Sixth Time’s the Charm
Before I get into being accepted and the process, here’s a little backstory for you.
When I visited Walt Disney World for the first time back in 2009, my 11 year old heart knew exactly where it wanted to be for the rest of its life. When I was asked what I wanted to do once I got older, I said I wanted to work for Disney. I was told by a lot of people that that didn’t count as a real job. I didn’t care. By the time I was in 8th grade, I had discovered the Disney College Program.
Cut to my first year of college. I hadn’t even technically started my classes yet when I sent in my application for the first time. It was mid August and I had just applied for the upcoming Spring Advantage year. Then I had until early November to hear back from them. It was agony waiting, and the end of October came when I received my first No Longer In Consideration email. I was heartbroken. I cried for weeks.
I applied for both Spring Advantage and Fall Advantage when the time came to apply for those seasons. I constantly updated my resume, made sure I was open to whatever role, and hoped for the best. I’ve seen more NLIC emails than anything else. Years fly by when finally the day comes.
ACTION REQUIRED!
My first email for a Web-Based Interview October of 2018 for the upcoming Spring program. It was my fourth time applying and the first time I had ever gotten passed NLIC. I was stoked. The interview felt more like a quiz and I finished it in 30 minutes. As soon as I finished, I got an email telling me to set up a time for a Phone-Interview, the last step before either being accepted or denied. I watched Youtube videos, I took notes. I did everything any CP had ever said to help your chances of getting in. The day of my interview, I was nervous, but I felt prepared and confident. It lasted about 15 minutes, which was less than average time (or what I had heard was average time). I thought it went well. And then I got that dreaded email. NLIC. I cried.
That didn’t stop me from applying for the following Fall program that January. It was a very sudden NLIC email that time. It was early 2019 and I was nearing the end of my junior year of college. I was losing hope of ever getting into the DCP and decided when August came around, I wasn’t going to apply for the Spring program. Family told me I needed to start looking for a real career path and to figure out what I wanted to major in. Then I had a friend who said, “Look, just apply one more time. The worst that can happen is they say no. If they do, I’ll book a trip to go with you. Then you can show me around your favorite place on earth.” So when that August 19th came around, I applied again. On the 28th, I got an email.
ACTION REQUIRED!
It was time for the WBI again and onto the PI, which I set up for September 8th. For this PI, I didn’t study anything. I thought maybe my first interview sounded to rehearsed, so I just let myself go with the flow. Two days later, I had just pulled into my driveway when my watch buzzed and I saw three words covered the watch face:
YOU’VE BEEN ACCEPTED!
I screamed. I cried. My dream was finally coming true after all of these times. Four years later and my SIXTH time applying and I was finally going to live my dream. And to top it all off, I ended up in my number one role: Attractions! I immediately began joining DCP groups on Facebook to try to find roommates and friends. It was the start to my dream come true.