Recently, my cousin Samantha O’Donnell, a 2017 Farmingdale High School graduate, started the Disney College Program. Here, she is  able to attend her regular classes while also working at Disney World. It is a paid internship that can be done for college credit, work experience, or simply for the amazing experience to work at the Disney parks. In order to apply for the program, you must be at least eighteen years old and attending college. After being accepted into the program, you get assigned a job in one of the Disney parks! While in Disney World, Sam said she’s met the most amazing people who she can see herself being friends with her whole life. Her roommates soon became her best friends. She said it’s a lot of work balancing her school work and her job in the parks, but “It is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made!”

The Disney College Program is a program that allows second-year students take college classes while working at Disney from 30 to 50+ hours a week. On the DCP application, you can write down jobs that you would be most interested in while at the parks. But for the most part, you don’t get to choose where you work. Sam said, “Even though the heat is brutal and the costumes aren’t comfortable, you can’t help but be a little bit happy.” No matter how many students apply, the Disney College Program accepts a total of 7,000 students in a year; the 7,000 get separated between Disney World, Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris. About 300 students work per semester.

Although everyone works really hard to allow  guests to experience the magic, Sam does get many perks. For example, on her off days she can get into the parks for free. Every night at the fireworks, she and all her friends get to sit behind the castle to watch. She also gets a pretty big discount to all restaurants and all the merchandise.

From working in the Disney parks, to enjoying the perks of the job on her free time, this experience is simply… magical.