The Bernhagens look at their newfound lifestyle in themes. For the first two years, they read every tourist information book they could find and highlighted the places they wanted to visit. Then they formed travel plans to get to those locations. "We also tried to incorporate visits to relatives," Stephanie adds. "At family reunions back in Iowa, we never got much time with our kin." "That worked great for two years," Paul adds. "But we burned ourselves out visiting amusement parks. Then we toured caves." Paul describes the third theme as finding and attending every rally around. Their fourth theme was to rendezvous with "boomer" friends they had met through their affiliation with Escapees RV Club.

In their fifth theme, they worked two winters for "The Mouse" at Disney World in Florida. Paul notes that some "boomer" friends had worked there for a number of years. Their enthusiasm encouraged the Bernhagens to join about 32 others for the first winter. "To get hired is simple, especially if you know someone," Paul says. "We just kind of 'dropped' our experienced friends' names. We were both interviewed at the same time by the same interviewer." Paul and Stephanie discovered that workers can choose as much work as they want, from one to six days a week. "Because we went to Disney to meet people and have fun, we chose to work one or two days a week in ten hour shifts, enough to get all the perks," he says. "However, we noticed that our neighbors, who worked six to eight hour shifts, three or four days a week, made less than us in the same number of hours."

First, Paul and Stephanie learned some "Mouse" terminology. Employees are "Cast Members" and Disney World provides "costumes," not uniforms, for cast members to wear. Employment is in three levels. Full-time positions include paid benefits, but are not easily obtained in some areas of work. Seasonal positions, referred to as Casual Temporary (CT), are available during peak tourist season and may last from a few days to a few months. They offer no paid benefits. Part-time positions, referred to as Casual Regular (CR), do not receive paid benefits. CRs must be fully available two days a week in most locations. They also must not exceed 24 hours of work in a week for more than half the weeks of the year. The Bernhagens advise to seek employment as a CR for the benefit of a main gate pass following 90 days of employment. Main gate passes allow holders to bring as many as three guests into the parks on 12 separate occasions. Other perks include admission for cast members to Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney MGM, and Animal Kingdom. Cast members hired before the end of October typically receive a Christmas package that includes significant discounts in stores and restaurants on Disney property, plus passes to bring three guests into the park. Throughout the year, there are specials for cast members, including discounts or free entrance to the water parks and other Disney attractions.

For the first year, Stephanie and Paul both worked primarily crowd control for the "Indiana Jones Epic Stunts Show." "That means getting 2,000 people in and out eight times a day," Paul says. "The second winter, that show was under renovation and ran for only two months. We worked there again, then we started training in different areas." Stephanie adds: "They bounced us around the second year to different positions. It was fun to have diversity." Initially, Stephanie and Paul both trained for "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Playground." Their next show was "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," a Broadway-type musical presentation. Again, they worked crowd control, getting about 1300 people in and out five times a day. They also did a holiday special, "Beauty and the Beast." But after they worked "Hats and Horns" on New Year's Eve, passing out hats and noise makers to some 40,000 people, Stephanie retreated to their trailer to work seven days a week on the book she had been researching. Despite skills limited to technical writing, she had, early into their adventure, entertained thoughts about writing a book. "But I didn't want to write from our perspective only," she says. "About two years into our journey, we hooked up with 'Boomers' in Escapees and I had broader resources on full-timers who were too young to retire."

Stephanie admits that writing on the road is hard because she prefers to be out visiting instead of sitting at her keyboard. "One of the main reasons we returned to Florida the second winter was for Stephanie to have a phone line," Paul adds. "She could hook up to the internet and work on her book about four months straight without moving." "And Disney kept Paul busy!" Stephanie says with a laugh. "He started picking up more days and worked until the middle of April. When I finished Take Back Your Life! Travel Full Time in an RV, I felt as though I'd just had a baby!" Back in the world of Disney, Paul monitored children in the "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Playground," making sure they didn't climb the walls or get hurt. Paul also worked "Star Tours," one of six motion simulator-type rides at Disney. He put 40 people on and off a car every five and a half minutes. To keep the Indiana Jones cast working, Disney staged a stunt show in the middle of the street. Paul worked crowd control there, as well, handling about 1500 people a show four or five times a day. "We got to meet visitors from all over the world. I was constantly talking to people," he says. "Our primary job was to socialize and make sure everyone was happy."

The Bernhagens advise RVers who are interested in working for "The Mouse" to go to Florida by October. "First need is an affordable campground," Paul says, noting that Disney provides no RV spaces. "All campgrounds have raised their rates. The first year, we stayed at a camp in the $310 monthly range. The second year, we found one for $200, but it had no trees. A good campground is about $450 per month." In one chapter of Take Back Your Life!, Stephanie addresses personal appearance while working for "The Mouse." Disney has strict dress codes which effect what the company calls "The Disney Look." "Disney loves RVers. They are typically more mature and responsible," Paul adds. "Disney knows that when RVers are hired, they'll show up. Most can function without guidance. It's a plus to mention that you are an RVer in an interview." Paul also advises, "If you are turned down at Disney the first time, keep going back week after week. It's worth persistence to be keepers of "The Mouse Kingdom."