Spring Advantage 2012 Questions...

EMur13

Earning My Ears
Joined
Oct 4, 2011
Messages
10
So the College Program Threads are excessively long and I saw people at the beginning from '09 talking and I am lazy and don't feel like reading through hundreds of pages to find answers to some questions. So here are a few I have.

1. I am QSFB, roughly what will my paychecks look like, after taking out rent (I want to live in a Chatham 4 bedroom.)

2. What is Chatham like? I've heard mixed reviews

3. What is the best place to work for QSFB, what's the worst?

4. Other then a coffee pot, toaster, tv, linens and business attire what are some things I should take down? Or you wish you had taken down (For past or current CPs)

5. I am taking my car, however I want to use the buses as much as possible, except for shopping trips, little trips out of Disney on my days off and if I work really late or really early, is it ok to use the buses? Or would you suggest I use my car all of the time?

6. What is the swimming pool at Chatham like? Is it nice? I love lounging around in the pool.

7. Do you actually get to tell them how many roomies you want and where you want to live?

8. What is January weather like? People say it's cold...I'm from Ohio and it's cold here, a lot of Ohioans travel to Florida for the winter, so it can't be that bad....can it???

9. What did you do when you got homesick? What helped you overcome your homesickness?

10. If you find a roomie you want to live with what do you have to do?

11. They say check-in is at 9am, I watched a youtube video and it had people in line at 6am! If you don't want to wait forever when is the best time to get there?

12. If you are stuck in the back of the line, how long do you wait?

13. For traditions it says Business attire, and yes I am fully aware of what that means, however what kind of shoe would you recommend? I heard you go into one of the parks, so heels is a bad choice, is a Flatt ok?

14. On your second day it says you have off, is this true? Also my parents will be there to help me with the apartment, is this bad? I see it this way, I have 8 months to get to know my roomies and 8 months where I am going to be miles away from home, I think it is ok to visit with them the second day I'm there, especially since I will be still getting settled and my mom is good at helping...And yes I will be 22 at the start of the program and I am capable of doing things myself, but it's nice to have family around when you're moving in somewhere (I also feel as if older adults know more of what you need then we do...)

15. I heard there is a wal-mart nearby, is there a Target?

16. Are we allowed to hang our own curtains up using a tension rod? Since it's not drilling anything in the wall, this should be ok right?

17. How is it living with 7 other people? I've only ever lived with 2 others (minus at home there were 5 others, 6 including myself)

18. I have family coming down for a vacation the 2nd week of June, when I have access to the HUB (I think thats what it is called) am I allowed to request off for 4 days to spend time with them?

19. Since they are coming down and want to book ahead of time and I want to use my discount for them, how does that work? Do I book it for them? What is the discount? I understand the pass system, I'm more concerned about the hotel issue... Thanks!

20. When we are off, do we still need to go by the Disney look? Or am I allowed to wear what I want? I'm not a tasteless person, I also don't / will not dress "slutty" i'm just curious...

I know that is a lot of questions, I'm just really curious. Thank-you for the help!!!
 
I'll answer what I can for ya in bold
2. What is Chatham like? I've heard mixed reviews
I loved living in Chatham! It's fairly quiet and there's lots of trees! Which I love lol! It's also closer to the bus stop. I also think the apartment sizes are bigger than Patterson, like my friend had a two bedroom like me, and hers was lots smaller in comparison. That's just my opinion though.

4. Other then a coffee pot, toaster, tv, linens and business attire what are some things I should take down? Or you wish you had taken down (For past or current CPs)
I would bring a good coat, I'll explain more where you ask about the cold lol

5. I am taking my car, however I want to use the buses as much as possible, except for shopping trips, little trips out of Disney on my days off and if I work really late or really early, is it ok to use the buses? Or would you suggest I use my car all of the time?
It might not be a bad idea to use the bus sometimes, as it'll definitely save on gas money. But if you're not worried about that, then by all means use your car all the time, I would lol

6. What is the swimming pool at Chatham like? Is it nice? I love lounging around in the pool.
I actually really like where the swimming pool is at Chatham, it's more secluded, but because of that its far from some of the apartment buildings, like it was far from mine. Ha ha!

7. Do you actually get to tell them how many roomies you want and where you want to live?
Yes, and if it's available, you will more than likely get into what you want, but have a backup just incase!

