[flounder7786]

i sit here. 2 am. and wonder. where did all the time go.


it feels like just yesterday i unpacked my bags into Vista Way, and now, im less than 3 weeks away from heading back to the west coast.


what an experience. i'd like to say it was nothing but rainbows and sunshine. but that would be a total lie. im sick of working late hours. sick of not being able to eat anything healthy. sick of being yelled at by guests who really think they're better than you...


but i am going to miss this place. a lot. i dont know how i made it through the whole 5 months. but im getting sad to leave.


ooooh disney.


i think im going to miss my roommates the most....no...i KNOW im going to miss them the most. and the fireworks. and calling little girls princesses and seeing their face light up. and being stupid without caring. and especially PI!


i guess i will miss this.

[Dopey]

Oh wow, Flounder, I wish you had reported a little more frequently about your experience in the parks.
We would have commiserated with you about the snotty guests;
we would have been thrilled with you when things were perfect;
we would have celebrated with you...

but I know that you were way too busy to do that so how about now?
How about telling us what all you did while you were there?

[dac921]

Same here... tell us some stories...

[flounder7786]

i've been working cash/counter at the second busiest quick service restaruant in the world. if you've spent any time at the MK you've probably eaten at cosmic rays.

i guess my initial shock about the program is that i've been treated soo poorly by the company that i just couldnt wait to get my foot into. funny how that works out. but if making 7.17 an hour working in fast food, sharing a bedroom (and still paying crazy amounts of rent) and working with people who know you're cp.s and know you're replaceable....if that sounds like fun. you should do it.

we've gone through 5 roommates. they self termed, and the sad thing is they had legit jobs. like front desk at pop century and stuff. ooh well.

there is a lot of good. really. but it sure does feel good just to say exactly how im feeling



i think i need to go ride mickey's philharmagic...that show always makes me smile. its my "pixie dust"

[Dopey]

enjoy your pixi dust

[woohoo]

its hard to find silver linings when you are still brushing off the tarnished memories but Im sure that a few months from now you will see all of the good that you experianced and all the lessons learned from the bad. It is unfortunately a company not an illusion and reality sometimes stinks. In the end you will miss your roommates, the easy visit to things that make you happy and all the special things like fireworks and princesses. Hold on to that!

[KarenWDWCP]

I just saw this thread today...flounder is your CP over now? I hope your last few weeks were magical and I can guarantee that in no time at all, you will remember and miss all the fun and magical times you had and barely remember all the other stuff. Okay, maybe you will remember some of the other stuff ( I still have memories of all the house meetings we had to discuss our cleaning schedule that never actually worked out, our bathroom was disgusting) but here I am, EIGHT years after my program still missing it all the time and wondering how 8 years could have gone by so fast!

[MissDisney]

Flounder... are you there? Have you left WDW yet? I'd like to know how it's going!

[flounder7786]

you're right.

i miss it like crazy now that im not there.

i look back fondly on the happy times...and i daily think the world needs a little more pixie dust in it.

[Princess Tessa]

yeah, I agree with everything you said. I miss it so terribly.
I still call little kids at my tables Princess but I usually just get a glare or a deer in headlights look rather than them doing a twirl and waving their wand at me. *sigh*

[llama]

Well, here I am reporting from WDW with the perspective of a parent who's kid is in the International Program. And here's the way I see it.

The Pros.

I'm really impressed mostly with the security at the residences. It makes me feel better as a mother to know that it's harder to get in there than in Fort Knox.

The kids have access to a lot of perks such as free park passes, private gym, pool, etc.

There are rules, rules ad more rules - and as a mother, that's just fine with me.

The experience is wonderful - (dd has met and has made friends with people from Mexico, France, Norway and Wales) however I think that kids applying for the Programs need to realize that it won't be "paradise" and it definitely won't be "a Small World". Countries tend to stick together, and although your roommates will be from other countries you won't have much to do with them (talking to the kids I've found this is the norm). My dd likes her roommate from Germany and another girl from Mexico - three other girls - 2 from Japan and one from South Africa have nothing to do with the others - so be prepared to live in an "odd" atmosphere. It might not happen to you - but it seems the norm. I don't know anything about the College Program - it seems that the International Program is not encouraged to meet people from the College Program at all - the two are strictly separated and that's too bad.

