Planning for DCP, so many questions - I'M OVERWHELMED!

[MsFrazzledFro]

I know there's a thread for DCP-related questions, but since I'm going to ask about a million I decided a new thread would be more efficient. I'm currently planning to do the DCP in Spring 2013, but since my class schedule is so hectic I've decided to plan everything out now so that if I get accepted I'll be prepared to go without any hitches. And if I'm not, no harm done!

So, now for the million questions!

1) I've read that the Spring Advantage Program lasts until August. However, this may or may not conflict with my school's fall semester start (we start in mid-August). Am I able to request a certain arrival/departure date so as not to cause any problems, or at least have a way of getting back to school on time?

2) I live soooo far away from FL that driving my car is really not an option for me, so I'm planning to fly in. However, this gives me a few problems since I'll obviously be bringing quite a lot of stuff. Am I able to ship my stuff like bedding, clothing, decoration, etc. down there? If so, is there a place I can have it delivered?

3) Building off the above question, is there some sort of DCP/other Disney transport that will pick me up at the airport and take me to the housing? I'd imagine there would be, I just want to make sure.

4) If I do the Advantage Program, I'll be missing my mom's birthday in July. However, if it was possible at all to travel back home for the weekend I would try to do it. Is it possible at all to leave work for a few days?

5) I'm planning on taking online courses from my own university while I'm doing the DCP; however, our choice of courses are limited. I've heard that you can take classes from local universities - if anyone here has done this, could they maybe give me an idea of how easy/hard it is to transfer credits back home?

6) About how much money should I bring with me to cover living expenses until I start getting paid (excluding deposits)?

7) DCP housing has kitchens, right? I feel stupid for asking this Um, could anyone describe to me what they include and if I need to bring any kitchen stuff with me?

8) What furniture is included in housing, and is there any that isn't included that's necessary?

9) Any recommendations for housing complexes? I'd like to keep housing costs relatively low and love having lots of people around but don't want to get stuck somewhere with a bunch of partiers. I've heard good and bad things about all the buildings.

10) Okay, I've heard so many things about perks for DCP. Is it true that we get unlimited admission for ourselves to the parks? Is it also true that we can admit three other people for six days free while on the program? Does any of this extend to the other stuff in Disney (water parks, DQ, etc.)? Do we also get discounts on stuff, and if so can we use them for our family's benefit?

Okay, so there are all my questions. Sorry I typed out a whole novel. Anyway, any help would be much, much appreciated. I'm already planning on meeting with Career Services and Financial Services at my school during this semester but I thought extra help from DCPers would be even better. Thanks!

 

[antlane]

Hi there, let me try and answer the best I can! I did the program in Spring 2011 so it's all relatively fresh for me haha.

1. When you accept your invitation to the DCP they will give you certain arrival/departure dates to choose from, so you can pick which best suits YOU.

2. I believe you can ship your stuff, what I recommend is if you can bring as little as possible and have family ship the rest to you week by week. If that doesn't work out I suggest maybe staying one night before the CP in a Disney hotel, maybe an all star or pop century which are fairly cheap, and take advantage of the Disney's Magical Express. They will pick up one suitcase for free and provide you transportation to your resort. You can find more info here: http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/faq/airport-service/

3. From airport to hotel, unless you are staying on property the night before you have to take a taxi. I kind of answered this one above lol but to add onto it, I would coordinate with a roommate who has a car and see if they can pick you and your stuff up the morning of check in. That's what I did and it saved me a big headache.

4. It IS possible to take time off, be sure to request it early just to make sure and if you don't get all the days off you can always give shifts away.

5. Sadly I cannot answer this one

6. I recommend a few hundred if you can. The deposit for accepting the DCP is 100, they take double rent out of your paycheck the second week and no rent the first week. After that you start paying single weeks rent each week so maybe 200-250 if you can live off that!

7. Yes, DCP housing has kitchens lol. I suggest maybe bringing extra cups, plates, etc. Bring pots and pans if you like big or small ones, they have all that stuff but never hurts to bring your own.

8. The DCP apartments are fully furnished. The living room has 1 couch and 1 chair. Each room has 2 beds, a dresser, 2 nightstands, a walk in closet, and a restroom. I suggest a TV, a router, bring trashcans or just use paper bags, those plastic storage bins that have the drawers, and hangers!

9. By the description of what you want I'd go Chatham. Mid-level rent, not super quiet but not super crazy. Lots of people around.

