‘Dreamers’ Parade Down Main Street USA to Kick-Off Disney Dreamers Academy 2024.
This years Disney Dreamers Academy has kicked-off in grand fashion with a meeting with Walt Disney World President Jeff Vahle, and a parade down Main Street USA in the Magic Kingdom.
One of my favorite events of the year, Disney Dreamers Academy, has started for 2024. 100 students from across America gather to be inspired and learn from Disney mentors. These kids come from backgrounds where all that is needed is chance, coming from underrepresented communities across our country.
If you ever needed hope for the future just spend a moment with any one of these kids. They are smart, bright, and have a future ahead of them in all aspects.
Today, 100 high school students from across the country participating in Disney Dreamers Academy had the ride of their lives in a magical parade at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. They were joined in the colorful parade at Magic Kingdom Park by actress Dara Reneé of ‘High School Musical: The Musical: The Series’ and the upcoming ‘Descendants: The Rise of Red.’ Reneé is serving as the program’s “Dreambassador” acting as mentor and advocate for the students. Additionally, the parade included popular Disney characters, such as Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and Princess Tiana.
The parade kicked off the 17th year of Disney Dreamers Academy, a five-day, transformational, mentoring program designed to broaden career awareness and create opportunities for Black high school students and teens from underrepresented communities across America.
The 100 students are selected from thousands of nationwide applicants for a once-in-a-lifetime mentoring program at Walt Disney World. The program, supported by sponsors AT&T, Sprite and Delta Airlines, is designed to assist young people in identifying and pursuing their dreams.
Along with a parent or guardian, the students receive an all-expense-paid trip to Walt Disney World to participate in the program, which features career-oriented workshops, leadership seminars and presentations by celebrities, community leaders, educators and Disney executives. Among this year’s celebrities are Daymond John (‘ABC’s Shark Tank’), Hollywood actor Lance Gross and reality TV star Sanya Richards-Ross (‘The Real Housewives of Atlanta’)
Related: Walt Disney Imagineering’s Quest for a Better Audio Animatronic
