I applied for my second Disney College Program on a whim, honestly. I just wanted to see what role I would get if I made it through the interview process. I didn’t really expect to actually accept that role.
My first college program wasn’t necessarily good or bad. I didn’t have the best role (Quick Service Food and Beverage) and I didn’t have an easy location (Magic Kingdom, aka Tragic Kingdom), but I met amazing people and had Walt Disney World as my backyard essentially. I lived in a bunk bed and shared a fridge with four other people. I was pretty miserable in my location, the only shining light at the end of the tunnel being my truly amazing cast members. They were the ones who helped me to see the good in scrubbing hot dog rollers at 3 a.m. I worked the longest hours in my life. I watched the sunrise a couple of times at the end of my shift. I essentially became nocturnal and it was weird if my shift started before 2 p.m.
For my second program, however, I’ve been offered PhotoPass Photographer. For anyone who knows me even slightly, they know that I love photography, that I’ve tried to make a career out of photography to a point, and that I somehow always end up with a camera in my hand. PhotoPass Photographer is essentially the perfect role for me. It’s the role that I watched in jealously during my first program, the one that I wanted to transfer to more than life itself.
That’s why my second college program acceptance threw me off my groove for a hot second. I opened the acceptance letter prepared to laugh at the offer of attractions or Quick Service part two (despite my putting ‘no interest’). I didn’t even expect that I would be one of the 30 or 40 college interns to be accepted for PhotoPass. I assumed that since they weren’t impressed with my photography history last time (despite being a photography intern for a magazine and a photo editor for a paper), they wouldn’t be impressed with my photography history now (it hasn’t entirely changed).
Regardless of why Mickey offered me PhotoPass this time, the point still stands that I have been given a second chance to experience the magic. Here’s why I’m going to take it:
1. I have an extra semester.
Bless AP Credits because I came into college with 36 credit hours. This has given me a year off essentially, the first half of which I used during my first college program. With how my credits are aiming now, I would be done this December, graduating a semester early. In order to make the most of my scholarship and to graduate with the rest of my class, (which isn’t really a thing I want to do, but whatever) it makes sense to do another program for a semester.
2. I want to eat my body weight in park food.
I miss Nutella waffles with my entire being. I miss WaWa with the remaining pieces of my soul. I just want to be surrounded with park food again and give my entire paycheck to Disney directly after receiving it.
3. I want to try a different role.
As I said my last program was in Quick Service Food and Beverage, but this new program will be a very different role. I’m excited to be able to experience a different view on working at Disney World, especially one that will be in entertainment.
4. I want a better chance at professional internships.
During my last program, I really didn’t take advantage of the opportunities that were offered to me. I didn’t do meet-and-greets, I didn’t do networking events, and I didn’t do classes. I plan to change that this time and to work more steadily on improving my professional network and better my chances of receiving a professional internship after graduation. I’ve also heard that there’s a connection between being PhotoPass and being hired as the Yellow Shoes Photography PI and I would sell my left leg to be able to land that job.
So while I do have to give up several things (graduating early, spending the holidays with my family, potentially doing a different internship at home) I’ve determined the benefits that I will gain are so much more. I just can’t let this opportunity slip past me. So in the words of the late castle show: did someone say adventure?
