Do we have to stay with Disney?

[sharpie89]

Hello!

I am so excited I have wanted to do this forever! I am currently going to school to become a pastry chef, and I want to go to Disney more then anything! I have many questions but my first one right now is, do we have to stay in the Disney apartments? Because my grandparents have a house right down the street from Disney and they told me I can stay there for free. I am hoping that I can do this but if I cant I would understand. I was just wondering because I have heard the Culinary program is a little different from the regular college program. Another question, where do you all go (besides hear) to get lots of different information about the ins and outs of the programs, any blogs or anything like that would be great! Thank you all in advance!!

 

[druttaro]

You certainly can. I am a current CP and live on my own. You just need to send a request to the housing email address WDW.Housing.Yield.Management@disney.com

include:
Full Name:
Applicant Number:
Arrival Date:
Departure Date:
Season/Year:
Role:
Address:
Date you paid your Program Assessment Fee

 

[Feigned]

I just did the regular College Program, so I'm not sure how the Culinary program differs, but unless you really are set on staying with your grandparents, I would stay in the Disney apartments if I were you. Living there is such a huge part of the program and I wouldn't have traded that in for anything. 3 years later and I am still really good friends with many of my rooommates (I had 7 total) and best friends with my immediate roommate. Most of my memories are of the good times I had at my apartment, whether it was the huge Thanksgiving meal we cooked together, the nights we stayed up late playing Guitar Hero, decorating for the holidays, etc.

 

[graygables]

You certainly can. I am a current CP and live on my own. You just need to send a request to the housing email address WDW.Housing.Yield.Management@disney.com

include:
Full Name:
Applicant Number:
Arrival Date:
Departure Date:
Season/Year:
Role:
Address:
Date you paid your Program Assessment Fee

I also lived on my own and had a CP live with me as well, at one point. Saving money is a good thing! I also had to include a statement that I had my own reliable transportation.

 

[disneydevil316]

I would not stay on my own...your case is different where you are saving money....but the others are losing money in the long run because living on property is unbelievably cheap compared to living on your own.


Plus about 60% of the CP is the social aspect of living with people and being in complex with your coworkers and others...the 40% being work.

People who live on their own miss a giant part of the experience and end up not being close with people who all stay on property...some of the best parts of the CP were hanging out with my roommies and friends that lived in the same building...it is harder to connect with people when you are living way from them.

But you got to do what you got to do...i would not recommend it though.

 

[disneydevil316]

I also lived on my own and had a CP live with me as well, at one point. Saving money is a good thing! I also had to include a statement that I had my own reliable transportation.

How did you save money? People always say that living on your own you save money....but in Rent alone you dont...i am just wondering.

 

[graygables]

How did you save money? People always say that living on your own you save money....but in Rent alone you dont...i am just wondering.

For me, I had adult DDs as "roommates", so we shared the rent. I was referring to the OP, however, who stated rooming with family would be free.

I disagree with the statement about living offsite makes one "miss a giant part of the experience". My DD's boyfriend was CP and lived with us and they have made plenty of lasting friendships without dealing with a lot of the onsite business/drama. Some people are more geared to that type of collective living while others approach the CP from a different, more independent perspective. The key is to make of it what YOU want it to be and that can be done quite easily despite where one chooses to live.

 

[disneydevil316]

For me, I had adult DDs as "roommates", so we shared the rent. I was referring to the OP, however, who stated rooming with family would be free.

I disagree with the statement about living offsite makes one "miss a giant part of the experience". My DD's boyfriend was CP and lived with us and they have made plenty of lasting friendships without dealing with a lot of the onsite business/drama. Some people are more geared to that type of collective living while others approach the CP from a different, more independent perspective. The key is to make of it what YOU want it to be and that can be done quite easily despite where one chooses to live.

It is like college...those that live in the dorms tend to have a better time because you live with a ton of people and you may work with them...with living off property you may miss some of the drama but it is much harder to be close with other CPs...i mean besides work which is the most important part the other part of the experience is living with and hanging out with others.

