The Bare Necessities....

A few weeks ago I found myself wandering down Main Street in Magic Kingdom, eating an ice cream and deciding whether or not to stay for the evening's fireworks. Having more or less decided to leave so that I would be home on time for a night out, I caught eyes with a lad around my age standing with his family. 

I did what any British person would do and immediately averted my eyes and continued down the street. 

Until I caught eyes with him again. 

And again. 

The third time he stopped me. 

'You can't catch eyes with me three times and keep walking. We have to talk now.' 

So we did. We introduced ourselves and chatted easily for a while before he introduced me to his entire family and invited me to watch the fireworks with them. I spent the rest of my evening with these people- hearing about their holiday and telling them about my adventures here. I had a brilliant time and will remember it as one of my favourite evenings in Magic Kingdom long after I leave. 

On relaying this story to my friends later (in the taxi for the night out that I still managed to make- it was clearly meant to be), I was greeted with exasperation. 

'How do you always end up in these situations?' 

People say that to me a lot. 

In fact, in the last couple of weeks I seem to have got myself into 'these situations' more than ever....

1. Last Friday I wandered into Guess (the clothes store. My mum was most confused when I told her this story without explaining that fact), and in the ten minutes that I was in there, four members of staff introduced themselves to me and told me they would be around if I needed anything. At the time I was most flattered, but I returned this week with male company and got even more attention from the male staff so I think I can confirm that they really are just very efficient. 

Before I left, however, the first staff member came over and gave me a brief summary of his life before adding me on Facebook and inviting me to the cinema. I went back this Friday and saw him again. I think we might actually be real life friends. 

2. I spent yesterday morning running around the Premium Outlets looking for a bright red beanie to complete my Where's Wally? costume for Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. How else would I want to spend my Friday morning? 

Now the very helpful lady in Icing sent me to Dress Barn, where an equally helpful lady sent me to Guess Accessories, where a very glamorous lady sent me to American Eagle, where a lad far too cool for his own good sent me to Oakley, where a very good looking man sent me to Hurley. 

Which is how I ended up walking into Hurley trying desperately not to look in any way intimidated by the five bored-looking Backstreet-Boy-Clones standing at the entrance ready to greet anyone that was willing to step into their empty store. The second the 'hello' was out of my mouth all five of them wanted to hear my life story. Where was I from? Why was I in Orlando? Did I like it? How long would I stay? What did I miss about London? Did I go the the Royal Wedding? Could I say Harry Potter for them? The usual excited questions. 

Having answered all of these I continued my search for a red hat before making my peace with the fact that I had reached yet another dead end. As I was walking toward the exit Backstreet-Boy-Clone-Number-One approached me. 

'Can I ask you an awkward question?' 

I'm not a particularly awkward person. And as an English girl living in Orlando I'm used to weird questions. 

He asked me to record his voice mail message so that any callers would be greeted with my beautiful dulcet tones. (He didn't use those words. I did. Is that weird?) 

After a couple of practices I happily obliged and by the time I had spent far too long speaking to him (I was, after all, on a very important mission), we had planned our beach wedding and Bahamas honeymoon so that I could get a green card and work in entertainment for Disney for the rest of my life. Wonderful. 

He wants me to go back again this Friday. 

3. A few months ago Aladdin came bouncing in explaining that he had met a beautiful family at work that day who he had talked to for so long that they had ended up swapping contact details. They had then visited him at work a few more times on their trip and had been sad to leave him at the end of the week. 

They kept the communication between them going for quite a few weeks before he had an email to say that the parents were returning for their anniversary and they would love to see him and meet me while they were here. 

Which is how, on Saturday 27th July, Aladdin and I ended up playing grown ups for a night and going on a double date to one of the best (in my opinion) restaurants in the whole of Walt Disney World. We spent the whole evening chatting and laughing, and went from the restaurant to their hotel where we were treated to a breathtaking view of the Magic Kingdom fireworks. The whole evening was magical and memorable and one that I will treasure when I leave America next year. 

I then met again with one half of the couple for a quick catch up and a photo at Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween party yesterday, and plan to let them know when I am visiting New York. 

4. This is the last time I mention Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. Promise. Somehow last night I ended up watching the parade on my own (which didn't make it any less magical I can assure you- who knew Halloween could be the most magical time of year?!), and as I was leaving was kicked by the man behind me. He apologised immediately and explained that he had been pretending he was in the parade. Cue a ten minute conversation comparing Parades-Over-The-Years and Halloween-vs-Christmas. 

5. Tonight I was waiting for the bus home from Downtown Disney for approximately a year and a half when I decided to give in and ask the girl next to me whether she knew what time it was due. She didn't. But she did go on to tell me her life story and ask me about mine. We covered all the important topics and more and when the bus finally decided to reveal itself we had both forgotten how long we had been waiting. 

6. As I stepped onto the bus the boy behind me asked whether I had been to the cinema tonight. As soon as I told him that yes, I had, he- naturally- caught onto the accent and began to ask me all the usual questions about my life here. He then told me about himself as I positioned myself across from both the girl and the boy that I had been talking to, in an attempt to make it clear that I am not The Bus Weirdo Who Talks To Everyone. Neither, I would like to point out, were either of them. 

6. Having sat in a reasonable position- close enough to both that I could talk to them and far away enough that I could save my reputation, the lad next to me- the only other person on the bus- also commented on my accent and proceeded to ask me about an embarrassing number of London-based places/events/groups that I had never heard of. 

It probably doesn't sound like a huge deal when I write it like this but actually, for four complete strangers to be sat on a bus together and all speak as though we had known each other for years was nothing short of a miracle. It was wonderful- we've all been on the bus with the weird boy with bad breath and a mole that we can't stop staring at, who wants to be best buddies and meet up again tomorrow- but none of us were that person today. (Unless it was me? It definitely wasn't. I am doubting myself now though.) 

When the first two left the bus at their stop another girl got on and immediately began chatting to me. Again, not in a weird way but just a friendly, let's-make-this-dreaded-bus-journey-go-quicker way. 

It was at this point that I realised. Usually when I'm asked the 'But how did you get into that situation?' question, I shrug and mutter something about having no idea at all while I secretly think that it happens to everyone really, it could be anyone telling that story and the reaction would be the same. 

But today I'm fairly sure I realised exactly what it is that gets me into these situations, and why they have been more frequent than usual lately. 

As anyone that knows me will tell you (except my grandparents because they are duty-bound to believe that I am an undiscovered genius), I am terrible with technology. I can't use my laptop the way I should probably be able to, I fight with our techno-crazy payment systems at work every single day, and I absolutely do not know how to use my phone. 

Until around a month ago when I was forced into joining the 21st century by an exasperated friend, I had always used the equivalent of a Nokia 3210. Apart from the one month before I came to America in which my mum attempted to get me to use a touch-screen phone which ended in everyone I know receiving ridiculously long voice mails from me saying 'Hey it's Rebecca, I have a new phone and I don't know how to hang up so I'm just going to be on here until it cuts out. Sorry about that.' 

