One of our managers asked the cast to think about what motivates us... Well, let's cross off the fact that I simply love the Disney company...but I also love the inspiration that the company evokes. Allow me to elaborate, this is a globally recognized company that all started with one man's dream and a drawing. That alone is enough to inspire me to never write off my own dreams as trivial. As I write this I can hear that cheesy and "Disney-fied" tone but think about this...those cliché dreaming and believing motifs are associated with Disney because the company has proved anything is possible and continue to on a daily basis. I can remember being 15 sitting in front of Town Square Firehouse lining up for the Parade of Dreams at Disneyland and a woman from Guest Control tell me, "You should audition for the parade". Although I can't remember that Cast Member's name (I wanna say Geri...and she may have been from PhotoPass), it is the feeling that I could one day be good enough to dance down Main Street she left me with that still remains. To put it in Disney terms, "at last I see the light, and it's like the fog has lifted". I realize now that my motivation to perform for the Disney company lies in my desire to instill the hope that everybody's dream is valid and possible to achieve. I give each show my all so other 15 year old boys who love princesses (and everyone else) can watch Disney shows and be inspired to believe that there is no dream too big, even though it seems tough and impossible to achieve. #NoFear You know how people say "I can't imagine where I'd be if it weren't for *fill in the blank*? I've made some of my life's best memories while working at the Disney company and know that this adventure is just the tip of the iceberg. Maybe an iceberg analogy isn't the best to make while onboard...but I'm sailing the Caribbean, I better not see any icebergs.
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After years of auditioning, months of anticipation, weeks of rehearsals, and a last few days of freedom, I finally stepped aboard my new home. It has been a crazy blur of endless days and nights leading up to this moment. We had to leave Toronto at 6:30am, which means I had to be ready to leave the hotel at 3:30am. I barely got about an hour of sleep the night before. But don't worry, I slept about two more hours on the flight to Orlando. We arrived in Orlando and shuttled to the Pop Century Hotel, I dropped my bags, put on my MagicBand, and went straight to Walt Disney World. I won't bore you with all the details of what happened at the parks but let's just say the following three days included, but not limited to:
We had another early call to get on the boat and I must say it was a perfect sight watching the sunrise from behind the ship. It was like something from a movie, I wanna say *The Lion King*...You exactly what scene I'm referring to. The cast was welcomed on board by a crowd of applause which I was totally not against. Ya'll...this ship is huge and I was getting lost pretty much every time I moved from point A to point B. But as we are getting through the crossover period it's definitely getting easier. We have been doing a lot of shadowing of the Dream 6 cast, which has been incredibly helpful and makes me even more excited to get started. We have this awesome cruise director who gave one of the most inspirational talks I've received from a stranger within five minutes of meeting them. The one thing that stuck in my head was him saying, "Embrace the isolation". This guy definitely has a grasp on #SeizeTheDay and has made me more determined to leave the ship better than when I came on. How that will happen I don't know, but you'd better believe I'm gonna have a blast finding out! Already I've met some interesting people from all over the world and might have signed myself up with a French instructor. How do you say "Yaaassss!" in French? Oh, I guess it'd be "Ouuuiiiiii!" Today is our opening cruise, meaning...it's all us at this point. We as a cast couldn't be more excited and I as a singular person could not be more proud of my cast. (You're gonna hear me say that a lot over the next several months so get used to it...) Ok, I have a video ready to be uploaded but our internet isn't the best, so sharing these videos are gonna be very infrequent. I apologize in advance so I guess I'll vow to take more photos instead. Bummer I know, but what can you do. One of my cast mates came up with a brilliant idea to hire a bus and take a trip to Niagara Falls. I have never been before and can now add that to my "Wonderful Places I've Visited" list. (Now, I'm up to two places...) Our bus driver was quite an interesting bundle of energy that I don't think any of us were ready for. It was like taking an RV trip with your corny Uncle Walter, who thinks he's hilarious but he doesn't get that you are laughing at him instead of with him. The first stop on the trip was the Diamond Estates Winery, partially owned by Dan Aykroyd, where I had my first sip of ice wine. Oh my goodness, the sweetest wine I'd ever tasted. Sure do wish I bought myself a bottle, but they were too expensive. But, you can believe I enjoyed the hell out of those free samples. Following the winery visit, we stopped in the small sleepy town of Niagara on the Lake. It was a beautiful town with one main street, with a bunch of shops and restaurants on either side. I did buy a moose covered onesie complete with buttflap. I know what you must be thinking, "How could you not resist?"...and to that I say, "I know right?!?" We finally reached Niagara Falls and spent about a half hour by the water before we stopped in what I can only describe at the Hollywood Blvd. of Niagara. This street, Clifton Hill, had mini golf courses, a giant enclosed ferris wheel, arcades, a casino, various restaurants and countless souvenir shops. I almost avoided falling into the tourist trap, but I played a round of laser tag with some people before heading back to Toronto. Our time in Toronto is slowly coming to a close, less then ten days and we'll be in Florida. As excited as I am to start working on the ship, I really will miss Canada...Anyways, saving the sentiment for a later post. Enjoy the video below! So, if you've seen the Stuck movie trailer...you already know what this video is all about so you can ignore this next section and jump straight to the video.
I was stuck in my apartment's elevator for about 20 minutes and did not have my coloring book with me for entertainment...I decided to lip sync for my life, not really...but this is an intimate look how my mind works in potentially "dangerous" situations. After my release I started thinking and realized that I am glad I recorded my traumatic ordeal. These are the moments that I will want to look back on and remember after this contract is over. Plus, it's a great ice breaker story... "Hi, I'm Brandon and I made a 3 minute documentary about being stuck in an elevator!" #Irresistible |
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