Two Weeks of Training

When we last discussed Joseph’s DCP (Disney College Program) experience, he had just gotten settled in at Chatham Square and was in training.  Aside from the well-known and much-anticipated Traditions class, his early training mostly consisted of common new-hire on-boarding information, rules, procedures, safety and security protocol and the like.  After the classroom instruction came on-the-job training.  Since Joseph works in QSFB (Quick Service Food & Beverage), he learned everything from assembling meals to ringing up guests, preparing certain food items, cleaning, and trash disposal.  After the first three weeks, he received training for additional responsibilities.

The Daily Routine

Joseph normally works six days a week and anywhere from 6 to 10+ hours per shift.  When asked to come in early or stay late, Joseph always says yes.  After the housing fees are deducted from his weekly paycheck, he makes enough to eat and pay his car note…with a little extra left over for fun.

Before Joseph applied, he’d done enough research to know that the DCP roles with the highest demand include custodial and QSFB.  He also knew that because this semester was absolutely the best time for him to do the program, it was not the time to be picky.  Applicants are surveyed and allowed to rate available roles from “no interest” to “high interest”.  Joseph was completely fine with any job he’d be assigned as long as it was for the Spring 2018 program.

TIP:  If this is not the case for you, do not indicate interest in anything you won’t be happy doing.

Unfortunately, there are quite a few DCP participants that are unprepared for their assigned role and cannot handle some of the responsibilities involved.  Within the first three weeks, Joseph and I had both heard of several instances where a program participant self-terminated (quit and went home).  Reasons for leaving varied, but most included things like boredom on the job, loneliness, too much time standing/walking, working too many hours, too few days off, and the inability to get along with coworkers or roommates.  Some left for health reasons.  Disney tries very hard to make requested medical accommodations, but many roles are still quite physically demanding.

The good news is that most of the DCP participants are thriving and thoroughly enjoying the role they were given – even if it initially fell short of their Disney “dream job”.  Like most DCP-ers, Joseph has two sets of friends, his housing (Chatham Square) friends and his work (Harambe Market) friends.  On his days off and on the days he’s not too exhausted after work, he spends time with these friends both in the parks and outside the Disney Bubble.  Recently, he joined his Animal Kingdom coworkers for a charity bowling tournament.  He also got to watch our favorite baseball team, the St. Louis Cardinals, beat Atlanta during spring training.  Many days, he’s simply too tired to do anything but work, sleep, and maybe do a load of laundry.

So far, from this mom’s point of view, it seems the Disney College Program is a lot like life – how you deal with what comes your way makes all the difference.  You can choose to be happy and make the most of this special time or you can focus on everything you don’t like.  No two days are exactly the same and after you work hard, you can play hard (if you’re not too tired, that is).  I was worried that once Joseph “saw how the sausage gets made”, some of the Disney magic might wear off for him, but that has not been the case at all.  Even when he’s exhausted, he’s still loving this experience.

That’s what I know so far.  Watch for more Disney College Program from a mom’s perspective and, after Joseph comes home, I’m sure he’ll share all the tips he’s learning right now.  If you have any questions, leave them in the comments and we’ll do our best.