April 2019
It is probably safe to assume that most of you have had at least one terrible job under your belt, probably some summer job as an undergraduate. I want to tell you about the best terrible job I ever had – working at the MGM studios at Disney world. During my freshman year of college, I saw these colorful flyers posted all over campus: “Disney college program informational session: join us to discuss this paid internship!!”. I was about 5 years old, the first time my parents took me to Disneyland. Even then, I remember thinking that working at Disney had to be the best job ever, and that when I grew up I was going to go there and find a job. Of course, by the time I started college I had forgotten about my “dream” of working at Disney and it wasn’t one of my life goals anymore. But when I saw that flyer, I just knew I had to do it!
I convinced a few of my friends to sign up for the informational session with me. Halfway through the presentation I was already sold. They talked about all the people you were going to meet, the friends you were going to make, unlimited access to the parks, discounted housing (owned by Disney of course), a paid “internship” working at the parks, and smiles everywhere. My friends and I filled out applications and did our job interviews right then and there. For weeks I waited anxiously for the letter that said “you got accepted”. Finally, one morning, there it was – the shiny deep-purple envelop.
I had never lived away from home. I hadn’t even traveled by myself anywhere. I come from a Hispanic family and children don’t move out to go to college. My friends had already decided not to accept their offers and my dad had made very clear that I was not allowed to go, whether I got accepted or not, but I was determined. I got a summer job, saved enough money for a plane ticket, and sent my acceptance letter. To my dad’s credit, he did come around to the idea before I left, and he even offered to fly with me to help me settle in. I had never been that scared about doing anything in my life, so I knew I had to go by myself. I was so nervous on the flight to Orlando that I accidentally got off the plane in the wrong city! The plane landed at an airport after a few hours and I assumed it was a layover and that we had to switch planes. It turned out that we were just letting people off the plane before we continued to Florida. I wondered around the terminal for a few minutes before I asked for directions at a help desk. “Oh my god! We were looking for you, you’re supposed to be on the plane, let me walk you back” – I was really embarrassed but they couldn’t have been nicer.
Smartphones weren’t a thing, cellphones had very limited internet, and Uber didn’t even exist back then. But against all odds, I found a cab in the middle of the night that took me to Kissimmee, Florda. Everything else happened much faster. Checking in, trainings, housing assignments, facility tours, uniforms, paperwork, the whole thing. I started working at MGM studios in a cluster of fast-food stands called “Sunset Ranch Market”. The uniforms were a shapeless ensemble of pastel-colored blouse and pants with a plain white visor. There were rules for everything, and the working hours were as bad as the pay. Learning how the park operates and being “backstage” of the exhibitions smashed the illusion of magic I had as a kid. I heard some people hated the program, some of them even quit after only a few weeks, but all I remember was the beautiful weather and the amazing people. It was the happiest time of my life!
I had 5 great roommates, no responsibilities or worries about life, and no agenda other than enjoying the moment. But what really made my internship exceptional were my Sunset Ranch Market friends – just like they told me it would happen at the informational session a year earlier. We were all college kids coming from different parts of the country (and different parts of the world in some cases) that coincidentally ended up working together. But after a few weeks on the job we were already inseparable. We would spend every day working together and then hangout all night. Needless to say, if you put 5000 college kids together in a gated apartment complex, you will find a party every single day of the year. We would all go sing karaoke every Wednesday at a wing’s restaurant turned dancing club. We would hang out at the Disney parks on our days off and try to get weird pictures during the rides. We saw celebrities backstage and enjoyed spectacular fireworks every night. I met the nicest (and a few grumpy) customers of my life. We were required to give out a “magical moment” every hour, so part of my job was to give away things to children and guests and see true joy in their faces.
But most importantly, I got to do all of this with the friends that changed my life. We shared birthdays, holidays, problems, long days, hangovers, breakups, and trips to the beach together. Some have gotten married, some had children, some are working, and some are still in school (me, mostly), but we still talk to each other. We still plan visits if we know we’re traveling where someone else lives, we still reminisce about our adventures, and we still miss and care about each other very much. No matter, how much our life has changed, or how difficult things can get, I can always look back on those days and find my happy place. Turns out they were right all along, Disney truly is the happiest place on earth.
