DCP- First times a charm!

[bitey]

Hi everyone! My name is Mallory (Or Mal- or Jamie! Good ol' dad's side of the family.)
I got accepted on my DCP and I'm SO excited- I've been poking around the internet since I applied to gather up as much information as I could. I'm not sure if it was just sheer luck, a good interview (I was horrified I botched the interview, but apparently something worked!) or if it was just in the cards, but my first shot at the DCP I got it!
I'll be in Food and Beverage in Spring of 2020! Not entirely sure where, I've heard it may jump around a lot or I may be in one place, but I guess we'll just have to see.

The last couple weeks I have been kinda weighing the pros and cons of living in a dorm VS just getting an apartment near by. The dorms sound amazing, but it's one of those situations where there's a few things where an apartment definitely sounds more handy- like being able to take my pets with, having my own little space, but I'm a little worried having my own apartment might isolate me a little from potentially making friends while at the program Would that be an issue? I'm a bit of a social butterfly and try and make friends everywhere I go, I'm just worried it'd be a matter of, like...Busy schedules, not living with people, etc.

I'm excited to meet everyone, though!! This has been a dream of mine for some time now, and I just recently had the nerves to give it a shot!

 

[Newsies]

Hi Mallory! So nice to meet you. Congratulations on getting accepted into the Program! This is such a life-shaping experience and I'm so excited to see you around the Parks this Spring.

The decision to live on or off-property is definitely a tough one, especially in a situation like yours where you would ideally like to take your pets to Florida with you. There are a lot of people who love living off-property, but I personally could not imagine doing the DCP outside of housing. If I had a car and would have wanted an off-property housing choice, I would have just gone PT/FT with the company, since so much of my "experience" on the DCP relied heavily on the friends I made in my apartment complex. Just being in an apartment with 3 or more girls that are all going through the Program with you provides a great network and support system on those tough days where you might feel sad if you came home to an empty apartment. There's also the issue of finding the right apartment, getting into a lease, and not having to set aside money from each check to go towards rent/utilities. DCP Housing eliminates that process for you and takes rent right out of your paycheck, so you'll never have to worry about putting money aside from your checks each week. Of course, there are a lot of people who prefer off-property housing because it is cheaper and they disagree with Disney's admittedly strict housing rules.

I would continue weigh the pros and cons of both, but if you plan on going off-property, I would search "Cast Member Apartment/Roommate Finder" on Facebook or join the "Disney College Program Spring/Spring Advantage" group and search for potential roommates/people looking to sublet there.

See you this spring!

 

[bitey]

Hello and thank you so much!!


Considering the chunk of time between now and spring, I'm going to continue to weigh on the options. I'll be heading down there with a car, most definitely, and I think that will definitely weigh in as an advantage to living off-property. The housing is definitely adorable, and I definitely understand the rules, but there's always that uneasy level of 'oohh, who am I going to be roomed with? What if we don't get along?' etc that comes with it- so there's that to think about!
Does the DCP allow people, once the season is over, to go PT/FT? I haven't looked much into that yet, but I think the DCP would be an amazing 'lets test this out' and see if going PT/FT would work- if that's an option, of course!

And thank you for the tips! I'll definitely start up a facebook again and see who'll be there in spring!

 

[softball chick]

Hello and thank you so much!!


Considering the chunk of time between now and spring, I'm going to continue to weigh on the options. I'll be heading down there with a car, most definitely, and I think that will definitely weigh in as an advantage to living off-property. The housing is definitely adorable, and I definitely understand the rules, but there's always that uneasy level of 'oohh, who am I going to be roomed with? What if we don't get along?' etc that comes with it- so there's that to think about!
Does the DCP allow people, once the season is over, to go PT/FT? I haven't looked much into that yet, but I think the DCP would be an amazing 'lets test this out' and see if going PT/FT would work- if that's an option, of course!

And thank you for the tips! I'll definitely start up a facebook again and see who'll be there in spring!

When I did my program back in Spring of 2016, there were six of us living in our apartment at Chatham. At the end of the program, 3 of us went home while 2 extended their program and the third got a PT role. The two that extended their program both went PT/FT when their extension was up. And now one went back for a second program and stayed on PT (then FT, then Guest Relations!) after that program. So yes, DCP people can and often do go PT/FT after their program (four out of six roommates from my apartment did and still work for Disney today!). Sadly I knew I needed to move home from a financial and career standpoint, or I probably would have done the same thing.

The one thing that I will say about staying on is that Disney encourages DCP participants to finish their degree. Sometimes people stay on PT/FT and don't go back and finish school. Disney will always be there, and they will like it even more if you have a degree.