Disney International Program - anyone have kids in it this year?

[iluveeyore]

My seventeen year old son, who will be 18 in September, is showing an interest in the WDW International program. I wondered if anyone else in Ontario knows someone who has done this. I'm just not sure where to start, although we've been on the website several times. It just seems easier to hear from someone who has been through applying. Thanks for any insight!

 

[merfsko]

My seventeen year old son, who will be 18 in September, is showing an interest in the WDW International program. I wondered if anyone else in Ontario knows someone who has done this. I'm just not sure where to start, although we've been on the website several times. It just seems easier to hear from someone who has been through applying. Thanks for any insight!

I am hoping to do the Summer International Program next summer (fingers crossed!) and found that www.wdwip.com was very helpful. If you go to their Discussion Forum, there's a lot of people who are either in the program, have doen the program or are currently applying.

In my 'research' I also followed a bunch of blogs last year- they give you a really good idea of the entire program.

The application process confused me when I first started looking into the program, but as I understand it, we just need to contact our representative at yummy jobs: http://www.yummyjobs.com/opportunities

Hope I was of some help, and good luck to your son!

-merfsko

 

[kurt90]

Yes! Well I don't have any kids in the program, but I got accepted for this year's summer program! If you have any questions about the application process, ask away!

I don't have much to share about the program itself as I haven't gone down yet but I've read everything there is to know so I can probably be of some help!

 

[DisneylandGuy22]

I did the International program from July 2007 to June 2008. If you have any questions feel free to contact me!!!

 

[branmack]

I participated in the program in 1990. It was an awesome experiance and it looks great on a resume.

My 11yr daughter can't wait till she is old enough to apply. She wants to be a zoologist but will gladly take a year off for Disney.

 

[Teresa Pitman]

We are all very excited, and will be driving him down in a few months.

Here's how the application process went for him. He applied on-line to Yummy Jobs (as a previous poster indicated) and then had his first interview over the phone. A week or so later they called back to say that he'd passed his first interview, and gave him a date to come to Toronto for an in-person interview and a presentation. That took about a half day, and then two weeks later he got an email to say he was in!!

Teresa

 

[iluveeyore]

Thanks for all your responses.

My son is not going to college, at least not for a couple of years - so he would be doing the one year program, correct?

And Canadians can only be placed in Canada at Epcot, right?

What kind of experience do they look for, and how many do they hire each year? I guess he just wants to know he has a good chance if we have to take him to Toronto for an interview. He has cashier and restaurant experience (from Tim Hortons and Marineland), so I'm sure he'd find a position suitable at the Canadian Pavilion.

And when should he apply? He won't be 18 until Sept. 25, so not sure if they take applications now and hire him for after his birthday, or if we should just wait until October.

Also, for those of you who have been hired, is it expensive to get the work Visa or whatever documentation you need to work in the US?

Thanks again - I knew the DIS would be helpful! It's also nice to know there are many out there we can reach out to as the process comes closer.

 

[Bonnie40]

My daughter did the summer ICP in 2006 and is applying for the Cultural Rep program to hopefully start in January 2010! There is no cost for the work papers, but there are medical insurance costs, etc. Disney takes care of all the paperwork to get the students there to work. As far as when to apply, my daughter and her group of past Disney CM's are applying this summer for hopefully a January 2010 start. I do think it would be better if your son waited until he was 18 to apply, but it might not hurt to send off an email to Yummy Jobs and ask...?

 

[Teresa Pitman]

Thanks for all your responses.

My son is not going to college, at least not for a couple of years - so he would be doing the one year program, correct?

And Canadians can only be placed in Canada at Epcot, right?

What kind of experience do they look for, and how many do they hire each year? I guess he just wants to know he has a good chance if we have to take him to Toronto for an interview. He has cashier and restaurant experience (from Tim Hortons and Marineland), so I'm sure he'd find a position suitable at the Canadian Pavilion.

And when should he apply? He won't be 18 until Sept. 25, so not sure if they take applications now and hire him for after his birthday, or if we should just wait until October.

Also, for those of you who have been hired, is it expensive to get the work Visa or whatever documentation you need to work in the US?

Thanks again - I knew the DIS would be helpful! It's also nice to know there are many out there we can reach out to as the process comes closer.

My son says the International program is for a one -year term. And yes, they are placed in the Canada pavilion.

They didn't say how many people they hired, but told them out of 3,000 in the Toronto area who applied, they narrowed it down to about 30 for the in-person interview. They were doing the same thing in other major cities. So I think if he gets to the second interview, he does have a good chance.

I don't know what they look for - my son has a lot of restaurant experience so I'm sure that didn't hurt. I was told that they mostly look for friendly, outgoing, cheerful people. They do ask some questions about WDW and about Canada so it helps to have some info.

I would check with yummy jobs about when they are taking applications. My son applied in January and will be starting in August. So probably your son wouldn't be starting for a while even if he is accepted soon.

The main cost to my son was renewing his passport, which was due to expire next year. Disney handles the rest. He does have to buy health insurance too, but Disney recommends the plan for them. My son was also told that the kids who are too young to drink (under 21) are housed in a different section than those who are older.

I hope that helps...

Teresa

 

[merfsko]

delete.