UNFORTUNATELY, you do see another side of Disney. The Residences are in poor condition. I'm positive that they haven't painted in there since the place was built - 20 years ago. No one expects it to be like a resort - but you can't have thousands of people living in apts and have no kind of maintenance whatsoever. Should the kids be responsible for cleaning their own carpets? Maybe- but how do they get a carpet cleaner with no access to transportation except the bus to Walmart? They certainly can't afford to hire a carpet cleaner. Disney could do better - and they know it. They don't even supply a broom! They supply the basics. Period.

It is not fair that the only CM's that can receive tips are the servers (in Le Cellier you can't apply for a server's position until you've been there 3 months - and it's more like 6 months before you get one.) However, as a server you can make up to $500.00 a night in tips and keep it all. Meanwhile all the other CMs are living on $7.17 an hour (32 hours minimum) and aren't allowed to accept tips. There should be a fair percentage payout of the tips to the hostesses, seaters, etc. $7.17 doesn't go far when Disney asks for 2 months rent up front, cost of uniforms, etc. We've spoken to a lot of kids who are living on cereal.

I can't tell you how my daughter's experience will turn out. Right now, she's very happy and enjoying herself. But it is a huge adjustment.

[dixie]

I appreciate LLama,Tessa's and Flounders honesty when describing the CP. As I have mentioned before my DD is keen to do the International Programme now she is at University- but I really do get the feeling she thinks its one long park visit!! rose tinted glasses etc! so she will find the above posts very enlightening and I dont think for a minute it will put her off but at least she will be aware its not all as she expects.
I was particularly interested in the separation of CP and IP and wondered why that was? Thanks again though for really interesting accounts of the programme.

[Princess Tessa]

As for the separation between IP, CP (including ICP) it makes sense we're not friends with any of them. All cultural reps, IPs...live in the commons and work in the world showcase. Everyone else, on ICP and CP live in Chathem Square and Vista Way and work in MK, DAK, MGM or Future World in Epcot...so there would be no reason or way to make friends unless you had some other way of making a connection with one of those people.

It's not really a bad thing I'd say, everyone makes HUNDREDS of friends while down in Florida, I don't think I could have handled making any more friends, I can't keep in touch with everyone I met down there as it is

[KarenWDWCP]

I just wanted to reiterate what Tessa said that the separation between the IP and CP kids when I was there at least, seemed to be an issue of location more than anything else. We lived in different complexes and work didn't overlap either since they were all working in the World Showcase.

I suppose Disney could do more to encourage some socializing between the groups, but like Tessa said, you already meet a million people down there so there is no lack of friends to be made!

As for the housing, I am sure that Vista Way at least is in rough shape these days. My CP was eight years ago this month (eek!) and it was pretty run down when I was there so I can't imagine what it looks like now. I did a focus group for Disney when I was on my CP and it met at the Commons and was so jealous of how nice it looked!

Whenever anyone asks me about my experience with the CP, I always give them the same answer. It was not as easy as a months long vacation and there were definitely some tough moments BUT it was still one of the best, most fun experiences of my life and I took away so much from it. And it seems my whole life, I worked in some sort of customer service position (from my very first high school job to my career now in museums) and my time in WDW still ranks as the easiest and most pleasant job I've had dealing with the public! If I had it all to do over again, I would do it in a second, even if I did come home from my program completely broke and exhausted from the whirlwind of it all!

[lovemysons]

Originally Posted by llama

UNFORTUNATELY, you do see another side of Disney. The Residences are in poor condition. I'm positive that they haven't painted in there since the place was built - 20 years ago. No one expects it to be like a resort - but you can't have thousands of people living in apts and have no kind of maintenance whatsoever. Should the kids be responsible for cleaning their own carpets? Maybe- but how do they get a carpet cleaner with no access to transportation except the bus to Walmart? They certainly can't afford to hire a carpet cleaner. Disney could do better - and they know it. They don't even supply a broom! They supply the basics. Period.

That is disturbing to me. It almost sounds like a slum lord situation. I can't believe they are allowed to get away with that. Seems like the kind of thing Dateline should be looking into.