Living, Learning, and Earning

Hello former, current, and future WDW CPs,

My name is Keriann Lin and I have been selected for the Merchandising role (location to be determined) and will be flying down to Florida at the end of January. Although I’ve done my own research on the program, I would love some personal insight from my fellow City Tech students!

What I’m most interested in knowing is how everyone managed to balance their work, school, and social life. Did you pick up extra shifts every week? Did you get enough sleep? Is sleep overrated or should I cherish every hour? How were you able to budget your money between rent, groceries, outside dining, souvenirs, and other expenditures?

I hope I can keep in touch with everyone throughout my first WDW College Program experience! Please feel free to private message me or comment below!

Warm regards,

Keriann Lin

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5 Responses to Living, Learning, and Earning

  1. Dear Keriann Lin,
    Congratulations on your new role! While I was in Walt Disney I was doing merchandise. It is going to be tough to balance your schedule. I did not have plenty of time really enjoy myself. I was just focused on school, homework, and networking. If you are a morning person this is great you can relax in the morning, if not you would be sleeping throughout your day. Within budgeting your supplies , it is best to bring extra money with you to do activities. You can pick up extra hours if you please and get that experience too in different merchandise locations.

    Good Luck on your College Program!
    Sincerely,
    Patricia Soto

    • Thanks for your support Patricia.

    • Keriann says:

      Hi Patricia,

      Thank you so much for your contribution! It’s great hearing directly from someone who was in the same role I’ll be in. I am, unfortunately, not a morning person but that’s something about myself that I am striving to change. I don’t want to waste away my mornings sleeping! I do plan on picking up extra hours, especially in the parks outside my home location so that I can experience working in different areas. I’m worried there will be so much to do but not enough money or time to do them all!

      Congratulations on completing the program and I look forward to keeping in touch with you!

      Warm regards,
      Keriann Lin

  2. Ayesha Cuevas says:

    Congratulations on your acceptance!!!
    I just recently got back from Disney and although I did a different role I did also have those same questions before starting my program, my role was Quick food service btw. Managing your time along with your priorities are the two most important things in my opinion. Not everyone at Disney is there for school, so it is hard sometimes to stay in and do homework and watch your friends and roommates go out to the parks. I do agree with Patricia if you have the opportunity to get shifts in other parks please do it is nice to experience and you also learn new things. I would have two days off, one of which I went to both my Disney classes and took the rest of the day to do homework or run any errands I had to get done. On my other day off I would enjoy the parks and slept in. You will also learn how to budget your money once you are there, my suggestion to you would also be to bring and make your own lunch for work rather than buying lunch everyday. You can save a lot of money this way. Make sure you attend grocery bingo, I won every time I went. and its also fun even if you don’t win.

    Good luck, and if you have any questions you think I can answer please ask.
    Ayesha Cuevas

    • Keriann says:

      Hi Ayesha!

      While I was talking to the other DCP participants, I did notice a lot of them were only there for the program and really applied on whim. It turns out a lot of schools don’t accept credits from this program! I’m definitely going to bring my own lunch! I haven’t eaten outside food yet (saving that for the parks) and I’ve been bringing my own snacks with me everywhere I go in case I get hungry. Thank you for letting me know about grocery bingo! There’s one coming up in about three weeks so hopefully I won’t have work at that time.

      Was it difficult for you to manage your budget while grocery shopping? I’ve been making very simple foods so far (food that doesn’t require too much preparation or ingredients) in anticipation for my busy work/school/play schedule.

      Thank you for all your advice and comments!

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