We're All Insane - Dark Side of Disney World

Episode Date: February 20, 2023

The Disney College Program is a sought-after internship that offers college students a chance to work and learn at Walt Disney World Resort or Disneyland Resort. During the program, participants gain valuable skills in the entertainment industry, earn college credit, attend networking events, and develop personally and professionally. However, the program is highly competitive and challenging. Participants are expected to work long hours and adapt to a fast-paced and dynamic work environment. The program also requires participants to balance work responsibilities with academic coursework, which can be difficult to manage. Additionally, some participants face harassment and sometimes go without any help from management. Despite these challenges, the Disney College Program remains a unique and rewarding opportunity for college students who are passionate about the entertainment industry and willing to work hard to achieve their goals. Allie: https://www.instagram.com/imalliecat/ Audience Survey: http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=3RJP1Q85a-_d&ver=standard If you have a unique story you'd like to share on the podcast, email [e-mail]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey guys, it's me DeVora. I just dropped an all new bonus episode inside my new subscription channel, We're All Insane Plus. This week's bonus episode is called My Brain was slipping into my spine. Listen now by subscribing to We're All Insane Plus inside your Spotify or Apple Podcasts app or go to we're all insane.com. Hi, my name is Ali and I am an ex-Disney World cast member. I am originally from North Carolina. a small town called Eden, and it is exactly what it sounds like, tiny, small country town, Eden, North Carolina. It's really not on the map at all. There's nothing to do there. So at a very young age, I think I was like 12 years old, I decided that I wanted to get into musical theater, and I took that idea, and I ran with it. So I went to the community theater

auditioned for The King and I. And it just didn't go as I expected. No. No. I was so excited. And I got in there. I was with my mom. And I've always heard like, don't bring your cell phones into the theater. So like I had this tiny little like flip phone. I forgot what it's called. It's a maroon one that like everyone had back. And what the razors? Yeah. I think it was that. Because this was like I was 13. So I think I was or I was turning 13. So it was 2010 that I did this. And I didn't prepare anything. I showed up in skinny jeans and chucks and. And. And. And. And. jacket and was like, I'm good to go. I'm going to nail this audition. So I show up and they teach us a song, which was, I think what's a getting to know you song. So I sang that like a couple

times through with like the whole crowd. And then they were like, okay, sit in here for like an hour, two hours and just wait for your number to get called. And my mom, she went and sat in a theater. So I'm just sitting like alone. I didn't have any friends because it was my like my first time auditioning for anything. So I. I'm just sitting there alone and I'm just watching everyone else talk to each other. And I was very shy at the time. Like I hadn't come out of my show yet. And then they finally call my number like, I don't know how long I was waiting,

but it was definitely longer than an hour. No cell phone. I left my phone in the car. Right. So you're just staring into space. Just staring into space. I was the last group, I'm pretty sure, it was just me and two other guys. And I get up there to sing the song.

Like I'm holding the sheet like this close to my face. I'm shaking. And I just choke. I get the first note out. I'm just like, it was bad. Okay, but look, it made for a good story. It makes sure it gets worse. Oh, God, okay.

It gets worse. I'm listening. So I choke and then the accompanies stops and they're like, oh, do you want to try again? And I'm like, I kind of think I have to try again. So they start playing again. Same thing. Like, I just can't find the pitch. And then the director of the show starts singing it with me and she comes up on stage with me and she like puts her arm around me and we're like swaying.

So like it opened me up a little bit. But then she was like, do you have another song that you want to sing? Is there anything else you'd like to show us? And I'm like, I could sing some Taylor Swift. Yeah. So I got up there and saying forever and always by Taylor Swift. That's my first musical theater audition. Needless to say, I did not get cast in that show.

I did not get cast. That was nice of her at least to come up there and kind of like calm you down. Because I feel like something like that, it kind of breaks the ice on like the audition thing. It did. It definitely broke the ice and I felt a lot more comfortable after that. I think I did okay with the dance. But I really couldn't make it to that many rehearsals anyway because my mom was working. This was like an over the summer type show.

So did not make that. And then I spent the entire summer just like watching musicals and getting into, that's really when I started getting into Disney. Like I didn't grow up. I liked Pixar. Okay. And I liked the music like Fantasia, was my favorite movie because it was just like music and instrumentals and just the visuals I really

liked but as far as Disney princesses go like I was just not into that right it wasn't my it wasn't my thing so I'm doing all this research and um I got really into just like the deep dive of Broadway and the voice the vocals I remember really but the first show that I loved was in the heights and I love 96,000 which is like a rap song I love that and then I got got into like 13 the musical because I was a big Ariana Grande fan and she did that one. And so all the entire summer all I did was like steady, steady, steady, steady. And then the eighth grade comes around the very beginning of eighth grade. And I auditioned for my next show, which was called Big Bad Musical, which is basically like

the Big Bad Wolf going on trial for all their wrongdoings. And I got cast in that one. Oh, good. Good. Congratulations. I was so excited. I had 14 lines and one solo. So that was your second audition, right?

Yes, that was my second audition. That one went way better. And I had some friends in that show, so we like practice, rehearsed our additions together. And that's pretty much like where it took off for me. After that, I was doing like every single musical I could do, which I would work on stage and backstage. I definitely preferred working on stage and performing. But I got a more like worldly view of the theater. And I was like, I was hooked.

So I'll throw out the rest of me. middle school, which was just that one year. And then all in high school, I was just all about, I was doing every show that I could. Like, I remember one point, I was doing like three shows at once. I was doing two school shows and then the community theater that I did the big productions at. And the whole time I was in high school, I was like the Disney girl. Like everyone knew me as like she, she is Disney. Like she embodies it. My very first job was being a Disney princess for a party company. Yeah, so that was interesting. Did you like doing that or not, it wasn't the same, obviously?

It wasn't the same. I did like doing it at the time. It's not something that I would do now. Because do they make, do they have you sing and stuff when you do those jobs too? They did. Okay. They did. Actual Disney princesses in the Disney parks will get to that, but they don't, they don't

do like vocals or anything because they can't like imitate. Right. Kristen Bell. Yeah. Unless it's Kristen Bell. But I would sing and like I would actually. act out with the kids and we would do like 30 minute parties 30 minutes or an hour it just depends on like what they booked and I remember the first job I did I got paid $40 and the first thing I did

was going by a cookout tray because I loved cookout so I was like 16 when I did that um and so I like I said loved musical theater was doing all the productions and I really wanted to major in musical theater but I was scared to so I ended up majoring in theater education when I first went into school for and I thought it was cool it was kind of boring I wasn't having fun doing that at all and the guy I was dating out of time was a complete loser and had like a very like small view of the world so when I told him that I wanted to maybe change my major he was like not encouraging of it at all that love that exactly so I was in it was my second going into my second semester my freshman year so this was like 2015 is when I originally wanted to change my major because I just like I wasn't having fun I

feel like I'm wasting my time because this isn't what I want to do like I guess I'm good at it I could be a teacher but I don't want to be and like just the whole I'm from North Carolina the school systems are terrible there they at the time I think they were like lowest paid out of all 50 states for teachers it's just yeah it's crazy no Yeah, exactly. And I hated high school on top of it all. Like, I hated school. Like, I like college, but I didn't want to be working from like 7 a.m. until later than like

probably 6, 7 p.m. with rehearsals and not getting paid for that stuff. So I thought about changing my major then, didn't because my boyfriend wasn't encouraging. And then broke up with him. Good. Went into my second year of college and I changed my major to musical theater. Which is what you originally wanted to do. Yeah, that's why I originally wanted to do. And it was something that I absolutely love doing at the time.

So change my major, was super duper happy for like the first year and a half. And then it just kind of wore off. Once I was in college, I also still just had like the Disney like persona, I guess you could say. we would do awards every single year at the end of the semester. And they were like customized awards. Like everybody in the program would get it. Because I went to a very small college. I don't think I mentioned that.

It was like 1,200 students. Wow. Was it a private university? It was. Yeah. And this was in Greensboro, North Carolina. So I got now the small town moved to like slightly bigger. I mean, it's definitely, it's big for North Carolina.

I think it's like the third largest city. And I grew up near it. So usually I just tell people I'm from Greensboro because they know. that area. Easier. It's much easier. Yeah. So I went to a very small private college. We had like 70 people in our department. The theater department was one of the largest. Like theater and music kind of like ran the school and then there's like the sports and then the very, very, very few people who just didn't do any of that. So every year I would get like a Disney related award. Like my first year, I got the our own Disney princess as award the second year was most likely to star in their own Disney original movie. And I just

kind of hated being known for that. I don't know why. It just like kind of got to me because I felt like I was just like in a box in a bubble. And people like didn't take me seriously because I was a big Disney fan. And when they looked at me, they like, like, they didn't see your actual like talent. No, no, they didn't see my actual talent. And I already look young for my age. How old are you? I'm 25. Okay. Yeah. So I would just get treated.

Like I don't, people would treat me like I was dumb. Right. I was like a kid. And I didn't like that because when I was in high school, I was like, you know, like the big shot in the theater department. I was the drama club president. I did like marketing where I was an officer for that as well. Like I did a lot of stuff around the school and people looked at me as like a leader. But when I was in college, it kind of looked at me as like I was a kid because I like Disney.

Disney and I mean everyone likes Disney to an extent but um so I started like telling people like I don't actually really like Disney which isn't true but I just wanted to so that they would stop so that they would stop and that I would create more of like a name for myself that wasn't just behind this company and Disney Girl exactly Disney Girl and I think that when it came to casting and shows like I would definitely get typecasted in certain roles or like there were certain roles I wanted that like I wouldn't even be considered for it just because of like my young energy. Right. Which is like something I love now.

But at the time when I'm trying to grow and break out of that, as long as you can. Yeah. When I'm like 19 years old, like I'm still a teenager and I want to be an adult. But like everyone's calling me snow white. Like so every time Disney like got brought up, I was like, no, I don't want anything to do with it. And people would always tell me about the Disney College program. we'll get into that because I don't know most I don't know how much people know about the Disney college program yeah so there's a Disney college program and it's basically a program for

college students you can do it I don't it's a little different now because of the pandemic changed things around but back when I first applied for it and got into it you could do it in college or one year post grad so everyone's like you should do the Disney college program go to Disney I was like I don't want to so when I grabbed it. graduated college in 2019. I was just like, I'm done with theater, done with Disney. I don't want to do it anymore. Try to get a bunch of jobs that I had no qualifications for whatsoever because my degree was in musical theater. And I kept getting like rejection, rejection, rejection, rejection, rejection of one after another. And then there was one job that I really, really wanted. And I made it

all the way through like the interview process. And I didn't hear anything back for a while. and I was really upset about that. I was like an admissions counselor at the school I just graduated from because I like to travel. I was like, oh, that could be a cool thing for me to do. And I was an orientation leader in college, so I really enjoy higher education. But I didn't hear anything back. And so I'm on Facebook one day and I see one of my friends posts about applying for the Disney College program.

