What to bring?

[emilie2013]

What should you bring while staying for the CP? Any lists will be helpful! Thanks

 

[mobish]

My daughter did 2 CPs; bring half of what you think you need! You will be in costume most of the time. Command Hooks and under the bed storage are very useful along with the bed risers to give you more room.

 

[loveleigh]

Yes, you won't have much room for anything. I brought way too many clothes for my trip.

You'll want to make sure you have at least five business casual outfits for your days at Disney University.

Pretty much anything you might have had in your dorm room you'll want to bring. Dishes and cutlery are provided, but if you're weird about that (like I am) you can bring your own.

Any space saver item will be great to bring.

You'll have your own personal locker in your closet, so if you are wanting to keep expensive or private things locked up, you'll want to bring a lock.

Sunscreen and comfy shoes for days when you want to play in the parks.

ALSO. Depending on your role, I HIGHLY suggest investing in some quality shoes that are meant for standing long periods of time. I bought a pair from shoes4crews that kept my feet and back from falling off.

You'll want to bring your own toiletries and bath towels and also your own bed linens.

You should get an email from Disney that will list appropriate things to bring as well.

Good luck on your adventure and if I can help in any other way, I'd be happy to.

 

[emilie2013]

Thank you guys so much!

 

[ArielinWonderland]

--Plastic drawers (you will be sharing a dresser and closet with your roommate)
--Shower organizer (we got something that hung from the faucet head but there may be space for a small corner shelf depending on your bathroom)
--Small desk lamp (there is an overhead light in the room, but I found this useful for when my roommate was sleeping but I needed a bit of light)
--If you need even more space, bed risers and under-bed bins (my roommate had this, but she didn't have plastic drawers like I did)
--Thumbtacks (you can't tape things to the walls, but everyone is given their own bulletin board by their bed, and there's a bigger one in the living room/common area)
--Laundry hamper/basket/bag that's easy for you to carry (I'm not sure about other complexes, but on Patterson, I had to walk across a small parking lot to get to the laundry room)
--A good backpack and lunchbox for work (eating at the cast locations isn't so cheap!) and if this differs for you, a good bag for bringing to play in the parks

 

[Topolino18]

Are there fridges and microwaves at work for people's lunches?

 

[loveleigh]

I can only speak for DAKL, but we did have fridges and lockers. I know that the resort hotels have spaces like that, but I have no idea about other places.

 

[mlaw]

My daughter is at MK and said there is a fridge and microwave there to use for meals. For her apartment, she also brought a toaster, an iron, and a small vacuum. I thought she brought too many clothes but she actually had a lot of room left in her closet. Her closet, however, I think is bigger than most closets, so she got lucky.

 

[theladyloki]

Recently finished up my CP program. Here's my two cents...

I recommend:
-Bed risers and underbed storage - you'd be amazed at how much you can fit under your bed
-Mattress pad - the beds aren't very comfortable otherwise
-Extra cheap sheets - we used them to cover our couch b/c we found some pretty nasty things under our couch and wouldn't sit on it otherwise
-Wireless router
-Shower organizer
-Medicine/first-aid kit
-If you're a coffee drinker, I highly recommend a Keurig
-A "unique" lunchbox - something that'll stand out amongst the others in your workplace fridge
- A small vacuum, if you can afford/have access to - it makes cleaning for inspections so much easier
-Collapsible and portable laundry bag - you might have to walk a distance to the laundry facilities
-Over the door hooks


Tips
-Keep the clothing to a minimum - take it from me, I waaaaaaaaay over packed in this department. In a year-long program, I only wore about 1/4 of the clothes I brought
-Cut the amount of movies/DVDs you plan on bringing in half - you won't have time to watch them
-I'd avoid Command Hooks or anything hanging from the walls. Even though Command Hooks don't leave holes, depending on who does your apartment inspection, you can get points taken off for anything hanging on the walls

And of course, if at all possible, bring a car!!!!! The busing system sucks - my car was in the shop for a week during my program and having to take the bus for that week was horrible! How people do it for their entire program, I have no idea! Especially during peak seasons, you'll be working a ton of hours and a lot of times, only have 8hrs between shifts, so it was sooooooo nice to clock out and know that I'd be home within 10min versus at least 45min w/ the busing.
The only way I'd use the busing was when I worked at MK - parking there is a pain.

Also, random tip, if you can, try to find your roommates online first - there's FB groups and such. That's what I did, and the four of us got along AMAZINGLY!!!! Plus, we were all able to figure out who was bringing what of the big stuff (ie: TV, DVD player, game system, wireless router) so we weren't doubling up on anything.

 

[bethp1968]

Insoles for your work shoes. My DD is QSFB and the shoes were provided for her as part of her costume and are not very comfortable. She said the insoles helped alot.

 

[emilie2013]

I've been looking for FB groups, what are they usually labeled as or called?

 

[loveleigh]

The FB groups are usually called something like DCP Fall Advantage 2014 or something along those lines.

 

[theladyloki]

I've been looking for FB groups, what are they usually labeled as or called?

Should you choose to find roommates on FB, make sure they have the same arrival and departure days as you. When you just start your program, they tend to not budge on this.

 

[loveleigh]

Oh I forgot all about the internet stuff. Yes. Do bring your own router as one isn't provided in the housing. Also a television and cables. The apartments don't have those either.

Dish rags, detergent (laundry and dishwasher).

SALT AND PEPPER. I know that seems really silly, but it was really hard to find something so simple in the shops close to Vista Way for a long while. Hangers are something good to bring as well.

 

[SyracuseWolvrine]

Don't buy shoes until you know your work location, and the costuming requirement for shoes. I know of some folks that bought all black shoes for work, only to be told they'd need white.

 

[poison ivy]

I just posted some packing info from my son's CP in our trip report Just click on the link in my signature.
Granted it's for a guy but there is other detailed information which may prove helpful.

Good luck with your program.