If I’m being honest, I never thought I would see this day. I used to hold out hope that I would return to the Disney College Program after the coronavirus pandemic sent us all home in 2020, but after a year of waiting and wondering if the program would ever come back, I figured it was time to give up the dream. Until one magical day, a wonderful announcement made its way to my Twitter feed: the DCP was back in action! I knew that if I didn’t “seize my moment” (IYKYK), I would regret it for a lifetime. Now I am ready to graduate in May and am going to make my way down to Orlando in July. You would think that I’d be absolutely thrilled to go back, right?! Wrong. Of course, I am so excited and grateful for the opportunity, however, I want to talk some things out with you today and process my nervous feelings. So without further ado, here are my pros and cons of returning to the DCP.
Pros:
● Reuniting with all of my friends! I have missed my DCP besties dearly and still talk to them on the phone weekly despite being apart for almost 2 years now. That program seriously introduces you to your best friends for life.
● Building my network and learning real-world skills! The Disney College Program is not all work, believe it or not. They also offer free classes to their interns all about networking, resume building, and more! This is a great opportunity to enhance my skills and connect with other young professionals.
● Park perks!!! This is probably the best one of them all. As a cast member, you get access to all of the Disney parks… for free. Yes, you heard that correctly! So if I have a day off from work and any of you need to reach me, you know where to find me!
Cons:
● Paying back my loans… yuck! Graduation is fun and all until you take a look at all the loans you have to pay back. Luckily, DCP is a paying internship, but because it is only an internship, you have to be savvy with your money to stay on track. I think this will serve as a learning experience for me (so maybe it’s actually another pro!).
● Missing my friends and family, especially during the holidays. For the first time in my life, I will be away for all of the following: my 22nd birthday, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Year. Although this will be difficult, I think that it is an
essential part of learning independence in young adulthood that everyone goes through, and I guess this is just my time.
● Returning to a busy job market! This program is only for six months, so when it comes time to return home to PA, I should probably have some kind of plan (but who says I can’t just make Florida my home?).
If you made it this far, I thank you for reading and hope that you’ll stick around to see where this journey takes me! You can follow me on Instagram at @sydneythornton13 for more updates :)
I do not speak on behalf of The Walt Disney Company and these are all my own opinions.