Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashleigh Dunkley.
Hi Ashleigh, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My name is Ashleigh, online I go by Ashleigh Smashleigh. I am a 22 year old Canadian who was born and raised in Ontario, Canada. I am currently residing in Canada, but I will be returning to the Orlando area this fall to participate in the Cultural Representative Program at Walt Disney World. I have a love for Central Florida, especially Disney Parks, and I have a special interest in social media and content creation.
For as long as I can remember, I have loved Disney, specifically Walt Disney World. Growing up, my family and I would travel to Orlando every year in March for my spring break, we would rent a house with a pool, enjoy getting away from the Canadian winter, and visit a Disney park or two. I valued this time with my family and grew to see Florida as my happy place. Little did I know at that time that I would one day call Florida my actual second home!
At the age of 13, during a trip to Disney with my extended family, I learned about the possibility to become a Disney Cast Member as a Canadian. I was introduced to Disney International Programs, which included Disney’s Cultural Exchange Program (CEP) and Disney’s Cultural Representative Program (CRP). Both programs allow individuals from selected countries around the world to move to the United States on a visa to work at Walt Disney World. Given my love for Disney parks, I immediately set my sights on participating in a Disney program. I researched the programs vigorously throughout high school, and in 2023, while I was studying for my undergrad, I was accepted into my first Disney Program, Disney’s Cultural Exchange Program. This was the beginning of my career with Disney.
In my early teens, I had gained a special interest in social media. Alongside my personal account, I created secondary accounts that focused on my favourite television shows and music artists, in which I created fun graphics on my tablet and uploaded them on Instagram. This became one of my favourite hobbies, and a creative outlet for me during my middle school and high school years. As I entered University, during the COVID-19 pandemic, I transitioned my content to focus on gaming. Video games became my new focus, and I began to invest in gaming content, specifically through joining Twitch, Youtube and TikTok. Live-streaming gaming was a fun hobby for me, but I most enjoyed the creativity and editing processes that Youtube and TikTok involved. Instead of making still graphics, I began to focus more on short-form and long-form video content, sparking a new interest for me. When I received my offer to participate in my first Disney Program, I made the decision to switch over my accounts on Instagram, Youtube and TikTok that had focused on gaming content to instead follow along on my journey working for Disney, with the intention being to share my experiences with my loved ones at home. The decision to do so, though I didn’t know it at the time, would influence my future passions and my desired career path.
I completed my 2023 Disney CEP working in merchandise at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and then returned in 2024 to work in merchandise again and was placed at Magic Kingdom. Between my two programs, I noticed a gap in online content about Disney International Programs. Though the Disney College Program was popular for Americans, and was shared all around on social media, there wasn’t much presence and information regarding international programs. While I was preparing for my first program, there were a couple of creators from Canada that had content focused on Disney Programs, but most of the internationals who created content were from the United Kingdom. Due to COVID-19, Disney International programs was shut down for a while, so current information was sparse, since International Programs changed a bit after the pandemic. I began to create content at home about my experiences, posting content from when I was on my program, but also uploading informative videos about the program. Since then, though my overall following is still relatively small, I have had my content reach across the world and have been able to support International applicants who share a mutual love for Disney. During my program in 2024, I had the opportunity to meet people, both in the Disney parks and in the general Orlando area, who have recognized me from my content, and have shared how helpful it was for them. I got to meet people from the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Columbia, and even Australia who had engaged with my content. I realized that even as a content creator with just 600 Instagram followers and 2,000 TikTok followers, my reach and influence was still effective and powerful.
So, that brings me to where I am now! I have continued to create content about Disney International Programs and I still connect with hopeful candidates from around the world on a regular basis. I am currently preparing to move back to Orlando for a new program for myself, Disney’s Cultural Representative Program, which will allow me to live in Florida for a full year while representing Canada on a daily basis. Looking forward, my passion for social media has grown, and I am looking to pursue content creation professionally, building my personal image and brand, and seeking a career in this industry. I love Florida, and I love Orlando. I never thought that as a Canadian I would have the opportunity to call Florida my true second home and work in the United States, but I am living out that dream, and I love that I get to educate other internationals, who share my passions and dreams, about this opportunity as well.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
My journey with content creation has been a mix of smooth sailing and bumpy roads.
One of the biggest challenges is that pursuing your own social media journey and creating content is completely self-motivated. When I am inspired, motivated and feeling creative, my pursuits are easy. I love to scroll through social media and recognize what is trending, what similar creators are doing, and coming up with my own contributions online. On top of that, when your content gets a high level of views and interaction, when your following is increasing, and when content that you invested heavily into succeeds, it is a great feeling. On the other side, when the content you’ve worked so hard on doesn’t do well, when you lose followers, or when you lose your inspiration and motivation, the social media world can drain you. As a creator who pursues social media part-time, who also manages full-time work, it can be hard to invest in social-media when life in general is draining. Due to the fact that it is a personal endeavour, it is not the 9-5 that is supporting your life, it is not what you are relying on to live, it can be easy to let it go and let the quality and frequency of your content to decrease. In order to pursue social media, you need to have the passion, the self-motivation, and the interest in order to succeed. The algorithm is one thing, whether or not your content succeeds, but you first have to manage yourself and your investments.
