Wayback Wednesday: My Disney Career (part 1)

The year was 1995. Seven-year-old Kacie can be seen in front of the family's tube TV pointing to this commercial and saying "I'm gonna live there someday!" My parents responded with some version of "Sure, Jan" and then I'm sure I went back to playing with my Polly Pockets or Barbies or something. At least, that's what my parents tell me. They say it's on some old home video, but who knows how we'd watch those old VHS tapes now... 


Oh boy! When I meet new people, I'd say the #1 question I get asked is "What was it like to work for Disney?" I spent 2011-2016 working for "the Mouse" in various capacities, with most of my time being at Walt Disney World in Florida. While I am incredibly thankful for my time there, the friends I made, and the things I learned along the way... Walt Disney World was not a great place to work at the time. I can't speak for them now, of course, but having spent 5 years with the company and being told they were "capping my salary" at less than $11/hour due to the economy... it was damn-near impossible to live on the pay. (Again, I know things have changed a lot with new leadership and post-COVID operational changes. This is just my experience.)


My nametag (hometown removed for privacy) that shows signs of wear-and-tear after years of working at Walt Disney World

That being said, let's go wayyy back to 2011 when little Miss Kacie applied for and was accepted to the Disney College Program (DCP) during her Senior Year at the University of Minnesota... 

A silly little Kacie on the bus from Traditions (orientation) with my shiny new nametag and wearing what I thought was peak intern attire. *facepalm*


2011 wasn't the first time I'd applied for the CP. In fact, I had gotten accepted to be a Character Attendant in 2008, but I had some major life events happen that forced me to cancel and I will forever wonder what it would have been like had I gone so freshly out of high school... 

So, in late Summer of 2011 my Mom, youngest sibling, and I packed up the car and hit the road from North Texas to Orlando, FL. I found out I was going to be in "Attractions," which is what WDW calls rides/shows and I was elated at the thought of getting to operate one of my favorites! Haunted Mansion, Spaceship Earth... or maybe one of the newer ones since I hadn't visited in a few years at this point. Then, I got my assignment: I was to be a DisneyQuest Navigator and spend my time working in the "big blue box" at Downtown Disney! 


A nighttime image of the now-demolished DisneyQuest indoor arcade and theme park.

If you're like I was at the time, you may be thinking: "What the heck is DisneyQuest?" Well, I can still remember the spiel they had us learn when we were stationed at the front doors. "We're a five-story interactive theme park with rides, games, animation classes, food, and more!" Ok, maybe it wasn't exactly that, but that's what we were. If I were to try and explain DisneyQuest, we'd be here all day. However, if you'd like to know more about it, I definitely suggest the Disney Fandom Wiki for more info. 

While I was honestly a bit disappointed at first, I ended up embarking on the wildest, best journey and I can't wait to tell you all about my 5 months there!

Stay tuned for all the tea about my DCP Experience in Part 2!

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