And I was like, well, shit, I don't have anything else to do. Like, I just got rejected from this job and like this job. And like, I'm kind of just a sitting duck. And I come from like a family of no one in my family is a home body. Right. Like my mom is from West Virginia. My dad is from Jersey. Like I did theater.

So like in the back of my head growing up like all I ever wanted to do was leave home. So I was like I have nothing else to do. Let me just apply for Disney and see what happened. So I did my application in like 20 minutes. I didn't really expect much from it. And then I almost immediately, I think it was two, I think it was four minutes later, got approved for the web-based interview, which was like crazy fast. I don't, I, usually people, people will wait months. Right.

To get the web-based interview. So do you think that was because of the experience that you already had in theater? Yes. Yes. Yes. I definitely think so. Because my experience at the time was like theater, hair, makeup, storytelling from being a princess. and then being a college orientation leader, which, you know, that's...

Yeah. And I worked at a children's museum as well. So I did like birthday parties, like coordinating that sort of thing. So all my experience pretty much was with kids. Right. So I got the web-based interview and I was like, whoa, that was fast. And so that's basically just like, it's what it sounds like. It's a questionnaire that they send you so that they can just like weed out more people,

see if they're fit for the program. I think I took that the next day because I wasn't expecting to get it so fast. I went and like I made plans. So I took that the next day. And then I passed that immediately as well, which usually that I think is kind of like a, you know, they know right when you take it if you're, if you've passed it or not. And then I got scheduled for a phone interview immediately after that. And I think that was like a week out.

And it was just crazy because the Disney college program is like, it's like a cult in a way. Like there's it, you have to, you have to be there. So there's this Facebook group of people who are applying for it and everyone's making friends in it, making group chat. So I eventually just like join this group chat and we had a snap grab, snap chat group together. We were talking about our experiences and everyone else in this group, it feels like has been waiting for the Disney College program opportunity their entire lives. And I was just like, I guess I'll do it. Yeah, it just kind of like happened. It just kind of happened. It just kind of happened. And so they're all like, oh my God, like you got through so fast.

Like, that's so crazy. How did you do it? I'm like, I don't know how I did it. It just happened. Because I'm the Disney girl. Because I'm the, I'm Greensboro College's own Disney princess. Exactly. I won awards for this.

Now that's the moment. I'm putting my degree to good work. Like, this is what I worked for. Guys, come on. So I did the phone interview. And like the thing about the phone interview is that it's really only supposed to last like 15 minutes. But mine lasted. like 30 because me and the recruiter we just like really we just really hit it off I guess but then I started

to get nervous because like oh my god this is lasting so long like is this a test am I supposed to you know it's just like a time management thing but throughout the interview like she just basically asked me what my experience was what it was like being like you know birthday party coordinator being a birthday party princess and all that stuff and they asked some Disney based questions which is basically like if you are working an attraction and the child is too short to ride the ride, like what would you do? Or if a child's too scared to meet with a character, what would you do? So just like those kind of situational questions.

I think I forgot to mention that when I first filled out to application, and this was back, like I said, before the pandemic, it's all different now. But they ask what your top three roles are. And my top role was children's activities, which is like going to the resorts and just like doing activities with kids. My second choice was a bippity-bobbitty boutique. And that's like doing, you're a fairy godmother in training a fidget for short. You have toddlers come into your chair in the salon.

You do their hair and nails and makeup. And then my third, I think, was like merchandise or something like that. Not expecting to get any of them because the children's activities in the bippity-bopity boutique are both very like hard to get into. I was just like, well, I might as well. Go bigger, go home. Go bigger, go home. So after my phone interview, they had just had an acceptance wave like the next day.

So I didn't hear anything back. And this is also phone interviews can take a while to get scheduled and I got mine almost immediately. And then after you have your phone interview, they can wait months until applications closed before you hear something back. I'm just like sitting in my house one day, minding my own business. and I hear, this is like a week later, that there's an acceptance wave. And I was like, oh shit, this could be it. But I'm really not expecting much because I don't know what I'm doing. I have no experience in this.

And it kind of all just kind of like fell together. It all just fell together. It was insane. And it was right at the right time too because I still hadn't heard back from this other job yet. I don't think. I remember being very close together. So I'm just like sitting at home. I'm like FaceTiming my friend, I think we're on the phone.

And I get an email saying that like a decision has been made and it awaits your view. So I was like, oh my God. So I click on it and I saw that I got accepted. I was like, oh, cool. Like I wasn't really doubting that I would get accepted. But the program used to be extremely competitive. So like, I mean, I didn't really know what was going to happen. And then I scrolled down and I think I had to go to like another web browser to see what my role was.

And I click on this web browser thinking it's going to be like food, custodial merchandise. Not that there's anything wrong with those, but like those are just like the easier, you know, there's more more need for those roles. And it says the bippity boppity boutique. I was like, this has to be a mistake. There's no way. I think out of thousands of people who apply and even, I don't know how many get in, but it's way less than that, that.

that year for the boutique they only let in 13 girls and I think for my location because there were a few locations but I was one of them. That's amazing. Yeah, it was really cool and it was so unexpected and I felt a little bad because it wasn't even my first time. So the whole process was what, like a week? The whole process was probably two weeks. Okay.

So it's still really fast. Yeah, it was really, really fast. And I go into my little group channel on Snapchat and like, hey guys, like look at this. And you're like, there's no way. Like, this is your first program. Most people who get that type of role, it's like their second or third program. I think out of all, because I worked at Disney Springs for this was the 2020 programs right before the pandemic hit.

There were 13 of us. Two of us were first timers. And I was 22 at the time. The other girl was like 19. So it was a crazy experience. I had a few months to get ready for the program. So I just, you know, kept doing whatever. was doing and then I was on my way to Disney World and it was not what I expected at all.

I didn't really know what to expect from the role because it was so small. There's like not a whole lot of people talking about it. There's a whole. I'm Anna Garcia, host of True Crime News, the podcast. Every week we bring you in-depth coverage on cases making headlines as well as those that go under the radar. Tune in for murders that defy explanation, mystery seeking exploration and shocking secrets that will leave you breathless.

Each week we honor the victims by going beyond the salacious in our search for justice. Crime never stops, and neither do we. Listen to true crime news available now wherever you get your podcast. A whole niche for Disney influencers, and most of them were like either entertainment or they had done like merchandise, attractions, and they would talk about that, but there were like, there was like one girl who did the boutique, I think. So she didn't really talk about her experience a whole lot, or I really didn't know what to expect.

So I get to Disney World and I check in to my crappy apartment. So at this point, you moved there. Yes. This was January of 2020. So the very end of January. I'll take a little bit. And then I'll ask another question I have. Did you know how long you were going to be living there?

Yes. So my program was for about six months, I think. Okay. With the possibility of an extension. And I was not too sure about my extension yet. I think that was a decision that was made a couple weeks into the program. So I wasn't sure if I was, I actually told myself I wasn't going to because I just wanted to like try it out for a little bit. Then move back home and be like a normal adult.

But that's just not the type of person I am. I felt like I needed to be like a normal adult. I check into my crappy apartment that's like literally right in like Buena Vista like five minutes away from Disney World. apartment complex called Vista Way. It's very infamous for anyone who works at Disney. The rent was like $400 a month. Like it was something insane. And I had, including myself, there were six girls all living in one apartment. We all got along just fine. I knew one of them going into it because we had linked together. And so we had like the big room together. And another one of my roommates is from England. The other one is from like Arkansas. One is from, I think she was first.

from like Taiwan somewhere. Like it's like super cool. And then another girl from Greensboro, North Carolina. Oh wow. It's crazy. Yeah. Yeah.

So it was very diverse and we had, we all got along just fine. Like we were having a great time. And then like I started training with Disney. And this is where it's like Disney training for this role in particular was just. And I also want to say that I do not speak for the company. I feel like I have to, I have to say that. but this training was not like top tier at all. It was kind of bad.

So like I'm in the boutique and I think the packages, I don't really remember, but they range from like $70, $80 to like $400 and like everything in between. So I go in for the first day of training. And they, first off, my training got pushed back because something went wrong with the Disney systems and they couldn't get my background check. It was like they went through a third party and it happened to like hundreds of people.

And I know for a fact it was like, I don't know if it was everyone in the state of North Carolina, but me and my other roommate from North Carolina, like both of our background trucks like weren't back in time so we couldn't start working. So they pushed back our traditions is what they call. It's basically like orientation. So I was just stuck in Orlando. Yeah. Not working, not making any money for like. It was probably a week that we were stuck there.

I went. I bought a pass universal so that I could go there because I couldn't go. into the Disney parks yet because I didn't have what we call our blue ID, which is just like our cast member employee like card. There's a lot of Disney lingo as well that I'm going to have to explain a little bit. But a cast member is an employee of Disney. Okay. So my roommate and I, we were just kind of like sitting ducks while other roommates are going and working. And some of them had, most of the roommates have moved in before me anyways. They, that's just the way Disney did it. they would, it didn't matter what your arrival time was.

Like my roommate from England had already been there for three months. Some of them had been there for two weeks. Three of us arrived on the same day. So just like it was what it was. Eventually, background check came back. I got into training out of all the other girls in the boutique, I think there was like maybe one other girl who also got hers pushback. But everyone else was like on the same page.

And they were moving a lot faster in their process. And I'm like, and they had already done the Disney College program. before. Like I said, so they knew what to expect where I, like, I had no idea what was going on. It was my first time. Disney wasn't communicating with them with us at all. They had told us that if they get the background checks back in time, like keep your phone on.

