After waiting what seems like an eternity and a half. You finally get the email you’ve been waiting for…that oh-so-magical congratulations email! You’re going to Disney World! Or Disneyland if you got Disneyland. Which is also cool! One of the choices you have to make is if you want to opt for Disney Housing, or opt out and live off housing.

Wait, Disney has housing for their interns…inside the parks?

Yes Susan Disney does offer housing for all their Disney College Program participants…no its not actually inside the parks itself. That would be cool and all but alas only a dream.

Both Disneyland and Disney World have housing complexes for the CPs. Yes, you do have to pay rent, but it’s automatically taken out of your paycheck. How much you pay for rent can vary depending on which complex you live in and how many roommates you have. During my program I have four other roommates (five of us in total) and we all paid 97 dollars each week. Remember this was back in 2015 and we were only getting paid 9.50 an hour. Rent does include electric, water, AC/heat, cable, and wifi. All of the apartments come fully furnish: kitchen stuff (forks, knives, plates, etc), couches, dining table, chairs, beds, nightstands. No tv, so you would have to bring your own!

Housing is also divides you into wellness and nonwellness. Wellness just means you are not allowed to have alcohol in your apartment. If you are under 21, you are automatically placed into wellness. If you turn 21 during your program, you have the option into moving into a nonwellness apartment. If you are over 21 you do have the option of being in a wellness apartment, you just have to agree to the same rules of not having alcohol in the apartment.

As a side note: if you’re under 21 and feel the need to go out and drink, don’t…just don’t. The risk isn’t worth it. It’s not worth getting kicked out of the program just to get wasted and party. If you get caught drinking underage you will kicked out of the program and you’ll have to deal with the police. I get that college kids party with booze to let off some steam. But please for the love of Mickey Mouse and all things magical don’t do it!!!! If you want to go to clubs and party, fine. But there are so many other things to do at Disney, and even the Anaheim/Orlando area to do that underage drinking isn’t worth it. It has happened to so many people during their programs. I don’t want any of you to waste this amazing opportunity during one careless night. Don’t think it will never happen to you, because it can and it will happen to you. You have been warned.

Housing does do inspections on a monthly basis. They check if you don’t have drugs, alcohol (if you’re in wellness), other things that you shouldn’t have in your apartment. There is a two week period on when they do inspections but you don’t know what day exactly they will come.

Wellness? Inspections? Roommates? Forget that! I want to live on my own and do my own thing.

And that’s perfectly fine. You can always decline housing. But once you opt out of housing. You can’t change your mind. You are responsible on finding a place to stay during the duration of your program.

Sarah, you said that there are complexes, as in more than one. What are my options?

Good question. I’ll go into detail about each one.

Disneyland

I’ll start with Disneyland’s housing. They only have one housing complex: Carnegie Plaza. Not a lot of people get into the Disneyland Program so there’s only one. I don’t know a whole lot since I’ve only the WDW (Walt Disney World) Program. But I’ll try my best.

Carnegie Plaza has two style of apartments: one room/three person apartments and two room/five person apartment. The one room/three person is obviously a triple occupancy room: meaning that there are bunk beds and a single platform bed. The other apartment was a triple occupancy room and a double room: two single beds. Parking is available in a garage below the complex.

One of the things that Disneyland doesn’t offer that Disney World does, is transportation. If you don’t have a car in Disneyland, then you’re stuck using public transportation. I’m not sure how that works exactly but once I do, I’ll make an edit about it.

Disney World

The Disney World Program offers free transportation to and from all the parks and resort via bus. So no worries if you don’t have a car. You can still get to work without a car. Whether or not you want to bring your car is really up to you.

If you decide to opt out of WDW housing, it is important that you HAVE YOUR OWN CAR. YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED to use housing transportation. I want to make that clear. You need the Disney housing issued housing ID in order to get on. They will not let you on if you do not have a housing ID.

Disney World has four housing complexes: Chatham Square, Patterson Court, The Commons, and Vista Waaaaay.

I personally stayed in The Commons, two bedroom/five person apartment. That meant I was in the apartment with triple occupancy. I was actually in the triple occupancy room with two other girls. Honestly, it wasn’t that bad.

Wwwhhhhhaaattt?

I know. Crazy. I’m only speaking from personal experience. I don’t speak for everyone who were in my shoes. But all three of us got along pretty well. We would have “nightly talks” each night. We would all hang out, watch movies, go to the pool and mall. Was it my first choice to be in a triple occupancy room? No, but I’m glad I got the chance.

All four of the complexes are guarded 24/7. Security will check for your housing ID at the gate.

The Commons

Since I was talking about The Commons, I’ll start with it. The Commons is the newest complex out the four. It was originally only for the ICPs (International Disney College Program participants, yes international students can also do the program!) but it opened up to all CPs some time ago.

Pros:

• In unit washer and dryer! You get to wash your clothes in your own apartment. No dragging your dirty laundry out and about and having to pay for it!
• The Commons also has The Grid and The Clubhouse. The Grid is a small convenience store within the complex. It has all your basic needs. The Clubhouse is where the housing meeting (more on that later), grocery bingo, movie nights, and other events like that are held.
• Also you’re right across the street from the outlets. So if you enjoy shopping you have that option.

