Im currently in the 90 day program in Dallas...
aside from up to 8 hours of flying to prepare for the multi private checkride, all of your hours are PIC.
The cross country is about 70 hours of PIC-- half is as a flying pilot and half is as a non-flying pilot (safety pilot). But dont let that disuade you... (Im in this phase right now). The CRM roles really places an emphasis on each pilot being intimately involved in the flight. In fact, I realized very quickly that the non-flying pilot role is perhaps far more important than the flying pilot role. The NFP handles the radios, GPS, navigation, plans the approach, briefs the FP, etc. The FP keeps the needles in the center. Each role plays an important part of developing your skills. While the FP role hones your skills at instrument flying, the NFP is where you learn ALOT about instrument flying and in my opinion is a very enjoyable aspect of the cross country phase.
The program has mapped out exactly how many hours it will take to go through each phase, and how many hours are allocated for each objective (ie, x number of hours of cross country instrumnet with an instructor, y number of hours of general checkride prep, etc.). I was nervous about being able to get things done and be ready for a checkride within the specified hours, but, so far, I've been ready for the checkrides with hours to spare (those hours can either be used in the cross countrys or saved for later.)
You have some control in your schedule. At least in Dallas, you and your partner are assigned to an instructor and he/she is dedicated to you through your instrument checkride. If you want/need a day off, ask--several days in advance is always preferable. We had considerable input as to what time of day we'd start or whether or not we could have a day off.
Actually, there are lots of days off built into the system--especially at the beginning. The 90 day program does not require each and every one of the 90 days in order to finish. Most people finish up in 70-80, so I hear. Im probably going to go the full 90 days because of lots of weather days since Jan 5.
The 10 month program places alot of space between flying days. As a result, there is always a period of starting over or catching up from flight to flight that you would never experience in the 90-day program.
My advice, if you are serious about becoming a professional pilot, get started now. Quit your day job and get going. Your job as a pilot, IMHO, starts when you start the program--not when you finish. Sooner or later youre going to have to take the leap.
Hope this info helps. Let me know if this raised more questions than it answered and I'll try to shed some more light on it for you.
Jeremy