10. Disney CM's get unlimited free admission into the park. You get your Main Entrance Pass which allows you to admit 3 people into the parks including yourself 6 times. At certain times of the year they will make water parks available to CM's free, but not always. It was free while I was there though. DQ was not free, but at a discounted rate. Almost everything is CM discounted at WDW, just be sure to ask about it everywhere you go if you aren't sure. As for family, if you want to get your family the discount, you must pay for EVERYTHING you are using the discount on. Best bet is if they are coming for a visit have them load up a Disney Gift Card or use their resort room key to charge and you can use that to pay and get your discount!

Feel free to ask me any other questions you may have. Hope I helped you a bit!

 

[PixieDust90]

This has been really helpful to read!

I have a few questions as well. I will be traveling from California and won't have a car. In all honesty, how bad is the shuttle/bus system? I have heard really mixed reviews on this. I'm not too concerned with the time it takes to get to work, but more on how safe it is and how reliable it is. I know that the shuttle is exclusive for CMs but are the bus stops safe at night (are they on or off property?)

After the CP was said and done, do you think the amount of roommates you had determined how hectic your living situation was? I don't have an issue with tons of roommates as long as it's no more than 2 girls to a room. Then again, I have never lived with 8 girls lol. Would a higher rent rate be worth less roommates?

Thanks!

 

[MsFrazzledFro]

8. The DCP apartments are fully furnished. The living room has 1 couch and 1 chair. Each room has 2 beds, a dresser, 2 nightstands, a walk in closet, and a restroom. I suggest a TV, a router, bring trashcans or just use paper bags, those plastic storage bins that have the drawers, and hangers!

A router, eh? Didn't think of that... okay, that makes me think of another question: how is Internet service handled? Do we have it in our rooms? Is it included with the rent we pay? Is it wireless or wired? Right here at school I have it wired but we also have Wifi throughout the building so I'm used to handling either.

You've been so much help already. Thankee much!

 

[antlane]

This has been really helpful to read!

I have a few questions as well. I will be traveling from California and won't have a car. In all honesty, how bad is the shuttle/bus system? I have heard really mixed reviews on this. I'm not too concerned with the time it takes to get to work, but more on how safe it is and how reliable it is. I know that the shuttle is exclusive for CMs but are the bus stops safe at night (are they on or off property?)

After the CP was said and done, do you think the amount of roommates you had determined how hectic your living situation was? I don't have an issue with tons of roommates as long as it's no more than 2 girls to a room. Then again, I have never lived with 8 girls lol. Would a higher rent rate be worth less roommates?

Thanks!

Cali represent! Um, bus system is pretty good. Sucks if you have to go to the store but other than than they have a schedule which is for the most part reliable. They are very safe at night, bus stop for all WDW locations are on property and the bus stop at chatham is right outside the gate and the vista stop is inside the gate. If you have to walk to patterson because there is no bus stop there it is safe too, more than likely you'll be walking with lots of other CP's going home at night haha.
As for the roommate thing, um I guess, I had 3 other guys living with me and we all liked each other. But I would say the less you pay is always the better, no one forces you to hang with your roommates if you don't want to but honestly you probably won't see a lot of them anyways.

 

[antlane]

A router, eh? Didn't think of that... okay, that makes me think of another question: how is Internet service handled? Do we have it in our rooms? Is it included with the rent we pay? Is it wireless or wired? Right here at school I have it wired but we also have Wifi throughout the building so I'm used to handling either.

You've been so much help already. Thankee much!

Internet is included in rent. Patterson has a jack so you can have a wired connection in your room, I believe.

Also a correction for the deposit on the CP thing, it's 300 not 100...so the two weeks rent thing isn't a factor. The extra 200 is what covers the rent for the first two weeks.

 

[saturdaygirl]

10. At certain times of the year they will make water parks available to CM's free, but not always. It was free while I was there though. DQ was not free, but at a discounted rate.

i don't know if this has changed since 2007, but since i worked at a recreational~ place(wide world of sports), we were allowed into the water parks for free. i was very thankful for that perk once summer hit lol

at least, i think that was the case. i was also deployed to working in the water parks so i don't know if that had anything to do with it or not

 

[saturdaygirl]

I have a few questions as well. I will be traveling from California and won't have a car. In all honesty, how bad is the shuttle/bus system? I have heard really mixed reviews on this. I'm not too concerned with the time it takes to get to work, but more on how safe it is and how reliable it is. I know that the shuttle is exclusive for CMs but are the bus stops safe at night (are they on or off property?)

