1. "Princess Emma"s
When I see the name Emma on my Princess assignment I now audibly cheer. Emmas are my absolute favorite. I have literally never had a Princess Emma who was not completely wonderful, fun, and perfectly charming. Some of my earliest princesses were Emmas and they were the ones who helped me to hone my Fairy Godmother persona to the level it is today (which is essentially Giselle from Enchanted but with magic styling powers.) They are the princesses who forced me to think on my feet and create some of my better stories and the ones who, on more than one occasion, have given me material for stories I had to come up with later with less Emmalike princesses. Emmas are the best.
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| A candid shot of me greeting my princesses. |
I have a theory as to why Emmas are so great with me. I say they are great with me because I cannot say for certain that the Emma theory holds for all FGITs. No one else gets so excited when they happen upon an Emma (which happens rarer and rarer all the time as they now like to save them for me) so I have to assume that perhaps the magic of an Emma is meant for me exclusively. Perhaps other FGITs have Sarahs, or Carolines, or, despite it not being a people name, Brooklyns. Emmas are mine and I believe there is a grand cosmic reason for it. My great grandmother was named Emma (for the few of you reading this who are not related to me) and she was exactly the same sort of delightful, funny, charming, and quick thinking as my Emmas. It took me a bit to realize but the reason I adore my Emmas is the same reason I adored her, they are so truly positive. They are genuinely happy to be where they are at that moment and to be there with you, whoever you are, because you are happy to be there too. Emmas and I get along the same way my great grandmother Emma got along with everyone. They exude happiness and the more you give them the more you get right back. They always arrive when I'm at a low point in the day and I know, for certain, that it is Grammy Emma sending them my way to brighten my spirits and challenge my princess story abilities.
2. Being Tan
Let me preface this by saying that I have not been anything that could be confused for tan since I was about 14. As a kid I turned brown like a nut. My hair would bleach to the bright, glaring white that would someday define my skin tone and my skin would turn to a shade typically reserved for people with more scholarship worthy ethnic heritages. Until I came to Florida my summer tone has been more of a tragic reminder of Victorian cosmetic trends than anything else and so I am more than a little excited that I am one of the tannest people I know. The joy of having truly nothing to do beyond going to work and the basic survival activities associated with living on your own is that I have a lot of time to read by the pool and go to the beach with my roommates.
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| We went to the beach because it was Thursday. (Side note: I also love my purple swim suit.) |
3. "So you wanna go to Magic Kingdom?"
This phrase has become so common place in my life that it will be nearly impossible to attempt to make free time plans without first suggesting Magic Kingdom even long after I live much too far away. I love that I can go to the parks for free whenever I want and I love the casual, we'll-get-there-when-we-get-there attitude it has instilled in my park going self. Because I can go for free I feel no guilt about going to the a park for a specific snack, maybe a little shopping, a a quick run on a favorite ride or two. My roommate Sam (pictured above right) and I typically have the same two days off and so she and I are masters of the "well, we've spent all day at the pool/beach/mall so I guess we should hit a park now" attitude. We also enjoy spending an entire day cruising from park to park with no particular goal in mind other than to take in as much as we can and maybe have a Dole Whip.
4. Dole Whip, Casey's Hot Dogs, and Caramel Apples on Main Street
5. Commenting on Guest's Buttons
Disney has perfected the art of making people feel special no matter what is going on in their lives. One of the myriad ways we accomplish this is with buttons. These are large pins that indicate something special is going on in the life of the wearer (birthdays, anniversaries, marriages, family reunions, etc.) and, to the trained eye, they are particularly great conversation starters or an easy way to make a passer by feel important. All the buttons have a different main color so that even if you're too far away to actually read what it says you, as a cast member or particularly observant guest, can comment on it immediately upon encountering the person so that it seems as if you just knew about it. People just knowing things about you makes you feel special. I love, either in character or as a guest, wishing little kids happy birthday because it just straight up blows their minds. The funny thing about the buttons is guests almost immediately forget they are wearing them and are often shocked how so many people know it's their birthday.
6. Being Mistaken for a Princess
This happens in a couple different ways and I honestly love it every time. Sometimes guests assume that I, in FGIT costume, am some sort of princess and treat me as such. They point me out to their children or ask if they can have a picture with the princess. I should probably correct them but, really, I totally answer to princess. I do that in my real life. Why stop now? Possibly the best example of this confusion occurred recently after work when I made a stop at the Panera near my apartment. I had removed my vest which has the boutique logo and my name tag so that I was wearing a lavender blouse and skirt and veil and looked like a particularly gaudy Amish woman rather than a FGIT and was just exiting the store with my Bacon Turkey Bravo when I spotted a little girl about 3 years old come tearing up the sidewalk in my direction. My line of sight has been permanently altered to about the height of a 3 to 6 year old because that is who I am looking for and talking to all day. I genuinely don't notice adults in crowds because I am spending all my time looking about 3 feet off the ground. As this little one came barreling toward me I crouched and quickly dropped my bag as I heard her squealing "Daddy! A princess!" Instantly, I am in character. "Hello, Princess! It's so good to see you!" She hugged me from a dead run, nearly toppling me over. She giggled away about how she was so happy to see me and I was the first princess she had gotten to meet. I talked to her about coming to Disney and how it was her first visit and the ice cream cone she had left her dad holding. We walked back to her parents hand in hand and she introduced me to them as "Princess" and they thanked me for being so patient. I smiled and said I would be happy to be a princess any day.
Another good example of this is one that occurred when I was out of costume and at the park as a guest. I was waiting in line for something and a princess and her parents were waiting behind me. The princess had a birthday button and so, of course, I wished her a happy birthday and inquired about how old she was turning. She was 4 that day. I asked her about how she was celebrating, if this was her first trip to Disney, had it been a surprise she was coming, what had she done so far, etc. as is my usual habit when a princess sits in my chair. I crouched down to talk to her because it was polite and eventually ended up with the both of us sitting right where we were, she Indian style and I with my legs to the side and the skirt of my sun dress spread out around me in a circle the way I always move my costume skirt (the princess story time sit is a hard habit to break) until it was time for us to both board the attraction. As I moved to get in to my car I heard the mom whisper, smiling, to the dad "I think we ended up meeting Cinderella today after all..." There was no way I was going to correct them.
7. Knights who Love Princesses
We offer a package at the boutique for little guys where we transform them in to a handsome and brave knight. Essentially, if they sit still for 10 minutes or so while we spike their hair, paint it colors, and throw some sparkle on it they get to have a foam sword and shield and hit stuff all day. The foam weaponry is often all that is keeping the knights from completely bailing but every now and then it is love that puts the noble gentleman in the seat. There is nothing more adorable than a knight who is there with his sister, cousin, or friend and is doing this because he wants to be able to protect her from dragons, pirates, and other dangerous fiends out to harm fair damsels. These sweet princes remind me of what I assume my fiance must have been like as a little guy and I love them all the more for it. Just recently I had a knight who was being transformed in the chair next to his princess. I learned that she was his best friend, they had met in pre-school (they were in first grade now) and that she had informed him that they were getting married. I asked him if this had been his idea. He said in a manner so familiar to me as someone engaged to quite a prince myself, "No, but I'm ok with it. I'm not gonna marry anybody else." Then he grinned like the man in love that he was and allowed me to finish painting his mohawk. Years from now, when they do get married, I hope they show the pictures they got post transformation. If they don't get married to each other, I will have to step in.
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| Let's just marry them off now to be safe. Betrothal is still a thing, right? |
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