Susie Bridges, junior in public relations, landed the opportunity of a lifetime as an intern for Walt Disney World's Disney College Program. Last fall during the six months she was there, she was a tour guide for The Great Movie Ride, made friends from all over the world, took special interns-only classes, spent free time in the parks and learned the inside details of the Disney company.
Bridges is no stranger to Disney world. Not counting her six-month stay in the park this past fall, she has visited the parks with her family ten times.
"I loved learning all the behind the scenes Disney stuff," Bridges said. "I've been going to Disney since I was little so it was neat to see a different side of it. A lot of people said it would ruin the magic, but it didn't ruin the magic for me, it only made it cooler. I got to know how everything worked and it was neat to know people that worked at all the different rides in all the different parks. I really appreciate everything all the cast members put into it."
It's important to note that those who work at Disney are not called employees.
"We are called cast members because Disney is a show and our role, not our job, is to be cast members because we are putting on a show. We are not employees. People are called guests, because Disney is our home and we are welcoming guests into it," she said.
Bridges was relieved when she landed a spot working at The Great Movie Ride in Hollywood Studios.
"My ride didn't have as many interns, there were about 15 of us, but other rides had 30 or 40. My ride was selective because there are only three rides at Walt Disney World Resort where you have to do a spiel, and fortunately I was at one of those rides because I like acting. It was a big deal for an intern to get a spieling ride," she said.
This spiel Bridges speaks of is part of the 22-minute ride that she narrates as she takes guests on a journey into the movies, with scenes from "Mary Poppins," "Indiana Jones," "Tarzan" and "Singing in the Rain."
An upside to working at an interactive ride was the camaraderie she formed with her fellow cast members.
"I worked not only with college students, but also with people of all different ages," Bridges said. "It was hard working with different age groups, but thankfully everyone in my ride got along and we became a little family together."
Occasional long hours during the busy holiday season, could be trying when you have to entertain an expectant crowd.
"My longest shift was 14 hours long. It was on New Year's until three in the morning," she said.
Such hard work did have its perks, however.
"I got into the parks for free every single day," Bridges said. "So on my days off, I would just go play in the parks, so that was fun. Also just knowing people in different jobs and different areas of the parks were fun."
Bridges said she doesn't regret missing football at Auburn. The fall is a much more exciting time to be at Disney, with the long holiday season full of special events and appearances.
"Even though it was hard missing football season, it was neat because I got to go to Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween party, which is cool because they have all the villains out. I also got to go to the Christmas parties which had snow," Bridges said.
Despite being so far away from Auburn, Bridges said she did see plenty of Auburn fans during her internship.
"Every time I saw someone from Auburn, we would say 'War Eagle!', because my name tag says 'Susie, Auburn University.' Auburn people were always so nice. One man hugged me. He was like, 'You're from Auburn, I want to give you a hug. I hope you're doing well.'"
Perhaps the most magical moment Bridges had during her stay was when Johnny Depp, dressed in full costume as Captain Jack Sparrow of "Pirates of the Caribbean," rode the Great Movie Ride. At first, she and her coworkers were skeptical.
"They opened a new thing called The Captain Jack Sparrow experience and you go into a pirate ship that has a hologram of Johnny Depp. They were filming for it, and we heard all these rumors that Johnny Depp was at Hollywood Studios that day. We were all like, 'whatever,'" she said.
Upon further thought, though, Bridges realized that there was a good chance this man was actually Johnny Depp.
"Disney has this huge rule where you cannot dress up as a character and look like them, or they'll kick you out. So we knew it was not a regular guest," she said.
"It was so funny, he walked up to me and I almost had a panic attack. It was Captain Jack Sparrow! He even did his drunken walk," she said.
As far her future goes, Bridges hopes to go back to Disney after graduation.
"I would love to work in media relations. They put on the special events and that kind of thing."
To commemorate a bittersweet end, Disney held a graduation even for interns in the college program.
"You receive a diploma and Mickey ears that have a graduation tassel. You get to meet Minnie and Mickey in their cap and gown," Bridges said. "It's so worth the experience, and Disney looks great on your resume."
Those that are interested in learning more information about the Disney college program are encouraged to visit the website, cp.disneycareers.com.
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