Krista

It seemed like we talked about it for a year – but the date of the Disney Dreamer facebook group meetup (2013) finally arrived. It was a HOT September day…I had a crazy morning before I left the house…and some plans with my family that evening. I was very thankful to be able to work it out so that I could still visit with the Disney Dreamers that afternoon as planned!

This video has some crazy music that will begin as soon as you hit play. I am new at the whole video thing so please don’t judge!! 🙂

Lots of ladies and a few gentlemen showed up for the occasion. What a wonderful treat to see some of these girls from the group who I have known since the early days of the blog. Samantha, and Tamara who have even been guest authors, and sweet Krista…my partner on the Princess facebook page! (Sorry I can’t name everyone, but you guys know who you are! ;))

In addition – there were about a couple of dozen new friends there – including Aunesty (of TemporaryTourist fame!), and I always enjoy hanging out with the local Disney Dreamers too!

Kristas

My worst and only “problem” that afternoon was wondering if we would all get soaked riding those new boats that Disney had placed in the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction…(I think the majority of us stayed pretty dry by the way.)

Aren’t Disney meetups just the greatest?! Have you enjoyed some magical gatherings at the parks? What are some of your memories of those times? Please leave them in the comments section below!

You, Me, and the Disney Parks Podcast (disneyways.com)

My Disney Story

I grew up and have never lived any where but in Orlando. Walt Disney World has literally been a part of my life for as far back as I can remember. My parents would take me there as a small child, and I would cry every time we left because I just didn’t know how soon I would be allowed to go back. The parents of my childhood best friend both worked at Disney World, so I can remember going to the cast member parties at a pretty young age. Back in 1993 Disney used to have Grad Nite and I remember that magical evening at the Parks as being one of the highlights of my senior year in high school.

I think it was 2007 when I spent 3 months or so actually working at Disney. I don’t know what came over me. My siblings all worked there when they were young, but I was a very busy adult with a husband and 2 children by this time. Even though I was gainfully employed as a dental assistant in Winter Park Florida 4-5 days a week, apparently I wasn’t busy enough. So, I threw in buying a house for good measure, you know, since we had nothing else to do.

Even though I had 13 years of customer service experience, (5 years of that customer service experience with a little company called AT&T) and absolutely no food service experience…at all…ever…the Disney casting center thought I’d be a good fit as a hostess at the Garden Grill over in Epcot. I really didn’t understand it – but I didn’t care! I just put on my little farmer’s outfit, my Disney required non-skid shoes, and my tiny little fake diamond stud earrings. Then I made my long journey to work at the happiest place on earth. It was a long way from sucking spit at the dental office all week, and I loved it.

Little did I know that just a few short years later I would own my own company – and begin taking calls for Disney dining from home!

“Thank you for calling Disney dining, my name is Krista. How can I help you celebrate today?”

It was something I am pretty sure I said in my sleep. The calls were constant and there was no time to breathe in between. It was all the fun of working with Disney and it’s guests on a global scale – without ever leaving my little home office. Many times I was still wearing my PJ’s! I just did it, and I loved every minute.

In fact, Disney dining was a big part of my life for 3 years, so that little stint at the Garden Grill gave me some invaluable inside knowledge about how Disney dining works. I took a month long class about booking resort stays too. In spite of never working as a travel agent, I am a graduate of the Disney College of Knowledge. These are just some of the skills and experiences that I get to draw from as I spend time with my Disney friends all over the world via social media and my online radio shows. I am on an awesome journey – building a financially sound company and career out my love of the Disney Parks. I feel so very privileged and blessed to be able to share my lifetime of living near the Disney magic with you.

Thanks for reading my blog, facebook posts, and tweets! I hope you have a magical day – and I’ll see YOU in the Parks!