"Do You Work Here?"...A Disney College Program Recap.
When I was getting ready to move down to Orlando and I would tell people that I was doing the College Program I got a lot of different reactions. But most people who had done the program already told me that they hated the hours and the terrible pay but the experience was great.
I love where I work. I could have never asked for a better work location. I got to interact with guests daily and make magic for people coming through Tomorrowland. I got to wave at people wearing a Mickey glove and hand out Happy Birthday buttons. I got to pin trade and get a new ice cream for someone who just dropped theirs. I got to ride Space Mountain with the lights on!
I got to have dance parties with guests and sing along to Disney songs at the top of my lungs. I got to celebrate Galactic Heros, engagements, and kids who finally got the courage to ride Space Mountain. I got to give directions and advice on how to spend the day. I got to watch children stop crying just because I handed them a Mickey Sticker and watch the fireworks light up the sky dozens of times.
I could have never asked for a better place to spend my college program. Sure I was paid nothing and at times I didn't even go into work until 9:30 but the many times I got to interact with guests made it worth it.
Here are some of my favorite guest interactions:
1) Right at the beginning of one of the Christmas parties a woman came up to me and asked if we sold childrens underwear because her daughter just had an accident. We do sell them and I was able to give the woman the underwear for no charge with the help of my manager. While we were waiting the woman told me that this happens really rarely and when they were in the bathroom the little girl asked her mom to not tell Santa that she had had an accident. When the woman brought her daughter over to us to thank us we assured her that neither Santa or Mickey would know that she had an accident. The woman was so grateful and the little girl was adorable.
2) During a Halloween party there was a group dressed as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs but all of the dwarfs were female and the Snow White was male. So clever. We had them sign our autograph book and talked to them for a little while.
3) During Christmas week I was glow walking with Mark. It was barely 50 degrees out, Mark had forgotten his jacket, and we had been making fun of him all night. We were stopped in the middle of the land and Mark was playing with the bubble gun. A family came up to us to play with our glow and we ended up talking to them for a while. This was their 4th day of their vacation and their first visit to Disney. Their vacation had been filled with frustration because of how busy it was. We gave them directions to Dumbo and then gave them some tips for when they came back to the Magic Kingdom later in the week. The dad went to take a picture of one of the daughters decked out in some glow and Mark and I photobombed the photo. Then the other daughter wanted a a similar photo so we photobombed one with her. Finally, the dad wanted a picture of just Mark and me and when he took it one of the daughters photobombed it. They didn't end up buying anything but we had a lot of fun talking to them.
4) A little boy walked up to Kristen in the Arcade, the store Space Mountain dumps out into, and says, "Can I ask you a question?" Kristen said yes and he goes, "On a scale of 1 to 100, I would rate this ride a 100!"
5) On New Years Eve Eve I was glow walking with Dominic and after the fireworks they turn the whole park into a giant party by pumping the music from the DJ that was in front of the castle throughout the whole park. Dominic and I had an awesome two person dance party but when the Cupid Shuffle came on I had an awesome dance party with a few guests. That is my favorite line dance and it was epic.
6) During a Halloween party I was working in the Buzz Shop. A photo came through of a guy dressed as Thor. He was ah-mazing! His costume was perfect and he looked so much like Chris Hemsworth. When the guy himself came off the ride and into the shop we flagged him down and gave him his photo as a magical moment. He was so excited because his photo was epic. I swear Chris Hemsworth hid in plain sight by dressing as Thor.
7) On New Years Eve two boys came up to me in the Buzz shop after getting off the ride. It was about 10:30. They had both gotten double Galactic Hero because the ride had stopped while they were on it. Galactic Hero is the highest score you can get on the ride, 999,999. We make buttons to give to people who get it and thats what the boys asked for. As I gave them the buttons they asked if they could have buttons that said 2013 on them. I said no because it wasn't 2013 yet. Dennis, one of the other cast members, told me to just give it to them and I refused. Dennis and I fought over the marker, there was yelling and arguing, it was very entertaining. One of the boys ended up getting a 2013 button from Dennis. About 2 minutes later they came back to try and get more but I had confiscated the markers from Dennis. I convinced them to give me the button back and challenged them to come back in 2013 and get Galactic Hero again. Then they would have two 2012 buttons and one 2013. They accepted the challenge but told me that I had to make them special buttons myself with their name. So I got their names, Travis and Joey, and made them buttons. I ended up going on break and then being assigned to the Arcade so I don't actually know if they came back but we had a lot of fun and it made my night.
8) At another Halloween party I met Lloyd and Karen. They were dressed as Snape and Bellatrix and their costumes were outstanding. His Snape costume was nearly perfect. Then they told me that Karen makes their costumes herself and it takes her about a year. They come to the Halloween parties three times each year. The third time is on Halloween itself, which is their anniversary, and they always dress as different victorian ghosts taken right from The Haunted Mansion. They were awesome and I was so impressed by their costumes. I saw them again on Halloween and their victorian ghost costumes were outstanding.
9) During a Christmas party when I was collecting wishes I had a little 5 year old boy tell me that his Christmas wish was to have a fun job. Another kind told me their wish was to live in Disney. I also got to make a wish come true when a girl told me her wish was to meet Peter Pan and I was able to tell her that he was there that night.
