A Disney dad reflects on his daughter joining the Disney College Program – the good, the bad, and the magical.
“Daddy, Goofy waved at me!”
I should have known then. The year was 2010, and my then 5-year-old daughter was at Magic Kingdom for the first time. She’d gotten a birthday pin, wore her best Tiana dress, and was on her way to dinner at the castle with Cinderella. We’d arrived on Main Street just as the parade was passing by. Each of her favorite characters had come to life right before her very eyes.
She was hooked.
Over the years our family grew – as did she – and we returned to Disney as often as we could – probably more often than some people thought we should. She changed, seemingly overnight, from the kid who rode on my shoulders and needed a midday nap to my partner in planning. Before she became a teen, we were talking about reservations and wait times, rope drop strategies, Disney resorts, and more.
She was a Disney kid created in my own image.
At some point in her early teenage years, we learned about the Disney College Program, and we agreed that it would be pretty amazing if she ever pursued it.
Last fall, due to a variety of circumstances, she decided it was time to try. She was accepted, and the next thing we knew, in the last week of January, we found ourselves on a very different kind of Disney trip.
We left for Orlando with five people and returned with only four.
We left our daughter – and a significant portion of our hearts – at Disney.
IN THIS ARTICLE
What is the Disney College Program?
It is pretty much as the name indicates. It’s a paid internship program for college students and recent graduates from around the world. They come to Disney, work a variety of jobs, live in Disney housing and essentially become residents of the most Magical place on Earth. The jobs range from basic to pretty cool. Interns work in Disney restaurants, in retail shops and more. They can also be “friends” with one of the Disney characters like Goofy, Donald or Daisy though they are not allowed to talk about the specifics of those kinds of roles.
Interns gain work experience, training and make connections that can last a lifetime. They can also build a relationship with the Disney corporation that grows into an extended stay or even career.
Where do they stay?
They can stay at what is known as Flamingo Crossings Village – a massive apartment complex with a variety of two and four bedroom furnished apartments. There are two complexes: Flamingo East and West. Each comes with two really nice pools, an excellent fitness center, and more. They host special events like trivia nights and even character meet and greets. The complexes have more security than you’d have at a college dorm; you need a Disney ID or to be escorted by someone with a Disney ID to get in. And there is a retail center within walking distance that has a small Target, including a grocery section, and a variety of restaurants, a few shops, and more. Everything they need to live within the Disney bubble is right there.
The complex has its own bus system that takes the interns anywhere they want to go on property. The interns do not have to leave the Disney bubble or get into larger Orlando unless they want to.
Some of them don’t even take their car down, though my daughter did.
The apartment’s cost depends on the style you get, ranging from four-bedroom dorm style with a shared central living space, to more private two-bedroom rooms. The apartments aren’t free. The cost is taken from the cast member’s paycheck. I won’t get into specifics, but the cost is manageable within the employee’s pay rate. The apartments come with a kitchen, a washer and dryer, a TV, and furniture. My daughter’s four-person apartment has two shared bathrooms.
Are there any perks?
Oh my gosh, the perks!
First there are a variety of discounts for restaurants and shops on property. They also get passes to enter the parks, including the water parks, essentially whenever they want (subject to blackout dates and availability). They do have to “schedule” park entrance in advance or wait until later in the day when Disney is assured it has capacity for them.
In her time there, my daughter has popped into EPCOT to get lunch tacos from Mexico before heading into work at Magic Kingdom. She and her new friends have had a “space day” where they’ve ridden every space-related ride over the four parks. She’s even attended one of her online classes via Zoom while sitting outside PizzeRizzo’s in Hollywood Studios.
Also, as they accumulate work hours, they earn tickets that they can share with friends, family or, I suppose, keep for after their internship has run out, when they join the real world of people who have to pay for Disney tickets.
There are a couple of other perks for true Disney geeks. As part of her job, Sofia has access to the utilidors – a massive “underground” tunnel system that allows Disney to manage the operations necessary to keep a theme park supplied and clean without guests seeing how the sausage is made. After being frustrated with limitations at Disneyland, Walt had Magic Kingdom designed in such a way that the park itself is on the second floor. It’s why you walk up a hill at the park entrance. Disney built the utilidors and then put the magic on top.
For a Disney nerd like my daughter, getting to go into the utilidors is better than most rides. Disney is very protective of its underground labyrinth, so the interns can’t take pictures or video. But I’ve gotten excited phone calls from the Disney underground when a parade of princesses strode past or when she got to visit a special costume room. (No, if you’re wondering, she didn’t get to try anything on.)
Also, there’s a place called Cast Connection. It’s like a Costco that’s exclusive to cast members and their guests.
