So sad....

[macefamily]

It's so sad that this program is dead. I remember back in the 80's when some of the kids who were out of high school for a year or so told me that they were doing this "Disney thing" where they were taking a semester off to work and play in FL. That was foreign to me because our family was lucky to vacation once every three years, and that was to the Jersey shore. Disneyworld WAS a world away for me. I had my first Disney experience when I went to a corporate event in 1995. It was held at the DoubleTree outside of Universal. I decided to take one afternoon off and go to the parks. I was hooked. It was magical. When I married and we had kids I worked for a company based in Melbourne, FL. I would visit several times and year and the family came on those business trips with me, and they became hooked. As my kids grew, my daughter expressed interest in the Disney College program her junior year. She was accepted and she became a lifeguard at the Contemporary Resort for her stint. She made friends from Connecticut and Louisiana who still keep in touch and get together at a DVC resort a few times a year. I look at the experience she had with DCP that my wife and I never had. It was a great life experience for her. When we visited their Disney apartment complex I was amazed because it was like it's own town. Kids rushing around in their Disney uniforms. Busloads of college kids leaving the complex and others returning after a full day of Disney work. My daughter said they worked hard, but when they were off they'd be up the road at Hurricane's on 535 enjoying their wings and beer. I'm jealous that I never had that experience as a young adult. But I'm more sad that so many kids are not getting the chance to experience it now.