UpDate - Vol. 12, No. 38, Page 2
August 5, 1993
Senior gets real-life work experiences in Fantasyland

     It sounds a little too much like a fairy tale, like someone waved a
magic wand and said, "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo!" After all, if you had to spend
a semester working in a foreign land, Fantasyland doesn't sound like such a
bad option.
     A semester at Walt Disney World, living in a condo, earning academic
credit and getting paid? It's magical all right, and it happened to Lisa
Marinaccio, a senior majoring in foreign languages and literatures, who
spent the spring semester working at the famous theme park in Orlando.
     Marinaccio is back on campus this summer finishing up her degree so
she can return to the Magic Kingdom this fall as part of Disney's elite
World Showcase Fellowship. She auditioned for that job while she was
working at the resort in the spring, and she was one of only seven students
chosen to represent the United States at Epcot Center this fall.
     Marinaccio heard about the Walt Disney World College Program-billed as
a working, learning and living experience-from a friend majoring in the
University's Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management Program. That
friend said Disney recruiters were planning to visit Delaware, and
Marinaccio filled out an application for an interview.
     She got the job and spent the spring semester literally in Fantasyland
in the Magic Kingdom, working at such popular attractions as Snow White's
Adventures. The ride recounts the scary part of Snow White's
story-including lots of appearances by the wicked witch.
     She also worked on Dumbo the Flying Elephant. The endearing children's
ride lets little ones "fly" in the big-eared pachyderm. Marinaccio also had
stints with Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, based on Disney's 1949 release, The
Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad; and the often-photographed Mad Hatter's
Tea Party, where park visitors can twirl around in oversized,
pastel-colored teacups.
     Before her on-the-job labors at Disney World, Marinaccio took a
mandatory three-day training course on Disney traditions. It gave her an
inside look at the theme parks and a crash course on Disney lingo. For
instance, workers are not employees, they are cast members. They work
on-stage or backstage, and they don't wear uniforms, they wear costumes.
     Once her job commenced, she was scheduled to work between six to l0
hours a day and was paid the minimum wage.
     She shared her three-bedroom condo with a girl from Michigan and
another from England. Students are housed in 40 condominiums, which have 12
apartments each, she said. There are two swimming pools, volleyball and
basketball courts and other recreation areas nearby.
     Once a week, the students took an intensive three-hour seminar on
behind-the-scenes operations at theme parks and hotels. There often were
guest lecturers.
     Since she has been chosen for the World Showcase Fellowship Program,
Marinaccio will return to Disney World in September for a year. She will
work in the American pavilion at Epcot Center and also at the cultural
office, which is the host center for the half-dozen students from foreign
countries who work for a year at Epcot in the pavilions of their native
lands.
     "The American students are considered the hosts and hostesses for the
others," Marinaccio said. "The work with the cultural office will involve
doing things to help the international students adjust.
     "Each country prepares a six-hour presentation on its own culture to
present to visitors from other countries, and I'll be working on the U.S.
one. I also have to attend community events."
     From Wisconsin, Marinaccio ended up at the University when a business
acquaintance of her father's recommended the school.
     After she finishes her courses, she hopes to earn a graduate degree in
tourism. She said her experience at Disney World has already opened so many
doors that she is excited about the possibilities that may arise from her
year at Epcot. Marinaccio doesn't rule out the chance that she may decide
to stay at Disney World as a permanent employee, if the opportunity comes
her way.
     But she could end up anywhere. It's a small world, after all.
                                        -Beth Thomas