Basic Information

So your first question (as I know mine was) is probably "What the darn heck is the Disney International College Program?"  

Well in a nutshell, the DICP is a paid internship for tertiary students or those who have recently completed tertiary studies.  It involves travelling to Orlando, Florida for 6 to 12 months to live and work at the Walt Disney World Resort.

Disney runs several different programs like this, the largest of these being the DCP which is only open to US College students.  There are several International programs which you can read about on the official Disney International Programs website, however I will be focusing mostly on the Australia and New Zealand Program.  There are 2 intakes each year from Australia and New Zealand, January and August.  They used to offer 6 and 12 months programs, but now they only offer the 6 month program however there may be an opportunity to extend your program (extending your program is not guaranteed and is dependent on availability of positions and your performance).

I feel it is important to say here that this is not a paid holiday.  This is essentially an internship which means long hours and low pay.  You will be earning minimum wage, which is very different in the US to what you may be used to in Australia or New Zealand.  On the job listing for the Jan 2015 Program it says that "The pay rate for this program ranges from $7.79 to $8.75 USD per hour depending on the role."  This is approximately what I earned at my first after school job when I was 14 years old back in the late 90's!  At this rate of pay you will need to work a lot to earn enough to live on.  Add to this the fact that you are going to have to pay to get to Florida in the first place and you start to realise that this is not something you do for the money.  I don't mean to scare you off, but it's important to understand this from the beginning so you know what to expect.

That being said, the program offers a wide range of perks and benefits that far outweigh the challenges.  The main benefit is that you will be working for one of the most successful and well run companies in the world.  Having Disney on your CV is pretty darn impressive, no matter what role you have, even better if it relates to your chosen career.  There are also other benefits such as free entry into the Disney parks and special events for the College Program Participants.

So now that you have a bit of an idea of what the program is (if you want more info a quick Google search will find you a mountain of details) you are probably wondering if it is something you qualify for.  In my next post I will look at the requirements of the program or you can go back to the Masterlist.