8. What is January weather like? People say it's cold...I'm from Ohio and it's cold here, a lot of Ohioans travel to Florida for the winter, so it can't be that bad....can it???
I'm from Utah and I thought the same thing as you but dang it was cold! It's not so bad when you work inside, as there is heating, but there was a booth I worked in for merchandise(and it had heating) but where it was positioned, the wind came in and made it freezing! The heater was moot!!! Then when I transferred into main street operations, I always worked outside so it definitely got to me. I didn't take into account that in Utah we have a dry cold, but in Florida, it's humid so it goes through any amount of layers that you wear. I wore lots under my costume and coat, and had hand warmers! Luckily it doesn't drag out like winters do in utah(it snowed the week before I went home from my program at the end of may!) so as soon as its over, thats it! So bring a good coat, even if it doesn't get too cold, better to be prepared! Also many of the people coming at that time come because the parks are less crowded and rates at hotels are cheaper :) I'd definetly bring my family then, and make sure we had our coats

9. What did you do when you got homesick? What helped you overcome your homesickness?
Since I'd lived about 2 hours from my parents for school and didn't see them often, I didn't get too homesick, but I did miss them a lot, since my mom is like my best friend. Heck even now back at school and married I miss having her around all the time! But if I got homesick, I usually just called and talked to them, or went to the parks. I think now though I get more homesick for Disney than I got homesick for my real home when I was in Florida! I seriously have a hard time watching wdw commercials or I cry! Ha ha! It was hard on the holidays, but my roommates and I had our own thanksgiving and Christmas together and being at work those days, it didn't feel like the holidays, just a normal day, where I could wish them happy holidays! Even though it would have been nice to have those days off, I am glad I worked as it helped keep my mind off being gone from them.

10. If you find a roomie you want to live with what do you have to do?
i met someone on fb who lived a half hour from me and we had same interests and religious beliefs(we could be twins with the way we think lol) and after meeting a few times, she went on the roommate match on the cp website and put my info in and it matched us up. I'm not entirely sure where it is or exactly how she did it but I know it worked lol and I don't know if they have changed things with the new website either.

11. They say check-in is at 9am, I watched a youtube video and it had people in line at 6am! If you don't want to wait forever when is the best time to get there?
I got there at a little before 8 and there were only about 50-100 people there, that being said it was two years ago, an people have been coming earlier and earlier. They did open it up at 8 so I didn't have a long wait. I personally think it's a bit ridiculous that you have to get there super super early now. So really I guess it depends on how much sleep you want?

13. For traditions it says Business attire, and yes I am fully aware of what that means, however what kind of shoe would you recommend? I heard you go into one of the parks, so heels is a bad choice, is a Flatt ok?
I wore flats to traditions so I think that's okay. They changed the going into the parks thing the semester after I had it(and I didn't get the surprise visit either :mad: but when I went to once upon a time is now, the orientation for mk, I wore flats and was totally fine! I even had to wear flats for my costume! But I bought new/more supportive ones.

14. On your second day it says you have off, is this true? Also my parents will be there to help me with the apartment, is this bad? I see it this way, I have 8 months to get to know my roomies and 8 months where I am going to be miles away from home, I think it is ok to visit with them the second day I'm there, especially since I will be still getting settled and my mom is good at helping...And yes I will be 22 at the start of the program and I am capable of doing things myself, but it's nice to have family around when you're moving in somewhere (I also feel as if older adults know more of what you need then we do...)
I was 21 at the time and I wish I had my parents there when I checked in, but since I flew in myself, it was just too much money for my parents to do that. All my roommates had their parents with them and they were about the same age as me. My roommate's parents took me under their wings and helped me with check in too so I think it's awesome to have them there!

15. I heard there is a wal-mart nearby, is there a Target?
The target is where me and my roommate went to get our things instead of walmart. None of the cp buses go there, but since you'll have your car it's not too hard to get there. I don't know the specific directions though. And it's a super target :)

16. Are we allowed to hang our own curtains up using a tension rod? Since it's not drilling anything in the wall, this should be ok right?
You can get into big trouble for hanging curtains up, so I would advise against it. They go over everything the first day in the housing meeting.

17. How is it living with 7 other people? I've only ever lived with 2 others (minus at home there were 5 others, 6 including myself)
I've lived with 8 girls before in a house when I was going to school. It's wasn't terribly bad as we had lots of room where we could have privacy, but there was still drama. My roommate and I for our program wanted just two other roommates, as to make more friends, but didn't want to deal with more girls so it would help us avoid drama. My thinking is, yes more roommates is cheaper, but offers more opportunity for drama. Sometimes it ends up okay though.

