I just had the absolute time of my life, working as an Epcot Science Team intern for the past 6 months. My major responsibilities were caring for the plants and greenhouse facilities that made up part of the attraction Living with the Land. In addition, I had some really unique experiences during the 6 months. Here are some highlights:
This is, of course, just a Cliff’s Notes version of my experiences, just covering the more unusual things. I’ll likely be adding a lot more to it, including a lot more details on things I learned in the greenhouses. I’ll also be adding a few more of the 1,000 + pictures I took. If you have any questions, please ask!
- At The Land, I was assigned to the String, or Production, greenhouse which supplies some of the food used in the Epcot restaurants. It was so cool to be able to walk out into the Sunshine Seasons seating area and see Guests actually eating food that I had grown and harvested. I also was able to work on several of The Land’s most famous crops, namely the Tomato and Cucumber trees and the Mickey-shaped pumpkins. I was on the team that counted the last batch of cucumbers from the record-breaking tree (the last one, by the way, was Mickey-shaped). I also got to help install many Mickey pumpkin molds, including the giant one currently onstage. I also had the opportunity to create several new show elements, such as the Epcot logo design in the lettuce, and the “Earning My Ears” ribbons for the Mickey pumpkins.
- I was a guide for the Behind the Seeds tour, and had the opportunity to meet Guests from all over the United States and from many different countries (Holland, Jamaica, Great Britain, Belgium, Germany, Australia, South Africa and China just to name a few). It was fascinating to hear all of the different views that many of my international Guests had, particularly about Biotechnology.
- I also met many, many wonderful Cast Members from all around property (several of whom are members of WDWMagic :wave: ).
- Through the ever-so-magical Extra Hours Hotline, I got to work at least one shift in all 4 parks and Downtown Disney, including the Serka Zong Bazaar, Kilimanjaro Safaris, Briar Patch/Splashdown Photo, Tatooine Traders and the DisneyQuest Emporium. It was really cool to see the different backstage areas of each of the parks.
- I was also a Candy Runner for Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party and handed out party hats and horns on New Year’s Eve at Magic Kingdom.
- I was a member of the 2006 Candlelight Processional Cast Choir. It was such an incredible experience! We started rehearsals back in September. I attended 10 of them, including one dress rehearsal at Epcot that started at 10:30 PM and ended at 3:30 AM. Since I had to work at 7:30 that morning, I obtained security clearance and slept in my car parked behind the greenhouses—I can legitimately say that I spent the night in a Disney theme park. The Candlelight performances were even more incredible. They really helped me to get into the Christmas spirit when I was so far away from home. I sang in shows with Rita Moreno, Brian Dennehy, Neil Patrick Harris, Kirk Cameron and Gary Sinese.
- I got to be on the very last boat through Living with the Land with a human narrator, and on one of the first through with the automated spiel.
- Through the Disney Learning Center, I took backstage tours of Spaceship Earth and the Great Movie Ride. It was really cool to see the inner workings of these attractions, and, in the case of Spaceship Earth, some bits and pieces of older versions of the attraction. I also got some really cool pictures of the Great Movie Ride sets and AA figures.
- As a part of various Cast events, I got to tour the American Adventure, Wonders of Life and The Land VIP lounges.
- I attended the dress rehearsal of the Illuminations holiday tag. Basically, a group of 100 or so Cast Members got to have a private showing of Illuminations: Reflections of Earth (without pyro), and then the Let There Be Peace on Earth tag (with pyro, lots of it). Of course all of this was at 11:30 at night. I kept thinking of the poor guests in the Swan and Dolphin. Right after, I saw the Epcot Christmas tree angel riding around on the back of a pargo. It turns out that they were setting up the Christmas tree right after the dress rehearsal. By the time I came back through the next morning on the way to work, the tree was fully assembled and show-ready.
- I saw two space shuttle launches, one from backstage behind the greenhouses, and the most recent one from a vantage point in front of Mission: Space.
- I also had the honor of being featured in the Main Street Diary.
This is, of course, just a Cliff’s Notes version of my experiences, just covering the more unusual things. I’ll likely be adding a lot more to it, including a lot more details on things I learned in the greenhouses. I’ll also be adding a few more of the 1,000 + pictures I took. If you have any questions, please ask!
