Go to the parks by yourself 

Going to the parks by myself was one of my favorite things to do, and something you will end up doing more than you may think. Working in Magic Kingdom, I would usually go to the park before or after my shift. Sometimes I wouldn't do anything but get a coffee and ride the people mover, other times I walked around and met characters, sometimes I did nothing. But the best part was that I got to do what I wanted to do without compromise.

Find your secret hang out spot

Similarly to going to the parks alone, I think everyone should have their go-to hang out spot in the parks or resorts. Somewhere you can go and people watch, charge your phone, do homework, or just call your mom. I had a few different places and I wont give them all away (because they're mine) but I'll tell you some.
- The Grand Floridian Lobby is perfect for getting homework done
- The back display room in the Star Wars Launch Bay is prime for phone charging (and arguing with patrolling storm troopers)

- The couches in the Poly are a life saver while you wait for the bus after a day in the parks

Take as many "basic" Instagram pictures you can
Can we just stop with the judgment and sub-tweets about people who take pictures in front of the purple wall? I'm all for celebrating your basic-ness, especially in Disney! One of the most common compliments I received after my program was about how much people loved and looked forward to my Instagram posts! So get dressed up, put on some ears, and go to the park for a day just to take pictures! I've done it so many times and so have all of my friends. Now we have great pictures to look back on. 

(Side rant: Just in general during your program: Don't act like you're too cool for everything. This isn't high school and you don't get an award for not caring about something. Don't laugh at the people who cry at Traditions or judge people for enjoying the parks. Because no one cares that you "aren't a Disney person", you clearly like it enough to work there.)

Find a unique way to get autographs

After I got accepted my mom mailed me the "Everything I Know I Learned From a Disney Golden Book" book. It has a page from every Disney story book I had as a child and a page for almost every character. I chose to use that as my autograph book. Not only as a way to remember my program, but to one day give to my children in the future.

Watch the fireworks from as many different places as you can
One of my favorite memories is dancing through an almost empty Frontierland with my roommates while we watched Wishes. I also got a cat member at Seven Dwarfs Mine Train to help me get the timing just right to be on the ride as the fireworks were going off. There's no rule that says you can only watch them from the Hub or Main Street, so get creative!

Give in to pin trading

Buy the discounted pins at cast-connections and give in. I chose to collect any and every Little Mermaid related pin I could and now I have a ton of unique pins I use to decorate and accessorize with. I never understood the pin thing until I had to do it for work, and it's actually a lot of fun!

Get out of Disney

Get a Universal pass, go to the beach or the outlets,
, hang out by the pool, do something not Disney related. Because there will be times where you just need to get out of the Disney bubble.

Take a stay-cation
During my program I was lucky enough to have two of my best friends visit. I got to stay with them in their hotels and was in full guest-mode. It was much needed and really great because I finally got to stay in the Little Mermaid section of Art of Animation!
(Also just take advantage of as many of the discounts as you can.)

But most importantly, Do the things you want to do!
This program is a once in a lifetime experience, so make sure you take full advantage of it! Make a list of things you want to do, and do them! You don't want to look back on it and regret that you stayed in yout apartment watching Netflix all the time, you'll have plenty of time to do that when you get home.