So far, this attempt is far more successful than my previous attempts, and, as much as I swear about it, I think this phone was a good stepping stone for me because it is fairly straightforward to use. 

Don't tell anyone I said that though. 

Now the main reason that I'm not very good with phones is that I have never had a chance to have a posh phone before. I couldn't justify spending money on a fancy phone when I was at university, and ever since then I've lived abroad on a foreign pay-as-you-go plan using the most basic phone that will accept the sim card. (Because- and this is another argument for you- old-style phones tend to accept any sim card, whereas these posh ones seem to want posh plans to go with them.) 

But I do have a second, secret reason, which my hero Miranda recently used as a reason to put technology into Room 101. 

I don't want to become one of those people. No offence. 

You probably are one of those people. Most people are. 

You know the people who have to take photos of everything? The people who go to a concert/parade/fireworks show and watch it through the camera on their phone? The people who post pictures of their dinner on Facebook. The people who spend £60.00 on a concert ticket then the entire time tweeting about how amazing it is. The people who text, whatsapp, tweet, post and snapchat when you're apart then spend the time that they're actually in your presence texting, whatsapping, tweeting, posting and snapchatting other people? 

It drives me crazy. I have to watch concerts/parades/fireworks shows through other peoples' phones because they're all I can see when I look toward the stage. I have to have half conversations with people while they're speaking to everyone else they know on their phone. 

But not only does it annoy me for me, but it annoys me for them. 

They're missing out. 

Did you know that J.K. Rowling came up with the idea for Harry Potter when she was on a train? Her mind began to wander and she started to imagine a magical place that her train could be going...

I wonder would her mind have wandered there had she been busy taking pictures of the innocent sleeping person opposite her and posting them online? 

I wonder would I ever have caught the eye of the lad in Magic Kingdom if my eyes had been fixed to my phone? Would the staff in Guess and Hurley have even bothered trying to talk to me if I had my ipod blaring and my phone in my face? Would Aladdin have made such a fuss of the wonderful family he met if the children had been glued to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on their ipad instead of being interested in the animals that he works with? Would any of the people on my bus tonight have made any effort to speak to me if I had my eyes down and music on? 

Probably not. 

I assure you I am not preaching in any way here- the only reason I didn't have my ipod on was because I lent my headphones to Merida last week and haven't had them back yet (not that I'm hinting or anything Merida), and one of the reasons I've been particularly separated from my phone recently is that I don't know quite how to use it properly (and also it runs out of battery so quickly- another point for Nokias), which is perhaps why I have found 'these situations' occurring so much more recently. 

Having said that, I have found that since I got my posh phone I have already got worse. I am determined not to turn into one of Those People but I have found myself checking Facebook when I really don't need to. And so much concentration is needed to text that when my phone does have battery I definitely do not offer eye contact to anyone. In fact I have walked right into a few unimpressed people...

The ultimate wake-up-call for me came when I found myself taking a picture of my Starbucks cup. Starbucks looks the same everywhere- why would anyone ever want to see a picture of my cup? 

Now I do understand that they are amazing for a lot of reasons too. I can take pictures of useful things now- like...well I'm not sure whether a picture of me meeting Mary Poppins is actually useful but at least it's a photo worth taking. One that I wouldn't have had before my posh phone. (Because I also don't have a camera.) It is useful to be able to get on Facebook when I'm out of the house sometimes so that I can be in contact with home or people who don't have any kind of phone at all here (ahem, you again Merida). 

But I feel like I need to strike a happy medium. 

As I mentioned earlier, my hero Miranda put technology into Room 101 for this exact reason, and she also started a campaign in her autobiography to get people communicating in and enjoying the real world again. 

So this is it. I am carrying out an intervention for myself before I become one of those people. I will enjoy technology and all its wonders- but I will also continue to enjoy the bare necessities- to look out of the window when I'm on public transport, to look at my surroundings when I'm walking (for safety apart from anything else), to make eye contact, speak to real people and make random friends in random places....and if I stick to all of those things, continue to find myself in 'these situations' and allow my imagination to run riot, maybe I'll be the new J.K......

Here's hoping :) 

So This Is Love...

For those of you who don't know and haven't guessed; when I grow up I want to be a writer and a princess. Not one or the other- both.

Thanks to my current job I actually spend a lot of time feeling like the latter- sometimes like Cinderella at the end of the film, you know when everyone calls her a Princess and people want her photograph and make her feel special- and then sometimes like the beginning of the film where she can't get anything right and can't fulfill everyone's needs quickly enough.

Using every spare minute I get to write my blog, note down novel ideas and come up with rhymes for children's stories makes me feel like I'm a writer too. Not a very successful one just yet, but a writer nonetheless.

So really, if we don't get too technical about it, I am a writer and a princess right now.

And what I have discovered in being an apprentice princess-slash-writer, is that one of the key features of both jobs is total and utter faith in love. Not just any love- not love for peanut butter cups or dogs or the way that Scottish people say 'soup'- but a certain type of romantic, unconditional fairytale love.

Now I'm warning you that this next part is slightly controversial. I apologise in advance.

A few days ago I horrified a friend by telling her that I don't believe that love conquers all.

As the words came out of my mouth her head shot up and she stammered, with a pained look on her face 'but you're a princess.'

She is, of course, right. I am a princess. So I should believe that love conquers all, shouldn't I?

Except that sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes the circumstances are just wrong. Sometimes humans do things that cannot be forgiven. Sometimes, and I hate to say it, there are more important things than just raw love.

In my world, there are generally two theories on love...

1. Love Conquers All.

So this is the one that society would have us believe you need to subscribe to if you want to be a writer and a princess. The rules are as follows:

• There is one person and only one person out there for everybody. 
• No matter what happens between you, you will end up together. 
• No matter what problems you face, you will end up together. 
• No matter what unexpected barriers pop up, you will end up together. 
• You will end up with the one for you.
• The three key words in life are 'meant', 'to' and 'be'. 
• You will live happily ever after. 

2. Love Is A Battlefield.

This one takes a slightly different, maybe more realistic stance (depending on your point of view I guess).

• It will only work out if the circumstances are right. 
• Both parties must be willing to make an effort. 
• Circumstances have to make that effort as minimal as possible. 
• Any two people can make it work-as long as steps one, two and three are all completed. 

Now as a budding writer and princess I am absolutely expected to believe in the first one- I am meant to be looking for my Prince, to believe that The One is out there and that against all odds we will end up together- otherwise how am I supposed to write happy endings?

There is actually a little part of me that does.

She sits in a little corner of my imagination, picturing the scene when I will lock eyes across a room with a man who looks vaguely like Bradley Cooper and realise I've found Him. She's the same one who imagines that the gorgeous lad that I sometimes bump into in Epcot is one day going to reveal his love for me via a flashmob, and that Pete Waterman's going to wander into The Rose and Crown any minute now and whisk me away to be a member of the new Steps. 

But as much fun as she is, I don't normally listen to her for very long.

