UCF has a Theme Park Management Track!

[jessiepezz]

OK so maybe you already know this, maybe you don't. University of Central Florida has a Hospitality major that includes a Theme Park and Attraction Management track! Now, ok why do you care right? Well most colleges have hospitality majors that are general, but this one actually has theme park related courses. I'm a guidance counselor, so I just thought this was pretty cool for anyone thinking they want to go to college and have a career with WDW.

The courses for this track include:
Managing the Guest Experience in Theme Parks and Attractions
Product Development in Theme Parksand Attraction
Contemporary Issues in the Theme Park and Attraction Industry
Managing the Employee Experience in Theme Parks and Attractions Industry
Operational Issues in the Theme Park and Attraction Industry
Entertainment Arts and Events
Amusement Technology
http://www.catalog.sdes.ucf.edu/current/degree_programs/hospitality_management/

If anyone is already majoring in this at UCF, what do you think so far? Anyone a CM that has completed this major? I'd love to hear from you.

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

Interesting but I'm going for Law.(A lawyer for TWDC would be the ultimate, LOL!)

 

[doop]

I applied to UCF as a possible Hospitality Management major, hoping to hear back soon.

 

[brkgnews]

Neato. Now if I had just uncovered my love for the mouse before i went to college.

 

[wedway71]

That is pretty neat. That would be a cool course to take.

I already have my MBA but if had to over again that might be great way to get into WDW.

 

[ImaYoyo]

They actually have an entire school for this sort of thing! One of the girls that works under me is going to Rosen right now for something similar... Hospitality Management maybe? But a lot of her classes focus on Theme Park Management. Wish they had this back in my day...

 

[Disneyfan2000]

aww man i wish they had that at FullSail.. Im going for Production Design hoping someday ill help design the next major Disney film and or attraction

 

[Tenny0317]

well this is a total bummer, I wish I knew about this!! Silly me, I just graduated with a BFA in Art Education ahah

 

[CaptainMichael]

Interesting but I'm going for Law.(A lawyer for TWDC would be the ultimate, LOL!)

I wish they'd add law to their internship program. That would make very, very happy!

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

I would be in heaven if that happened.

I still could do the College Program though right?

 

[hathawaybrowne]

I graduated from UCF last May with with a Bachelor in Hospitality Management/ Theme Park & Attraction Management track.

Lots of great courses, lots of great information from Disney, Universal, Sea World, and lots of other attractions. The former VP of Disney Entertainment is a professor there, the former head of casting is a professor there, we even used to have an Imagineer (until Full Sail said he couldn't teach at UCF and Full Sail, so he had to leave us).

It gave me a great start to my career at Disney - I'm now an attractions guest service manager and use my degree every day. I've had people from Six Flags try to woo me away, Rosen is a very good school and has a great reputation in the industry.

 

[jessiepezz]

Wow that is awesome! Thanks for sharing. I'll have to try and stay current with who the professors are in that program. It makes it a much better sell for students! Thanks again!

 

[DznyGrlSD]

WOW!! Full Sail is EXPENSIVE!!!!!!! I was going to go school there for Show Production (wanting to work for Cirque) until I saw the tuition rates!!

aww man i wish they had that at FullSail.. Im going for Production Design hoping someday ill help design the next major Disney film and or attraction

 

[maryszhi]

im a junior in hs and am planning on going to school in florida. If i go to central florida, i may major in that. i really want to be a special ed teacher. Ill prob double bc my dream is to be a imaginear and a person to design stuff like merchandise, or idea for hotel, rest. exc.

 

[ROTM]

^
Please stay in school :wave:

 

[maryszhi]

^
Please stay in school :wave:

i dont get it, thats what im planning on doing
sorry if i misinterpeted :shrug:

 

[mkt]

WOW!! Full Sail is EXPENSIVE!!!!!!! I was going to go school there for Show Production (wanting to work for Cirque) until I saw the tuition rates!!

Full Sail is expensive... and frankly not worth it. I wouldn't hire any FS alumnus unless they could prove to me that they know what they're doing.

 

[CaptainMichael]

I would be in heaven if that happened.

I still could do the College Program though right?

To do the College Program, you just have to be enrolled in school. In fact, if you ever intend to do an internship or work with Disney in the future, the CP is a great way to get your foot in the door. Plus, you can work seasonally for the rest of your life!

 

[imagineergurl]

Woah woah woah, I feel stupid. I go to UCF and don't know about this lol. I'm currently majoring in Industrial Engineering cause I thought that was the closest I could get to this kind of work. My engineering core looks A LOT harder then this stuff so I guess I'll just stick with what I have. If only I had known before I got in over my head.

 

[hathawaybrowne]

Make sure you don't confuse operating a theme park with designing a theme park. UCF's Hospitality Management program gave me a great education surrounding how to run a theme park, but if you want to be an imagineer you should stick with a core discipline of WDI like Engineering, architecture, design, construction, etc.

Rare are the stories that imagineers work their way up through the parks like Tony Baxter did (he began working at Disneyland selling ice cream and operating rides, now is a senior vice president of WDI!).