Junior Developer Intern Review

The company was brilliant to work for. The offices were filled with posters of various releases, plushies and toys on everyone’s desks and everyone was super friendly. My team was brilliant and made me come out of my internship feeling much more confident as a person and in my abilities.

I got on really well with my team and I feel like I’m going to miss working with them now. I had an amazing mentor/manager who kept pushing me to do the best I can, and the team was so friendly I felt like I fit in despite us lacking in some common interests.

I was given enough support and guidance to encourage me, and it was always there if I needed it and asked for it. In my role it was mostly a case of me getting on with it, and if I needed help it was readily available. We also had fortnightly one-to-ones where we talked about anything going on outside of work (including University work).

It varied on the work but once I had a big project to work on (entirely my own project but still important), I found it occupied my entire day every day. But I was allowed to take it at my own pace, so I was never overwhelmed with the amount of work.

I got more responsibility later in the internship, where they allowed me to be the sole programmer in one project in particular. There are some moments where I would have liked a little more responsibility but it all worked well with the way things turned out and ended up so I wouldn’t complain.

I feel much more confident as a programmer now and there are lots of tools and things I’ve learnt that I feel I can take forward into any job I apply for now. It’s also made me feel like I can go for jobs I might normally think I’m not good enough for.

Everyone in the office was mega friendly. The office was filled with posters and toys. Within the company they would hold lots of competitions for more goodies, and I entered every single one (and won a few!). They would do lots of screenings in the in-house cinema, and give lots of opportunities for volunteering. It was a great atmosphere to work in, enough to make anyone want to go back.

The only thing I’d change is the opportunities of networking between interns were few and far between (aside from the Facebook group). My team managed to set something up for the interns on our floor, but there were so many interns I never spoke to or even knew about. Besides that the roles themselves were done well and the entire application process was enjoyable and well done.

We had a fair amount of training at the beginning (a few sessions on various tools we might be using etc) but in our team anyway we had the freedom to drive towards what we wanted to use and learn. A lot of it was learn by doing, but it really worked that way.

I think I’d love a job if one became available, but Disney don’t do graduate schemes so it would entirely depend on a job opening up at the right time. As a former intern though, you are the first pick for when jobs do open up so I think there are good chances.

We’d go out for lunch as a team sometimes, and the Christmas party was an enjoyable entire-team thing. Often if we wanted to do stuff after work, we’d have to drive it but people were often willing so this wasn’t much of a problem. Some teams at work would hold pub quizzes and theatre screenings so they did present opportunities for outside of work things.

It’s London. It wasn’t awful, but it wasn’t incredibly cheap either. Fortunately, as an employee of Disney there are a bunch of places around that do small discounts, or student discounts, so there are always deals if you know where to look. It’s just worth keeping an eye on spending.

I’ve heard it’s good? I think people go into central London for the nightlife though, and if you live near Hammersmith it’s on the Piccadilly line which has a night tube on the weekend. There are plenty of bars and pubs around though if you just want to go out for drinks.

You can apply to be a Disney VoluntEAR which offers loads of opportunities for getting involved in activities outside of work - including volunteering at nearby charity events such as races and fireworks, and team volunteering that would include a trip out somewhere and a day spent helping a charity.