Scott Wolf: What were you doing before you were Ambassador?

Cathie Milam Ingalsbe: Before I was Ambassador I worked in Guest Relations for ten years. That was a wonderful experience because it certainly prepared me to be Ambassador, and previous to that I worked in the Carnation Plaza Gardens. That was really fun. I really got in touch with different types of Guests that would come to the park. We would have shows at the Carnation Plaza Gardens stage and it was a good entry into the park. It really humbled me, and it gave me the opportunity to stand next to the castle everyday, and respect it and then move on to where I ended up as Ambassador.

What were you doing at Carnation Plaza Gardens?

CMI: I served ice cream, hamburgers, I did a little bit of everything really, but it was very fun and the crew that I worked with was wonderful.

What year were you Ambassador?

CMI: I was Ambassador in 1997.

What were the big things happening at the park that year?

CMI: We just said farewell to the famous Electrical Parade and it was a very moving experience to see the parade go, I loved it dearly. We replaced it with Light Magic which was innovative and new and exciting with pixies and them bringing the street to life and the rolling stages that they had. The technology was amazing. It was fun to bring something new to Disneyland, because vital to Disneyland is the entertainment that they provide. It was fun, the music was wonderful, and it was nice to see them trying something different.

Did you do any traveling?

CMI: I did, even before I was Ambassador, I went to Mexico and represented the park because I speak fluent Spanish. So I did public interviews and discussed the opportunities that people would have coming here to the park as Guests. At the same time I did traveling to the Portland Rose Festival as the Ambassador. Mickey Mouse and I were the Grand Marshals in the parade. I also participated in a dedication ceremony in Sacramento on the floor of the house I believe. I spoke with Mickey Mouse, of course, and that was really neat. I've never been involved with government and Disney.

There were so many things that I did that year that I was just constantly going places. I had the opportunity to go to Walt Disney World for the first time. The three of us, Christina (McGeorge DiFrancesco), Robyn (Schatz) and I had never been to Walt Disney World.

The three of you were the Ambassador team?

CMI: Yes. We convinced the Ambassador program that we needed to go to the park because they were going to be bringing attractions from there to our park, so for us to be able to explain them it would be nice for us to be able to ride them.

The departments that we worked in... I worked in Guest Relations, Robyn worked at the main entrance and Christina worked at the hotels, so we went to each of the hotels while we were in Florida and we brought them something from the Cast Members at Disneyland. We went to each of the hotels and brought them a gift, I brought my pins from Guest Relations to all the Guest Relations at the different theme parks and then Robyn brought commemorative main gate passes signed by all the Cast Members to all the different main gates. It was a very moving experience and very memorable. All the years that I've gone back to visit, they still have the gifts that we gave them. It meant a lot to me that they really respected what we did.

Do you have any other particular favorite memories?

CMI: Yes. I have a very specific one. I was in Portland at Doernbecher Hospital that's for children. It's twelve floors of very sick children. Mickey and I were touring and we were greeting kids and we were asked to go into a room where a boy had just become blind because of kidney problems. They said, "Well, he can't see Mickey," and I said, "Of course he can see Mickey." I brought Mickey in, I told him who I was, I announced that Mickey Mouse is there so the little boy began to touch Mickey's ears, his nose, and he said, "Can Mickey sing with me?" I really hadn't heard Mickey sing, so I said, "Mickey can play the piano while you sing a song with me." So Mickey played the piano and they sang together. So that was one of my most memorable experiences to see the Disney magic come through in such a difficult time in a child's life, by losing his site, but he never once complained, was never unhappy, was probably happier than some being here at the park.

My platform was really children's health and welfare and that's where I'm going in my life in becoming a nurse. I do a lot of missionary work and I still have that Disney magic. I still try to push some Disney things on them. It works out nicely. I'm thankful that Disney gave me the opportunity to see that I have the skill to do something where I can make a difference by doing something very small. I do missionary work in other countries. I translate for the doctors because I am fluent in Spanish, but I felt like if I'm translating I could be moving a scalpel or doing something more so I'll be receiving my BSN in 2010 and then I'll be a surgical nurse and then hopefully a nurse anesthetist which is very necessary in third world countries because I could actually put the patients under, they don't need an MD to do that. I would have the skills, which would help to then help other people.

Do you think you would have still gone in that direction if it weren't for Disney?

CMI: I really don't know. My mother suffered from colon cancer and passed away in 2001, and going through her experience really showed me that I was a stronger person than I realized that I was.

It's funny, things that come easy to me seem trivial so I never realized that science was my skill. I always thought Disney was. But, then I found a way to make them both work and I told my husband, "You just wait. When I'm a nurse and I'm tired of working, I'm going to retire at Disneyland as a nurse in First Aid." I'd have no problem doing that.

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