Hi guys, so this story is my first ever, and I'm really nervous! I hope you all like it. I'm a huge fan of Disney and I write about it when I'm not at the parks which makes me sad XD I kind of based the main character off of myself, as I usually do in my fanfictions, and the guy she has a crush on is based off of Grasshopper Hatter from the Disneyland park (He only works in Disney World in my story). I also made up a name for him (I don't know his real name). I do not own Disney Parks or anything to do with it.


To all little kids and their parents, this is an obvious statement, but to the ones that haven't yet experienced the magic, let me tell you that Walt Disney World really is the happiest place on earth. I should know, because it brought me to my prince. I was seventeen when I started my internship at Disney as a janitor, and even though that job was the lowest of the low and I got harassed every day for it, I couldn't have been happier. Disney does that to you. It cures sadness and makes you feel like you're on top of the world.

A few months later on one fateful day in August, I got the courage to audition for a Disney face character. I felt like I had a chance because I had seen a couple of the princesses who were quite ugly without the makeup on, and with a low self-esteem like mine, I thought I had a shot at getting the job. I was wrong. The judges didn't think I had a very 'photogenic' face, and gave me the job as the little wooden puppet, Pinocchio. Even though I didn't get a princess role, I was ecstatic. I was going to be the best Pinocchio ever. At least my 'not photogenic face' would be hidden under a mask. I started work the following week.

I immediately fell in love with playing Pinocchio. It was all I dreamed of and more. I learned how to sign Pinocchio's name in the children's autograph books, and how to react without speaking, which I admit was quite hard. I loved being silly and skipping around the park like the happy little puppet boy would, but it didn't last very long. I became very popular with the kids, and they would line up with their parents to meet me no matter how long the wait was, but apparently I was taking the attention off of 23 year old Celeste Montgomery, who played the roles of Sleeping Beauty and occasionally Alice. Before I met Celeste, I had heard a lot about her from other cast members gossiping backstage. I heard nothing but jealous comments and girls saying how much they wanted to be her. According to the things I had heard, Celeste had slept with nearly half of the male actors in the Disney cooperation, and was the most popular princess at the character dining events. She was a celebrity among the rest of us.

I finally met her one day as we were preparing for the 'Dream Along with Mickey' show. She was in her Sleeping Beauty attire chatting with three other girls who I would later have the misfortune to meet, Taylor Sanders, Carrie Taylor, and Joyce Anderson, who played the roles of Ariel, Wendy Darling, and Rapunzel. I had my mask off and was just minding my own business, when she and her minions recognized me and came over to tell me off for taking the attention off of her. That's when our feud began, but I didn't let it get in my way. I stayed a popular character, and made four amazing friends who are still dear to me today. I met Mandy Moore in Magic Kingdom by complementing her on what an awesome job she did playing Anastasia Tremaine, one of Cinderella's ugly step sisters. Mandy was a little older than me but she was just as crazy as I was, if not more, and treated me like a little sister. I then met Lin Yen during a shift in EPCOT in the china pavilion in her Mulan costume. She came off as a complete tomboy with a lovable personality, much like the real Mulan. Lin introduced me to the strong and beautiful Leticia Jones, who played Princess Tiana. Then a staff member introduced me to Andrew Ducote, a sweetheart who had a gorgeous girlfriend named Hali Gaskins, and would later become known as 'Spieling Peter Pan'. We were all extremely close, and it felt like the family I never had.

A few months later, by keeping my head up and staying positive, I finally got my dream of becoming a face character. I was cast as Princess Merida from the movie 'Brave', and Alice from Alice in Wonderland, my all-time favourite Disney movie. By coming out of hiding, I met my prince charming and started a fairy tale of my own.

There he stood, right across from me. How could I have never noticed him before? I looked him over in his orange trench coat and gigantic green top hat with matching shoes. He had big bushy black eyebrows, dark green eyes, and his nose was covered by a rubber freckled one to match that of his character, the Mad Hatter. The curly white wig he wore added to his unique look, as did the way his two front teeth stuck out like a rabbit. I finally understood what my sister had said about me liking strange-looking men. I kept looking away whenever he turned his head toward me, but our eyes eventually met and he pulled the most adorable and somewhat creepy face. He kind of looked like one of those old black and white cartoons that had just seen a pretty woman, and it made me giggle.

I looked away in embarrassment and continued to sign a little girl's autograph book. When I was done, I looked back, but he was walking away with Alice…Celeste. For a long time, I only knew him as 'that Mad Hatter guy'. I wanted to know his name so bad, but I couldn't even look him in the eyes. During my lunch break, I met up with Mandy and Leticia at Cheshire café and ordered iced coffees like we usually did. I was feeling antsy around the Alice in Wonderland theme for obvious reasons. We sipped our coffees in silence for a bit until I noticed that Mandy and Leticia were giving me sly looks. "What?" I asked. "You know what…" Leticia raised an eyebrow. "You and your boyfriend, the Hatter guy." "Psh. He's not my boyfriend; he's always hanging around with Celeste…" I muttered and chewed on my straw. Mandy and Leticia laughed like hyenas. It really annoyed me the way they knew everything. "Fanta, he works with her! Their characters are from the same movie! That doesn't mean they're sleeping together!" Mandy giggled. As if things couldn't have got more awkward, the Mad Hatter, Alice, and Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum appeared and started chatting with guests.

