Commercial Retail & Marketing Intern Review

Disney provided a welcoming and fun environment for students in their first job. I felt completely guided and supported throughout, yet I was never overly controlled or monitored. My team were great and so very helpful, and were more than willing to help me learn and teach me new skills. The ability to work with some of the best content in the world, in the top entertainment company, was for me such a privilege.

My team at Disney really value the interns and the new skills that they bring. My team loved that I brought a fresh perspective to the table and were interested to hear my POV on all matters. You are given real responsibility and are allowed work with external commercial partners. Interns are valued as they are given the freedom to build commercial relationships and are trusted to do so.

My manager supported me every step of the way, with many support 1-2-1's at the start of the placement, which then were scheduled in as weekly catch-up's. As you become more confident in your role, these catch-up's are flexible and can be help as the intern sees is needed. I was also given an end of year review, like all the other managers in the team.

Extremely busy! My role was varied and I supported the team across a multitude of different accounts, projects and also help deal with external commercial requests &ad hoc asset sourcing. There has not been one day where I have been bored - however, when the work load is too heavy my team are really helpful in trying to help out with some of the projects I was doing for each of them, or I was allowed to take my laptop to quiet spaces in the building to work undisturbed.

You are treated like any other member of the team. You are expected to act professionally like any other manager but in return you are given a good amount of responsibility. It is up to the managers what they would like you to help with / what they reach out for - however, once they see you are competent they are more than happy to let you work on big projects.

The work ethic developed during a placement year is great for 4th year. It also focuses you and helps you decide what to focus on for graduate roles or dissertation topics. More than anything, it gives you a company on your CV which puts you above other candidates when it comes to future roles.

Great - amazing work/life balance, the team is fun and we organised Christmas parties and team socials. It is a relaxed atmosphere, people work hard but they are also very sociable and are more than happy to stop and have a chat with you. You are never expected to work late and they very much encourage healthy living.

The internship is great, however as all interns start on different dates it is difficult to find accommodation and Disney do not help with that. You are encouraged to find other interns to live with on a facebook page, but there is no advise on how to rent or who to rent with. You also do not know your end date, as many interns get extended, making it hard to find extra accommodation at the end.

I have taken part in further development courses, and Disney ran an entire week of technology & innovations talks , workshops and training one week. There was also a week to celebrate women in Disney where there were talks and workshops with many successful women across different sectors.

Disney do not have a graduate scheme and therefore there is no immediate return to Disney available. However, many managers used to be interns and teams keep in contact with their previous interns about potential job openings and roles. Disney interns are encouraged to apply to entry level roles in the future but there is no direct entry.

Yes, but obviously depends on the interns that year and where within the company you work. Every department is different but the retail floor has a big group of interns who are encouraged to socialise. We had great fun during my year.

London is expensive, accommodation is expensive and everything else is too (especially travel). The salary however is going up for next years interns, and it is completely possible to live well in London on that salary if you flat share. You just have to budget!

There are bars and pubs around, however you don't really go out too late with work so that's more about your personal time.

Disney do run sports events and charity events that you can get involved with, but not that many that I was aware of.