Any Disney College Program parents here?

[dnoyes]

My youngest DD has been accepted for the fall 09 college program at Disney World.
What I'm wondering is have any of you had children that have completed this internship and what are your thoughts about it. I have read the college board from one end to the other and did find many threads from the students themselves but not much in the way of a parents view.

Questions I have.

Is the work experience as good as Disney claims or is it just cheap labor for them.

Did your child come home with a renewed desire for education or did they want to stay in the work force from then on out.

I've read of students self terminating themselves to go home early, is this because of treatment they receive on the job or are they just homesick.

Will she ever want to come home ... j/k well kind of.

Anything you could tell me about it would be great. It sounds like a great program Disney has set up but I just want to ease my mind about her leaving school for six months and getting only six credits for that time.

 

[Micca]

We had a DD do the CP(about 7 years ago) Here are some answers to your questions...

Is the work experience as good as Disney claims or is it just cheap labor for them.

For our DD the answer would be "both".


Did your child come home with a renewed desire for education or did they want to stay in the work force from then on out.

She was supposed to stay for a semester, ended up being a full-time CM and stayed 2.5 years before she came back and finished her degree.

I've read of students self terminating themselves to go home early, is this because of treatment they receive on the job or are they just homesick.

Probably some of both.

Will she ever want to come home ... j/k well kind of.

At some point my DD saw that there were people 5-10 years older that had been there for several years and just sort of got lost in the system. They still had lousy hours, didn't make much money, and were living like college students at 30 and older. That's when she decided to finish school

Anything you could tell me about it would be great. It sounds like a great program Disney has set up but I just want to ease my mind about her leaving school for six months and getting only six credits for that time.

She loved her time there, and we did too. She maintains her status as a seasonal CM now even though she lives far, far away. It was a great experience for her, and it's always an ice breaker during job interviews.

 

[DMickey28]

I kow that you asked for parents advice but I did the CP 10 years ago (YIKES, that long ago??? WOW) and I'll answer your questions honestly!!

Is the work experience as good as Disney claims or is it just cheap labor for them.

My major in college was Hotel/Restaurant Management and I worked at the Front desk of the All Star sports resorts. At that time, 10 years ago, it was a 'seperate' program from the regular program. Ours was 6 months long, we roomed with other hospitality kids and got more on the job training and rotation. We worked all the different aspects of the resort through out the duration of the program (Except food service.) From that aspect it was totally excellent work experience. I ended up going in to the Restaurant side of the business but still took a lot away from the program. From the side of it being on my resume, it was a BIG plus for me. At the very least it was a ice breaker/conversation starter when interviewing for job out of college and many places looked at it as excellent reference/job experience in Customer Service.

Did your child come home with a renewed desire for education or did they want to stay in the work force from then on out.
At the time I started the program I had been in school, with a very rough start, for 2.5 years. During that 2.5 years I had already taken a semester off. I knew that I would go back and finish school. There was never a doubt in my mind honestly. Everyone I worked with in the hospitality program also went home.

I've read of students self terminating themselves to go home early, is this because of treatment they receive on the job or are they just homesick.
I actually left a week early, didn't terminate, but it was not due to anything with work. Another girl I know left early because she was homesick and missed her boyfriend. Unless you have a LARGE bug up your butt or except something that was never promised or part of the deal in the first place I have never heard of any overall treatment problems. I am sure there are personality clashes between bosses and workers just like any place else. There was a girl that left the program before it even started because she was placed at the All-Stars and REFUSED to work in the "Ghetto" of WDW (her words) and they wouldn't change her location.

Will she ever want to come home ... j/k well kind of.

I couldn't wait to go home. Depends on the kind of girl she is, I suppose!!

Anything you could tell me about it would be great. It sounds like a great program Disney has set up but I just want to ease my mind about her leaving school for six months and getting only six credits for that time.

I am better at answering specific questions!! There was way too much about the program to recap or go over. Everyone is so different and they will experience the program differently. I found the living enviroment to be very similar to college ... some sink some swim!!!

 

[dnoyes]

Thank you both for taking the time to reply

Micca, how does one remain a seasonal CM? do they return in the summer a work short periods of time?

DMickey28
Sounds like Disney and guests dodged a bullet with the "Ghetto Girl" having such high standards I've been to a few Ghettos in my life but never found one on a Disney property.

 

[keenercam]

Our daughter is there now and loves the experience. She is a lifeguard and rotates through pools at 4 resorts. She has opportunities to pick up extra hours or extra shifts at another, very busy pool. She has 5 roommates and has loved her "first apartment" experience and has learned a lot from it. She has been there since late January and would have come home the first weekend in June but applied for an extension. She will now come home in August.

