Several items I have heard about getting hired at Disney World, first is most of the positions get filled by Orlando residents, second you need good dependable transportation to get to work, you have to be flexible on your work hours, etc. (remember Disney employees work while others are playing)
Decide which of the approximately 65,000 jobs going, on a full park day, that you want to apply for. Think about what you have to offer the company. Disney is known to pay just above the average, of the same job outside the park, in Orlando. Ask yourself what skills you have that Disney might want.
My youngest daughter worked at DW part of her college years in Orlando, at UCF, one of the largest colleges in Florida. She worked in retail sales for the first couple of years but by the time she was a senior in electrical engineering, she was in the Disney IT department as a computer trouble shooter. Now she had to work in costume, as any off time, of no computer problems, she was expected to be able to fill in at one of the retail shops close by. The job was part time, shared with other UCF students, which was good as Disney would work around their class schedules and as with most jobs there were drawbacks. One of her complaints was that if the work schedule called for 8 to 5, then she was expected to be at her desk in costume at 8 AM, so she had to get there by at least 7 AM to stop by wardrobe, get her clean costume, put it on, go to the office by 8 and then after 5 PM, the costume had to be returned to wardrobe and turned in to be cleaned. Then she had to get her clothes on, walk to her car and leave, usually after 6 PM, so she felt she was donating about 2 hours of her time to the Mouse for free, each day. But it must not have been too bad, as she worked for them for about 3+ years, before she moved to Boston to work for an engineering firm as a circuit designer. (whatever they do, LOL)
So to get a job there, you need to be there to apply, to interview, have a skill they need and be presentable in looks and personality.
Some jobs they will train you for, such as boat captains, mates, etc. Other jobs they expect you to have the skills, with some on the job training, such as equipment maintenance, etc. Other jobs they want certified people such as certified law enforcement officers to work in the security force, doesn't have to be Florida certified though from what I hear (I am Colorado certified and could probably go to work in security on short notice if I desired) They tend to train most transportation drivers, bus, monorail, boats, etc. Since most of the transportation at Disney is not charged for, you don't have to have a commercial license to operate on their private property. i.e. no Coast Guard License required to be a boat captain. The lakes are private property and no charge to ride, so it isn't considered to be an operation that comes under the Coast Guard regulations.
