Housing

I've been looking at the housing possibilities and wondered if anyone could give actual details of their housing expierience, or actual descriptions of the facilities. Also, how bad of a pick of housing would I get going in early to mid-June? Thanks for the help.

I got there May 26th this past summer and all of Commons was full except smoking apartments. Mid June is when all the foreigners come so you'll have a hard time getting in commons, and Bayside will be full. You'll most likely get stuck in Gold, but just let them know that you want to move to Commons (and trust me, you will) ASAP and they'll let you know when a room opens up, first come first serve.

As for actually living in the housing, it's not bad at all. You spend almost no time actually in the room, so the small cramped space really does not matter, and I've found in the Commons dorms that the walls are rather thick so you don't need to worry about a stereo blaring at 4 AM next door. Bathrooms are relatively clean most of the time. The apartments, while they aren't exactly what you would call nice, are not bad, with plenty of room. Just bring a lot of fans, because the AC doesn't help at all. Also, the bathrooms are not cleaned for you, so don't except sanitary conditions unless you take the initiative to clean. As for the on-point housing, I lived there a couple days and I was scared to walk around in my own room without shoes on. However, it really is nice being able to wake up ten minutes before you have to work and not fight the causeway traffic. I'd be all for the on-point housing if the buildings weren't a hundred years old. If you do get stuck in Cedars or Gold, bring some cleaning supplies, and start cleaning. There were leaves, cigarettes, and dried blood splattered on the wall in my room. If you get a good roommate, and have lots of fans, I think living on-point would be the best solution. After I got out of Cedars, I stayed in Commons dorms, and I liked it there. Just a warning though, towards the middle and end of the season, CP police were swarming Commons, checking bags and pulling IDs. And as I learned first-hand, holding open the exit doors is a bad idea although everyone does it anyway.

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Brent Haley
Gemini Crew '02

Like Brent said, Bayside will be full, and Commons will probably be, too - although there are so many people that will be moving out, there should be some room opening up. I lived in the Commons Dorms last year, and I really, really liked it. Yes, the room is small, (there are two sets of bunkbeds or else one bunkbed and one regular bed, two dressers and three lockers. The lockers are nice, they hold a lot of stuff)but how much space does a person need? You're either on your bed, or standing up to get dressed, not putting on a Broadway production in the room ;) I also liked the communal bathrooms because I didn't have to worry about somebody hogging the bathroom like when I lived in Bayside. Bayside is nice, but since it gets full first it most likely won't be a consideration, anyway.

I thought the Commons Apts seemed nice although I never actually lived in them, only visited. With an apartment you have more of a variety as to which room you'd like to be in, since the apartments have a livingroom/kitchen as well as two or three bedrooms. Also there is a stove and refridgerator provided. In the dorms you pretty much just have one room to be in, (and you have to go elsewhere to cook/heat up food) but there are also community spaces/lobbies within the building.

I've never even been inside Gold at all, so I can't add my .02 to that one.

It is true that most people don't spend a lot of time in their rooms, but last year I did spend quite a lot of time in my room (or so it seemed). For all of May and half of June my department was overstaffed, so I was working only 30-40 hours a week. I loved spending time in my dorm! If you're used to mansions then the CP housing will seem small, but personally I love the housing, both the apartments and dorms.

No matter which one you pick (or get stuck with) each place has it's ups and downs, and you'll have fun no matter where you are. And if you really don't like where you originally are put, you're usually able to move. :)

The commons are somewhat like prison cells except the toilet is down the hall and there are no bars on the windows.

The A/C is not effective so bring a HUGE fan.

Bayside seemed somewhat crowded but the kitchens had ovens whereas the commons did not when I was there. If you want to bake a cake (Cedars perhaps?)

The reputation of the Cedars does not bear repeating.

The Gold dorms are really nasty because of the noise of the corkscrwew I think. Oh they called them the "old" dorms for a reason.

What was true 22 years ago is true today:bring a VERY LARGE FAN!

