It has been a little over a year now since the start of my Fall 2022 DCP. In this post, let's take a look at the ups, downs, and my ultimate opinion on the DCP.
DISCLAMER: This is just my thoughts and expereince. I know plenty of people from my program who loved it and few even from my location who have gone back. On the other hand, I wanted to share this expereince because I know others felt the same too. Two castmembers on my program at my location termed and started working at Universal instead... So without further ado, here is MY tea on the DCP
My DCP was the second wave post-covid times. So a lot was different from those magical vlogs I had seen in the past. But regardless of that I was ECSTATIC. This was a dream come true, despite getting a role I wasn't entirely excited about. I viewed this as my oportunity to meet new people, experience new things and places, and make magic memories for others!
THE UPS
My college program gave me the college experience I didn't get to have at my small town college back home. What I mean by this is I went to parties for the first time ever. I got quite tipsy. I went to a club. While this is a pro for some, it was also a con for me. I'll discuss this later on but I will just say I started to become someone I knew I was not and that was hard.
I met one of my best friends there! I truly could not have survived without her. She ended up being a bridesmaid in my wedding even and I will forever be thankful the DCP gave me her
We got to live in the new housing! Some may call this a con (I've heard the horror stories) but I actually loved Flamingo Crossing. I loved being close to all my friends and coworker. I enjoyed having the pools (On my rare days off). I also liked the wide range of places to sit and hang out. It was far away from a lot of things but I know this is changing as they build and grow the shopping area close by and the sky bridges as well. Plus no bunk beds.
THE DOWNS
First, let's take a look at me personally. I was someone who was supposed to go right before the parks closed down. The timing of my original program was perfect, I was at a break in school, I was eager to travel, and (since I wasn't loving school) I saw a future in this program (maybe I would love it and want to work there long term!). Fast forward to post-covid times: I was engaged and had graduated from college and ready for the next step in my career. All of these new factors in my life added up to a less magical experience than I was ready for.
Besides my personal life changes, we also were unable to rank roles; It was a get-what-you-get situation. And I got food service... Food service was a role I had ranked in previous applications as 'would not do ever.' Seriously, I ranked custodian higher than food service. Despite that I went in with an open mind and it could have probably been okay if it wasn't for a few things:
Not only did I get food service ( a role I wasn't excited for) I also ended up in the American Pavillion in EPCOT... To me, this felt like a waste of time and money. I could've been serving BBQ food back home in the comfort of my own space. I wanted something fun, unique. Don't get me wrong, you can get this from food service, I had friends getting to work the carts and booths in Morrocco and UK that loved it! But the role on top of the location made it hard for me to be positive about it.
I like to think of myself as an optimist so I hoped for the best (even after I saw my less-than-cute costume). After training, I knew this work would be hard, but I did have opportunities to interact with guests. Then a few short weeks later I found out I would have to work the back of the house in the kitchen. This was hard because I essentially was just putting trays together and never getting to see or talk to the guests. So much for making magic moments.
Crazily enough, I ended up liking the kitchen better because I quickly learned a few things that lead us to point three: guests aren't as magical as you think and castmembers aren't either. I had more unfun interactions with guests than magical ones and not for lack of trying. I also quickly realized, my fellow castmembers DID NOT want to work like I did (I mean come on we're Disney Castmembers! THERE IS NO TIME TO REST). But alas, many of them did not feel like giving it their all like I did. I mean, that's what I was there for, to make Disney magic like I remembered from my trips here. It started to make it really hard when I would work my tail off, and no one cared.
I never got to go to the parks... After my first week, park reservations would always be filled. I wouldn't get my schedule in time to go anywhere and when I finally got it everything would be booked (besides EPCOT... where I worked and visited every day...). The days I did work, my hours were too long to go anywhere before or after (10am-midnight) and you had to have a reservation so it didn't matter anyway. This was probably the biggest dissapointment ever. I think about the vlogs I used to watch and they'd pop in to magic kingdom and just ride the people mover before heading to their shift. It was hard to work as much as I did and not even get the perks of it. It made you feel really defeated. I will say had the parks been easy to access, working so many hours might have felt a little more worth it. I ended up getting a universal annual pass and I went there A LOT because there were no reservations require (and you could call out and visit there without getting in trouble but you didn't hear that from me.)
Our hours were INSANE. EPCOT at the time was severely understaffed so we worked a lot. I had no time to pick up shifts in other locations like I dreamed of doing. Heck I hardly had time to do laundry (apologies to my roomates as I was doing it at midnight) or get groceries (thank goodness for instacart).
This leads to my final point which is that EVERYONE would call out constantly. Like all the time. It made were so hard because we were always short people so I would work twice as hard. But in the end, I realized it didn't matter and I became someone who called out all the time to.
I ultimately started to see a side of myself I did not like. I was surrounded by people I enjoyed, but outside of work I could not longer see myself being friends with them. Not because they were bad people, they had different values of fun. All I wanted to do was watch Disney movies and visit the parks, but the insane hours and lack of cast memeber reservations made it impossible so I joined in on others version of fun which was just not me. This all built up to be too much leading me to term 3 months earlier than planned and I am so glad I did.
WOULD I GO AGAIN?
In all honesty, my DCP was hard. it was echausting. I was tired and burnt out by the time I termed. When my dad came to pick me up, he could tell the magic had died.
Despite all this, if I could go back in time and change my decision I would still decide to go. Now, I wouldn't do another one in the future if that's what you're asking, but I think my time I had there was an important moment in my life.
I met amazing people who changed many things about me for the better and helped me realize who I am and who I want to be. It also gave me a chance to practice independce. I had lived on my own before, but not like this.
FINAL ADVICE
Something I wish someone had told me was go for the shortest time possible. That way, if you don't like it you're not stuck there or you don't have to term to leave but if you do like it you can always just extend!
Remember no one's experience will be the same. I Say do it! You can always leave if you don't like it. Just come with realistic expectations: you will be working hard.
Just get up and do the thing. You may be tired, you may want to lay in bed for days, but you will be happier going out to Disney Springs with your friends than not. On the flipside, it's also okay to say no if you really need to! That is one of the things I am grateful the DCP taught me.
The college program WILL change the way you are a guest at the parks. For me, it didn't totally ruin the magic, but I noticed little things I didn't before. I also found myself judging other guests a lot more (come on people, there is ALWAYS a trash can nearby so don't just leave your tray wherever you feel like it). It also gave me a better apprectiation for what those castmembers are doing and going through. I make sure to say 'thank you' a lot more now!
The college program will forever be a big chapter in my life. It was an expereince I will never forget. But not all dreams are what you expect them to be.. and that's okay! This will be one dream that changed me in more ways than I can imagine.