In my experience (I know I'm only 24 but experience is the only thing I can base my opinions on), real love takes a lot of work, sacrifice, patience and luck.

Any kind of love does.

Look at the love between families. I have a lot of faith in my family's love for me. I know that I could do almost anything and still rely on my parents and brothers to love me unconditionally. But imagine if there was a theory that said you shouldn't have to work that hard at being a family? You shouldn't need work, sacrifice, patience and luck when it comes to your family because everything should just work out?

I'm not sure that my family would have stuck around.

There was the time that me and my brothers smashed a hole in the door and the glass from a picture while my parents were away, the time that my brother read the most mortifying text from my phone to my mum (it was ten years ago and I still die a little inside when I think about it), the time that I revealed to the girl that he had a huge crush on that my brother still sucked his thumb.

The time that I revealed again that he sucked his thumb at an unreasonable age in my blog. (That's this time right here, sorry Mowgli.)

I know that I have driven (and will continue to drive) my brothers and my parents crazy, and they will continue to do the same to me, but between us we'll work those things out and continue to love one another forever.

Friendship is exactly the same.

I have three best friends: Puumba, Jessie and Minnie Mouse.

I'm fairly sure they could each write a book on the times that we've driven each other insane. Imagine if we'd stopped being friends the first time we argued because there were films and books that told us that friends should never upset each other?

I can't imagine it. The past eight years would have been pointless without them.

Now I'm writing about this today because my whole month seems to have been ruled by love. Love between my family, between my friends, love surrounding me...

Everyone that I live, speak and work with at the moment seems to be having some kind of love-related drama, so I've discussed this with a lot of people and come to the conclusion that the fairytale view of love actually puts a lot of pressure on everyone. It sets expectations far too high, it makes people continue to look for love outside of their own relationship (just in case the one making you happy right now isn't The One), it makes people think about Forever instead of Right Now, and it makes people unwilling to make the effort for something that actually could work.

Don't get me wrong- I totally believe in love. I love my family and my friends, I love Disney, I love anything with peanut butter and chocolate, I love my dog, my rabbit, the Irish accent, Friends, boybands, the name Josh, anything with Jennifer Aniston in it, the Abercrombie and Fitch scent, working with children, country music, everything Italian, and anything green.

But I'm starting to think that there might be room for a princess-slash-writer who's a little bit more realistic about love. Maybe I will find The One. Maybe I'll fly home from America to find my first ever boyfriend- the one that I broke up with when I was nineteen- waiting for me at the airport, holding Love-Actually-style pieces of card revealing that he still loves me and wants to marry me, at which point I'll look into his eyes and realise that I want to marry him too- that The One for me has been there waiting the whole time!

Or maybe I won't.

Maybe I'll travel for a few more years, fall in love with more foreign food, exotic accents and eccentric music, then return home and marry someone that I have to make an effort with but who makes that effort totally worthwhile. Someone who drives me crazy but who life would be pointless without- someone who brings out in me the same love as my family and my best friends do.

So this is me introducing a new kind of princess....

...who lives happily ever after as a writer.

Despite the lack of fairytale imagination :)

If I Never Knew You....

I once worked in a building that had inspirational quotes written all over the walls. I couldn't tell you what most of them said, but there was one in particular that struck a chord and has stayed with me ever since.

I can never remember exactly how it was worded, but the basic message was that you should appreciate every single person you meet- because no matter who or where they are, you could learn something from them.

At the time that I read it I was working for a man who hugely inspired me, and the idea that he might have learnt something from me blew my mind. I loved the idea. I loved the thought that at any given moment somebody could walk into my life and change me forever. Maybe not in a huge, film-ending obvious way: not the man that I'm going to marry or the woman that's going to sweep into my life and turn me into a pop star,  but a change nonetheless.

I had a boyfriend once who told me that even if we argued, broke up and never spoke again, a little piece of each of us would have been created by the other. That thought, like the quote, has stayed in my head ever since- what a lovely idea, that every person we meet leaves a little piece of themselves behind with us.

So this quote got me thinking- about a lot of things actually- but firstly about the many, many people who have had a huge effect on me, probably without realising at all....

1. Eudora.

Eudora is one of the kindest, most beautiful women I have ever been lucky enough to meet. When I was of a young and particularly impressionable age, her daughter- the same age as me- was discussing a school friend who was working as a model. Eudora responded by saying 'well it's quite easy for most of us to make ourselves up to look decent on a Saturday night but modelling's a whole other thing. No thank you very much.'

To hear such a beautiful woman say that to her equally beautiful daughter inspired me so much that eleven years later those words still echo around my head every time I even attempt to berate myself for not looking like Cheryl Cole.

A few years later I heard another gorgeous lady refuse dessert, explaining that she was thinking about her bikini, to which Eudora laughed, took a bite of delicious looking chocolate cake and said 'mm I'll just think about your bikini too'.

I'm sure she has no idea that I was even listening, let alone taking it on as my own attitude towards eating. Funny, isn't it?

2. My Fairy Godmother.

My Fairy Godmother inspired me in so many ways that I could not possibly list them all here, but the main thing for me was how caring she was. All the time. I was working for her, she didn't have to spend all day in an office then her evenings listening to her children's nanny's personal problems. She didn't have to invite the nanny's boyfriend over for dinner and drinks, and let him stay the night. She didn't have to buy the English nanny a whole keep-warm kit when she couldn't adjust to the weather. But she did. Whilst looking after her husband and her children and her mum and her brothers, and dealing with her own problems, she looked after the nanny as though she were one of her own.

Working for Disney I see a lot of exhausted mothers who have lost their spark by the time their children are past the age of eighteen months. I hope I'm like my Fairy Godmother- and, in fact, my own wonderful mother-when I have children, and just keep getting more sparkly with age :)

3. Mrs Potts.

It was one of our first days at university that Mrs Potts first inspired me. I had just come from college- a world where enthusiasm for anything was hugely discouraged by my peers, and therefore a world in which I spent two years attempting to keep my enthusiasm under wraps. In our first meeting, on our first day, my cynical lecturer, tired from years of trying to pull students out of their habits of feigning disinterest, asked us to think about whether we might like to be on the course council.

I, like everybody else (I imagine, anyway), kept my eyes firmly on the table in front of me and attempted to look disinterested while I secretly wondered what it would involve. Mrs Potts, on the other hand, didn't attempt to hide her face, nor did she throw her hand in the air and shout that she would love to do it, like I imagine the real teachers pets do (you know like Patty Simcox in Grease?). Instead she clearly and confidently stated 'I'd definitely be interested in that.'

I watched the lecturer smile in surprise and relief at the same time as I felt a tiny bud of regret at not having reacted in that way, and a small burst of determination that from now on, I would be myself and do it with such confidence that nobody could dare argue- a trait that I have now been complimented on myself many times.

Thanks Mrs Potts :)

4. Wise Old Owl.

Just over a year ago I met Pooh's wise old friend Owl, who wandered in and out of my life in under thirty minutes and so totally changed my view of Britain and the people in it that I spent a whole summer (and now in fact a whole year) celebrating my culture. Living in America has taught me that she was in fact right in more ways than I had realised, and I think about what she said almost every day.

