I am in my 40s. I’m married and have 4 kids ages 11-19.
It’s always been my dream to work for Disney in the costuming dept. so, on a whim, I applied for the college program. I shockingly got in.
My question: Would I be totally crazy to do it? Are there others like me who do it? Would I make it weird for other participants? Does anyone know of others my age I could talk to, or blogs or Facebook pages I could follow?
Thoughts? Ideas? Opinions?
I did the DCP in 2015 at the age of 52, I had just gotten my undergrad degree. I always wanted to see what it would be like to work at WDW and thought this would be a great opportunity to help me decide if I should move to Florida just for Disney.
Full disclosure: I did not complete my program, I just found it too hard to adjust to the living conditions. It was also torture for me to be there and not be able to "play" whenever I wanted to.
Here's my take on the experience.
During my interview I inquired about people my age or older doing the DCP, and was reassured that many had. Also, I have a cousin who lives and works there full time, and she also assured me she'd worked with a couple of people "of a certain age" that were DCP.
I too was worried it would be "weird" because of my age, but every young DCP I interacted with acted totally fine with it, it was a non-issue.
Work: be prepared to be assigned wherever they need you most at the time of your program. Even if they assign you to one role before your program starts, you could arrive to find you've been reassigned. During my interview, the interviewer focused her questions on my interest in attractions and guest relations, but I was assigned to custodial. Don't get me wrong, custodial was great, getting to walk around sweeping streets gave me the opportunity to interact with lots of guest which was very enjoyable for me, honestly.
All that being said, one of my roommates was assigned to entertainment costuming, so you never know...
Money: you will barely cover expenses on what Disney will pay you, and that's living on campus without your own car. Be prepared to dip into your personal savings if you want to have your own car, buy lots of mementos, eat in the parks, etc. I tried to live like I was on vacation and quickly started running up my credit card balance, so beware.
Housing: unless you're willing to pay outrageous rent living off campus (and this was discouraged by the program administrators) you'll be in dormitory-like housing. I had 5 roommates, total of 6 of us, 3 to a room. I think it's much different now, many participants get single rooms, but as other folks have mentioned, it's a crapshoot as to who you'll room with and how you'll all get along.
Of my five roommates:
-one, 23 yrs old, appointed himself leader of the apartment and literally harassed me when I made it clear I'd be doing my own thing concerning groceries, cleaning up after myself, etc. No bueno. This guy also hung up lots of political material in common areas of the apartment; make of that what you will.
-one, 21 yrs old, constantly ate my food without replacing it. Seemingly petty on my part, but when I want my Cinnamon Toast Crunch I don't want to find an empty box in my cupboard! lol
-one, 35 yrs old, was the messiest person I'd ever lived with, seriously he lived like a hoarder leaving trash everywhere, I had to step over his piles of clothes just to get to my bed...
-one, 22 yrs old, was totally chill. No worries.
-one, the costumer, 21 yrs old, kind, respectful, mature, we got along famously and remain friends.
Undeniably it was a challenge for this old dog to learn again how to get along and share a space with so many people. YMMV
There were many Facebook groups set up to help people find roommates before their program began, and there are systems in place to make sure you were assigned to the same apartment. It took some effort, but I found an older guy like me, and we became roomies, but he turned out to be the messy guy... so again, it's a crapshoot.
To solve all of my control freak, old-man tendencies I spent as little time as possible in the apartment, going to the parks almost every day I had off, exploring Orlando, day trips to the beach, "me time." It really helped.
The housing complex security was amazing, very efficient and thorough, but they kept close tabs on everyone, which may or may not feel like an invasion of privacy. When I spent extended time off campus with my husband, security constantly kept tabs, calling to make sure I was okay, etc. Again, very thorough and comforting for some, a pain in the neck for me.
Being away from family: this was very hard. even for the few short months of the program. And when my other half visited, he was not allowed to stay with me in my apartment, and just to visit me during the day we had to jump through some security hoops. It can feel lonely, even with so many other DCPs around you.
Wow I have a lot to say! LOL If you have any questions I'm happy to share more of my experience, just send my a message.
All in all, I say "nothing ventured, nothing gained." Go for it!! If it's not for you, there's no shame in leaving early, IMHO.