If you stay in Disney College Program (DCP) housing, you will have roommates. This can be positive and fun, as you might become fast friends and spend a lot of time together in the parks. This usually also has some drawbacks, as each roommate comes with different living experiences and expectations whether they are aware of those expectations or not.
I lived with a roommate in college, I lived in DCP housing twice, and I was a resident advisor (RA) for 4 years so I have mediated a lot of roommate conflicts. Here I have compiled some advice for living with roommates:
Split up the refrigerator space
This will save you a lot of headaches later on when you go to get something out of the refrigerator and you realize that somebody else consumed it because they honestly thought it was theirs. People enjoy the same foods sometimes, and there may be multiples of the same item in the refrigerator that belong to different people. If everyone has their own designated section of the refrigerator, that can stop some of those mishaps.
Talk to your roommate about your preferred sleep schedule
Some people are morning people and some prefer to stay up late. Both of those are fine, but need to be communicated. Also, make sure you know each other’s work schedules each week so you have a general idea of when they will need to be sleeping and waking up to get ready for work. Most DCP participants end up with work shifts that either start really early in the morning or end really late at night, which will affect when people need to be asleep.
Determine how you all want to speak with each other when problems arise
Note that I said WHEN, not IF. Problems will arise, even if they are small problems such as a roommate is having friends over in the living room when you’re trying to sleep and they’re being a bit too loud. This is a common issue. How do you want to let each other know of problems? Keep in mind that many people are not good at confrontation and can be hard to speak up.
If you tell one of your roommates that you will visit them at work, make sure you do actually visit them at work
You will learn soon that working at Disney is hard, even if you love your role and location. Knowing that a familiar face is going to stop by to say hi is honestly enough motivation to get you through your shift sometimes, and if that person ends up not showing up it can hurt more than you’d expect. This is a small thing, but just don’t bail on someone. Some roommates will likely be easier to visit at work than others depending on their role and location, but put in an effort so there don’t appear to be favorites.
Talk about what “clean” means to each of you for each living space that you share
When people first move in and meet each other, it is easy to just brush this conversation under the rug and agree to just “keep the apartment clean”. Everyone has a different idea of what clean is though. Some people think dishes should be cleaned immediately after use while others think it is perfectly fine to leave dishes out as long as you clean them within 24 hours. Both of those are valid stances on cleanliness, but you need to know what each roommate thinks is okay and then you need to come up with a standard that you will all agree to maintain. Do this for every chore: dishes, vacuuming, taking out trash, bathroom cleaning, toilets, cleaning out the refrigerator, etc. And determine how you all want to enforce these standards. How do you want to let someone know that they aren’t maintaining the standards?
Actually, there are a lot of questions that roommates should go through and come to an agreement on. Check out my post that gives you a list of these important questions: How to Facilitate a Roommate Expectations Discussion
Find out what people plan to do in their free time
- Will your roommates want to go out to bars and clubs and drink on their days off?
- Do your roommates want to spend as much time in the parks as possible?
- Do your roommates want to do photoshoots to keep their Instagram feeds updated?
- Will you want to go to other theme parks outside of Disney? How often? Will you get a pass to those parks?
Don’t be afraid to say "No"
If you’re tired, and you will be tired sometimes, you don’t have to always say “Yes” to doing things with your roommates/friends. Take some time to yourself or you might risk your mental health or even your physical health. Rest is important.
Know that you don’t have to be friends with your roommates, but you must be civil with them
Obviously, the best-case scenario would be that you and your roommates become best friends instantly because you have a lot in common and you all want to be friends. But this doesn’t always work out. You or your roommates may develop closer friendships at work or outside of the apartment. Maybe you don’t like to do the same things for fun as your roommates. This is all okay. Make sure that you maintain the standards for living that you set with your roommates, but you definitely don’t have to hang out with them in your free time. Smiling at them and saying “Hi” can be the extent of your relationship with them, and that’s okay.
Figure out how often people want/need to go grocery shopping
If not everyone living in your apartment has their own car, this is important. It is extremely hard to buy the groceries you need if you have to take the bus because the bus takes a lot of extra time and you can only carry so many things at once. If you have a car, let your roommates know when you’re planning to get groceries and see if any of them want to go with you. It is hard for some people to ask for help when they need it, so try to offer.
Holding grudges just isn’t worth it
Your roommates will get on your nerves at some point. You can let them know what they’re doing to bother you, but once you tell them about it you should let it go. Try to just put those things out of your mind and don’t let it cloud your perception of them as a person. Nobody is perfect but we’re all doing our best to get by.
The place you are living needs to be somewhere you are comfortable existing, and sharing that space can easily lead to tension. Doing your best to set expectations with your roommates from the very beginning (before anyone has annoyed anyone else, which leads to targeted rules and hurt feelings) can literally save your DCP. I have seen and heard of many people self-term due to hating their living situations, and I don’t want that to happen to you. I hope you’ve enjoyed these tips on how to live with your DCP roommates!