This week I had the privilege of taking over my University’s social media account where I got to talk about the Disney College Program and explain to followers how students can get involved through Grand Valley. I was approached by GV earlier last month to talk about my semester spent in Florida in order to answer any questions students have about the program. I decided to show followers all that Walt Disney World has to offer by doing all 4 parks in 1 day and explain all the cool things that they could be doing while on the program. Inbetween parks I talked more about the Disney College Program including what the program actual is, what my role was, the different season’s students can apply, Housing, Grand Valley classes offered, and work life.

My advice to anyone who is trying to do the 4 parks in 1 day is to

• Pack a lot of snacks
• Pack a water bottle
• Pack an extra battery charger
• Try to make it to 1 ride and have 1 snack at each park
• Take a picture at each major landmark at each park

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Magic Kingdom (8am-11am)

My coworker Haley decided to join me on my first leg of my journey before she headed to work, so we decided to do rope drop at Magic to start the day. We headed towards the park at 7am for an 8am opening and took the Housing bus to the Polynesian Resort so we could grab breakfast real quick (Kona coffee & a muffin). From there we then caught the monorail to the Magic Kingdom.

While waiting for the park to open I briefly talked about what the Disney College Program is and what roles are offered through the program. I then briefly explained about my job and what it is I hope to get out of my program. When the park finally opened, we headed straight to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in Frontierland before the line got too long. Afterward, we hoped on Splash Mountain because it was a 5 min wait and we actually got to ride it twice because no one wanted to brave the cold. It was about 46 degrees that morning so crowds were light, and while we were waiting for our Jungle Cruise FastPass, we went to Fantasyland and hit some rides that had little to no wait time.

As previously stated in past posts, Magic Kingdom is a must do for anyone who hasn’t been to the parks before. It is the original park here and has the most recognizable attractions that people associate with Walt Disney World. When you get to this park do some of the classic’s and spend more time here because there is more to cover.

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EPCOT (11:30am-1:30pm)

Since it is the start of Spring Break season, EPCOT was packed! Before heading out into the park, I talked more about what classes are offered through my university to those following along on Snapchat and explained about the different seasons for the program. I planned on riding Soarin while at the park but since it was a 2-hour wait I decided to just walk around World Showcase and visit all the countries to show followers all the different pavilions instead. However, I was still able to grab a violet lemonade and ran into a friend while at the park as well.

Must do’s when tackling this park include going on one of EPCOT’s classic attractions, getting a picture of the iconic Spaceship Earth Ball, and walking around world showcase

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Hollywood Studios (2pm-4:30pm)

On the way back from EPCOT I actually scored a last minute FastPass to Toy Story Mania, which I haven’t had the chance to ride since being here on my program. While talking to a Cast Member in line and talking about my challenge of 4 parks in 1 day, he made some magic for me and gave me a paper FastPass good for any attraction at Hollywood Studios. So after stopping by Star Wars Launch Bay and visiting my roommate Summer, I headed to Rockin Rollercoaster to use this. After getting off, I also scored a last-minute FP for Tower of Terror, which is always a must do when coming to Hollywood Studios.

After showing Snapchat some of the different attractions that Hollywood Studios has, and showing them sneak peaks of the newest attractions coming soon, I got some coffee and talked more about Housing and Earning during the program. I explained that we get paid weekly and that rent comes out of your paycheck so you don’t have to worry about paying it every week. This then led to a conversation about all the different housing complexes available for College Program.

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Animal Kingdom (5pm-6:45pm)

The last park of the day was Animal Kingdom! I briefly walked around Pandora so then followers could see the beauty that is this land, but wait times for the rides were really high so I just showed them around. I actually got the chance to meet up with some other coworkers while here as well, and after going on the Kilimanjaro Safari ride we met up and walked around the park. They had been there most of the day, so we decided to go back to the Magic Kingdom so then we could catch the fireworks.

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Magic Kingdom (Again)(7:30pm-9:30pm)

When we got back to the Magic Kingdom we decided to visit Haley at Tony’s and then grab something to eat at Pecos Bills in Frontierland. Afterward, we quickly got to the front of the castle so then we could watch Happily Ever After to conclude our night. Happily Ever After is the newest Firework Spectacular at the Magic Kingdom and I highly recommend that everyone go and see it. At my location, I am fortunate enough to be able to listen to its soundtrack mostly every night and it never gets old!

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Thank you for briefly reading up on my Snapchat Takeover adventures! I had a blast doing this and I actually got a lot of feedback from students who were curious to learn more about the program. It was nice to be able to encourage other students to do the program and also introduce this amazing opportunity to those who had never heard about it before. I really look forward to being able to do something as interactive as this again with students and guests during my program because I enjoy being able to share my knowledge with others and get them interested as well!