The Disney College Program (DCP) is a paid internship in either Anaheim, CA at Disneyland (DLR) or in Orlando, FL at Disney World (WDW). You not only get to work at one of the Disney Parks, but you get the opportunity to take classes offered at Disney- for college credit! How cool is that? And you get other amazing opportunities such as networking with people who work for the company, making friends within the program from all over the country, getting to tour different areas of the park that are normally blocked off to guests, getting to ride/tour attractions with the lights on/off, getting to learn things that normal people wouldn’t know about the company, and getting to hear people high up in the company speak in the classes. I don’t know about you, but I would be just fine doing this program for free with all of those amazing opportunities. But no need, because on top of all that- Disney pays you!
This program occurs 2 times a year, in the Spring and in the Fall. The length differs on what time of year you go and which program you are accepted to. For instance, there is Spring, Spring Advantage, Fall, Fall Advantage for Disney World and Spring Advantage, Fall, and Fall Advantage for Disneyland. Spring Advantage is from mid January to mid August. Spring is from mid January to mid May. Fall Advantage is from late May/June to early January. Fall is from late August to early January.
You get the option of living in provided housing (pretty close to the parks) or locally which you’d have to find you’re own place to stay. WDW is much cheaper when it comes to housing at about $200-300 and DLR at about $800-900. Yikes, I know! But to me, it’s definitely worth it. I’ve never lived away from home and this new experience is so intriguing to me and I’m very excited for it! I will even be able to pick my roommates before the program starts if I want (via the DCP facebook group) and I’ll be meeting so many people who share the same love for Disney as me!
You might think this is kind of a waste of time for those who’s major has nothing to do with the roles (jobs) Disney offers, but if anything, this program looks amazing on your resume. Don’t think that having a past with Disney won’t help you land that dream job of yours. Companies know that Disney trains people exceptionally well and I’m sure they’ll think that if Disney hired you, then maybe they should hire you too (I’ve heard a few personal stories about this from people). Also, you’ll learn how to interact with different kind of people and how to problem solve in a big company! There are SO many life skills that you can benefit and learn from in this internship! It won’t hurt you (too bad haha) to take 1 semester off of college for the program, especially since you could earn credits anyways (and you can take online classes if you wish). Some people even wait until their last semester of college to apply so they can just do it right after they graduate (you must be enrolled in college in order to apply though). Every time I’ve heard someone talk about their past DCP experience, they have said nothing but great and positive things. People report that this program is life changing and the best experience of their lives. And who knows, you might just fall in love with working for the company and want to stay on- I mean hey, they do accept pretty much every degree out there! You can potentially find your dream career within the Disney Company; this is the opportunity to get your foot in the door!
I paid my fees and received my arrival date and time! Yippie!
Beth 'Baguettes' Disney Magic 