Disney College Program- Is It Worth It?

      As you look at all the material about the Disney College Program particulars, all the cool stuff that you could do while on the College Program, religiously follow the Facebook group to see all the cool people you could meet, and watch a ton of youtube videos to see what housing will be like, you will ask yourself, is this experience worth it? The answer, totally and completely based on my experience in the program, is yes- with a few exceptions.


1. You should totally do the program if you eat, sleep, and breathe Disney and wouldn't mind a little magic to be ruined. If you absolutely cannot bear the fact that Mickey is sometimes a very old, very tiny Asian lady, then you may not want to apply. No matter which role you are accepted into the program for, you will see characters backstage or other onstage secrets that normal guests do not see.

2. You should apply if you are looking for a great resume builder and to get great job experience. I could talk for ages about how Disney has an absolutely wonderful business model, training methods, and policies so that all guest experiences are as magical as possible. I now bring that experience to other jobs I hold, and feel like it had a great influence on me professionally.

3. You should only come on the College Program if you are prepared to work a full time job. Whilst on the college program you are guaranteed a Minimum of 30 hours, but many locations will schedule you many more hours than that. I think my maximum amount of hours in one week was 86, which was a very hard week indeed. Also, be prepared to work many many days in a row. I think I once worked seventeen days in a row without a day off. Be prepared to feel like this quite a few days:

And a little bit of this....

4. Be prepared to meet the most amazing people of your life. No, I'm serious. I met the most awesome people ever on my College Program, a ton of whom were not college program people like myself, but were regular part time or full time cast members at Walt Disney World. The people make or break your program, and for me the people were the best part of the entire experience.

5. You should absolutely participate in the College Program if you want to audition to be a character performer, but don't expect to have a shoe in for another (much cooler) job at Disney. While on the college program you can still audition to be a princess or any other character performer! If that is your dream and you just want a way to be down here to audition, then the college program is a good way to be living in the area, have a stable job, and be able to audition if you ask for the time off work from your work location.

Now, if you are looking for a marketing or animating job from Disney, then the college program may not be your best option. There are professional internships that are more focused in those sort of areas, which are very competitive to get into. The advice I have heard is that it is looked more favorably on your application for a professional internship if you have done a college program, but it is not a requirement. Generally you work in the parks on the college program and do not have much contact with corporate level employees like imagineers or animators, so this may not be the best option for your career.

In all, if you do decide to participate in the college program, your life is going to be a little bit of this:

A smidge bit of this:

And you are most definitely going to feel like this:

If you feel like the Disney College Program is perfect for you, then apply! Live your dreams! There is no downside to applying, and I hope that you get to have such a great experience as I did!

All Gif content belongs to the Walt Disney Company and all Gifs come courtesy of thatdisneyblog.tumblr.com. Sorry if there was a bit of magic ruined in this post for any readers.