In addition to selling various Disney merch at discounted rates, Cast Connection sells food, including fresh fruit, eggs, and milk, as well as items from the park in bulk. Yes, you can get the same Disney french fries, chicken tendies, and more in bulk.
Other perks are more esoteric. There are times my daughter gets to create Disney magic for others. She’s helped with a proposal and multiple birthday celebrations. She loves kids and gets to share her enthusiasm for the park, maybe even helping to create the next generation of Disney cast members or super fans. She’s met a little boy who couldn’t stop giving her hugs and a little girl she taught to run like Jack Sparrow.
Would you recommend the Disney College Program to others?
It’s hard for me to say definitively because her experience is ongoing, and I’m not there myself. But my daughter’s experience – so far – has been great. She’s talked about extending her stay or even doing another round once she has finished college, but we’ll see what the future holds.
As a Disney geek, she has found her people. One of the things I enjoyed on check-in day was getting to be a fly-on-the-wall as kids began the process of acclimating. Disney staggers the program’s entries so there are always some veterans and some rookies and some in between. On the morning of check-in, the kids must go to some orientations and begin the process of getting acclimated. I couldn’t help but overhear some nervous but enthusiastic interns making friends quickly.
We watched several YouTube videos from former interns, some who enjoyed their experiences and others who did not. Ultimately, I would suggest doing your own research and deciding if the program is right for you.
Speaking as a Disney dad, I currently don’t have anything bad to say about it except that she’s so far from home and we miss her quite a bit.
It’s not any different, I suppose, than any parent who leaves a child at college or a new job or another adventure for the first time. The adjustment has been hard. She had never been away from us for more than a week before this.
I’m a sentimental guy and I cry a lot easier than I’d like. For years, leaving Florida has been a cause for tears. At first, it was because each time I left, I wondered if it would be the last time I’d see my grandparents. Then, it was because of the emotions of a Disney vacation, the months of anticipation, the week of joy, and then the harsh reality that comes with driving past the character signs waving goodbye.
It was harder this last time because the character waving goodbye was one who’d lived under my roof for 19 years – a little girl who grew up way too damn fast and traded in her little green Tiana dress for another Disney costume entirely. One who inherited a love of Disney from my wife and I and who is now getting paid to share it with others.
Still, the time is flying by – as it always does – and her internship will be over before we know it, with life returning somewhat closer to normal.
So, yes, if you’re asking my opinion, if your kid – or you, if you’re a college student reading this – wants to know if the program is worth it, I’d say it is.
Addendum: Security
After I wrote this, there was a shooting at Flamingo Crossing – the apartments where students like my daughter live. I’ve been impressed with the on-site security. You can’t get in without scanning in, either as a resident or a guest. There’s a guardhouse at the entrance to the parking lot and at the entrance to the facility, which is more than any place I lived during my college years. But it’s not foolproof as evidenced by the shooting, details of which are scarce. Judging by other Disney incidents, I’m assuming local media will have to file Freedom of Information requests before the full details are released by law enforcement. The best we know now is two young men who knew each other were involved in an argument that escalated in the parking lot. They shot each other, and both survived.
The response was swift as you’d expect. It happened within the apartment complex’s security bubble, which leads me to assume that at least one of the men was a cast member, though it is possible both were guests of another cast member. I know someone who asked if the security is so good, how did the incident happen?
Well, there are limits. My daughter has to scan in as she enters, but they don’t do pat-down searches or check residents’ cars as they come in. And – to be clear – they shouldn’t. But that means, like most places in society, it’s possible for someone to bring a weapon in without security being the wiser. I’m not upset about that.
I am disappointed that Disney didn’t – as far as I know – have a representative reach out to the cast members – at least via email – and check on them in the following days. My daughter – who wasn’t home at the time of the shooting – doesn’t seem to have been affected, but I would have thought Disney – or the company contracted to run the housing complex – would have made an effort to contact residents. Maybe they had people in the common areas in the following days and my daughter didn’t see them, but it doesn’t seem like that was the case.
I know there are a lot of young people living in that complex; I would have thought Disney would have had a procedure to reach out and give them an option, if they had questions or needed to talk to someone, for some reassurance. Disney certainly has been able to communicate on a variety of other issues.
Ultimately, the shooting was a little more worrisome for those of us back home than it was for my daughter. Maybe that’s the overconfidence of youth. The shooting and the response – or lack thereof – haven’t been enough to back me off of my recommendation. Overall, the experience continues to be great and is something I think any kid with a passion for Disney should consider. But I would remind them that the real world can penetrate the Disney bubble and to stay as smart and vigilant as they would anywhere else.
