Should I Intern at Disney?

[karamie]

Okay, I'm seriously thinking about doing this program, or trying to do it. Is it hard to get in? Is it worth it? I mean, it's basically taking a semester off school, and I don't want to do that for a bad experience. Let's see...would I be able to choose a roommate if I had a friend who showed interest in the program too? So many questions... Thank you to anyone who reponds!

[joanna71985]

I think it is definetely worth doing the CP. I did, and I had the best time of my life. It was great. In fact, I hope to go back down again soon. If you have any questions, or you want to just talk, my AIM is joanna71985. Hopefully I can answer any questions you may have. Also, the main CP website is www.wdwcollegeprogram.com. Good luck.

[esigsby]

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[The_Heat]

It's worth it if you are a people person, if you don't like high stress, or large volumes of people, I wouldn't recommend it.

But if you don't mind people, and handle stress well, it is a wonderful experience.

Unfortunately, no you can not choose your roomate, but there is a possibility of switching apartments after the internship starts (it costs $50 for a relocation fee) and you could possibly get credit with your school, but you'd have to talk with your advisor, or councilor, or whoever is in charge of credits.

It's rather easy to get in to, and just remember, if they offer you a job that you don't want, you won't have to accept

[SaraTheGreat]

I highly recommend it. Best experience of my life. Look into the advanced internships too. Thats what I did and they are much more career specific. You'd be surprised what they have out there. Almost any fiel imaginable. I'm always glad to answer any questions too through either pm on here or aim rosviolet8.

[joanna71985]

Actually, you CAN choose your roomate/s. I went down with my friend and we roomed together. There would have been 3 of us, but one got lost and was late so she was put in another apartment.

[The_Heat]

huh, they told us that we couldn't choose our roomates, to help with the diversity plan of the program.

Guess they were wrong

[SaraTheGreat]

I was told I could choose my roommate too because I was supposed to go down with a friend. We ended up going different semesters so we didn't live together after all but they said we could. I ended up living in an apartment outside of the Disney housing which I really enjoyed but I'm sure it was a different experience. My internship coordinator helped put all of my fellow interns and i together because our program ran at a different time than the normal programs so I actually had talked to my roommates before I lived with them.

[karamie]

Okay, I was wondering if I were put on ride Operations, would I exclusively work at one ride/attraction or would I work at many different rides/attractions? I think it'd be fun to work at several different places.

And, how hard is it to actually get into the program? I have good grades and I've been at the same job for two and a half years, so I thought that would look good, but are they looking for more than that?

There's so much to think about!

[The_Heat]

Operations as I understand it, is that you would work at the same ride/attraction for the entirety of the program. But I only know that through one friend I had, so that may not be accurate.

Getting into the program isn't hard at all, my transcripts were......less than perfect, and I had little job experience but they still took me twice. Just relax, enjoy the presentation, and during the interview, just tell them the truth.

Tip: During the interview, say a lot of things about 'the magic' they totally dig that Also, if you're good with kids, mention that too. I don't know if they help, but it certainly couldn't hurt

-The Heat (James)

[joanna71985]

Actually, in some areas you work more then 1 ride. In Fantasyland you work several rides. But in Frontierland you can work just SM or BTMRR, for example. So it really depends on the area.

[karamie]

Oh, thanks. I'm kind of thinking I'd really like to do Operations, even if I only work one ride. But I'm afraid most people probably want to do that and I'll get stuck in foods. Really anything is okay with me, but I've been working in food for 2 and a half years at McDonalds so I really wanted to try something different.

And thanks for the interview tips. A phone interview seems really scary! I think I'd almost rather do it in person. Almost.

I'm getting really excited about this program, despite all my worries! I'm ready to be in Florida!

[karamie]

Ok, I have another question. Does being in this program affect my dad's taxes or anything, since I won't technically be going to school? He's worried about that and I hope nothing like that is the case or I probably won't be able to go.

I don't really know what he's trying to figure out or I would give more information about it.

[esigsby]

...

[karamie]

Yeah, thanks, that helps. My dad did mention insurance. I hope there's no problem, I think I really want to do the program.

I'm not sure if you've told before, but what did you do while you were at Disney World?