Leticia got up from the table snickering and walked over to where the Mad Hatter was standing. "NO. LETICIA, NO." I got up, but she had already reached him and was whispering in his ear. He let out a high pitched chuckle and followed her back to our table. "So, which one of you is Fantasia?" The Mad Hatter asked with his front teeth out. I blushed and hesitantly raised my hand. I felt like I was the nervous bride at a bachelorette party in a strip club. He sat down on the empty chair next to me and put his arm around my shoulder. I felt my heart stop at the contact we made. "So, you're my biggest fan?" I glared at Leticia who just giggled. I was surprised he didn't recognize me from backstage; I guess that proved I really was invisible. "Ha…I guess you could say that…Uh, I'm Fantasia." I repeated like an idiot. "It's nice to meet you, Fantasia. With that kind of name, you sound like someone who'd work for the mouse." He and the girls giggled for a short moment, and then things got very awkward. No one said anything, so the Mad Hatter got up and said goodbye and waved at me. It made me sad to see him go.

"Fanta!" Leticia yelled, "What's wrong with you! That was the perfect chance to move things forward!" "Yeah! You should've stuck your tongue in his mouth!" Mandy added. We stared at her like she was nuts, which she was. "Oh, look at the time." I looked at my watch, "I'd better get going." I said even though I had fifteen minutes left. "Whatever you say, Fanta." Leticia rolled her eyes, "You've got to speak to him sooner or later…"

The very next day couldn't have started off any better. The Magic Kingdom opened at eleven o'clock, and the band was playing various Disney songs at the entrance to the park. A few of the characters, including the Hatter, were dancing around, not caring how stupid they looked and having the time of their lives, and I watched from the tunnel under the Main street railroad station. I was never picked for stuff like that because I was so shy. Mandy was there dancing with the other ugly step sister, Drizella, and suddenly noticed me. She motioned me over, but I shook my head no, my red hair slapping me in the face. "MERIDAAAAAAA!" She screamed, and then I really had no choice but to go.

I skipped over and nearly lost it when I came face to face with the large crowd of people who were watching. "Go dance with him!" Mandy pushed me towards the Hatter, who immediately took me by the waist and hand and pranced around with me to 'Prince Ali'. He swung me around causing the mop of hair I was wearing to slap and cover my face again, but when the song was over, he looked at me and his expression changed to that of shock. My heart stopped; he knew who I was, or at least I thought he did. Luckily, that afternoon when I met up with Mandy and Leticia, they cleared it all up for me. "Oh my god, Fantasia, you won't believe it!" Mandy jumped up and down, "We overheard your Hatter talking backstage and he said 'that Merida girl is gorgeous!' He thinks you're super hot!" ""…OH MY GOD." I jumped up and down with her, and then stopped, "WAIT. Does he know who I am?" "N-no, I don't think so…" "Good. If he finds out I'm that geeky seventeen year old loser who takes her job way too seriously he'll shun me like everyone else does…" "Come on!" She grabbed my hand, "You've got to go talk to him!" "No, Mandy, did you not hear what I just said?! I can only talk to him when I'm in costume so he won't know who I really am!" "Ohhh, okay, so you're like the Incredibles; you can't let your true identity out. Got'cha." "Ugh. If that's how you want to look at it." I laughed.

A few hours later my shift as Pinocchio at the Pinocchio Village Haus started, and I had heard that the Hatter would be there also, so it was a perfect time to bond with him. I skipped through Fantasyland waving at everyone, and finally reached the restaurant that overlooked 'It's a Small World'. I had actually never been inside the place before. I immediately looked around for the Hatter, and saw him at the other end of the restaurant messing around with Celeste dressed as Alice. Inside of my mask, I was fuming, but I had to keep my cool for the guests' sake...and my job.

I strolled around the restaurant greeting children and their parents until I made it up to the Hatter and Alice. I tapped the Hatter on the shoulder causing him to jump. He turned around. "Oh, fish sticks! Pinocchio, you scared me right out of my bloomers!" I put my hand over my mouth and silently laughed. "What are you doing here, Pinocchio?" Celeste asked in her 'ever so sweet voice', a stupid little act she put on to get people to believe she was a sweetheart. I was always nice to people, but to answer Celeste's question, I sarcastically made a 'Duh' action and pointed to the 'Pinocchio's Village Haus' sign on the wall. Then I pointed to her and put my hands out in a questioning way. The better question is why are you here, Celeste? I thought. "Oh dear, Mr. Hatter," Celeste put her hands on her hips, "Pinocchio's not being very nice." The Hatter chuckled, "Well, he's perfect for you then; a rude little girl and a rude little boy." Celeste gasped, and I silently laughed again. I stuck my hands at the sides of my face and shook my head like I was pulling my tongue out as her, and she gasped again. I waved at the Hatter like an infatuated schoolgirl and then ran away with a huge smile on my face. It was a good day.