Flamingo Crossing Village is the on-site living facility provided for participants who wish to have housing during their temporary internships. Flamingo Crossings is located in Winter Garden, Florida which is about an 8–10 minute drive from Disney’s Animal Kingdom. If you are interested in requesting provided housing, here are some things you will need to know. 

DORMS- Disney’s Onsite Resident Management Systems

DORMS is the site where you request your housing preferences before you start your program, but it is also the place where participants will sign up for Disney Program activities like backstage tours, events, and career courses during the Program. Registering for DORMS happens prior to arrival. When I signed up for DORMS I got an email that helped me to know when and how to register. As I said in previous posts, checking your email is highly important when preparing for a Disney Program and this is one of the reasons. 

Opting in on Housing and Signing the Lease

Housing is provided to those who choose to have it. There are two sites- Flamingo Crossing East and West which are about a block away from each other. It’s basically dorm-style living. You can choose to opt out of provided housing and get your own place if you wish; however, Flamingo does host a lot of Disney Events so if you opt out of living on-site, then sometimes you could be excluded from certain events. For my program, I opted in on housing since I was moving across the country, it would be easier than finding an apartment.

When a participant opts for housing, they are asked to fill out a questionnaire of housing preferences on DORMS. They ask you questions including if you want to live in gender neutral housing, if you are bringing a vehicle, if you want to choose your roommates or choose randomly, if you need medical accommodations, if you have an emotional support animal or service animal, or if you want your rent taken out of your paycheck every week.

You will rank which types of apartments you prefer to have from most to least. There are three types of apartments at Flamingo, there is one where you can have your own room and bathroom called a 4×4, an apartment with four bedrooms and two shared bathrooms called a 4×2, and an apartment with two shared bedrooms and bathrooms called a 2×2. Every apartment holds four participants. Depending on if you get your own room or share, you are assigned a bed/room number, so you cannot pick which room or bed you want without consulting Flamingo Crossing.

When putting in my requests I asked for a 4×4, but instead I got a 2×2, so I ended up sharing a bedroom and a bathroom. As for the other questions, I did not care about who my roommates would be, so I told them to choose for me, and I didn’t have a vehicle or an animal, so I didn’t need to pay for a parking decal or get special accommodations. I also opted in for having my rent taken out of my paycheck, so I didn’t have to worry about it weekly- as long as I worked enough hours to pay the rent each week.

If you want to have roommates that you know before arriving there are ways to link with each other. I believe roommate linking is based on housing availability but if you know someone joining the Disney College Program with you or you may have met someone on a DCP Facebook Group (for example), then you can request to link via email and DORMS. There is more information about linking on the arrival page, since I did not link with anyone, I am not sure how to do it, but I know people who have done it successfully.

Every apartment is fully furnished. There is a complete kitchen with a stove, microwave, dishwasher, sink, fridge, silverware, pots, drinking glasses, heating-cooling system, in-unit laundry washer and dryer, smart TVs, and WIFI. Each participant will have their own designated cabinet storage space, a personal bathroom cabinet under the sink, a closet, dresser, a locked storage drawer, and a mattress set. There are also extra communal storage spaces as well. Having all these elements included in the apartment makes things easier when having to pack for the program, there isn’t too much for you to buy. This is one reason why I chose to move into Flamingo for my program because I did not have to worry about completely furnishing an apartment. When I moved in too, I already had roommates who already purchased items I would’ve wanted to buy to add to the apartment like a toaster, and cleaning products. Here are a few photos of what my 2×2 looked like in between roommates moving and my move in day.

The Lease Agreement

Before arriving, everyone is required to sign an apartment lease where you can learn what type of apartment you received. Depending on your housing preferences and the apartment you have received, each lease agreement looks different. For example, since I did not have a service animal, I was not allowed to have animals in my apartment. About three weeks before my arrival date I signed my lease via DocuSign and that’s how I found out I got a 2×2 apartment. Again, since I did not pick my roommates, I did not know anything about them until I got there.

On-Site Amenities

This housing complex is filled with a plethora of amenities. For entertainment there is two pools with large viewing screens to watch movies, lounge chairs, bonfires, a community center with video games, board games, ping pong, shuffleboard, study rooms (for those taking courses), a free gym, vending machines, coffee machines, outdoor BBQs, water bottle refill stations, basketball court and large grass area for hanging out. There is a lot to do for cast members on their day off.

If you want to receive any mail during your program, there is a mailbox designated separately for the entire apartment and then there is Parcel Pending for packages. There is a specific mail room to receive packages, usually if you get a package, Flamingo will email you that it has arrived and where to pick it up. They give you a confirmation code in the email and then you use that code to access your mail.

Once you move in, there is an info guide on your refrigerator that states your apartment’s mailing address, where to pick up your mail, lease agreement reminders, maintenance reminders, safety tips, emergency numbers, and housing tips like where to dispose of trash outside the apartment. What’s really nice about Flamingo is that they do have a maintenance team and help desk for you to call 24 hours that can help you with any issues in your apartment. For example, I once had my power go out in my entire apartment, I just called the help desk and they were able to fix the problem for me within the hour. Sometimes problems may be more complicated and they might not be fixed that quickly but it was nice having the help desk to call when you had a problem.

Events and Courses

Flamingo hosts a lot of events and courses throughout the program. Some events are on-site, or they are field trips.