Cons:

• Not all buses go to The Commons. Only the parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom), Typhoon Lagoon, and Disney Springs buses only go to The Commons. All of the resort buses do not go to The Commons. You can request those buses to pick you up/drop you off. Otherwise you would have to walk to Chatham to take those other buses, which is like a 5 minute walk.
• Rent is a little higher (the rent is too damn high) because there are in unit washer and dryer. Personally, I think is trade off is worth it. I’d rather pay a little rent for unlimited washer and dryer. But that’s just me and my opinion.
• The gym is kinda small. So if you’re really into fitness and need all the fancy gym stuff, you probably won’t find it here.

Apartment room breakdown:

• 1 bedroom/2 person (double occupancy)
• 1 bedroom/3 person (triple occupancy)
• 2 bedroom/4 person (2 double occupancy)
• 2 bedroom/5 person (1 double occupancy and 1 triple occupancy)
• 3 bedroom/6 person (3 double occupancy)
• 4 bedroom/8 person (4 double occupancy)

I love living in The Commons. It was nice. It was quiet. Having a washer and dryer in your apartment was amazing. If I ever do another program I would choose this complex again.

Chatham Square

I put Chatham Square as my next complex because well its number two at a lot of stuff. It has the second bus hub. Its the second biggest complex out of the four. It was the second complex built after Vista Way. Chatham would of been my second choice to live.

It is also second on my list…intentional? Well maybe.

Pros:

• All the major housing events are held here. Welcoming parties, graduation, things like that. Chatham has this huge field to hold these types of events.
• As I mentioned before, Chatham has one of two central hubs for housing. So all the buses come through here. No walking to other complexes required.
• Some of the classes and seminars are held here.

Cons:

• The housing parties. If you’re someone who needs their beauty sleep, or need peace and quiet, this complex may not be for you.
• These apartments tend to be a bit more smaller than the others so if you’re someone who likes spacious apartments, this complex may not be for you.
• Lastly, you may have to haul all your laundry to different building to do your laundry at a cost.

Apartment room breakdown:

• 1 bedroom/2 person (double occupancy)
• 1 bedroom/3 person (triple occupancy)
• 2 bedroom/6 person (2 triple occupancy)
• 3 bedroom/6 person (3 double occupancy)
• 4 bedroom/8 person (4 double occupancy)

Patterson Court

Patterson Court was the third complex to be built. It’s be dubbed the “grandma” complex because it looks like your grandma’s retirement house. Whether or not you like that aesthetic is up to you. Patterson would of been my third choice.

Pros:

• It has the nicest pool and clubhouse out of the four complexes, not gonna lie.
• It also has the biggest fitness center.

Cons:

• None of buses come to Patterson.
• You have to go to Chatham to catch a bus anywhere. This can suck even worse when its raining, which happens nearly everyday in Orlando.
• See Chatham’s situation on laundry.

Apartment room breakdown:

• 1 bedroom/2 person (double occupancy)
• 1 bedroom/3 person (triple occupancy)
• 2 bedroom/5 person (1 double occupancy and 1 triple occupancy)
• 3 bedroom/6 person (3 double occupancy)

Vista Way

This is the oldest WDW program complex. The first complex to be built. It’s been here since day one. It’s seen some stuff. It’s known as the “party complex” for a reason. Did you know that Vista Way once had a hot tub? It was removed when some things were found, just stewing in there **cough cough** STDS **cough cough**

This is why we can’t have nice things people….

This is also my last choice complex……..it’s why it’s listed last here. Shots fired! Oooooh! No, but really. You’ll see why it’s my last choice.

Pros:

• It has the OG central bus hub. All of the buses come through here. No leaving the complex required.
• This place is so big that is has 2 pools.
• Here at Vista’s clubhouse you can rent movies.
• Classes and seminars are held here.
• You have Walgreens, Wendy’s, Chick-Fil-A, all that good stuff within walking distance
• Parties are held here. So if you’re a social butterfly (unlike myself) then this is the place for you.

Cons:

• Parties. All day, everyday. They can be LOUD. So if you’re not a party person, you may not like it. They don’t call Vista the party complex for nothing.
• Since it is the oldest complex, its apartments are run down, dirty, and gross. Not pleasant. Yeah, they started to renovated some of the apartments, but you won’t know until you actually move.
• It’s farther away from all the other complexes. The others are a five minute walk from each other. It would take maybe 15 or 20 at most walking.
• No hot tub. RIP. All around me are familiar faces…..worn out places…..worn out faaacceeesss.
• See Patterson’s situation on laundry.

Apartment room breakdown:

• 2 bedroom/4 person (2 double occupancy)
• 3 bedroom/6 person (3 double occupancy)

Finally, take in consideration the amount of roommates you have will effect how much you pay in rent. The less roommates you have, the more rent will be. The more roommates you have, the less rent will be. How many roommates you want and in which complex you want is all up to you. Also consider if you want to live in a triple occupancy room.

I will make a whole separate post on roommates. That’s a whole different story in it of itself for a different time.

Thank you so much for reading. I tried to go into detail about housing. I hope this clears up any confusion for you all. If you have a question, leave a comment and I’ll do my best to answer them! You should also consider subscribing so you’ll miss when I post! It would be cool if you did. I’ll see you in the next post!

Also as a little aside, I broke my own record for late night writing. It’s currently 3:04 in the freaking morning as I’m writing this. I’m weirdly tired and widely awake all at the same time. Does that make any sense? Has that happen to any of you? Okay. I’m gonna go now and attempt at sleeping. Well see how that goes.