If you can lay your hands on a dorm room frig do it! Nothing will last long in the apartment frig. Beer has a way of "going away" for some reason and who wants a loaf of bread that turns into a cure for the clap in a day.?

Air conditioners are very cheap at Best Buy and Walmart (150$), so get mom or dad to spring for one!

A hardened crack addict would not have wanted to set foot into my room at the commons after I was there for 2 weeks. In other words college kids are pretty filthy as I was.
*** This post was edited by ron skinnner 12/3/2002 11:24:41 PM ***

And the bathroom was usually filthy if you shared it with others who did not have the common sense to relize what a "mercy flush" meant!

And my rommies were real morons 10 start- 4 finish. I hated them and they hated me. You will not spend alot of time in your room unless you are a fool, schizo, or retarded! Too much fun to be had in the park!

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You have to give head to get ahead!

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The A/C is not effective so bring a HUGE fan.

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Ron, I don't know which building you were referring to, but the A/C in the Commons Dorms at least worked really well. In fact, I always thought it was too cold in my room, and kept turning the A/C down, much to the chagrin of my roommates.

But if you are in one of the apartments, then yeah, a big fan would be appropriate.

Also, I feel bad that you got stuck with a bunch of lousy roommates - why didn't you move to another apartment? I know that was in the past, but the roomies you have can really make or break your experience!

I lived in the commons apartments and it sucked bad. I walked in and there was the largest pile of beer bottles I had ever seen, I though this is good and bad, obviously there is tons of boozin going on here and im all for that but also my roomates (and there is tons of them that share the apartment) are slobs. The bathrooms where just as bad, no locked doors, nothing covering the toilet just bare. (also filled with beer bottles) My room was alright but there was only me and another guy, but the whole apartment did have a horrible odor to it. If you are used to clean sanitary conditions then this will be a wake up call. If you are used to a crack house setting then u will enjoy this cheap housing.

That is too bad that your roommates were so slobby - of course I'm going to be generalizing here, but guys tend to be a lot messier than girls, and I feel bad that some guys live the way they do at CP. It's real easy to get garbage bags, just go to the front desk, and those huge dumpsters are right outside...

Me and my two roommates in the dorms were also admittedly sloppy - we'd each brought with us probably everything we owned. So there were clothes, towels, clothes, shoes, and more clothes everywhere, but we didn't let the room get gross or unsanitary. I know with all the hours everyone works, it's hard to find the energy to really clean, but geez it doesn't take that much time to pick things up and take the trash out. I'm just glad I'm not a guy, so I don't have to live with them ;-)

The apartments and dorms really aren't that bad (at least the ones I've lived in), it just depends on how well they are kept up during the season. If you get stuck with a whole bunch of gross roommates than there really isn't all that much you can do, except try and move.

On a different note, I lived in both Gold and Commons the past 2 years (only stayed in Commons b/c Gold was closed) and hands down liked Gold better. First off, it's cheaper.

Second, if you're like me, and not a big partier and want to sleep after a 13 hour shift, then on point is for you, it's much quieter.

Third, close, it's right in the park. Sure, getting used to hearing Corkscrew and Power Tower all the time is a bit of an adjustment, but you will learn to sleep right through it.

And yes, a window air conditioner is a must, it makes all the difference. And shower shoes are a must. ;)
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Millennium Force- 2001
ATL Power Tower- 2002
*** This post was edited by Millennium Force Girl 12/9/2002 3:57:51 PM ***

I lived in the old commons and my room was really a dump. The a/c in those jail cells was not effective as there was only 1 a/c.

I literally trashed my room my summer there. I am surprised I was not fired for the room condition!

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People starve in the desert because:FOOD DOES NOT GROW IN SAND!

Do not live in Gold! I repeat do not live in Gold. I was a dumb little teenage girl who thought it would be fun to live in Gold. How stupid! It was horrible! It literally made me sick! Dont live there! No no no no no! Diry Gross Ewww! Ugh! Eww NO NO NO! I moved to Commons for Halloweekends and it was heaven. The apartments are nice as long as you have roomates who clean once in a blue moon. Personally I want to live in Bayside next year but I have only visited. I am getting there early in April so if everything goes my way I will be able to get into Bayside! I will bake all of you cookies and brownies!

