hi everyone i have my f2f interview this weekend, and my parents are nagging me about money basically. they keep wanting to know if working for Disney is a scam. So if anyone could answer some questions for me that would be great!! 1) while at disney how much money per month do you actually get to SAVE. so after rent, food, (anything else??) how much money (on average) would i save per month? lets assume i'd be working in merch (so non tipped) position... 2) are there any hidden costs at all that they havnt told us about? visa fees? ANYTHING? just trying to get a guess as to how much initial costs there are... 3) is the amount of money you pay for rent, worth what you're paying for? basically guys, i have my heart set on doing this...but my parents seem to only think about the negative things involving money! if there are any secrets that you find out after you are there, that you wernt told upfront please let me know!
I can understand why they're saying this. There are some positions in America that pretty much are a scam. I'll try to answer your questions as best as possible! None. It all depends how much you go out drinking or to other parks or shopping etc, but generally it's advised that you won't save anything. I'm going to assume you've read the Disney International Programs website, and thus know that you'll need about £1000 (sorry - I'm from the UK) of start up costs - flight, visa, crb, first couple of weeks rent, first few food shops before you get paid etc. EDIT: Just checked the International Program website - you need about USD$1000, depending on what your airfare/visa costs are. (vary by country). I've heard that it's a high rental rate for the area, but at the same time you'll be staying with fellow cast members, and such. The program is as much about meeting/living with people from other cultures as it is working for Disney They're your parents, they're allowed to be worried. It's what they're there for. Especially if it looks like they'll have to fork out most of those start up costs. If you can show them how much you want this, and that you can save for it yourself, then they'll have more confidence in you staying away from home for a whole year (they'll be worrying about that just as much, but won't want to say it!) Hope I've helped! Good luck in your interview!!
I think just to echo what Vikki said, don't be expecting to make any savings, I think the idea is more about the life experience you will be getting, not about getting rich. Also, it is very expensive to get started, with everything you need to fork out for you need to be smart about how you are going to afford this. I'm having to sell my car so I can get started comfortably in Florida. I'm not trying to put you off but be prepared to spend alot of money before you even get to Florida, if you have your heart set on going then don't be dissuaded by anything, follow your heart, and start saving now!!! I wish you all the luck in the world for your interview xxx
thank you so much!! that helped a lot ! another thing my parents have mentioned is that they think i could end up OWING Disney money after the program... has anyone experienced this??
Disney make sure you have enough hours to pay your rent (it comes straight out of your paycheck - so you never see that money). If you owe them anything eg, take their medical insurance, they take it out your paycheck again. The only way you'll end up not being able to pay your rent one week is if you take a load of Early Releases (finishing work earlier than you were rota-d to), and swap shifts to other people. So, as long as you're sensible, it just won't happen.
The girls have pretty much covered everything, another way to make sure that your pre-departure costs are down is booking flights through cheaper companies/opting for the connection options rather than direct flights. Also with the insurance you can often get different levels of insurance such as the STA standard/premier, and all of that can help with the set up costs. I'm going to be in merch and our pay for the moment is set at $7.45, so as Vikki said as long as you don't take to many eary releases/swap shifts then in a standard week after accomodation you can be left with around $100-$120, so groceries, going out and generally enjoying yourself will probably take care of that for you!! Oooo good luck!! Make sure you enjoy yourself (The best thing that I did was talk to the people your next to and you'll end up having a really fun day!!) xx
from my experience - yes the money u make is enough to live off, if you are on a budget then yes it can be expensive. expect to pay around £150 for visa fees and phone call etc plus you pay like £15 to get your passport couriered back. there is a one off housing fee of $100 so around £65 which is non refundable. Air fares range from around £420 upwards however if you are under 26 it can be worthwhile getting one of the international youth traveelr cards and booking a flight thru sta travel - basically the card is £6 and you can book a flight with the discount which is around £350. whatever you spend on your flight going out you will get back at the end of your programme in a lump sum of dollars so you will be able to get home - you only get the refund tho if you complete the programme so if you get or self term it doesnt count. You will also need to take out insurance price for this varies but its from £100+ i think you have to get it for like 91 days or something and then disney benefits insurance kicks in (its like $10 or something from ya pay check) you can also get insurance for the entire year and opt out of the disney insurance this is obv a much more expensive option if your short on cash you also need to take cash out with you for the first 2 weeks before you start working the amoutn you take is up to you - if you needed to you could survive on around $250(around £180)) - most people take between $500-$1000 so at a minimum you would need £1000 you can save money out there but not a lot if your in a non tipped position most people do save money and then splurge it all on a final trip at the end of their programme you wont end up owing disney money at the end of the programme not unless you fail to hand in your costumes
it's defo not a scam- this is very legit; plus you have 2 people looking after you yummy (I'm guessing you're UK or Canadian) and WDW before you even get there. They sell it as an experience rather than an opportunity (you'll find that out at interview), and they can tell you exact costs and stuff. It's a lifestyle type job- like if you were to do a ski season- and the costs have been outlined before. At least with CRP you are there for a year so have time to balance out what you paid to get there (if you're careful). Good luck with the interview- and I hope everyone's info has reassured you? x x x x
I know this isn't really a fact, but I was at the embassy today and each member of staff I spoke to knew what the CRP was, they have so many of us through, that you know its well verified!! So that was nice and reassuring that both the British and American members of staff knew exactly what the program was/how long it was & where you would be!!!
wow thank you guys so much! yes i am Canadian haha but still, the info here is helpful regardless of where i am from! i will def be showing this thread to my parents please, any more info you guys have i would LOVE to hear it!
I'm going in March and am Canadian so a few things the others don't mention is that as a Canadian, Disney is taking care of the Visa so we don't have to go to the embassy or pay for the visa. One other expense not mentioned was a criminal check. But other then that everyone covered everything.
About the Disney insurance... What does it covers? Does anyone know if they have a form of some type that specify their insurance? Like this one Example form: http://www.internationalservices.fr/benefits_premium.pdf Thanks
this program has been running for YEARS!!!! years and years and years, its not a scam i can assure you, its the chance to work at disney and live in florida for a year, the exact same situation as working as a chalet host in a ski resort, working a year overseas (Australia etc) Yes there are start up costs as there would be with any job of this nature and no, your not going to be earing mega bucks but this is NOT "just a job" its an amazing experience and should be seen as such. I can understand that your parents may be a little worried but show them this site! show them the disney site and the yummy jobs info etc etc etc let them email yummyjobs themselves so they can ask questions etc
thank you SO much everyone who has posted in this thread i will def be showing all of this to my parents!! my interview is on saturday im sooo excited!! ;D
