After finishing our “on the job” training, the room mates
and I decided it was time to go out and celebrate, despite our exhaustion. So
we all went to Magic Kingdom together, for the first time. We missed a couple
of buses and even took the wrong one for a bit, but we were set on seeing the
fireworks show together and finally using our employee passes to walk through
the gates. Nothing could stop us or bring us down. There are some things to remember
when visiting the park as a guest that is also a cast member. First, if you are
not a cast member in that particular park, you are technically not allowed in
the backstage areas. Now everyone gets the privilege of seeing the underground world
or Magic Kingdom because it is the site of your initial training, but once you
have been trained in your other location, you can only enter the park as
regular guests would, you just use your employee ID card to get through the
turn stiles instead of a guest park pass. Getting to Animal Kingdom, Hollywood
Studios, and Epcot is pretty easy by bus. They drop you off by the employee
entrance, but you are outside and can easily walk a few paces to the regular
entrance. However, because Magic Kingdom’s backstage is underground (actually
it is at ground level, the entire park is raised above ground) getting inside
the park is a little trickier. If you take the employee bus you are taken right
up to the underground entrance and there is no way to get the regular entrance
from there because it is roped off for guests.
We found the easiest way was
either to take the bus to the Contemporary Resort and walk over, or the most
popular choice, take the bus to the Ticket and Transportation Center and ride
the monorail over. Personally, I am quite frightened of monorail rides, so I
did a lot of walking from the Contemporary. It’s a fairly short distance. We
arrived in Magic Kingdom ecstatic. We saw multiple groups of College Program
students doing the same thing as we were (CP’s are easy to spot because what
group of college kids can afford to go to Disney alone, and we always have on
lanyards) This trip to Magic Kingdom was especially exciting for my roommate
Marta, because it was her first time inside Disney at all. This was her
childhood dream come true. Marta and I had quickly become best friends and I
knew how special this moment was for her. When we entered the park, tears immediately
sprung to her eyes and I had an idea. “Marta! Cover your eyes.” I said, and I grabbed
her hand. It was nighttime at Magic Kingdom, the prettiest time. I pulled her
to the center of the flag pole garden and positioned her where she could see
all the way up Main Street. I wanted her to be able to see it all at once, Main
Street in lights and the Castle in all it’s perfection waiting to greet her at
the end. “Okay, open them.” I yelled beaming and I watched her face fill with
an utter joy that I remember feeling so many times at this magical place. I was
so happy to be there, and I was so happy it was home.
