FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

“Time to Make Dreams Come True!”

Epcot Grand Opening October 1982

The grand opening of Epcot took place in October 1982. Image: Disney

Within the next year, EPCOT Center was open, and the college program was undergoing its first major expansion. Surveys were given to the students who participated in the first program to learn how their experience was working for Disney for a semester, and the results were overwhelmingly positive. Students felt that they were given a unique work experience compared to their peers, they really enjoyed being able to meet people from all over the world while working in the park, and they felt as though they had an added edge in terms of professional development from shadowing team leaders.

In 1982, the name of the program officially changed from the Magic Kingdom College Program to the Walt Disney World College Program, encompassing the expansion of the resort within the program as the students were now able to work at Epcot. In the same year, Disney sent recruiters to forty colleges and universities to begin recruiting for the next season, and to start raising awareness for the program among the national academic community. Initially, the program only allowed participants to work in a few frontline roles such as merchandise, custodial, attractions, and food service. The original academic portion of the program was a weekly seminar that lasted for three to four hours in which interns would learn about hospitality and tourism management in specific areas of the Walt Disney Company.

As Walt Disney World expanded, so did the roles CPs (college program interns) could work. With more resorts being added to the property, CPs were able to take on roles like bell services and housekeeping, and eventually front desk, concierge, lifeguard, and recreation. By the late 1980s, the program had expanded so much that better, more permanent housing was needed. The trailers that made up Snow White Village were quickly becoming outdated, as they were meant to be temporary. In 1988, CPs were able to stay in newer, permanent apartments called Vista Way, which was located closer to Disney property and included amenities like swimming pools, fitness center, clubhouse, security, and a bus transportation hub for interns to get to work, as well as to the grocery store and post office.

Brandice with Vista Way entrance sign

Image: Brandice Maher

With the 1989 openings of MGM Studios, Typhoon Lagoon, and Pleasure Island, more CPs were accepted into the program, and the roles available were expanded again. The recreation role was expanded to include water slide operators, who would need to be strong swimmers but do not have to go through the same kind of rigorous testing as lifeguards did. As more resorts were built around the property, recreation CPs also took on roles in childcare facilities as well as other activities around the resort such as running games by the pools. More resorts also meant more CPs were able to be placed in roles like full service food and beverage, which is essentially a different name for a host or hostess in a table service restaurant.

By the 1990s, a series of about ten classes was mandatory for the students to participate in. The classes were based on professional development in the theme park and tourism industry, and students who missed more than two classes would not receive certificates of completion for the courses, and were at risk of being termed from the program. The type of "degree" that students received from the classes was based upon how many classes they took, or how many class meetings in the required program they attended. These degrees, which were essentially certificates of completion, were known as either a "Mousesters" or a "Ducktorate." During these previous program seasons where the classes were mandatory, students could be termed from the program for missing a certain number of classes without a valid reason, such as a doctor's note.

Walt Disney World College Program 1990

Image: Vincent Desiderioscioli

Students who completed the program in the 1980s and 90s had a much more intimate, and personalized experience compared to students who participate in the program today. During these years, when the program was really just starting to gain popularity, it was still at a manageable size, meaning there were a lot more opportunities for random events like participating as extras in commercials for the parks, participating in promotional shoots (like the one at Typhoon Lagoon pictured below) and taking group pictures in front of the castle with other CPs from your college. (It would have been interesting if this were still a tradition during my program-- I was the first, and at the time the only CP from my college!)

Typhoon Lagoon Promotional Photo

Image: Vincent Desiderioscioli

Even the application process was much more personalized back then than it is today. Students completed in-person interviews with recruiters at local colleges, and were able to view presentations about the program on their own college campuses, or at a different school in their area. Today, the program has simply become too large to justify having presentation schedules or in-person interviews. Currently all interviews are done online and over the phone, and acceptance letters are no longer mailed, but rather they are emailed instead.

The Disney Decade

The expansion of the college program in the 1990s coincided with the expansion and restructuring of the theme parks. With Michael Eisner as the company's CEO, an expansion policy that he referred to as "the Disney Decade" was unveiled in 1990, which included plans to drastically expand the theme parks over the course of the next ten years. The 1990s brought such achievements to the company as the Disney Cruise Line, with two initial ships, the Disney Magic and the Disney Wonder, two miniature golf courses, the Wide World of Sports complex, Blizzard Beach water park, expanded nightlife and dining opportunities in Downtown Disney, Disney Vacation Club, and of course, Disney's Animal Kingdom.

With so much growth in the theme parks, and the company in general, it is no surprise that the program began gaining more notoriety in the 1990s. Parts of the Walt Disney World Resort that were already established were also gaining even more popularity (and CPs) in the 1990s, like MGM-Studios where Vincent, a former CP pictured below, worked on the now extinct Backstage Studio Tour. 

Vincent, a CP at the Backstage Studio Tour, with Roger Rabbit

Image: Vincent Desiderioscioli

By 1998, Disney's Animal Kingdom had opened, along with a new housing complex for CPs: the Commons. The Commons has often been used to house international participants, however within the past couple of years any CP has been able to live there. These apartments are seen as an improvement over Vista Way simply because they have washer and dryers in each unit. A recent feature of the Commons, completed in 2015, is the Grid, a small convenience store located right behind the bus stop, which makes this complex one of the most convenient options for CPs who are on the program without cars. The photo below shows the newly renovated living room of a three bedroom, three bath apartment in the Commons. 

The Commons living room

Image: Cristian Perez

By the mid 1990s, students were able to choose a summer option for the program, rather than spending a semester during the academic year working at the parks. The summer program was offered off and on throughout the rest of the program's history, however it is currently only offered to alumni of the program, with very limited roles and positions available. While the summer program is alumni only at the moment, applicants must still be attending college to be considered-- alumni of the college program who have already graduated would need to enroll in school before they are able to apply again.

The late 1990s also introduced a new role to the program: Rescue Ranger. The Rescue Ranger role later became known as the "Hopper" which is just a different way of saying that cast members in this role would be cross trained between at least two or three different roles. While the Hopper role is still offered today, it is not given to CPs all that much simply because the short time that they are working in the parks does not often justify the amount of training they would need to complete to be able to work in multiple roles. As the program expanded, CPs were able to work in different locations depending on their roles, including merchandise, custodial, and quick service food and beverage (or ODV - outdoor vending) to name a few.

Cristian, Epcot Outdoor Vending

Epcot ODV CPs Spring 2015
Image: Cristian Perez

 
FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

Add new comment

About Theme Park Tourist

Theme Park Tourist is one of the web’s leading sources of essential information and entertaining articles about theme parks in Orlando and beyond.

We are one of the world’s largest theme park guide sites, hosting detailed guides to more than 80 theme parks around the globe.

Find Out More About Us...

Plan Your Trip

Our theme park guides contain reviews and ratings of rides, restaurants and hotels at more than 80 theme parks worldwide.

You can even print them.

Start Planning Now...