Two Creators Share What It Was Like Participating In The Disney Creators Lab

The Disney Creators Lab has finished its inaugural session that brought together 20 social influencers and content creators to learn more about the craft of content creation through the lens of the Walt Disney
DIS
Company. The program had eight online courses, as well as an end-of-season celebration at Walt Disney World and a Disney Cruise Line vacation.

Two participants of the first round of the Disney Creators Lab, Dom Corona and Melizza Black, had nothing but positive things to say about the experience. The two went through rounds of interviews and questions before being officially invited to join the program with 18 others.

Black is known for her fashion content on both TikTok and Instagram. “I actually started going to the parks a few years ago. I started seeing how people dress at Disney and I learned about Disneybounding,” said Black on why she started her social channels.

Corona highlights his love of art, especially Disney-themed masterpieces on his TikTok and Instagram. “I have been really involved with art my entire life and I always love to paint and draw, so I started doing more Disney paintings, and it kind of just like snowballed from there. It became something that I really really enjoyed doing. I can’t tell you the excitement I have like painting Mickey Mouse,” he explained.

Both Black and Corona learned from some of the top creators in the industry, as well as learning more about marketing skills. Outside of the tangible skills, Black mentioned that the number one thing she’s taken away from the Disney Creators Lab is to keep going, even when it seems challenging. “I think it gets really easy to compare yourself or maybe feel like you’re not understanding. But it was really motivating and really, really inspiring to just talk and learn how to be a creator because it’s a new and growing industry,” she said.

Corona echoed with his response mentioning he’s learned to not take himself too seriously. “As long as you don’t take yourself too seriously, and you just try and capture those real genuine, funny moments, then being able to post them and not care, and just have people laugh along with it. That was definitely big for me,” he said.

Being able to take part in the Disney Creators Lab helped to change the views of how social media can be used for both Black and Corona. For Black, she’s now viewing social media as a place to create a community with her followers and with other creators. “It’s like a lifestyle, essentially when you become an internet creator. And they just taught me how to do all those things,” she said. Corona said after participating he was able to fit social media more naturally into his life.

For those who don’t know where to start when it comes to being a social media content creator, Black shared some inspiring words. “I was terrified because now it’s all on you and you have this pressure to be on all the time or to look a certain way because you’re on the internet. But honestly, that stuff doesn’t matter. And it’s really just about you showing up being your real authentic self every time you sit down to create,” she said.

Being a content creator isn’t a job for everyone, but for Corona, he learned how confidence can have a big impact on a content creator career. “It was the most important thing I learned was confidence through every session,” he said.

As for where social media is headed in the future, Black says she thinks creators are going to continue to lean into being more authentic. People are tired of curated images and want to see more real and raw human beings. Corona believes that audio is going to be the next big thing with apps that allow you to listen to a live podcast or something like that.

Just like everyone else, Black and Corona have big goals and larger-than-life inspiration. Black wants to continue in fashion content and is inspired by fashion content creator Color Me Courtney. Corona shared he wants to see his artwork on the shelves of the Disney Parks one day and is inspired by Nicki Minaj.