My Disney College Program Journey: Entry One: Pre-Arrival

*I also want to preface this by saying, I am in no way an expert on these topics; I can only share my experiences with you in the hopes that they will aid you on your journey! *

My journey with the Disney College Program is definitely an interesting one. I first heard about the program when I was elementary school age. I spent hours watching Disney College Program YouTube videos, along with several Disney World behind-the-scenes documentaries on Netflix, and Disney Animation videos. In that time of my life, I desperately wanted to be an animator and work for the Walt Disney Company.

Fast forward a little over a decade, and I had graduated with my Master’s degree in the Spring of 2025. I decided to take a chance and apply to be a part of the program. I applied, interviewed, and was accepted. Ultimately, I talked myself out of it. Having just graduated, I wanted to do what I thought was the “adult” thing and apply for other jobs. 94 job applications and one summer later, I was pretty close to being in the same place I was when I graduated. I wanted to have fun and not settle for what I felt was the responsible thing. Because of that, in late August 2025, I applied for the Spring 2026 Program. I decided to take a chance on this dream and see where it takes me. So, that leads me to this blog post. Let's talk about the application, phone interview, medical accommodations, and job placement processes that I went through when entering the Disney College Program.

Application Process

Applications open twice a year for the Spring and Fall arrival dates on the Disney Programs Website. For example, I applied for the Spring 2026 application in the Fall of 2025. This means the start date I chose was January 6th, 2026. Arrival (Start) and Departure (End) dates are pre-chosen by the program. Once you get accepted, if the dates you want are available, you can select them. However, most dates fill up as rolling acceptances are sent out, so I would apply as soon as possible if you are certain you will be attending. I applied shortly after applications opened, which allowed me to pick the dates I wanted, which were January 6th, 2026, through June 4th, 2026. The earliest I could depart with that start date was early May, I believe, and the latest was late August.

Back to the application process itself. Having been through multiple job applications, this one was relatively straightforward. The only differences from the typical applications were multiple-choice questions about which Roles (jobs) you would be comfortable or uncomfortable performing, if you would be taking college courses, and if you had participated in the program before. The application still asked for a resume, past job experience, and all the other typical job application questions. I was surprised to find that as soon as I submitted my application, I received an email asking me to phone interview. This was very different from most of the applications I had submitted in the summer. The email asked me to select which date and time worked best for me to interview over the phone. I saved the date on my calendar for the following week (I was too excited to forget about the interview, but it felt more “official” once I saved it on my calendar).

Phone Interview

The Phone Interview was honestly one of my favorite parts of this process! During this call, you are interviewed by a Disney Programs recruiter. Out of the two calls I had for the college program, both recruiters discussed past work and sometimes schooling experiences, your comfort level working outdoors, whether you will be living on or off campus, how you navigate problems, and what you relatively enjoy about Disney. Once the interview is over, you wait to hear back on whether you have been accepted or rejected from the program. A week later, I received an acceptance email with follow-up duties to secure my spot in the program. Having had a successful interview, I would like to share some tips that I found extremely helpful!

Rachael's Tips:

1. Have a notebook and pen ready.

• This allows you to take notes, write down questions, and keep things straight for you to refer back to later.

2. Write down the recruiter’s name and thank them by name at the end of the call.

• I feel like this is common decency, but it honestly shocked and excited my recruiter that I remembered her name. Plus, it is the kind thing to do.

3. Have questions to ask at the end of the call to show interest in the company.

• I asked three questions about when professional internships would open, if I could apply for them during my program, and if there were any roles in the Disney College Program that involved art. This helped show my interest in staying with the company after my program and my genuine excitement for this opportunity.

4. I know it sounds cliché, but have fun!

• Remember, this is another person on the other end of the phone! You are getting together and having a conversation about Disney and your future. It is totally okay to have a friendly and respectful tone when talking, as well as Fangirling or Fanboying over Disney with your recruiter.

End of Ramble…. Back to the scheduled program.

After my phone interview, I was able to pick my arrival and departure dates. I also received several emails later on in the fall for Zoom info sessions hosted by the recruiters. These experiences were so much fun and helped me feel more prepared for the program. They also helped me decide whether or not I wanted to opt in or opt out of program housing. Now, usually, you would just be coasting until you received another email from the program with paperwork or engagement opportunities like the Zoom info sessions. Typically, four weeks out from your arrival, you find out your tentative role.

Like most things in life, that was not how the process went for me (she says in a laughing tone).

Medical Accommodations

The Disney College Program offers Medical and Religious Accommodations for housing and work. I met with my health care provider, and we filled out a medical accommodation form for Disney to have on file so they could refer to it when they were picking my role. This is important because it ensures that you are placed where you can effectively do your job, and that your position/role is one where Disney can successfully meet your accommodation needs. After I filled out the form and had my provider send it to Disney, I had another phone interview with Disney HR to discuss my needs. After that, they worked to find me a role and called me back a week later with my role in November of 2025.

So, while my role reveal was not like most, it was still just as magical. It was done this way to make sure that I believed I could perform this role, so that in the chance that it would not work well with my needs or something else came up, they could work to find another role for me.

On Thursday, November 13th, 2025, at 1:42 P.M., I found out my role was Merchandise, and I would be assigned to Main Street East: Confectionery at Magic Kingdom! To say I was excited and in complete shock would be true and yet an understatement. Words cannot express how ecstatic I am to start in January and to meet my team. Disney has completely blown me away when it comes to the medical accommodations. I have worked with other companies that have failed me in this area, and Disney far exceeded my expectations. Every person I spoke to was polite, caring, and they were equally as excited for me as they were to help me.

Next Steps

My next steps right now are to wait for the onboarding paperwork, my itinerary, and to start the program. My hope is to continue to write about my journey in the program, as well as keep my social media active with content to share. I truly hope this will help any of you who are applying, on the fence about applying, or are just learning about the program. If you have any questions about the program or the Medical and Religious Accommodations, you should definitely check out the Programs Support website. If you have any questions, there is an area on the website to submit a request to ask the recruiting team questions. They can also put you in contact with people who can provide an answer if they can’t. I will say they are all fantastic, and I have emailed them a few times to ask questions.

This is only the beginning of this wonderful journey. Thank you for reading this post. I will hopefully see you on Main Street soon!