Anyone work at Walt Disney World? (how much, wage, internships)

[sylvia the mom]

My son is going there for internship for college.do the employees have rooms to live in on at Disney World?? Does he need to find apartment ? Will they have shuttle to come and go??

[sylvia the mom]

My son is going as inten college job. How is this gonna help him in his major? He wants to be a math teacher. I think he was so excited when he auditioned and then they called back to say he was accepted, made it sound like he won the lottery. He was one of the chosen few. And Disney hasn't sent much info about internship . I think that's a little strange.. Don't you? Or is that how they go about things. I really don't want to send my son across tha country without info. What should I do or email or call. Any names would really help....

[hiknapster]

College internship at Disney = Slave labor. Nothing more or less. He will not learn anything that is worth a nickel except that Disney is an incredible con.

Read the posts on this thread.

[hiknapster]

This tells you all you need to know about the internship program.

Working in Disney World: Behind the Magic | Let's Talk Disney

[YesButAlsoNo]

Originally Posted by turtlefire

Hi! Was wondering if any of you work for the Mouse? If so how is it to work there? Is it as cool as it seems? I'm thinking about applying there when I move to Florida.

It is just another job. No more no less. Some are worse and some are better.

[haywood16]

Originally Posted by sylvia the mom

My son is going as inten college job. How is this gonna help him in his major? He wants to be a math teacher. I think he was so excited when he auditioned and then they called back to say he was accepted, made it sound like he won the lottery. He was one of the chosen few. And Disney hasn't sent much info about internship . I think that's a little strange.. Don't you? Or is that how they go about things. I really don't want to send my son across tha country without info. What should I do or email or call. Any names would really help....

I worked there in the college program in the 90's. Its pretty much slave labor for 6 months. Minimumn wage working in the parks 6-7 days a week for 8-12 hours a day. You go to classes in management etc which are mandatory. You also live in a complex owned by Disney in a college dorm type atmosphere. There is a pool, tennis, rec center, and lots of parties and sex. You can choose between having international roomies or American. The one mistake I made was choosing the international option. The interns tend to stick with their own kind.....pick an American dorm and roomies.

Let me know if you have any questions.....

[norrodh]

Well I have a cousin who did the internship and absolutely loved it and wants to do it again!!! So its all someone's opinion! Do they take advantage of the college kids? Absolutely!! But I have talked to alot of the kids on the program at different places like in the park, downtown disney, etc. and ask their opinion and almost all of them say they love it!! That its a great experience whether they learn something new or not. Also just to put Disney on your resume means alot. I spoke to one person recently that said their friend or cousin had done the internship and then went on an interview at an outside company and all the other company asked about, was about her job at Disney?? They wanted to know alot about it and they were impressed! The college kids also get some perks if I'm not mistaken and they all seem to have a good time. I am a bus driver so I get to see them waiting for the buses and they all seem pretty happy. Not real happy with Disney choice of bus company that provides transportation to their apartments cus its not Disney bus drivers. They provide housing but the college student has to pay a certain portion of their pay and they also work long hours. But so does alot of the friends they make work the same thing!!

Also, Disney is not the best in given out info to new employees or new interns. They do have an orientation for one day but you dont know anything until you get to the job and you have to ask your collegues questions not so much about the job but about the perks, benefits, etc. It can get frustrating so dont feel they are just doing it to you because I am full time and so is my husband and its hard to get info about certain things. Its one area they can do better on. Anyway, good luck - I know there are alot of people waiting to be called so your child being picked is pretty good!!