We might call you at 6 o'clock in the morning and expect you there at Disney University for orientation at like 830, which is what happened to me. Like I got a call at 6 o'clock in the morning saying like, hey, you need to be here at 8. I was like, okay. So it was all just very. very rushed and unorganized. I feel like the training was really hard. So we walk in for a day of training. I was late to getting my costume because I wasn't able to get it. So I had to run and get my costume, which is the uniform. We call them costumes. We go in for training and I was wearing,

they told us that we could wear like character heels or just like these little like keg shoes where they had to be non-slip. So I already had my character shoes, which I've worn for, years and like three hour long productions, dancing and singing and moving around. Like I didn't think it would be any sort of a big deal. But oh my God. Like I still have nerve damage in my feet just for wearing them for like two days, eight hours straight. Wow.

We weren't allowed to sit. Like at all. No. We were allowed. We were allowed to sit on breaks. But while we were- all during training stuff. Yeah.

This is all during training. And this is like the first two days of training. And was this basically just them prepping you guys for that specific role? Okay. Yeah. So at this point, we're already in like the small group of like 13. And I think we split off into two separate groups. But we were training, learning these hairstyles with no products. I don't even think we had water to learn with no hair gel, pomade, none of that in this tiny room. Like we were all slammed into this like teeny tiny. It was like the leader. We have coordinators, which is like a manager. And then the leader is like above them.

So in the leader's office, which is like smaller than this, like half the size of this room. We're all crammed in there. My feet are killing me. And I remember I was like leaning on a table. And my trainer was like, you can't be leaning. Like you have to get up. I was like, I wanted to cut my feet off. Like I've never.

It was my fault. Did anyone tell them? What? Did anybody tell them that like your feet were in pain or anything like that? No. No. And I told it was like my feet are like killing me right now. It was my fault for wearing the shoes.

but like I thought I would maybe be able to sit but there was just there's no sitting at Disney that I remember them they told us that. But also they were shoes that I feel like that you thought you had like a good amount of experience and like you know they would be good for that. They were like this big like the heels were not high but there was just no like foot support and like my gosh like I said I still get like shooting pain in my feet just from wearing those shoes for like two days. That's crazy.

I went to Walmart and bought a new pair of shoes and I remember the Disney look is like a whole other thing. where I was wearing my shoes and then I put a pair of socks on, like just like a little white socks that you really couldn't see. And then my panty hose on over it. And my trainer like immediately saw them and was like you have to take off your socks. And you put those on just to kind of provide like extra support. Yeah. Yeah.

And it felt, it did feel a little bit better, but it just like wasn't, it wasn't good enough. So that's when I went to Walmart and bought a new pair of shoes. I had a friend in the boutique who has like a really bad ankle and she had to wear like an ankle brace or something like that medical like this is a medical thing and they told her like if she couldn't stand for however many hours were working without the ankle brace and she would have to get a new role like they didn't they don't they don't really care about medical accommodations like or anything like that is either you can do it or you can yeah exactly and I think she ended up finding like a way around it because our, I had two trainers, the other trainer, which I loved both of them. My trainers were great.

The second one, her, like, fiance at the time was, like, specialized in that sort of thing. And she was like, you could try wearing this sock. They might not see it. And, like, they didn't. They never noticed. So the training was, like, really, really rushed. We did all the hairstyles in one day. Like, we didn't, I think one girl took notes. And I thought that they would give us, like, a pamphlet or something. But, like, no, it's like, you learn the information. You retain it. And I don't remember. how many hairstyles there were but I want to say there was probably like three or four but there were variations on all of them so in all like you know maybe I don't know I want to say like maybe like

seven but there was like yeah oh there was like three the I'm trying to think back because this is a while ago not on each hairstyle on each hairstyle there was maybe like two or three variations some of them just like the hairstyle. Yeah. But they all had different names to them. And you would have to learn the difference between like the enchanted one, the enchanted two, the enchanted three, or like the royal with a swoop without a swoop or like, you know, just like that thing.

And you can't really, you couldn't do any sort of like personal style on any hairstyle. Like they all had to look exactly the same. So if you accidentally like, I remember one time I was doing an Elsa hairstyle, we had an Elsa one and two. And the one was just significantly better than the two because the two had like this really weird twist in it that just didn't make any sense. And no one like understood how to do it honestly. And whenever a little girl came in with the Elsa, like they would usually do the Elsa one,

which is just like a braid if I'm remembering right. But I remember having a little girl in my chair and she chose the two. And I did. I had only done it one other time. That was in training. And this was a couple weeks later. And I'm doing the hairstyle and my like coordinator. comes over and she like in front of the entire family she's just like what are you doing and I was like

my job yeah thought um and she like redid the whole hair style right in front of the family and she was like that's not how you do it yeah yeah and it was like okay like that kind of breaks the magic a little bit like I understand like if I was doing the hairstyle wrong yeah but but also like wait until after it was embarrassing yeah it was just embarrassing so how long was training was it two days or longer training was about five days okay so we we learned all the the hairstyles on the first day. The second day, we were in the salon doing them. So, like, this family just paid, like, you know, $200 for this hairstyle in this package. So it's expensive. It's very expensive. And I had only been doing it for one day with no hair products. So that was

extremely nerve-wracking. Like, it was very, very intense. And there were a lot of girls who were, all the younger girls were very nice in the boutique. a lot of the older wiser fairies what we call them they were kind of mean wiser fairs that's what yeah they were wiser fairies um some of our coordinators like they weren't the nicest the leader even the leaders i got a leader just like laugh in my face one time because i did something wrong right and i was like i didn't i'm sorry i didn't mean to like i'll learn from my mistake but she's like laughed in my face it's like yeah i feel like it's pretty it seems that like that's like a trend i feel like that happens is when like the older higher

ups. Yeah. You know, they have the experience and they expect someone, like you said, with one day of training, or even like five days of training, which still isn't that much. Yeah. Like to have it down perfect and it's a joke. But things like that can lead you to feeling like very uncomfortable. Oh, yeah.

And, you know, having a fear of failing again. Yeah. And it's, it's kind of like bittersweet because I loved the job. And I like grew to be very good at it. It was not like anything I'd ever done before. Right. But it was just, it was very intense. And it wasn't for everyone.

Like I could 100% understand why they only let a select amount of people into this role. Because like the training, like I had friends in food who would train for like a week and a half to two weeks where I was in the boutique only training for five days and then having an assessment and then just like being completely on my own. It took a long time. Well, not that long. So I wasn't there that long because of the pandemic. We'll get to that.

To really get used to it and get comfortable. And there was also, like, there was a salon position. There were also other positions. I just didn't like those as much. Like, you can be podium where you check people in. I hated that one because I always wanted us to upsell. I'm like, I'm not a salesperson. So I didn't like doing that.

There was a cedar position where you would seat people in the chairs in the salon. And like, that was okay. There's a fitting room attendant. But I liked being in the salon. Another thing was time limit. So from the moment, a child, like, hit the chair. They were only, we were only supposed to be there for like 25 minutes. minutes. So I did to do hair, nails, and makeup in 25 minutes. That's crazy. Yeah. So a big part. Were you like rushing like a

maniac or did you eventually get it down to where it was like it seemed like you were taking your time? Yeah. Well, a lot of it is storytelling. So I would have to make sure that I had my stories like that. Because the faster you talk, the faster your hands work. So you're telling stories while doing. Yes. Wow. Okay. Yeah. So I'm acting basically I'm like, I'm a fairy godmother in training. I, the fairy godmother from Cinderella is my boss and I have to go to school for 1,000 years to become a fairy godmother and to gain like my wings or whatever. So I would tell princesses at the time and be like, oh, I'm, I was 22 at the time. So I'm like, I'm 22 years old.

And I'm a bit of a younger fairy. And I would tell them, oh, I had Rapunzel in my chair this morning. And her hair is 70 feet long. It takes so many of us fairy. Like that, da, da, da, da, da, da, like that sort of thing. So like I said, the faster you talk, the faster your hands move, but like you have to have those stories down pat. Like there are times when I first started, especially the first day, I'm like, I don't

know what to say. Right. Because you're so nervous. You're pretty much making them up on the spot. Yeah. Okay. Mm-hmm. Yeah.

And I now basically do the same thing, but through a third party company. And like we get way more time with the families. We get like, we go to resorts, the Disney resorts and vacation homes. And like I can spend as much time. with them as I want. Like now I have my stories like more down pat. But at the time like this is my second day working at Disney. I don't know what to say about about who.

And so it was just very nerve-wracking. And I have, I mean, I feel like everybody has anxiety. But it made my anxiety so bad. Like I got these really bad tension headaches. And it would be like right here where I would just feel pain just right there. And I am never, since I left that role, never gotten one. but I would get them every single day. And I started getting migraines because, you know,

there would be a fairy in the corner who's watching the time, being like you're running out of time, like hurry it up. And I get that it's a very high profile place. But I just, I just, I felt very pushed into it. I felt very, very pushed into it. But I eventually started to learn. And I was getting excited to go to work. And that's about the time that we hear.

hear about this little virus that is taking over the world. And I remember it being a concern before I even left, because like I said, I left at the very end of January. So around like mid-Februaries when people started talking about it a little bit more. But Disney didn't say anything about it. I was just, you know, go to work as usual. And then I started doing my own research about it, started freaking out. But I'm like, it'll be okay. It'll be okay. Disney's not saying anything about it. Then it's fine. And then March rolls around, spring break, the week of the weekend. it all happens. And it went from like zero to 100 at Disney World. I remember standing, I had friends visiting me that week and we're standing in line at a ride for a Magic Kingdom. And they're

checking their phones. They're like, oh my goodness, we just got another week of vacation. I was like, oh, that's crazy. Like I'm checking my phone. Disney's not saying anything about it. So like, it should be fine. I went into work the next day and we would always have a meeting before work. And they mentioned, like, you know, we have the virus that's going around. But we would always wash our hands. Like, we'd always clean the chair. We were very clean. Like, we, the cleanliness was good there.

So they're like, there's nothing to worry about. Like, we're doing everything we're supposed to do. We'll be fine. And I think it was like the next day. Disney announced that like all the parks were shutting down. But Springs was staying open. So they said, which is what? Disney Springs.

Okay. So it's like outside of the Disney parks. but it's still Disney affiliated. And then there's like the third party company. It's just like shopping and food and like that sort of thing. And that's where my boutique was. There was one in the castle, one at the Grand Floridian, which is a resort. So you were saying open, basically.

Yes. We were staying open. And so it was very confusing how like they were saying that it wasn't. Yeah. But we're not. Exactly. That it's like not safe to be in the parks, but it's okay for like us to work. Yeah.