5. Buzz Lightyear.

Buzz is one of the funniest people I have ever met. Only today, in fact, I found myself using one of her favourite one-liners in an attempt to make friends at work laugh. It's almost two years since I last saw Buzz, and her jokes are still in my head, and still being used.

6. Guest.

This lady played such a small character in my life that I cannot pinpoint exactly who she was and therefore could not possibly give her an alias. What I do know is that she was a guest in a resort that I was working in and that she actually changed the course of my life.

She asked me what I would be doing when I returned to the UK after the summer and I explained that I had no idea. I did not plan on staying in the UK very long but I had no idea what to turn to next.

She suggested that I try working as a nanny. She told me that my experience would make up for my lack of official nanny qualifications and that she didn't think I would find it too difficult.

At the time I thought it was a nice idea but did not particularly plan on doing anything about it.

As those of you who know me relatively well will know- I have now worked as a nanny for four families. Four families who each in their own way have changed me, and will each stay with me forever. Now I turned to nannying because of what that lady said to me. Perhaps it would have come about some other way,  but perhaps it wouldn't have. Perhaps that lady, whose name and face I don't even remember, unknowingly totally changed my life.

Now these are just a few examples of the hundreds and hundreds of people that have inspired me every single day for twenty four years to make me the person I am.

What has been on my mind a lot lately, however, is how easy it can be to underestimate someone because of the setting you meet them in.

One night I was eating dinner with the children that I was nannying for at the time, their parents, and a friend of their parents. I had been perfectly polite to the friend that was there for dinner, but had made no effort whatsoever to impress and, to be honest, hadn't take much notice of him. When the children asked me to explain the difference between a hamburger and cheeseburger, I (wrongly. Oh so wrongly) told them what I thought was the correct answer.

The friend that was there for dinner was, in fact, the owner of the biggest branch of Burger King in the world. Among something ridiculous like twelve other restaurants, his own chain, a couple of celebrities and an agency.

Not my finest hour.

But at least I had been polite to him all evening.

The reason that this has been on my mind so much lately is because I now work in Food and Beverage.

Until now I have worked either for an individual family on a personal basis, or in entertainment, and despite what Dirty Dancing may suggest, entertainment staff are treated far better than those working in Food and Beverage (from a guest point of view- obviously from a company point of view it depends who you work for.)

Luckily for me and my co-workers, the fact that we are British and have British accents sets us off with a great head start. As far as the majority of our guests are concerned, I left Downton Abbey (my parents' home) to work here; leaving behind my best friends Kate Middleton and Adele, my boyfriend Harry Styles and my part time job as Dr Who's assistant, all for a year abroad as part of Muggle Studies at Hogwarts.

Which makes me the coolest person they have ever met. They want their photos with me, they want me to repeat the words 'Peter Pan' and 'bottle', and they want to know whether I prefer Pink Floyd or The Beatles. Because I obviously have a really strong opinion on that.

However, part and parcel of working in Food and Beverage anywhere in the world (I imagine, anyway) is being spoken to like an idiot. As though you yourself have never been a guest in a restaurant, have never eaten, have never been served by another person and can therefore not possibly imagine what they are going through.

Now when I worked in Food and Beverage before, I accepted that. I didn't even get angry when I was spoken to like a moron (okay there was that one time when I cried but that was an exception). I was sixteen years old, the guests were all in their eighties, I accepted that they probably did know more about my job than I did and let them take whatever else they were angry about on me.

Today, however, is slightly different.

Today I work with people who were selected from thousands and thousands to move to America to work for the third best company in the world. 

The people that I work with in Florida are truly amazing. Every single person has an incredible story to tell. Each and every one of them has had awesome life experience. They've worked as restaurant and hotel managers, team leaders, care workers, dancers, singers, entertainers, accountants, air hostesses, writers, engineers, plumbers, customer service advisors, actors and chefs; they've got degrees coming out of their ears, huge job offers in the UK, they've worked on cruise lines, they've lived in France, Spain, California, Africa, Lapland, Egypt, Italy, Greece, Turkey...

I cannot explain how wonderful these people are. They're interesting and funny and clever and have so many stories to tell.

And I watch every day as certain guests see how special they are and learn from them, are inspired by them and change a little bit because they were lucky enough to meet them.

Then at the same time I see the guests that roll their eyes and ask their wives 'Is she speaking English?', referring to the girl with the English degree as though she is the stupid one. I see guests tell Dumbo- the girl who, at only twenty-two has lived in two states in America as well as London and her own home town, who has visited more states than I can list here and knows more about the world's history than I will ever know, who is loved by everyone that takes the time to get to know her because she's possibly the nicest person ever, and who has had a letter written into the company about how they feel that she personally changed their lives with her exceptional customer service- that she's stupid and knows nothing.

I see it happen every single day to every fantastic person that I work with.

In fact, on one occasion a guest explained to me- in a rather amused voice- that her four year old curtsies at everyone. Even, she leaned in and whispered conspiratorially, the cleaners. She mouthed the last word as though she were swearing. Do cleaners not deserve that then?

I have a friend who worked in entertainment one year and as a cleaner the next- both for Disney- and she actually preferred working as a cleaner despite the ridiculous lack of respect from certain guests.

Anyway, the point of this is not to point out how stupid and ignorant some people are, but to point out how amazingly wonderful people are, and how we should take the time to notice that.

I love the idea that I change every day thanks to the people around me, and will continue to remember that everyone has a back story that makes them who they are today, and that I could be a part of that back story tomorrow.

I just need to make sure that the little pieces of myself that I create in other people are the best ones :)

A Very Merry (Un)birthday...

On Wednesday 30th May 2012- the day that I turned twenty-three years old- I was lucky enough to be cooked for and serenaded by my wonderful grandparents. As my Grandma lay the cake in front of me, she said the three little words that I have heard on that date every year since 1990.

"Make a wish!"

You can probably guess what I wished for, and probably already know that it came true.

That's right- I wished for a job in Walt Disney World.

Fast forward to Thursday  30th May 2013 and I'm waking up smack back in the middle of my dream come true.

Luckily for me though, the birthday magic started a few days before that...

On Monday morning as I padded out of my bedroom, stretching my back and rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I noticed a small white box sitting on the sideboard.

"Happy birthday Rebecca, delivered by Tigger."

My heart leapt and my stomach did a little jump.

I ran back into my bedroom, threw myself onto the bed and began to open it, when my roommate saw me.

"You can't open that today! It's clearly for your birthday and your birthday's not until Thursday."

"Yeah I know...but the box is here today."

"But your birthday is on Thursday. Put it back."

Until this moment I honestly didn't know that there were people like this. In my world if the present's there today, open it today! Otherwise why didn't Tigger wait to deliver it on Thursday?

Still, my roommate was sitting right there so I couldn't exactly open it in front of her when she was so horrified at the idea. I put it back on the side and vowed to open it while she was at work.

