The Disney College Program: Why the High on Pixie Dust

I bet your boss doesn’t get this excited to see you:

That’s right. Thanks to my job at Disney World, I walked around with this smile on my face 24/7. I would tell you that was an exaggeration. But that would be a lie. Every car ride to work was elating. Every moment spent in the crowd after fireworks was all smiles. Even when sweat was dripping down my back from the Florida sun, my heart was fluttering with the idea of this utopian life that I had somehow managed to obtain. The joyousness didn’t even seem legal.

It’s true that most students come home from the Disney College Program totally indoctrinated with pixie dust and starry eyes. Now let me tell you a little bit about why the Disney College Program seems to have this enchanting spell over nearly all who do it. I know you’re probably thinking. “How could you still be smiling in the middle of a crowd of thousands of people all trying to shove their way through the tiny gates of the Magic Kingdom after an entire day of standing in the heat?” Well, don’t get me wrong. That special kind of Florida humidity is for sure nothing to smile about. People pushing and shoving, kids screaming, sweaty bodies bumping against you, all while you just want to be home in your bed doesn’t feel very magical by itself.

But it is the details accompanying your traditions that you grow to know and love all too well. Not because a child screaming from exhaustion, and parents grumpy from the day's heat are particularly pleasant. But because it is part of what Disney is. Instead of being oblivious to the flaws and discomforts, you learn to just embrace them as endearing qualities that are so uniquely formed in the iconic world you have romanticized since you were a kid. Experiencing the magic as a cast member is the realization that you may have just found your niche and your very purpose that powers you through, and coats life itself with pure magic. It is the feeling of selflessness, contributing to a greater good to create happiness for others, that Disney helped me uncover and cherish. It is something to be excited about, beyond the negative things that happen to you. Because your purpose ultimately matters more than small sensory or petty issues you may encounter at work … if you choose to see it that way. And that is where a lot of people will begin to differ.

It is all in your mindset. The magic is what you make it. As a cast member (or even a guest), you can choose to see the strings of the magic and the drama backstage (as ANY major corporation is going to have), or you can choose to see the good that you can contribute. Because you have the power to make it even better!

Think about it. When you work for the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida alone, you are 1 in over 75,000 cast members! Yet guests continue to write letters in to the company applauding single cast members out of those 70+ thousand for making their vacation. The fact that as a cast member, I had thousands of those opportunities to make or break once in a lifetime vacations every day was just something I had to be optimistic about.

Almost everyone has a connection with Disney in some way. Maybe you watched the movies when you were a kid. Maybe you continue to know and love Disney movie scores as an adult. Maybe you vaguely remember a Disney trip your parents took you on when you were four years old. Maybe your only memory is a grainy photo of you hugging Pluto or squinting in the sun in front of Cinderella’s castle, or cheesing in a plastic Dumbo. But the thing about Disney is, it is utterly classic and timeless. The universality of the lovable characters and stories Walt created are relatable and inspiring on every level.

I remember vacationing in Disney with my family. They were some of the most special moments of my life. I still watch the home videos of the few Disney trips we took in my childhood. You’ve probably seen those viral videos of parents telling their kids they are going to Disney World. The iconic nature of the whole company is a big deal. And to think that the Disney College Program allowed me to become a part of the magic that I always remembered as a child, to think that I got to experience what it was like being on the flip side, is a dream come true. It turns out that making the magic is even more magical than experiencing the magic as a guest! It is this incredible, gratifying feeling that you have helped inspire a child, or even a parent, and have helped to make the vacation they have invested in for a lifetime that much more special. It really is an honor.

If you have gained anything from reading this, know that there is more to working at Disney than monotonously selling bubble toys and light up Mickey ears in the heat. There is more to it than blandly filling cartons with French fries, or telling guests to “fill in all available space.” You have the power every moment to involve guests, and make the magic they saw in Disney commercials their whole lives, which in turn fills you up. By doing others a favor, you are in fact doing yourself a favor.

Working for Disney will change your heart for people. In this highly individualistic and selfish culture, you will grow your empathy and perceptiveness of individuals other than yourself. I promise that the magic is absolutely contagious once you embrace it. Your heart will be infected with pixie dust. You will start to cry when you watch those viral Youtube videos, you will get chills when you listen to the music of Disney, you will start to smile to yourself when you witness a magical moment being made by a fellow cast member, and your heart will feel like it is on Tower of Terror at the thought of having the privilege to work at the place where dreams come true – which you get to help with. You won’t be able to go long periods of time without Mickey Mouse telling you to follow your dreams. You will soon discover some sense of belonging to the Disney family that comes together to make beautiful magic for the guests. Like so many before you, you just might fall in love with everything that Disney stands for: family, happiness, chasing dreams, and working hard to achieve high quality success. It is the bigger picture, and the whole meaning of the company that will stay in your heart.

So if you are reading this and are one of those people who has lost sight of the magic, I hope you can be inspired again to have passion for what you do. Because a place as special and known for guest service and happiness as Disney only has room for the passionate and the hard workers. If you are reading this and are even considering doing the Disney College Program, just apply! It never hurts to apply, and you can always turn it down. But I promise, that if you let it, this program will change your life and change your heart for the better. It might just make you the happiest person on earth.

#pixiedust #disney #disneycollegeprogram #magic #magical #themagicofdisney #disneymagic #cindrellascastle #whydisney