Walt Disney World Staffing Update: Disney Cultural Exchange Program Will Resume Soon!

While Walt Disney World has felt decidedly “normal” lately, there are a couple of things from the “before times” that were still missing at Disney Parks and Resorts. One of those missing pieces has been the Disney Cultural Exchange Program which allows students from around the world to spend summers or a semester working at the Walt Disney World Resort. Here’s what we know so far about the latest international program to return to Walt Disney World.

Often mistaken for the Cultural Representative Program, which staffs the Cultural Representative Cast Members in the countries around World Showcase in EPCOT and at Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Animal Kingdom Lodge, the Cultural Exchange participants can be placed at nearly any work location across the Walt Disney World Resort.

In the past, the Cultural Exchange Program allowed students from multiple countries around the world to work at Walt Disney World, however, as the program returns in phases, only students from certain countries will be eligible during the initial application process. These countries include Canada, France, Italy, Germany, Norway, and the United Kingdom, but will expand to include other countries as travel regulations continue to loosen following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Related: How the Disney College Program Became One of the Most Competitive Internships in the Tourism Industry

The Cultural Exchange Program returning is a great step toward normalcy for Walt Disney World in terms of staffing, as it means more regular staffing availability for locations that may still be understaffed or have not yet fully reopened. It also means further normalcy for participants of the Disney College Program, who in past seasons had the opportunity to live and work with students from around the world but have missed this aspect so far as the program had not yet returned.

Requirements to participate in the Cultural Exchange Program are similar to those for the Disney College Program, with applicants required to have completed at least one semester of college, and have open availability throughout the course of their program with Disney.

If you are interested in the Cultural Exchange Program, or know someone who might be, the link to apply is now live on DisneyCareers.com.