18. I have family coming down for a vacation the 2nd week of June, when I have access to the HUB (I think thats what it is called) am I allowed to request off for 4 days to spend time with them?
Yes you are more than able to ask for those days off, it's best to do it as soon ASAP though, as it gives it more chance to get approved. If it doesn't get approved, when the schedule goes out, you can try to give your shifts away, trade, or if that doesn't work, try and work it out with your managers. I asked for days off to go home to visit my family, and I was approved all the days I asked for, but when I tried to ask for days off to go to visit my then boyfriends family in new Orleans, I was denied, but he got them off.

19. Since they are coming down and want to book ahead of time and I want to use my discount for them, how does that work? Do I book it for them? What is the discount? I understand the pass system, I'm more concerned about the hotel issue... Thanks!
You would need to book it through the hub. I actually gave my hub access to my mom and told her where to go and she did it so that she could pay for it with her credit card, but either way it worked. If you're staying with them(and it'll ask you that when you're booking) then its up to 50% off, if you're not staying with them, then it's up to 40%. Some places fill up though so its only what's available.

20. When we are off, do we still need to go by the Disney look? Or am I allowed to wear what I want? I'm not a tasteless person, I also don't / will not dress "slutty" i'm just curious...
You can wear what you want, just adhere to the park dress code(yes there is a dress code lol!) but pretty much anything normal is fine. I normally wore a tshirt, shorts, and (comfy) flip flops!

I know that is a lot of questions, I'm just really curious. Thank-you for the help!!!
I hope that helped!!!! :goodvibes
 
i can do some quick answers

So the College Program Threads are excessively long and I saw people at the beginning from '09 talking and I am lazy and don't feel like reading through hundreds of pages to find answers to some questions. So here are a few I have.

1. I am QSFB, roughly what will my paychecks look like, after taking out rent (I want to live in a Chatham 4 bedroom.) about 120 for 40hr

2. What is Chatham like? I've heard mixed reviews
patterson: quiet/new, vista: crazy/older, chatham: in the middle of both

3. What is the best place to work for QSFB, what's the worst?
You get a park premium at MK, forgot how much though.. quite a bit though

4. Other then a coffee pot, toaster, tv, linens and business attire what are some things I should take down? Or you wish you had taken down (For past or current CPs) computer obviously, car

5. I am taking my car, however I want to use the buses as much as possible, except for shopping trips, little trips out of Disney on my days off and if I work really late or really early, is it ok to use the buses? Or would you suggest I use my car all of the time?
buses are good just not always convenient

6. What is the swimming pool at Chatham like? Is it nice? I love lounging around in the pool. Chatham has the nicest pool. Its the biggest

7. Do you actually get to tell them how many roomies you want and where you want to live? Yep

8. What is January weather like? People say it's cold...I'm from Ohio and it's cold here, a lot of Ohioans travel to Florida for the winter, so it can't be that bad....can it??? 50's in the mornings and 70's during the day. Always sunny because its the dry season. It rained 3 times during my program

9. What did you do when you got homesick? What helped you overcome your homesickness? Nothing honestly, im from NY and i missed the mountains, pine trees and twisty roads.. as weird as that sounds. Believe it or not, but palm trees get old..


10. If you find a roomie you want to live with what do you have to do?
Let them know when you chose your apartment

11. They say check-in is at 9am, I watched a youtube video and it had people in line at 6am! If you don't want to wait forever when is the best time to get there? Doesn't really matter. I got there at 10:30 and i waited 20 minutes

12. If you are stuck in the back of the line, how long do you wait?
20 minutes

13. For traditions it says Business attire, and yes I am fully aware of what that means, however what kind of shoe would you recommend? I heard you go into one of the parks, so heels is a bad choice, is a Flatt ok?
dont know off the top of my head. Im a guy lol

14. On your second day it says you have off, is this true? Also my parents will be there to help me with the apartment, is this bad? I see it this way, I have 8 months to get to know my roomies and 8 months where I am going to be miles away from home, I think it is ok to visit with them the second day I'm there, especially since I will be still getting settled and my mom is good at helping...And yes I will be 22 at the start of the program and I am capable of doing things myself, but it's nice to have family around when you're moving in somewhere (I also feel as if older adults know more of what you need then we do...)
Yes you have that day off and everyones parents helps them move in

15. I heard there is a wal-mart nearby, is there a Target?
About 10-15 minutes away, its in kissimmee.

16. Are we allowed to hang our own curtains up using a tension rod? Since it's not drilling anything in the wall, this should be ok right?
nope, price management will come after you

17. How is it living with 7 other people? I've only ever lived with 2 others (minus at home there were 5 others, 6 including myself)
Fun, theres usually only 2-3 people home at a time. Ive had time alone as well.

