Disney College Program Apartments

A lot of people are curious about where the College Programmers live during the DCP. Disney offers on-site living for the CP and ICP and culinary program students. There are four different apartment complexes: Vista Way, Chatham Square, The Commons, and Patterson Court. There are pros and cons to each of these complexes and they're all a bit different. On the DCP website, it gives the following information about the living portion of the program:

As part of the Disney College Program, participants live in housing complexes located near the Disneyland® Resort or the Walt Disney World® Resort. Each complex features a variety of offerings to make participants feel right at home.
Here is our list of amenities included in the housing costs for every participant:

• Fully furnished apartment
• Kitchen appliances, utensils, and dishes
• All utilities, including water, electricity, and waste disposal
• Maintenance of the apartments
• Computer labs (Walt Disney World ® Resort in Florida only)
• High-speed internet access in all apartments
• Cable ready
• Each complex and apartment layout is unique. Amenities may differ between apartments.

Alternatively, some participants may have family near the Walt Disney World or Disneyland Resorts, or are already familiar with the local area may prefer to live off-site. Please note off-site participants are unable to utilize Disney Housing sponsored transportation.
Once a participant joins housing, they agree to stay through the duration of the program. See below for information on how to request to live off-site.
Disney College Program (Florida): Participants will have the opportunity to request off-site housing after receiving their offer to participate on the program.
Disney College Program (California): Participants should discuss their interest in living off-site during their interview, as they must make this decision pre-offer.

So let's take a look at the complexes!

Vista Way

Vista is the oldest of the four complexes and is often thought to be the most run down. However, Vista has been doing renovations on the apartments and many of them are complete and the apartments look nicer. Vista also has the party reputation. With that, though, you have to remember that just because you live at Vista doesn't mean everyone parties. Vista is also the cheapest of the complexes and is the only complex without any triple occupancy rooms. Vista is situated by itself and is a short distance (by car) from the other three complexes. Its location is convenient as it's by many different stores. It also has a bus stop which all of the buses stop.

Chatham Square

Chatham seems to be the most popular complex because it has a bus stop and is a bit nicer than Vista. It's in the middle when it comes to price. Many housing events are held at Chatham and many of the classrooms are also here. Mickey's Retreat is also across from Chatham.

The Commons

The Commons, up until Spring 2014, was only available to ICP students. The thing that draws everyone to The Commons is the washer and dryer in each room. Other complexes have to use a laundry facility in the complex and pay for laundry each time. Even though having your own washer and dryer may seem like free laundry, it's really not. The Commons is more expensive because of the washer and dryer. The Commons also has a bus stop, but not all of the buses stop here.

Patterson Court

Patterson Court is the newest - and argumentatively - the nicest of the complexes. There is no bus stop here, but the stop is a <5 minute walk to Chatham. Patterson Court has the reputation of being equivalent to a nursing home because that's where the "non-partiers" live. Once again, a certain complex doesn't determine the kind of people who live there.

So now that we've went over a brief summary of the apartments, we need to know how much they cost. Keep in mind that housing prices go up every recruiting season, however, the Fall/FA 2014 ones are as follows:

 I do not have any pictures of the insides of the complexes, but if you're curious as to what the apartments look like on the inside, head on over to YouTube and search for "Vista Way Apartments Tour" (and the other three) and there are plenty of video tours available!