Ever since I can remember, Disney has been a huge part of my life. Being from Miami, the four- hour drive to the happiest place on Earth wasn’t bad at all, so I would visit as many times as I could. When I was around 15, I had heard about the Disney College Program, which is basically a paid internship for college students in either the fall or spring semester. Being 15 and not a college student, I was anxiously waiting for my time to apply and when it finally came, I did!
Around late August, I applied to the Disney College Program for this upcoming Spring 2020 semester. I have always been told it’s very rare to get in on your first try, but the more times you apply, the better chances you have of getting in. I wasn’t expecting to get an email on a Tuesday afternoon on my way to class to participate in a web-based interview for the next step in the application process.
Getting past the first step, I was super excited to be considered. After taking my WBI that consisted of questions about my work ethic and personality, I was scheduled for a phone interview the very next week. In my opinion, this is was the hardest part of the application. The phone interview consists of a Disney recruiter asking about your personal life, the Disney roles you’re interested in, and why you have a particular interest in them. I had spent about a week prepping for questions such as “How would you tell someone that a character has to leave for the day or for a break?” or “What would you do if a child was too short to ride Space Mountain?” All I can remember from that week was a whole lot of nerves, a ton of Starbucks, and a serious lack of sleep.
After having a great phone interview, the waiting game began, and it was tough. Most people could hear back in months, weeks or even days. Every person’s journey is different during this process. Six days after my interview, however, word got around that a wave of acceptances would be occurring. A typical wave usually lasts about a few hours, so after the first hour of not getting any word, I was a little bummed. As I continued doing homework, I decided to just click that refresh button one more time. Fast forward five minutes later, my suitemate found me jumping up and down while yelling to my mom on facetime, “I’m moving to Disney!”
Right after I received that email, I accepted an offer with the Walt Disney Company as a Seater. I will be a hostess for a Disney restaurant in a park or resort. I won’t know my location until a week before, but I’m so excited to create memories and adventures at my favorite place. I will be taking a few online classes to keep up with my degree plan, living in an apartment complex designed for people participating in the program, and will be park hopping during my time off.
In the meantime, while I finish this fall semester before I pack up for Disney, I’ll be apartment shopping, buying all the Disney merchandise possible, and jamming out to Disney music 24/7 (that’s not a surprise).
All gifs courtesy of Giphy.
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