DISNEY CRUISE LINE: A NEW ADVENTURE

Well, hello!

And welcome to my new blog.

It's been a long road but it's finally time for Matt James to join Disney Cruise Line and sail the seven seas. For those of you who already know me, you can only imagine the grand adventures that await. For anyone reading this who has never met me, I apologize in advance for the hours of entertainment that you'll get from reading about my life at sea. It's a hard job, but somebody's gotta do it. 

Let me start off by talking a little about how I got this job and what I'll be doing. I started working for the Disney company back in June of 2007 while I was working on my BFA in Theatre Performance at VCU in Richmond, VA. I was hired as a seasonal cast member (working during the summers and holidays) to be a Hollywood Tour Guide on the Great Movie Ride (GMR) in Disney's Hollywood Studios. On the ride, I took a group of 70-140 people on a "magical journey into the movies" where Animatronics acted out famous scenes from well known movies. During the ride, a real life gangster eventually took my vehicle hostage and it became my job to save the day and finish the tour. Needless to say, it was pretty much the best time of my life. Here are a few photos of my time at GMR (2007-2008):

And if you're REALLY interested in what my job entailed, you can watch me do the entire 20 minute show here:

After completing my BFA in 2009 and working at regional theatres for a couple years, I made the big move to New York City where I've been for the past year. I'd been dying to work on Disney Cruise Line and when the opportunity to apply for an Entertainment Host position came up, I went for it! After two interviews on Skype and four audition videos submitted through YouTube, I was offered the job in August. In November, I was offered a contract term and tomorrow morning, I begin my new adventure.

Check out my audition videos here:

AUDITION VIDEO #1 - PERSONAL INTRODUCTION

AUDITION VIDEO #2 - PIRATE

AUDITION VIDEO #3 - CHEF

AUDITION VIDEO #4 - HOEDOWN THROWDOWN

Tomorrow, I fly to Orlando and begin my shore side training before heading to my ship, the Disney Fantasy, on Saturday. I am so excited, I can barely stand it. The adventures that await will be mind boggling and I'll use this blog to keep track of my journey along the way. I will be sure to update this blog as much as possible. As for now, I'm going to try and get some sleep. "There's a great big beautiful tomorrow!"

Thanks for reading!