Tan Lines, Fireworks, and Trading Pins

    At this point you are probably wondering what makes me qualified to write about the Disney College Program... To say it simply, I lived it for six months! I participated in the Spring Advantage program in 2014, and I worked at Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show and a temporary attraction called Wandering Oaken's Frozen Funland at Disney's Hollywood Studios. My program was a little bit different than other college program experiences, and here are a few reasons why:

1. I worked outside for six months in the Florida heat, getting some pretty rad tan lines. Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt show is a completely outdoor attraction, and working for Disney you have to wear "Disney look" socks, which cover your ankle bone. This leads to some awesome tan lines, including the lines from the longer costume shorts as you can see by the picture below.

2. Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show is closed by 5:30 each day, so I actually got evenings to hang out with friends. Most College Program kids get the late shifts wherever they work, since part time or fulltimers do not want to stay till two in the morning closing an attraction. That being said, I got to hang out a ton with my fellow cast members, and have a blast during my program playing in the parks and hanging out with the coolest people ever.

3. I also got to work some pretty awesome fireworks shifts. If you have never had the opportunity to stand around in a hard hat, safety vest, and safety goggles while holding a light wand and telling people they cannot go that way because of fireworks fallout, you should totally try it. People get pretty angry, especially when the fireworks are not supposed to start for another twenty minutes. The anxiety from these conflicts all melts away when the fireworks start, however. Being so close to the fireworks that you could feel every explosion reverberating in your chest is an amazing experience that will stick with you forever.

4. I worked in Hollywood Studios during the 25th Anniversary of the park being open. Along with being able to work in Hollywood Studios during a really fun time including fireworks, a motorcade of characters, and a ton of freebies. We received keychains, awesome tumblers, and a really cool cast member exclusive trading pin. It was a time that made me extremely proud to work for such an awesome company, especially for the anniversary of 25 years of magic.

5. Lights, Motors Action! Extreme Stunt Show is the most intense show on Disney property, and  dealing with 5,000 people twice a day gets pretty crazy. Working at a show is a pretty easy job- you mostly just stand outside and greet all day, and only do about two hours of actual work during your entire shift. Those two hours can get pretty intense, though, when you are trying to seat 5,000 people in less than thirty minutes. This involves a lot of yelling and trying to get people to slide down, frustrated people at having to climb stairs, and lots of apologies as you try to find any kind of space for people to sit to watch the show. All of this frustration goes away as people watch the show, though, because it truly is a really awesome show. The only comment I really heard afterward was always, "That was such an awesome show!"

Overall, I had a super fun program that was unique, but every person's program is going to be unique because of your work location, your role, your managers, your fellow cast members, and whatever happens to be going on in Walt Disney World at the moment. Each person makes their program their own depending on the super cool stuff they do, so apply and start your own adventure!