Caroline Bryant
Southern Editor
If you ask what it’s like working for the mouse, answers may vary.
Does the free park entry and the discounted merchandise make up for the long hours and poor pay at the Disney College Program (DCP)? Is it worth trading a normal college experience for a semester of work? My answer is no.
The DCP has been a staple to Florida college culture since 1981, giving students (commonly known as CPs) the opportunity to work and live at Disney World resorts. The acceptance rate is just shy of 25 percent, with around 12,000 out of 50,000 students accepted per year.
When their program starts, students move into Flamingo Crossings Village, a Disney World neighborhood dedicated to DCP members. While amenities include a luxurious pool and gym, rent can cost up to $202-246 a week, depending on the apartment.
Rent money is earned through work. With a starting salary of $16 per hour, students are required to work 30 hours a week to meet rent requirements, FSC student Emmy Aguilar said. However, the number of hours a student works per week may vary.
“After rent and taxes, I’d get about $250 a week,” senior Cassie Turczyn said. “I will say, I wasn’t the best about budgeting and had more of a mentality that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity…but for sure, if someone is considering doing the program, have at least $1000 saved up so you’re never worried about money. I had some friends who had nothing in their bank accounts and lived paycheck to paycheck, and they really struggled.”
Disney’s website states that sick pay and holiday pay are not available to CPs, only full-time workers. This seems unfair, as most CPs work full-time hours– and even above.
While Aguilar stated it’s hard for her and most CPs to get overtime, former CP Nathan (@TheOtherNathan) stated in his YouTube video “A Brutally honest Review of the Disney College Program” with 65,000 views that he would sometimes be scheduled 61.5 hours over a five day period during peak seasons. That’s 12.3 hours a day.
According to a writer and CP at Society 19 Magazine, taking time off is difficult. If you call out sick three times in a month without a doctor’s note, you receive one point on your record. Being late or clocking out early counts as half a point. Three points total equals your termination from the program.
Additionally, you aren’t able to choose where you work. According to Aguilar, they were assigned to work merchandise in Magic Kingdom’s Wilderness Lodge. Though they didn’t apply for a merchandise job, they guess they earned the spot because of their past retail experience detailed in their resume. The paranoia of not knowing where I’d be placed turns me off.
The magazine also stated that CPs would quit before they started if they received a job they didn’t like.
Your designated job makes or breaks your DCP experience. Nathan explained his roommates were given unwanted custodial positions. Location matters, as well. CPs working in popular park spots, like Magic Kingdom and Epcot, have to interact with more guests. As someone who works in food service in a small town, I can’t imagine the number of Karens a Dole Whip cart employee has to deal with daily.
Location also determines your free time. Nathan explained that he’d miss DCP bonding events frequently because he’d be scheduled to work. Working at resorts that were farther away from the Flamingo Crossings Village interfered with scheduling, as CPs at farther resorts would need to catch the bus an hour before work to clock in on time.
Yet, the DCP does have its perks. Whether these perks outweigh the cons depends on how much of a Disney fanatic the CP is. Since Aguilar extended their stay for four more months, their answer is clear.
“I know with this Disney internship, it’s very easy to continue with the company and work your way up,” Aguilar said. “I know through Florida Southern, it might just be specifically through the business school… we can get college credits in the program.”
CPs eligible for college credit within their program can request designated study hall blocks, confirming they aren’t scheduled to work at the parks while completing classwork.
When they aren’t working or studying, CPs have free access to rides and attractions to every resort. Nathan mentions that CPs can get special access to backstage rooms and events held for just CPs. They’re even some of the first to know what new rides are coming to the parks.
To the average Disney fan, this may sound like a dream come true. However, if I’m at Disney, I want to “be our guest.” Not “be our employee.”