After the CP was said and done, do you think the amount of roommates you had determined how hectic your living situation was? I don't have an issue with tons of roommates as long as it's no more than 2 girls to a room. Then again, I have never lived with 8 girls lol. Would a higher rent rate be worth less roommates?

like the above said, the bus stops are pretty much in a well lit area, on or near disney property. i think they stop going to non-disney places at midnight or something so always make sure if you're going to like walmart, to go so that you have a return bus home, lol.

when i did my program, i started out with just the regular spring program, then i extended through the summer. i went through 3 apartments. vista, sabal palms, and then chatham. the first 5 months, i lived with 5 girls. i hated 4 of them by the end lmao of course they all become best friends, but they left me and my actual room mate out of things and it was a mess. it could've been our personalities that didnt mesh well with theirs but they didnt try hard enough either. it didn't help that my room mate tried to kill herself in the first month we were there, -_-. then i moved into a 4person apartment with friends, it was a temporary thing with a new non-disney building that they were trying out, i was there for 2 months and none of us liked it so we moved back and that was a 4person as well. me, personally? i'd go with the cheapest rent because i'm such a cheap person lmao but if i became too overwhelmed with it all, i'd request a change

 

[antlane]

i don't know if this has changed since 2007, but since i worked at a recreational~ place(wide world of sports), we were allowed into the water parks for free. i was very thankful for that perk once summer hit lol

at least, i think that was the case. i was also deployed to working in the water parks so i don't know if that had anything to do with it or not

I general thing Disney lets CMs in for free once the hotter months hit. From everything I heard when I was there it was limited. But you know how it is with CMs, rumors galore.

 

[saturdaygirl]

I general thing Disney lets CMs in for free once the hotter months hit. From everything I heard when I was there it was limited. But you know how it is with CMs, rumors galore.

i remember this one instance where a group of us went with one girl that worked at the mk and she had to pay while the rest of us were okay to go in but who knows! lol

 

[antlane]

i remember this one instance where a group of us went with one girl that worked at the mk and she had to pay while the rest of us were okay to go in but who knows! lol

How weird! All the CMs I ever went with got in free.

 

[psherman42]

I know there's a thread for DCP-related questions, but since I'm going to ask about a million I decided a new thread would be more efficient. I'm currently planning to do the DCP in Spring 2013, but since my class schedule is so hectic I've decided to plan everything out now so that if I get accepted I'll be prepared to go without any hitches. And if I'm not, no harm done!

So, now for the million questions!

1) I've read that the Spring Advantage Program lasts until August. However, this may or may not conflict with my school's fall semester start (we start in mid-August). Am I able to request a certain arrival/departure date so as not to cause any problems, or at least have a way of getting back to school on time? I'm not entirely sure how they do arrival/departure dates. I applied for spring 2011 but got denied but I had joined the facebook group so had a ton of friends doing it and it seemed like there were different arrival/departure dates to choose from but then for fall (the program I did), there were different arrival dates, but only one departure date for fall (Jan. 6) and fall advantage (Jan. 3rd). I guess it depends on the season? But if there ends up being only one departure date for your season and it conflicts with your school schedule, you can notify them and actually leave a few days early.

2) I live soooo far away from FL that driving my car is really not an option for me, so I'm planning to fly in. However, this gives me a few problems since I'll obviously be bringing quite a lot of stuff. Am I able to ship my stuff like bedding, clothing, decoration, etc. down there? If so, is there a place I can have it delivered? You can have stuff shipped, but you can also buy some of the bigger stuff down there like bedding.

3) Building off the above question, is there some sort of DCP/other Disney transport that will pick me up at the airport and take me to the housing? I'd imagine there would be, I just want to make sure. There's no Disney transportation that will take you to the housing complexes, unfortunately. You would have to get a taxi or something. But the Disney Magical Express will get you to property. However, once you're checked in and have your housing ID, there is the bus system that will get you anywhere on property, plus the grocery store, wal-mart, etc.

4) If I do the Advantage Program, I'll be missing my mom's birthday in July. However, if it was possible at all to travel back home for the weekend I would try to do it. Is it possible at all to leave work for a few days? You can request those days off, if you want. There's no guarantee they'll be approved, but if you know you're going home for a few days, request them off as soon as possible to give you a better chance at getting them off. If it comes to it, if your request is denied, you can always try to find people at your work place to take your shifts.