So I mean, I still went into work as usual because when, What they had said is that, oh, they're just shutting down for like a couple of days. And they hadn't quite shut down yet by why this was coming. Like that was coming up like next week or something. I don't really remember. It's just all so fuzzy. It just all happened so fast. And so I'm like going into work and then I'm just watching.

Like we had a little reservation system that had like who was coming at what time. Every single person was just like missing their reservation. Like nobody was coming in. We had hardly any clients that day. our chords had us go walk around Disney Springs like trying to get people to come into the boutique because like everybody was canceling their vacation. So it was scary because people all around the world are hunkering down at this point, but we're at Disney and like nothing bad happens at Disney and everything's okay.

But just like right down on the street, they're being told like they shouldn't come to the theme parks, but like Disney Springs is okay. So we had a number to call if we had a number. to call if we had any concerns about the coronavirus. So I called the number and I just like asked them like, why are the parks closed but Springs isn't? Like it makes me feel like I'm not as valued as a cast member because my friends who are over in the castle are like, we get a vacation, but we're being told we have to go to work.

And it was more like a comment and concern thing. And the girl on the other end was very nice. And she was like, we completely understand where you're coming from. Your comments are being heard. Little did I know. I went to work like the next day. And I am sitting on my break, my 15 minute break at that. So it was very, very short.

Like, I mean, it was just enough time to eat a snack. I'm just sitting there. And all of a sudden, there are three other girls on the Disney college program in there with me. Everyone else is like full time, part time. And this girl, she's like, oh, my God, my roommates just got termed. And so termed at Disney means you get fired. so which is not exactly what happened but that's what she said so just uh you know yeah she's like they just got termed like they're being sent home i don't know if they were at work or what but

they are just told that like they had to go home so we were like oh my god and it i was still just so delusional at this point like so not knowing what's going to be in the boutique so like they're not going to send me home little did i know two minutes later we get an email stating that the Disney College program has been canceled. Wow. So that's just cold turkey. It's dumb. Cold turkey.

And so like, obviously I just start crying. Yeah, because it's extremely abrupt. Yes. And it's, and it's, it was an email. How long were you there for at this point? So this was right after St. Patrick's Day, I think. So like, were you there for even a month yet? Yes.

Okay. I want to say, I haven't really thought about it. I want to say I was there for about six weeks, maybe. I know, I was there for long. And I had. But you were supposed to be, you thought you're going to. to be there for like six months. Yes. And I didn't mention like at this point, I'm really comfortable with the job. I started to really, really love it. So I didn't want to leave. I was going to stay.

And I had never, I just didn't plan on going back home. I know earlier when I was, you know, when I was younger, I was like, I don't want to be known for being the Disney person. But like, I realized very quickly, like that's where I was meant to be. And like, I didn't really have a dream job at that point. But that was my dream job. You started thriving there. I started, I started, I, thrive there. I absolutely loved it. I made the best friends I'd ever made in my life. I was having so much fun there. And I wasn't at that point, like, I'm a social person, but I wasn't much of a partier. Like, I went out in college to bars and like I went to some house parties here and there, but like I wasn't like getting drunk every weekend. Like I don't smoke or anything. I don't do

drugs. So I would go out every once in a while, but I worked so much. Like I would work like 10 hour days every day. And like that's a lot and like not something I would do now, but at the time, that is, I was so happy doing it aside from, you know, the anxiety headaches and that stuff. But once I was settled in, like it was, it was cool. Yeah. So we get this email and my friend is reading it out. Like I'm just kind of like reading it with her. And it's basically like the Disney College program has been canceled. You have three days to move out of the state or like I mean I guess some people from Florida we have three days to move out of Disney housing because my apartment was through Disney yeah that's why it was so cheap like it was

$400 a month like that's not a thing for them to expect that kind of fast yes wow that's nuts okay it was nuts and it was very messed up and I they hadn't said anything about it but we were all aware that it was messed up and it was all over email it wasn't like one of your in-person meetings no so we initially got the email, we're reading it. All three of us who are on the Disney college program just start crying and all the other fairies, full-timers and part-timers are coming over and like holding us and hugging us. And then all of a sudden a leader just breaks into the break room and she's like, get into office now. Like we have to talk. So they pulled us three in. And then this other girl

who was just, she was working, but she was in the back and they just pulled her in. This girl was from England and they had just closed off the borders the day before. So we're all crying. She's like, what's going on? Because she didn't see the email. And then my leader reads off this statement basically saying like the program is being canceled due to the coronavirus. You're given this many days to move out. The girl from England, like I still like cannot get the panic in her voice out of my head. Like she just starts freaking out. And she's like, I can't go home. Like a ticket back home cost so much money. They just close the borders. I don't know what I'm going to do. Like, I can't get out of here. So she starts freaking out. We're all just like freaking out. And then

one by one, they start gathering the other like Disney College program participants from like the salon and from wherever they are. And this was like like I said in this room, I think it was only like four of us. And then I remember after that meeting, there were. And then I remember after that meeting, were like, go out there, stay in the back, don't say anything to anyone because the other girls didn't have their phones on them. They didn't know what was going on. So I remember they opened up the door and I see one of my friends and like my face is all puffing and I'm crying. I just look at her and I just shake my head and I just walked out and then they gave the same meeting to them. Everybody's crying. We don't know what we're going to do. Everyone's hoping that they'll change

their mind that we can stay. I remember being my best friend from back home. It was her birthday. I called her crying and I was like, happy birthday, I just got fired. So they technically, like, they technically did not term us. Like, that's just a very harsh word at Disney. It literally means terminate. Yeah. So when the roommate's friend, or when my friend's roommate said that they, like,

terminated them, like, we were all freaking out. Like, now we're going to be known as people who got fired from Disney. Like, it's going to be hard to get a job once you get fired from Disney. But we technically, they completed the program. It was only like a couple of months long or a couple weeks long. but they had ended up completing the program. I packed up all of my stuff within like a day and got out of there. I mean, it was crazy.

And my car, I had a 2008 Volkswagen Beetle at the time, super duper tiny car, just got it out of the shop because the drive from North Carolina to Orlando killed the car, basically. It was like $1,000 to get that same thing fixed, like way more than it was even worth. But like it was my car. So I was freaked out that it wasn't going to make it back. calm and like I said I had my friends there to like help me pack my stuff into that car as well so I packed up all my stuff said by to my roommates um on the last day that I was there they sent out

an email to everyone saying like hopefully we can restart the program and get in two weeks because that's what we all thought like we could all just we would come back in two weeks if we just yeah we just stay at home and it will be okay obviously we know, that's not what happened. And they sent out a questionnaire saying, you know, would you return? And like, for me, it was instant. Like, of course I would return back to Disney. Like, I just had such a good time here. I went home. I don't blame Disney for, like, ending the program. That was the right thing to do. But I wish there was more communication beforehand. Yeah. Besides it just being like cold turkey. Because people, we would have guests all the time asking us, do you know what's going to happen?

Yeah. Like, what are the secrets? And we're like, we don't know because Disney wouldn't tell us. Right. So if we had more notice, and my friends from, so the one girl, she was from the UK, and my roommate was from the UK. So all of her friends, like they worked in the UK pavilion in Epcot, they were actually able to stay a little bit longer. So that was good. They let them stay for about a month, I think.

And then eventually they got an email saying, like, you know, the program's not coming back. Like, you guys have to go home. Yeah. So they ended up parting ways, which is really sad. I mean, it was just sad for everybody. And I, from the moment, I got home to the maybe, I think it was like a year and a half later was when I went back to Disney. Like I was just so depressed the entire time. And I know we all were.

Like we were all trapped at home, but where I was like living the life. Like finally I felt like this is where I belong. This is what I should be doing. Like I'm happy doing this. I was just trapped at home. So naturally like everyone else, I started TikTok. and just to like keep things moving a little bit. And I actually really liked it.

Like I gained a good following and a little amount of time. And I had a lot of fun doing that. And then I was just still waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting for Disney to come back. And it just wasn't coming back. So I decided to just kind of move on with my life. And I got a job as a preschool teacher. And I also worked at Bath and Body Works just for fun. And I hated it.

it. Like I, nothing was making me happy. And I felt like I wasn't myself and it was crazy because I was only there for six weeks. But like I said, I met some of the best friends that I've ever met in my entire life. And I was just so happy. I've always wanted to live in Florida. I didn't necessarily always want to work for Disney. But that's where I always wanted to be. And I just felt like there was no way I was going to go back. Like I was really starting to lose hope. And I was also just so angry at this time because that's when everything's going on with the pandemic and Black Lives Matter and I was just so mad and like I just didn't quite understand why this was like happening in the world, you know? But now that I look back on it, I mean, everything happens for a reason,

right? And like none of us wish that if I had a choice for the pandemic to happen versus it not happening, I wish it would have never happened. But I did learn a lot through that time. that I was gone. So like I said, I was a teacher and like these were pandemic babies. Like I was in the older toddler room so they were like one and a half to two years old. So they were, they had turned one and then like shut down. Like they're being quarantined in isolation for a year and then thrown back into a room of like 15, two and a half year old.

Like I loved my kids. but it was terrible. Like I would go into my car and just cry during break. Yeah, we get a one hour break every single day, most days. And I was just like, I have to go back to Disney. Like, I don't know what I need to do, but I just wanted to go back so bad. Like, I was willing to do anything. And then I think it was around maybe February or March.

They released like part-time because they, ended up opening back up. I don't remember when, but it was sometime in 2020. And so I had some friends who still lived in the area and they were working there and getting jobs. But just also, the conditions for the cast members just weren't the safest because they had to wear masks outside in Florida. Yeah. And like in March, it's up to 90 degrees. And once I eventually went back, we only had to wear masks inside. We didn't have to wear them outside. But my trainer had told me that while that was going on, past members,

it would just pass out all the time because they would get way too hot and they couldn't breathe and I have asthma. So, yeah, I'm like, if I have to wear a mask outside for like eight hours and it's probably it wouldn't be very pretty.

So it's just that, in my opinion, Disney should have waited a little bit longer to open back out because it just wasn't safe. But it was, it's about money. It's a big money grab for the company at that time. So, Anywho, backtracking again to when I was at home and just working through the pandemic.

They released something about like full time, part time. And I applied for it. So it's like all I wanted to do was go back. And then around that time, I hadn't heard anything back for a hot second because they were just getting applications in. Like nobody was receiving offers. I had. Sorry to interrupt you, but you didn't have any type of like, I guess. What's the word that I'm looking for?