We have heard of 5 CP participants who have been terminated by WDW for breaking the rules, but I have not heard of a single one who went home early voluntarily. Our daughter has had some days of being homesick (mostly missing her dog), but we've had the good fortune of making weekend trips to WDW or having friends see her on their vacations. She came home one weekend recently for a long weekend, but will otherwise have been away from home for 6 1/2 months.

I know she'll be eager to come home and I know she'll take her education more seriously when she comes back so that she can get a good job and not have to worry about making ends meet.

BTW, I was initially worried about security, etc. but her apartment complex is more secure than her university campus. I was impressed with what we had to do to visit her, and heard more stories today about people not being able to visit her and not being able to attend an event with her last night because they were not CP participants. I just thought I'd mention that in case it helps put your mind at ease.

 

[Traveliz]

My youngest DD has been accepted for the fall 09 college program at Disney World.
What I'm wondering is have any of you had children that have completed this internship and what are your thoughts about it. I have read the college board from one end to the other and did find many threads from the students themselves but not much in the way of a parents view.

Questions I have.

Is the work experience as good as Disney claims or is it just cheap labor for them.

Did your child come home with a renewed desire for education or did they want to stay in the work force from then on out.

I've read of students self terminating themselves to go home early, is this because of treatment they receive on the job or are they just homesick.

Will she ever want to come home ... j/k well kind of.

Anything you could tell me about it would be great. It sounds like a great program Disney has set up but I just want to ease my mind about her leaving school for six months and getting only six credits for that time.

My daughter did the program Fall 07 and then extended through Spring 08. She had planned to do it for years and after she completed two years at a community college (although she hadn't received an associate at that time).

I think it was a great experience for her. It is cheap labor true but they (or at least the areas she worked in) really promoted continuing your education. They even had an event after the park was closed one night with networking with many of the managers of AK and they were consistent in encouraging the kids to continue their education even if they did stay at Disney.

She came home with a renewed desire to complete her education but in Hospitality Management...took a few more classes over the summer and then was accepted at University of Central Florida in their Hospitality program. So after the summer she went back and is living on the Rosen campus and was able to get a part time position at Disney (late last summer).

She had a zillion roommates on the college program (seriously I bet 30 or more between the two semesters) and a variety of reasons for coming and going..some were culinary whose programs ended at different times, some were international who were placed into open apts until there were opening in the international apts, she had several who were termed by Disney and I think just one that self termed. Locally I heard of one girl there at the same time that self termed (after less than a couple of weeks) due to homesickness. My friends were all sure my daughter would be homesick but seriously she never was -- or if she was it was certainly the mild case that everyone gets in a new situation. In fact I visited her one time with a friend and after about ten minutes my friend leaned over and said, "she isn't homesick at all."

I don't think Chloe wants to come back here on a permanent basis - she is getting her degree in Hospitality Mgmt with her track being theme park and attraction management and hopes to stay in Orlando - there is just soooo much to do there. Money wise though who knows what will happen.

Hope this helps.

Liz

 

[dnoyes]

Our daughter is there now and loves the experience. She is a lifeguard and rotates through pools at 4 resorts. She has opportunities to pick up extra hours or extra shifts at another, very busy pool. She has 5 roommates and has loved her "first apartment" experience and has learned a lot from it. She has been there since late January and would have come home the first weekend in June but applied for an extension. She will now come home in August.

We have heard of 5 CP participants who have been terminated by WDW for breaking the rules, but I have not heard of a single one who went home early voluntarily. Our daughter has had some days of being homesick (mostly missing her dog), but we've had the good fortune of making weekend trips to WDW or having friends see her on their vacations. She came home one weekend recently for a long weekend, but will otherwise have been away from home for 6 1/2 months.

I know she'll be eager to come home and I know she'll take her education more seriously when she comes back so that she can get a good job and not have to worry about making ends meet.

BTW, I was initially worried about security, etc. but her apartment complex is more secure than her university campus. I was impressed with what we had to do to visit her, and heard more stories today about people not being able to visit her and not being able to attend an event with her last night because they were not CP participants. I just thought I'd mention that in case it helps put your mind at ease.

Yes the security is something I'm happy to hear about. This will be our DD first apartment too and that is something I think she is more worried about than us. She can be a little OCD about messy people Might work out pretty well for her roommates to have their own maid living with them.

She leaves August 12th and in October her grandparents will be there for a few days, then in November we're going down for 10 days and bringing her best friend and older sister to visit her. Then she's on her own until Jan 2nd.

Thamks for the reply

 

[dnoyes]

My daughter did the program Fall 07 and then extended through Spring 08. She had planned to do it for years and after she completed two years at a community college (although she hadn't received an associate at that time).

