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Have you ever considered applying for the Disney College Program? Here I detail my personal experience with applying for the program and the steps it took to get accepted.
What is the Disney College Program?
First, let's establish what the Disney College Program is. Most often referred to as the DCP, the Disney College Program is an internship program operated by the Disney Programs division of The Walt Disney Company. Essentially, Disney recruits college students for semester-long paid work experiences at either Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, or Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. As a participant, you will live and work on-site at the chosen resort, most often the Walt Disney World Resort with roles ranging from Operations, Entertainment, Food & Beverage, and much more. Not only do you get to work for Disney, but you will also gain professional and educational experience. This is a highly sought-after experience among college students, and thousands apply each year to become a part of the DCP.
To learn more about the Disney College Program, you can view the official site here.
Am I Eligible?
There are a few, but important requirements that will determine whether you are eligible for the Disney College Program. These include:
At least 18 years of age at the time of application.
Currently enrolled and taking classes at an accredited U.S.* college, university, or higher education program OR have graduated from an accredited U.S.* college, university, or higher education program within 24 months of the application posting date.
Must have completed at least one semester at an accredited U.S.* college, university, or higher education program by the time of program arrival.
Possess unrestricted U.S. work authorization for the duration of the program.
Meet any individual school requirement (GPA, grade level, etc.), if applicable.
*U.S. includes all 50 states plus Puerto Rico and all other U.S. territories.
For me, I graduated with my B.S. in Mechanical Engineering at Tufts University in May of 2022, HOWEVER, Disney also considers you a college student if you are pursuing higher education. After graduation, I immediately went into a master's program in Mechanical Engineering at Tufts University part-time, so I was considered as "currently enrolled and taking classes" at the time of applying.
My Experience Applying to the Disney College Program
My absolute dream is to be an Imagineer for the company, and I have made a lot of life choices centered around this goal. In my undergraduate years, I did apply to a couple of Disney Professional Internships where my Mechanical Engineering degree was relevant but did not make it far in the selection process. I constantly monitor the Disney Careers Page for potential job openings and many of the entry engineer roles required 5+ experience or a Master's Degree, which you guessed it, led me to pursue a Master's Degree in Mechanical Engineering. This actually worked in my favor as I was able to work full-time while pursuing my degree part-time AND extend my eligibility for both the Disney College Program and Disney Professional Internships. My main motivation for applying to the DCP: get my dang foot in the door! The DCP is a great way to get involved in the company and create opportunities for yourself if you are seeking out a specific job role after your program is complete. My thought process was applying to the Disney Professional Internships again, but if that was a bust, then I had the Disney College Program to fall back upon.
My application process started with heading to the Disney Programs website and filling out an application for the Disney College Program. Applications for Spring 2024 opened on August 28th, 2023. The application was fairly straightforward and asked the standard questions you would see on most job applications. To start, you will need to enter your contact information and basic biographical information such as your educational history so they can verify your eligibility. The next section of the application is devoted to your work experience, if memory serves me right you could add up to 5 work experiences. As a graduate student, I had plenty of summers of work under my belt, however, I did include my part-time job as a front-end manager at a grocery store because it could serve as a great talking point for guest interaction and conflict resolution. Remember, Disney is really looking for those soft skills such as communication, attitude, and drive. Regardless of what your experience is, I would focus on creating strong points for your responsibilities that demonstrate you will be a great employee regardless of where you end up. Besides one other section which I will get into in a moment, the rest of the application consisted of questions regarding self-identification, work authorization, and the acknowledgment statement.
Now, the other sizable portion of this application was "Role Preference". There are more than 20 roles offered across the theme parks, water parks, resorts, and Disney Springs. Now here is the catch, you have no say in the specific role you will be assigned to as a participant. However, during this process, you can inform the recruiter what roles and locations interest you most. Placement is determined by a variety of factors such as business needs, but the recruiters do take into account preference, it is just not a guarantee. The other kicker is if accepted, you will receive an offer to participate in the program, but you will not know your role until later. About 4 weeks prior to your arrival date, you will have awareness of your role, and about a week prior to your program, will receive a confirmation on that role placement. I am going to be honest here and say this is one of the things that initially made me wary of applying. The application took me through the list of roles and asked me to respond "yes" or "no" to whether I would be interested. For example, as an engineer, I LOVE rides, so naturally I responded "yes" to Attractions.
To learn more about the different roles available, you can view the descriptions here.