Like special treatment, I guess, since you already were there? Not at this moment in time. Okay. Not this moment. So like you would have to completely reapply again like you did the first time. Yes. And so they were only hiring at that point for like custodial attractions. So it wouldn't even be for the same position.

No. No, the boutique was close, close, close, closed. Like doors boarded up and not actually, but like it was shut down for a long time. even when I went back it wasn't open. So I applied for full-time part-time, just sitting duck, just waiting and waiting. And actually, there was another job, like a real person job that I was applying for, that one of my friends worked for the company. And it sounded pretty cool.

It sounded all right. Like, I had the Disney personality. It was customer service. And it paid well. So I was like, I guess I could apply for that. I applied for it. I just like, I could tell, though, during the interview. I was like, I don't really want this.

Right. And like that really affects you. I couldn't even like fake it. Like this isn't what I want to do. I don't want to be corporate. Yeah. It's not me. So I got through the interview and I just like I wasn't really feeling it.

And I think it was like maybe a week later. So crazy the timing of it. But I'm sitting at work. It's like during nap time for the kids and they're all actually sleeping this time. and I get a message from one of my friends on Facebook who I actually knew from back home, but she did the Disney College program like years before I did. And she was like, congratulations, the program is coming back. And I was like, what?

Like, where did you hear that? And she goes, oh, like, we just, as an alumni for the Disney Walt Disney World Disney World Company, we just got an email saying that the program is coming back. So like, you should be hearing something soon. And I was like, there is no way. on a random Tuesday or whatever day it was that the Disney college program is starting back up. Sure enough, 15 minutes later, I get an email stating that the program is starting back up. And I just started crying in the middle of nap time.

And my friend who was also working with me, like we were around the same age and like, she understood. But she was just like, why are you crying? And I'm like starting back up. So does that mean since the program itself was restarting, does that mean that they were just going to let you back in to kind of finish where you left off? Pretty much. So for people who got sent home on that program, they had first choice. I don't know if they really rejected anyone from that pool, but I immediately, I think during the nap time, like, reapplied because it was like a very short thing.

And then I don't even think I had to do an interview for that. I think it was just kind of like, you've been accepted, select an arrival date, which was like a month out. or this was probably like April or May I was also supposed to that summer study abroad in England and then that program got canceled because of COVID and this is 2021 so like we had already been vaccinated and everything but still just like wasn't quite safe and like that was really upsetting because it's something I've always wanted to do right and I'm like my job like I just feel so stuck like it was like the timing of it was divine it was insane so I reapplied And I was hoping like, oh my God, this means the boutique is going to open back up.

That's where I'm going to go. And like I just, I can't imagine myself doing anything else. Like I'm not going to be happy doing anything else. And like I was just in this bubble of pixie dust at this time, basically. And I get my acceptance. I pick an arrival date without knowing what my position was at this point because they didn't really know what they were doing on there. Right.

And anyways. And I get my offer. And it was for food, quick food. service and I was just like I don't know about this because I've never worked in food before right and I've always heard that like working food at Disney World is rough and in a lot of locations it is but I actually ended up working in Epcot festivals so like food and wine flower and garden like all that stuff the majority of the first group the first wave coming back to Disney were in that group okay so I remember telling all my friends like and I wanted to if I

knew I was working in food, I wanted to be in Epcot. Like, that's the place that you want to be. Yeah. So I was nervous for working in food because I'd never done it before. I thought if anything, I'd get merchandise because I worked at Bath & Body Works, but they just didn't really care. They just like selected the people who could come on this date and just pluck them in wherever they could. And the boutique wasn't open. So like, all right, I'll go and I'll do my job and I'll have fun. But as soon as boutique opens back up, like, I'm going to go. So I'm talking with all my friends from the previous program. We're all planning on going back. And I finally get there.

I'm back at Disney. I'm so happy. I'm so excited. And then I realized, I'm like, oh, my God, I haven't made any friends. Like, before I had the group chats and I was like all into it. I get there on the first day. And I also lived, I didn't do the Disney housing this time because I had a cat. I wanted more space.

I didn't want a roommate. And they had upgraded. They went from like, they used to have four different apartment complex, I think, in like the same area. Then they built this huge, like, luxury apartment complex. for the Disney College program called Flamingo, and it's this beautiful, beautiful apartment complex, brand new. We were like the first group of participants to get to move in there,

but I just wanted more space, so I just got my own apartment. But they had like the welcoming events and, you know, parties for everyone to meet each other, and then they meet their roommates, and most of the people working on the program all worked in the same area at that time because, like, we all worked atop festivals. So, like, they all knew each other. I walk in on the first day and there's also, most of them would take the Disney transportation. I drove.

So I walked in like five minutes before we were starting. Everyone else is already there. And I'm just a little more isolating this. It was a little isolating. It was just like, oh my God, like I don't have any friends. And I'm a, like said, I'm a social person. I'm pretty extroverted. But like when everyone else is already like grouped off into groups, it's just like a little intimidating.

And then this girl just like walks up to me and she's just like, hey. I was like, hey. and now we're still best friends to this day. Her name is Morgan. She's actually the one who showed me your podcast like months ago. So shout out to Morgan. She's the best. She just walked up to me and we just like hit it off.

And like that was the first day of training and just became best friends. And I actually ended up really loving the job. Good. Like it was the when we actually were out doing training in the little kiosk booths, my trainer told me that it would be the easiest job you would ever do. Like I was just taking orders, filling drinks, and handing out food. Like, I didn't even have to make the food. It was awesome.

So I'm just standing here. So this training was a lot different. This training was so different. It was so laid back. It was so much fun. Did you still have to dress up or was it? Yeah. I still had to wear a costume.

It ended up being pretty iconic, but it was so ugly. It was like striped blue shirt, like these khaki shirt. like these khaki shorts that were like way too small but they didn't have so the amount of people that they brought in to fill this role they didn't have enough clothes for them right so I was in the first group luckily to go to get my costume and I just happened to get the last striped shirt so I was like I got a striped shirt and then they ended up um just like putting out blue shirt so then there was like the running joke like oh if you got the striped shirt then like you're cool but if you got a blue shirt then like oh then they had like it.

They've added even more people to the pools and they had the white shirt. So we were all wearing different costumes. Now, before this role was like a flag shirt, and that's like very iconic for Epcot, but there were just so many people. And this certain role was very, it's supposed to be like culture representatives, but they hadn't opened back up the international program. So like, we're all from America. So they just, yeah, yeah, the costumes were, yeah, not flattering at all,

but they ended up being like iconic in a way. So the job was, it was a lot of fun. It wasn't very fulfilling. But I mean like what? Like I am standing in the middle of Orlando, Florida, just filling up frozen rosés all day, handing them out to people and being like, have a great day. Yeah. I do that for a few hours. I go home.

I get ready to go out with my friends. Like, this is my life, you know? But something like that is only sustainable for a couple of months, for me at least. Like I loved it. I was planning on staying in Epcot festivals for a really long time. And it really wasn't like the job and like it wasn't the people. But I just started to get so bored. And at that time, that's when like Disney was getting extremely controversial or like at least

a program was because they were letting in so many people at once. They just didn't have enough people to train them. And so my training was like, it was just me and another guy in my group. and they were supposed to be someone else, but he ended up not showing up. So it was just us two training for like two or three days. And so we got everything down pat. And like for us, it wasn't our first jobs. For a lot of other people, it was.

And for the people, the majority of people in my group had done the college program before. They eventually opened it up to people who hadn't. I don't think I mentioned that. So there were a lot of people who just like had never had a job before thought that coming to Disney would be like a party scene, which it kind of was. the party scene is something completely different that we'll have to get into. But people didn't want to work. So they would come to work and they would just like complain or they wouldn't do their job.

So then there would be the people or they just weren't trained properly. So it was a lot different than prior to. Yes. Okay. It just wasn't taken as seriously. No. I don't think that they were. I had heard from some higher ups that they weren't prepared for the amount of people who were coming in.

And like it showed like COVID started going around. flamingo crossings and people were just calling out a work all the time. Does he have this point system, which I don't like. But the point system is if you call out, you get a point. If you get four points, you get a reprimand. If you get three reprimands, I believe you get fired, turned. So if you're actually sick, you have to call out, you get a point. I think if you get like four points within six months, you can't transfer to like full time or part time.

So if you're on the college program like I was, I couldn't call out more than four times and six months if I wanted to go full time, part time. I believe those are the number. It's like something like that. It might be a little off. But yeah, it's something like that. So people are getting sick all the time. And then there's just people who are calling out.

And like we started getting extremely short staff. Like food and wine is our big festival. And they were trying to pull people from other locations. Like they were pulling people from the resorts or pulling people from Magic Kingdom from everywhere just to do food and wine because so many people, they're letting in pretty much anyone at this point. And they're all terming because they're not happy because they expect it to be a party. And it's like, oh, no, you like actually kind of have to work a little bit. Yeah. But like I said, this was not a hard job. And I got deployed to Magic Kingdom for like a week to,

because it was between festivals. So there wasn't anything for me to do in Epcot. And the Magic Kingdom guests versus Epcot guest is a whole new world. Like they were so. rude. They were so mean. Yes, I got yelled at over popcorn because it was, we had, it was a very end of the night. We were technically, technically closed. And they just, I showed up to Magic Kingdom earlier from my shift. They didn't like train me on anything. They just put me on a cart. And they were like, here just like sell these ice creams, which is like, not a hard thing to do. But I'm just like, I'm not used to the crowds at Magic Kingdom. And I didn't know how to work the system. I didn't know how to work the walkie-talkies. I didn't know my way around because like full disclosure, I'm not a

Magic Kingdom fan. Like I never go to that park because it's always so crowded and there's so much going on. It's hectic to get in and out of. And they just threw me on the card. Like there was no training for that whatsoever. I was just like panicked and freaked out a little bit. So later on in the day, one of my friends, it was a guy that I trained with. He also got deployed to Magic Kingdom for that week. And I think, I don't know if he had made the popcorn or someone who didn't know out and make it made it and burnt like a good portion of it. It was like all at the bottom. So he ended up leaving.

It was just me and this other girl on the cart. And this line was like two people deep. Right. And this woman comes up and she has like her daughter and I'm looking at the popcorn. There's only like a little bit left and it's all burnt like this burnt popcorn. And so she's like, can I get a bucket of popcorn? And I turned to the girl who was at the booth at the time who did. work there. And I was like, should we sell this? And she was like, no, like, we can't sell this.