18. I have family coming down for a vacation the 2nd week of June, when I have access to the HUB (I think thats what it is called) am I allowed to request off for 4 days to spend time with them?
Yes, but it may not get approved by a manager. Do it early and if it get denied go talk to a manager about it

19. Since they are coming down and want to book ahead of time and I want to use my discount for them, how does that work? Do I book it for them? What is the discount? I understand the pass system, I'm more concerned about the hotel issue... Thanks!
When they make a reservation at the resort you have to give them your id/perner number. discount is 40%

20. When we are off, do we still need to go by the Disney look? Or am I allowed to wear what I want? I'm not a tasteless person, I also don't / will not dress "slutty" i'm just curious...
Nope, you can wear whatever you want

I know that is a lot of questions, I'm just really curious. Thank-you for the help!!! NP ;)
 
I think the person above me did great answering the questions so I'll just answer the ones she didn't or that I have another answer too. :)

1. I am QSFB, roughly what will my paychecks look like, after taking out rent (I want to live in a Chatham 4 bedroom.)
When I worked QSFB the hourly rate was 7.56 and I got a .75 cents premium for working at MK. So working 30 to 35 hours a week would be around $130 to $170 a week and that's without any overtime so paychecks could be much sweeter. :)

2. What is Chatham like? I've heard mixed reviews
I lived in Chatham an absolutely loved it.

3. What is the best place to work for QSFB, what's the worst?
I know I'm biased caused I worked there but I truly believe that Stands East in MK is the BEST place to work. Stands East includes the smaller fast food places and a couple of carts around Tomorrowland and Fantasyland (Auntie Gravities, Launching Pad, Enchanted Grove, Storybook Treats, Friar's Nook plus the pretzel cart, the hot dog cart and a couple of other seasonal carts only opened during busy times.) I loved it cause I got to work in different locations and most of them are indoors so weather isn't usually a problem unless you work outside. I also loved everyone I worked with, Stands East is full of amazing people and the managers were great. They gave me the opportunity to train for the position of General Teller which are the people who are basically in charge of the money in all the locations and that was an amazing experience and was actually what I ended up doing for most of my program. Even though I worked in an office for like half of my program I never minded working in the locations, I always had fun. Worst part was closing the locations at night but after you get used to it you make up a system for closing faster and getting out early.:P
As far as the worst place, I'm not sure. Usually the big quick service restaurants weren't big favorites, like Cosmic Ray's.


5. I am taking my car, however I want to use the buses as much as possible, except for shopping trips, little trips out of Disney on my days off and if I work really late or really early, is it ok to use the buses? Or would you suggest I use my car all of the time?
I think it's a great idea to use the buses. They were usually reliable but if you end up working at MK and you work till closing (and you will) you should definitely take your car because waiting for the CP bus after park close is pure HELL and this is hardly an exaggeration.


9. What did you do when you got homesick? What helped you overcome your homesickness?
Honestly, I hardly ever got homesick but for me the best solution is just making friends and hanging out the in park or just doing something. I think there's so much to do that if you go out and experience as much as you can there's barely any time to get homesick.

11. They say check-in is at 9am, I watched a youtube video and it had people in line at 6am! If you don't want to wait forever when is the best time to get there?
Me and my roomie got there at 7am. We waited with some other people and as soon as we were let in we headed straight to the welcome pavilion and didn't have to wait long. I know it sounds a little crazy to get there early but you end up doing a lot during that first day so I think it's best to get a head start.


14. On your second day it says you have off, is this true? Also my parents will be there to help me with the apartment, is this bad? I see it this way, I have 8 months to get to know my roomies and 8 months where I am going to be miles away from home, I think it is ok to visit with them the second day I'm there, especially since I will be still getting settled and my mom is good at helping...And yes I will be 22 at the start of the program and I am capable of doing things myself, but it's nice to have family around when you're moving in somewhere (I also feel as if older adults know more of what you need then we do...)
You usually have the day off if you did everything on the first day.
And don't think it's bad to have your parents with you. Like taigirl87 said I flew to FL and my parents coundn't afford to come with but a couple of my rommies brought their dads with them and they were so nice and helped us a bunch
.

