Questions about the ICP?

Disney gives you a bank account and a card.

 

Yes Disney will give you a card for your wages to go on so you don't have to worry about setting up a bank account once you get to Florida. But remember you won't have any money on that card until you get paid and, since payday is on a Thursday you probably wont get paid until nearly two weeks after you arrive in Florida. Yummy jobs say you will need to take money with you and whilst some people take cash, the majority take some form of bank card or cash card. I had a post office travel money card which meant that not only did I have money on there for the first few weeks of my program, but I could also get it topped up throughout the summer if I needed more money.

I would recommend getting a travel card but don't worry about it too much, it is easy to sort out and you don't need to think about it until 1-2 months before leaving really! Plus everyone whose going is doing the same thing so can offer advice on the best companies to use! It was really easy to sort out!

 

I have another question, if that's ok! (Sorry!!) :-[

I have heard that anyone can pick up PAC shifts - how does that work? I.e. do you have to be trained first to be able to do them? And how do you know where to go etc? May seem like a daft question, especially at this stage, but it was one of those things going round and round my head in bed last night

Thanks in advance!

 

Of course it's ok to ask! Don't worry we all asked loads of questions before going!

PAC shifts are great and yes, you are correct in saying that anyone can pick them up. When you go onto the Hub, which is WDW's internal computer system, you can view your shifts for the week and you can pick up additional shifts. Only roles that you have been trained to do will appear on your hub, so I could pick up any merchandise shifts in the whole of WDW (but not food making such as Sweet Spells in HS as that requires extra training, as does hat stitching). PAC shifts do not require any training and so are available for anyone to pick up in exactly the same way as you pick up additional shifts in your role, its very easy!

I managed to do one PAC shift at Animal Kingdom's Jammin Jungle Parade and it was great fun! Once you have picked up the shift it will show a time and location where you need to meet, I ended up asking somebody for directions as I don't know the AK backstage areas but everyone is helpful and it was actually very easy to find where to go. The shift itself was amazing, so much fun! I would definitely recommend doing a PAC shift at least once, apparently the Magic Kingdom ones are more stressful because there are more people but still amazing, everyone who I know that did a PAC shift loved it!

Hope that answers everything on PAC shifts, don't worry too much about the actual process of picking up a shift, it will all be explained to you when you get there

 

That's fab, thank you!! So do they tell you what you need to do when you meet, or is it just common sense, i.e. just walking up and down the parade route and helping guests/stopping any issues?


Don't know how I'm going to wait much longer - still 12 days before the applications even close! I'm way too impatient! haha! ;D

Thanks for your help! Appreciate it! ;D

 

Ah I completely understand, the waiting is the hardest part of the whole application process! And then you have the massive wait between getting in and getting to Florida, but it's all worth it!

No they will brief you when you get there about what you need to do and there are generally a lot of people so you always have someone to help you if you don't know what to do. For my role at the AK parade I had to help put down tape, then put the poles in the ground and then was given an area to make sure it didn't get blocked when people were watching the parade. Those are the kinds of things you do as well as talking to guests and watching part of the parade. Pretty easy work really!

 

Ah, sounds fab! Thanks for all the info!! ;D

 

I have a little question (which I've been trying to find out EVERYWHERE, but can't):

Do you know (approximately) how many people get accepted from the UK for the Disney summer program?

 

I can't say what it will be this year as Yummy Jobs don't release specific numbers and I don't know what it has been in previous years but last year there were around 250 of us over 2 start dates. This number could change though depending on how many start dates they have and how many people Disney needs.

 

Thank you! I'm just curious as to the odds of getting in I thought it'd be a lot less! But as I said, I've never been able to find anywhere a rough estimate of how many people they take

 

I wouldn't worry too much about the numbers, your odds of getting in are just as good as everyone else's! Yeah it is difficult to find an estimate of how many people they take because it does change so much. So like I said these numbers are probably useless since we have no idea how many people Disney will need this year from the UK!

 

Ah yes, well that makes sense! Hopefully they'll take on near enough the same amount this year!

Can't believe the applications close in just under 13 hours ahhh!

 

Good luck!

 

Weird question...

I did the CRP back in 2011/2012 and am now contemplating doing the cultural exchange over my summer break(s) from Uni (it's ridiculous how much I miss working for Disney)
What has been concerning me though is that 2-3 months isn't necessarily a very long time and is it worth it money wise? Since plane tickets to Orlando aren't the cheapest (do we get a final paycheck here as we do for CRP after completion of the program?)
I'd really like to do this for a summer job (though my mom will probably kill me... off for uni all year and now off for summer as wellxD) but I don't really wanna spent too much of my savings from here (except for the obvious pre-arrival fees and first week necessities that I know have to be bought )

Jeez, I don't know... I feel crazy for doing this.

 

We just got our W2s back and it said I earned around $2700. This was with around 30-40 hours per week, but I took a few days off and called in twice. The money is good if you can save enough. I didn't really take any money with me and managed to get by on my pay alone. You get a final pay the week after you finish from the previous week which you can transfer online or withdraw from some ATMs. I think the summer program is sort of better because you can end up with any role but you're limited to just Merch or F&B in the CRP, it's just what you make of it yourself really

 

Hey! I would definitely agree with Megannn that once you start working you will have enough to cover your expenses, I spent a lot of money on flights/visa appointments and the first week but after that, most of my money came from my paycheque. If you are looking for a Disney program where you will come home having made a ton of money then I don't think the summer program is what you are looking for. You make enough to last whilst you are there but I would expect to come back with much left, particularly if you want to experience everything, which I did!

But that doesn't mean the summer program isn't a great experience! I had the best time of my life on my program and, like Megannn said, there are so many more roles to choose from and different places to work, it really is an experience you can never have again! So I would 100% recommend applying, I couldn't speak more highly of the program! And as long as you are aware of the pre-arrival fees and all that then I don't think you will have anything to worry about with money! Hope this helps!

 

Hey all! So I have seen a lot of questions on here and on this years Facebook group about the ICP/CEP recently so I did a not so little blog post with some FAQs. Hopefully this will help some people who are applying/thinking of applying and if you have any other questions feel free to ask either on here or on my blog! http://vickisdisneyadventure.tumblr.com/post/76295795844/frequently-asked-questions