You can meet lots of people at any of those schools though.
Something to think about … a lot of the Disney Engineering jobs posted at this link seem to be Software Engineer - https://jobs.disneycareers.com/search-jobs?k=engineer
As @boneh3ad points out, Disney hires from lots of schools AND there are plenty of people at those schools, even the best names like MIT and Stanford, that don’t get cream of the crop jobs. I’m simply suggesting that as a CA resident if you feel that you have the chops for UCLA and USC that both Cal Poly and Berkeley have good electromechanical programs. You could go to either and still not get a job at Disney (or insert whatever brand X highly competitive job you want instead). Jobs like that require good grades, good projects through clubs and/or internships AND a large dose of luck.
@colorado_mom, Disney does hire MEs, just not as many as computer programmers. My son just met an ME at the CP job fair last week that previously worked for Disney. Interestingly, he left Disney to go back to the company he left (and the company my son was more interested in) to go to Disney. Not sure where he went to school, but at both jobs he’s done pretty cool electromechanical stuff.
So basically what you’re saying is that great engineering schools like Stanford won’t guarantee someone a job at Disney and that no matter what school you go to, there’s a chance that you can work as an imagineer as long as you do some of the things that people suggest doing like the Disney College Program and the disney imaginations competition. Here’s a link to a discussion board on the topic and a user named KEvin Boutte goes to Texas Tech University explaining how he has contacts from Disney Imagineering despite the school he goes to. Link: https://www.themeparkinsider.com/news/response.cfm?ID=945509076
Does this mean that the school doesn’t matter? I know GCU’s engineering program is new (they are as of right now currently trying to make the program top notch by funding the program) and they are still trying to get accredited, but would that mean if I go there I can possibly have a career as a Disney imagineer? I’m just wondering because I need to know whether or not if I should consider GCU or not and I live in Southern California and I prefer to be at least 5 hours away from home.
Look, if you’re that focused on GCU then sure, go there and maybe it will work out. It’s the place that makes your path most difficult, but maybe going with a few friends is more important to you.
I can’t say it any better than @boneh3ad did. If you have to go to GCU, go to GCU. It will narrow your job choices though and could leave you locked out of some depending on the ABET status when you graduate. GCU should not be compared to Texas Tech though. They’ve produced multiple NASA astronauts and the current head of DARPA. They aren’t engineering nobodies even though they don’t have the name of say Stanford or MIT. TT has been ABET accredited in ME since 1937. It’s one of the oldest ME programs in the nation.
If you want to go to Grand Canyon University because it is a Southern Baptist school, why not look at other Southern Baptist schools that do have ABET accredited ME and EE programs, such as California Baptist University and Baylor University?
For what it’s worth, if I am looking for new graduate students to hire, a degree from GCU is a red flag. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible for a student from there to get a job in my lab, but it’s something they are going to have to overcome. That’s not true of literally any other school mentioned in this thread, because they are all accredited and known quantities.
Now, that’s not a one to one comparison because I am hiring graduate researchers, not Imagineers, but it’s one data point to add to this discussion.
Ok, so basically what you guys are saying is go to a school where the engineering program is known in the work force and make sure the school is ABET accredited. Even if GCU gets ABET acredited, going there could be still be risky and possibly limit my job opportunities once I graduate. So I should take the school off my list and focus on other schools that are in my list.
Yep.
Also, and I feel like I’m beating a dead horse, but why aren’t Cal Poly and UCB on your list? It’s OK if you have a good rationale. I’m simply curious.
I probably will look into Cal Poly and for Berkley, I’m not sure if I want to attend a school that’s pretty more than 5 hours from my home.
Well there you go. That’s as good a rationale as any. What’s important is that you build a list around what is important to you. That said, you’d have to live in a pretty remote place in SoCal to be more than 5 hours from San Luis Obispo. San Diego and Indio are both less than 5 hours away. Berkeley is a different story. It’s a additional 3h North. Good luck!
And if you want to attend a Southern Baptist school, California Baptist University is in Riverside, CA (should be closer than Grand Canyon University to typical southern California locations) and has ABET accredited programs in biomedical, chemical, civil, electrical/computer, and mechanical engineering.
http://main.abet.org/aps/AccreditedProgramsDetails.aspx?OrganizationID=858&ProgramIDs=
I think what they are saying is that no matter where you go, chances are slim for a Disney job … but even slimmer for non-ABET (or newly accredited) schools. Shoot for your dream, but only if you are willing to consider non-Disney engineering jobs too.
This may sound counterintuitive, but UCSB has a good ME dept and several very active Christian groups on campus. Assuming that is why you are interested in GCU, it shows you can find your tribe in some unlikely places. I’ve heard, but don’t know for sure, that Cal Poly has some even bigger Christian groups on campus.
Sorry I just wanna be clear before I’m done with this post, even if “I do the Disney College program, the Disney imagineering college competition, and somehow gain contacts at Disney”, my chances of being an imagineer and getting a good job after I graduate are lower if I do all the things I said above in quotes and I go to a school that has a newly accredited program like GCU? But if I go to a school known for engineering like UCLA and ASU and do all the things I put in quotes above, I have a better chance at getting a better job and potentially be an imagineer? Overall thanks for the responses this post helped me out a lot in cutting down my list of potential transfers. 
You have less of a chance of doing the things in quotes in the first place.
The important thing to know is that you will have a low chance of doing the things in quotes no matter where you go. Your chances will be lowest though if you choose GCU. Disney is extremely competitive. It is common for students to want Disney, NASA, Google, Space X, etc. and to not end up at those companies because they are hyper competitive AND there’s a certain amount of luck involved. Your school choices and what you do there (get good grades, get involved with clubs, research, etc.) improve your odds, but they will still be long.
Just wanna be clear on what was said real quick. I think I can do the things in quotes anywhere I go because for the Disney College program, people eventually get in after applying for every semester and by doing the program, it actually puts your foot in the door for later when you apply for a imagineering job because they see that you worked for Disney before. Also at the program, you can take a class where guest imagineers will talk to you and other engineering majors and that class can give you an opportunity to network with imagineers and other classmates you meet there. But what you guys are saying basically for the competition that if I participate in the Disney Imaginations competitions, my chances of advancing in the competition rely heavily on the school I go to and also getting additional contacts after the program and getting a good job at Disney or somewhere else will be difficult if I went to a school like GCU?
You are not guaranteed a Disney internship no matter where you go, no matter how many time you apply. That is the way it is. Who ever told you otherwise has misinformed you. Disney internships are coveted and highly competitive. It isn’t a matter of will or desire.
Going to a known school, getting good grades, and having club or work experience that aligns with what Disney is looking for is what it takes to be considered. Being eligible though is in no way a guarantee that you will land the Disney internship. Certainly, if you do land an internship, your chances of getting a full time job after graduation are improved.
The chances of any of that are worse if you chose GCU.