Mickey Mouse College? The Walt Disney World College Program

By John K. Wilson

Disney is the world’s most famous and perhaps most powerful media and entertainment company. Disney is also one of the most aggressive recruiters of college students, planning recruiting visits to 420 campuses each year. Its Walt Disney World College Program offers college credit for interns and has at least a dozen alumni organizations at various colleges, including ISU. However, Disney is also becoming one of the most protested companies on college campuses. United Students Against Sweatshops has targeted Disney for its use of sweatshops to make merchandise (or “Merchantainment” as Disney calls it).

Disney’s College Program began in 1981, with 200 students from 30 schools. Now, 7,000 students each year declare, “I’m going to Disney World”—and often get college credit for the experience. They work for $6 an hour at mostly menial jobs, take Disney-sponsored classes, and living in Disney apartments.

The College Program helps Disney World solve a labor problem: despite the rock-bottom wages of central Florida, it’s find to find good workers willing to follow the Disney rules for minimum wages. The largest labor pool consists of immigrants from Latin America and the Caribbean, a group that doesn’t exactly convey the clean-cut, wholesome, and predominantly white Disney image and often can’t communicate well in English, a key requirement for all “hosts” who work in public and must answer “guest” questions.

College Program students provide cheap labor with enthusiasm. They work flexible hours, and won’t organize into a union because they’re only around for a few months at a time. The college students also provide the potential for thousands of trained scab workers in case someone at Disney World tries to hold a strike. The 7,000 students in the College Program provide a substantial part of Disney World’s workforce of 65,000, who often work in hazardous conditions: in 1991, Walt Disney World amusement parks and hotels had an illness/injury rate nearly double the industry averages, and triple the rate of lost work days.

Cornell University’s Alumni Association website describes the College Program as “MTV’s The Real World without the video cameras” and describes all jobs, even Custodial, with the seemingly mandatory Disney enthusiasm: “You will empty trash cans, clean restrooms, sweep park areas and assist with bussing and cleaning indoor restaurants. (Surprisingly, some people found this to be the most exciting job of all!!!)”

There are no less than 59 websites on the College Program alumni webring discussing the experience, typically in universally positive ways. One College Program participant wrote on a message board before arriving, “I cant sleep at night! I’m too excited, every day is a day closer to life in sunny Florida! I feel like I just won Survivor! This is my childhood dream and it’s my chance to shine!”

While Disney once required College Program participants to be interns receiving college credit, the company now takes any college students in, although the courses are often not difficult. As one newspaper article about the College Program began, “What would you say if you could earn college credits for selling fast food or waiting tables and folding napkins?”

Travis Fronk, a College Program participant from Idaho State, noted that he is taking “Disney ‘ExpEARiential’ Learning, where in one assignment, I go on Disney attractions and observe the guests’ reactions. You just don’t get courses like that at Idaho State. Plus, I get credit for these courses! Who knew learning could be so interesting and fun?!”

The ExpEARiential Learning syllabus is typical of these Mickey Mouse courses: most of the assignments consist of short essays praising Disney with endless “reflection” papers. People in the class must attend two diversity activities (Respect Appreciate Value Everyone, or RAVE) and summarize the event by answering questions such as, “How does this event support our key drivers of Cast/Guest/Business?” Aside from a short article on “Corporate Community Relations,” the only reading for the class is a 5-page book review of a book from the “Diversity Reading List,” which must answer the “key drivers” question as well as “How is the Disney Diversity vision supported by this book?”

Other assignments include a one-page summary of a guest speaker, a two-page summary of a self-paced learning activity (such as “write a powerful resume”), a three-page review of a book or video on a “Disney Leadership Competency,” and a one-page summary of a “free activity” (such as a nutrition workshop or a “Computer Power Hour”). Students must also write a five-page paper about two Disney attractions to explore “Education through Entertainment—the Disney Way.” In one example of Disney’s compulsory politeness, students in the class must follow around a “Guest Service Manager” for “Role Insight” and write a two-page paper, including a copy of the thank-you note written to the person they shadow.

The remaining assignment for the ExpEARiential Learning class is to select two four-hour “VoluntEAR experiences” and write a five-page reflection paper that answers questions such as “Should a company have ‘social responsibilities’?” and “What are incentives for companies to be good corporate citizens? What are disincentives?”

But the only incentive Disney seems to recognize is increasing its profitability. Disincentives are to be avoided only because they might harm the Disney image and therefore the money to be made from it. Of course, the use of sweatshops to increase the bottom line are never discussed in the magical world of Disney, where merchandise is made from pixie dust and the vision of brutalized workers toiling in poverty never needs to be seen.