For a while after that I didn't think too much about the box. I was excited to see what it was but it was obviously a present from my roommate who had been so strict about me not opening it yet.

Then I got to work, and during the quieter moments began to think about it.

What if it wasn't from her? What if Tigger really had delivered it? As someone who loves the idea of someone having been there (Santa, the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny never scared me!) the image of Tigger hopping through my apartment while I was asleep sent shivers of excitement up and down my entire body.

I pondered on all the possibilities and by the time I clocked out of work that evening I thought I would burst with excitement before Thursday.

I told the story to everyone who would listen and- to my absolute shock- was told by everyone that it was ridiculous that I was going to open it before my birthday. My protestations about it being my birthWEEK, about it being there labelled for me TODAY, fell on deaf ears.  Until I spoke to my mum. Who responded with 'Open it and tell me what it is!' Maybe it's just my family?

I also found that everyone denied any knowledge of it. My best friends, boyfriend, roommate, housemates...all claimed- very convincingly- that they knew nothing about it.

That night I raced home, ready to open it and discover what it was, only to find that my roommate was still home, and would be now until the early hours of the morning when she was due to go on holiday.

I would have to wait until tomorrow.

I went out that night (and had all kinds of adventures including crawling around on my hands and knees on a bus dressed in my America flag onesie- but that's a story for another time), and didn't get home to bed until 4.15am. I woke up at 9am- less than five hours later- and there was another box.

"Happy birthday Rebecca, delivered by Donald Duck."

I jumped around the room as though I had no control over my legs- this was too exciting. Who on earth had managed to put the box there in that unsociable-five-hour-gap?

This was real magic.

Who even knew me well enough to have done this? I'd only been here three and a half months, I honestly hadn't realised that anyone would know to do this for me.

Eternally grateful to my roommate for stopping me from opening the first box, I left the second one exactly where it was and decided I would open them on my birthday. Whoever was doing this had gone to a lot of trouble, I wasn't about to ruin it with my child-like impatience.

I woke up on Wednesday morning and ran out of my bedroom to discover....still just two boxes.

I talked about it all.day.long. 

And for the first time was working with someone who agreed that I should have opened the first one as soon as it appeared. He told me I should open them as soon as I got home from work and let him know what they were.

When I arrived home that night, there was a third box.

"Happy birthday Rebecca, delivered by Stitch."

Standing next to the box was Aladdin. Not the real Aladdin, but my Aladdin. They were from him. And despite the fact that it was now my birthday in the UK, I had to wait until the following morning to open them.

Aladdin still won't tell me how he got the boxes into my apartment at those weird hours. He insists that Mickey Mouse (the real one) organised the whole thing- that Tigger, Donald and Stitch really had crept into my apartment to leave the boxes for me, but- as always- Stitch got himself into a pickle and arrived late, so couldn't get into the front door while I was asleep as arranged. Instead, he had to wait until I had left for work and sneak in through the window. That- Aladdin tells me- is why there are two sections of my blind bent backwards.

Which is funny, because I had genuinely never noticed the dodgy section of the blind before.

Each of the boxes contained a charm for the beautiful charm bracelet that Aladdin bought me for my birthday, and each represents something magical from my life.

My 24th birthday was so wonderful, so magical and so filled with love that I could write a novel on everything that happened. But instead of boring you with every single treasured detail of that day, I'll just let you in on the most exciting ones....

1. At 5pm on Wednesday 29th May I was presented at work with a gorgeous, hand-made birthday card signed by everyone right down to the General Teller who works in the office upstairs. It was midnight in South Africa and, since that's where my gorgeous boyfriend and partner in crime is from, the logic was that my birthday had begun. It was so magical to me that everyone made such a big deal, and the fact that they hopped on board with my make-my-birthday-last-as-long-as-possible plan was amazing to me.

2. For those of you who don't know, I work with Pinocchio, and Pinocchio is infamous for his beautiful rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. I had asked him to sing it to me for my birthday, but had long forgotten when he suddenly started to sing it. I looked at the time. 19.01. It was officially my birthday in the UK. It was off to a beautiful start.

3.  On Wednesday night I went to my favourite club, where I was totally spoiled with drinks, love and attention from everyone. There was one person in particular who made it extra magical and fuzzy around the edges with copious amounts of Whiskey and a seemingly endless supply of shots. That night will always remain a hazy memory of colourful drinks and his face.

And there was, of course, Drake Bell from the Nickelodeon show 'Drake and Josh' making a fuss of me which brightened my day in a way I will never be able to explain. That, paired with the fact that earlier that evening I spoke to Warwick Davis- actual Professor Flitwick, Griphook, Willow and pal of my hero Karl Pilkington- was the cherry on top of a huge, celebrity birthday cake.

4. On my birthday in 2012 I had opened my birthday presents alone in my room and hadn't seen another human being until 4pm. I really didn't want to do that again,  but as I was away from home I was concerned that it might be my only option. My roommate had gone away, Aladdin was working early and all my friends were working too. A couple of weeks before The Big Day I explained this fear to Dumbo, who told me immediately that I would not be alone. She would sort something. She and Merida arrived at my house at 9am with an array of croissants, pastries, dairy-free cupcakes and a delicious smoothie. They watched me open all of my cards and provided me with cards and presents of my own before dashing off to catch the bus to work. It was a wonderful morning and the two of them just made it perfect.

5. All of the cards and presents that I received from home were wonderful and each and every one of them will always be special to me. But there was one that I was not expecting and that has kept a smile on my face for the past three days. As many of you will know I have worked with children in a lot of different places in a lot of different jobs, but the first ever child that I looked after was when I was thirteen years old, and she was three. That gorgeous baby girl with her perfect curls and adorable dimples is now a fourteen year old Princess who was thoughtful enough to not only remember my birthday but to send a card all the way to America on time. I don't think I'll ever take it down.

6. An hour and a half later I was dancing around my room to N Sync (to It's Gonna Be Me if you're interested) when there was a knock at my door. I bounced to the front door in all my birthday excitement, threw it open and came face to face with Tigger (my friend Tigger, not the real one) holding a huge bunch of balloons with 'Happy Birthday Becca' written on them in one hand and an adorable card and promise to take me to see Blue Man Group in the other. Once again I felt my whole body want to burst with excitement at everything.

7. Tigger and I then got the bus to Animal Kingdom Lodge to see Aladdin at work before heading to a restaurant that I'd been wanting to visit for ages for lunch. The food was amazing, the service was fantastic and Tigger did not stop making me laugh. When we had finished our dinner our server brought me over a free dessert with a candle in it. It was as Tigger uttered those famous words...make a wish...that I closed my eyes and felt them fill with tears. I live in Disney World. My presents were delivered by characters. I have amazing friends and family, I live in a beautiful apartment, I have my dream job...I have nothing to wish for.

At the stern-and-impatient look that I received from Tigger I quickly found a wish to make, but you'll have to wait until June 2014's post to find out whether it came true...