I think it was a great experience for her. It is cheap labor true but they (or at least the areas she worked in) really promoted continuing your education. They even had an event after the park was closed one night with networking with many of the managers of AK and they were consistent in encouraging the kids to continue their education even if they did stay at Disney.

She came home with a renewed desire to complete her education but in Hospitality Management...took a few more classes over the summer and then was accepted at University of Central Florida in their Hospitality program. So after the summer she went back and is living on the Rosen campus and was able to get a part time position at Disney (late last summer).

She had a zillion roommates on the college program (seriously I bet 30 or more between the two semesters) and a variety of reasons for coming and going..some were culinary whose programs ended at different times, some were international who were placed into open apts until there were opening in the international apts, she had several who were termed by Disney and I think just one that self termed. Locally I heard of one girl there at the same time that self termed (after less than a couple of weeks) due to homesickness. My friends were all sure my daughter would be homesick but seriously she never was -- or if she was it was certainly the mild case that everyone gets in a new situation. In fact I visited her one time with a friend and after about ten minutes my friend leaned over and said, "she isn't homesick at all."

I don't think Chloe wants to come back here on a permanent basis - she is getting her degree in Hospitality Mgmt with her track being theme park and attraction management and hopes to stay in Orlando - there is just soooo much to do there. Money wise though who knows what will happen.

Hope this helps.

Liz

It sounds like it was the perfect time for her to go after two years in school. Our DD will finish her 2nd year at Boise State next month and after reading your post I'm even more convinced this is the right time to get out and learn what she really wants to do.

Thanks Liz

 

[Traveliz]

It sounds like it was the perfect time for her to go after two years in school. Our DD will finish her 2nd year at Boise State next month and after reading your post I'm even more convinced this is the right time to get out and learn what she really wants to do.

Thanks Liz

You know I think it was the perfect time - for my daughter anyway - I am not sure she would have had the great experience she did had she gone earlier just based on her personality and not being as sure of what she wanted to do school wise etc.

Liz

 

[MainStMandy]

Not a parent but did the CP many years ago!!

My youngest DD has been accepted for the fall 09 college program at Disney World.
What I'm wondering is have any of you had children that have completed this internship and what are your thoughts about it. I have read the college board from one end to the other and did find many threads from the students themselves but not much in the way of a parents view.

Questions I have.

Is the work experience as good as Disney claims or is it just cheap labor for them.

Did your child come home with a renewed desire for education or did they want to stay in the work force from then on out.

I've read of students self terminating themselves to go home early, is this because of treatment they receive on the job or are they just homesick.

Will she ever want to come home ... j/k well kind of.

Anything you could tell me about it would be great. It sounds like a great program Disney has set up but I just want to ease my mind about her leaving school for six months and getting only six credits for that time.

The work experience is awesome...if that is what your child makes of it. I had some amazing experiences including speaker seminars, shadowing managers, learning new job and even meeting some Execs!!

I wanted both as far as finishing school vs. working. I regret not staying there because it's hard to get back in. I have friends who stayed on and having AMAZING jobs!!

My brother also did the CP and got homesick (which is SO not like him). I on the other hand loved it!! I missed my family but never bad enough to come home.

It is what you make it. It can be an AMAZING time. I have gotten so many jobs partly because Disney is on my resume, what an awesome conversation starter!!

Good luck!

 

[keenercam]

Yes the security is something I'm happy to hear about. This will be our DD first apartment too and that is something I think she is more worried about than us. She can be a little OCD about messy people Might work out pretty well for her roommates to have their own maid living with them.

She leaves August 12th and in October her grandparents will be there for a few days, then in November we're going down for 10 days and bringing her best friend and older sister to visit her. Then she's on her own until Jan 2nd.

Thamks for the reply

It's funny that you mentioned your daughter being a bit OCD about messy people. They do apartment inspections and you can be in big trouble if you have violations. My DD got sick of everyone being messy and started leaving post-its for her roommates reminding them to take out the trash, wash dishes, etc. More importantly, the night before their first inspection, DD helped coordinate a cleaning plan and after they all went to bed, 2 of the girls got up to re-do their "jobs" (one of them told me this story), because they were worried that they'd fail and my DD would be upset with them. They ended up winning a white glove award which got their pix posted in the main building of their complex and they got chocolates and a certificate. DD says they all lapse into cleaning laziness but are respectful enough when reminding each other. I just think it's ironic that DD went off to WDW to learn how to manage an apartment, a budget, grocery shopping, public transportation, and apartment cleaning. LOL!

 

[dakcp2001]

My youngest DD has been accepted for the fall 09 college program at Disney World.
What I'm wondering is have any of you had children that have completed this internship and what are your thoughts about it. I have read the college board from one end to the other and did find many threads from the students themselves but not much in the way of a parents view.



