The Walt Disney World College Program is something I will never forget. I was there From January 19, 2015 to July 28, 2015. I made so many friends across the globe and made more memories than I can count. I definitely grew as a person and realized new things about myself when I worked for the Walt Disney Company.
Magic comes in all shapes in sizes
Whether it is from a celebration button or from your roommate making you cupcakes for your birthday cause she wanted you to feel at home, magic is everywhere.
Birthdays really are the best
When it’s your birthday, most of the time a Cast Member will give you a cookie or a cupcake to make you feel special. I went to the Ice Cream Shoppe in Magic Kingdom for part of my birthday celebration and they gave me so much more ice cream than I paid for and they put extra cherries on it.
Graduation feels more special
When you finish the program they give you a pair of Mickey Mouse ears with a tassel on it and a certificate of completion of the program. I chose to embroider mine with my name the first time and my name and “Julia DCP 2015” the second time.
Small Spanish phrases
Like many students I was forced into two years of Spanish in high school. I remembered certain words mainly greetings and food. Which really helped when I worked in the quick service portion of the resort. However I did run into the dreaded language barrier more times than I can count. Thankfully someone who speaks Spanish was never more than a few steps away. When I extended and got a new roommate that I didn’t know she ironically speaks fluent Spanish.
How to live with roommates
When I moved to Orlando, I had never lived with anyone besides family before. I was in for a shock when I got my information and I was destined to live with five beautiful girls who would become my absolute best friends. I learned how to share a refrigerator, share closet space, and most importantly plan shower times. At one point we made a board with Disney stickers on who has taken out the trash lately, at the end I think I had the most stickers in the end.
My new ohana
“Ohana means family, and family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten.”- Lilo and Stitch. I have had people that you grow close to and they become your “Aunt” or "Uncle", but I never truly felt like I had a sister. I grew up in some youth organizations where we were a family, but not like this. These girls I lived with are the kind of girls that stay up with you when you have a break down, give you hugs and a listening ear on your mom’s birthday, and most of all they are the kind of girls that I never knew I needed in my life. I understood the notion that not all family is blood a little more when I moved 16 hours away from school.
Patience
I was the person who couldn’t wait for anything. Now after living in the embodiment of the “hurry up and wait” mentality I have way more patience. Today if you tell me I need to wait an hour and 45 minutes for a ride at a theme park, I’m game to ride it. I now can wait what feels like forever for my food with little to no complaining because I understand what those employees and Cast Members have gone through to make today a magical day. Living in Orlando weirdly made me a more calm person, if you can believe that.
More Disney trivia than anyone would’ve thought was necessary
Before this opportunity I could not have told you what year Walt Disney World opened, the amount of hidden mickeys in various rides or places within each park specifically, I couldn’t tell you how much a dole whip is at the Polynesian, or where Walt Disney grew up as a child. No one goes in expecting to learn these random facts along the way, but it sure makes it easier when a guest asks where the smoking section is and you can tell them the quickest way to get there without using a map.
The importance of restraint when buying things
Cast Members get paid every Thursday and most likely by Friday night I own a new product that I couldn’t live without. This is probably how I managed to acquire three sets of Minnie ears, four Disney Vera Bradley bags, two mugs, 10 “Tsums Tsums”, and an insurmountable amount of stuffed animals. The Cast Member discount did save me a few times when I bought things that made my wallet cry until the cashier added the discount.
These are actually my roommate's Tsum Tsums pictured.
You never get tired of going to the parks
It doesn’t matter if you got off work at 2 a.m., the next morning you are ready to spend all day park hopping and meeting Gaston for the fifth time this month.
How to work crazy hours
I worked in a resort in my first part of my program and I was one of the lucky ones who got to close every night. I loved it because I got to go to the parks all day and then change and go to work and close with arguably the best Cast Members at that resort. Then after work I would get to talk about my day with my best friends until way to early in the morning.
“Safe-D” begins with me
This phrase is one of the first things you learn on the very first day. The safety of the guests is the top priority, and the sheer play on words make me smile. My roommates and I liked to remind each other of this phrase when someone would forget to buckle up in the car.
Jungle Cruise jokes
The Jungle Cruise is one of the least appreciated rides in my opinion. When you get on they immediately start telling the best puns and make fun of you in the meanest yet nicest way possible. A few of my favorites are, “If you liked this tour my name is Colin, if you didn’t my name is Niloc,” “And here you see the Imagination Falls, the only thing in this park that isn’t Frozen,” “The Nile river goes on for Niles, and Niles, and Niles, and if you don’t believe me you’re in disbelief.” And when you get to the other side of the waterfall, “there ladies and gentlemen in the backside of water!”
Walt Disney World will always hold a special place in my heart and I hope to still be a part of the magic when I'm 99 years old.