8. On our way out of the restaurant our server beckoned me over, telling me that there was a phone call for me. I half frowned, half laughed as we walked past the front desk but she insisted it was for me. Wondering who on earth it could be but knowing at the back of my mind that my friends knew I was here and I had no mobile phone signal, I reached for the phone and put it to my ear.

It was Goofy. Actual, real Goofy, saying he'd heard it was my birthday and he wanted to sing to me. So he did. Can you imagine how magical that was?

9. After lunch, Tigger and I went to Animal Kingdom to do what I think is the best thing that you can do in the whole of Walt Disney World: The Lion King Show. It was, as always, spectacular, and watching it with Tigger who had never seen it before made it extra special. We then had an hour to wait until Finding Nemo the Musical started, so we went to meet Up's Doug and Russell.

As soon as Russell saw my big blue birthday badge he began jumping up and down and signalling to the character attendant. The character attendant explained- also very excitedly- that Russell wanted the entire queue to sing Happy Birthday to me. He conducted the group with his hands as they sang very loudly and beautifully to me and Doug pretended to lick my face.

I work in Walt Disney World, I know that almost every group seems to have a birthday in it: I was far from the only person celebrating a birthday that day. But what Russell did that day made me feel like I was the only person to have a birthday this year. I will never be able to explain how wonderful it was.

10. We then met up with Aladdin, Alice and the Mad Hatter and proceeded to watch Finding Nemo The Musical before moving to my favourite Disney hotel- The Polynesian Resort- to have dinner, watch Lilo and Stitch on the beach then view the Magic Kingdom fireworks. Just before the film started, one of the Resort Activity Reps asked everyone what they had been up to today. When all twelve of the people that had turned up to celebrate with me shouted 'Rebecca's birthday', the rep naturally called me to the front and made me spin like a ballerina while everyone sang to me. I won't even try to pretend I didn't love every second.

11. By the time I arrived home from the Polynesian I was exhausted. Apparently there are photos on phones of me sleeping on the bus. Someone thought it was funny.

I vowed to get ready for bed and go straight to sleep, but as soon as I saw my laptop looking invitingly up at me I thought I'd just check to see if I had any important emails (and by that I mean Facebook birthday wishes). I'm so glad I checked. On there was a video posted of Boo, the little girl that I was nannying for before I came to Disney World. But an older version of her. She was singing happy birthday to me. I miss Boo so much more than I can explain to anyone- she was my best friend and the person I spent all my time with for three months, and hearing her little voice again finished my birthday in the most perfect way possible.

12. Two nights before my birthday Aladdin let me know that I needed to keep Friday free for my present. All week I tried to work out what on earth it could be but to no avail- I had absolutely no idea at all. Friday morning came and passed- I still didn't know. Then Friday afternoon he arrived at my front door. With tickets. To Cirque Du Soleil.

I would never, ever, have guessed that that would be my present.

It was absolutely amazing. If you have never been, go.

We spent the entire night totally aware that our mouths were hanging open but unable to close them, then for hours afterwards we would just randomly say 'Ooh and the bit when...'

Fantastic.

And now it's June and the countdown to my next birthday has begun...

To every single person that was involved in this one: thank you. Everything from the wonderful video that my mum made of herself singing Happy Birthday, to the card in which my baby brother was thoughtful enough to write 'Keep It Magical', and The Lorax that my wonderful roommate thought to leave on my bed with a note in French was just perfect. I'm so grateful for everything that's happened in the last week and to every single person from all over the world who thought of me and made an effort.

So twenty-four has been the best birthday yet. Here's to the best year...

That's What Friends Are For

I had been in Florida for four weeks when I ventured over to Universal with a group of princesses that I work with. We were chatting over an IHOP breakfast (my first ever: if you've never experienced it I highly recommend going) when Rapunzel and Cinderella- princesses who have been here far longer than I have- said the exact words that I needed to hear.

"You won't feel settled yet. You probably don't and you're probably beating yourself up for the fact because it feels like you've been here forever. Week eight is the week that you settle. You'll see."

The fact that Rapunzel had just casually mentioned it over eggs and pancakes while Cinderella sipped her coffee and nodded profusely in the background meant a lot to me- they had been here too. I was not alone. 

For the rest of that day- and probably for the rest of that week- I found that thought reassuring. I had another four weeks to go before I should feel settled. I still had time. 

Then one day I was sitting on the bus when Dumbo unexpectedly got on too. We discussed the previous night's events, arranged dinner plans for that evening, moaned about American food and laughed at ridiculous things that only we would find funny. She then stopped for coffee, leaving me to continue my journey alone. I skipped to work, bumping into three different people I knew on the way. I breezed into the backstage area and shouted hello to everyone I saw before going on stage and working with a smile for the rest of the day. 

When my work day finished I decided to grab a drink from the UK Pavilion and wander around Epcot's World Showcase with it- perhaps stopping to share my culture and try some foreign food. I had promised my best friends that I would cook for them that night so planned to wait for them to finish work so that we could pop to the supermarket and get food together before returning to my apartment to eat. 

What actually happened was that I got so carried away drinking my cider in the sun and looking at the beautiful countries that by the time I got to Italy I could barely string a sentence together and sent an embarrassingly sentimental text to Dumbo and Tigger that I'm sure is going to be read out regularly in an effort to make me cringe. 

Thankfully a bottle of water and an English Bay Sugar Cookie managed to lessen the effects and I made it to the supermarket and back to mine without embarrassing myself much further.

On arriving at mine with the ingredients that I had genuinely intended to cook for everyone, I soon discovered that I had accidentally let myself become hangry. Now for those of you who don't know,  hanger is a condition that affects a small percentage of the population. Caused by a lack of food, it results in cruel words and occasional seemingly unreasonable tears. 

People who do not suffer with hanger on a regular basis tend not to take it seriously. Even my absolute best friends from home refused to worry about it until Pumbaa and I went on holiday together in 2008 and she had to experience the full of effects of my condition without back-up. They've fed me at three hour intervals ever since. 

So as I was heating the pan in preparation for cooking for Tigger and Dumbo, I hadn't actually realised what was happening until Dumbo gave me a look. 

She stepped in front of the stove, took the pan from me and said 'You're hangry. Sit down. I'll cook.' 

Tigger didn't even react. He got another pan from the cupboard and busied himself with the sauce. 

I sat down with a drink, and watched them cook. In my kitchen. They didn't ask where anything was, if they could use anything: they made themselves perfectly at home. 

They put the dinner in front of me, I took one bite and- that was it. The spell was broken. I was no longer hangry. 

We laughed for the entire night. 

I shut the door behind them at one the following morning, smiling to myself. 

And that was the moment. 

The moment that I realised that I was smack bang in the middle of week eight. And I was settled. 

Three weeks later I had another moment: the first moment that it really hit me that I was in America. Not just abroad, not just in Disney World, or even Florida, but America. 

Obviously I knew I was in America. I had spotted the endless differences from the UK (the food, the television, the funny way they pronounce Parmesan), but it wasn't until I walked into a five-thousand-person private pool party held at Disney's Typhoon Lagoon Water Park that I really registered: I am in America now. 

