- Checking in at Vista -
Checking in at Vista Way for your college program is one of the best feelings ever. You're up all night the night before, just laying in bed waiting for the morning to come so you can be the first in line to check in. In line, you meet so many new CPs who are just as excited as you are to start your program. You also learn where you'll be living, and your work location.
- Casting -
Casting in itself is really not all that exciting, but the emotions you have while you're going through the process can't be beat. The professional interns and DCP staff who walk you through your first couple of days do everything they can to add to the excitement, so that when you walk through those doors at the casting building, you're not thinking about all the paperwork that needs to be filled out, you're just thinking about how happy you are to be working at Walt Disney World.
- Traditions -
Traditions was probably one of the best days of my life. I know it sounds crazy, that an orientation for any job would be one of the best days of your life, but this is probably something you really won't understand unless you experience it for yourself. Sometimes when I tell people about how much I loved working for Disney, they assume it's because I lived near the parks and could basically "vacation" on my days off. That's not why I loved working for Disney though-- anyone can move close to the Orlando area, and enjoy random vacations on their days off. Going through Traditions, and working for the company, is so much more than that, because you become part of a family in a way that I don't think could possibly happen at any other company.
It's the craziest feeling ever to go to the parks for free for the first time, most likely with your roommates because you just arrived and you don't really know anyone else yet. You just received your name tags, and company IDs at Traditions, and after quickly changing out of your business attire, you're on your way to the Magic Kingdom. It's a very strange feeling to see hundreds of people purchasing tickets, while you're just strolling right in. It's even stranger how normal this feels as time goes on.
- Visiting Work Locations -
Before we started our on the job training, one of my roommates, Lexie, and I visited our future work locations-- Dinoland USA for me, and Spaceship Earth for her. It's no secret that I was extremely disappointed when I found out I would be working in Dinoland, as it has always been my least favorite part of the parks. Visiting Dinoland before I started working there was a kind of weird, personal, undertaking in itself. I had waited my whole life to work for Disney, and now I'm here, preparing to work in the only part of Disney I hated. I tried to be optimistic about it, and really give Dinoland a chance. Although I do appreciate Dinoland more now, and it ultimately was not my favorite place to work as I expected, I'm happy that I went into this experience with a positive attitude and really made the most of it.
- Getting Comfortable with Your Location -
I would say that any new job requires some time for you to really start to feel comfortable there. With Dinoland, I instantly felt comfortable with the ordinary merchandise side of my role, but the games, not so much. I hate public speaking, and overcoming this fear on a daily basis was no easy task. While I still think Dinoland is the tackiest thing Disney has ever done, I'm grateful that this opportunity has forced me to get over my fear of public speaking. There's no better cure for fear of public speaking than being forced to spiel over a microphone at five different carnival games.
- Getting Engaged -
As it sometimes goes when a couple applies to the DCP together, only I was accepted for the Fall 2014 program, and Chaz was not. He planned on visiting me for a week in September, where he actually ended up proposing to me (in my favorite place in Disney-- the center of Epcot, right behind Spaceship Earth.)
- Seeing Characters All the Time -
This is another point that someone who hasn't worked for Disney might not understand, but seeing characters all the time is really exciting! For me, there's a certain level of excitement that comes with being able to track down characters that are not out in the parks as often. This is really something you can't do on vacation because you don't have the time to go searching for them, but when you live nearby it's really fun to wander around and look for different characters.
- Working a Treat Shift at the Halloween Party -
When I found out I was accepted for the Fall 2014 program, one of my goals was to work a shift giving out candy at Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party in the Magic Kingdom. I quickly found out that these shifts are usually given to Magic Kingdom Attractions cast members, and that picking them up if you don't work in that area can be challenging. No one wants to give them away, and the extra shifts that were posted online would be picked up in a matter of seconds. Randomly one morning, before I went to work, I logged onto the internal website where shifts are posted and saw "Treat Trail Adv. Pirates." Without even knowing exactly what that meant, and only seeing the words "treat trail" I clicked "sign up," and somehow managed to actually get this shift. For one night, I was able to hang out near Pirates of the Caribbean, and get paid to give out candy, in my favorite costume.
