Disney College Program for Parents Thread...

[stitchlovestink]

Girls in groups are rough in any setting, apartments, teams, just the way it is. My daughter lived in a 2 bedroom in Chatham first program then a 3 bedroom at Vista (not requested) for her second. Someone was termed from each apartment for work related issues. It amazes me that with all the screening and interviewing that so many wackos still slip through. Best advice is to stay neutral and out of the line of fire! In both programs her best friendships were developed at work. Those are the people you spend most of your time with and have similar schedules to socialize. I agree that the 4 person setting had far less drama.

I got from a pretty reliable source that on average, they terminate about 500 kids in the first 2 weeks of the start of a new program. My daughter knew a kid on her program last year who got termed the first day! He was in nonwellness housing but walked into a wellness unit with a beer in his hand. That was grounds for immediate termination. He was friends with DD. She asked him, 'What on Earth were you thinking??'

 

[carol-lamb]

Girls in groups are rough in any setting, apartments, teams, just the way it is. My daughter lived in a 2 bedroom in Chatham first program then a 3 bedroom at Vista (not requested) for her second. Someone was termed from each apartment for work related issues. It amazes me that with all the screening and interviewing that so many wackos still slip through. Best advice is to stay neutral and out of the line of fire! In both programs her best friendships were developed at work. Those are the people you spend most of your time with and have similar schedules to socialize. I agree that the 4 person setting had far less drama.

Totally agree on the friendship aspect. My daughter was Spring 2013 and extended twice. Her best friends were co-workers. My daughter never hung out with any of her roommates (other than her best friend and co-worker when they decided to live together after they were both accepted for extensions and had to move into a new apartment). She ended up living in three different apartments - all three bedrooms at Chatham - and never had any problems with any of her roommates. But because of work schedules, she never really had close friendships with them. Two of the girls in her last apartment were pretty messy - actually disgusting messy from the pictures I saw - but my daughter and her best friend just ignored it because it was mostly contained to their bedroom. No fights, arguments, disagreements with any of the different girls she lived with.

 

[Dconway14]

My son applied for the DCP Fall 2014 session. He just had his phone interview and is currently waiting for his acceptence. Ih he does get in what are the chances he gets the one of the roles he asked for? He put on his application that he has a lot of experience in the food industry but he does not want to be put in food and beverage service. He put down concierge, vacation planner, and merchandise as his top roles. What are the chances he gets one of them?

 

[stitchlovestink]

My son applied for the DCP Fall 2014 session. He just had his phone interview and is currently waiting for his acceptence. Ih he does get in what are the chances he gets the one of the roles he asked for? He put on his application that he has a lot of experience in the food industry but he does not want to be put in food and beverage service. He put down concierge, vacation planner, and merchandise as his top roles. What are the chances he gets one of them?

He picked roles that are VERY POPULAR!! I would say his chances of getting concierge or vacation planner are very slim. There aren't many of those roles for CPs. There are a lot of Roles in merchandise but honestly if he has experience in food and beverage, there is a very strong chance that that is where he will be offered a role because that is where he can be most effective and useful to the company the quickest. That seems to happen quite often...not ALL of the time....but alot. Just depends on numbers...number of slots versus applicants. Good Luck to him but he has to decide how much he wants to go versus the role he is offered.

 

[reesecup]

Hello. I know I posted that our DD got accepted for the Fall but I don't think I asked if anyone else knows much about the Full Service Food and Beverage. Does anyone have a child that did that role? I know she will be a hostess somewhere. I figured it probably would not be most of the restaurants at EPCOT because I would think they would try and match the international students with those. She would be thrilled if she got BOG (we got to eat there for our trip in Jan) but I doubt it will be that for sure. Anyone familiar with what most of the hours are? I understand there are not usually many in the FSFB.

 

[BadDad]

My son applied for the DCP Fall 2014 session. He just had his phone interview and is currently waiting for his acceptence. Ih he does get in what are the chances he gets the one of the roles he asked for? He put on his application that he has a lot of experience in the food industry but he does not want to be put in food and beverage service. He put down concierge, vacation planner, and merchandise as his top roles. What are the chances he gets one of them?

