Our Love Story: Part 22

Preface: If you’ve missed any of the “chapters” of our love story so far, go back & get caught up before continuing below!
Part 1 — Part 2 — Part 3 — Part 4 — Part 5 — Part 6 — Part 7 — Part 8 — Part 9 — Part 10 — Part 11 — Part 12 — Part 13 — Part 14 — Part 15 — Part 16 — Part 17 — Part 18 — Part 19 — Part 20 — Part 21

After Derrick’s visit at the end of March, my family came to visit me in April. They rented a house & planned a full 2-week vacation in Florida. They drove the 12-passenger van down & it was the first time I’d seen them in 5 months.

The day that they arrived, I switched my usual later afternoon/evening shift for a “morning” shift. I put “morning” in quotes because it was a shift that started at 4am. It was a “blues” shift, meaning, no costume was needed – instead, the cast members wore these blue-jumpsuits. Since 80% of the shift took place before Magic Kingdom was open, it was simply a time to stock the shelves, unload new merchandise into the stock rooms in the back, and clean up the store. I had never worked a shift like this before, so this was a whole new experience for me. For several hours, I worked in the room that held all of our snowglobes. I painstakingly opened each box and unwrapped each snowglobe, so that it would be easy to simply grab & put out on the floor during the day.

I was so excited. In fact, I’m not sure if I’ve ever been more excited. I missed my family horribly & knowing that they were on their way & that I would be seeing them in a matter of hours simply made me giddy. My shift was over at 11am & I instantly clocked out & flew out the door, ran thru the tunnels, hopped onto the bus back to the parking lot, (dropping my blue jumpsuit off at costuming on the way) and navigated over to my little red car. By 11:30am, I was pulling into Fudruckers to meet my family for lunch.

Over the course of the next 2 weeks, I still had to work, but I did as much with my family as I possibly could. Instead of going back to my apartment at the end of my nights, I went back to the house they were renting & stayed with them. I got (most of them) into the Disney Parks for free & we went to Universal on my days off. I took them out to eat at my favorite restaurants, introduced them to my favorite newly discovered treats (Dole Whip), showed them where to stand to watch the parades & fireworks, & took them to Cast Connections: the discounted merchandise store only for cast members. It was a delightfully amazing time.

There was just one person missing: Derrick. He had talked about potentially coming back down with my family, but ultimately decided against it.

As spring turned into summer, I fell even further into love with my current life-situation. I loved everything about it: working at Walt Disney World was a dream come true. I had amazing roommates whom I absolutely loved. I worked with an amazing “family” at the Emporium. I was enraptured with the Florida heat. And I loved my independence. I had fallen into a delightful rhythm of work, play, and rest.

And as “graduation” got closer, I suddenly could not imagine everything ending & going home.

I felt like I’d just arrived! As an introverted person, it took me a while to get warmed up to everything & I felt like I’d just suddenly found my groove. I’d just learned where the Super Target was, after all! The thought of my time at Disney coming to an end was suddenly unbearable.

And that’s when I was presented with an amazing opportunity.

I knew going into my Disney College Program experience that my initial 5-month commitment could be extended further. While I worked, I found out that “extending my program” would mean not only staying in Florida & working for the Mouse for a few more weeks, but also opened a handful of more interesting doors. Don’t get me wrong: I loved working at the Emporium. But if I extended my program & committed to staying on for a few more months, I could transfer to another job within the Parks. 

Looking around, I realized that there was really only one position I’d want to transfer into: being a PhotoPass Photographer. There was just one problem: the PhotoPass team did not accept College Program Interns. At least that is, until the summer of 2009.

I was on a break, sitting “backstage”, hanging out with the other managers & cast members who were “on tea time” and somehow in conversation, I mentioned my love for photography. One of the manager’s ears perked up & he asked me about that. I explained that I’d taken some photography classes at college, shadowed a few professional photographers back home, & really loved the art of photography. He nodded his head, asking what kind of camera I had, and what I’d photographed, and when my answers satisfied him that I actually had a little bit of camera knowledge (not just a lofty “love” of photography), he excused himself & said he’d be right back.

Curious, I waited & a few minutes later, he returned. “I know your program is almost up, but if you would be interested in extending, I can get you an interview with the PhotoPass team.”

You can imagine how this statement piqued my interest! Suddenly, my heart started beating just a little bit faster, and as I shifted in my seat, the thought of being a Disney PhotoPass Photographer washed over me. “I’m very interested in that! But I thought PhotoPass wasn’t open to college interns?”

