How do World Showcase cast members get picked to work in World Showcase in Epcot and does Disney do the same for Animal Kingdom cast members too?

[DodgerGirl]

When I was playing the PC game The Walt Disney World Explorer as a kid one of the parts of the game talked about how Disney cast members are chosen for the jobs at the parks and it mentioned that World Showcase cast members are selected through an exchange program and I wondered how it works? Do you need to be a native of that country or can you live in America too? Also do you get things like English lessons and other stuff too included with your hiring? Also does Disney use this same exchange program when they hire Animal Kingdom cast members too? How much does a World Showcase cast member make? I imagine they get a small check for working there

 

[lockets]

This is a great question and I don't know the answer, but I'm just back from WDW and can attest that the international cast members are definitely back in full force. It wasn't only in Epcot. There were also a lot of them working at Magic Kingdom and the hotel. Off the top of my head I had interactions with people from Thailand, Peru, France, and England.

 

[RoseGold]

I follow a girl from the UK on this program, and it seems pretty dang competitive. She applied for many years. She worked her way up from the gift shop to Rose & Crown (tipped). Obviously the tipped positions are going to make a lot more than the hourly.

They live at Flamingo Crossings, which is massive and beautiful. They share apartments, which I think are 2BR/1 bath.

You can see where they are currently accepting from:
https://jobs.disneycareers.com/cultural-representative-program

Most of them are stuck in their pavilion, which for UK means Rose & Crown or the gift shop. Pavilion like France has rides and restaurants and more stuff.

That website had a "south east asia" rep for AK park, which I don't think I've ever seen. And I guess Brazil can just do anything?

 

[leiaorgana]

Those positions are filled through the Disney Cultural Representative Program

https://jobs.disneycareers.com/cultural-representative-program

 

[Rogue1677x]

My ex-husband was a cultural rep from Morocco and worked at EPCOT when I met him. I can't remember what he told me about how he came to work there, but I believe he had recently graduated from a university in Casablanca and was working at Disney for a little while before we met.

His role actually had him in a prominent area in the pavilion to greet visitors, talk about Morocco, etc. He did share an apartment with other cultural reps who worked in different areas of EPCOT.

 

[Brian_WDW74]

As to your question about receiving English lessons, a requirement for the program is that you must be fluent in English, so I'm guessing that the answer is no.

 

[DodgerGirl]

What else do the cast members require in order to work in World Showcase? And are they allowed to return to their home countries for things like holidays and vacations too? Sounds like a wonderful job

 

[Karin1984]

What else do the cast members require in order to work in World Showcase? And are they allowed to return to their home countries for things like holidays and vacations too? Sounds like a wonderful job

You are not a prisoner, if you have enough vacation days, you can go wherever you like. But if you have long international travel involved you probably won't.

You have to fit the Disney brand, positive, upbeat customer minded, friendly etc. be able to talk about your home country in a postive way. If you can work well in face-to-face customer contact, you can do it.

There are just a lot of people who want the job so waiting months or even years and applying several times are not uncommon.

 

[DodgerGirl]

Are many of the Animal Kingdom cast members from Asia and Africa and do they go through the same hiring process of the World Showcase cast members too? Because I always was curious about them as well