Hello lovely people! I realize I have been VERY inactive lately but I'm here now with a whole new blog post! For those of you who know me or follow me on Instagram (@_highfashionhobo_), you should know that I spent a solid seven months in Orlando, Florida working at Disney World for their college program.The Disney College Program is an opportunity for college students to work at Disney World for a semester. You can have it count as an internship, have it be used as school credit, or just do it for fun! Since I got accepted into the fall advantage program, I got to actually start in the summer as well as stay for the fall semester. I figured since I did spend so much time there, I could give some advice to anyone who is either about embark on this amazing experience or is just curious about the program.
For this blog post I am mainly going to be talking about my role at Disney. When you apply and eventually start this program, it is important to understand that this is first and foremost a job. You are there to be a cast member and to provide exceptional customer service. You will get free time to use your perks, such as getting into the parks for free, but most of your time there will be spent working your booty off at your location. Another thing to mention, just because this could possibly count as school credit or maybe an internship, do not expect to be seriously mentored and have a ton of networking opportunities. The networking opportunities are definitely there, however it is all up to you. You need to be making the initiative by talking to your leaders about opportunities within the company and where you want to go in the future.
Now back to talking about what I did while I was there! My role was quick service food and beverage and my original location was Cosmic Ray's at Magic Kingdom. However, I ended up being transferred to Woody's Lunchbox, the quick service restaurant at Toy Story Land in Hollywood Studios. A small group of college program participants were transferred over there because it was a new land and they needed the extra help.
I'm not going to sugar coat it, working in quick service was tough. You have to work at a very fast pace both effectively and efficiently, all while keeping that great customer service that Disney World is so known for. You will encounter a few rude guests no matter where you work, but I feel like this is definitely intensified in quick service locations. People are exhausted and what you call "hangry" when they come to your restaurant. Basically you see them at their absolute worst. That being said, do not get too caught up in all the bad guest interactions you may encounter. At the end of the day, you just need to realize no matter how courteous you may be, you cannot make everyone happy. While I did have the occasional cranky guest, most of the guests I came across were actually very lovely. They are understanding about how busy and hectic Disney is for the most part and they are just happy to be there. As long as you have a positive attitude, a smile on your face, and make sure your guests understand that you are there to help them, you should be fine with dealing with any guest that comes in your path. This little piece of advice goes for any location or role that you might be.
The thing that made it really hard to leave Disney was definitely having to leave all of the great people I got the pleasure of working with. You really do spend so much time with all your coworkers that they become like a second family to you. The people you meet from your location, your managers, or really anyone you became friends with because of the program are what makes this experience truly amazing and worth every minute. I'm so thankful to have met all the wonderful people I worked with and of course all of my new Disney loving friends. I was so sad to leave them but thankfully through social media I can still keep in touch with everyones adventures.
My next few blog posts are going to be about the application process, your free time, housing, and all that other fun stuff that goes along with this whirlwind experience! I hope that this series will be helpful to anyone looking into the program and I of course hope you enjoyed reading it. Till next time!