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TGIFridays
Costumed Character
Screamster
Camp Snoopy Escort

So Christie, are you trying to say you didn't like Gold? j/k I've never even been inside the building, so I cannot really comment, but I know of other girls who didn't really mind living there at all - I guess it's just a matter of perspective. But yeah, I think Commons is really great, too.

If you're going up in early April next year, then you won't have any choice but to live in Bayside, so that should work out for ya. :)

And I am going to hold you to those brownies...

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Park Services '01- '02

If you can lock your door in the apartment do so! I had a refer in the room that was well stocked with many brands of adult beverages that I would bring home as "unopened orphans" and my cretin roomies knew it.

The commons apartments are almost like catacombs but are sure a heck of alot better than the "old dorms". I would not go to the bathroom in the gold dorms let alone live there.

The best parties always seemed to be at Bayside most likely because of the apartment ergonomics. Do they still stuff you 3 to a room at Bayside? They did in my day and it made me glad to live in my rathole commons apartment.

The rotunda dorms just seemed to be the absolute worst. It made "3 days in the box" (Cool Hand Luke) seem like a luxury vacation. I am not kidding about those rooms, designed by "Fire-traps-r-us"!

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People starve in the desert because:FOOD DOES NOT GROW IN SAND!

The rotunda rooms are usually used only for employees of Accommodations at this point. If there are empty spaces I think they put Bunac employees up there too.

You can't party too hard up there though because hotel guests aren't too far away and they can pitch a fit. Hotel security monitors that pretty closely.

Thats sort of the impression I got my summer there as well.

Spider webs, bare light bulbs, asbestos covered steam pipes, peeling lead enriched paint; all the luxouries a young man or woman could want(if they were from bangladesh that is!)

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People starve in the desert because:FOOD DOES NOT GROW IN SAND!

Do they still stuff you 3 to a room at Bayside? They did in my day and it made me glad to live in my rathole commons apartment

Only three to a room? Wow, those must have been the days ;) Actually, nowadays at least one bedroom in each Bayside apartment has four people in it, two sets of bunkbeds. But the room is pretty big though (well, by CP housing standards, anyway). Plenty of room to get around in, and my boyfriend's roommates even fit (well barely) a couch into their four-person bedroom last year. The smaller bedrooms in the apartments have 2 or 3 people :)

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Park Services '01-'02

My apartment in Bayside had 2 bedrooms. One held 4 people and the other 2. I've lived in Gold dorms its not the hilton by any standards but it can be tolerable. Its old and the bathrooms are kinda nasty. But if you have no car and are underage then its a good bet. I kinda sorta also lived in Commons Apts once. It was ok.. Hot as Hell. And the bathrooms were alittle better. (Although i think 16 guys and 2 toilets is a little smelly) THis past year I lived at Bayside which i must say was awesome. Yeah it was hot and yeah its not the fanciest but i had my own bathroom and a full kitchen. The only draw back i think me and my roomate (we had the smaller bedroom) had was the procreation taking place in the living room. So it was either stay in our bedroom or leave the apt. But anyway I digress. I personally liked Bayside. Just wish it was Air conditioned.

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Park Op Jen
2002 Park Op Office
2001 TL Swings and Swans/Monster Triangle
1999 TL Peanuts Playground / Kiddy Kingdom
1998 Kiddy Kingdom/ Bear Country/ Iron Dragon/ Disaster Transport

Bayside isnt air conditioned?? Can u by an AC for it like u can for Gold? NO AC!! AHH!

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TGIFridays
Costumed Character
Screamster
Camp Snoopy Escort

The Commons Apartments at the time were up to no reasonable building code when they were slammed together by the fine CP construction/prison crews. A 2 story building has to have proper rain gutters.
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Erie: The only great lake you can walk from end to end and only get oil on your shoes!