During my Disney College Program last spring I lived in a 6 person 2 bedroom apartment in Chatham for the first 3 months and a 3 person 1 bedroom in Chatham for the last month. Both those apartments are triple occupancy, which means there are 3 people in one or more bedroom. Other triple occupancy apartments include commons 3 person 1 bedroom, commons 5 person 2 bedroom, patterson 3 person 1 bedroom, and patterson 5 person 2 bedroom. Vista Way has no triple occupancy apartments. The thing most poeple dislike about triple occupancy apartments is that they have a bunk bed, each room with 3 people in it has one single bed and one bunk bed (five person apartments have one triple occupancy room and a regular double occupancy room with two single beds). I loved my triple occupancy apartments, and I wanted to share some reasons why so that you can consider them too! 

Different size apartmetns in different complexes are all different prices, and triple occupancy apartments are the cheaptest! That was my main reason for wanting a triple occupancy apartment last year. The 6 person, 2 bedroom apartment in Chatham is the only apartment still under $100/week! 

After seeing people print all the pages from the DCP website, I thought I'd create a handy guide that's easy to print and interactive. ​The guide provides info to help you with applications, what to do after you've been accepted, and even worksheets to help you through the first few weeks of the program. 

You can get the download by joining my mailing list, you can do such at the top or bottom of any page of my site, including the end of this post. You can also visit my "Printable Guide" page for more info. As soon as you finish all the steps in subscribing to my email list (there's a confirmation email you need to open) you'll be directed to the page to download the guide and give feedback. If you ever lose it, all posts I send to my subscribers have a link to that page at the bottom. 

The key to a good housing experience has very little to do with which apartment you get, and almost completely to do with your roommates. Even the best roommates can have issues, but the best way to avoid that is clear communication and boundaries. The best way to do that is to start your semester with a roommate meeting. The first week, before Traditions, is a great time to do that, you'll have plenty of free time to do that! This post will walk you through a roommate meeting plan that is sure to start you off on the right foot with your roommates!

Start your roommate meeting on the right foot, by loving one another with roommate gifts! Plan ahead of time, to do roommate gifts, so you can make or buy them ahead of time (have a plan of what to do if you have extra roommates too). Need some ideas? 

"Can I have guests over?" "Can I have a bookshelf?" "Can I hang things with thumbtacks?" In this post, you'll learn the answers to these questions and more, as well as more housing rules you never even thought of. I pulled out my program guide from my last program, to get the rules right from the source. You can also learn more from the onboarding site. (see here) This article will also explain housing inspections. 

Attached below is the official list (also available on the onboarding website) of community codes. Included here is a shortened and condensed list of housing rules. 

• Alcohol is only permitted inside non-wellness apartments (all roommates are over 21)
• Alcohol is not permitted inside wellness apartments (one or more roommates are under 21)
• Illegal drugs or drug paraphernalia is prohibited in all apartments
• No smoking inside apartments (you may smoke outside the apartment)
• You cannot store firearms, explosives, candles, incense, space heaters, grills, weapons, darts/dartboards, toy weapons, paintball and bb guns, pocket knives, and martial art equipment in your apartment or car parked in the complex. 
• Participants can be in any housing complex between 7am and 2am
• Guests can visit (they must be signed in at the gate) between 7am and 1am
• No more than 16 people can be in an apartment at once time (including the roommates)
• Bicycles cannot be used or stored in the housing complex (even in your car)
• Skateboards and rollerblades can be stored in the housing complex, but not used on the property. 
• No pets are allowed on property (except with a medical accommodation form).
• Quiet hours are from 2am until 7am

When I was accepted for my first program, I immediately began to think about what I would pack. After being accepted for my second program, I starting thinking about it again, especially since I made so many packing mistakes during my last program. Last year, I left all my packing to the last moment (like literally the day I flew out), and my bags were too heavy and I had to set aside things to be shipped, which never got shipped. It was all a nightmare. This time I'm planning and preparing better. Before you look at this list, I want to give you two pieces of advice: 1. Don't just look at my list, look for more (Pinterest is a good place) because I might have a very different personality from you and need different things from you, and 2. Think about how you're travelling, if you're flying it makes more sense to pack as little as possible and buy things in Florida, but if you're driving, it might more sense to pack your things so you don't have to spend money buying things you already own.

