How It All Began

If there’s one thing that I’ll always love, it will always be Disney. I have no doubt about this since from a very young age I have been “Disney brain-washed.” This lovely little disease isn’t a terrible one and hasn’t consumed me as much as some others, but it’s still something that I think about daily. Disney has always been and always will be a part of my life in one way or another.

The only issue I’ve had with this Disney love is this strange nagging and burning sensation that kept telling me I was missing something. The answer to this sensation and only known cure for this was the opportunity to work at Disney. For years it has been a desire of mine to work for the mouse, to be able to walk down Main Street in the Magic Kingdom knowing I was working at possibly the most magical place in the world. Even though I was always taught anything is possible if you put your mind to it, I didn’t think I could ever fulfill my dream; after all, with how many people who probably applied, how was there any possibility I could ever make it?

Then, in my sophomore year of high school, I discovered the Disney College Program. Since I was still in high school, I still had some time until I could even apply, but I vowed to myself I would try it.

Fast-forward to my freshman year of college – the Disney College Program once again came into my life, this time in the form of one of my friends being accepted into the program. Since it was so late in the application season, I figured I would wait and see what happened and see how she enjoyed herself; she loved it. The fire was set and I decided I would apply for the Fall 2011 season.

I spent days reading up on the application process and when I felt ready, I proceeded. I filled in all of my information and moved onto the web based interview, which appeared easy enough. I encountered issues with this interview very early on – it froze, it would tell me I skipped questions, anything terrible that could happen during this moment did. I was given a very polite rejection and told I could apply in 6 months. Not wanting to wait that long and very distraught, I put a call through to the recruiting center and explained my situation. The woman who looked through my information said that even though I had problems, I had still managed to answer enough questions that gave them the information they needed. She apologized and stated very kindly, the same thing my MacBook’s screen had shown me – I would have to wait.

This happened back in February. I had all my hopes pegged on this opportunity and was very upset. I gave up on the program at this time and continued on with school with the idea in my head that I would finish school early by taking on an extra course load.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, a thought was nagging at me – August was the month I was told I could reapply. August 13^th, specifically was the day I could attempt my quest again. With the mind set that I wasn’t expecting anything this time, I dove right into my research so I wouldn’t fail the web based interview once again.

This time, I was prepared.

A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes

It’s been really hard to try and keep this a secret, but now that it’s official, I can let the cat (or mouse for that matter….) out of the bag. On January 9th, 2012 I will be checking in to get an apartment at Walt Disney World so I can start working there as part of their college program. 

That’s right – I will be working for the one and only Mickey Mouse in Orlando, Florida. While my program is only scheduled from January 9 – June 1st, I hope to extend my time at the park to a longer date, provided that I enjoy the experience as much as I’m thinking I will. The only details I know about my employment is that I will be working attractions and that I can now start searching for (a) potential roommate(s.) 

As the time goes on, I will recap the application process as well as include videos that I plan on making regarding my experience. Now that it’s official, in my next post I will backtrack and start with the very beginning of the application process, which will include the web based interview. 

To everyone who has been accepted so far – congratulations; if you are still waiting for an e-mail from Disney recruiting – your time will come and when it does it will be absolutely magical; and to those who are just beginning the process – I send you all the pixie dust that I could shake from Tinker Bell and I’m sending it your way.

Just like the my future boss says – See ya real soon!