History of Disney Programs and Internships

If you’re a bit of a history nerd like me, you might be interested in the history of Disney Programs and Internships.  I’ve done a little bit of research and have put together my own abridged version of the Disney programs history.  This is by no means an official or comprehensive history and is limited by my own research skills, but it’s a start and I hope to add to this in the future as I learn more about this fascinating company.  Please also note that the majority of this history will focus on the domestic College Program as that is the largest and longest running Disney program and therefore has the most readily available information.

The idea for the Disney College Program came about in the late 1970’s/early 1980’s, when the Walt Disney World Resort found itself with the challenge of overcoming a high employee turnover rate.  With the amount of time it was taking Cast Members to get to work, and the impending opening of the new EPCOT Centre theme park, the company began to look at ways to fill the many roles within the resort.  In 1981, representatives from Disney visited some of the larger universities in the USA to encourage students to join the company in a summer internship program.  That first year, they selected just over 200 students to work at Magic Kingdom, which was at that time the only theme park at the Walt Disney World resort in Florida (EPCOT did not open until October 1982).  Students lived in nearby housing and worked in one of four roles: Food, Merchandise, Attractions or Custodial.

The program was so successful that the next year, representatives visited over 40 schools to recruit students to what became known as the ‘Magic Kingdom College Program’.   Students lived in nearby Kissimmee in an area called ‘Snow White Village’. The property was originally an abandoned trailer park, so Disney had the dilapidated trailers removed and had 32 specially designed trailers installed. The trailer park also featured a swimming pool, recreation centre and a full-time security guard.

Pictures of 'Snow White Village', the original CP Housing!

As the popularity of the program increased, interested applicants began to vastly outnumber the positions Disney had available for them, which led to the decision to offer three separate programs each year in the Spring, Summer and Fall/Autumn.  With the addition of students being able to work in the newly opened EPCOT, the company began taking around 500 students in each program and was re-named the ‘Walt Disney World College Program’.

With so many of the positions at the Magic Kingdom and the EPCOT Center having little do with the course of study students were undertaking, Disney decided to create a series of weekly seminars on the Disney management style. Through the process, college students could fill positions in attractions, foods, custodial, guest relations, merchandise and hospitality at the resort and, in exchange for their work, they received college credit and highly credible work experience.

As the student housing gradually became less adequate, Disney developed more appropriate housing and in 1988 opened the Vista Way apartment complex for students to live in which was much closer to the resort locations.  With the opening of Disney’s Hollywood Studios (Then called Disney-MGM Studios), Typhoon Lagoon and Pleasure Island in 1989 and the resort’s massive growth in the 1990’s, the program continued to expand and saw the addition of three new housing complexes: The Commons in 1998, Chatham Square in 2000 and Patterson Court in 2008.

In 2004 the Disneyland Resort joined the program, offering similar opportunities to university students are the original Disney resort in California.  At this point the program was renamed the ‘Disney Theme Parks and Resorts College Program’; however it has since been simplified to its current title of the ‘Disney College Program’.

Due to the popularity of the program the rising influence of the internet, the Disney College Program continues to grow and now includes multiple international programs including Academic, Cultural Exchange and Cultural Representative Programs, bringing people from all over the world to live and work at the Walt Disney World resort every year.  Other programs are also offered including the Disney Culinary Program and Disney Professional Internships.

From small beginnings, the Disney Programs and Internships now employ thousands of university students and international Cast Members every year and continues to grow.