For this blog post, I wanted to make it a little more personal about my experiences of working for Disney. Past posts have educated and explored some theme park strategies, but I think this one will be more about what the company means to me.

Before working for the company, I didn’t really understand how large of an impact it would have on my life. I, of course, knew that Disney was a huge corporation and would look great on my resume, but had a friend not suggested the Disney College Program I would have never applied to work for the company. It has grown into an obsession! Before, I simply had an annual pass for Disneyland and would see the new movies as they came out. Sure, I enjoyed what Disney had to offer, but that is nothing like how I feel now.

Following my application online for the Disney College Program, I read in-depth about the program and what it had to offer. The housing, the jobs I could work, the experiences I would have. It sounded like a wonderful opportunity. I then had a phone interview with a recruiter. They went through my past experiences and why I felt I would be right for the position. And then after two weeks of waiting desperately to hear whether or not I would be accepted… I finally got the email. I can remember the day like it was yesterday! I received the email notification on my phone and literally screamed with excitement. It was one of those pivotal moments in my life where I can look back and think “that was when everything changed.” I learned that I was accepted for Attractions at Walt Disney World and I would be in Florida from May 2013 to January 2014. It was then that I began to obsess over every factor of the program and began to join Facebook groups for the college program and watch every YouTube video that I could. I even found my roommates on the group.

And then I moved to Florida. This was the first time I flew on my own. I had my luggage with me, and my Mom and family were crying as I was leaving. It was tough, but so exciting. For move in day, we were sent to the Vista Way apartments. There are four complexes that Disney has for the college program – and we were sent to the oldest, and ratchetest location that not everyone wants to live at. The place where they have to OVER CHLORINATE the pool because of past naughty people. Our apartment had six roommates. We clicked and really hit it off! It was a relief because everyone dreads that they’ll live with someone they won’t really like.

Then I was trained at Space Mountain in Tomorrowland Attractions. What a thrill this was! Everyone dreams that they can see Space Mountain with the lights on and really see how magical it is. Well, it turns out that it’s not so magical on the inside. It’s actually really dusty and old. But I still love my mountain and the people I worked with. Just as you’d think, working at Disney was filled with positive and fun people. We had experiences working at Space Mountain that you would never imagine – good and bad. We liked to call it “Breakdown Mountain” because of how often it would have to be closed. Sometimes the ride would back-up because we weren’t clearing the load and unload areas fast enough and we would have to close for a bit. There were even times where we would close down because someone would accidentally drop their bag on the ride track. (It was secretly our favorite time of the day since we got free time!) I worked on holidays, some late nights until 4am, and most of the time I was standing for hours. I had to know safety protocols before I learned anything about customer service. I could get into some technical jargon and the ins-and-outs of the Mountain, but I think I’ll leave that to your imagination and not ruin the magic!

Halfway through the program, two of our roommates were kicked out. We were in an apartment that was under 21 so we couldn’t drink alcohol. They didn’t like that rule and didn’t listen to us other roommates wanting to follow it. But then they were quickly replaced with two much better people. And now we still have a Facebook group chat with the six of us!

Throughout my program I also took classes like Disney Corporate Analysis and Disney Heritage. Through these classes I earned my Ducktorate and my Mouseters degrees! These offered further glances into the corporate side of the company and its history.

There is so much to talk about with my experiences of working for the Mouse. I kept track of the celebrities I saw (favorite being Michael Bublé). And I spent way too much money on souvenirs! The best part were all of the random adventures that my friends and I would go on when we weren’t working.

After my program, I went seasonal for a year which allowed me more time with the many perks of being a Cast Member. And now I’m obsessed with almost every aspect of the Walt Disney Company. Unfortunately, I could not keep up with the demands of being a seasonal cast member, and that means no more perks. The worst part is that now I have to pay for my annual pass for Disneyland. I do miss being treated well by the company.

Overall, I would say the biggest takeaway I have from working for the Mouse is that I grew to truly love myself. If you’ve dealt with this task, you’ll know that it’s not easy and takes a lot of soul-searching. It was a process of being on my own and finding my true potential of who I really am. I met so many great people at Disney, from roommates to coworkers to random friends to management. They really MADE the college program something I’ll never forget and I’m forever grateful for the experience.

If you’d like to learn more about the Disney College Program, you can click here. Just a heads up, it is an undergraduate program. They’re not taking applications yet, but you can subscribe here to know when they’ll open up the next applications. My tip for you: be magical and give them a reason to love you – and they will!