Alright I applied and was accepted for the Fall 2013 Disney College Program I was unable to complete my program but i did spend a wonderful 3 months working as a Custodial Cast member Disney's Polynesian Resort. This post is dedicated to the application process.
Are you Eligible to Apply?
Anyone can apply, but to be considered you do have to meet a few qualifications. You have to be enrolled in at least one college course at the time of your application. You have to be in good standing with the company. If you have recently left the company on bad terms you have to wait 1 year before applying.
Before you apply:
Think about why you want to do the college program. Are you doing it for the education experience, to enhance your resume, maybe even just for fun? Whatever your reasoning just make sure that this is what you really want to do. The college program can be a lot of fun, but you have to know you will be working a lot and people will rely on you if you can't handle that kind of responsibility this might not be for you.
Filling out the Application:
The day you've been waiting for, you've been checking your dashboard and the college program website everyday but today is the day you can finally fill out the paperwork that will really jumpstart your adventure.
The application starts by asking you for your information. This will range from your name, your social security number and your past work experience. My advice for this is to put all your work history even if you think it isn't relatable, just put it all down.
Which roles?
Alright after you fill out all your basic information you come to the most important part of the application, which roles you're interested in.
You'll be given a list of roles and you will have to rate them to how interested you are in working them High interest to low interest. There is no limit for this you can put high interest in everything if you choose to it's all up to you.
The roles are: Attractions, Bell Services Dispatch/Greeter, Bibbidi bobbed boutique/Pirates League, Character attendant, Character performer, Concierge, Costuming, Custodial, Full Service Food and Beverage, Hopper, Hospitality, Life Guard, Main Entrance Operations, Merchandise, Photopass Photographer, Quick Service Food and Beverage, Recreation, transportation and vacation planner.
These roles are specifically for Walt Disney World. Disney land has a similar selection of roles with different titles and you can find them
HERE.
Tips for picking roles:
Okay now these are the best tips I have for selecting the roles, there is no guaranteed way to get one specific role but these tips can help you make the best selection for you.
- Don't be scared to put no interest. A lot of people will tell you that it limits your chances or whatever nonsense, but honestly that isn't necessarily true at all. How this works is you put your interests and THEN disney reviews your applications based on those things. Disney is not going to look at your application see that you've marked 5 or 6 roles and no interest and throw your application out, that doesn't happen. Now it does put you up against more people for the roles you've chosen, but the odds are if Disney is going to choose you for the internship they will, they're not going to drop you if they think you're a good applicant. The most they would do is during your phone interview ask you why you've put no interest for certain roles and at that time you can give your reasons and they may even ask if your interests have changed at all and you can change them during your phone interview.
- Putting High interest in everything will not guarantee you a spot in the program. Similar to the first tip it doesn't help you to put everything at a high interest. There is nothing wrong with being okay with doing any of the roles, but rank them based on your favorites. Low interest does not mean you won't get chosen for that role, they will just consider your for other roles first. The only way you won't be considered for a role is if you put no interest.
- Be honest. This plays on the last two tips, but I really mean it. Do your research before hand, look up blogs for people who enjoyed the roles your considering and look up ones where people didn't like the role. Don't put high interest, moderate or even low interest in something unless you want to do it. It is not worth it.
- Do your research. Playing off the last tip I really mean it look up good and bad reviews of the roles your considering. Look up how many hours you could be working, some roles it mostly depends on location but look up the people who work at Magic Kingdom and compare it to the people who work at the resorts or other parks. Even look into the pay, you will be working a lot make sure you can handle the hours, the labor and the pay. Don't be shy ask questions, annoy people to death with them, it's better that you know then go into choosing your role blindly.
Those are the most important tips i have right now, if i think of more i will add them, but I really mean all of those tips. I saw people who loved their role and I saw people who hated it and it's not worth the misery just to get accepted.
If you have recently applied or worked for the company within 6 months you do not have to do the next step of the application which is the Web based interview. That is how they have done it in the past, but the last round of applications Spring 2014 they changed the process and that didn't not happen or work out for everyone.
If you have any questions about my role or other application questions feel free to ask! I will be posting about the Web Based Interview (WBI) and the Phone interview soon! Fall Applications are only about a month away so best of luck everyone!