As a creator, comparison to others is also a huge struggle. When I was first beginning to post my content on social media, I would see the posts of other creators who had a higher following, or who had been a creator for longer then me, and would feel discouraged about my own content in comparison to theirs, especially in the times that my own self-motivation and confidence was lacking. After a while of feeling this way, I realized that comparing myself to others was toxic, and did nothing except damage my own confidence. I was my own toughest critic, comparison is truly the thief of joy! I decided to focus on myself, focus on what was inspiring me, and had to remind myself that everyone has their own journeys. I found my joy in content creation and what I was creating, and I continue to do so to keep myself inspired. Now, instead of comparing, I am able to appreciate the content others are creating and be inspired by a great community of people that I have to look up to.
The obstacles and challenges I have faced have allowed me to better myself as a creator, and also as an individual! Success does not come easy, and through every challenge I am able to learn something new, which ultimately encourages me to continue my content creation passions.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am currently pursuing my social media content part-time and I am preparing to move in the Fall to Orlando for a year to participate in Disney’s Cultural Representative Program. On Disney’s Cultural Representative Program, I will represent the nation of Canada in EPCOT, sharing my culture with guests.
During my program, I intend to continue content creation and growing my social media presence, focusing on Disney International Programs, and sharing lifestyle content in Orlando. Being recognized in the parks and in the Orlando area from my content has been a motivator for me, I am encouraged that my presence on social media has encouraged others to pursue their passions to move to Orlando, experience what it is like to live in the United States, and work in customer service roles at Disney theme parks. I hope to reach more people worldwide, and use my social media as a tool to connect with others. I love the connections that I have been able to have in my following.
I am most proud of myself for pursuing my dream of moving to Orlando and working for Disney, because it wasn’t all easy. Living over 1,000 miles away from home meant that I was entering into a whole new life. I had to learn how to be alone. Moving meant making new friends and investing in new communities, building a new routine, all while supporting my well-being. I struggled a lot being on my own at first, but I learned how to thrive because I got to learn about myself, who I am, what I am good at, and what I like. I was thankful to do this in Florida, because even though I was 1,000 miles away from home, Central Florida was a place that I knew a about already from travelling, and a place I already loved. I am the person that I am today because of the decision I made to pursue my move to Florida.
I believe what sets me apart are my observational skills and interpersonal skills. To thrive in social media, you need to be online, you need to know what is happening in the world, and you need to know what people like. Through my observational I can problem solve, to understand why some content is thriving, and why other content is not doing well. Though the algorithm plays a huge part, and can change, if you can catch on to it and observe the way it works, you can understand how to best alter your social media presence to thrive. Utilizing your interpersonal skills is a huge aspect of thriving on social media as well. I am someone who loves relationships, I love to be close with people and to engage with people. Social media allows me to do this, I can connect with people through my posts, through comments, through direct messages. Some of my following has come from my engagement with others, rather than my actual content itself. Especially as a creator with a small following, I am able to connect with people who engage with my content, because I can see the notification for every like, comment, and message I receive, there is a lot of value in that.
Moving forward, even past my Disney program, I intend to invest more in my content creation on a career level. I am looking into programs to specialize my knowledge in the industry, which I hope will bring me more skills and knowledge.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
If someone is just starting out in social media, specifically for those who wish to showcase their life online as they pursue a Disney College Program, or a Disney International Program, I would encourage them start out with the intention of having fun. Make posts about what you love, and that will attract people with similar interests and passions to you. It is easy to tell when someone isn’t passionate about what they are doing, and that isn’t appealing to others.
Being a Disney Influencer is a hard group to break into. Though it is new and growing, there are a lot of creators in this niche trying to make it big. We see individuals who have done the Disney College Program, Disney Bloggers who cover every piece of theme park news, Disney Fashionistas, and, especially right now, the Disney Pin Fanatics! If you’re in this to just get popular, to become Disney famous, to become a name in the social media sphere, your motivation is going to die out fast. Coming in with a pre-exsiting passion is the key to success, passion will continue to motivate you even when your content isn’t succeeding, your confidence is low, or you feel burnt out.
Overall, follow your passion wherever it leads you. And if you don’t know what your passion is, begin to pursue finding it out! Try new things, do some research. What is something that you could talk about forever? What brings you joy when you have had a hard day? Passions are what make life fun and worth the living.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashleighsmashleighhh/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ashleighsmashleighh
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@ashleighdunkley
