Walt Disney Internships: Application Process, Salary & Career Guide 2024
Updated January 12, 2024
The Walt Disney Company, better known as Disney, is not only one of the biggest companies in the world, but the Disney internship program is huge too.
Approximately 8,000 college students attend the Disney internship every year, where they gain first-hand experience and insights into working for a successful company, whilst also earning money.
This article looks at the Disney Professional Internship in more detail, the application requirements, salary, benefits and how to apply.
What Are Disney Professional Internships?
Disney internships and programs are worthwhile for the lucky interns who get on the program, learning on-the-job skills that they can take into their future career.
Interns on this program shadow experienced members of the team, attend seminars and work a full-time schedule in their relevant role.
The Disney professional internships are for currently enrolled pupils or students who have graduated in the last six months at an accredited school or college.
All students must be 18 with an unrestricted work authorization.
Qualification requirements vary depending on the job position the student is applying for. However, the most common requirements are relevant work experience and a Bachelor's degree qualification, or one they are working towards.
Disney likes their interns to be energetic, self-motivated and responsible with sound written and verbal communication skills.
Disney posts its internship positions throughout the year, based on openings needed. They do tend to follow a structure that falls in line with college term times though.
Disney Internships: Summer
Disney summer internship applications are posted in December or January, with the position starting in May or June time.
Disney Internships: Spring
The spring internships are advertised in the fall, to start the following January.
Disney Internships: Fall
Fall Disney internships start in August and are posted a few months earlier in the spring.
Disney employs a workforce of 220,000 people worldwide, with job opportunities in a whole range of industries. The internship also holds job positions in a range of areas.
- Operations – Helping to ensure the supply chain runs smoothly and client relationships maintain successful.
- Engineering and technology – working with the engineers and technical teams to support the company’s extensive media network and platforms.
- Marketing – working with the team to market the many divisions of Disney, increasing sales, visibility and engagement.
- Graphic Design – A very sought after internship for undergraduate graphic designers looking to get experience with some of the world’s best digital and animation designers.
- Finance – Learning skills and gaining experience working with the finance team who deal with payroll, company bills, budgets and much more.
- Business – This role gives insight into how the business side of the company works, including contracts, legal, customers and employees policies.
- Retail/sales – For anyone with a keen interest in sales, this program would see you learn how a global company sells their products, working with merchandise, resorts and much more.
- Journalism and communications – This is for journalist students to work with the team on internal and external communications, publicity and research.
There are other programs for students who may want a more front of house role.
The Disney College Program interns work in catering, entertainment on the resorts, food and beverage and recreation.
The Disney Culinary Program is for food students, who work at Disney festivals, dining areas and fine dining experiences.
Is the Disney Internship Program Paid?
The Disney Internship programs are paid hourly, so students can learn on-the-job skills whilst also earning money.
The salary for each internship position varies, but an undergraduate intern can expect between $21 and $25 per hour, whilst a graduate is commonly paid between $26 and $30 per hour.
In addition to this hourly pay, interns benefit from many other perks just as any other employee.
The main benefits include free admission to Disney park resorts, other exclusive discounts, paid holiday, help with traveling to and from work, childcare options, health insurance and some flexible working opportunities.
Disney interns will also have the chance to develop their career through the program, learning and nurturing skills and experience.
How to Apply to a Disney Internship?
If you think that a Disney internship may be for you, this section explains the application process.
Step 1. Search for Your Desired Internship Program
If you’re looking for Disney careers internships, a great place to start is to browse the Disney careers page to see what positions are currently available.
It is important to remember to look for jobs that reflect your interest, skills and academic qualifications.
You can use keywords in the search bar to filter the search to see if any relevant internships are available. If not, you can register for email job alerts.
Step 2. Fill Out the Online Application
If you do find a role you’d like to apply for, the next step is to fill in the application form.
To do this, you will need to create an account and complete your personal details.
When uploading your CVremember to tailor it to suit the role you are applying for, take keywords and pick out skills from the job application and use them to explain how you are right for the job.
Aim to make your CV no longer than two pages, but include everything relevant, including work experience and extracurricular activities that are relevant, qualifications and your college course details.
Disney only accepts applications with cover letters, so ensure to include a one-page letter that highlights the reasons why you should be accepted for this role.
Use the pointers in the application to structure the letter, for example, if it says this role requires someone with good customer communications, explain your experience and skills for this.
Research the company and the job position, and also explain what this role would mean for you and what you could learn from it.
Finally, treble check spelling and grammar throughout the application.
Step 3. Take Part In the Interviews/Assessments
The next stage of the process is a thirty minute interview with a Disney representative.
To prepare for this part of the journey, ensure you have looked over your application so you can refer to skills and experience when needed to.
Try and find a quiet place to have the interview where there will be distractions, that way you can focus on the questions asked and engage in a conversation that will show your personality.
Make sure you are authentic and get your true character across on the interview. Disney is looking for confident and friendly people to join.
Some common questions that are asked in this interview include:
- What appeals to you about this internship?
- What do you see yourself contributing to the team?
- Why would you fit in at Disney?
- Tell me about your skills
Make sure to take notes and also ask any questions about the company, role or program that you feel are important.
Before moving on to the final stage, you will be asked to take an assessment or number of assessments. This could be a skill assessment, or a numerical or verbal test, or personality assessment.
To prepare for this, try and take practice tests online that will help you understand the type of questions that will be asked. If there are any areas of the test you find harder than others, focus on those ones and revise.
Some examples of the type of question you could be asked, include:
Verbal reasoning – This includes reading a passage of text, understanding it and then answering a number of questions about it
Numerical reasoning – The idea is to show a candidate can understand information and data if needed to. There may be a graph they need to find out statistics from, for example.
Behavioral or situational tests – These tests look at assessing how you might act in a certain situation at work. The question could be about how you would react to a member of your team being rude to a customer, or how you would deal with an emergency
The final part of the application process is the face-to-face interview with the relevant team, which could be in person or virtually.
This interview delves deeper into the questions asked in the previous interview and to assess how you connect with the team.
Does the Disney Internship Lead to a Full-Time Career?
There are opportunities for a full-time career at Disney after internship, however this is not guaranteed.
A future career is dependent on if there are any job openings at the time and if the internship has been successful for both the team and the intern.
Even if there is not an immediate promotion, you can look out for future opportunities with Disney.
It is also important to make the most of the internship whilst there. Some ways to do this:
- Work hard and show your skills whenever you can
- Keep learning and asking questions
- Network with the team whenever you can, and try and meet as many people within the company that you can
- Make a note of the skills you have learned
- Be proud of the achievements you have made
Frequently Asked Questions
Disney does take interns through its Disney Professional Internship Program. Students can learn skills on the job whilst being paid.
Disney is a global company loved by many, so it can be hard to get accepted on the Disney Internship. Only 20% of applicants will secure an internship.
The Disney internship program is definitely worth it, with interns learning life-long transferable skills from one of the biggest companies in the world. An internship at Disney is a great start to someone’s career.
Interns at Disney do full-time hours, which is 37 to 40 hours per week. During peak times in the parks and resorts, interns can do 50 to 60 hours per week.
