Disney Professional Internship FAQs

**NOTE: This is a work in progress!

What is a Professional Internship (PI)?

What areas are they offered in?
PIs are offered in almost all segments of the company, from corporate positions to park operations to design and creative positions. Check out the PI website for the different areas in which PIs are offered HERE

Who can apply for a PI?

What is the application process like?
Check out this post HERE for my experiences.

Do I have to have completed a College Program to do a PI?

How many can I apply for?

What is the interview process like?
The interview process does vary depending on the position. For most PI's there is a general screening interview which will cover all internships that you apply for. In most cases for Alumni Only this will be your ONLY interview. Some Alumni Roles do have second interviews. These interviews are almost always conducted over the phone similar to the CP interview.

Management Internships will have a phone interview as the first interview. The second interview is a panel interview with 2-3 leaders from that line of business. This interview can often be done in person if you are in the FL area, or can be done via skype or phone.

My Alumni Only interview experience is posted HERE
My Management Internship experience is posted HERE

How long will it take to hear back?
It takes a very long time to hear back. The application process for Professional Internships runs on a different timeline than the College Program. For an example this was my timeline for when I applied for Fall 2013 PIs.
 Feb 2nd -  Applied for several internships
Feb 8th - Screening Interview
March 8th - Applications Close
March 28th- Received a new drop down menu for GR
April 10th - Moved to "Post Interview Stage"
April 11th - Received request for background check info
April 15th - Phone call offering me Guest Relations

As you can see, I did not hear anything for a very long time. This is completely normal as the process takes for what seems like an eternity!

I want to apply for the College Program as a backup? Will accepting a position on the CP take me out of the running for a PI?
 Not at all! I actually think this is a very good idea if you are graduating because this will give you another shot at applying the following season if you are not offered a PI. The reason being that to be eligible you need to either be on a current CP/PI or enrolled in school. The CP process moves very quickly, so you will hear back before you hear anything about PIs. You absolutely can accept a CP offer without hurting your chances of getting a PI. If you are offered a PI, they will refund your housing and program deposit and switch you over to your PI role. I was accepted for Fall 2013 CP in early March, and received my PI offer in mid April. At that time I just informed the recruiter that I had accepted the CP and she set the ball rolling to get me my refund.

I received a new "drop down" for a specific role on my dashboard. What does this mean?
See this post HERE.