Sunday, May 27, 2012

Finding Roommates

At first glance this seems like quite a daunting task, especially if you start the search late, like I did.  There are 3 options for you to consider: 

1.       Use Disney’s roommate matching/notification process
2.       Find roommates on your own
3.       Be placed with roommates at random upon arrival

Let’s talk about Option Number 1.  Before I go on, I should let you know that this process may not be available for all arrival dates (if not, then you will have to go with option 2 or 3).  If this is available, then you can choose one of the following:

A.)   Be randomly matched with someone (have to be the same gender and age (over or under 21) and have the same arrival/end dates)
B.)   Enter in someone’s Match Key to room with that person (assuming that you're the same gender & age)

As you can probably see, this option is great if you already know who you want to room with.  At check-in you will automatically be placed in an apartment with the person you were matched with.

Onto Option 2!  There are many ways to go about finding roommates on your own.  You can join a Facebook group or look around on Disney forums (like Disboards).  On either of these sites, you can chat with fellow participants and fill out a roommate survey.  This allows you to find others with similar interests and habits.  In this case, you and your roommates should arrive at check-in together and request to room together.  Since there are no guarantees, this is the best way to increase your chances of being placed together.

And finally Option 3.  With this option, you show up at check-in on your arrival date and are placed with a random group of people.  Usually you will be placed with people around you at check-in or with a group of people missing one more individual. 

After considering all these selections, I opted for the second one – in hindsight, I’m so glad I did!  I joined the Facebook group for June 11th arrivals and posted my roommate survey.  After looking over other girl’s surveys, I found a couple of girls I would like to room with.  After talking a bit, we found out we had quite a few things in common.  The two girls I found were also talking to 3 others girls about rooming together, so there are 6 of us in total.  At one point we considered finding two more girls, but the cost of a 3 bedroom apartment and a 4 bedroom apartment ended up being the same.  So, we decided to stick with the 6 of us.  We have been chatting quite a bit over the last week (lots of “I can’t wait to meet you all” and “I so excited!”) and have found lots in common.  None of them will ever replace my best friend, but I know we all will get along really well.  I am really glad I am going to be rooming with these 5 lovely ladies and honestly can’t wait to meet them!  This is definitely a great start to my Disney CP experience :)

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