Now appearing at the Magic Kingdom... ME!

Ok.

It's official.

I have the BEST job on the planet.

My opening day on Thursday was AMAZING!!!!!!

I love my cast.
I love my stage.
I love my crew.
I love my costume.
I love my wig... on certain days.
And I LOVE Dreaming Along with Mickey. (Otherwise known as my show.)

Ok, cheesy enough for ya? Well get ready for some more.

We were all really nervous and excited for our first day. Amazingly, I got through the first shows without much incident.

(Different story for the other days though... goodness. We have to learn two tracks in the show that have two sets of different blocking and patterns to follow on stage. It's like a big choreographed train wreck for me sometimes...)

But nothing could stop me that first day. I swear I must have glowed on that stage, I was so happy. So many thoughts ran through my head.

I thought about my sister dancing on the same stage so many years ago. (I'm sure she wouldn't appreciate my disclosure of how many exactly...)

I thought about the big-wig execs and bosses that came to our shows. (and got even more nervous...)

I thought about the cast members throughout the park that would swing by on their breaks to watch us.

And I thought about the guests. A lot.

It's really an amazing feeling to run out on that stage and dance to a sea of smiling faces. It's such an amazing place, Disney. A place where people come to be completely happy and escape all reality. Watching us up there, I swear none of them are thinking about bills or rush hour or anything. There is no way they would be smiling that big if they just thought about how much they just spent on that park hopper ticket or that ice cream in their hand melting on its stick. No way.

And as predicted, I cried the first day. Well, almost.

It really hit me when, during our first day, I was looking down into the audience to ask them what their dreams were, and I saw this little Asian girl standing alone, looking shy.

(Why is the Asian part important? Well, it's not. But Levi and I talked about why the entertainment industry casts the way they do, and how someday, some little girl might look on stage and identify with me, and say "Hey! She looks like me!" and really feel like she could do what I do up there someday.)

At any rate, this cute little girl was a few feet away from her parents and not smiling. Then, I looked down at her and asked if she wanted to be a princess.
Her face lit up like the sun.
I felt like I had never seen such a sweet and genuine smile in the world.

It was so amazing that something so small as that would make me tear up. But it did. I, and our show, affected her in a positive way. Made her believe in something bigger than herself. That she could do anything. Be anything.

Or, BUY anything, for $29.99 and up in our stores....

But seriously, it's so great to see how much people love our show. On Saturday there was the boy who came to every single show. And a couple of shows the day before too. He came so much that by the end of the day, he was doing choreography with us. (And spurring yet another tear in my eye... so cute!)

Hey, the dance world always needs more boys...

~ ~ ~

At any rate, the bottom line is, I love what I do, I love where I do it, and I love who I do it with.

Hmmm... I think that came out wrong....