Rachel

My son has the opportunity to travel to Orlando to do an internship at Disneyworld or it's hotels next semester (and possibly into the summer). He is a college sophomore, studying business management. I've heard mixed reactions on these internship. Any Fodorites have any experiences to share? Thanks for any info.

padams421

Go to the community and the rumor and news boards on www.disboards.com- you'll find people who have done the internships or who have kids who have done them.

ncgrrl

As with anything, you get out of it what you put into it.

I'd think an intership with Disney would look good on his resume. Might also lead to permanent job opportunity with Disney.

Most students do at least one internship -- it's a good way to get some 'real world' experience while in school. Employers (usually) like to see experience along with education.

Give it a try and if it doesn't work out, it doesn't have to go on the resume.

chepar

My sister did an internship at Disneyworld in conjunction with her studies at culinary school.

Based on what she told me, it sounds like her experience was so-so. Being that she was in culinary school, she imagined learning in a more "real life" situation from the chefs/cooks at various restaurants. Her culinary school had its own restaurant that they worked in, but I guess the lure was working alongside real professionals and not fellow students.

She got a lot of "real life" experience - but it was more like a short order cook. She worked in the buffet line frying eggs for several weeks straight. Then for another few weeks she worked the buffet line's waffle station, etc. She says she didn't learn anything new - other than that she now hates frying eggs.

She was placed in an apartment with 4 or 5 other girls, which proved to be an interesting experience. The hours were long and a large portion of her paycheck was deducted (by Disney) to pay for the apartment's rent.

Given that she was relatively sheltered prior to this experience (still being supported financially by my parents), I would say the best part was that she came away with more personal financial responsibility and an understanding of what it takes to support oneself.

As far as how the internship tied in to her schooling, she didn't feel like she got much out of it. She had the option to extend her internship, but she was more than ready to come home.

Perhaps a different area of study would have provided her with a better experience. It's not that she minded (at first) working the buffet line - but she expected to progress to other (more challenging) things as time went by. That never happened. Culinary school classmates of hers that also did the internship had similar experiences. In the end they were rather frustrated by the experience and felt like they were just cheap labor.

Anyway, I would encourage your son to really talk with the Disney representatives when they come to his school to discuss the internship and find out what the work entails. Hopefully that way he'll be able to determine if the proposed job duties will enhance his studies or not.

GoTravel

Disney is the Gold Standard for Hospitality Employment.

As an employer in the hospitality industry I can tell you that any time I see a resume with Disney on it, it immediately goes to the top of the pile.

Many companies have tried to model themselves on Disney's customer service.

chepar, your sister's experience is somewhat different from what I've heard. Most of what I've heard is that it is an experience they would not trade for anything.

Back in the 1970s my cousin Sue was Cinderella in Disneyland. Because Sue was such a popular name back then and there were so many Sues, she was called Sue G (G being the first letter of her last name).

To this day she is called Sugee.

Rachel

Thanks for the responses-they've given me some thoughts to chew on. The Disney reps are well trained and make everything sound, so, Disney-perfect. However, I have heard tales of interships there really being the same as minimum wage, no skill jobs. I can't see paying college tuition for my son to clean bathrooms. He can do that on his own and get paid for it if that's what he wants. On the other hand, if it gets him some good experience at entry/college level, it would be a good opportunity, and it would be a nice place to visit during a cold western new york winter!

GoTravel

Rachel, they are entry level minimum wage jobs. The interns are pretty much slave labor.

capecodshanty

Think Go Travel has hit it right on. A friends daughter, her junior year in college, indeed interned at Disney World, and felt she would have learned more, made better money and not had to have the rent deducted from her paycheck if she had stayed here in the Northeast, in the hospitality industry.
That said, upon graduation, her first job relied heavily on that Disney experience upon hiring her.

swalter518

My roommate in college did one of these internships and loved it. That being said, she admits she made no money by the time she paid for her living expenses but she insists that the experience was invaluable in interviewing for her first job and even when she went back for her MBA 5 years out of undergrad they asked her extensively about her Disney experience (which included working in the gift shop, a hotel desk and as a life guard.) I don't think they are assigned any jobs with cache at all but it's very much a college campus experience that looks good on paper later.

ncgrrl

GoTravel has it right about internships. Pretty much glorified slave labor. The interns at my job can get stuck with some lousy things that the staff doesn't want to do -- but it can end up like Mikey from the Life cereal ads -- he might like it. We also joke about it to them (so, has boss asked xxx yet?) But the internship goes on the resume in hopes of getting a foot in the door for a 'real' job.

Way back when I was in an internship, I did get to know the photocopier well. Also at one place, it was quite easy because the shop manager would tell what was wrong in the shop because the white collar employees never went to ask him. I saw at a young age that communications isn't a strong suit in corporate world. Maybe it makes me a better employee because I'm willing to talk to all levels.

JJ5

A long time friend had her daughter enter a Disney Internship at least 10 years ago within Disney World. This girl later graduated from Michigan in Ann Arbor and then through the internship contact she ended up managing a restaurant in the Magic Kingdom. She did this for 6 or 7 years and I heard quite a few of her work stories. Go Travel's discription of slave labor is pretty accurate. But nevertheless this girl/woman, Marissa- used her experience well and now has her own franchised restaurant in FL. that she manages. It is not with Disney, but overall I know she considers the Disney experience great instruction and experience.

She had a hilarious story about carting ice around for 20 hours straight during a power outage and other work ethic tales that made me think that this is HARD work.

kp

My daughter did a Disney Internship the summer and first semester of 2001. I have to agree with other posters that while the job duties she was assigned were nothing special the total experience was worthwhile. Disney has a standard for their employees that many employeers look for.
One of the girls she roomed was hired by Disney (after graduation) in her field of study.
After finishing her time with Disney my daughter went on to be the campus rep. She loved the experience and felt it was worth the time.

JerseySue

As JJ5 called it "slave labor" - my niece went on an internship there and said it was nothing like what she was promised and she ended up a waitress !! She would never recommend it to anyone ! Sorry

escargot

ncgrl: you are right. my best boss, a ceo of major company, was the best b/c he had started at the bottom and had experience in almost every level from there up. he knew how to talk and listen to everyone with genuine caring and how to direct. the company grew ten fold under his command b/c everyone felt part of the team. That being said, 3 of my west coast cousins interned at disney in calif.; they all thought it was slave labor too , but fun at times (and did doing slave labor perhaps make them realize why they wanted to do well in college and do something else with their lives? perhaps). so maybe no experience is a bad one, and it is different for everyone. if anything, rachels son will learn what he won't do to his interns when he is running the show. I make my kids take some slave labor job at least one summer. as some would say, it's good for the soul.

Rachel

I will print all the posts for my son and DH to see and consider. I don't think my son will mind slave labor-he's been working since he was 12 at some sort of job (bagel shop, baseball umpire, caddy, wholesale packer/unpacker, cart boy). It's very interesting to see how frequently Disney on the resume helped in future jobs. I know my years waitressing through college, law school, and even as a beginning lawyer helped make me a better lawyer. There's days I think about going back to the hospitality industry!