So you've gotten your acceptance e-mail, committed to doing the program, and are anxiously waiting on your arrival date. The entire program is a rollercoaster of emotions, and the experience of a lifetime. Disney's Pixar Characters are here to tell you the stages that everyone goes through throughout their entire program:
1. Preparing for the program![]()
You nervously message others on the Facebook group until you find a group of people that you think you will be able to tolerate enough to live with. You freak out about your work location and wonder if you will get placed in one of your top choices, since you'll be living at work more than your apartment, after all.
2. Leaving home for the program![]()
Yes, it is extremely hard saying good-bye to friends, family, and pets, but you cannot contain the excitement. There is so much magic heading your way, and it is so close you can almost touch it.
3. Moving in to the apartment![]()
You finally meet the roommates that you have been texting and video-chatting with daily, and you scream with excitement. You were afraid that things would be awkward, but you feel right at home immediately. All of your homesickness goes away, for you realize that you are at home.
4. Getting through "meetings week"
This will be your longest week of your program. You have Casting, housing meetings, and one or two other events that you have to attend. You won't have your main gate yet, so you take your free time (and there will be a lot of it) to go resort hopping. You see the top of Cinderella's Castle from the Contemporary, and just want to be in the parks already.
5. Going to Traditions
Yay! The day finally has arrived where you receive your name tag, Disney Blue ID, and become an official Walt Disney Cast Member! You watch videos and listen to speeches that fill your heart with emotions, and you tear up as Mickey comes in with your name tag.
6. Going to the parks for the first time
Whether you have visited Walt Disney World (or Disneyland) before your program, everything appears so much more magical when you are a Cast Member. If you haven't cried at one of the night-time shows before, you certainly will now. You look around in awe, while continuously telling yourself that you now work for this magical place.
7. Attending "Welcome to Operations"
8. Going to your park's orientation
Along with Traditions, this is a day you've been waiting for. You get a full tour of your new home, learn cool facts, and even get to ride a ride.
9. Working your first training shift
You are filled with anxiety as soon as your trainer begins showing you around and explaining things like it's common sense. You come home with pages of notes that you have to study, and you already are freaking out for your assessment. You have to learn code words, hand signals, safety procedures, and so much more.
10. Being assessed
Your training period is over before you know it, and you are being assessed. You ace the written part, and take a deep breath as you begin your performance part. You give everything that you got, and you hope that you pass. You feel confident, but you also want to make sure that you fit all of the standards. Of course, you ace it, and excitedly peel off your "Earning my ears" ribbon.
11. Working your first "real" shift
Everything is different without having the security blanket of a trainer by your side. Guests are asking you questions and you are giving them directions on your own, hoping they are right. I mean, you're almost positive you're correct, but you hate that there isn't someone reassuring your every move.
12. Getting the hang of things
You finally are in the flow of your new routine, and you can finally breathe and relax. Days will always be hectic, but you finally figured out how to fit your personality into your position, and you can say that you love your job.
13. Being in denial that your program is ending
Wait, you just got here! Or it at least seems like it. You have a month left of your program, and you are trying to forget that you will no longer be surrounded by magic on the daily. You enjoy the rest of your program to the fullest.
14. Working your last shift
There is no more denying it, your program is coming to a close. You fight back the tears every time you use your area's "themed greeting," and you use your breaks to cry in the break room with your coworkers who are also leaving.
You thought you couldn't possibly cry any more, until you clock out and see Mickey thanking you for the last time. You will bawl your eyes out as you leave your area for the final time, and you never realized how much you love your costume until you have to return it for good.
15. Saying good-bye to your roommates
It is unbelievable to think that you may never see your roommates ever again, depending on how far away they are from you. You once shared a living space with them, and suddenly, you are back to texting.
16. Getting home from the program
Although you are excited to see your friends and family once again, you suddenly feel empty. You no longer make magic for a living and no longer are surrounded by palm trees. You know that eventually, you will fall back into the routine of things though, and see it as a memory.
17. Realizing Disney is your home
Or, you can be like me and realize that it has been two months since your program passed, and you still miss Disney as much as when you got home. Whether it is moving back to Florida and working for the company again, or buying an annual pass so you can visit all the time, you cannot wait to go back to your second home.
The Disney College Program was hands-down the best experience of my entire life, and I would not change a single thing about it. Please enjoy every second of it, because it will flash before your eyes. But when it is over, just remember, it's not a "good-bye," it's a, "see you real soon."