--- Mabel Terminel
Mabel Terminel is is a Ph.D. studnet in the College of Science
I convinced a few of my friends to sign up for the informational session with me. Halfway through the presentation I was already sold. They talked about all the people you were going to meet, the friends you were going to make, unlimited access to the parks, discounted housing (owned by Disney of course), a paid “internship” working at the parks, and smiles everywhere. My friends and I filled out applications and did our job interviews right then and there. For weeks I waited anxiously for the letter that said “you got accepted”. Finally, one morning, there it was – the shiny deep-purple envelop.
I had never lived away from home. I hadn’t even traveled by myself anywhere. I come from a Hispanic family and children don’t move out to go to college. My friends had already decided not to accept their offers and my dad had made very clear that I was not allowed to go, whether I got accepted or not, but I was determined. I got a summer job, saved enough money for a plane ticket, and sent my acceptance letter. To my dad’s credit, he did come around to the idea before I left, and he even offered to fly with me to help me settle in. I had never been that scared about doing anything in my life, so I knew I had to go by myself. I was so nervous on the flight to Orlando that I accidentally got off the plane in the wrong city! The plane landed at an airport after a few hours and I assumed it was a layover and that we had to switch planes. It turned out that we were just letting people off the plane before we continued to Florida. I wondered around the terminal for a few minutes before I asked for directions at a help desk. “Oh my god! We were looking for you, you’re supposed to be on the plane, let me walk you back” – I was really embarrassed but they couldn’t have been nicer.
Smartphones weren’t a thing, cellphones had very limited internet, and Uber didn’t even exist back then. But against all odds, I found a cab in the middle of the night that took me to Kissimmee, Florda. Everything else happened much faster. Checking in, trainings, housing assignments, facility tours, uniforms, paperwork, the whole thing. I started working at MGM studios in a cluster of fast-food stands called “Sunset Ranch Market”. The uniforms were a shapeless ensemble of pastel-colored blouse and pants with a plain white visor. There were rules for everything, and the working hours were as bad as the pay. Learning how the park operates and being “backstage” of the exhibitions smashed the illusion of magic I had as a kid. I heard some people hated the program, some of them even quit after only a few weeks, but all I remember was the beautiful weather and the amazing people. It was the happiest time of my life!
I had 5 great roommates, no responsibilities or worries about life, and no agenda other than enjoying the moment. But what really made my internship exceptional were my Sunset Ranch Market friends – just like they told me it would happen at the informational session a year earlier. We were all college kids coming from different parts of the country (and different parts of the world in some cases) that coincidentally ended up working together. But after a few weeks on the job we were already inseparable. We would spend every day working together and then hangout all night. Needless to say, if you put 5000 college kids together in a gated apartment complex, you will find a party every single day of the year. We would all go sing karaoke every Wednesday at a wing’s restaurant turned dancing club. We would hang out at the Disney parks on our days off and try to get weird pictures during the rides. We saw celebrities backstage and enjoyed spectacular fireworks every night. I met the nicest (and a few grumpy) customers of my life. We were required to give out a “magical moment” every hour, so part of my job was to give away things to children and guests and see true joy in their faces.
But most importantly, I got to do all of this with the friends that changed my life. We shared birthdays, holidays, problems, long days, hangovers, breakups, and trips to the beach together. Some have gotten married, some had children, some are working, and some are still in school (me, mostly), but we still talk to each other. We still plan visits if we know we’re traveling where someone else lives, we still reminisce about our adventures, and we still miss and care about each other very much. No matter, how much our life has changed, or how difficult things can get, I can always look back on those days and find my happy place. Turns out they were right all along, Disney truly is the happiest place on earth.
--- Mabel Terminel
Mabel Terminel is is a Ph.D. studnet in the College of Science