Applying for the Disney College Program

In my opening post, I discussed a little bit about how the application process for the Disney College Program works. In this post, I'm going to go a little more in depth about the process, as well as include some of my own personal experiences during this process. So buckle up and stayed tuned!

First of all, let me start by saying that applying for the DCP is very similar to applying for pretty much any job. You start with an application process and if the company likes what they see, you are invited to continue on to a preliminary and secondary interview. That being said, the application process can also get somewhat nerve-racking throughout. The most nerve-racking, being the waiting!

The Application

The first step in becoming part of the DCP is the application. Online, at jobs.disneycareers.com, the application for the DCP can be found. During this process, you are asked several questions pertaining to your education, work experience, and program preferences. There are several choices for program dates, and the photo below shows each program running time, as well as when the applicant should keep an eye out for the applications to go live.

Tip: If you know you want to apply for the DCP and are worried about missing the opening of applications, you can sign up to receive email updates at jobs.disneycareers.com when a new development takes place.

Within the application process, you are able, and even encouraged to include up to five work experiences - variety of work experience will show versatility to the recruiters. Just like any other job application, there is a section to expand on each job and describe in detail the tasks that you performed during your time at each occupation.

Possibly one of the most important factors in the application process in ranking your roles. During this process, you will have the chance to rank your top roles based on High Interest, Moderate Interest, Low Interest, and No Interest. Roles include Front Desk, Attractions, Lifeguarding, Quick Service Food and Beverage, Character Attendant, Character Performer, and many many others. For a comprehensive list of all of the roles offered by the DCP, go to disneyprogramsblog.com. Here you can find all of the roles, as well as an extensive list of duties required in that role and experience preferred to excel at that role.

Following the application, you are sent an email, either inviting you to continue on in the process, or thanking you for applying but informing you that you are no longer in contention. I received my email inviting me to continue on about three hours after submitting my initial application. And I don't think I can describe how excited I was in that moment!

Web-Based Interview

If you have been invited to continue on with the application process, you will be emailed a link to complete a web-based interview (WBI). This interview is basically your preliminary interview to determine how well you would fit into the Disney Company. This "questionnaire" is split up into three parts.

The first part of the WBI is a series of questions that ask who you are and is a way to get to know your personality. In this part, you will be given statements like, "I always look on the positive side of things" or "I love a good party." These statements you either agree or disagree with by answering on a scale from "sounds like me" to "sounds nothing like me."

The second part of the WBI, you are asked to answer scenario related questions. You are given four options and are asked to chose the best of the four to answer the questions. For instance, I think I was asked something along the lines of, "You see a young boy who is without his parents and looks lost, what would you do first?" And this scenario is something that could very easily happen in a place like Disney, so it's definitely important to answer to the best of your ability and really think about the question at hand.

The third and final part of the WBI, is a section in which you answer along the line of strongly agree to strongly disagree. You will be asked questions like "I am always on time" or "I am never late to work." This part of the WBI is tricky because if you answer strongly agree to the first question but only somewhat agree to the second, it raises a red flag and the system will see it as an inconsistent answer. That being said, the most difficult part is trying to think about each situation in a general manner and not overthinking each question.

Phone Interview

Immediately following the WBI, you will either receive a message thanking you for interest but informing you that you are no longer in contention or are invited to complete a phone interview (PI). At this point, you have three days to schedule your PI, and for me I had to wait until I received my work schedule for the following week, so I was definitely a nervous wreck trying to schedule my interview.

Once I received my schedule, I scheduled my PI for about week and a half later - this would ensure that I would have time to prepare, making notes about why I wanted to do the DCP, giving examples of why I would be good at certain roles, and researching each role and their tasks. During this time I typed up a fourteen page outline of everything that I could possibly be asked during my PI.

When the PI rolled around, I knew I was prepared and ready to go. I believe that the recruiter (her name was Linda) called only about three minutes past my scheduled time, so I didn't have to be too nervous about waiting for her to call or wondering if I accidentally gave the incorrect phone number.

During the PI itself, I was asked the typical questions that you would be asked in a normal interview: "Why do you want to do the DCP?" "What are you most excited for with the DCP?" "How do you handle issues pertaining to (insert issue here)?" I was also asked plenty of questions about front desk and how I would handle those situations as well to expand on certain roles that I have performed in my current job at the Marriott.

Along with those questions, I was also asked a lot of really fun questions too, "Like what's your favorite park?" "Who is your favorite character?" I figured out that I really like phone interviews because you can really prepare for them and keep the information in front of you while you discuss everything with the interviewer. Also if you need to take a minute to figure out the answer, there is no opportunity for the interviewer to see you look confused - something I am sure happened to me a couple of times.

The Waiting Game

The final step of the application process was by far the hardest. Following my phone interview, all I could was wait. By that point, I had done everything that I could to ensure my spot in the DCP, and it was completely out of my hands. Fortunately, I only had to wait about ten days to receive my offer letter, but those ten days felt like some of the longest days of my life.

I am unashamed to admit that I did indeed cry when I got my very first offer to work at the one place I have always wanted to work. A huge part of me, while insanely excited, was also incredibly overwhelmed with an emotion of not knowing what to do. For the past 8 years all I had wanted was to work for the Walt Disney Company and now I was there. In a way, I almost felt empty not having a goal to reach for anymore, so I knew the only way to solve that was to set for myself a new goal - not only would I be doing the Disney College Program, but following that I would aim for a full time corporate career with the Walt Disney Company!

The Acceptance

After receiving my offer, the absolute last thing I had to do was accept the position with the Company. To do so, I had to select the option within the offer letter that said I would in fact be accepting the position with the DCP, choose my arrival date, and finally put my deposit in for my first couple weeks of rent.

Following these steps, I would officially be a participant in the DCP and a cast member with the Walt Disney Company. A huge part of me still feels as though this is somewhat of an amazing dream, and I don't think I have fully comprehended the magnitude of my accomplishment. However, an even greater part of me knows that this journey I am about to go on, will be one of the most life changing journeys of my life thus far.

I am excited to share with you all the remainder of my journey and can't wait to keep you all in the loop with all of my adventures! I will leave you with a quote I believe to be wonderfully fitting, not only to my blog but to my journey as well, and one that will invite you along for the adventure: "Here you leave Today, and enter the world of Yesterday, Tomorrow, and Fantasy." - Walt Disney