The day was March 14th. I had just pulled into work and was wasting time in my car, procrastinating going into a room with eleven screaming two-year-olds. I decided to check my email when I saw it: the word congratulations in big bold letters. I had gotten into a program that had a 15 percent acceptance rate. I felt important and amazing. I called my mother crying uncontrollably, screaming through the tears that I finally got something I had been dreaming of.
Fast forward to June 6th and I walked through the doors of Patterson Court 16103 and met the four other girls who would become my best friends within two short months. However, I now sit between my packed bags planning my 14 hour route home in time for school to start next month. While I absolutely loved my life here and will never ever regret my time working for the Walt Disney Company, I am glad I'll be back home in good ole' Rusvegas soon and here is why:
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1. After a few months of saying, "Howdy folks, welcome to the Country Bear Jamboree" you quickly begin to question your future.
I worked at Tom Sawyer's Island and Country Bear Jamboree in Frontierland of Magic Kingdom. Every day I would move from the island, to driving a raft, to the jamboree and answer the same 20 questions over and over. The worst part was learning the show word for word, which will forever underscore every dream I have for the rest of my life.
2. The people here make Dory look like Albert Einstein.
There was recently an article going viral on Facebook about the worst drivers in America and surprise, surprise Orlando was on the list. People would ask me at work, 'what time is the three o'clock parade?'. Well folks, that's a tough one. My favorite example though was telling guests how to use the trash cans on multiple occasions. It's not rocket science people.
3. Watching all the backstage "magic" isn't actually that magical.
Every day to get to work you have to walk through the mythical tunnels so you don't ruin the show for guests. After all, how would you feel if you saw a pirate over in Fantasyland? Whole vacation - ruined. Besides, they smell distinctly like rotten onions on a daily basis.
4. College Programmers are fondly referred to as ' slave labor".
Disney ever so kindly provides housing for all of the people participating in the DCP. But to miss out on an opportunity to make money would just be silly. Our rent is $107 a week, with six girls living in the apartment. Over eight months of living there, they easily take over $18,000 of our hard earned money that we killed ourselves to make. Working 50 - 70 hours a week for some locations isn't completely unheard of and sometimes even normal.
5. You are easily disposable.
Disney has waves of people coming through every year to only work there a short amount of time. The DCP is something that is highly sought after and considered a great achievement. People from all over the world come to participate just to add this fortune 500 company to their resume. So when someone leaves early, it isn't a big deal. They will have someone in your spot next Tuesday.
6. After a while you get sick of the parks.
I have ridden almost every ride in both Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom several times, know how to navigate each by heart, and can tell you where every scary part is on the rides. Animal Kingdom I conquered once and never had the desire to go back. I haven't spent much time in Epcot, but as someone who lives for thrill rides and doesn't get paid enough to try foods at every country in world showcase, it doesn't seem to be the park for me.
7. You don't actually get to play with the kids.
As an early childhood education major, I love kids. I can't live without them. Naturally I am used to spending large amounts of my time talking about pirates and princesses. But Florida is hot and their mom said they couldn't have a bubble wand, so trying to interact with the children down here is a lot like sticking your hand in a pit full of alligators.
I came to Disney because I had a quarter life crisis and didn't know what I wanted to do with my life. After working here though, I know for a fact that I belong in a classroom getting to teach little kids. So along with the free Mickey ears, at least I got that out of this program.