Huge groups of bikini-clad girls were squealing in excitement, lads were flying out of the flumes with their fists in the air, rows and rows of heads were disappearing as the wave pool swept them away, spotlights flashed on the beach where hundreds of people were doing The Macarena on the sand-dance-floor. The whole place was vibrating with the volume of the music, the air smelt like a surprisingly brilliant combination of catered food and chlorine, and almost every single person was sporting something they had won: an eye patch, a bandanna, a big hat: you name it, if it was pirate themed- you could see it. 

It was like every American teen movie you've ever seen.

I didn't even know things like this happened in real life. 

I loved it. 

For the first five minutes. 

But in those first five minutes that's exactly how it felt: like I was watching an American teen movie. Not taking part in it. 

Then I bumped into Woody and Russell. 

The second I saw them I stepped into the movie. Woody was wearing a bright red hat and the biggest, cheesiest grin I have ever seen, and Russell was wearing a gorgeous beach dress and enveloped me immediately in a hug whilst shouting 'waheeey here she is!'

I spent the rest of what I think was my favourite night in America so far with a combination of Woody, Russell, Aladdin, Dumbo, Tigger, Piglet and many, many more brilliant characters. 

The music was amazing. The rides were awesome. The heated pools were fab. Meeting Captain Jack Sparrow was...actually a bit scary. The fireworks, the beach, the dancing, the N-Sync impersonators...I could go on forever- everything was so well organised, everything was in place for the perfect night. 

But without the company of all of these wonderful people from all over the world- it would have meant nothing. 

The same as my time here in America would mean nothing.

Walt Disney famously said 'You can design and create and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality.'

So this is me being grateful for every single person who has helped make my dream a reality; and ensured that my reality is every bit as wonderful as my dream.

Thank you :) 

Keep It Magical

The other day Aladdin ended his text to me with the line 'keep it real.' I sat on the bus grinning like the Cheshire Cat as I explained that I have never been, and will never be, cool enough to 'keep it real.'

A few minutes later he replied that I was right. He told me instead to 'Keep It Magical.'

In those three words I feel that he totally summed my attitude. If I didn't think that I'd be disowned from my family forever I'd get those words tattooed on me somewhere.

When I worked as an Activity Instructor at a holiday resort I felt that the most important thing was that the children could temporarily suspend reality enough to feel like they really were learning to be Cowboys in the Wild Wild West; that the clues that they were searching for really had been left by a pirate; that the evidence that they found in Cool Detectives really had been found for the first time by them.

When I was nannying I felt the same- the best part of it for me was inventing characters for the children to know and love and believe in.

When I was asked at my Disney interview what I liked most about my job I told a story.

On my first day as an activity instructor there were two empty drainpipes leaning against the wall. When the first two children came tearing into the garden in excitement, their immediate and totally natural response was 'OH MY GOODNESS! THERE ARE TWO CANNONS HERE- A PIRATE'S BEEN!'

That was the moment that I realised that working with children is for me.

No adults I had ever worked with (at this point) would have had that natural reaction.

Since that position I have gone for jobs as a nanny, an entertainer, a birthday party princess and in Disney World, and until Aladdin sent me that text I had not realised that the one thing that every job has in common is that they involve Keeping It Magical.

Three months ago I wrote a blog post describing my attempts to 'Spread The Joy.'

Since that post I have continued to make an effort to make people smile; but with a Magical Disney twist.

And one of my favourite things about working for Disney is that they not only allow this but they encourage it.

 Which, in turn, means that when I go to play in the parks on my days off I can experience the magic myself.

Here are a few of my favourite examples....

1. Real Magic.

I recently went for breakfast at the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa (as amazing as it sounds, I assure you). As we were among the first to arrive we were lucky enough to be able to watch the children in front of us say the magic word in order to unlock the door to the restaurant.

The magic word was 'Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.'

And as the two small girls shouted the words- 'poof!'- the door opened and Mary Poppins was standing in the doorway.

Real Magic.

2. Inexplicable Magic.

The following day Dumbo and I went for lunch at the Beast's Castle (I've eaten in my apartment approximately three times since I moved in). We checked in for lunch, ordered, then wandered round to explore the castle while we waited for our food. We could have been in any room in the huge castle yet somehow they knew exactly where to bring our food. When I asked the server, he smiled and said 'You know this is an enchanted castle ma'am', before winking and disappearing.

A week later I watched Beauty and the Beast and I genuinely felt like I had been inside that film a few days before.

Amazing.

3. Little things.

A few weeks ago I was out for breakfast when the waitress began pouring glasses of orange juice for everyone. Having seen what it's like to work in food and beverage for Disney I decided against announcing my allergy to oranges to everyone: it's a big deal backstage if an allergy's known and I didn't want to do that to the lovely lady looking after us that day. So instead I just covered my glass and said no thank you.

She smiled and offered me tea or coffee instead.

Which in itself would have been perfect service.

A few moments later she appeared with a large glass of water for me instead.

Just like magic.

I'm still thinking about that glass of water a month later: she's probably so used to making small magic every day that she didn't even notice how special it was.

4. Personal Magic.

A couple of weeks ago Aladdin and I went to watch Disney's Electrical Parade in Magic Kingdom. As Cinderella's beautiful carriage went by, the princess smiled and waved as usual then pointed at the girl next to me and mouthed 'Happy Birthday.'

Of all the things that her parents may have paid for in Disney World: a special dinner, presents, merchandise, that moment is the number one thing that that little girl will remember about her birthday- about any of her birthdays- something that was free of charge and just took two people to make happen: the genius who created the birthday badges for guests to wear, and Cinderella, who went to the effort of looking for the badge and pointing it out.

That day she could have smiled and waved easily and made everyone's day magical. But she chose to make that child feel extra special- something that she will treasure probably for the rest of her life.

5. Extra Magic.

I wasn't actually there for this story but I feel the need to share it anyway- I know you'll appreciate it.

Ella was five years old and had spent five years reading, watching and falling in love with the characters of Winnie the Pooh. So when she came to Walt Disney World her number one priority was getting an Eeyore soft toy. She had waited and waited to get it, and when she did she carried him everywhere around the park like her new best friend.

As Ella, her parents and her grandparents were skipping along the streets of Epcot, Eeyore leapt out of Ella's arms and straight into the path of her Grandma's electric wheelchair where he was promptly torn apart.

Luckily at that moment Lucy was walking past. Lucy was an Epcot Cast Member who happened to be a stuffed animal doctor. She knelt down beside Eeyore and checked his pulse. It was still there. She lifted him carefully and took him in to first aid.

After a worrying fifteen minutes in the waiting room, Ella sighed in relief then squealed in excitement as Eeyore was wheeled out in his own wheelchair with his arm in a sling and a bandage across his eye.

I will remember this story forever and I wasn't even there- can you imagine how magical that was for Ella and her family?

I imagine she'll be telling that story into her eighties.

