GEM On The Go! New Fantasyland Asks:
Where Do You See Yourself In Five Years? (VIDEO)

“Where do you see yourself in five years?”

I used to take this question for granted during interviews.  As my life track has gone, when I look back five years from any point in my life I’m always surprised at where I’m standing.  Five years before I, a newly divorced woman, moved to New York I was getting married.  In 2008 I was paying someone to sharpen up my telecommunications resume and here I am now, five years later, a successful, freelance writer.  No idea.  And having an “in” such as a baby which meant I could write for a Mother? Ha!  Things change in my world, I roll with them, and so I’ve never really had any real confidence in answering the five year question.

Listening to the work the Walt Disney World New Fantasyland expansion took changed all of that.

I didn’t have the pleasure of actually seeing Mr. Chris Beatty give this interview, but during my stay there was no short supply of information about the detail that went into each element of the park’s additions.  The book that is eaten by a sheep in Beauty And The Beast the movie can be found in Beast’s castle in New Fantasyland with the exact page eaten (or shredded).  The Beast’s dining room has snow on the windows and New Fantasyland is in Florida!  When you get to Dumbo’s ride you can actually spend time in the big top. These aren’t last minute details that just worked; no, they were well thought out plans based on what worked well in the past and what the Disney Imagineers wanted to be their legacy in the future.  They knew five years ago that they wanted a Princess Fairytale Hall and a Seven Dwarves Mine Train; they dreamt it, they planned it, they will have it completed this year.

Now I didn’t have any thoughts that this was a willy nilly project in the least; I’m an artist and I know that everything starts with a concept.  It’s the attention to detail that really caught me off guard, the ability to take something one step further and then another step. That’s where my five-year plan starts, but the imagineers in my own head have more planning to do.  I don’t want to have just land and attractions.  Layers.  I want layers upon layers of intimate, well thought out details to be a part of my new design.  When people attend the grand opening of New Ellaland I want them to marvel at how I took a concept and brought it to life.  Where do I want to be in five years?  Making my wildest dream’s dreams come true.

How about you?  What’s in your five-year plan?  What’s in your five-day plan?  You don’t have to share, but do you understand?  Let me know you know what I’m talking about in the comments!

Disclosure: Disney paid for my trip to Disney World’s New Fantasyland so that I could share these memories with you.  The views, fun, and implications for endless possibilities, are all my own.

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Ella Rucker is the mother of one of the smartest, funniest two-year-olds she’s ever met.  She is currently assistant to the head GEM which means hats-a-plenty including writing, editing, and producing for Good Enough Mother.  An Ohio native implanted in NYC for the last 13 years, Ella has achieved one of her many dreams by writing.  Her musings (she’s amused they’d be called “musings”) can be found at other places on the web so make sure you follow her on twitter@ellalaverne for all the information.