Walt Disney World International Program

The Walt Disney World International Program is an international internship program sponsored and operated by The Walt Disney Company at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, in the United States. The Walt Disney World International Program recruits participants (18 years and older) from outside the United States for year-long cultural exchanges with paid positions and summer-long paid internships working at the Walt Disney World Resort.

This program, which is designed to attract international students and workers, shares many similarities with the U.S. based Walt Disney World College Program and its philosophy of Living, Learning and Earning.

Originally, the International Program operated several different types of programs. Program length, work locations, job responsibilities, living arrangements, pay and required qualifications varied depending on the program which was applied for. Previous programs include:

Many of these programs were created to add authenticity to one of Disney's theme parks. As one travels around World Showcase at Epcot, the accents of the 'Cast Members' change to reflect the particular country's pavilion. For example, one will not hear a French accent in the United Kingdom's pavilion. This stems from a concept which Disney calls "Show" which is specifically related to ensuring that minor details are not ignored and guests are immersed in the illusion (or as Disney calls it 'the magic') when they visit a Disney theme park.

Over the years, several International Programs were operated and subsequently suspended, a new one was created for Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park and ultimately in 2004, all the Walt Disney World International Programs were combined into two new all-encompassing programs, namely The Walt Disney World Cultural Representative Program and Walt Disney World The International College Program. A new seasonal worker program has also been launched which initially required participants to have previously completed an International Program in order to be eligible, but this requirement was soon waived due to insufficient applications.

...
Wikipedia