16. Are we allowed to hang our own curtains up using a tension rod? Since it's not drilling anything in the wall, this should be ok right?
I'll be real honest and say I hanged some curtains up on my 2nd program with a tension rod...I just took them off on inspections. I'm not a fan of braking rules but my bed was right in front of a window and I usually slept late from coming back from work late at night.

Hope that helps!! :goodvibes Good luck with your program!
 

Thank-you so much everyone!! I know I had a lot of questions, I'm just so excited and curious! LoL! Thanks again! I really appreciate it :-) :-) :-)!
 
I just wanted to put in my two cents about check in day. I did summer alumni this summer and people were talking about getting there as early as 5am! I think that's crazy.

I got there just after they opened, around 9:10 and got to go straight into the process, sure I had to wait between steps, but overall I don't think I really waited that long. I got the apartment I wanted (3 bedroom in Patterson). All the crazy early people had been throught the process, so the lines weren't too bad. If you get there super early you have to wait for them to open and then you have to go throught the process, so you'll end up waiting either way. The first day is long enough, why get up crazy early?

If you end up with a 3 bedroom instead of a 4 bedroom, or in Patterson instead of Chattham, it really isn't the end of the world. I lived in both complexes and there's nothing wrong with either one. And if you do roommate match at least you'll be with that person no matter where you end up. It may seem like a big deal now, but don't stress about where you're going to live, you're working in Disney and will have an amazing time.

PS: Bring a coat!! you'll have a coat as part of your costume, but it was nice to have my winter jacket and gloves to play in the parks; it gets cool at night. You'll be nice and warm and there will be guests freezing in shorts and t-shirts.
 
I don't know where you guys come from, but i was hardly ever cold. I wore a hoody 2-3 times at night, but thats about it. My parents made me pack loads of winter cloths and i hardly wore them.

Im never cold though, so thats just me. Plus, it starts to get warm towards the end of February. Its 65 at night and 80 during the day. Early April and on.. forget it! Its 75 at night at 90's during the day. I was hospitalized at the end of May for heat exhaustion and i missed my last day of work :(
 
What is this about a MK premium? Is that just QSFB or are other roles eligible for things like this?
 
You are going to get a variety of answers from a variety of people. No harm in that since everyone's experiences are going to be a bit different.

I was looking at their blog and several articles address some of your questions. No harm in getting official info either.


4. Other then a coffee pot, toaster, tv, linens and business attire what are some things I should take down?
http://www.disneyprogramsblog.com/?p=285

5. I am taking my car, however I want to use the buses as much as possible
http://www.disneyprogramsblog.com/?p=279

16. Are we allowed to hang our own curtains up using a tension rod?
http://www.disneyprogramsblog.com/?p=136

17. How is it living with 7 other people?
http://www.disneyprogramsblog.com/?p=250
http://www.disneyprogramsblog.com/?p=648
 
What is this about a MK premium? Is that just QSFB or are other roles eligible for things like this?

I know QSFB gets the park premium. My friend was attractions at MK and he did not get it. I dont know if it was just his specific work location or if they all dont.
 
I don't know where you guys come from, but i was hardly ever cold. I wore a hoody 2-3 times at night, but thats about it. My parents made me pack loads of winter cloths and i hardly wore them.

Im never cold though, so thats just me. Plus, it starts to get warm towards the end of February. Its 65 at night and 80 during the day. Early April and on.. forget it! Its 75 at night at 90's during the day. I was hospitalized at the end of May for heat exhaustion and i missed my last day of work :(

I am from Utah, and live in the coldest part of the state to be exact, so that was why I thought I would be fine in florida without a good coat. I ended up buying one from the mall for my birthday at the beginning of December, it wasn't like my down coat back home, but I still had to wear multi layers underneath it, then when I went home to visit, I was able to wear the same coat with just a tshirt underneath, and Florida was actually colder than Utah that year. Granted, it was an abnormally cold year, all the old timers would tell us, but they all got excited because it was cold enough there to "snow"(more like ice crystals but was close enough) and it made the news that the oranges were threatened by the cold and was going to make the price of orange juice go up. this cold was only from part of decemember to beginning of February(though some days in feb were warmer than others, some days were just nasty!) Florida winters are short but can be very cold!

What is this about a MK premium? Is that just QSFB or are other roles eligible for things like this?

In both the roles that I worked at mk(fantaslyand merchandise and main street operations) I never got a park premium, jut minimum wage.
 
Regarding winter in Florida, just wondering if anyone from Michigan could comment on the cold. Thanks!
 












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