Calling All Former or Current WDW Interns!!

[rBrock02]

I am currently in high school and have my eyes set on an engineering degree somewhere. I have heard that you can take a few semesters of college in Disney World as an intern and gain credits for it... Is it worth it? Does it benefit you later in school or in a career? Does it help you get a job at Disney later? What does it take to get in? Thanks a lot!

 

[Smiley/OCD]

I am currently in high school and have my eyes set on an engineering degree somewhere. I have heard that you can take a few semesters of college in Disney World as an intern and gain credits for it... Is it worth it? Does it benefit you later in school or in a career? Does it help you get a job at Disney later? What does it take to get in? Thanks a lot!

First off, welcome to the boards!! My daughter was in the Disney College Program (DCP)...there is a listing for this under Employment/college program/international...that should help you answer some questions. You can also Google the DCP for more info. I can tell you this, while the DCP is technically a paid internship, you are working in the parks, hotels or restaurants as a cast member in the service industry. I don't think there are job opportunities in engineering in the DCP, but I could be wrong. If you want to take classes either on line or at a local school, that's up to you, BUT I will tell you this, my daughter worked an average of 45-50 hours/week in the parks and there wasn't much "free time" to take classes...she just took a semester off from school. She absolutely LOVED it and would go back in a heartbeat.

Do your research, investigate whether you would be willing to give up a semester for the DCP, check with your guidance department to see if they can give you any further information. MOST, if not all imagineers with the company started out in the DCP. Good Luck!!

 

[rBrock02]

First off, welcome to the boards!! My daughter was in the Disney College Program (DCP)...there is a listing for this under Employment/college program/international...that should help you answer some questions. You can also Google the DCP for more info. I can tell you this, while the DCP is technically a paid internship, you are working in the parks, hotels or restaurants as a cast member in the service industry. I don't think there are job opportunities in engineering in the DCP, but I could be wrong. If you want to take classes either on line or at a local school, that's up to you, BUT I will tell you this, my daughter worked an average of 45-50 hours/week in the parks and there wasn't much "free time" to take classes...she just took a semester off from school. She absolutely LOVED it and would go back in a heartbeat.

Do your research, investigate whether you would be willing to give up a semester for the DCP, check with your guidance department to see if they can give you any further information. MOST, if not all imagineers with the company started out in the DCP. Good Luck!!

Thank you so much! This was very helpful and

First off, welcome to the boards!! My daughter was in the Disney College Program (DCP)...there is a listing for this under Employment/college program/international...that should help you answer some questions. You can also Google the DCP for more info. I can tell you this, while the DCP is technically a paid internship, you are working in the parks, hotels or restaurants as a cast member in the service industry. I don't think there are job opportunities in engineering in the DCP, but I could be wrong. If you want to take classes either on line or at a local school, that's up to you, BUT I will tell you this, my daughter worked an average of 45-50 hours/week in the parks and there wasn't much "free time" to take classes...she just took a semester off from school. She absolutely LOVED it and would go back in a heartbeat.

Do your research, investigate whether you would be willing to give up a semester for the DCP, check with your guidance department to see if they can give you any further information. MOST, if not all imagineers with the company started out in the DCP. Good Luck!!

Thank you so much! I will most definitely look more into it and take all of this into account.

 

[lazyboy97o]

While Disney sometimes tries to characterize the Disney College Proram as an internship, it is not. Some college credits are offered but if they are in any way applicable is dependent on your school and area of study.

Disney Professional Internships are the real internships that are actually field specific. These do not include course credit but some programs require internships. This program is highly competitive with far more applicants than positions available.

More important than just trying to work for Disney, you should do something you enjoy. Engineering is a very, very broad category of work that encompasses a variety of jobs related to the theme park industry. Apply for the Disney internships and entry level jobs, but also look at the many other companies that work with Disney, Universal, SeaWorld and lots of other attractions.