a Magical Day! 

Hannah