Where I am, the gifted program is pretty much the way to keep your kid away from the troublemakers. My wife is already planning to send our DS6 to private school if he can't get into the gifted program.

So, the most important thing is to figure out the type of kid who is in these programs in your area - you can always talk to their parents and get an idea. Also, see how much time the kids in the program have for swimming/dance/music.