The program is an amazing thing, but its true that it's not all pixie dust and magic. If you go into the cp knowing that, you will be just fine.
1)Transportation did suck, I didn't have a car but I quickly made friends who thankfully had cars. I enjoyed the bus rides though, gave me some alone time to veg out and listen to music. It did really suck though if you worked at MK and worked closing. There are A LOT of ICP who obviously don't have cars so it really clogs the bussing situation. And what sucks about the A Bus (the mk bus) is it stops at the TTC and then at West Clock (backstage mk) so kids who play all day get on that bus before kids who worked all day. often times the bus would come and only have room for 10 more people then the 200 hundred waiting there would run to the bus, fighting to get a spot and then the majority would have to wait another 20 minutes for the next bus.
so my advice to you is, make a carpool plan with some coworkers! the bus ride there isnt so bad, the bus ride back SUCKS
2)Be aware that this is just a job and your leadership is going to either be awesome or suck just like any other job. I had some managers that I had major problems with. Due to the size of the company, there are people who are all about stepping anyone's toes to get to that next step on the ladder so just be wary and don't take it personally.
3)If you're doing spring, peak season sucks. There's a few weeks in april that spring break hits and it's hell. You're working 50 hour weeks, sometimes only having one day off. the parks are crowded, guests are hot and angry. your leadership is stressed. it just sucks. but hang in there!
4)going to the parks does get kind of old especially when peak hits and there's long lines for everything. so try to get creative with what you do so you dont get bored. i made trips to nasa, downtown orlando, universal, old town kissimmee, the florida mall. there's so much around! don't limit yourself to disney. and don't be afraid to take a no disney day! me and my roommates did that quite often. we'd roadtrip to the beach and restrict any mention of anything disney (which is quite difficult) but great therapy especially when you're feeling overwhelmed by work and whatnot.
5)housing is not as magical as the video makes it seems. while it's awesome, the inspections can be strict/on inconvenient days(aka the day after easter in which mk was open til 3am) and the office is not always cooperative. its just like any apartment complex. and their hours are really inconvenient for those us who worked mk and slept during their open hours. that being said, go to the housing events! they're a lot of fun and housing does a lot of great things for cps. just read the bulletin boards and emails
6) you dont make money. i left with 500 dollars and came back with nothing. you typically make 140 or so a week depending on your role. somehow, that goes by realllly quickly but dont hesitate to spend it. this is most likely a once in a life time experience so make sure you experience all that you can!
7) i lost contact with most the friends i had prior to the program. so be aware that that might happen. it sucks but its hard to keep up with a bunch of people when you have a new social life and a full time job.
8)leaving disney sucks. more than you can ever imagine! it was really one of the hardest days of my life when i had to say goodbye to everyone and everything i had fallen in love with. so brace yourself but don't dwell on it. soak up the time you have b/c it goes by fast!