Ok, I am not a parent, but I am a former CP, I did it 10 years ago, so i have more of a first hand perspective if you dont mind my sharing


Questions I have.
Is the work experience as good as Disney claims or is it just cheap labor for them.

[Both! Depends what job you get, but they are very strict with punctuality, attendance, & doing your best which are great lessons to learn at such a young age. A LOT of people get canned the first few weeks for being late, calling out a lot, or just not doing their job For me the besst part was all the guest interaction, you really meet a lot of great people and you become a lot more personable which will help in life[/[/COLOR]FONT]

Did your child come home with a renewed desire for education or did they want to stay in the work force from then on out.

This could be an issue, a lot of kids loved it & stayed after their semester was over. I REALLY wanted to, but really couldnt affford to. I have always wanted to go back, and honestly if I had stayed another semester or so, I dont think I would have regretted it. But it is so hard to leave.


I've read of students self terminating themselves to go home early, is this because of treatment they receive on the job or are they just homesick.

We had a lot of people get terminated the first few weeks, we also had 2 people in my apartment leave. Mostly it was becasue they simply weren't grown up enough to live on their own. One roomie cryed all day and night about her boyfriend, we all cheered when she finally left and the other one just called in sick all the time, she didnt want to work, and had NEVER had a job in her life. We had a neighbor that quit because she refused to wear the Pizzafari costume. lol. Get over yourself. You can compare it to the kids who go off to college and come home, like drop out cuz they dont like living away or whatever

Will she ever want to come home ... j/k well kind of.

Nope!


[Anything you could tell me about it would be great. It sounds like a great program Disney has set up but I just want to ease my mind about her leaving school for six months and getting only six credits for that time.

[was by far one of the best things I have ever done. I was completely on my own and didnt know a single person when i got there. I learned a lot about myself, and a lot about being independent and I met some of the most wonderful people! I am getting married next year and my roomates from my CP will both be there and we of course, are getting married at WDW.

EVERY single job interview I have been to since the college program, is almost always completey consumed with questions about working for Disney and it really looks great on a resume

Disney World runs like a well oiled machine with castmembers & rotations and costumes. It really is a GREAT work experience, no matter where you are but of course some jobs are better than others. [/COLOR]


It is what you make of it, some people love it and get a lot out of it, others just dont ttake advantage of what they have to offer. I wouldnt change it for the world. I STRONGLY encourage anyone who wants to do it to do it! Feel free to PM me if you have any questions, and I highly recommend that she have a car, it REALLY makes things easier, or at least it did 10years ago.
__________________


Many CPers did not take advantage of the shadow offers that we get, you can do 2 full days of shadowing whomever you want PAID! I shadowed the animal nutritionist and an animal trainer at DAK they were both awesome.

 

[lovepurple]

My son did the CP a few years ago and my daughter is doing Fall advantage and checking in May 20 and staying until Jan 2. My son felt you get out of the program what you put into it. The pay is low and you don't make much after rent and food, but there are a lot of things to take advantage of. My son took several of the Disney classes offered and went to some seminars. He got to meet a few execs one on one and learned a lot from them. One of his roommates went home near the end of the program due to homesickness and then really wished he had stayed. They still keep in touch.
I wish they had such a thing when I was in college.

 

[dnoyes]

I would have never guessed so many people on this board would reply.

Thank you all.

Keenercam. Post it notes are now on the list.

Lovepurple, you and me both, I would have loved to do something like this when I was 20.

dakcp2001 Congrats on getting married at Disney, we'll need a trip report with pics.

 

[korzmom]

my dd wants this so bad-but sadly got rejected this time around. she decided to go another semester just so she can apply agin for the cp..i hope you dd has a good experience.

 

[gchockeymom]

My DS is still in high school but want to look into this with him. All of you have had some great comments. It sounds like the best thing for our kids right now. And I can go visit more often if I have a better excuse to my hubby than I miss the mouse.

 

[safetymom]

My daughter did the program twice. She had some very wacky roommates but thought the CP was great.

It was amazing how she grew as a person in the CP. She was what is called a Rescue Ranger and worked in many areas in Epcot.

Yes the pay is low but she is glad she did the program.

 

[lilbugger23]

my dd wants this so bad-but sadly got rejected this time around. she decided to go another semester just so she can apply agin for the cp..i hope you dd has a good experience.

Thanks korzmom and I hope your daughter gets in next time. Maybe a little pixie dust will help

 

[dnoyes]

Thanks korzmom and I hope your daughter gets in next time. Maybe a little pixie dust will help

Sorry didn't realize the kid was logged on with my laptop (I'm at home now) anyway, that's my DD lilbugger23 all 4 feet 10 inches of her.