In a phased reintroduction, EPCOT’s world famous cultural representative program is set to return to the Walt Disney World Resort, with Cast Members from around the world coming to work at the park once again starting this August.
What’s Happening:
- New participants of the Disney Cultural Representative Program, which sees participants from around the globe come to work at the World Showcase pavilions of EPCOT, will begin to arrive to work at the park once again starting in August.
- Disney is reaching out to participants of the program whose programs were canceled or delayed in 2020, or those who had received an offer but had not yet arrived to participate before the parks closed and the program was put on hiatus when the parks closed due to the global pandemic.
- According to the news from Disney, the reintroduction of the Cultural Representative Program will occur in phases, with the first phase of participants coming from Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Norway for placement in EPCOT’s World Showcase. Additional countries will be added as travel restrictions ease and they have a CDC-authorized vaccine availability.
- Participants, when they arrive, will be staying at the new Flamingo Crossings Village housing complex where current Walt Disney World College Program participants also reside.
- The news was revealed on a Disney Company website and the Disney International Programs Facebook group earlier with this statement:
“Since the reopening of Walt Disney World, we’ve frequently been asked when Disney International Programs will bring back the Disney Cultural Representatives.
Today, we’re thrilled to announce the Disney Cultural Representative program will return in phases and begin welcoming the first new participants in August.
The Cultural Representatives play an important role in our storytelling by helping us create authentic, immersive experiences for our guests as they share their countries’ culture, heritage and traditions that have inspired our resorts, pavilions, and theme parks.
We know how much our guests and cast love the program and have been waiting for just the right moment to reintroduce it. As we continue to bring back more cast and guest experiences, we are encouraged by the progress we’re seeing in recent health trends, including the return of international travel and the expansion of vaccine availability around the world.
Right now, we are reaching out to participants from select countries whose program was shortened, canceled or waitlisted in 2020, as well as those who had an offer and had not yet arrived, and offering them the first opportunity to reapply. We will then invite others to apply soon.
We are doing this in a thoughtful and responsible way with the safety of our participants and working cast top of mind. With this phased re-introduction, initial recruitment will start in Germany, Norway, Italy, France, UK, and Canada for World Showcase at EPCOT. We look forward to bringing additional countries on board and sharing applications with them once they clear travel restrictions and / or have CDC-authorized vaccine availability.
We’re building on the solid foundation of last year’s relaunch of the Disney College Program. Both programs provide a great pathway for career development as they offer participants the opportunity to learn, grow and develop and as they stay at Flamingo Crossings Village, a new state-of-the-art housing complex.
We’re eagerly counting down the days until we welcome back our Cultural Representatives and will continue to keep you updated as more countries join us to share their magic in our parks and resorts.”