How to take a piece of the magic home with you
I learned English by listening to Disney songs that I had originally sang along to for years in Portuguese. I remember watching the Disney Parks videos on VHS as they kicked off a tape of The Jungle Book or The Aristocats. The songs, the movies, and the Walt Disney World® Resort promo videos all sprinkled enough pixie dust in my mind to inspire me to apply for the Disney College Program twelve years later and contribute to the magic.
The five months went by faster than I thought. One minute I was attending “On with the Show”, the Disney’s Hollywood Studios park cast member orientation, and the next I was packing up my apartment and getting ready to move out in two weeks. As my merchandise program wrapped up, I purchased Disney merchandise that I would love to take as souvenirs to remember my time as a program participant. To make them all extra special, here are a few ways I brought a piece of the magic home along with each souvenir:
Find a souvenir item that is specific to your work location and/or park.
What’s better than something that reminds you of the place where you spent the majority of your time making magic?
Extra Pixie Dust: Take it to work with you during your last couple of weeks so your coworkers and leaders can sign it!
Find that one Disney art piece that speaks to you.
All around Disney property, you can find merchandise stores that specialize in Disney art! May it be a sculpture figurine of your favorite character or a framed artist-signed picture, there is something for everyone. For my program, I chose a picture of Main Street with the castle in the back surrounded by fireworks. To me, observing families surround the castle and hug each other close at the end of the day, to watch Happily Ever After, made me feel like I had the best job in the world. Now, I have the picture hanging in my office, to remind me of that every day!
Extra Pixie Dust: Have as many characters as you can meet in every park sign the picture frame in different marker colors.
Collect notes from coworkers and other participants you had the pleasure to meet!
This special souvenir goes beyond a signature. Find your favorite autograph book and have a page per cast member and friend that played a part in making your College Program so unique. Ask each of them to write a “See you later!” note or favorite memory that you had together.
Extra Pixie Dust: Don’t read any of it until you are back home or back to school on your first day back to class!
Not all good things have to come to an end. After my college program, I finished school and came back to do a Disney Professional Internship. Wherever your journey will take you, it is never a goodbye, it’s a “see you later!”
To learn more or to apply for opportunities, visit DinseyCollegeProgram.com and DisneyInterns.com.
