Housing for PI's/Disney employees!!

Capri @ Hunter's Creek is a safe gated complex in Hunter's Creek. Its a realistic 20-25 minute drive from my door to my office at the Polynesian.

It is a condo community that hasn't sold as quickly as they thought it would, so they are renting for very reasonable prices. There aren't many rentable units around, but its worth a shot. We are paying $979 for 2/2 and we were paying $1200 for the exact same floor plan at Plantation Park in Little Lake Bryan.

Also, many interns qualify for assisted housing like Falcon Trace. It is just across the street from us and quite nice.

Others in the Hunter's Creek/Peppermill area that don't suck that bad are The Parks, Colonial Grand at Hunter's Creek, and Regatta Bay.

Trust me, I've looked at just about every apartment complex in the Orlando area...including all that you guys have mentioned already.

Anything in Metrowest will be generic. They are all relatively safe, but they are pretty outdated. Most have gates. They all mostly look the same.
 
Jen,
we were looking there for a long time and almost signed a lease. It looks like a great place to live and the management team that was helping me was so friendly!!
 
I saw everyone discussing the housing and just though I would throw some information in there. Orlando does have a high crime rate at the moment but the crime that is happening is no where near Disney. There are not so nice areas of Orlando just like any other major city in the United States. I have lived 20 minutes from Orlando for over 20 years and recently moved to Orlando, near Sea World, and I love it. There are areas I would stay away from, such as the downtown area, paramore, Pine Hills, but most of these would include a commute on I-4, that is definitley something I do not recommend. NorthBridge, is in a VERY nice area. Its by the Millenia mall which is a NICE area. The mall has only been there for a few years and there are many nice restaruants, and a Target shopping center across the street as well. The drive is about 15-20 minutes from Disney depending on traffic. I am not sure why someone would say that area is unsafe...I know this area very well and plan on living here the rest of my working life. If anyone has any questions about the area feel free to ask!
 


BeenieFL: Thank you for the reassurance on NORTHBRIDGE. I accepted my PI offer last week, and received housing @ Northbridge soon after. I've read all kinds of reviews and it's just comforting to know that it's not that bad. :)
 
I know the area well, too, and I don't think anyone's looking to move into Parramore, Washington Shores or Pine Hills, but MetroWest is right across from Pine Hills, and that whole area -- especially complexes near Kirkman have seen a serious and fast rise in crime levels in the past couple of years.

The Millenia area is nice, but not too far from LB McLeod and John Young Parkway (where crime rates have skyrocketed lately) not too far from the prison and bail bonds shops up John Young, and the area around where Conroy turns into Americana (esp. past Texas Ave.) isn't exactly College Park either.

No, it's not Parramore, and like anyplace in Orlando, as long as you're not involved in drugs or domestic violence (which is what most of the recent rise in crime has been attributed to, according to the Sentinel), the chances of anything serious happening to you are relatively low.

Still, there are a lot of justified concerns with the lack of security and management at NorthBridge. I have a friend who moved in there when it first opened (as a regular resident, not an AI), who moved out as soon as her lease ended because of how quickly everything had gone downhill. Is it as bad as the apartmentratings websites make it out to be? No, of course not. The apartments aren't really any smaller than anything else you're going to find in the area, still relatively new, and if you wind up with a unit with a garage you're not "allowed" to use, there are definitely ways around that, as some friends of mine found quickly in the fall of '05. :)

Is it someplace I'd expect to see Disney sign another long-term housing contract? No, probably not. No one's likely to get murdered living there, but it's advisable, just like anywhere else, to keep your doors locked, keep nothing in your car, and always be aware of your surroundings. As long as you're not careless, there's not really too much to worry about -- just remember that it's definitely NOT Vista Way.
 


Do you mind letting me know how much your place is running per month? You also mentioned that it is a commute, yet soonerkate stated that you can see the MK fireworks from the hot tub so it can't be too far.

It's not Archstone where you can see the MK fireworks -- that's my family's house which is down in Windermere. That's a good 40 minutes from Archstone. The complex's website is archstonepromenade.com, and I can vouch for it being a great, safe complex with nice apartments, good maintenance, and fantastic management. (How do I know? I've lived there for over a year. Rustyflwr has excellent taste! :))

Archstone is probably 25 miles or 40-45 minutes from Disney, depending on where on property you're working -- if you're at Casting, that's probably reasonably accurate. If you're at DAK, MK, or in Celebration, you'd have to add another 15-20 minutes, depending on which way you go.
 
