Hello all and welcome back to the blog! I hope everyone is staying safe during these trying and difficult times. It’s been hard to find the motivation to get back to writing, especially now that I am working full time. However, I believe it is important to take time to do things that make us happy, and writing this blog, while it may be time-consuming, really does bring me joy.
Today, we are going to be talking about something that I have got a lot of questions about, and that is my Disney Journey. It has always been a dream of mine to work for Disney, but what most people don’t know is that it took a long time for me to get there. While I’ve talked about it on my Instagram before, I only just told the entirety of my story on X-S Press: A Disney Parks News Podcast episode with Matt Zabita (which you can listen to here) back in April, so I decided I would lay it out in writing as well. So here goes nothing, this is my origin story with Disney.
Origins
As many of you already know, I started my career with Disney on the Disney College Program. However, what is not common knowledge is that it took a long time for me to even get my foot in the door.
I first heard about the DCP during our annual family trip to Walt Disney World in November when I was in High School. I remember it very vividly, my family and I were at Disney Springs talking to a Cast Member at the “Once Upon a Toy” store and I asked why her nametag had a University on it. The CM then proceeded to tell me all about the Disney College Program and from that moment on I knew I was going to be apart of that one day.
My Attempts
Spring 2017: When I first started my college career, I knew I wanted to experience my freshman year to the fullest. So hesitantly, I waited to apply until my Sophomore year for the Spring 2017 Season. One of the first things I did to prepaid myself for applications was to join all the Facebook groups and dive right into getting to know people and learning everything about the DCP. When applications then dropped in mid-August, I applied right away, took the web-based interview that same night, and scheduled my PI for 3 days out. I was on Cloud 9 that I had done it all so fast. I then had my interview a couple of days later and it went okay (I’m not the best on the phone so I felt super awkward, but I kept optimistic). Then the waiting began. I was one of the first people to do a Phone Interview, however, I didn’t hear anything until the end of November, to hear that I didn’t make it.
Fall 2017: My next attempt at applying was very different than my first. For Fall 2017 applications, I waited to apply 2 weeks after applications for the Fall Season opened and never got past submitting my application. In my head, I wanted to do things differently than I did the first time around. This time, I wanted to take my time in fear that if I was one of the first to apply, my application would get “buried” with all the other people applying right away. I was then denied 3 weeks later.
Spring 2018: For this attempt, I took everything that I had learned from the Facebook groups and threw it out the window. I did what I felt was right for myself during this application process, and for me, that was applying right away. I didn’t receive my WBI until a week later and then took my time scheduling my phone interview and gave myself a week to prepare. Once I was done with the PI, I deleted Facebook for a while because the worst part about applying is the waiting and anticipation, and personally, the Facebook groups made it worse for me. 2 weeks later I got my acceptance walking to class and the timing couldn’t have been any better.
My Disney Journey
DCP Spring 2018: I started my Disney Journey in 2018 as a Seater at Tony’s Town Square on Main Street USA at the Magic Kingdom (you can read more about what the role entitled here). I learned so much about myself and what I wanted to do with my life from this experience and is one that I always look back on as the time of my life. I worked there for almost 7 months and at the end of my program, I decided to head back home and finish my degree.
Leaving Disney: Leaving Disney was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. While my program may have been over, I left so many friends back in Florida and all over the country when they left the program as well. While it was my choice, and I knew it was the right, it was so hard going back to the life I knew before.
Applying/Accepting Fall 2018: As soon as I left my first program, I knew that I wanted to go back. This time, however, I would do so after I graduated and could make an easy transition into staying down there full time. A lot of my coworkers from my previous DCP had just graduated and didn’t have to worry about going back to school, or classes (which I took during my first CP) and I was excited at the prospects of having a different experience both in my life stage and a different season. I applied right away to come back and I was one of the first people to be accepted into the Fall 2018 program, and this time I had my #1 role choice, Vacation Planner.
DCP Fall 2018 : Coming back to Disney was easier said than done. While I knew my way around the DCP, the parks, and life on my own, this program was a hard adjustment for me into adult life. However, even that being said, I loved my role, my coworkers, and all the fun things to do in the fall season with all my heart. While things were not easy for me with this program, all these people made such an impact on me and my decisions to stay
Extension : Midway through October, I was offered to extend my program. While I loved Vacation Planning, I wanted to try for a different role as I wasn’t getting the hours I needed and I wanted to diversify my skills at Disney. I found out soon afterward that I would be making the transition into attractions for my Spring 2020 extension.
Spring 2020 : This was by far the most interesting of all my programs. Soon after my Fall CP ended, I found out that I would be transferring to ESPN Wide World of Sports complex for my extension. Working at ESPN was a different world in itself, filled with cheerleaders, gymnastics tournaments, and Run Disney participants. While life on the farm, was something to adjust to, since ESPN is a client-based operation, Full-time and College Program staff get designated a “home-away-from-home” location for when it gets slow. My location took me back to Magic Kingdom where I started working at Tomorrowland Speedway.
Next Steps: During both my programs I always contemplated whether I was going to stay on after my CP. During the Fall I looked into some Marketing jobs elsewhere and for a second thought about leaving. However, during 2020 something changed and I was full steam ahead at going Part Time/ Full Time after my program ended. Not only did I want to stay and create the magic, but I wanted to go back and get my masters with the Disney Aspire program. However, life has a funny way of working out and in March of 2019 my plans changed.
COVID-19:
Leaving Disney (again):
When Disney decided to close its theme parks during the COVID-19 pandemic we didn’t know what to expect. It was confirmed that the parks would be closed for 2 weeks, in hopes that the rapidly growing Corona Virus would stop spreading. To be honest, we thought we would just have a two week paid vacation during this period. However, 2 days after it was announced that the parks were closing, all of us College Program kids got the hard news that we were being laid off.
The last couple of days of my program were such a blur. We had about 5 days to pack up and leave the program since finding out the news. Looking back, I don’t know how I was able to do it all so fast or get through it. However, I will always remember those last couple days, especially the Cast Members that were working that last day at the parks and all the magic they created for us CP’s.
Thank you all for taking the time to read all about my Disney Journey and how I ended up where I am today. After my post about the Disney Ambassador team and harnessing your dreams, I was inspired to vocalize my own dreams with all of you, because I can’t preach what I don’t practice. In doing so, it also reminded me of all things I still want to accomplish with Disney.
Hopefully, when this is all over, I can go back on that path I set out for myself. But, especially in regards to Disney, I’ve learned that life has a funny way of not working out the way you wanted to. More often than not though, you get something way more than you could have ever imagined. I know being back in Orlando is the right step for me. Whether that is working for Disney or just shifting my narrative to a guest, I hope that you will continue following me on my Disney adventures and letting me still share my stories, findings, and observations with you. While my dreams may have shifted out of my reach (for the time being), I need to remind myself that everything happens for a reason, and in the meantime, I need to keep dreaming.
Until then, Keep Moving Forward
-Kacey
**UPDATE: I had originally written this post at the beginning of COVID-19 in April. While I don’t know why I had not published it during that time, now that I am back in Orlando, and the recent layoffs of Season/Part-Time/and Full-Time Cast Members have happened, I wanted to finally share this story that I had written during a time of hardship for me. So, I publish this post today to get my story out there and encourage other CM’s to tell their Disney Journeys as well. While their dreams, also have been shifted out of reach, I want to encourage them to keep dreaming, persevering, and know their Disney Family will always be there for them, as it was for me.
Marketing the Magic 