- Completing the Tower of Terror 10 Miler -
If you know me, you know if there's anything I hate it's running. I've never understood the enjoyment of running, especially at any kind of long distance, and if I try to run at the gym I typically give up and move on to something else instead. When one of my friends convinced me to sign up for the Tower of Terror 10 Miler with her, I was planning on doing the race for fun, but did not expect to finish it. I would have been happy if I made it to the halfway mark. Weeks before the DCP started, I completed a 10K, where I came in third to last. Granted there was probably only a couple of hundred people at this race, I still came in third to last. At that time, it looked like running was still never going to be my thing, and finishing the 10 miler just seemed completely out of the question. During the 10 miler, I reached the halfway mark after running for a little over an hour. I was shocked. The pacing requirement to not get picked up was a 16 minute mile, and I was running at a 13 minute mile. Although 5 miles was really all I planned on completing, I couldn't just give up when I was doing so well, so I kept going. I even stopped and waited in line to meet a couple of characters along the way, and I still finished the race in 2 hours and 32 minutes. Finishing a 10 mile race made me feel so accomplished. There's nothing like proving people who wrong, who take a look at you and assume you can't possibly run 10 miles. And if I wasn't already in Florida for the DCP, I would have never pursued this opportunity.
Going to the Christmas parade filming, which actually takes place in early November, was one of the most insane days of my life. To get a ticket for the filming, you need to register online by a certain time, and if you don't do that right away you're most likely out of luck. I didn't get a ticket by registering online, and was initially super bummed out about it. The night before the parade filming, I was riding the bus home from a 3:00 pm to 9:00 pm shift in Dinoland, when I saw on Facebook that someone was giving away a ticket. I messaged this person, who agreed to give me the ticket if I met her at her apartment complex in Chatham. I got off the bus at Chatham, got the ticket, changed my Dinoland pants with yoga pants in my bag, and got back on the bus with a sweatshirt over my Dinoland shirt to go right to Downtown Disney. (I didn't have anything Christmas-y to wear in the morning, and I needed to be at the Magic Kingdom at 4:00 AM.) I spent that night going by CP bus from Animal Kingdom after my shift, to Chatham to pick up the ticket, to Downtown Disney, to Vista (only to change and get ready) to the Contemporary, and then walking to the Magic Kingdom to be there by 4:00. (Yes, taking the bus literally made all of this take overnight.) But being there for the parade filming was so worth it. Even though you couldn't see me on TV, it was so cool to see how the parades actually get filmed.
- Backstage Tours -
When you work for Disney, you have the opportunity to sign up for backstage tours at various attractions. I was lucky enough to have been able to go on four backstage tours during my programs-- The Great Movie Ride, Lights, Motors, Action!, Spaceship Earth, and the Haunted Mansion. All of the tours were great, although the Haunted Mansion was definitely my favorite! Even though Spaceship Earth is my favorite attraction, seeing how the Haunted Mansion works behind the scenes is definitely something I'll never forget. The Great Movie Ride tour does score some points for giving me the chance to take pictures with the audio animatronics though.
- Celebrating Christmas in Disney -
While Christmas Day itself was a little odd (as I was miraculously off from work, and pretty much watched Netflix until my friends got off work) celebrating the entire season in the parks was so much fun. My things to do during the Christmas season were to go resort hopping, and see all of the different resorts all decorated, and to hangout in Epcot, my favorite park.
- Graduation... or was it? -The first graduation from the DCP that I attended didn't feel like a graduation at all. Because I already knew I was extending, it just sort of felt like any other housing event. In any case, in the weeks before graduation, I found out that Chaz was accepted for Custodial for the Spring 2015 program, and I would be extending into Attractions!
- Visiting New Work Locations -
Ironically enough, right before I found out I would be working at Lights, Motors, Action! I had actually gone on a backstage tour of the attraction with my coworkers from Dinoland. Again, Disney had let me down with an attraction I had never personally been thrilled with, but my opinions of LMA completely changed after working there. Now I can't wait to see this show every time I visit the parks.
- Doing the Program with Chaz -
There's something really special about doing the DCP with your significant other. Even though our work schedules were complete opposites, we made time to go on fun dates in the parks and visit each other at work.
- Working at Fantasmic! -
If you knew me during my program, you probably heard me complain at least once about working at Fantasmic! The problem with working there was that it was not my regular location. Cast members who are from other locations but get scheduled there typically resent working there. For me, I didn't like the longer shift-- 11:30 to 9:30 or later depending on how many Fant. shows there were. I also thought it was kind of annoying to leave my show, put on a different costume, and go work at another show. If I still worked in merchandise I might have enjoyed it more, but at the time at LMA I was kind of like, "K, I just worked my show, I want to get off work now." I totally took working there for granted, and I really did enjoy it towards the end of my program. My favorite part about working at Fantasmic! was seeing the audiences faces light up when Sorcerer Mickey appeared at the top of the mountain at the end of the show.
