Who doesn’t want a magical happily ever after? And if you are single and have been accepted into the Disney College Program (DCP), then falling in love at Disney probably sounds like the most wonderful way to fall in love. But is it?
Some people do find long-term relationships on the DCP, and those people immediately become the #goals of almost every single person who gets accepted to the DCP. But you need to be honest with yourself about what you’re looking to get out of your program.
Reasons to Date on your DCP
- Disney is Magical
Disney is a happy place and has tons of amazing date options. Especially with that cast member discount, you can easily go on super fun dates that you wouldn’t be able to go on if you were not working for Disney. See my list of great Disney date ideas. Even just a regular date becomes a magical date, simply because you are at Disney.
- Social Media Goals
So much of our lives are documented on social media nowadays. And during your program, posting cute photos to your Instagram might be a priority for you (it definitely was for me!). If you start dating someone during the program, you’ll pretty much always have someone around to take photos for you. Friends can also do this, but I’m sure you’ll be spending a ton of time with your significant other and they’d probably be more than happy to take the photos. And you can take cute, romantic, relationship photos that will surely be a hit on social media. You can go to my Instagram page to see all my Disney pics for inspiration: @sidneyeverafter
- You Have Plans to Stay with Disney
A significant number of people who do the DCP have plans to keep working with Disney even after their program ends. Maybe that’s you, and maybe that also describes the person you want to date. This could be great if you both are looking for a long-term relationship, since you wouldn’t be forced apart after the program ends.
- Dating Can Be Fun
Dating can be really fun, whether you are at Disney or not. So if you find someone who you like, and they happen to like you back, why wouldn’t you date them? Do what makes you happy!
Reasons Not to Date on Your DCP
- Not Many Partner Choices
From a hetero woman’s perspective, there are not a lot of men who choose to do the DCP. There are some, but there are just sooooo many women that do it. So if you are a woman who is interested in men, you don’t have a ton of people to pick from (and the other single women are also looking at these men for themselves).
If you’re just looking for a casual fling while you’re in Florida, this may be fine for you. But if you’re trying to find your life partner, then you’re severely limiting your options and you might end up settling for someone who wouldn’t normally meet your standards.
- DCP is Temporary
The DCP is temporary, and program participants come from all over the world. So even if you do start dating someone during your program, when the program ends you are probably not going home to the same place as your new significant other.
Then your choices are to break up, be in a long-distance relationship, or one of you needs to pick up your life and move to where the other person is. Since the DCP lasts less than a year, it probably wouldn’t make sense to change your entire life for someone you have only known for a few months.
A long distance relationship would be a very drastic change for a couple that has lived & worked in the same place ever since they first met and is used to spending time together often. This is why most relationships that start during the DCP do not last long after the end of the program.
- Friendships May Be a Better Goal for You
When you’re doing the DCP, you are probably working a lot of hours. So you have limited free time. If you start dating someone, you then need to split your time between your friends and your significant other. This often leads people to neglect their friendships because they are excited about their new significant other. This is not necessarily a bad thing, it is all about what each individual person values and wants to dedicate their effort to.
Personally, I chose to predominantly spend my time focusing on building my friendships, and I am really happy that I am still close with some of those people even years after the program ended. I also went on some dates during my first program, and while those can be fun, those relationships were not ones I wanted to commit most of my time to.
- Insecurity is Real
As I said earlier, if you are a woman who is interested in men, there are not nearly as many men as there are women in the DCP. If you happen to start dating one of those men during your DCP, there will always be other single women who also want to date your man.
There will also be a lot of women that your man works with, since there are so many more women that do the DCP. If this is something that would bother you or bring up insecurities, then maybe dating in this kind of environment isn’t the best choice for you. The DCP is temporary and fleeting, and you don’t want to waste your limited time feeling jealous or insecure.
It is not my place to tell you whether or not you should date on the DCP. I just want to help you think through your options and foresee potential obstacles that might sour your overall experience. This will perhaps help you prepare for these obstacles, which might make a relationship easier. Just do what you think is best for you!