Thelife- I left my job at Disney World after two years, and there are things I do and don't miss about it.
- I loved helping guests celebrate special moments and the discounts and perks that came with the job.
- I definitely don't miss the rainy Florida weather or being on my feet all day every day.
I worked at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, for two years, and it was a total dream come true.
I often fondly look back at things that made it so special, but like with any job, there are also some things I'm glad to be done with.
Read on for the top things I miss and don't miss about working at
It was a pleasure making kids' dreams come true every day
While I was at
Whether their day was magical because they ate an entirely too big ice-cream sundae, met a beloved Disney character, or rode one of their favorite rides, I loved being able to see the purest smiles on their faces.
One of my favorite things about working at the Disney Junior Dance Party in Hollywood Studios was seeing the kids' eyes light up when they saw Mickey Mouse on stage. They would yell, "It's Mickey!" and wave or jump up and down to get his attention.
It felt really full circle because it was amazing to be a small part of the same magic that I experienced going to the parks as a kid.
I totally felt like I was part of the Disney family
Every job I've had has always claimed to be a "work family," but I've never felt that as much as I did at Disney.
In each location I worked across the parks, I felt like I was a part of a family. There's something so special about the Disney community, and it was really easy for me to get along with and befriend my coworkers.
Since many of my coworkers, like me, moved away from their family and friends to work at the parks, people were really eager to hang out outside of work and build a home away from home.
Even though I'm no longer working for the company, those coworkers are still some of my closest friends.
I definitely miss the days when work didn't feel like work
There were countless days when I would sit back and think, "Wow, I'm getting paid to do this?"
When I worked at Disney Junior Dance Party, I got paid to dance alongside kids and their favorite Disney characters. At Magic Kingdom, there were some days I got paid to watch the fireworks or parades.
Whenever there was downtime at one of my locations, our managers would tell us to go make "magical moments," which could include hula-hooping with kids, blowing bubbles, passing out stickers, trading pins, or letting the guests in through the FastPass lines.
Those were my favorite days, and they always made me feel so lucky to be a Disney
I witnessed so many life-changing moments on regular workdays
People go to Disney for all sorts of celebrations - proposals, Make-A-Wish trips, honeymoons, family reunions, baby announcements, graduations, birthdays - and as a park employee, I was part of so many of them.
When I worked in Magic Kingdom, I would see proposals happen in front of Cinderella Castle all the time. It was amazing to witness such a life-changing moment, especially if I got to gift them with celebratory buttons, treats, or merchandise afterward.
When I worked at Disney Junior Dance Party, I was there when a child communicated his first words to his parents during the show.
When I worked at Star Wars Launch Bay in Hollywood Studios, I was able to see a child on his Make-A-Wish trip fulfill his dream of meeting all of his favorite "Star Wars" characters.
The list goes on, and I loved that Disney was the place where all of these dreams came true.
There were perks to the job when it came to discounts and special privileges
Outside of the job being fulfilling, working at Walt Disney World came with a lot of benefits that I, of course, miss.
This included free admission to the theme parks; merchandise discounts; free backstage tours; early previews to new rides, resorts, and movies; exclusive meet and greets; and resort discounts.
I used these as much as I could while I was working there, but I definitely wish I still had some of those perks since I still visit the parks so frequently.
On the other hand, I definitely don't miss the Florida weather
Calling Florida the "Sunshine State" is extremely deceiving.
Before moving there, I only ever lived in Illinois, so running away from the blustery Chicago winters to the seemingly sunny Orlando area seemed like the better option.
I was so wrong.
The Florida weather is unlike anything I've ever experienced. It rains every day. When it's not raining, it's extremely humid, so forget trying to have a good hair day.
When it came to working at Disney World, I didn't enjoy getting wet almost every day. I always had to have a poncho and an extra pair of shoes and socks ready to go.
My head would spin explaining some difficult Disney concepts to guests
There's a lot that goes into planning a Disney vacation. For first-time visitors, it can be very overwhelming, so it's the park employees' jobs to explain everything the best they can - which isn't always easy.
For example, while I was working at Disney's Hollywood Studios, the park introduced a brand-new virtual-queue system for its popular "Star Wars" attraction, Rise of the Resistance.
Everyone who came to the park wanted to ride it, but there wouldn't be enough time in the day considering how many people were flocking to Hollywood Studios, so Disney came up with the idea for guests to sign up for "boarding groups" so they could virtually hold their place in line while they did other things.
The system was confusing for us employees, who'd never dealt with anything like it before, so you can only imagine how confusing it was for the guests.
This was one of many complicated Disney concepts that I had to painstakingly explain throughout my day, and I didn't even work at the ride.
Some of the other common concepts I was constantly explaining include the FastPass system that allows guests to wait in shorter lines and the Disney dining plan that allows people to prepay for meal packages.
Not every guest interaction was magical
When guests come to Disney, they have high expectations - as they should, Disney is marketed as the "Most Magical Place on Earth" after all.
But when these expectations aren't met, all of the blame and responsibly seems to fall on the park employees, who have to step in to solve it as best they can.
There were days when I'd get yelled at or belittled because something didn't work out the way the guest planned. This is definitely one of the things I miss the least about working at Disney because it really got to me.
I just wanted everyone to enjoy their trip, but sometimes that's not possible.
Spending all your time in big crowds can take a lot out of you
The crowds definitely got overwhelming at Disney.
I worked three holiday seasons, the opening of Galaxy's Edge in Hollywood Studios, and the opening of Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway at Hollywood Studios, so I was there during some of the parks' busiest times.
My job included a lot of crowd control, and my coworkers and I would be in charge of trying to make sure guests were in the right spot. Sometimes this meant holding them in certain areas or trying to control the speed at which they entered others.
It was very hard to control the chaos. At times it could be fun, but crowd control often led to negative guest situations, which made my job harder.
It was the most physically exhausting job I've ever done
All of the different jobs I had at Disney involved long periods on my feet and a lot of walking.
My shifts were anywhere from six to 15 hours, and after each one, my feet were extremely sore. One of my jobs also involved dancing along with kids, and I loved it, but it felt like taking multiple Zumba classes every day.
I was probably in the best shape of my life and my daily step count had never been higher, but it got exhausting.