View Full Version : Is the CP worth it?

04-02-2011, 04:43 PM
I'm a freshmen in college this year and I've always wanted to do the CP since I was in middle school. Now that I'm in college, I still want to do it just as bad, but I'm wondering how worth it it is, considering the kind of time off of school, the barely any pay and the risk of a job you don't like.

I know I'll get a biased response but I really just want to be reassured that working for Disney is as awesome as I think it is!

04-02-2011, 05:32 PM
I wanted to do the CP also since I was in middle school. On a trip to Disney my parents noticed CMs with their colleges on their nametags instead of their hometowns. Many conversations later, they recommended I check out the CP website and from that point on, it was a dream of mine. Yes, there are definitely risks to doing the CP like you mentioned, but there are so many more benefits and incredible things you get out of it. I'm graduating later than I should be, I came home with the same amount of money I started with, and was definitely stressed from my job often. But I wouldn't change a thing. I met amazing people who I still call my best friends today, while living it up for a semester.

04-03-2011, 01:27 AM
depends what you want out of it. i have 2 friends there right now who are dating. one loves it, the other hates every second of it.

where do you go to school, what's you major, career goals, etc? think about those things before deciding for sure.

04-03-2011, 05:48 PM
Yeah depends on what you want out of it. If you're looking to just party it up and have a great time at Disney World/Land then no it's not worth wasting your time or the other peoples time who want to get in. When you could just save up money and do this a couple times a year anyways.

If you're looking for a great name on your resume a chance to work with a very well known business and help make people vacations better. Then yes. I would say if you're in a field in which working for Disney can help you (which are a lot of fields) then yes it's totally worth it. Just be warned it's a lot of time on the clock and a lot of late nights doing the things it takes to make the park magical for everyone else.

04-03-2011, 06:32 PM
My best advice is to only do the program if you have a true desire and passion to work at WDW. The people that I met who hated it, didn't like it for one of two resons; they hated their job (low pay, in the heat, etc.) or they hated their living situation.

As someone has said, know that you will be working very late or very early, you will not be paid much, you will be in the heat and you will work a lot. My best advice for this is to only pick job roles that you truly want to do. If you only want to work in attractions, be honest and tell the recruiter in your interview. The program is not worth getting into if you are stuck in a role that you know you will not like.

The other reason is that some people do not like living with roommates. They hate sharing space with strangers and trying to work with other people's schedules ( you might work 7am, be home at 5pm, but your roommate will have a night shift and come home around 3am.) I had a really great roommate in my CP who I am still really great friends with. But be prepared for some odd people. :rotfl:

04-03-2011, 08:07 PM
OCgirl has great advice. Also, know that if taking time off from school is a big deal to you, or you don't want to miss out on a semester because of friends, you can always do the program the semester after you graduate. Doing it then also affords you the opportunity to stay in Orlando longer than you'd originally planned, if that's what you want to do.

04-03-2011, 08:57 PM

This whole past week I worked 800am-1045pm shifts. Voluntarily. As in, I picked them up from the Extra Hours Hotline. I worked 48 total hours in the course of five days.

If you love what you do, you will be happy to do it. Also, the overtime is sweet, and the smiles on the guests' faces make it so worth it. I was having a stressful day the other day at night parade and saw the look on one woman's face as she was watching Wishes for the very first time; she was having such a glorious moment that I nearly burst into tears when I saw her.

So, just goes to show!