Magic happens all the time in Walt Disney World- I see it every single day: at work, on my way home, on my days off, and then I get home and hear stories of magic happening from my friends and housemates.

Before I came to Disney my Grandma said that she wondered how I would face the real world after being here for a year.

I later said to my mum that I was sure I would be fine- I'm only working in Disney, I'm still exposed to the real world here.

But actually, the more time I spend here the more I think my Grandma might have been right.

Last week I ventured to the supermarket and a UPS store and took a taxi home.

The whole experience was so un-magical- everyone I encountered was rude and unhelpful and I felt like I had ruined everyone's day by even leaving my house. When I was almost home I got a text from Aladdin saying he had sent Tinkerbell to give me a hug.

 When I got back to Disney housing I was so traumatised that I poured the whole story out to security with tears in my eyes.

Guess what the Disney Security Guard did?

She gave me a big hug and told me that my day would get a whole lot better now.

So Tinkerbell really did get the message.

That one morning spent outside of Disney showed me that I'm already so used to magic that I struggle with the real world, and I don't know if Tinkerbell can send messages all the way back to Essex....

So I was thinking, maybe we should all add magic to our attempts at Spreading the Joy.

Maybe if we all injected a little bit of magic into everyday life Disney would no longer be the happiest place on Earth because the Earth would be a happy place.

Maybe I'm not going to change the world with my attempts at magic.

But Aladdin, Dumbo and far too many other cast members to name have made my world- and the worlds of millions of others- a magical place to be. And that counts for a lot.

So as you go about your daily life- Spreading the Joy and making people smile- consider the effect that you could have on those around you- and Keep It Magical :)

Just Imagine....

In March 2003 my PSHE class was set the task of writing an essay on where we hoped to find ourselves in ten years.

It wasn't supposed to be fantasy, we weren't allowed in any way to use our imagination (God forbid let children be creative) : it had to be a realistic view of what we wanted to achieve in the ten years leading to our twenty-fourth birthdays.

I still clearly remember writing mine and presenting it confidently to my form tutor, with absolutely no doubt as to whether it would come true. It would. It was what I wanted more than anything and I would make it come true.

Yep, by the time I was twenty-four I was definitely going to be….

An engaged travel agent.

Why would I ever want to be anything else?

I can still see the image I had in my head that day. I pictured walking home from work in the Going Places uniform, letting myself into a flat where my lovely fiancé ( a specific lad that I sat with in Science and who I still bump into in Asda every now and again) would just be serving up Spaghetti Bolognese and a glass of wine (because by the time I turned twenty-four I’d definitely like wine), and we’d  romantically eat it over a candle lit table before meeting our friends (the same best friends from school- with their same current boyfriends) for a sophisticated evening of wine tasting and French films.

My teacher put on that ‘Ooh, fancy!’ voice that they do when they’re trying to be down with the kids and talk about boyfriends and said ‘An engaged travel agent! Well that sounds very good, Rebecca, I think you could do that.’

‘I will’, I replied confidently.

And now here we are. Ten years later. March 2013.

I did walk home from work on Friday night and let myself into my lovely flat.

But instead of sitting down to a romantic home-cooked meal I dashed around to get ready to go out for dinner.

I did meet my friends but they were new friends- friends that didn't all grow up in Essex and go to my school and remember the time that I wore bin bags all day for charity (why do these things seem like such a good idea at the time?!), we did have a few drinks (pomegranate lemonade for me though because- shock horror- I still don’t like wine), and we did watch a film. But it was in English. And not quite so sophisticated as some French films.

Okay it was Aladdin. 

And instead of spending my day at work booking people’s holidays, I spent my day at work on people’s holidays.

I walked in to work with the sound of A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes floating through the air, and on my way bumped into Duffy the Disney Bear, a few princesses and a lot of Minnie ears.

Throughout my day I was working  directly opposite Alice in Wonderland, who was meeting people who had travelled from all over the world to see her.

To my left was Mary Poppins, doing the same thing.

Christopher Robin lives in the building that was to my right, and Winnie the Pooh  and Tigger were in there playing for the day.

I then walked home through the crowded audience watching a Canadian band, listening to their music and dodging dancing couples as I did so. 

On Saturday morning I got up early and made my way to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. 

In March 2003 that world was, as it is to most people my age, a big deal. Back then it only existed in people's imaginations but it very much existed. It came with me to the beach in the summer, the fire side in the winter, on buses, trains, planes and car journeys. 

Since I've been in Florida it has given me the opportunity to speak to people from all over the world that I would otherwise have nothing in common with. 

Then on Saturday it became real. 

I walked straight into my own imagination and could see, touch, smell, hear and even taste the things that I had imagined since I first found Hogsmeade in 2003. 

All I could think the whole time was: 

This came from one woman's mind. 

How did one person manage to create a whole, wonderful, believable, magical world that almost everyone can relate to?

Just as I was marveling at this, I walked into the next world along from Harry Potter's, and my mind was once again blown. 

Dr Seuss World.

I walked along and took in all my favourite characters, quotes and images from The Cat In The Hat, The Lorax, The Grinch and, my favourite book of all time ever- Oh! The Places You'll Go. 

Those of you who know me well will know that the child in me lives quite close to the surface anyway. But as I walked through a second world of characters that had- until now- only lived in my imagination, I felt the child in me wriggling to get out. 

I could quite happily have galloped around Dr Seuss World shouting 'Wow!' and 'I want that!' at everything, knocking over other guests and jumping right in everyone's way. 

Luckily, the Nanny in me took over just in time and I told myself I could have a Cat In The Hat biscuit if I promised to calm down for the rest of the day. 

Since working in Disney World I have learnt a lot about Walt Disney, and he has recently joined J.K Rowling and Dr Seuss on my list of heroes. 

The idea of creating a world in which you can meet the characters of your imagination and be physically inside the worlds that had, until then, only existed in your mind just blows me away. 

I have met a surprising number of people working here that love Disney for the rides rather than for the characters or the setting. For me, Disney World has always been about the characters. For me, it's about dreams literally coming true. This is a world in which you can actually meet Cinderella and Prince Charming, a world where it's normal to bump into Mickey Mouse walking down the street, and where children get to meet their heroes every single day of the week. 

Most of all, this is a place where imagination is the most important thing ever. 

If it wasn't for imagination, the characters would never have existed, the park itself would never have existed, and the magic would not continue to make people's lives every single day. 

I wonder, had I been allowed to use my imagination and creativity that day in March 2003, whether I still would have said that by twenty-four I'd be an engaged travel agent? 

Probably not. 

I wonder whether I would have said that my life would involve being friends with Mickey Mouse, spending days off in Hogsmeade and my evenings at Cinderella's Castle? 

Also probably not. 

Walt Disney once famously said 'You're dead if you only go for kids. Adults are only kids grown up anyway.'

So I'm not the adult I thought I would be. I'm not engaged, I don't own a flat, like wine or speak French. But my world is happy and magical and exciting every day. 

Childhood is wasted on children anyway, right?

I'm taking mine now :)