So I was like, unfortunately, like, we're out of popcorn. We have left this burn and like, we can't sell it to you. And this lady just went off on me. She was like, I've been waiting in this long line, two people deep. My daughter is starving and you're not going to feed her. And I was just like, okay. And I looked at the girl and I was like, should we sell the popcorn? And she's like, yeah, we can sell it. So it's like, okay. So she scoops up. popcorn, I hand it to her, and the woman's like, that's what I thought. Like, I can't believe you owe my daughter an apology and blah, blah, blah. And I'm just like getting yelled at by this woman. And I had never experienced anything like that before, ever. So I just didn't know what to

say. I was just like, sorry. As a Disney cast member, like, I can't retaliate. I was just, I was just kind of surprised that like the other cast members who I was working with, like, didn't say anything and like weren't helping me out. So needless to say, I never worked at Magic King. again. It was just all day. It was like that was the worst one, but people, they were, they just get so cranky there. It's a big difference in like, it's a big different. Well, when it comes to food as well, because I think the food in Epcot is very good and there's lots of it. But Magic Kingdom, not so much. In my personal opinion, so that was, I ended up calling out the next day because I was like, I can't take that. So I got a point for that. And I, once I got back to

Epcot, I was like, okay, this place is like so chill. I had a friend who worked in one of the biggest quick service places in Magic Kingdom. And I mean, every day she would get like yelled at by guests and like harassed by them. And it's just, it's just horrible. And it's accepted. Why would anyone want to go to their job? Yeah. Oh, yeah.

I said if I had originally gotten like Magic Kingdom ODV, I would have termed. There's no way I would have. I got lucky being an Epcot festival. Like we had so much fun. I had a great couple of months. But then it got to a point we were moving on to the holiday festival after food and wine. And all of my friends got sent to like different locations because they were like, it was supposed

to be a much smaller festival, which much smaller crowd. So they didn't need as many people because they didn't have as many booths. So they sent all of my friends elsewhere. And then one of my best friends Morgan, she ended up leaving because she was like, I'm not happy here anymore. like I begged them to send me somewhere else and they just like won't listen to me. I had another friend before we even switched locations. They would always have him on like closing shifts and he was like I'm missing out on so much.

Like I just want to be scheduled an opening or a mid like maybe every once in a while so that I can go and do stuff. And he talked to leaders multiple times sent emails, went to their office telling them like, I'm going to term. if you don't change my schedule. Because it was the same schedule every single week. And like I was affected by it too. I was closing like every single day working six days a week. So like I was missing out on a lot. But I was like, yeah, it is what it is.

And he told them that. And they were like, okay, like yeah, we'll take a look at it. We'll change your schedule. They didn't. So he left. Like they didn't listen at all. And I know there's a lot of people to work with. But like when you like a lot of people were just kind of like deteriorating.

Right. A lot of people were getting, and Disney at the time provided a couple of free therapy sessions. Like, everybody was using them because it was just, it was getting to a point where, like, I don't know, people just weren't being heard. It was draining. It was very, it was very draining. I was getting draining. I was getting drained. I'm working six days a week.

And I'm not getting paid. The pay was also not good. Like, for a Disney college program at the time, I was getting paid like 13 an hour in the middle of Orlando, Florida. Like, that's pretty bad. And my rent was, I think it was less than what the people doing a Disney housing were paying. So like it was just all around. It didn't add up. It didn't add up.

And it was starting to get to be like, like I'm not happy anymore. And I'm still just sitting here waiting for the boutique to open back up. And it's not opening. And like I just felt like a sitting duck. All my friends had left. Like the whole exciting like, oh, like the Disney college program. Like that ended up fading. And we would always, we would always.

we would work and then we would get ready and we'd go out together. We had this bar we would always go to called Signor Frogs. It's like a chain. It's a huge thing at Disney and this other bar that's very near and dear to my heart called Cowboys. It's a line dancing bar. Every Thursday we would get home from work. We'd get ready and we'd go and we'd line dance for hours. Like we weren't even really drinking. We would just have so much fun doing it. But it just got to a point where like none of us could go out anymore, like, our schedules were so different and we just be so exhausted and we're just, me personally, I just wasn't having fun anymore. Right. It was kind of taking the life out of me. And it was a company, like, I didn't understand because I loved it so much. And I wanted to go back

so bad. It was hard for me to grasp that, like, I don't want to do this anymore. Right. That, like, my dreams have shifted, but I don't know what to do. Yeah. So I eventually, we went on to the next festival, which was the holiday festival. So this is like the beginning of December. And we were slammed. Like they were not expecting that many people to come to this festival. Because usually they said that nobody really comes to it. Like it's just, you know, pretty dead.

But no. And we were so understaffed. Like I went back down to five days a week, but I was working like 10 plus hours every single day. And I was working, um, expo. Expo is a person who would like take the receipt and they'd yell, I need three of these and like four of these and they'd pick it up and they hand it to the people. But like this close to the guess, like with the register, like you're behind the register. If you're filling drinks, you're in the

booth. But I was like face to face with the guests, 10 hours every day. Still during a pandemic, you can probably guess what happened. I ended up getting COVID. And around this time, everybody was getting COVID. So like we were dropping like flies. And I tested positive. on the day that I was supposed to get my booster. I was so busy with work. I didn't have time to get a booster. And I was well overdue for it. Well overdue.

And so I ended up getting COVID. And I didn't have it like that bad. Like, you know, it wasn't. So let's say when you get COVID, like how does the point stuff work with that? So I called into like the Disney health. And I was like, hey, I have COVID. I can't come into work. So they're like, okay, just keep calling out.

and once you get better, I think at that point we were still quarantining for like 10 days if you had COVID and then in the middle of everyone getting sick they changed the rules

because people were getting sick and they didn't have any cast members. They were like, keep calling out and then at the very end of your, you know, time, we'll just put it all together as one point.

And I was like, okay, but they're very weird about their point system. They always say that they're going to change things but they don't. And I don't know if they did because this is around the time that I ended up leaving the company anyways.

But I had COVID so I couldn't go into work. And I was just like, this is kind of nice because it was around Christmas. Like it stunk being sick on Christmas. And you had some downtime. Yeah, at least I had some downtime from just like the craziness. And I really just realized like I wasn't happy anymore and that the boutique wasn't opening up anytime soon. Like I had one of my leaders that I was pretty close with.

He would come and talk to me like. a couple times a week whenever we were working in the same area. And he knew that I worked at the boutique. And so that's what he would always talk to me about. I'd be like, do you know when it's opening back up? And he's like, not really, but it's going to be soon any day now, any day now. And it went back and forth. There was one point they were talking about not opening it back up at all.

And we were just like, whoa, like what is that all about? I had put in a transfer for the boutique on we have what was called transfer genie. So once you were done with your Disney college program or when you're in full-time, part-time, you can put in a request to transfer to another job. And I think it was around like October of 2021. They put the boutique on there, but they didn't say anything. I just happened to find it. And so I put in my request to transfer to the boutique back in October.

And so I've had my request in for the longest time. And it's basically been after the college program, right? Yeah. It was during the college program. So I started back. I don't know if I said it was June of 2021. Okay. And October is when I put in the request.

So for the boutique, there wasn't like, I think for the people who had still worked for the company who were full-time, part-time, they got this place to other places. So most of them were in merchandise at like Hollywood Studio for whatever reason. That's where a lot of them went. Some of them were like in the resorts. But you had to work for the company to stay on the wait list. But where I technically had finished my program, I was not on any sort of wait list. And I was a college program participant. participant. So the longer I was on that wait list, the better. So I thought at the time. But I

was calling out like every single day and they're like, it won't affect your transfers. It won't affect anything. And then about like the fifth day or whatever when I called out, I got an email saying that like my transfer had been denied because I'd reach the max points. So I had lost my position on the wait list for the boutique, which is the only reason I was still working for the company. Right. And that was just like, I'm done. Did you even try to like fight that?

No, I didn't try to fight it. And I could have in would they would have, it had work. I don't know. Right. But I know how they were in the past. And they were so, like I said, everyone was getting COVID at this time. Like I had so many friends for weeks. It was just, it was the Delta variant.

Like, whenever that was going around. It was hitting us really hard. So I feel like too, like it seems like even if you would have gotten back into the boutique, and maybe it would have been fine. But the difference from prior to the pandemic to after, it just seemed like in general because of the disorganization. It's like who even knows if, I don't know, like maybe before whereas it was taken very seriously and it felt like you had this like high up amazing position that you actually

had to like train and work hard for that now, who knows if it would have even been treated as seriously, you know, like they might not take it as seriously. And like imagine if you would have seen people getting trained and they didn't have to stand up for like eight hours at a time. Like that would piss me off, you know? Yeah. At one point it was a very serious position to get. Yeah. It was.

And it was just the whole company from the beginning of 2020 versus like coming back. It so much had changed. And a lot of people did not like the CEO at the time because he was very much like money grab. Like prices were going up like crazy. excuse me, a lot of lifelong Disney lovers and people who visited the parks, they weren't coming anymore because they weren't happy with the direction that the company was going in. I wasn't happy with the direction that the company was going in. And I'm like, I don't want to hate Disney.

Yeah. So I just, I decided that the best thing for me was to just leave. Like I had no free time to do what I wanted. Like I said, I currently work for like a third party company. And during that time, I was still working for that company. But I can only work like maybe once a week. Like I wasn't getting any hours with them. And that was something I really loved doing.

For the longest time, I've loved social media. And what I really wanted to do when I moved to Orlando was grow my social media. And I had no time to do that. Like I was just kind of stuck. It felt like again. And like I mentioned earlier, it was my dream. It's what I wanted for so long. And I just had a really hard time grasping that like dreams change.

Yeah. And I felt like I had already completed what I needed to with the company. And the whole thing I wanted to do was work at the boutique again, but I'd already done that. Right. So in my mind, I was like, my time's come. Like this chapter is closed. The one thing I was holding on to, maybe they would have put my request back in. But what would be the chances that the wait, you know, the wait list is probably all messed up.

And at Disney, you're a number. You're not a name. And I mean, the company's huge. So that's, I'm not saying that in a bad way. It's just it's true. So I went on my phone and I didn't even have to talk to an actual person. I just had to send an email saying like, I'm terming. I'm ending my program.