The list will be organized by room. Items in italics are suggestions of things that might be helpful, but aren't a necessity. Many may be easier to purchase in Florida, bring it if you have it and have room, but if you don't already own it, it's better to buy it in Florida. I recommend taking this list and making two lists: First, make a list from all the things on this list that you already own and use that as your packing list. Second, take the rest of the items on the list, and use that as a shopping list once you get to Florida. You might also consider asking for some of the things on the list. Don't forget to add thing you think you need and take off things you don't think will be useful to you.

I love being an alumni and part of the DCP Facebook pages because it gives me the opportunity to answer questions! Most questions I see are about housing, and how to choose your apartment. Choosing your housing complex is not like picking your dorm or house hunters, where you'll pick exactly what you want and know everything ahead of time. I'm going to walk you through the process, based on what I remember from last year, and changes I've heard about since then. 

You'll be invited to select your housing preferences 2-3 weeks before your check in date, but there are things you can do in the months before that! There are two things you should do in preparation to pick your housing. I've listed these as "Step 1" and "Step 2" but I recommend doing them simultaneously. 

As I wait anxiously for the next 120 days to pass before I arrive at Disney, I pass my time pinning ideas for my apartment and roommate gifts. I've collected some of my favorite pins for you! 

During your program you'll assemble quite a collection of ears! You'll get one pair at traditions and one at graduation, and you'll probably buy more to wear in the parks. I have 4 sets of Minnie ears and my two ear hats. I've spent a lot of time trying to come up with the best way to display them, and this is the cutest! Pin it!

As I begin to think about potentially returning to Disney, I've thought of a few things I want to try to improve my roommate situation. During my last program I had a lot of struggles with roommates. A lot of the issue was that I didn't have time to pick my roommates but mostly that I avoided confrontation. Looking ahead I want to avoid that this time. First of all I want to pick roommates, carefully. After that, I have some creative ideas to help foster a more encouraging and kind environment. Many of these ideas come from a little over a year ago when I participated in the Navigators' Summer Training Program (STP) in Colorado. I had the chance to live with my bible study leader and the two other girls in my bible study. It was the best roommate situation I've ever been in, and there were four of us in one room!

As you know from previous posts, I didn't have a car during my college program which limited my grocery store options to Walmart or Publix. At the beginning of my program I usually went to Walmart, but later I learned to shop at Publix. I recommend only going to Walmart for your initial trip and about once a month after that. Walmart has a few good deals and most of their prices are lower but Publix has weekly deals and specials that will save you more money if you shop correctly! Here are my tips for grocery shopping.

Walmart is helpful for buying non-grocery items as well as stocking up on things you'll use the entire time like spices (Walmart has 99 cent spices). Mostly use this trip to get things like a coffee pot, brownie pan, and things like that. 

During my college program, Spring 2016 at Walt Disney World, I didn't have a car, I didn't even have a driver's license (but that's another story for another day). When current applicants hear this they usually ask me "how do you do it?" First of all, it's not as hard as you think it is. Second of all, if you're going to do it, Disney World (as opposed to Disneyland) is the place to do it. In this blog I'm going to let you know how I got around to everything and give you some tips for managing Transtar.

What is Transtar? You've probably heard or read about Transtar on the Facebook groups or other blogs. You never hear anything good about Transtar, as you can tell by this photo. I have a few complaints about Transtar myself but it was a huge blessing and lifesaver while I was at Disney. Despite all the complaints, some people really appreciate Transtar, all my first roommates had their own cars but some chose to take Transtar to work sometimes just so they could sleep, no one wants to drive at 5am!