College Program Parents Thread...

[ashleyrm]

Just found this thread. My son (23), was accepted for Spring 2009 for quick food and beverage service (qfbs), but hasn't officially accepted yet. I am trying not to push my views on him, but think he would be nuts not to go. He is worried about finances, so we have decided that we will pay his car payments, insurance and cell phone (all of which he usually pays) while he is in the program. Not having health insurance is a big concern for me, but he's generally a very healthy person so we will keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best. It will delay his college graduation by one semester, which seems like a lot at his age, but I keep telling him that this is an experience that he would likely regret if he passes it up.

Now - my question - if he accepts, he plans to drive (from Delaware) and I plan to go with him and then fly home. Are there any other parents that plan to go with their child or have gone with the child when they checked in for the program?

I don't want to make him feel like a dweeb for having his mom there, but I also can't pass up the opportunity to go to WDW for a couple of days in the middle of winter!

Becky

 

[HarleyMom]

Hi Becky -

My DS is there right now - I went down w/ him and went to the check-in. There was probably 200 or so parents there w/ me. You won't be alone!

But what a great opportunity for these kids! I sure am jealous! I'd like to apply to college for a semester just so I can go, too!

I completely understand the desire to go in winter! I'm actually supposed to be leaving next week to see him for 10 days, but my employer is making me cancel! I'm SO bummed not to be able to get there! I really wanted to see the Christmas decorations - and my DS, of course!
Let me or any of us know if you have any other questions!

Bethany

 

[Traveliz]

Just found this thread. My son (23), was accepted for Spring 2009 for quick food and beverage service (qfbs), but hasn't officially accepted yet. I am trying not to push my views on him, but think he would be nuts not to go. He is worried about finances, so we have decided that we will pay his car payments, insurance and cell phone (all of which he usually pays) while he is in the program. Not having health insurance is a big concern for me, but he's generally a very healthy person so we will keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best. It will delay his college graduation by one semester, which seems like a lot at his age, but I keep telling him that this is an experience that he would likely regret if he passes it up.

Now - my question - if he accepts, he plans to drive (from Delaware) and I plan to go with him and then fly home. Are there any other parents that plan to go with their child or have gone with the child when they checked in for the program?

I don't want to make him feel like a dweeb for having his mom there, but I also can't pass up the opportunity to go to WDW for a couple of days in the middle of winter!

Becky

I went with my daughter last year - there were plenty of parents and family members there. More so than not.

I would consider a temporary health insurance policy as well. Its really not that expensive and well worth it should there be a big problem...unfortunately those are the ones that catch you by surprise and are not easily paid for.

My daughter had a surprise eye infection (not while on the program) which resulted in a corneal transplant. Aside from that she is sick once a year with a cold. At any rate the infection, specialists, surgery and daily eye drops have resulted in thousands upon thousands of dollars of expenses (many of which insurance covers). Now she has to keep up insurance to make sure any rejection would be covered.

Liz

 

[ashleyrm]

Liz and Bethany,

Thanks for your input! I will definitely look into the short term insurance.

My son, daughter and I were supposed to be going on 12/14 for 5 days after their semester ended, but my daughter has to have ankle surgery on the 12/18 so we had to cancel the trip. Getting to go in January will be a bit of a make-up for that even though my daughter won't get to go.

Becky

 

[Mic]

My oldest daughter(20) was recently accepted into the CP for next semester(Spring). She will be a Character Performer, making $7.88 an hour. We are not completely sure how much college credit she will get at this point, but after speaking with her advisor it seems the college MAY be able to consider it an "internship" for 6 hours of credit, and then she can take 2 or 3 online courses for 6 more hours of credit to keep her fulltime status. Our insurance company needs proof on top of proof of full-time enrollment, and her college charges everyone $400 a semester for insurance unless they "prove" they are already covered. I am not sure what we will do to keep her on our policy, but we are hoping we can. My daughter wants to take a car, but my husband does not think it's a good idea. He is definitely not letting her take her Mini, but might consider letting her take the Taurus. Any thoughts on pros and cons of having a car would be great! Did anyone have to pay higher insurance premiums for having a car out-of-state? I am planning to go with her in January, and we would like to visit her maybe once during the semester. She has already promised all her free tickets to her sorority sisters to use during Spring Break, so I'll be renewing my AP! Before she gets carried away, how many tickets will she receive? What does "up to three people 6 times" mean. If she invited 3 friends for 3 days, would that use half of her tickets? Sorry to be so stupid...I just know she will be asking me for ticket money if she comes up short. I am planning to let her use some of my DVC points for her friends, which I don't mind doing at all, but I will not be able to provide a ticket for anyone. She is not concerned about being 10 hours away from us, but I'm nervous. My understanding is that she will have to live in the "under 21" complex, which is fine with me! She will be done on June 5, and I was planning to book her a room on property for a few days until we could arrive the evening of June 8(provided her high school-age brother and sister have no school make-up days). My concern is she might be ready to come home on June 5th, and not spend an extra week in Florida with us. I want to invite extended family to join us that week, but I think I will hold off making any concrete plans until I see how it goes for her. Sorry to ramble...I have found this board to be so helpful for all things Disney! I hope someone can answer my stupid questions!

