Walt Disney World and American Campus Communities have commenced construction on a new housing community for the resort’s Disney College Program (now known as Disney Internships & Programs) Cast Members.
- As announced in June, American Campus Communities will serve as the developer, manager and owner of the new $630 million residential community via a 75-year ground lease.
- The new community will include two 25,000-square-foot community centers that program participants will have access to.
- Among the amenities that these community centers will feature are:
- “resort-style” swimming pools
- event and recreational lawns
- fitness centers
- social lounges.
- This community will house up to 10,400 participants with both private and shared accommodations “all at affordable price points.”
- Also included in the project is a Disney Education Center, providing unprecedented integration for program participants to engage in ‘uniquely Disney’ learning experiences and the ability to earn up to nine credit hours in college coursework.
- Program residents will also have access to resources for academic success, including group and private study rooms, computers with free printing, and WiFi.
- The community will open in multiple phases, with the first phase scheduled to be available to participants in May 2020, reaching total completion in May 2023.
What they’re saying
- Bill Bayless, American Campus Communities CEO: “Collaborating with Walt Disney World on this project and serving the Disney Internships and Programs participants is an incredible honor. When we first launched American Campus Communities in 1993, we traveled around the country with four poster boards, sharing our vision for the student experience. One of them was titled, ‘The Disney Way.’ It was our founding goal to emulate Disney’s best-in-class customer service. To celebrate this partnership with Disney and the ACC team during our 25th anniversary year is magical.”
- Kristi Breen, vice president of Disney International Campus Programs: “The college students who have been part of our college and internship programs have helped make magic for millions of our Guests for more than three decades. We are pleased to join our friends at American Campus Communities to break ground on this new residential community for our future participants.”