Every year thousands of students across the country and across the globe make their way
to Walt Disney World and Disneyland for an internship experience.
It’s called the Disney College Program.
The Disney College Program as we know it today formally began in 1981, however it wasn’t
the first time Disney would work with colleges in their theme parks.
So to really begin we actually have to go back nearly ten more years to 1972, because
that is when Disney established the Disney Entertainment Work Experience Program.
(They start to sing "This Land is Your Land" in Tomorrowland for some reason.)
As the name implies, it was a work experience program for college students who had a primary
focus in the performing arts.
Students in the program would spend 12 weeks over the summer working at either Disneyland
or Walt Disney World as an entertainer in one of multiple groups.
These groups included the All-American College Marching Band, the All-American College Singers,
the All-American College Players, and a musical group called The Kingdom Kids.
I guess they had finally run out of “All-American College” names.
Similar to the College Program today, the work experience program supplemented their
days at the parks with training sessions and offered college credits by the end of the
three months.
The sessions focused on voice, movement, composition and acting.
Students were given a housing grant and were also paid a stipend for the duration of the summer.
I wasn’t able to get a number for the earlier years, but by 1976 the stipend was $1000,
which adjusted for inflation would be just around $4,500 today.
Now while the Disney Entertainment Work Experience Program shared some similarities to today’s
Disney College Program, one area where it differed greatly is scale.
It was estimated that around 3,000 students would audition for spots in the program every
year, and of those 3,000 Disney would select the best 100 students.
It was a small program, but it wasn’t going to remain small for long.
"The Disney College Program is a unique opportunity. You can live, learn, and earn by working for one of the
most exciting and innovative entertainment companies in the world.
If you're looking for a program that could possibly change your life, that could prepare you for
whatever kind of future you've got in mind, choose the Disney College Program. Live the Disney difference
and you'll be the one who makes the magic happen!"
In 1980 Disney decided to test a pilot program for what would eventually become today’s
Disney College Program.
The company reached out to the University of Georgia, the University of North Carolina,
and the University of Alabama, and from those three universities they accepted 250 students
who would work at The Magic Kingdom.
The program, similar to the Work Experience Program, offered college credits and supplemented
their employment with training seminars on business management the Disney way.
They felt it was a natural balance to offset the fact that for many students, the day to
the day work they’d be doing at The Magic Kingdom wouldn’t particularly relate to
their chosen major.
The seminars however would offer a general enough education in the world of business
that it would, in theory, benefit most of the students.
During this pilot Disney was also testing the waters with an international variant of the program.
Disney was just two years away from opening EPCOT Center, and they had plans to staff
the various international pavilions with cast members from the actual countries the pavilions
were based on.
And so Disney got a head start on the process by bringing over just 8 international students that year.
Obviously with EPCOT Center still a couple of years off they, too, worked at the Magic Kingdom.
The program was well received by the students and worked out well for Disney, and so the
very next year in 1981 it formally launched as The Magic Kingdom College Program.
It was expanded to over 40 schools in the US, however that initial year they still only
accepted around 250 applicants.
The international branch, however, was expanded from 8 people to a whopping 15.
All of these students had to live somewhere, and so as a semi-temporary solution Disney
leased a trailer park in Kissimmee.
It was outfitted with trailers that were new, albeit barebone, and the location was renamed
to Snow White Village.
Now just think about that for a second.
You had students taking time out of their school year, and in some cases traveling halfway
around the world to live in a trailer park in central Florida where they spent most of
their days working typical day jobs at a theme park.
It doesn’t sound like the kind of program that would be a major success, but the truth
is, it was. Students love it. Why?
Well on the surface level, it was a lot of fun.
For many, they were getting to experience a new part of the country while working and
playing at a Disney theme park.
They were also making friends from both within the states and from overseas.
In fact, that was one of the other goals of bringing over international students to work
at EPCOT Center.
Disney hoped that the experience would create long lasting friendships, with the idea that
one day these kids might be business or world leaders who have these global bonds thanks
to their time at Disney.
Beyond that there was an inherent value to the program when it came to their professional future.
Even though operating rides might not have had much relevance to their chosen field of
study, having the Disney name attached to their work history was worth something.
Disney’s management style had gained such a great reputation that outside companies
were actually hiring Disney to teach them how to run their own company more like Disney.
So for many students, being able to put their work experience with Disney on their resumes
or CVs was a pretty big deal.
Not to mention there were many then, as there are many today, who use the Disney College
Program as a first step in a long-term career with The Walt Disney Company.
It's like a dream achievement for so many people.
Man, imagine. You get to be an intern, you become a princess at Disney World, and then our poor interns
What do they get to be?
They get to sit in the back room here at 4th and Market
They get you coffee! They get you the skinny vanilla latte-
Now THAT is career advancement right there.
So with the success of the program, it continued to grow.
The following year EPCOT Center would open, prompting the number of American students
to rise to 350 and the international students to rise to 85.
The name would eventually be changed in 1984 to the Walt Disney World College Program
and then again in 2005 it would be renamed to the Disney Theme Parks and Resorts College Program.
Though today everybody, including Disney, just calls it the "Disney College Program."
And lastly, it would take six years, but Disney would finally close the Snow White Village,
and in 1988 they had a more permanent housing complex built, called The Vista Way Apartments.
Today the program exists on a scale that makes all of those other numbers look small.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, nearly 50,000 students apply for the program every year
across multiple seasons, and of those 50,000 a reported 12,000-14,000 get in.
It’s as popular as ever, and it isn’t just because it looks good on a resume.
For most, whether it’s the friendships formed over those weeks, or the memories made in
the parks, the Disney College Program proves to be an unforgettable experience.