Encounters with Prince Charming

A little over a week ago Melissa, Dan and I went to go dine with Prince Charming and Cinderella at the Grand Floridian. Melissa and I have been before, but it was Dan's first time to meet Prince Charming. Prince Charming was a little cheeky though. I told him that I was excited to take a picture with him and not be blushing. He took that as a challenge and talked all sweet and Princely to me just as Dan was taking the picture. Look at that smug smile on his face! What a jerk!

A few days ago, at work, I had to use a Prince Charming stick, which I'm modeling for you below, to get guests to follow me from the restaurant to the front of the park. The next day the manager gave me the Prince Charming stick and told me to go out in Fantasyland and basically recruit people to come eat at the restaurant since we had cancellations. One guest asked me if it was a paddle? I should mention that Prince Charming is not the only character stick under employ at Cinderella's Royal Table. Gus, Jaq, Susie, Perla and the Fairy Godmother are available as well. Prince Charming's just the cutest one.

Last night a little boy who was about 4 came to eat at the restaurant dressed as Prince Charming. He had the shirt and the belt and the pants, but he opted to rock some flip flops instead of black shoes. I wish I had a picture of him for you, but I think that would be creepy if I just whipped out my phone and asked for one. Also, I'd get terminated for using my phone on stage... Anyway, he is also from Oklahoma! His mom was wearing a shirt that said "Boomer Sooner" and I, like any good Sooner fan, said "Boomer!" to her and the whole little fam (mom, grandma, aunt and Prince Charming) we got to chatting while they were waiting in line to take their picture with Cinderella. Apparently little Prince Charming was sooo excited all day to meet Cinderella. As soon as he came into the lobby he was waving to her and smiling like crazy. But when he got up to her he froze and wouldn't go near her.

So the little fam from Oklahoma sat down and waited for their table (this is in the same room Cinderella takes pictures with the guests). Little Prince Charming had to wait a while for his table to be ready, which turned out to be a really good thing. I let him ring the bells that I had to ring to announce when tables are ready. Cinderella cheered for him. The smile on his face was enormous. I asked him who his favorite princess was and he blushed, swayed his little body around like kids do when they're embarrassed, and pointed to Cinderella very quickly. While they were waiting, his mom pulled out a toy set from Snow White that included little plastic figures of Snow White, the Prince and the seven dwarfs for him to play with. I told little Prince Charming that maybe Cinderella would like to see his toys since she was friends with Snow White. Soon after, Cinderella came and sat on the floor with him to play with his toys. His fear or shock or whatever it was that he had was gone as he named all the dwarfs and explained their names to Cinderella. The PhotoPass people and his family were going crazy taking pictures. It was one of the sweetest things ever. And at the very end little Prince ran up to Cinderella and gave her a hug. Days like this make me love my job.

He basically looked just like this. (But with flip flops)

On to today! Today I had to stock. Which means I run all around the kitchen making noodles for the chicken noodle soup, heating up bread and moving it from one oven to another, taking things from the dishwashers to the servers, making butter balls and ketchup trays, filling giant red trashcans with ice, etc. etc. etc. I honestly feel like I'm working like Cinderella. It's by far the hardest job I've ever had to do, and the hardest job in the Castle. Today was my first time to stock alone, meaning that the only other time I had to do it I was with a trainer and 2 other trainees for the entire shift. Basically I was terrified. I'd been dreading today for a week. It turned out not to be that bad though. So many people helped me. I probably would've cried if they didn't.

We get a lot of marriage proposals at the restaurant. (Duh.) And part of the proposal package includes a special slipper dessert. It's so pretty and looks amazing. It's a chocolate slipper with icing inside on top of an angel food cake with raspberry sauce and berries. One of the chefs was bringing out the pretty dessert and I said something like, "Oh that's so pretty" or "That looks delicious!" A while later one of the servers said something to me about working hard like Cinderella and I said, "Does that mean that my Prince Charming is just right around the corner?" Well, he wasn't. But! The very chef who brought out the slipper I so admired earlier called my name from across the kitchen and pointed to a slipper dessert. And he said it was for me! Now maybe in other restaurants this would be a normal occurrence, but not in this one. The most we get usually is left over soup and bread. I seriously asked him three times if the dessert was really for me. He said yes, and that I should go downstairs and eat it! The other seaters were sooooooooo jealous. From what I could gather, none of them have ever gotten one before, and a bunch have worked there for years. I felt so special. And it honestly made the rest of my night go by so much faster.

And while a white chocolate slipper is no Prince Charming, I'll still take it!

"No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing, the dream that you wish will come true." - Cinderella, "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes"

What a lovely thought, Cinderella. I want it to be true more than anything.