 

[Joanna71985]

My oldest daughter(20) was recently accepted into the CP for next semester(Spring). She will be a Character Performer, making $7.88 an hour. We are not completely sure how much college credit she will get at this point, but after speaking with her advisor it seems the college MAY be able to consider it an "internship" for 6 hours of credit, and then she can take 2 or 3 online courses for 6 more hours of credit to keep her fulltime status. Our insurance company needs proof on top of proof of full-time enrollment, and her college charges everyone $400 a semester for insurance unless they "prove" they are already covered. I am not sure what we will do to keep her on our policy, but we are hoping we can. My daughter wants to take a car, but my husband does not think it's a good idea. He is definitely not letting her take her Mini, but might consider letting her take the Taurus. Any thoughts on pros and cons of having a car would be great! Did anyone have to pay higher insurance premiums for having a car out-of-state? I am planning to go with her in January, and we would like to visit her maybe once during the semester. She has already promised all her free tickets to her sorority sisters to use during Spring Break, so I'll be renewing my AP! Before she gets carried away, how many tickets will she receive? What does "up to three people 6 times" mean. If she invited 3 friends for 3 days, would that use half of her tickets? Sorry to be so stupid...I just know she will be asking me for ticket money if she comes up short. I am planning to let her use some of my DVC points for her friends, which I don't mind doing at all, but I will not be able to provide a ticket for anyone. She is not concerned about being 10 hours away from us, but I'm nervous. My understanding is that she will have to live in the "under 21" complex, which is fine with me! She will be done on June 5, and I was planning to book her a room on property for a few days until we could arrive the evening of June 8(provided her high school-age brother and sister have no school make-up days). My concern is she might be ready to come home on June 5th, and not spend an extra week in Florida with us. I want to invite extended family to join us that week, but I think I will hold off making any concrete plans until I see how it goes for her. Sorry to ramble...I have found this board to be so helpful for all things Disney! I hope someone can answer my stupid questions!

*If she can, I would definitely take a car. It makes everything so much easier.

*For the free tickets- CPs receive a Maingate. This allows them to get up to 3 people into the parks on 6 different occasions. However, if you don't bring 3 people in on a day, the extra person/people do not carry over (so if you only bring 2 people in 1 time, the third person is wasted).

 

[Traveliz]

A couple of comments...if you don't want to use your DVC points she can sometimes get a great discount on rooms for her friends.

Also its not really an under 21 complex....it just means that everyone in her apt is under 21 (might be the building) but the entire apartment complex will be a mixture of ages.

As for being concerned she will be ready to come home then - chances are she won't be. My daughter extended a semester, came home and finished some classes and went back to FL for college and to work at Disney. Also she won't be able to get in free at that point so you will need a ticket for your family trip.

Liz

 

[countryprincess]

We just got the news that my daughter will be accepted into the Disney Program!!! I am so excited! I know I am going to miss the heck out of her though. But I know this will be the opportunity of a lifetime for her. She is majoring in Early Childhood Education but I didn't see any of those type courses in the brochure. I may not have seen them all though. I hope we won't have problems with the credits. This is going to be great though. So I know it will be all worth it. She is not going to be taking a car down as I am a single mom to 4 kids and can't afford that. From what I understand she can take the buses for free right? I am going to drive down with her and probably spend the night then head back. Probably later on in the spring we will make a family trip. I am excited about that as I love Disney World and my 7 year old thought we would never get to go again after my divorce. We all went November 2007 for the first time ever and fell in love with it..but then I was divorced this past August and didn't think we would get to go again. But now its definitely possible with the free tickets and reduced costs that my daughter being in the cp will get us.

 

[Joanna71985]

We just got the news that my daughter will be accepted into the Disney Program!!! I am so excited! I know I am going to miss the heck out of her though. But I know this will be the opportunity of a lifetime for her. She is majoring in Early Childhood Education but I didn't see any of those type courses in the brochure. I may not have seen them all though. I hope we won't have problems with the credits. This is going to be great though. So I know it will be all worth it. She is not going to be taking a car down as I am a single mom to 4 kids and can't afford that. From what I understand she can take the buses for free right? I am going to drive down with her and probably spend the night then head back. Probably later on in the spring we will make a family trip. I am excited about that as I love Disney World and my 7 year old thought we would never get to go again after my divorce. We all went November 2007 for the first time ever and fell in love with it..but then I was divorced this past August and didn't think we would get to go again. But now its definitely possible with the free tickets and reduced costs that my daughter being in the cp will get us.