You can still hang out with others but with the visitor rules and with most people lacking cars it is hard.

 

[graygables]

It is like college...those that live in the dorms tend to have a better time because you live with a ton of people and you may work with them...with living off property you may miss some of the drama but it is much harder to be close with other CPs...i mean besides work which is the most important part the other part of the experience is living with and hanging out with others.

You can still hang out with others but with the visitor rules and with most people lacking cars it is hard.

That's a bit of an overreaching statement. I did not live in the dorm for my first 2 years of college and had a fantastic time. I was involved in many student activities and made great friends, both on and off campus. The semester I did live on campus was not nearly as interesting or engaging, so I moved off again. Living on campus or onsite, you are grouped like with like for the most part. Living offsite, you can associate with whomever you choose without fear of room inspections, snarky roomies that you can't just give the boot, etc. If you are still young and not as independent or mature, living onsite may be a better option, but if you have some life experience and can make it what you want it to be, living offsite gives a freedom and sense of independence you can't get otherwise.

 

[Frizzbird]

On thing you will miss out on if you choose to live off site is all the housing programs. So this includes the welcome parties which often have characters some of which are very very rare. Another thing to remember is if you choose to live someplace else when you visit the apts you will be considered a visitor and will have to leave by midnight (I'm relatively sure it is the end of visitation hours.)
Living on or off site is definitely a personal choice. I saved money before I went down and with my paycheck I never found money to be tight. So while you may save money by living off site, you may not actually need to choose to do that. I wouldn't have changed living on site for anything. I really loved being able to go walk to a friend's apt and watch a movie.

 

[YesIStillLoveDisney]

I find gray's post to be an honest opinion and while I lived onsite, I find disneydevils post to be abusive and downright rude. I can see why people would want to live offsite and I have friends who did and never missed out on anything. Even living offsite you can participate in the housing events. One of my friends talked to the housing office and was allowed in to housing (without us signing him in) for every event.

It is a personal choice, I am another person who hated living in the dorms in college and have made so much better friends since I have moved out of the dorms.

Yes, it is nice to be onsite, especially if you have really great roommates like I did but the majority of my friends I met through work. I didn't hang out in or with people from my housing unit much.

You will make amazing friends no matter where you live and you can still participate in any cp events you want to. If you make friends easily, you will probably be fine living off site.

 

[YesIStillLoveDisney]

It is possible to participate in housing events and get through security. He did have to go through the hassle of talking with the housing office and getting approval for each event but the point is that you CAN participate.

I am sorry that you seem to think that everyone who know something or had an experience different from yours is "lying" but just because your experience differed does not mean that another persons experience is made up.

 

[graygables]

Um, I'm pretty sure graygables wasn't trying to say that people who choose to live onsite are automatically young, dependent, or immature. They're just saying that they've been on both sides of the fence, and that people who have experience living on their own and enjoy that independence may prefer living off-site. There are advantages and disadvantages either way.

That was exactly what I was trying to say; thank you for clarifying it even more. Point being, no, one does NOT have to live onsite and a plethora of reasons can sway an individual one way or another. Living onsite is not the end-all to the experience and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Sleeping over without a curfew did not rank high on my "to-do list" during the CP. If you can save several hundred dollars a month by living offsite, OP, go for it.

BTW, I, too, did not have to be signed in when I entered the housing complexes while living offsite. I took classes and simply showed my CM ID and my registration sheet. There were times I needed to go to various offices or whatnot and it was a simple phone call. Because I had paid the housing fee, I was also told I could attend housing events, of which I did a few.

 

[cassidyh]

Hi!

My BF and I are going to apply next year. I have to wait until I get my braces off. We have a dog and we can't just leave him with any relative or anything, so if we get in (knock on wood!), we would have to stay off campus.

Are there any off-campus apartment complexes that anyone would recommend?