"It was the best time of my life,” Nichols said. “I miss it every single day, and I want to go back so badly."

The way the DCP works is through an application process, similar to any other job. It starts off with an initial survey asking about prior work experience and such. Those who pass through get a web based interview in which they answer a series of questions online.

"If you pass that, then you have a phone interview, where you are on the phone with a Disney recruiter, and they interview you to kind of get a feel for if you would be good for their company, and then what position they think you would be good for," MSU alumna Sarah Posa said.

Social media is notorious for shining negative light on almost everything, so it did not come as a shock when a few months ago, the idea that the DCP is a scam started making appearances on several platforms, such as TikTok.

Posa does not choose to look at it that way, though. Having graduated with a business degree, she thinks that Disney’s creation of this program was a genius business move.

"Are they using college students? Maybe. Were we underpaid? For sure. Did we get the sh—tiest hours? Absolutely. Housing costs way too much. You know, just XYZ, you name it. But they're kind of geniuses at the same time.”

Aside from the working conditions and the pay, there is another reason why some may believe the DCP is a scam, and that is that they did not go into it expecting to feel any different than they did on their childhood vacations to Disney World.

"There's a lot of people that do go into the program thinking that it is going to be like a Disney vacation,” Nichols said. “That's not in any sense what it is like. A lot of people will come in having experienced the parks growing up as a guest, and then think, 'Okay, I want to be a cast member because I love being at the parks,' and it's a completely different culture."

A huge part of working at Disney World is interacting with children all day, which makes for a lot of heartwarming anecdotes.

During Posa’s last shift, a little boy came to her attraction to play a game in which Star Wars Porgs would be hidden and found.

"We gave them a little certificate at the end, and so I knelt down on my shins and sat down next to him because it was super little, and I was just talking to him and explaining, and he just sat right down in my lap. He just snuggled up into me. It was just really cute, it was really special. It was a really good way to end the program."

Social relations and policy junior Kamryn Borton has a similar tale. She was working at Hollywood Studios for the majority of her time at Disney World, and part of her job was to moderate activities. In this case, the activity involved pins that had to be cleaned in before use.

"It was this little boy's birthday, and he was super excited,” Borton said. “He was like, 'Oh my gosh, this is so cool. This is so cool.' I was helping him, and he was putting a bunch in my bucket to clean. Then he hands me one last pin, and I'm about to put it in the bucket, and then he's like, 'Wait, wait. No, no, don't put that one in the bucket. That was for you.'"

Aside from wanting to experience the magic of Disney, a big reason many join the program is because they think it will help them in their future careers. 

"I want to get more experience in all aspects of professional work because I do want to possibly work for Disney or another park,” journalism freshman Campbell Berg said. If accepted, she will be in the program starting this spring. “I feel like getting as much time as I can now while I'm younger will be better than trying to get the experience when I'm older."

Disney has had an even greater influence on Nichol’s life, though. When she was trying to figure out what to do with her life after she decided animation was not a career she wanted to pursue, she was at her mom’s house watching "Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings."

"I was like, 'Man, this art isn't working for me. I don't really want to do that.' ... And I was like 'Oh, look at how pretty the park looks here. Look at the way the lighting or look at the spread of food that they chose for their wedding.' And my mom was like, 'Why don't you study hospitality?'"

Disney World is truly a melting pot, with both employees and visitors from all over the world.

"Getting to meet guests from all over the world honestly was amazing,” Nichols said. “But then just socially, meeting all the new friends that you have down there who just love Disney as much as you do, sometimes if not more ... and going to the parks with them and just like learning about how they grew up, especially because they're all from all over the country (is one of the best parts)."

Even though leaving the program means leaving all the friends you have made since everyone will be returning to their varying hometowns, it does not at all mean that these people will entirely leave your life. That bond is hard to break.

"I was there three years ago, and I still talk to a lot, a lot of the people that I've met there,” Posa said. “My roommate, I'm in her wedding in a couple months."

This sense of community is born even before the DCP begins, however. For example, Berg is already in a group chat.

"It's just like a ton of people who are either waiting to get accepted or have been accepted and are encouraging other people who are in the waiting process. It's just to get to know a bunch of people and make friends, so you know people when you're there and you have a community."

It’s hard to imagine what a typical day in the life of a DCP student would look like, so Borton shared her routine for the days that she worked.

"I normally worked evening shifts, so normally I would wake up and cook,” Borton explained. “There's a gym at the housing that they have, so I would go to the gym or if my friends were free, we would go to the pool there. Then, I would get ready for work, and then they'd provide transportation to work for you, so I'd walk over to the buses, and I'd ... bus over to work. Then I'd go backstage and then clock in for work."

Some people in the DCP choose to use it to relax and take time off of school, whereas others take classes for credit or count it towards a required internship, which is what Nichols did.

Campbell, on the other hand, is just planning to essentially take a gap semester.

"I was thinking about just, 'Do I really want to sacrifice my extra time to relax or hang out with other people, or doing more schoolwork when this is supposed to be something you're supposed to enjoy?'"

Like everything in life, the DCP is what you make of it. Posa’s advice for future students in the program is to go in without any expectations— that’s how she enjoyed it so much.

“I wasn't like, 'I want to work in this park. I want to work at this location. I want this role, and I want it to go perfectly, and this that the other.' I was just like, 'Whatever, whatever,' and then it ended up being perfect for me the perfect location, awesome coworkers, really good roommates. I think that fate, universe, whatever you want to give credit to, kind of works itself out if you have a more positive attitude."

Nichols loved her experience with the program, and she looks forward to returning as a full time employee after graduation next year. She truly recommends that everyone considering applying does. She even invites anyone who has questions about it to reach out to her at nicho633@msu.edu.

"The experience of it — getting the actual work experience of being in a huge company like that is pretty indescribable. I mean, I could sit here and talk about it all day, but to actually go and actually experience it is amazing. That's the one word I can use. It's just— it's amazing."