Concierge tends to go to those who already have done the program, especially those in Disney hotel operations. but who knows?

 

[BadDad]

I guess it depends on who you talk to as to whether Vista Way deserves it's reputation or not. My DD was there last spring/summer but she lived in Patterson and later moved to Chatham. Anyway while she was there she knew a group of 6 who were all termed the same day for a sex party at Vista.
I also knew other people from other years who had equally interesting stories to tell about Vista. It was where you went to 'Hook Up'. And the following morning you did the 'Walk of Shame.' Some long time friends....Some are now current Disney Cast Members.
There were also chronic bug problems in at least some of the buildings last year at Vista. They fumigated there way more than anywhere else. These were fellow CPers that my DD worked with commenting/complaining. They were living it. Why would they lie to her??
We have all found 8 girls in a unit RARELY ever goes well!!!! Someone will get ganged up on. Seen it happen TOO MANY times. And it is really ugly when one girl works an early shift and none of the others do and they make too much noise for her to sleep! Seen that happen more times than I ever should have. And the rest of the apt is nasty to the one who asks them to turn the volume down. YUP. Personally I think 4 is a nice number.... not too many but more than 1 other. They will be surprised how often they are together. And sometimes it's nice to have some quiet space!
Good Luck to those going in!

My S did his first program at Chatham, non-wellness: No parties

He is now back at Vista Way, non-wellness: Multiple parties during the week. More than he desires, and fears termination bc he is worried that his roommates are serving alcohol to underage female cast members. He has requested multiple times for a transfer to Chatham / Commons / Patterson without success (either to a wellness or non-wellness)

 

[Summertime]

Remember that FSFB could be at a hotel too. My daughter's roommate is at Caribbean Beach Resort in that role.

 

[stitchlovestink]

My S did his first program at Chatham, non-wellness: No parties

He is now back at Vista Way, non-wellness: Multiple parties during the week. More than he desires, and fears termination bc he is worried that his roommates are serving alcohol to underage female cast members. He has requested multiple times for a transfer to Chatham / Commons / Patterson without success (either to a wellness or non-wellness)

And what's sad is security has been known to turn a blind eye to a 'cute' underage girl drinking. Oh they didn't see her with any alcohol! Security guards are generally males. But they are super tough on the guys....or so I have heard from more than one reliable source.
They always suggest that even if you are not a drinker as long as you are 21, you should opt for non wellness just to protect yourself!! Better safe than sorry!!

 

[reesecup]

Remember that FSFB could be at a hotel too. My daughter's roommate is at Caribbean Beach Resort in that role.

Oh, yes, we've thought about that. She kind of wants a park but would be fine with one at the resorts, especially if it ended up at Cape May or Wilderness Lodge or Hoop Dee Doo (although those could be very loud) or something. She talked to a girl who did hers there and she loved it. Do you know how your DD's roommate likes it? I wonder if they get mostly night hours or if they get to work the early hours much. She is more of a morning person so I hope she gets to work some of those.

 

[stitchlovestink]

Oh, yes, we've thought about that. She kind of wants a park but would be fine with one at the resorts, especially if it ended up at Cape May or Wilderness Lodge or Hoop Dee Doo (although those could be very loud) or something. She talked to a girl who did hers there and she loved it. Do you know how your DD's roommate likes it? I wonder if they get mostly night hours or if they get to work the early hours much. She is more of a morning person so I hope she gets to work some of those.

Generally in the beginning they get morning hours because that's when the training takes place. After a little while, the CPs tend to get the late hours as the Full timers want the earlier shifts and they get preference. The first 90 days they will work at their assigned location, after that they 'can' get deployed to work elsewhere. Some get deployed and never make it back to their original location and some never get deployed. One just NEVER knows. Also keep in mind that there are alot of CPs in the food courts at the value resorts. DD had some friends who worked at POP and they really enjoyed it. It can depend on your boss/leaders too!