[disney101]

If your try out for charcter lookalikes and costume performers you get paid $12.50 a hour if you agree to work full time, thats is if they choose you, but sometimes if you audtion , they may think your wrong for the park but could put you on a cruise ship or get a even better offer , you just have to auditiom, im going to next summer because people say i look like snow white, it helps if you look like a certian princess or prince I had a friend who took care of the lines in rides , he said though the pay was cruddy ( he had two jobs to pay the bills) he came away with a good experience and had fun riding rides at the end of the day. <<< though i think thats not a wise chose unless you wanna get caught

[tak13954]

Originally Posted by norrodh

Well I have a cousin who did the internship and absolutely loved it and wants to do it again!!! So its all someone's opinion! Do they take advantage of the college kids? Absolutely!! But I have talked to alot of the kids on the program at different places like in the park, downtown disney, etc. and ask their opinion and almost all of them say they love it!! That its a great experience whether they learn something new or not. Also just to put Disney on your resume means alot. I spoke to one person recently that said their friend or cousin had done the internship and then went on an interview at an outside company and all the other company asked about, was about her job at Disney?? They wanted to know alot about it and they were impressed! The college kids also get some perks if I'm not mistaken and they all seem to have a good time. I am a bus driver so I get to see them waiting for the buses and they all seem pretty happy. Not real happy with Disney choice of bus company that provides transportation to their apartments cus its not Disney bus drivers. They provide housing but the college student has to pay a certain portion of their pay and they also work long hours. But so does alot of the friends they make work the same thing!!

Also, Disney is not the best in given out info to new employees or new interns. They do have an orientation for one day but you dont know anything until you get to the job and you have to ask your collegues questions not so much about the job but about the perks, benefits, etc. It can get frustrating so dont feel they are just doing it to you because I am full time and so is my husband and its hard to get info about certain things. Its one area they can do better on. Anyway, good luck - I know there are alot of people waiting to be called so your child being picked is pretty good!!

I work a job in nyc right now that pays tons. If anyone is just looking to make money, this is the city (my "entry level job starts at 60k with basicaly no skills required, all health benifits and o/t you want, and 3.5% raises every year) ; However its not fun/you dont get a feeling that you've helped or brought happiness to children/familys, there's no opportunity to advance (lit. all managers in the building were brought from outside the company), and most of the money you make goes to realllllly expensive apartments, fixing your car that people hit while its parked infront of said apartment..etc

I'm looking for a job thats fun and I can work hard, and hopefully that hard work leads to possibly moving up in the company.. So, just how hard is it to get a FT position at WDW? (also, is applying for PT till a FT one is available a good idea?) I want to apply in person if possible since I would think you could make a better impression in person than online. I've read the whole thread, and nobodys really commented on how difficult it is to get a job there.... Any tips from people that currently work for the company? (preferably from a few people with a positive outlook) Thanks in advance

[FL2MT]

Originally Posted by tak13954

I'm looking for a job thats fun and I can work hard, and hopefully that hard work leads to possibly moving up in the company.. So, just how hard is it to get a FT position at WDW? (also, is applying for PT till a FT one is available a good idea?) I want to apply in person if possible since I would think you could make a better impression in person than online. I've read the whole thread, and nobodys really commented on how difficult it is to get a job there.... Any tips from people that currently work for the company? (preferably from a few people with a positive outlook) Thanks in advance

I don't work there but I have a number of friends and neighbors in FL who do. The short answer is that unless you've got something that shows up in a background check and you're clean-cut you should* get hired with no issues. In fact I don't know anyone who has applied who wasn't hired.

* - I say should* because they do have periods where they put a freeze on hiring such as if there's a downturn in the economy and they have fewer guests booking vacations to the parks.

Just so you know, people do move up, but it might take 3 or 4 years of working at those lower-level jobs that pay around $10 / hr or so before you move up to a salaried position, and even then the salary isn't going to be especially high. Again, I don't work there so I don't have first-hand knowledge, but I have neighbors and friends who do so I get a decent feel for how it works. It's not a job they're going to become rich at, but most of them enjoy it quite a bit. If you don't get any other response you might check out some of the unofficial Disney message boards out there and ask your questions there. Usually there are a number of current cast members on those boards who are happy to answer questions.