Dreams come true for student in ‘Happiest Place On Earth’

Connor Smith

Walt Disney World – Orlando, Fla.

7:00 a.m. on Sept. 2 was the time that I had been looking forward to since I got my acceptance into the Disney College Program back in March of 2014.

I never thought that a day of filling out paperwork and moving boxes could be one of the most exciting days of my life. All of the nerves that had been building up since I applied for the program were out in full force.

The morning of my arrival was one of the most nerve-wracking mornings I have ever been through. Not getting a wink of sleep the night before sure didn’t help. 6:30 a.m. was the time that I showed up to one of the four housing complexes that Disney owns. The wait was thirty minutes before me and the other couple hundred of CPs [College Programmers] could even start the check-in process.

At check-in I found out where I was living and where I would be working throughout my four-month journey being a Walt Disney World Cast Member. After check-in all of the CPs were bussed to the Casting Ce right across from Downtown Disney, where we filled out more paper work. The whole check-in process took a total of three hours. After finally moving in and meeting all my roommates, it finally hit me that I was going to be living in the “Happiest Place On Earth.”

There are a total of four apartment complexes that were donated by Coca-Cola to the Walt Disney World Company. They are used to house all of the Disney College Program workers and International College Program workers. Each of them is different in their own way, just like many of the residential halls at KSC.

Contributed Photo

They range anywhere from one person, one-bedroom apartments to eight person, four-bedroom apartments. The occupants of the apartments come from college students from all over the world. I have met cast members from all over the world. Some from all the way in Japan and others from right here in Orlando.

“Connor Keene State College” is what my name tag reads. About three quarters of the guests that I come into contact with ask where Keene State College is. I always give them a pride-filled answer when I tell them it’s in the southwest part of New Hampshire. I have been here for exactly a month and I have already learned so many life lessons in such a short time

One lesson I have learned is that the fall season is not the same unless you are in Keene. The only time you will see a leaf on the ground in Florida is if it rains so hard it knocks them off. This is just one of the many adjustments I had to make when I moved here. I cannot remember the last time I was in ninety-degree heat at the end of September before I took this job. The transition from living in New England my whole life to being a cast member for one of the most popular places on Earth was not easy. Meeting people along the way has definitely helped me out.

I could not have gotten better roommates than the ones I have right now. Out of the six of us one is from New York, one is from Rhode Island, one is from Pennsylvania, two are from California and myself from just outside of Boston. There is a lot of different culture that comes from all of us, but all have the same sense of humor and personalities. One thing that stands out to me is that everyone that works for Disney has the same friendly and happy personality, which helps making friends that much easier.

I started training for my job just about a week after the move-in, which gave me some time to relax and enjoy Florida for some time before I started working. During that week my roommates and I went to the amusement parks almost every day, and we also got to know the Orlando area. Living only ten minutes away from all of the parks makes having a day free of work that much more fun. As a cast member we have unlimited access to any of the parks most days of the year and it is all free of charge. We also obtain three guest passes, and each of them can be used up to six times.

Other benefits that come with working for Disney are the discounts that we can get on a lot of the merchandise or even at a hotel if we had a guest visiting. The Walt Disney World Company really knows how to take care of their cast members.

I started my training at the Premier Theater in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, where I am working the “Frozen” sing-a-long show. Every week I put in just about forty hours of work. Every CP has the choice of taking classes or just working. I chose just to work, but if somebody chooses to take classes there are a variety of classes that Disney offers.

Some of the choices include; Disney Heritage, how to Draw a Character, Hospitality, Leadership, and Financing. Those are just a few off of a long list that Disney offers.

Only a month into this program, and I have already learned more than I thought I would. I cannot wait to see what the next three months will bring. The transition is going to be tough when I return back to KSC in the spring, but I’m sure that all of my brothers in Sigma Pi will help me out. I would be nowhere without the support of each and every one of them.