5) I'm planning on taking online courses from my own university while I'm doing the DCP; however, our choice of courses are limited. I've heard that you can take classes from local universities - if anyone here has done this, could they maybe give me an idea of how easy/hard it is to transfer credits back home? I didn't do anything like this so I don't know.

6) About how much money should I bring with me to cover living expenses until I start getting paid (excluding deposits)? A few hundred since your first paycheck won't be a lot since they take rent out right away.

7) DCP housing has kitchens, right? I feel stupid for asking this Um, could anyone describe to me what they include and if I need to bring any kitchen stuff with me? Yes, they have kitchens that include dishes, utensils, pots, pans, etc. They also have a microwave but if you want a toaster or anything, you'd have to bring it.

8) What furniture is included in housing, and is there any that isn't included that's necessary? They are fully furnished so the only things you might be interested in is a tv and a router. It's not necessary, obviously, but there's not one in the apartment.

9) Any recommendations for housing complexes? I'd like to keep housing costs relatively low and love having lots of people around but don't want to get stuck somewhere with a bunch of partiers. I've heard good and bad things about all the buildings. Vista is the cheapest of the complexes but I lived in Chatham and absolutely loved it. I had a 2 bedroom so rent was $95 a week but I think it was worth it, the apartment was really nice and the complex was relatively quiet. I believe Patterson is the most expensive but I'm not entirely sure.

10) Okay, I've heard so many things about perks for DCP. Is it true that we get unlimited admission for ourselves to the parks? Is it also true that we can admit three other people for six days free while on the program? Does any of this extend to the other stuff in Disney (water parks, DQ, etc.)? Do we also get discounts on stuff, and if so can we use them for our family's benefit? Yep, you can enter the parks whenever we want with your Cast ID. However, I do believe there are restrictions if the park is at capacity. And we also get a Blue Maingate pass which admits up to 3 guests on 6 different days. However, that does have blackout dates associated with it. And we can get into the water parks, except I think during the summer when it's peak season. Then I think we just get a discount.

Okay, so there are all my questions. Sorry I typed out a whole novel. Anyway, any help would be much, much appreciated. I'm already planning on meeting with Career Services and Financial Services at my school during this semester but I thought extra help from DCPers would be even better. Thanks!

 

[MsFrazzledFro]

Thank you so much, psherman! You've been a great help as well.

 

[Pikezh638]

My girlfriend just left her CP, a few things we discovered.

The internet for her, was TERRIBLE so plan accordingly for online classes.

The buses weren't bad for her, but they were an "inconvience" for her because she would be dependant on them for getting home or if she wanted to go to a park or something when she got off.

You may have to be flexible on requesting days off, as in getting them off versus having to find someone to pick the shifts up to be off.

Not saying you are going for the money, but know ahead of time you will not get paid much and you won't have a lot of money for stuff, unless you have money you brought with you. For example she was lucky to get 30 hours some weeks, and it gets kinda tight on the ol' budget.

You get great discounts but the point above kinda makes them useless sometimes, and gift cards are your friends. If you plan to buy anything for anyone else that comes to see you, you will need cash (before you get to the register) or a gift card since you can't buy stuff with your discount for someone.

 

[MsFrazzledFro]

The internet for her, was TERRIBLE so plan accordingly for online classes.

Oh no! I couldn't survive without my Internet. To be honest the Internet's not that great in my dorm either though, so I guess I'll be somewhat used to it. As long as it works I can take my classes!

 

[Pikezh638]

Oh no! I couldn't survive without my Internet. To be honest the Internet's not that great in my dorm either though, so I guess I'll be somewhat used to it. As long as it works I can take my classes!

Well let me re-phrase, haha, I have great internet at my house and at work. She got used to that and hated what they had. Some days it was fine, some spotty, and some non-existant.

After re-reading what I put in my last post I feel I said too much negative, but it is a great experience if you can do it

 

[saturdaygirl]

Oh no! I couldn't survive without my Internet. To be honest the Internet's not that great in my dorm either though, so I guess I'll be somewhat used to it. As long as it works I can take my classes!

lol, i was the same way! in fact, the internet in our apartment wasnt the greatest and i hated being connected to the modem so no one thought to get a router so whenever i could, i'd go to the vista clubhouse and use the wireless and i'd always come home at like 12:05am. my roommates would always know if the clubhouse was closed or not. if i was home, it was; if it wasnt, it was open hahaha

 

[MsFrazzledFro]

Well, at least there are alternatives to the Internet in the rooms! But no, the Internet wouldn't stop me from doing the CP, it's just that if I do I'll require pretty heavy use of the web.