I'm a Walt Disney World Bus Driver at 51 Years Old; Great Benefits - Business Insider
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As told to Roya Shahidi
By Michael Bowen
Oct 27, 2026, 4:10 PM GMT+1
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This as-told-to essay, based on a conversation with Michael Bowen, a 51-year-old Walt Disney World bus driver and Disney content creator behind the YouTube channel "Incognito Mouse," has been edited for length and clarity.
Most of my adult life, I worked in the church. I went to university and Bible school to become a minister. I did it thinking it would make someone else happy, not really considering what would make me happy.
At one point, I worked at a smaller church that couldn't offer a full-time salary, so I got a part-time job as a school bus driver.
In 2017, while on vacation in Florida, I visited Disney World. Sitting by the pool in the warm sun, with palm trees beside me, I realized I needed a change.
I felt I had to make some kind of change, or I was going to sentence myself to a miserable life.
I realized I could work as a bus driver for Disney. I had first visited Disney World in 2013 and thought it was strange — a bunch of adults, no kids, going to Disney. Yet, even then, I thought, "There's no Disney church."
By 2017, as a school bus driver, I thought, "Oh, they do have bus drivers, and that is a legitimate career. I could actually do that."
I love Disney, and my ex-wife did, too. As huge Disney fans, we thought, why not go live in the most magical place on Earth and work there?
In 2020, at 44, I first moved to Florida.
I was living out of state when I applied to be a bus driver at Disney. It's very challenging, but I'm finally happy.
"It's not prestigious, but I'm happy." - Michael Bowen