Congrats to her!! What role does she have?

Yes, there are buses the CPs can use for free. I have never had a car with me for my programs, and the buses work fine.

 

[countryprincess]

She will be working in a quick service restaurant..kitchen only it says. I guess that means she won't be interacting with the guests too much. But she is happy just to be going!

 

[ashleyrm]

Parents have been awfully quiet lately...Did anyone's kids start this week? My son checks in on 1/26 and I think the wait is harder for me than it is for him!!!

Becky

 

[WICKED WILLY]

A Few Posts Back You Noted That You Had To Get Additional Coverage For You Daughter... My Daughter Can Be Covered On Our Policy Only If She Is Still Ft In School , As The Cp Program Is Counted As Only 6 Cr By Her School She Has To Take A Couple On Line Courses..., They Will Not Accept The Disney Courses Either...
My Question Is What Company Did You Get You Policy From ?? My Daughter Feels Two On Line Courses Will Be Too Much With A Ft Job Also.../

Thanks

 

[lovesdisney44]

A Few Posts Back You Noted That You Had To Get Additional Coverage For You Daughter... My Daughter Can Be Covered On Our Policy Only If She Is Still Ft In School , As The Cp Program Is Counted As Only 6 Cr By Her School She Has To Take A Couple On Line Courses..., They Will Not Accept The Disney Courses Either...
My Question Is What Company Did You Get You Policy From ?? My Daughter Feels Two On Line Courses Will Be Too Much With A Ft Job Also.../

Thanks

We're from the Chicagoland area and I called around to a few places. The best I found was through Blue Cross Blue Shield. It's only $78.00 a month and he can go to any Doctor - in Florida or anywhere else. He has a $500.00 deductible, but after that it's 80/20. Not a bad deal at all in my opinion.

 

[Scully12]

Now - my question - if he accepts, he plans to drive (from Delaware) and I plan to go with him and then fly home. Are there any other parents that plan to go with their child or have gone with the child when they checked in for the program?

I don't want to make him feel like a dweeb for having his mom there, but I also can't pass up the opportunity to go to WDW for a couple of days in the middle of winter!

Becky

most of the people I knew had a parent or two and/or siblings and or grandparents...etc there. Only one of my 5 roommates didn't bring any family with her and the other mothers (not includng mine) kept calling her "the girl with out the mother." It was really awful...but anyways It won't make him look dweeby or uncool. I liked having my mom to help me unpack a little and she ran errands for me while i had to go to meetings and stand in lines.

 

[GApeach0407]

A Few Posts Back You Noted That You Had To Get Additional Coverage For You Daughter... My Daughter Can Be Covered On Our Policy Only If She Is Still Ft In School , As The Cp Program Is Counted As Only 6 Cr By Her School She Has To Take A Couple On Line Courses..., They Will Not Accept The Disney Courses Either...
My Question Is What Company Did You Get You Policy From ?? My Daughter Feels Two On Line Courses Will Be Too Much With A Ft Job Also.../

Thanks

wicked, wehn i was on my first cp, i took 2 online courses and it wasn't bad at all i made a's in both of the classes, however it depends on what classes it is. but your daughter can ask to have a day or two off to focus on her school because when you are in the disney classes, they don't schedule you to work, so you can see if she would look into that, so you she stays on your health insurance.

 

[Traveliz]

A Few Posts Back You Noted That You Had To Get Additional Coverage For You Daughter... My Daughter Can Be Covered On Our Policy Only If She Is Still Ft In School , As The Cp Program Is Counted As Only 6 Cr By Her School She Has To Take A Couple On Line Courses..., They Will Not Accept The Disney Courses Either...
My Question Is What Company Did You Get You Policy From ?? My Daughter Feels Two On Line Courses Will Be Too Much With A Ft Job Also.../

Thanks

Assurant - our regular State Farm agent was able to arrange it.

Liz

 

[WICKED WILLY]

thanks

 

[WICKED WILLY]

thanks... but who would she talk to regarding getting some xtra time for her course work... she isnt in the disney classes ...will they still give her some study time .??

thanks

 

[Berlioz70]

thanks... but who would she talk to regarding getting some xtra time for her course work... she isnt in the disney classes ...will they still give her some study time .??

thanks

I "heard" that you can get time off for non-disney classes, but I do not know anyone who actually got it. In most cases she'll get the same day off each week, so she should just plan on spending the whole day on homework and make sure she manages her other time off.

 

[mrsmith]

I have a question about blackout dates. I am a school teacher and the only time we can visit out daughter is on springbreak which are blackout dates. I realize that she can not use her free passes to get us into the parks on these dates, but my question is can she get into the parks on those dates when she is not working? Thanks for your help.