Thursday, August 27, 2009

Introduction: Applying to the Walt Disney College Program

First off Welcome to my blog. Here I hope to chronicle my experiences applying and (hopefully) participating in the Spring Advantage 2010 College Program in Orlando.

My name is Jenny. I am 22 years old and go to the University of Alabama (roll tide!). I am a senior graduating in December 2009 with a Bachelors of Arts in Classics (that's latin and ancient greek to ya'll), Art History, and a minor in Liberal Arts. I have also extensively studied in other departments such as history and philosophy departments. My studies do not really lend themselves to an internship at Disney. However, I have grown up my whole life loving Disney. My favorite Disney movies are probably Mary Poppins, Beauty & the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Enchanted, Tron, and Meet the Robinsons. I am always on the disboards.com (sn GhillieGirlBelle1987), and for a while I played Virtual Magic Kingdom (r.i.p). My favorite rides are Carousel of Progress, Horizons (now extinct), Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion, and Tower of Terror. My favorite park is probably a tie between Magic Kingdom and EPCOT (Center) :).

But enough about me: I have been planning applying for the Walt Disney College Program for about a year. My application process has been interesting to say the least. This past Thursday, the 20th of August, applications went live on the internet. I have probably watched the e-presentation a million times. I knew I wanted to apply early to make sure there were plenty of positions available, because I heard last year that tons of people applied and were rejected. I was and am still worrying if I will get a spot, because the economy right now is not the best. After watching the e-presentation, I filled out the application. I pretty much checked off all the roles on the checklist sheet. I just want this really bad. What applying and being accepted into an Ivy League School is to some, working for Disney is for me. This has been a life long dream of mine. The next step of the application process is new for Walt Disney World this year. All applicants were required to complete a "web interview" that is to say an online psychological profile test. Passing it allowed you to schedule a phone interview with an interviewer for the program.

I just happened to be hanging out with friends at my boyfriends apartment when the applications went up. Needless to say his computer is almost obsolete. So I completed the questions. I reached the end of the application and it bugged out! Everytime I tried to login and completely submit the application, it told me I had already completed it! But I had no idea whether I had passed or failed the Web Based Interview. After several days of emailing Gallup and the College Program tech support, I found out I passed and should schedule for an interview. I set up my interview for 10:15 Thursday August 27.

...
I just completed my interview, and I am so glad to have this weight off my shoulders. The interview only lasted about 10 minutes. At first they made sure they had all the right contact information. Then my interviewer reviewed all the roles I had checked. She then asked what the top three roles I was most qualified for. I told her Full Service Food and Beverage (all of my paid work experience is as a seating host at restaurants), but then the jobs I am most interested in are Attractions, Main Entrance Operations, and Transportation. I got several questions about those things including:

Why do you want to work for Disney?
How does Disney fit into your career plans?
How would you handle a child who was too short to ride Space Mountain?
Are you comfortable memorizing lengthy spiels to large groups of people?
In Main Entrance Ops, how can you make guest experience memorable before they even enter the park?
Are you comfortable driving a large ferry?
How do you feel about driving a monorail 70 feet off the ground?
How do you feel about driving at night?
In your work experience what was your most pleasant experience, and your worst experience?
What are the main tasks you associate with being a seating hostess?
Are you comfortable using a computerized reservation and seating system?
How do you feel about cultural diversity and meeting people of different races, ethnicities, religions and backgrounds?

I feel I did well, I gave a great answer for the Space Mountain question. My interviewer said I will find out an answer in 2-3 weeks

Sorry this first post is so long, I wanted to cover everything. Stay tuned for more. I will probably using this blog to post other Disney related articles and comments.

So send me feedback, also I have a video camera, should I turn this into a video blog as well?

Your Thoughts


1 comment:

  1. Loving this blog so far! Keep it up!

    And if you're going to a vlog, make sure to keep it short and simple and perhaps use a bit of music or some multi-media if you are familiar with that sort of thing!

    But this is one of the most well-written and interesting blogs I've read so far!

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