When it comes to the on-site events they can range from parties, arts and crafts activities or character meet and greets. Just a few examples there is usually a Welcome Night party for those who have moved in a week prior, Mickey Ear making during the day, Grocery Bingo, character meet and greets, a Final Bow graduation ceremony and many more. These events are great opportunities to get to know others in the program. When I first came to Flamingo, I did the Welcome Event and got to meet my first friends and I also got to meet a future co-worker and one of my closest friends in the program through a “Get to Know Your Location” event, which I don’t think they do anymore, unfortunately.

There are also Off-Site opportunities too. Most off-site events are Backstage Magic tours where participants can go and tour some of the park’s attractions like Tower of Terror or Kilimanjaro Safaris. On tour participants will get an insider’s look at how the ride operates and some of the history behind it as well. There are also other opportunities where you can go on excursions off Disney Property like swimming with Manatees (which costs an extra fee) or going to Buc Ee’s Gas Station in Daytona, Florida. My personal favorite was the DCP special event nights. These nights were usually the end of program celebrations, where DCP participants would get to have a park to themselves for a night. During my program I got to go to two, because I ended up extending my departure date. So, the DCP nights I went to were Typhoon Lagoon and Disney’s Animal Kingdom. These late-night private events offer music, free food, and character meet and greets as well. 

Now, when it comes to events at Flamingo, it is sometimes very hard to sign up for them. During my program, there are a lot of participants in the program so you would need to sign up immediately for high demand events before others got to it first. The hardest ones to sign up for were the Backstage Tours, I remember I tried signing up for a Millennium Falcon backstage tour, right at the exact time sign ups were available and still didn’t get it. It went that way for most of my program. Now sometimes, they did take walk-ins, but it was rare for the more popular rides like Haunted Mansion or Tower of Terror. I only got to do two Backstage Tours through the DCP and that was Indiana Jones: Stunt Show and Carousel of Progress. I was a walk-in for Carousel of Progress, because luckily there was enough space for my friend and I to join in. Now, I did get to do an Expedition Everest Backstage Tour but that was through my working location which Flamingo was not involved.

Flamingo also offers the opportunity for education, by providing several courses throughout the program to teach participants about the professional world of Disney. There are many different courses (usually on-site in Flamingo classrooms), these courses discuss how moving up to leadership roles works, learning about the different departments of the company, and even teaching you how to write a proper resume. If you take enough courses throughout the program, you can actually receive a special program degree. There are two- there is a Mousekeers and a Ducktorate. You have to complete a certain number of hours to receive each.  

They want to prepare you for the professional world so along with the classes they also offer time slots for participants to talk to Disney recruiters about transferring roles and what steps to take with the company after the program is over. 

Transportation: Parking and Bus Transit- Passio-GO

There is parking available for those who choose to bring their own vehicles; however, it is limited. Flamingo has a certain number of parking spots, so they only offer a certain number of parking decals/passes. Now there is also off-site parking by the nearby Target for overflow but even that was limited as well. I did not have my own vehicle, so I do not know how the whole getting a parking pass goes, but what I do know is that it’s another thing you register through with DORMS. I also believe there is an initial fee when acquiring a pass.

If you do not have a car, like I did, transportation is provided. There is a bus system on-site of each Flamingo Crossing complex. The bus systems are labeled by letters and each bus takes you to somewhere on Disney Property or to the two local Targets. There is an app that I recommend downloading called PassioGo. This app gives you the expected times and bus routes on your phone for you to plan out your day. Now, the bus can be convenient or unreliable and you never knew which one you were going to get. If you are planning on using the bus to get to work, I recommend taking an early bus that will get you to your location by like an hour or hour and a half before your shift (depending on where your work location is). Once you get a feel for your own bus system those times will adjust but it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Guest Policies

Every Flamingo resident is allowed to have two guests come and visit at a time and they must be checked at the front gate or at the parking security points. Every guest is required to show a form of ID and give their names, and if they parked their car in the guest parking lot- they have to give their license plate. As a Flamingo resident, you will have to provide your apartment number and bed number. Guests are not allowed to stay overnight and must leave at a certain time.

Why I Recommend Staying at Flamingo Crossing…

If you are considering or planning to stay at Flamingo Crossing for your Disney Program, I think it’s a smart decision. First, this is a temporary program and unless you already live in Florida or plan on moving to Florida after the program is over, then Flamingo Crossing is the easiest living solution. I would also highly recommend having rent taken out of your paycheck every week, it makes things so much easier. If you live off-site you must worry about making rent payments on your own, which is inconvenient. Second, it’s a great opportunity to have the full program experience, for they not only have events and great amenities, but it’s a great place to make connections whether it be personal or business. And lastly, it is clean and nice. I mean sure, there were moments when I had power outages and/or trouble with the air conditioning but Flamingo was relatively timely with fixing those issues. The amenities offered inside each apartment are something you might have to pay extra for in an off-site apartment. They also give you transportation for those who need it and not many off-site living facilities have free transportation to Disney Property. If you are like me and have never lived away from home before, it’s a great opportunity to learn how to live on your own as well. Even if you have roommates, the experience gives you a stable environment to learn how to function as an independent adult. Again, it’s not perfect, there are certain downsides to every living facility, but if you need a cheap and easy way to live on your college program, then Flamingo is the answer.