- LNC Family Reunion -
The LNC family reunion was definitely one of my favorite parts of the DCP. The LNC, or Late Night Crew, consists of myself, Chaz, and a group of friends we met through the DCP Facebook groups. Unfortunately not everyone was able to go to Florida for the DCP, but when everyone was finally reunited it was like we had been friends for our entire lives. I think it might sound crazy to some people that we have such a great relationship, and all of us have only been together in person a couple of times. I guess it really is kind of crazy how the DCP can bring people together, even through something small like a Facebook group.
- Visiting Friends at Work -
What better place to visit your friends at work than Disney? It was so much fun to be able to walk around anywhere at Disney and run into your friends, working, and having a great time.
Graduating from the DCP when you know you're actually going to be leaving the program is a surreal feeling. The event itself doesn't feel sad, like you're actually going to be moving on from the program, simply because it hasn't hit you yet. You think about it when you run into a friend, and have to decide if you'll be seeing them again or if this is good-bye, or when you take those photos holding your diploma and wearing your graduation hat for what will actually be the last time. You feel accomplished, but the feeling is bittersweet because you know you're not ready to leave.
- Clocking Out for the Last Time -
Clocking out from your last shift is when your program ending really starts to hit you. It was especially weird for me, because I was the only one whose program was ending. There were only about eight CPs at LMA, and everyone was either extending or on a program with a later end date than mine, so when my last day came it was really only my last day. After I clocked out for the last time, I couldn't help but cry, knowing that my last time (potentially ever) working at Walt Disney World was over.
- Saying Good-bye -
Saying good-bye to the Disney College Program is a long, emotional, exhausting process, this is difficult to explain to someone who hasn't experienced it. Because I stayed for almost two weeks after my program ended (waiting for Chaz's program to end to drive home with him) this process was very drawn out, and probably more ceremonious than it usually is. I planned out which days would be my last days at each of the parks, and made sure to "say good-bye" to the places that had meant the most to me during my program.
Those latex dinosaurs might have been the bane of my existence while working in floor stock in Dinoland, but they obviously impacted me enough that I felt the need to stop by the Boneyard Cart on my last week in the parks. I never thought much about this cart during the program, it was kind of slow and it's only real use seemed to be to provide me a much needed break from the carnival games. But while visiting it on my last trip to Animal Kingdom, I remembered how much I enjoyed that this cart was slow, because it gave me the opportunity to spend more time just hanging out, talking to guests, and playing with those stupid latex dinosaurs. In some strange sort of way, I already knew I'd go home and give anything to be back in Disney, stocking latex dinosaurs at the Boneyard Cart, even when the heat & humidity was at 100%.
Of course, I had to watch LMA one more time before I left (in director's chairs I might add.) Before I worked at LMA, I had only seen this show a handful of times as a guest, and I was honestly never too interested in it. After having worked there, and understanding first hand the amount of talent and hard work that goes into putting on a live stunt show like this, I have a whole new appreciation for it, and will look forward to seeing it each time I visit the parks. While I can't say I'll miss yelling at the top of my lungs for guests to move all the way down, I will definitely miss the fun atmosphere of working here, and the friends I made from extending into this location. (My hat is embroidered with "drive safely!" because this is the queue from the show's director that the show is over and it is safe to open the gates for guests to leave the stadium. I spent so many days standing near the gates at the front of the stadium waiting to hear those words as a signal of the end, that I thought it was only fitting to have them embroidered onto my hat after graduation.)
The most difficult good-bye of the college program comes when you have to finally say good-bye to your friends. Chaz and I spent the last day of our program in the Magic Kingdom, where our friends came and went throughout the day to spend some time with us before we began the drive home. Nora and Cristian stayed with us while we watched Celebrate the Magic and Wishes for the last time. (In case you can't tell in this picture, everyone was crying by this point.) Every time someone leaves the college program, the thing to do is to go to the Magic Kingdom and watch their last Wishes with them. Since I had been there from August to May, I had done this for my friends a number of times, but doing this when you're the one leaving is an entirely different feeling. Saying good-bye to these two was definitely the hardest part of the CP ending.
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