 

[reesecup]

Generally in the beginning they get morning hours because that's when the training takes place. After a little while, the CPs tend to get the late hours as the Full timers want the earlier shifts and they get preference. The first 90 days they will work at their assigned location, after that they 'can' get deployed to work elsewhere. Some get deployed and never make it back to their original location and some never get deployed. One just NEVER knows. Also keep in mind that there are alot of CPs in the food courts at the value resorts. DD had some friends who worked at POP and they really enjoyed it. It can depend on your boss/leaders too!

Thanks for the information. I think what she was told with the FSFB, she would be with one of the restaurants, mainly in being a hostess but she may have been informed wrong. The morning hours would be good even if only in the beginning. She would not mind working the afternoon shift at all but may have a little harder time if the time comes to 1 a.m or something. I would not think that would happen all that much in a full service restaurant though but I don't know. Still trying to research about it all. Thanks!

 

[dnswalker]

Hi, everyone. I finally made it through all 124 pages of this tread and am ready to ask some questions!!! My DD21, Ariel, applied for the program a month or so ago and recently got accepted into QSFB for Fall Advantage 2014. Not her first choice (or second or third for that matter) but is just excited to go in any role.
Ariel is an only child and has been living at home and going to a local community college. She is studying to be a RN but is on a two year wait list to get into her program here in CA. She will finish up the last of her general education requirements this semester. We encouraged her to apply for the program. I mean, if she has to wait, just as well wait in the most magical place on Earth!!!
My biggest concerns for her are homesickness and learning to deal with roommates. She has joined the DCP QSFB Facebook page, but is having trouble finding roommates. Is there a better way to find them? She is getting really concerned. Her arrival date is June 9 and would prefer to stay at Chatham.

 

[MERMAIDchar]

Hi, everyone. I finally made it through all 124 pages of this tread and am ready to ask some questions!!! My DD21, Ariel, applied for the program a month or so ago and recently got accepted into QSFB for Fall Advantage 2014. Not her first choice (or second or third for that matter) but is just excited to go in any role.
Ariel is an only child and has been living at home and going to a local community college. She is studying to be a RN but is on a two year wait list to get into her program here in CA. She will finish up the last of her general education requirements this semester. We encouraged her to apply for the program. I mean, if she has to wait, just as well wait in the most magical place on Earth!!!
My biggest concerns for her are homesickness and learning to deal with roommates. She has joined the DCP QSFB Facebook page, but is having trouble finding roommates. Is there a better way to find them? She is getting really concerned. Her arrival date is June 9 and would prefer to stay at Chatham.

I usually don't reply to posts in this section because I am not a parent...I usually post questions here if anything because some of the other parents are very knowledgeable on the program. Any who, I am also doing the Fall Advantage arriving June 9th and also want to stay at Chatham...
For me this is going to be a huge change as I have never lived away from home and am very close with my mom. I know there will be homesickness (for me), but I also know I have wanted to work for the Disney company since I was 12. I personally can't help you with or your daughter with finding roommates but there is a roommate survey lower down on this board...
My advice to you and your daughter is...be excited, but be scared...be happy, but be sad and most of all be ready for a new experience...especially since she is on a waiting list anyway. I hope your daughter gets more excited as the time comes closer and I hope everything works out. Best of Luck!

 

[Summertime]

One of my daughter's roommates works at a resort cafeteria and works nights - till midnight or so, but loves it. Another roommate was deployed for about 3 weeks to another park and didn't like it and it was way before the 90 days so I think it more depends on where they are needed at the time. As for looking for roommates, I'd say for your daughter to just keep looking on that Face Book page every day - she'll find her roommates. Maybe she'll have to post saying she's looking for roommates and start that way. As for being homesick - that will definitely happen, but with my daughter it doesn't seem to last more than a day. We talk every day and do FaceTime so that helps tons. They just need to remember that four months goes by pretty fast and everyone will had down/bad days - that's just part of life and then tomorrow will be a new/better day! I do say having a car will make a huge difference. My daughter doesn't have her car and I so wish I had it put it on a truck and shipped it to her.

