Perks of the Disney College Program

The Disney College Program has some pretty sweet perks. Here are just seven of them:

1. Costuming- You never have to wash your uniform if you just check a new one out of costuming each day.

2. Free Admission into all of the parks- Yes, you can ride Space Mountain as much as you want, and get as much Magic in as you can stand during your College Program.

3. Free Buses to and From Work and all the Parks- The bus company was called Transtar, and sometime Transtar definitely felt like more than a curse than a blessing. Buses were supposed to come every half hour, but sometimes they would be extremely late or get into accidents, making you late for work. But hey- free transportation!

4. Guest Passes- As a CP you can get up to three people into the park six times for free! This means you can share the magic with all your friends, just like when my wonderful friends Erin and Tim came to visit.

5. Cast Previews- Before Rides first open to guests, they need some people to ride the rides to ensure the cast members are used to procedures and that everything from the queue to the ride itself works properly. Who do they use to test this you ask? Cast members. During my program the Seven Dwarves Mine Train in Magic Kingdom was just opening, and during the cast preview I rode it thirteen times in a row. THIRTEEN TIMES. Given the wait time of an hour+ that it normally has, this would take me basically an entire day to do currently.

6. Special Super Awesome Amazingly Cool Events- As a perk of working in Hollywood Studios during the twenty-fifth anniversary of the park being open all the cast members got to ride Rock 'n' Rollercoaster with the lights on. It was an eye-opening experience. (Pun definitely intended.) Along with this, to test Magicband Photo linking in Animal Kingdom we got to ride Expedition Everest and Dinosaur with the lights on. To this day I am still terrified of Everest with the lights on, since you can see the inside of the mountain, and no one should ever see that.

7. The most awesome people you will ever meet- I cannot say it enough, but the people I met on my Disney College Program were the most amazing people ever. With the patience of saints and hearts of gold, I hope to still have these friends twenty years down the road.

Gif content courtesy of the Walt Disney World Company and also the picture of costuming. Super cool that it was just floating around on the internet.

Terrifyingly Awesome Places to have a Disney event

If you have ever wished to have a wedding reception next to Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz or in the courtyard of a haunted hotel from the year 1949, then turns out you are in luck! Walt Disney World has the awesome opportunity for anyone to have a reception of any kind hosted on Disney Property in places like the Great Movie Ride or the Hollowed Tower of Terror.

For a paltry $2,000 and a food and beverage minimum of $850, you can rent out the Tower of Terror Courtyard at Disney's Hollywood Studios after park hours. For an extra $6,500 you can rent out the ride itself, plummeting into the Twilight Zone as many times as your full stomach can handle. 

Although this space only accommodates about 35-40 guests, it would be well worth it for anyone wishing to enter the Twilight Zone after hours. 

The Great Movie Ride is also a glamorous place to have a Disney reception. Starting at $8,500 this venue offers the choice between the Western scene, Gangster scene, and Wizard of Oz scene as locales for the event. Because the tables and events will be set up along the ride path it is not possible to buy out the ride during the time of the event, but why would you want to slowly glide past Dorothy when you can spend an hour or two basking in her presence? 

As any true Disney fan knows, when boarding the Great Movie Ride you will either be hijacked by a gangster or an outlaw, and depending on preference you can spend some quality time in either of these scenes, hopefully sans gunshots or burning buildings.

Last, but certainly not least, was my home for six months- the Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show Theater. While working at the show, I worked multiple special events shifts such as music awards ceremonies or show buyouts for private groups. People could pay to have a private show put on just for them and their pals, or they could use the 5,000 person stadium and have awards on the stage, or even have tables set up where cars and explosions normally fly around throughout the day. 

This transition from tires screeching, men jumping off building, and cars jumping over things to people calmly sitting at tables always felt quite strange, since I was used to seeing this every day and trying to prevent people going down into that area.

This is just a short list of possible places to have Disney events, and there are plenty more places available to host a magical party. 

All pictures courtesy of the Walt Disney World Company.