Entertainment

Hannah B. Lived Out A Disney Fangirl's Dream This Week On 'DWTS'

by Hannah Brown
Hannah Brown and Alan Bersten hearing their scores during Disney Week on DWTS.
ABC/Eric McCandless

The race for the Mirror Ball is on once again in Season 28 of Dancing with the Stars, and this time, former Bachelorette Hannah Brown is taking the stage with her partner Alan Bersten. This week Hannah was all smiles, as she traveled to Disney Land for Disney week and performed the foxtrot to "A Whole New World." Read on to find out about everything that happened in the week leading up to this performance in Hannah's DWTS diary.

Tuesday, Oct. 8

I'm coming off of a good night with some great scores, so I am feeling great! I have a lot of energy and a really positive attitude, but Alan is stressed out because this is Disney week, which is a big night for Dancing with the Stars. Our dance is twice the length it normally is.

We're doing a foxtrot to "A Whole New World," so Alan has been up really early choreographing the dance, and then I got in a few hours later and we started learning it. I'm being silly and having a good time because I'm a good mood, but Alan is really just not having it today, because he wants us to get the choreography. This week is really hard for us all because we have overnight shoots coming up, so we have to get a head start on everything.

Wednesday, Oct. 9

Today I did an interview with E! News, and it was really fun to get to go in and talk to everyone about what's going on in my life. I wore this really cool dress, I call it the tiny house dress because it has tiny houses on it. It's not normally something I would wear, but it was a cool look.

Straight from that, I had to go to practice. We only had a two-hour practice because Alan had to go to Disney Land to start the pros' rehearsal overnight to learn our big opening numbers. We're stressed out a bit. Me trying to remember the dance has been a little difficult, but I'm doing the best that I can.

(Courtesy of Hannah Brown)

After that, I got to chill for a bit. I had an early night, which I usually don't have, so that was much needed.

Thursday, Oct.10

I had physical therapy this morning, and then I went and got some errands done before heading off to Disney Land. We're filming all night long, but I figured if I'm going to be in Disney Land, I might as well take full advantage of it. So I got there a little bit early to ride as many rides as I can.

Alan is the best dance partner because he knows how badly I want to be at Disney but that I don't want to go by myself, so he rode all the rides with me even though he was really tired. Then I rode more rides with some of the DWTS executive producers and staff and crew because I'm a total kid. I love the Dancing with the Stars family; everyone has been so kind to me. It does seem a little scary that we have to be up all night shooting this, but they're making it as fun as possible.

Courtesy of Hannah Brown.

After I rode all the rides and had a corn dog and some cotton candy (of course), I got in the makeup chair for our overnight dance and got all pretty with my hair and makeup and my little red costume. I swear, they keep getting tinier and tinier! I had some fun with Goofy and Pluto and Mickey and Minnie and all the fun princesses that were in our opening number. I swear, I fangirl more over freaking Disney princesses and Mickey and Minnie than any celebrity that I've met. I'm an actual weirdo, but it's fine.

All in all, it was truly the coolest experience being at the park after it closed, dancing in front of the castle. It was like my dreams came true.

Friday, Oct. 11

Around 3 a.m. of the shoot, I started getting a little tired. But we survived, and I got home by 5:30 a.m. and got to sleep all day until practice at 5. I slept until 3:30!

Nighttime at the castle. (Courtesy of Hannah Brown)

It wasn't the best rehearsal. I kind of had forgotten the dance because my brain wasn't exactly working very well. But we managed to make it work, and we stayed until I was feeling a lot more comfortable with it.

Saturday, Oct. 12

At this point in the week, we're usually feeling really confident in the dance and where it's at. Not this week. I think Alan is really trying to push me because he knows I can really nail this dance. Peta [Murgatroyd] came and tried to help us a little bit. It's really good to have one of the girls come in and show me exactly how to do it sometimes. I think Peta and Alan and I work really well together; we all have a really great relationship. By the end of our Saturday practice we felt a lot better.

After practice, Alan and I went to one of the spas that a lot of the dancers go to and Maks [Chmerkovskiy] was there. We went back and forth from the sauna to the ice bath for our muscles, because like all the dancers, I've been sore and hurting.

Sunday, Oct. 13

The spa was really helpful! I woke up this morning and my body felt so much better. I got ready to go to the Girl Up event to honor our #GirlHeroes, as a guest of Cara Delevingne and Ashley Benson. Cara is the coolest person ever. She's so sweet, kind, and deserving of being honored. She really does embody everything that a girl hero is, and it was really cool to be able to support her and to hear all about what the Girl Up organization is doing to create opportunities for young women.

Then I went to my camera blocking, and we have a magic carpet! We are taking this thing to a whole new world on the dance floor, and I'm really excited. Then I went to physical therapy, got a little spray tan, as is my ritual before going Monday performances. I'm really hoping for a magical night for Disney night.

Hannah, her parents, and some special Disney guests. (Courtesy of Hannah Brown)

Monday, Oct. 14

I'm tired. Maybe it's because I dance 24/7? I got up this morning and started getting in hair and makeup to be Jasmine for this dance. I thought I was going to have to wear a wig, but they didn't go that route — they let me have my own take on Jasmine, with my own hair (no extensions!). I wore the beautiful dress that Jasmine wears in the new Aladdin movie that came out this year, and I felt very pretty.

Even though I shouldn't be nervous, I am, because I have a great dance, and when I know I do and that I can nail it, I'm even more nervous. I feel like during dress rehearsal and during the show I'm clinging to Alan because I just want to make sure that I do a good job, and I need that support. He's been great at actually calming me — he's not as stressed as he sometimes is. We're making strides!

It's showtime. (Courtesy of Hannah Brown)

It was also really sweet that my parents were out in the audience this week to see me dance on Disney night, because we've have so many great memories at Disney together. We all hung out afterwards, and I got to introduce my parents to my new dancing fam. To realize that I would have my parents here for a little while with me was really nice, because I've missed having my favorite pieces of the South here with me.

It was so exciting getting nines from the judges. The seven kind of sucked, but at least it wasn't for a bad reason. Len gave me the seven, but he was actually giving me compliments on my frame. I'm trying to keep it positive, even though I was a little bit upset about that: I wanted a higher score! I can't pretend like I didn't! But it's all great, it's getting me more hyped up to do my best, because I have a really hard dance for next week.

Watch Hannah and Alan's foxtrot below:

Reporting by Samantha Rollins.