I'm going to apply for 2013 summer to work in merchandise ! I just wondered when the applications for summer 2012 opened? Is it hard to get into the program? Could anyone tell me what its like working in merchandise please? Also i'm studying animation at university in the UK ! Next year will be my second year Is there a minimum amount of time that you have to stay at the park? Because I only get about 4 months vacation for the summer! Thanks
Hiii Applications open in September. For this summer, applications opened 1st September. Apparently this year there were 3500 applicants and there was only 220 jobs available, so I am guessing you need to do something stand out. I don't know what it is like to work in Merchandise as my role this year is Quick Service Food and Beverage. And to answer your last question, the Summer ICP program is 2 and 1/2 to 3 months long. The start dates are in May or June and the program finishes in either August or early September at the latest. I hope I helped
Thank you ! Oh really :/ damnn... I hope I get a place, but with that competition I doubt I will. I study animation at university...so I was wondering if I should mention that on my application form, since Disney was my biggest inspiration since I was tiny and Walt is the reason I chose the career path I have! Eek, I really hope I get in. Im gonna apply as soon as the applications open! Really hope I get a place
I'm sure you'll get in I wouldn't let that put you off, all you have to do is be yourself. The whole process seems the longest 3 months of your life but its worth it. I think you should put that you do Animation at Uni, I should also mention it in the interview if you manage to get one. It may be what they are looking for. Good luck!
Thanks ! I was thinking I should mention that, cause its pretty much what Disney is xD! I really hope I get in, I'm gonna apply as soon as the applications for summer 2013 are open ! Eek I'm so excited xx
Hey i'm going to apply too It's my last chance before I graduate though it's really tough now, i got turned down this year then I went for the Universal program and got waitlisted then turned down.. very competitive nowadays. When i first did the program in 2010 nearly everyone i came across got a f2f interview at least, now your lucky if you even get through to that round! It's definitely worth a congratulations anyway But good luck, i'll be on here in September chatting to you no doubt too
Hiiii, im planning on applying 2013 too in merchandise was wondering if many people get rejected and why? really want to be successful and get onto, looks like an amazing summer
I can't speak for the UK but I know the only reason you would get rejected here in Canada if you make it to the F2F is if you're too picky about the roles. The most common role this year was Merch followed by F&B. Just let them know you're really into it for the experience and you should be good! If you have anymore questions I'll be working Merch this summer I'd be happy to help!
It is pretty difficult to get into any of the Disney programs and its because there is wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy more people applying than available positions. From what I've heard there are a lot less people from other countries like Canada and especially Norway (esp given the size of their countries to ours!) that apply which makes it a bit simpler for them. So you have to be able to stand out, for all the right reasons! I think there's so many people that apply from the UK cos we're all a bit obsessed with the US here.... and being as deprived as we are of good weather then time spend in Florida sounds a good idea. As long as your head is in it for the right reasons and your ready for the emotional rollercoaster of applying then I would say go for it... if you don't try then you'll never know!
Like Abielle said it does usually go on roles here in the UK too. If you say you'll only work attractions or merchandise then unless you stand out as amazing for one of those positions then you probably won't get chosen but if you say you're really enthusiastic about working Food & Beverage or you put down loads of roles you've got more chance I worked food and beverage last time and that's because they asked me if i would be willing to work it in the interview.. that kind of told me they were desperate for more people willing to work that role.
Yeah as long as you're flexible and willing to work whatever role they want to give you. But don't let that make you give up on Merch! I'm not sure how many applicants there are in the UK but I know there were around 1000 here in Canada and only 150 were chosen.
I would still say.... GO FOR IT! You'll never know unless you try! The whole process for the summer positions is a lot faster than the CRP as well which is a massive bonus. I wish I knew about the summer program while I was still able to apply for it! And without sounding extremely cheesy.... I've met a lot of really nice people through the whole experience and I loved the whole interview process although it was nerve wracking... it gave me a good opportunity to go to London and have some disney-related fun!
Thanks guys ! So I should say I'm willing to work any (the only thing I wouldnt like the do is work with the characters i'm not a performer enough to do that) Serving people is what i'd really like to do, so Merch is what I really want to do, or food and beverage ! I'm really nervous about applying. I really wanna just go for it, but I'm very very nervous haha. Any advice on what to write on your CV? I'm rubbish at writing about myself haha!
If you have a look on the yummy jobs website they have some tips for CV so thats probably a good place to start. Just a quick question. If you put down to work full service F&B do you actually serve food? I heard that you only get to greet people and take orders but I can't remember who told me that.
I did the icp in 2010 and was placed in merch in frontierland. Merchandise is a great role because you get to have a lot of customer interaction which can be really fun as guests always like to have a chat, and it can be quite a busy role! Generally merchandise involves rotating around the various shops/positions in your area, so shifts can be quite diverse depending on what the the shops sell (frontierland was great because we had a candy store, a couple of outdoor stands, a leather engraving service and we sold the photos from splash mountain). Shifts are long though and you're on your feet all day, plus you can work very late hours as an icp (I had several shifts that finished at 4.15am!). You'll most likely be trained for registers and stocking, and some of the shifts you get will be stocking shifts where you're putting merch out onto the shop floor and running errands. Also if you're in merchandise you can be deployed to other areas of WDW so I was sent to main st and hollywood studios for a week each, which was quite fun. I had a blog when I did my icp (aimeegrieve.wordpress.com) and if you want a sense of merchandise (and other roles on the icp) there are loads of blogs out there to check out to get a feel for what its all like!
hahaha sorry, but don't believe that! That's exactly what I was told, i got tricked into doing food. "It's just like merchandise" they said in the interview... When I got there I was working in the cast cafe, cooking fries, flipping burgers, emptying the trash in the crazy heat and scrubbing grease off ovens. I rarely got to serve guests even though it was my fave part they said "We usually stick to putting Americans on the tills to decrease the amount of mistakes made with cash handling" So I'm warning you, only put down food if you are prepared for anything! Seriously i'm not exaggerating, its really tough work if ur unlucky enough to get stuck in a kitchen and you don't wanna be. I broke down a lot but I really wanna go back (I'm just not putting food down this time) lol x