 

[poison ivy]

Hi, everyone. I finally made it through all 124 pages of this tread and am ready to ask some questions!!! My DD21, Ariel, applied for the program a month or so ago and recently got accepted into QSFB for Fall Advantage 2014. Not her first choice (or second or third for that matter) but is just excited to go in any role.
Ariel is an only child and has been living at home and going to a local community college. She is studying to be a RN but is on a two year wait list to get into her program here in CA. She will finish up the last of her general education requirements this semester. We encouraged her to apply for the program. I mean, if she has to wait, just as well wait in the most magical place on Earth!!!
My biggest concerns for her are homesickness and learning to deal with roommates. She has joined the DCP QSFB Facebook page, but is having trouble finding roommates. Is there a better way to find them? She is getting really concerned. Her arrival date is June 9 and would prefer to stay at Chatham.

First, congratulations to your daughter. It's still early so hopefully she'll find a roommate thru the social networking channels, but if not, it will be whomever is nearest in line to her as they check in that also hasn't managed to find a roommate.
My son found his roommate the 2nd time around only a few weeks before he started after they exchanged surveys - so I agree with the previous poster who encouraged your daughter to fill one out.

His first program was luck of the draw when he got down there, and he wound up with one student from Puerto Rico, one US exchange student from Spain along with an only child from Michigan to room with. All were early risers, early in line to check in and very committed to the program. All 4 of them graduated and kept a tight ship to make sure they didn't break the rules.

So please tell her not to give up! There is still a lot of time.
Disney used to have a roommate matching program but I'm not sure if DORMS eliminated this.

Good luck to you guys.

 

[reesecup]

Hi, everyone. I finally made it through all 124 pages of this tread and am ready to ask some questions!!! My DD21, Ariel, applied for the program a month or so ago and recently got accepted into QSFB for Fall Advantage 2014. Not her first choice (or second or third for that matter) but is just excited to go in any role.
Ariel is an only child and has been living at home and going to a local community college. She is studying to be a RN but is on a two year wait list to get into her program here in CA. She will finish up the last of her general education requirements this semester. We encouraged her to apply for the program. I mean, if she has to wait, just as well wait in the most magical place on Earth!!!
My biggest concerns for her are homesickness and learning to deal with roommates. She has joined the DCP QSFB Facebook page, but is having trouble finding roommates. Is there a better way to find them? She is getting really concerned. Her arrival date is June 9 and would prefer to stay at Chatham.

Congrats to your dd and congrats to you for making it through the 124 pages of this thread. I've yet to do that but need to! My daughter joined the FB Fall page and did the roommate survey. Before she knew it, she had 7 other girls to room with. BUT, now I'm a bit nervous about that from what I've read on here. She is a morning person and does not like staying up way in the night. She will also be very committed to following the rules so I hope no one does something to bring the other girls down. I just think that's a lot of girls and I can feel the drama coming but maybe it will be good for having someone around. I'm a bit worried about the homesickness as well. She has been away for college 4 hours away so she is accustomed to not seeing us all the time. BUT she is used to seeing us on breaks and such. Hopefully we will be there though Our son may be going to an art school only about an hour and a half away from her so that would be nice even though we will be even more broke since he will want to go to Disney to see is sister on the weekends. He is 18 months younger but they are like twins. Very close! Anyway, good luck to her. I think social media/face time, etc. helps with the homesickness and I understand they stay so busy so probably have little time to miss home too much!

 

[BadDad]

And what's sad is security has been known to turn a blind eye to a 'cute' underage girl drinking. Oh they didn't see her with any alcohol! Security guards are generally males. But they are super tough on the guys....or so I have heard from more than one reliable source.
They always suggest that even if you are not a drinker as long as you are 21, you should opt for non wellness just to protect yourself!! Better safe than sorry!!

The flip side to wellness is you'll have roommates who are younger and tend to be more immature
And
If alcohol is found in an area where anyone/everyone has access to, the entire apt is terminated.

Unfortunately, there is no "right" answer.

 

[dnswalker]

Thanks for the input about the roommate survey on Disboards. I'll have her work on that too. Does anyone know if the beds are twin or twinXL? We are starting to do some pre-move shopping!

 

[poison ivy]

According to Disney's website the beds are twin.