All in all, the application took me less than an hour and I was surprised by the lack of information I needed to supply. I think this was the first application where there was no option to attach a PDF version of a resume. Once submitted, you will receive a confirmation email with more information about the next steps forward and a link to a Dashboard to track your application. I was then quickly contacted by email the next day to schedule a phone interview with a recruiter. Scheduling a phone interview was straightforward, and there was a wide array of days and times to choose from including early evening and Friday slots.
Before the phone interview, I familiarized myself with the role descriptions, specifically the ones I expressed interest in. I also found it helpful to have that link open as well as a copy of my application on my laptop during the interview to reference back to. Make sure you find a quiet space with reliable phone service. Disney clearly emphasized that they will not conduct the interview if you are driving, my recruiter even verified I was not driving before starting, so keep this in mind. Leave yourself plenty of time before the interview to set up and, as always, have a fully charged device.
The phone interview I felt was low stakes in terms of questions the recruiter asked me. We started off by going through and verifying information such as program dates and student status that I had already submitted via my application. Next, my recruiter went into detail about the program including housing options as well as the next steps in the process. The DCP reserves housing for participants at Flamingo Crossings Village located right next to Walt Disney World. These are up-scale living spaces that include amenities like bus transportation, pools, fitness centers, educational facilities, and more. Rent will automatically be deducted from your paycheck every week, and that includes everything from utilities, electricity, Wi-Fi, and more. These apartments also come fully furnished down to the pots and pans.
To learn more about Flamingo Crossings Village, you can access more information here.
After receiving the low-down on housing accommodations, my recruiter once again emphasized that I would not know my role replacement until several weeks before my start date, and any preferences on role and location are not a guarantee. She then gave me the floor to speak a little about myself and why I am interested in working for the Walt Disney Company. Personally, this is the question you really want to be prepared for. Disney wants applicants who are passionate about the company and align with their values for excellent customer service. Of course, this was an easy question for me to answer as figuring out how attractions worked as a child is what led me to pursue a degree in engineering in the first place. This became a good segway for my recruiter to discuss why I expressed interest in certain roles as well as give a little more description of what the role would entail. As an engineer, attractions were at the top of my list, and the recruiter figured just as well. She asked me what my favorite ride was, or which park I would want to work at if I could choose. Disney is big into safety, especially as attractions require operating dangerous and powerful equipment, so she also asked me to elaborate on any experiences I had on the topic. From lab procedures in college to working at a manufacturing company, I had plenty to draw on. So, for the remainder of the 30 minutes, we chatted back and forth about why I was interested in certain roles with typical interview questions sprinkled in between such as "How comfortable are you with public speaking or talking in front of a large group of people?" or "What response would you give to a Guest asking about recommendations for character dining?". These questions were guided by the particular role we were discussing.
To wrap up the interview, my recruiter had me rank the roles in order of preference. Likewise, I was able to ask any questions I had about the program. Personally, I felt the interview went well given the hiccups I encountered. The recruiter had a so-so connection, so the call dropped a couple of times throughout the interview (I had another phone interview earlier that morning, so I knew my phone service wasn't the issue). If this does happen, DO NOT PANIC! Almost immediately, she called back, and we continued the conversation. This was a little frustrating at times, as I felt I was on such a good roll with an answer only to realize she could not hear me! With that, the best advice I can give someone during a phone interview is to be yourself and not stress too much. These recruiters know we are human and don't expect perfection in any capacity.
A week after my phone interview, I received an email that I had been accepted to the Disney College Program! YAY! Although excited, I was mostly surprised by how the entire process from start to finish took less than a month. There were three (3) steps I needed to complete within seven (7) days from the date of receiving the email to accept this offer.
Step 1: Review and Respond to Offer
Step 2: Submit Program Fees and Select Program Dates
Step 3: Complete Required Additional Information
If these are not completed in the timeline set out, then Disney assumes you will be declining the opportunity. At this point, I was in limbo and waiting on status updates on my applications for the Disney Professional Internships I applied for. After careful consideration, as someone who has been in the workforce as a salaried engineer for over a year now, I made the tough decision to pass on this offer and continue to pursue different avenues. Via the Dashboard, I was able to access a copy of my offer letter and submit my response before the deadline.
All in all, I was grateful for the opportunity to apply to the Disney College Program and really overjoyed Disney felt I could bring magic to the Disney Parks. The process was straightforward and manageable for anyone interested in applying. Even if you are on the fence, I still think it is worth it to apply and have the chance to make the decision on whether or not to participate in the Disney College Program. They accept participants on a rolling basis, so the earlier you apply the better chance you have of getting accepted. I hope my experience gave some insight into the application process, but remember every journey is unique! Good Luck!
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