Wishing Upon a Star

Hello Loved ones!

I decided that this life experienced should somehow be captured, remembered and, of course, shared with all those I care about. I hope that it may also help future students who are curious about the program and have questions. This first post is really long, sorry about that! Lots of information!

Why Did you decide to do the Disney College Program?

Well it was simple. I've always loved Disney and as a marketer I have been fascinated with what they do as a company since I switched majors. They are innovative with their resort in the fact that it is an entire experience, it is unlike 6 Flags or any other theme park I have been ever been to.
My friend Kristen had done the program in Spring 2007, and she is a Disney nut. The experiences, stories and opportunities she had while down there are just tremendous. I kind of wanted to do it after hearing what a time she had down there because there really is no internship like it. It is more than an internship, it's a life experience. I knew I wouldn't have time with my academic schedule to do it, which was a bummer and I hadn't even BEEN to Disney at that point! Scott and I went down in Spring of '08 and I realized how excited I was for the experience and how unique it was, and I was 22 years old at the time. Scott had told me some of his stories being down here, what the housing was like, the classes etc, and after being down there I was really bummed I couldn't go down. We had been talking about moving down and I knew that if we did, the Bentley name wasn't going to get me there alone.
I mulled over the possibilities of right after graduation, this being one of them, and decided I might as well apply. What's the worst that could happen? I could get rejected, or accepted and if I found a job I would just take that.

The Process

So I applied online at www.wdwcollegeprogram.com and asked Kristen about the roles as I went through the checklist (found here) and what each was like. Kristen wanted someone to go with her to the presentation at Northeastern, a short ride with a lot of connections via shuttle and the MBTA, and I agreed since I didn't have class. I watched the presentation which went over the 3 basic concepts of the program, Living Learning and Earning.

Living
It went over where we would live, Disney owns its own apartment complexes down near the property which are fully furnished and rent includes water, electicity, the gym/pool, and "high speed" internet. The cost of rent depends on the number of roommates, more roommates means cheaper rent. Hell yea! I don't really want 7 roommates, so I think I'll go with 5 or 6 if possible. The rent is as low as 80 a week, automaticaly deducted from your check, and as high as like 115. There are 4 apartment complexes with multiple buildings, Vista Way, Chatham, The Commons (international housing), and Patterson Square (brand new!). If you are under 21 you get put in wellness housing, aka no booze for you, but I obviously don't have to worry about that!

Learning
Disney has its own college on campus. How cool is that? It's an accreditated institution and offers courses like:

Advanced Studies in Hospitality Management
Corporate Analysis
Corporate Communication
Creativity & Innovation: Gaining the Edge
Experiential Learning
Human Resource Management
Marketing You
Organizational Leadership

Sounds like some nifty courses to me! They also have professional development studies, which is more major related...but not marketing ones for me. :( The third type of course is Exploration series which explores more like how Disney works its magic at the parks! I will probably do the marketing one.

Earning
While there you get to earn money, which ranges from 7.21 to 8.50 or so, which is enough to cover costs, but won't leave you with a whole lot. I guess this part is more insignificant for me since I'm not there for the money, I'm there for the experience of it all.

After the presentation and shpeel, the presenter, a very flamboyant cast memeber from the original cast, gives you the phone to schedule a phone interview.

The Interview! AAAH!

The interview was scheduled on Thursday, It was supposed to be at like 11:40 when Kristen and I both could meet. I had to use her phone because it is out of commission with some outstanding bills. Oh well! So we wait and wait and wait, nothing. I ended up calling the hot line and they didn't confirm the number, or even apologize. So much for customer service! We had to reschedule for Friday at 9 pm. Kinda late for an interview right? So I interview and its mostly about situations and that type of thing. We went over photo pass, merchandise, and main entrance operations.

So after my interview on Feb 27th, I was playing the waiting game while applying elsewhere for a J-O-B.....