I actually participated in NaNoWriMo this year, which is already crazy.
Even crazier? I vlogged it!
If you’d like to watch me flounder through writing a novel for the first time in years while also performing in a show and starting a new job, here’s the playlist!
So I’m just now starting with this whole YouTube thing, but I made a cameo appearance a while back on a famous YouTuber’s channel!It was super early in the morning and I was a little grumpy about being in tour guide instead of characters, but I put on most of my makeup and went out to will call, which was the themed Movie Ride name for our fastpass entrance. I saw some official film crews out, which wasn’t a terribly strange sight to see; I’ve seen a lot of professional filming in the parks. (My favorite was when I was in tower at Star Tours and got to watch them filming a commercial for Canada in one of the gates.) But this was the first time I recognized the person filming!
Charis, better known as Charismastar, was filming outside of the Chinese Theater, and lo and behold, I ended up in the background. I didn’t get a chance to talk to her at all, and I don’t think she saw the comment I left on the video when it was posted, but that’s definitely me in the background!
In today’s video, I’m going to tell some of my favorite stories from my time at the Great Movie Ride! I miss the ride so much; it was my favorite ride as a guest and my dream job as a cast member. I am extremely lucky that I got to be a part of it, and now I want to share my stories with you!
Shane and I finally went to Disney Springs to see The Last Jedi. Finally. I don’t know how I managed to avoid spoilers for nearly a month, but I did it and boy howdy, was that a great movie. It’s not my favorite Star Wars film, and it made a lot of risky choices, but overall it was a really strong movie and I had a great time.
It has been absolutely freezing in Florida. Freezing as in I was standing at the merge point at work and watched flurries falling. It’s a terrible time to work a completely outdoor attraction. They had to pull most of the animals off the reserve, but on the upside the park was super empty. I layered the crap out of my costume- leggings, thick fuzzy socks, and a sweatshirt under my work shirt and pants, and then my work coat and a white knit hat. But I can’t find my gloves, so my hands were so cold. I couldn’t even signal my row numbers with my hands while I was loading!
It was still cold for the movie, so I got to dig my rarely-worn but much-loved winter coat out of the back of the closet. And my favorite boots! These Blowfish boots literally feel like slippers. I need to see if I can find more pairs in different colors. I’ll only be able to wear them a couple of times a year, but it’s worth it, right?
But now I need to see The Last Jedi again.
Top: Forever 21
Jeggings: Target
Boots: Blowfish
Coat: Forever 21
Glasses: Eye Buy Direct (Sophie frames)
Hey friends! Today and probably will be a little bit of radio silence. I found out today that my beloved home, the Great Movie Ride, is closing in only a month. I have worked there for nearly four years and have truly loved it, so I’m having a lot of trouble wrestling with the idea of its sudden closure. In the next few weeks I’m going to have to prepare for the close, find a new work location, and take my final bows as Kate Durango and Mugsi Toccata. I’m a stubborn and resilient human, and I’m sure I’ll be fine and ready to chase my new dream soon, but right now I need to take a little time to grieve. I’ll be back soon! Any kind words and encouragement are super welcome right now.
I fell in love with the Great Movie Ride at Disney’s Hollywood Studios when I was fifteen years old and went on my second Disney trip (I hadn’t been since I was five!) Who knew that I would start working there as an adult?
I originally trained at the Great Movie Ride as a participant in the Disney College Program. I was only eighteen years old and it was my first job ever (and my first time away from home). It was a huge undertaking, but I loved it so much. In fact, I loved it so much that when I came back to Disney as a part timer, I immediately signed up to cross train there again (I was originally placed at Star Tours.)
I trained for the second time in March of 2014, and have been there ever since. In the past three year and half years (thereabouts) I’ve done probably thousands of shows as a tour guide, a gangster, and a bandit. And within those thousands of shows, I’ve gotten filmed and photographed probably hundreds of times. Sometimes they even pop up on YouTube. It’s a little weird, but kind of cool at the same time!
This is my original tour guide show, before the Turner Classic Movies update. I’ve got to say I miss it! It was a LOT of script to memorize, but I did really love it.
Here’s my tour guide show again, this time after the Turner Classic Movies update. (I also just have to say that it’s always so strange to hear my voice over the vehicle mic! I’ve been compared to Minnie Mouse and Snow White before. And one time a kid just asked “do they pay you to sound like that?” Thanks, kid.)
This is the first video I found of my gangster show! I was gangster trained about a year after returning to the Great Movie Ride. It really was a dream come true- but let’s be honest, it’s super tiring. That’s what happens with you run up and down stairs in heels while firing a gun (and you repeat it every eight to nine minutes).
I trained in bandit about a year and a half after gangster, and it’s SO much fun. The stage show is terrifyingly quick, but still- a lot of fun.
Here’s another take of my bandit show! (Also you can hear me hollering at people. It sucks, but when people don’t sit down or take flash photos, you have to call them out!)
I absolutely love working at the Great Movie Ride (as you can probably tell). I think I have some more videos of my gangster show somewhere, and in a box somewhere I definitely have a video of my very first tour guide show when I was a teenager!
Do you have any questions about the Great Movie Ride or about a job at Disney? Leave your comments below, and I’ll answer them in an upcoming post or a video!
so I have to shoot guns at work, right?
the last time I got show observed my trainer told me to be careful because on shots 2 and 4 I was throwing them
so now I perpetually have Hamilton stuck in my head because I’ll be running up and down the stairs in my heels a million times a day, firing my pistol and singing “I am not throwing away my shot” to myself
Actual photo of #thelittlestmugsi hard at work. (And if you want to see #thelittlestbandit in action, Kate Durango will be blowing up banks on the 17th and 19th!) #slowmovingtramfam #astheanubisdoorturns (at The Great Movie Ride)
I made an important addition to my handprint! (Also I think I deserve to buy some fun stickers to cover up my old last name.) # (at The Great Movie Ride)
There was a little girl who had a little curl,
Right in the middle of her forehead.
When she was good, she was very, very good,
But when she was bad, she was horrid.
#greatmovieride #thelittlestmugsi (at The Great Movie Ride)
The Metaphor Girl 