Calling All Florida Residents

[Cinderellabride]

My fiancee and I are thinking about moving to Florida from Connecticut after we get married. We are wondering if living so close to Disney and being able to go basically anytime you want makes it loose some of its magic? Please answer if you live in Florida (especially if you moved from another state). Is Disney less magical when you have the opportunity to go almost anytime you want. Obviously this will not be our enitre reason for moving or not moving, but it is important to us, and we both really love the magic of Disney and would not want to loose it.

Also if you work for Disney, does it loose some of its magic then?

Any input you have would be greatly appreiciated. Thank you very much.

Cinderellabride

 

[safetymom]

I live 12 miles from the parks. I went 75 times last year and 86 the year before. It hasn't lost its magic for me. I still haven't seen everything I want to see yet.

 

[sorcerormickey]

It doesn't ruin it, IMO, it is just different.

You can visit more often which means you can take your time and see things you may have never seen before or had time to see.

We go at least once a week, but not always to a park. We like to check out the resorts, or even just hit one of the restaurants. Yesterday afternoon, we were bored, so we hit MGM and MK. It was a little crowded, but we just went and walked around - didn't do any attractions. Never would have done that on vacation!

 

[ADisneygirl]

We live over 2 hours drive away from WDW and we work, so going there isn't a weekly thing. We do get to go more often than a lot of out of state people, and certainly more that we did from our home state of New York.

It hasn't lost any of its magic to me!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Oh yea...rub it in for all of us. Oh how I wish I could have WDW at my backdoor.
One of these days...

 

[chyam]

I live in the Tampa area and make at least 1 trip a month and several times during the year I stay up there for 3-4 days(Food and Wine Festival, Flower and Garden Festival, and again in Dec.) It has not lost it's magic for me, as others have said when you live here it gives you the opportunity to take your time and enjoy, you are also amongst people who ARE on vacation which makes you feel like you are on vacation. There are also added benefits with being a FL resident, I have had the FL residents seasonal pass for many many years, the difference with that pass is that it does have blackout dates, and it doesn't included parking but it still gives you all the passholder discounts, the reason that it works so well with me is the blackout dates are usually during the summer (too hot and crowded) and also a couple weeks during spring break and Christmas break also to crowded. Living her and being close lets you go at times that the parks are less crowded and also at a leisurely pace.

 

[kerrynic78]

My DH and I moved down here 2 years ago from CT right after we were married. It wasn't planned at all but my DH was offered a job he could not pass up. Sice I was the biggest Disney fanatic ever I was in heaven! When we fist moved down here we were at the parks 24/7, it was so much fun to just zip over to Epcot for an hour.

I then became pregnant last March and had my baby this past Dec. so we have not been in a while and I really miss it!! I honestly was getting a little sick of it after going ALL the time whenever someone would come and visit us but now I really miss going and can't wait to go back and enjoy it with my DD!!

Good Luck!

 

[hmp2z]

I think it depends on how closely you live to Disney. We used to LOVE Disney; we were married there, so obviously chose to spend the most special day of our lives with them

But now that we live right by Disney, a lot of the magic has worn off. Much of that is because, as locals, we get to see some of the effects that Disney has on the area, instead of just looking at it as a wonderful, magical fantasy vacation land. We now have to think about our neighborhood, and watch the wildlife habitats go steadily under, watch the schools flood with Caribbean children whose parents have moved here to work as custodial staff at WDW and 192 hotels, etc., etc., etc. So it's concerning to us, as residents here, to see what Disney's existence is doing to the community.

It's also concerning to see some of the places off of 192 like that Arabian Nights show, and even Universal Studios do more to support the communities here. Arabian Nights has a big literacy effort with the Osceola County schools, and Universal and Cypress Gardens give teachers free tickets, whereas there aren't things like this for Disney. I'm a teacher, so I watch the school systems get crushed with the large influxes of CM children, but don't see anything being done to mitigate that impact.

We use Disney more as a state park-type system. We go for walks around and around and around Epcot, for exercise. We grab a quick bite to eat there, because we're living right off of 192 now and Disney restaurants are clean & affordable, compared to the filth we've seen on 192.

But I definitely never used to think of Disney as just a place to exercise and grab a quick bite to eat. We will be spending our anniversary there, because it's our tradition, but we're cutting the trip much shorter than normal, because we're just not wild about Disney as a vacation spot any more. And that, I think, is very sad for us.

But, to answer your question, if you were farther away, or if you didn't have a strong sense of concern for your community, you could live here and still like Disney just fine.

Cheers!
Heather W

 

[Cool-Beans]

I think it depends on how closely you live to Disney. We used to LOVE Disney; we were married there, so obviously chose to spend the most special day of our lives with them

But now that we live right by Disney, a lot of the magic has worn off. Much of that is because, as locals, we get to see some of the effects that Disney has on the area, instead of just looking at it as a wonderful, magical fantasy vacation land. We now have to think about our neighborhood, and watch the wildlife habitats go steadily under, watch the schools flood with Caribbean children whose parents have moved here to work as custodial staff at WDW and 192 hotels, etc., etc., etc. So it's concerning to us, as residents here, to see what Disney's existence is doing to the community.

It's also concerning to see some of the places off of 192 like that Arabian Nights show, and even Universal Studios do more to support the communities here. Arabian Nights has a big literacy effort with the Osceola County schools, and Universal and Cypress Gardens give teachers free tickets, whereas there aren't things like this for Disney. I'm a teacher, so I watch the school systems get crushed with the large influxes of CM children, but don't see anything being done to mitigate that impact.

We use Disney more as a state park-type system. We go for walks around and around and around Epcot, for exercise. We grab a quick bite to eat there, because we're living right off of 192 now and Disney restaurants are clean & affordable, compared to the filth we've seen on 192.

But I definitely never used to think of Disney as just a place to exercise and grab a quick bite to eat. We will be spending our anniversary there, because it's our tradition, but we're cutting the trip much shorter than normal, because we're just not wild about Disney as a vacation spot any more. And that, I think, is very sad for us.

But, to answer your question, if you were farther away, or if you didn't have a strong sense of concern for your community, you could live here and still like Disney just fine.

Cheers!
Heather W

On the flip side, if it weren't for Disney there wouldn't BE a community. All that other stuff popped up because of WDW. Everyone in the area has a job and a school and a grocery store because Disney set up shop.

And if Disney closed its doors, a lot of that stuff would simply cease to exist.

Just by existing, Disney does a lot for the community.

 

[FSUGrad97]

I live about 45 minutes west of WDW, and like many other posters stated, it's different than being on vacation and not in a bad way, IMO.

We like the fact that we can head over for the afternoon, but if it's crowded or there are weather issues, it's not a big deal since we aren't on vacation. I think it makes it less stressful when going for long weekends since if you miss something, it's not like it's going to be another year until you see it.

I look forward to taking my girls over for birthday meals, etc. In fact, my oldest thought we were going to Disney anytime she saw an overpass!