And they were like, oh, well, okay, your last day is like January 2nd, but I was still in quarantine. So like I was just done. Right. And then I was free, but then like, what the heck do I do with all my time and like money and all of that? So then that turned into a whole other situation. where like all my friends are still working for Disney and there are a lot of them were not happy

either just with like the way the hours go and like I said I had a friend who worked in like one of the busiest quick service places in Magic Kingdom and she would come home like every single. She was my roommate at the time and she'd come home every single day just like exhausted and like she liked the job itself but like the customers and just like having to work in the heat and having to work these late hours. She was just she was getting tired. of it. So she wanted to transfer out. But she was on the college program.

So you can't transfer while you're on the program. You have to wait for it to end. Well, it seems like too, like even if there was negatives happening within the job, like even if it wasn't the job itself, but it was the customers, it seems like there wasn't really many people, like higher ups to talk to. Yeah. To get the support that you guys would need. Like I feel like if there was more support, maybe people wouldn't feel as exhausted.

You know, it just doesn't seem like there was a lack of support. Yeah. And I do want to mention that it also really depends on your location. Like when I was at the boutique, the good thing about it is that there weren't many of us. So like if I had an issue and I really wanted to talk to a leader about it, their office was right there. I could just go and talk to him. Whereas when I worked in Epcot, there were hundreds of us.

I don't even know where the leader's offices were. They would come out and talk to us. And like if you really wanted to talk like you could go back to the office, but I just never really had any problems like that where I needed to. But there would be days. Like I would see my coordinators multiple times a day. Some days I would see a leader, depending on how busy we were, proprietors, they're above the leaders. I would never see them. Yeah. And I know some locations, it was different. Like they would see their leaders every single day and they would talk to them every single day. Their proprietors, they would talk to every once in a while, get to know them.

I don't, I didn't know who ours were because there were just so many people for them to deal with. just weren't really expecting. Like I said, the amount of people to come in, they just didn't have the hands for it. And they were trying to keep the company afloat while also trying to deal with like all of these college students. And like I said, people who've never had jobs before, people who worked there before the pandemic and had, you know, an idea of what it would be like. And then it wasn't like that. But there were a lot of issues that went on. I haven't really talked a whole a whole lot about those, but they, like I said, just goes back to location. My roommate originally, when she first started, she was like skyliner custodial, and the

skyliners are like these carts that fly through the sky, basically. It'll take you from one park to the other to resort to resort. They're pretty cool. Yeah. But they rock back and forth. And so, like, when she was cleaning them, she was getting very motion sick. And she doesn't like vomit. Code V is what we call it at Disney.

I think it's what it's called. But the thought of having to clean that up, like she just couldn't do it. And so she talked to her proprietor and was like, I don't, can I please get a recast? And they were like, okay, yeah, easy. They just sent her somewhere else. Whereas there was this girl, there were a few people actually that I worked with who had food allergy, severe like fish or something like that. And when they asked for a recast, they were like, no.

Or when they asked if they could work somewhere that didn't serve fish, they were like, that's up to you to trade your shift. And trading shifts, especially if you're closing, not easy. Right. Not easy at all. I mean, I would, we had this one, only one kiosk that had like a friar. And it was a bane of my existence. I hated working there.

But I walk in one day and I'm not friar trained. And like that's something that you need to sit down and have training for. Like you have to go onto the computer, I'm pretty sure, and take like a quiz or like, you You know, you have to have training for that. And I go to work and I see that. I'm put on friar. And I was like, I'm not trained for this. So I call my cord.

I'm like, hey, I am trained to work on something that, or I'm scheduled to work for something that I'm not trained for. And they were like, really? Like, it says in the system that you are. So I just wonder who went into the system and put down that I was friar trained just to have an extra person on the friar when I'm not. Like, that's dangerous. Right.

And safety is number one at Disney. Like it's one of, there's like five keys and it's one of one of the keys. So that's how I knew the company was just kind of like going downhill. I had a friend who he was working at a location. I can't remember. I think it was a merchandise location, I think. And there was an older cast member there who was stalking him and would not leave him alone. And he had told first with the coordinator is like, this guy is stalking me inside and outside

of work, won't leave me alone. Is there anything you can do about it? And they're like, yeah, we'll check. And they, time passes by. They're still scheduled in the same area. Nothing changes. Okay. Goes to the leader.

Same thing. I'm being harassed and stalked at work. Anything you can do about that. They're like, not really. Like, you could either stay here and, you know, switch around your schedule or we can try, we can try to make sure. that you guys aren't in the same location, or you can term. They didn't even give the option for a recast.

And so he ended up going to a proprietor, still didn't do anything. He ended up emailing the vice president of the Walt Disney World Company because nobody was helping him and finally he was hurt. It's just crazy though, because even something like that, like God forbid if something serious happened, it would be on all of them because, you know, like, it's crazy. Yeah, exactly. they keep things under wraps there under wraps i remember now this was like on my first program i was um this contemporary resort is like it was the first disney resort like very infamous very nice while i was

there and this was like a week after working there somebody had jumped off the building and they did not make it and that was never talked about yeah never talked about i mean they just When I was working in Epcot one day, a man, an older man, had a heart attack. And I don't believe he made it either. And that was just something. Like, nobody dies at Disney. Like, that's like an actual thing. Like, they don't pronounce you dead until you're off property or, you know, whatever.

It's just, I get not wanting to break the magic, but I just think that that is a bit delusional. Right. In my opinion. Yeah. I don't find it real. And I don't, I just didn't like that. It felt like a lie. Right.

They didn't like lying. And a lot of people have very strong opinions on the company. Like Disney adults are real. I'm sure you've all heard about Disney adults. They are very real and they're very opinionated. And then there's like the other side of people who just like hate Disney or like just don't care about it. I mean like I'm somewhere in the middle.

Like I'm definitely not a Disney adult. But if anything, I prefer universal because I like the rides there more. I love roller coasters. My first day of training when I was in. Epcot. So this was like coming back from the program, from restarting the program. My trainer told me this story of how we're not, we were not allowed to eat food, any of the food. Like at the end of the day, they would take all the food and throw it away in buckets. We had buckets full of food. Like we were not allowed to eat it for whatever reason.

I get like, you know, being on the job, but like they just wasted so much food. Right. But my trainer was telling me the story about the. previous program, it might have been the previous program, I don't remember when it was, but there was this boy who was a participant and he had gotten so many reports of just like harassment, sexual harassment, like very, very bad things, many, many reports. But they were like, well, we don't really have any proof. We're not going to do anything about it.

Like, I don't even know what they investigated this guy. Like there was just, there was nothing done about it. But other people were reports. Yes, but he was getting multiple reports from multiple people. And then my trainer said on his very last day of his program, somebody kind of, I basically set him up and gave him, I think one of the chefs was like, here, try this. Take this food while you're on the clock and just happen to have a leader, like come by and see it. And he got termed on the last day of his program, so he didn't get credit for the program. for eating food, but not for sexual harassment.

Right. It's just crazy. It's just crazy. Yeah. And that happens all the time. Yeah. All the time. Especially with...

It's like they don't take the most serious things seriously. No, no, they don't. It's crazy. Which is sad. Food is what you're going to get. But also it's just like it's supposed to be like you said like safety should always be first. I mean, no matter where you are. But clearly they don't really take.

I feel like they don't consider that for their work. it's more like for the guests that are coming. But like the people that are working for them, the same doesn't really apply. Oh, yeah. And I see it happen all the time. They lose great workers. Like I would consider myself a great worker.

Like I love the company. That happens at places like that. Yeah. If you're not going to, you know, take it seriously and treat people the way that they should be treated, I feel like that's one of the main things that happens is that they lose the good ones. Yeah. Oh, yeah. And there is a lot of a lot of leaders who would like,

come on to the college students. And that was a big no-no. Big no-no when it came to like power dynamics. I think if it were like part-timers and like coordinators, that was different. But like a leader and college student, it was there. I mean, there was an example of one leader who was like, he was my friend's leader. And he was like in his 30s. But he would always, he was known for praying on like 18 year olds and 19 year olds.

And it's like he does this all the time. Like they were aware. Like that was his, his reputation. And it's just, they let him keep doing it. He eventually left. He doesn't work for the company anymore. That's so fucked up. It's so fucked up.

Yeah, I know. So that was something I didn't want to be associated with anymore. Right. So now with what you do, is it still in, are you still in Florida? Yes. I still live in Orlando. So when I left, I was like, I want to. to pursue social media and I want to do my other job. And I started doing really well. And so I'm

doing really well. I started, you know, making a lot of money and having nothing to spend it on and nothing to do. So I started getting into the party scene. Now this isn't, I'm going to take a sip real quick. This isn't really involved Disney. This is more just like Orlando lifestyle. I had another friend who was pretty heavy into social media. So like we just started like partying all the time and I started getting really into, I didn't drink a whole lot before just because I didn't really have the time to whenever I went out. It was just to have fun with my friends. But I started drinking a lot and it happens a lot to the college students as well because they started cracking down more on underage drinking, but it was kind of at these certain bars, it's like,

okay, you just go in here and do this or go to this bartender or da da da, and they won't care. So we were out and partying all the time. Sex trafficking is really big in Orlando. I actually Googled it last night. It's like out of the United States of America, Orlando was like third on the list. So it's not very safe there. And then on top of it, you're having like all these college students. It's like underage drinking going out.

I mean, there's been plenty of times. I went out one time in this girl. she I met her in the bathroom and she was just like wasted like drunk and she's like all my friends left me I have nowhere to go this happened twice actually two different girls at two different bars they're like all my friends left me I don't have anywhere to go I don't know what to do and I was like I don't know what to do either like that's so dangerous right and like who are you hanging out exactly who are you hanging out with because my friend group whenever we would go out like we would hardly even lose side of each other because you know how dangerous it is.

And even at the bars, like drinks get spiked all the time. There's this bar that I go to a lot called Kitty O'Shea's. And it's just like a dive bar in my opinion. But I was, somebody sent me a TikTok. Someone who's not even like lives in the Disney area or from Orlando. And they were like, I've seen you post about this bar a lot. Maybe you should watch this video when the girl was talking about how she almost got kidnapped at Kitty O'Shea's.

And it's a popular bar. But even in broad daylight, I remember one time I was, this was on my first program and I had just gone off of work. So I was still like in my costume. And I went to the CVS that was just was right across the street from my apartment. But it was a little dark. It was getting dark. So it wasn't quite dark yet.