10) When I was glow walking I was talking to a balloon guy on the bridge near the stitch ride. We don't usually have balloon guys in Tomorrowland so it is cool when they come by. A little boy came up to buy one of the balloons that lights up and he asked how it was able to do that. I told him that it was full of pixie dust and his eyes widened.
Working with guests was tough sometimes but it was also what made the experience memorable. That, and all of my lovely fellow cast members that made magic with me. We shared a lot of laughs.
I love where I work. I could have never asked for a better work location. I got to interact with guests daily and make magic for people coming through Tomorrowland. I got to wave at people wearing a Mickey glove and hand out Happy Birthday buttons. I got to pin trade and get a new ice cream for someone who just dropped theirs. I got to ride Space Mountain with the lights on!
I could have never asked for a better place to spend my college program. Sure I was paid nothing and at times I didn't even go into work until 9:30 but the many times I got to interact with guests made it worth it.
Here are some of my favorite guest interactions:
1) Right at the beginning of one of the Christmas parties a woman came up to me and asked if we sold childrens underwear because her daughter just had an accident. We do sell them and I was able to give the woman the underwear for no charge with the help of my manager. While we were waiting the woman told me that this happens really rarely and when they were in the bathroom the little girl asked her mom to not tell Santa that she had had an accident. When the woman brought her daughter over to us to thank us we assured her that neither Santa or Mickey would know that she had an accident. The woman was so grateful and the little girl was adorable.
2) During a Halloween party there was a group dressed as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs but all of the dwarfs were female and the Snow White was male. So clever. We had them sign our autograph book and talked to them for a little while.
3) During Christmas week I was glow walking with Mark. It was barely 50 degrees out, Mark had forgotten his jacket, and we had been making fun of him all night. We were stopped in the middle of the land and Mark was playing with the bubble gun. A family came up to us to play with our glow and we ended up talking to them for a while. This was their 4th day of their vacation and their first visit to Disney. Their vacation had been filled with frustration because of how busy it was. We gave them directions to Dumbo and then gave them some tips for when they came back to the Magic Kingdom later in the week. The dad went to take a picture of one of the daughters decked out in some glow and Mark and I photobombed the photo. Then the other daughter wanted a a similar photo so we photobombed one with her. Finally, the dad wanted a picture of just Mark and me and when he took it one of the daughters photobombed it. They didn't end up buying anything but we had a lot of fun talking to them.
4) A little boy walked up to Kristen in the Arcade, the store Space Mountain dumps out into, and says, "Can I ask you a question?" Kristen said yes and he goes, "On a scale of 1 to 100, I would rate this ride a 100!"
5) On New Years Eve Eve I was glow walking with Dominic and after the fireworks they turn the whole park into a giant party by pumping the music from the DJ that was in front of the castle throughout the whole park. Dominic and I had an awesome two person dance party but when the Cupid Shuffle came on I had an awesome dance party with a few guests. That is my favorite line dance and it was epic.
6) During a Halloween party I was working in the Buzz Shop. A photo came through of a guy dressed as Thor. He was ah-mazing! His costume was perfect and he looked so much like Chris Hemsworth. When the guy himself came off the ride and into the shop we flagged him down and gave him his photo as a magical moment. He was so excited because his photo was epic. I swear Chris Hemsworth hid in plain sight by dressing as Thor.
8) At another Halloween party I met Lloyd and Karen. They were dressed as Snape and Bellatrix and their costumes were outstanding. His Snape costume was nearly perfect. Then they told me that Karen makes their costumes herself and it takes her about a year. They come to the Halloween parties three times each year. The third time is on Halloween itself, which is their anniversary, and they always dress as different victorian ghosts taken right from The Haunted Mansion. They were awesome and I was so impressed by their costumes. I saw them again on Halloween and their victorian ghost costumes were outstanding.
9) During a Christmas party when I was collecting wishes I had a little 5 year old boy tell me that his Christmas wish was to have a fun job. Another kind told me their wish was to live in Disney. I also got to make a wish come true when a girl told me her wish was to meet Peter Pan and I was able to tell her that he was there that night.
10) When I was glow walking I was talking to a balloon guy on the bridge near the stitch ride. We don't usually have balloon guys in Tomorrowland so it is cool when they come by. A little boy came up to buy one of the balloons that lights up and he asked how it was able to do that. I told him that it was full of pixie dust and his eyes widened.
Working with guests was tough sometimes but it was also what made the experience memorable. That, and all of my lovely fellow cast members that made magic with me. We shared a lot of laughs.
This was a hard semester, I was homesick a lot, but I wouldn't change it for anything. My dream was to work at Disney and it is still really surreal. Every time I am taking the bus into work and the castle comes into view it doesn't feel real. I ended very quickly, I still can't believe its over. I am so glad that I decided to do this, it was the perfect way to start my career with Disney. Even though I am sick of the land music, the People Mover narration, and how the Stitch ride makes it sound like the world is constantly ending, Tomorrowland will always be a very special place for me. I met some amazing people and had some amazing experiences. I can't wait to see what the future will bring being seasonal and a campus rep. And yes, I was asked, "Do you work here?" Many, many times.
