The happiest job on Earth.
Cyan Nardiello, a Florida-based college student, turned her love of theme parks into a full-time childcare company called “Once Upon a Nanny.”
The concept is fairly straightforward: local residents and vacationing families can hire her services as a “fairy god nanny” to watch their kids at Disney World, Universal Orlando, and other theme-parks.
The idea came to her after she got permission to take one of her clients’ children to Disney World for an afternoon, which eventually became a weekly after-school tradition.
Nardiello began sharing videos of their adventures on TikTok, which amassed millions of likes and followers.
"I decided to make a business out of it before someone stole my idea," she told Insider. "I wasn't really planning on making Once Upon a Nanny what it is, but I realized that there's a demand for it."
Per the outlet, a typical day involves her riding attractions, swimming in resort pools, and embracing the magic. Who said a job couldn’t be fun?
Aside from a few local families that are repeat customers, she mostly caters to vacationers staying at the Florida resorts.
Her packages include nannying for a single day, babysitting the kids for the full duration of the trip, or in-hotel services while the parents embrace a date night.
"If the family I'm working for wants an extra set of hands, I'll stay with them through the park," she said. "I can also take the children to do age-appropriate activities while parents go on bigger rides or drink around the world at Epcot."
Not only has she managed to turn it into a successful business, the New Jersey-native is fulfilling a promise she made to herself at 13-years-old when she first visited Disney.
"When I was applying to colleges, I typed in 'closest college to Disney' and the University of Central Florida popped up," she told Insider, adding, "I never looked at or applied to another school. I love it."
Despite visiting the theme parks two to four times a week, she has yet to get sick of them.
"I'm there a lot," she said. "It's always as much fun as the first time I went."
Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic forced her to shift her business model a bit.
Nardiello and her employees, who she’s hired on to help with the recent uptick in demand, must be familiar with all theme-park guidelines and assure that children wear face masks.
In the future, she hopes to expand the business to cover every Disney park.
For those interested in her services, Nardiello has several different packages available on her website!
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