So I felt okay going out on my own because I was very aware of the rates in Orlando and like how it can be. And I don't know if this is what it was, but it just seemed like it. So I was in the aisle, like getting laundry detergent or something. And this man comes up to me. And he speaks like broken English. So I wasn't quite like understanding what he was saying. But he was on the phone.

And he was like, excuse me, excuse me. Like, can you help me with something? And I was like, oh, I'm sorry. Like I don't work here. And he's like, oh, no, but you can still help me. I was just like, okay. What is it? What do you need?

And he was like, I need to find a powder detergent. And I like did a quick. scan and I'm like, I don't, I don't think they have any. I'm sorry. And then I start to leave. He's like, wait, no, no, no, come back. Like, I really need to find this powder detergent. And I was just like, I don't think they even make that anymore. Like, it's only pods or liquids. And I'm telling him, like, I don't work here. Like, I really need to go. And he was just, he was like making a really weird face. He was getting very annoyed and frustrated. And, like, he's on the phone. And he's just like, well, you just wait a minute. Like, can you just stay here with me?

And I was like, that was scary. I was like, no. I don't know, but from what I was thinking, is that somebody was, yeah, someone was like trying to bug my car or outside, like looking at my car or waiting for me to come out. So I immediately just checked out, went home and left. Nothing ever came of that. But there were stories of people. They would go to Walmart and they'd come out and their cars were tagged or people would follow them around. People get drugged all the time. Yes. Yes. I never go out of at night alone at all. I hard and whenever I do go out alone like it's early in the morning but at night like I had to go out to get gas the other night so I was hang out with my friends we saw a movie and then

we're like let's go hang out at the bar so I made sure that like me and my other friend went together and that we went to a wall wall like well lit that like everyone can see but it's just it's scary to think and after being in Orlando for so long like I feel really comfortable but I don't realize like when I'm being watched or anything like that. I had, I was out at, it was Cowboys, my favorite bar. This was back in July. And like I said, like I have a little, you know, bit of a social media following, like is Disney stuff.

So I just never thought that people would know who I am or anything. It just never crossed my mind. I was just so naive to thinking that like the real world and online are just so completely different. But I'm out this bar and I was just having a bad. night. This was back in July. He was trying to get this guy's attention. He wasn't giving me attention. So I was upset. And then I met this other guy. He comes up to me and he starts talking and he was kind of being mean to me. Like he asked me what my name was and I was like,

Allie. And he was like, oh, that's like a basic girl name. I bet you like Starbucks, don't you? And I was like, I love Starbucks actually more than life. What's your point? But we like started, we were just like talking and joking around. So he asked me for my. Snapchat. I gave it to him. And then the next day, I received like some messages from him. And he asked me if I wanted to go out with him. I was like, I didn't pick up on that at all. Like you were being kind of mean to me. So I was like, no, like, no, thank you. I'm not really interested in dating right now. And then he's like, oh, well, we could just Netflix and chill. And I was like, no, I'm not interested in doing that either. And then he started sending me like

these paragraphs on paragraphs on paragraphs. I was just kind of ghost swathe. typing it, you know, like not, not opening it just so I can see what he was typing. But he's saying like some really weird things. Like, oh, imagine if we were together and I, you come home after a long day of work and like I massage your feet and draw you a long bubble bath. It was weird. Yeah. It was very, very, very off. That is so strange. I thought it was so incredibly strange. And so I wasn't responding to any of the messages, but I was on Instagram. Yeah. And this was when the like anonymous thing, Q&A was going on.

So I was doing that and I was, you know, just answering questions and blah, blah, blah, blah. And then I get this one that's just like, you're so rude. You never respond. Like that's just rude. Blah, blah, blah. I don't know. It was something like that. Like obviously I felt like it was coming from this guy.

And so I saw that and then I go on Snapchat and he had sent me this really mean message saying like F you. like you're a bitch for not responding like you think you're better than everyone you're so stuck up and he had removed me so then i went on my following list and he'd followed me on instagram so like this guy already knew who i was yeah got me like you know saw me out at the bar got my name my number or my snapchat and then when i wasn't responding to him when i rejected him he just got very like vulgar and aggressive yeah and i was like wow like i didn't think this something like this would happen and stuff like that has happened to me multiple times. Right.

That was really the first. And now, like, I see this guy out all the time. And whenever I see him, I'm like, he gets so uncomfortably close to me. I'm like, I don't want any trouble. Right. All I did was reject you. But because people are, like, out there watching, it's just, yeah. It's scary.

That sort of thing happens a lot. That's nuts. Yeah. Wow. Just as far as, like, the Disney stuff goes, do you still have any other friends that do it or they're all out of it? honest, both of my roommates still work for Disney and they both, one of them had a really hard time getting her transfer. Like she had put in her transfer. She had it in for like six months or something

like that. Finally got it. So like now she's happy in her position, but she was miserable before and was like debating on leaving the company. Like it was draining her the way it drained me. My other one, she got, she didn't have her transfer in for that long. Like I think they're both happy with their roles. My best friend, the one who used to be my roommate, she got a transfer into, I don't want to say where it was, but it was like in the event category. And it was something she wanted for a really, really, really long time that most people working in this area, they're like wiser.

They had been there for a long time. So they didn't accept her being in there. And one of her, I think it was her cord, which is like really rude to her and said like really snappy things and basically told her that she didn't work hard enough because like she didn't have five years of experience doing this one thing. And she talked to her proprietor about it and they didn't do anything about it. Like this woman just kept like harassing her. So she quit. She left the company. Right. Actually, most of my friends don't work for Disney anymore. Because I was going to say, do you think that that's something you would ever go back to or you think you're going to

stay away from it? I'm definitely going to stay away from it. I'm definitely going to stay away from it. I actually, I don't feel like I'm ready to leave Orlando, but I don't love Orlando. Like the traffic is a lot. I'm from North Carolina. And like I'm from the South. I'm used to that southern hospitality and people just being nice to you for no reason. And Orlando truly is a melting pot. And I love the culture of it all.

And I love learning from other people. But some people can be really mean. And that's just not something that I'm used to. I just feel like I'm too soft for it. And I don't understand just like being mean for no reason. And I'm very much a beach. person. Like whenever I told you earlier that I like felt like I had to go to one to get a tan, but I just love the beach. I eventually want to move to the coast, but I don't know where.

I don't feel like my time in Orlando is up yet. But in general, you think you would stay in this kind of realm of like career pathwise? Yes. Okay. Yeah. I feel I'm happy with what I'm doing now and I'm happy with like the way that my life is going and the people I have in it. I just know. I would never go back to Disney. I got what I wanted out of it. And, you know, I said a lot of good things and I said a lot of bad things. But my time there, I'm so grateful for.

Like I wouldn't be the person I am today without it. Well, I was going to say too, it's interesting. Because I feel like growing up clearly, that's kind of what you were viewed as. And it's the most like if you didn't go that route. I feel like there's a chance you would always maybe have that what if. Yes, exactly. I think it gave you experience in a lot of ways. for many different reasons, but it also like, in a way, completed that part of your life.

And it's like you can still do something similar in a career path, but it would be better for you. Like, that just probably wasn't the exact right career for you. Yeah. And I had no free time whatsoever when I was working for Disney. And I love to travel. Like, that's something I've always loved doing. I was in Nashville last week. Yeah.

It was like with my friend who wants to move there. And she was like going alone. So I was like, you can't go to Nashville alone. Right. Let me come. I'll join. Yeah. So I went to Nashville with her.

and here I am in Baltimore and I'm going to Delaware in a few days because I have a friend who lives there. So I didn't get these opportunities to do this. And I don't, you know, I'm a very like go-with-the-flow type of person and I don't know what my future holds anymore. But I just felt like Disney was holding me back from what I wanted to do. Now, I have friends who, like I said, like eat, breed, sleep Disney who want to work for the company for the rest of their lives.

So like they'll put up with what they have to put up with to grow in the company. I never wanted to grow in the company. Like what I wanted was the boutique. I never. And the experience too. Like you said, like you weren't even sure if you were going to keep saying. So I think it's still amazing that you did that and got that experience too. I really wanted to live in Florida.

I've always loved the state of Florida. I remember the first time I went, I was 20. So I was older and I wasn't even going to Disney. I was going to a conference. And as soon as I got off the plane, not even. in, not even outside. As soon as I stepped into the airport, I was like, this is where I belong. I just knew that like I needed to be in Orlando and I absolutely loved it. I went to the conference at UCF and I was a junior. I was the second semester junior in college and I wanted to transfer so bad.

But like what was the point? I had one more year of college left. But I absolutely loved it. So no regrets. Like I'm glad that I went back. And like I said, I still feel like I have a few more. years left in me and who knows i might change my mind and want to stay in orlando forever but cost of living it's kind of tough and you'll see whatever happens happens happen whatever it happens happen so far that's been my motto and exactly you're still young you have time yeah but thank you so much for sharing your story and experience it was amazing it was so interesting yeah thank you for having me i have friends that like are really they're like disney adults i feel like yeah so it's like interesting for me to hear like this kind of aspect of it i had only been to disney once as a child like really

really young. So I don't really remember much. I mean, I remember the ride aspect, but it's very interesting. I feel like it's kind of like a behind the scenes look of like what the guests and visitors don't see. But it's also important because like it's interesting. Like we've had a couple like careers like career paths on here like nurse, teacher, whatever. But like this is one that's very unique and different, but something that I feel like not a lot of people have done and have experience with. So I'm really glad that you're able to come on here and share that. And it's been really, really interesting. I loved it. It's very neat. It's. Whenever I tell people, in Orlando and Florida, it's not that big of a deal, but when I go outside of,

you know, here, if I tell someone, oh, like, I used to work for Disney. People are like, what? Yeah, it's crazy. Right. Exactly. People are going to want to know. During interviews, like when I was interviewing for different jobs during the pandemic, I mean, everyone asks about Disney, every single person.

So I know, like, to me, it's normal, but to other people, it's like, what? And I remember when I first got there, I was like, what? It makes people curious. It's like, it's definitely very interesting. interesting. Well, if you're ever in Orlando and come to Disney, I'll teach you a few line dancers at Cowboys. Yes, that sounds good. Thank you so much. You did amazing. I'm so glad you're able to come on the show. Yes, thanks for helping me. Of course.