The Lion King and snow fairies; Gabby’s Disney adventure

Our students have the opportunity to do a year’s placement in industry after the second year, to help them gain practical skills and experience to help their future employment prospects. Events student Gabby Roberts spent a year working in the Animal Kingdom in Disney World, Florida.Gabby takes up the story:

‘I spent the first three months working in merchandising which meant meeting the public and selling Disney souvenirs. After that, I spent the remainder of the placement working in the Lion King Theatre. I was responsible for crowd control, and this was a huge job because the theatre
accommodated 1700 people and the audience changed hourly. I was also responsible for health and safety, customer service and looking after guests with special needs.

‘I learned a lot about crowd management and customer service and I was given special training on working with disabled children. This was an area that I particularly enjoyed, and I would like to work with disabled people in the future. I also volunteered for Disney’s ‘Give Kids the World’ programme which I found very rewarding.

‘I even had the chance to be a snow fairy for a day in the Disney Christmas Parade, which was fun, and every girl’s dream.

'I liked the way that Disney employees are empowered to put things right when they go wrong, whether that is replacing a dropped ice cream, or comforting a lost child with a Disney toy until they are reunited with their family.

‘I worked hard, but I did also manage to go to the Bahamas on a cruise and to visit Miami. In America there is always something to do.

‘I loved working at Disney and meeting new people; I can honestly say that I have made some friends for life. For me, however, the best bit has to be the reaction from guests when you help them, and that gave me so much job satisfaction.

Gabby graduated from the Disney University and now she is in the final year of her degree and will graduate from UCLan in July this year.