He nodded his head, “It isn’t. Or at least, it wasn’t. There was a season where they accepted interns from the College Program as photographers, but it was not a good experience. Obviously, you know this, but photography isn’t something that’s quite as easy to teach as running a cash register or stocking shelves – it takes heart & talent. So, PhotoPass closed it’s doors to interns from the College Program.”

I nodded along, I had heard this story before – it was a sad one.

“But, PhotoPass is considering opening the doors to College Program kids again – but this time being very specific to only take interns with photography majors. And they are looking for a handful of interns to take on this summer to try it out. Like I said, if you’re interested, I think you’d be a fantastic candidate, and I can get you an interview.”

I immediately said yes. I already wanted to stay for a few more months anyway & if I could stay as a PhotoPass photographer? Talk about a dream come true!!

I only had a few minutes left to my break, but I needed to tell my parents – this was an incredible opportunity & I wanted them to know about it! I called my Dad & very quickly gave him the brief details I knew, promising to call later & explain more – once I knew more.

Then I had to call Derrick: “I only have a minute left to my break, but you’ll never believe this!”

He agreed that this was an incredible opportunity & I should absolutely pursue it to see where it led. 

“I know, but there’s just one problem: it means another 3 months here in Florida & I miss you so much!”

Derrick was still living in Philly at the time, trying desperately to make “life after college” work. His Aflac job with his best friend wasn’t going anywhere (despite the hours and hours they poured into it). After getting home from visiting me in Florida, he had gotten a job at Sears in the appliance department. At least he now had a paycheck coming in, but Derrick’s future over the next few months was quite hazy. Would he stay in Philadelphia? Would he move somewhere else?

So much was uncertain with Derrick that he encouraged me to stay in Florida. I was already leaning that direction anyway, but with his & my parent’s approval, I instantly went down to the computers in the tunnels below Magic Kingdom & applied to extend my program (which was a bit tricky, because there was no option to extend & switch roles to PhotoPass. I had to write a separate letter stating that I wanted to switch to PhotoPass & my managers had to recommend me for the position.)

A few days passed & I waited on pins & needles. Then, I got the news: my extension was approved & I was granted an interview with PhotoPass.

I was so excited! A day or two later, I was chatting with my best friend, Naomi, on Facebook messenger. I explained the opportunity & told her about staying in Florida for a few more months.

“Oh, you aren’t coming home next month?”

“Nope! As long as all goes well, I’ll be here until August!”

There was a long pause, then her message appeared on my screen, “I have something to tell you.”

Floating on Cloud 9, I had no idea if I should be worried, excited, concerned, I didn’t know what to think, so I simply asked, “What?”

Another long pause, and then her message: “I’m pregnant.”

I lost my mind. I was sitting on my bed in my room, with my laptop on my lap & I literally screamed. Only 2 of my roommates were home at the time, and they instantly popped their heads into my room, “What’s going on? Are you okay?”

I was bursting: “My best friend is pregnant!! She’s having a baby!!”

They laughed & went back to whatever they were doing, as I wrote back in all caps: “WHAT?! OMIGOSH WHAT?!”

My eyes teared up & I couldn’t believe it – my best friend was having a baby. A few minutes later, I picked up the phone & called her: “You had to tell me over Facebook messenger, didn’t you? You couldn’t have called me with this news?!” I was teasing her & she knew it. We laughed & celebrated & I asked for all the details: she was due in October.

“That’s fantastic! I’ll be home in August!!”

Life was so so good.

A few days later, I was sitting in a sunshiney lobby of one of the Disney business office buildings, waiting for my PhotoPass interview. Sitting next to me, there were a handful of other interns waiting to interview at the same time. It was nerve-wracking.

It turns out, I had no reason to be nervous. The team loved me & quickly offered me one of the few positions they had available. At orientation, it was explained to us that our new titles as “PhotoPass interns” was a delicate one. We were literally part of a “beta” test. We would be going thru new training, with new titles, testing the water on completely new positions. If the summer went well & the PhotoPass team felt like we succeeded, they would open up PhotoPass to the Disney College Program. It was an honor & a weighty place to be in.

On May 6th, I attended graduation with my roommates & most of my friends from the Emporium. It was a bittersweet day – I wasn’t really graduating. I had completed the first part of my program, so I got to attend spring graduation with my friends. No one else that I knew was extending their programs – they were all going home. This meant that not only was I starting a new position as “PhotoPass Photographer”, I was also moving out of my apartment & in with a whole new set of roommates. It was like starting all over again – so attending graduation felt like a solid “end”.

Two days later, I got on a plane (for the very first time all by myself) & flew to Philadelphia. Derrick was also celebrating graduation! Even though he had technically graduated in December of the previous year, spring brought his “formal” college graduation & I wouldn’t miss it for the world.

..Part 23 coming soon!