Hi there!

I know looking for a place down here can be such a pain! I was lucky enough that my mom was building a house that my friends and I moved into in March. We are now looking for some roommates and I figured I would see if anyone here was interested. I know I don't post much on this board but I have been registered here for quite a few years. I also know a former co-worker that has posted here that I'm sure would vouch for me. My mom found this post and is the landlord so it's not like the landlord doesn't approve of this. ;)

I live in a 5BR/3.5B house in Windermere. We live off of 535 in a new neighborhood. My house is less than a year old. It takes us less than 10 minutes to get to the cast member parking lot at the MK with little to no traffic. The housemates, as it is now, consist of 3 cms and 2 former cms. 1 of those cms is on an advanced internship and 2 of the housemates participated in the WDWCP (including myself twice). 2 of these roommates are moving out thus the need for new ones. You would not be sharing a bedroom.

I have seen posts with concerns about the crime and type of neighborhood. Our neighborhood is a middle to upper-middle class residential area. The surrounding area is very nice with very little crime.

For $500/month you would be getting:
~A fully furnished house. You would have to furnish your bedroom but we do have an air mattress and a futon which you would be able to use if you don't come down with a bed right away. One of the roommates was able to get a mattress from Property Control for cheap.
~Utilities including high-speed internet and cable tv (including tivo). We have high-speed internet jacks and cable jacks in every bedroom.
~The neighborhood has a recreation center including a pool, beach volleyball, basketball, a gym, and tennis courts.
~A view of the fireworks. We live 5 miles directly behind the castle and can see the fireworks from any room facing the backyard. We do not have a house behind us to block the view. The only things you can't see are Tinker Bell and the castle. ;) You are even able to see the high points of Fantasmic and Illuminations. :) The perimeter fireworks are amazing! :thumbsup2 (I can't wait for New Years! :woohoo: )

Like I said we are less than 10 minutes to the MK. We are also less than a mile away from a shopping center with a Publix, Subway, Hair Cuttery, a sit-down restaurant, a nail place, etc.

A 10 minute drive in the other direction will put you on 50 which offers any type of restaurant, bank, or gas station you may need. Walmart is about 20 minutes away with a Super Target and West Oaks Mall just further down the road.

If you have any further questions or are interested just PM me! :)
 
SoonerKate said:
I know the area well, too, and I don't think anyone's looking to move into Parramore, Washington Shores or Pine Hills, but MetroWest is right across from Pine Hills, and that whole area -- especially complexes near Kirkman have seen a serious and fast rise in crime levels in the past couple of years.

The Millenia area is nice, but not too far from LB McLeod and John Young Parkway (where crime rates have skyrocketed lately) not too far from the prison and bail bonds shops up John Young, and the area around where Conroy turns into Americana (esp. past Texas Ave.) isn't exactly College Park either.

No, it's not Parramore, and like anyplace in Orlando, as long as you're not involved in drugs or domestic violence (which is what most of the recent rise in crime has been attributed to, according to the Sentinel), the chances of anything serious happening to you are relatively low.

Still, there are a lot of justified concerns with the lack of security and management at NorthBridge. I have a friend who moved in there when it first opened (as a regular resident, not an AI), who moved out as soon as her lease ended because of how quickly everything had gone downhill. Is it as bad as the apartmentratings websites make it out to be? No, of course not. The apartments aren't really any smaller than anything else you're going to find in the area, still relatively new, and if you wind up with a unit with a garage you're not "allowed" to use, there are definitely ways around that, as some friends of mine found quickly in the fall of '05. :)

Is it someplace I'd expect to see Disney sign another long-term housing contract? No, probably not. No one's likely to get murdered living there, but it's advisable, just like anywhere else, to keep your doors locked, keep nothing in your car, and always be aware of your surroundings. As long as you're not careless, there's not really too much to worry about -- just remember that it's definitely NOT Vista Way.

I don't understand? what does that comment mean? I hear that vista Way is loud, over crowded, constant party complex. The lack of security pretty much rivald northbridge. If every city and every place has its issues what does that comment mean? Am I missing something?
 
Hey all!

There seems to be a lot of us on here that are currently looking for housing near Disney!

For me, I was looking for a nice, safe community that was reasonably priced and close to Disney

Why don't we compile a list of places that past, present, and future PI's and other Disney employees have lived or looking to live.

Mine:
-The Broadwater apartments (looking at)
-The village at town center
 

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