Does anyone LIVE at Disney as a fulltime guest?

[memphismovin]

I looked into this before because was thinking of spending a winter there. like doing a 3 month stay. To my understanding you can book for 30 straight days then have to check out and spend one complete night off property and then you can do another 30 days and so on to meet Florida laws. As far as the the IRS, there has to be a provision for people that permanantly RV so I would think the same would apply to this idea. Maybe even just setting up a PO Box or something idk

BTW I love that when thinking of winning the lottery this is the first serious question we all have lol Love this place!

 

[mb168]

US citizens need to reside somewhere - (I'd bet dollars to doughnuts its technically illegal to homeless, as the IRS can't find you...) and if you move into a hotel you just became a resident of WDW, specifically Reedy Creek.

I thought this was funny so I googled "is it illegal to be homeless" and it seems some cities are trying to make it so.

In a way it's similar to folks that are full-time RVers. They still face legal/residency issues and many have a "home base" somewhere, even if they spend little or no time there.

My 39 yr old boss and his wife, 3 kids, and MIL do this. They live full time in an RV and travel the country. We all work remote anyway. They do go spend a few weeks in Fort Wilderness and they were looking in to what others have mentioned here about camping for extended periods because they knew there were people in the past staying there that long and knew they couldn't be paying rack rates for spots. So they started asking some of the other full timers and they said that there used to be a work program where you could work part time for Disney and get discounted rates but that was stopped a few years back. You could still work for Disney and get discounts but they required you to work too much that it was no benefit, you would just be working the whole time you were there.

Also, someone before mentioned millionaires not staying in those homes. Don't count that out, the vast majority of millionaires do not live like a rock stars in gated communities. In the U.S., there are three times more millionaires living in homes that have a market value of under $300,000 than there are living in homes valued at $1 million or more.

 

[Lady V]

Wayne.
He lives above the fire station.

I love it!!!

 

[jayandstacey]

Also, someone before mentioned millionaires not staying in those homes. Don't count that out, the vast majority of millionaires do not live like a rock stars in gated communities. In the U.S., there are three times more millionaires living in homes that have a market value of under $300,000 than there are living in homes valued at $1 million or more.

Well, I pointed it out as Disney needs a few people to live onsite (really, really onsite, not next door to Disney property) so that they can vote and have a government and thus maintain control over what happens to the property.

And while it might be a nice perk to give to Disney execs who are millionaires - they might not always be as friendly as Disney would like. Put another way, employer-employee relations don't always last, in fact they rarely do long-term. And an exec with voting power, and only a few execs voting, could turn that power back on the corporation and REALLY hurt it. For instance, they could have voted to keep Celebration annexed - which means all those people get votes, which means Disney suddenly has strong recycling and enviromental costs it didn't have before. Just an example...

Employees that are "front line" or hourly or otherwise will know that any deviation from the Disney 'line' in their voting may result in losing their job or house - they're much more likely to vote appropriately.

I hear you about the millionaires living in modest houses. And of course that's very possible - even probable. I'm just saying that IF those houses are filled with employees of more modest means, maybe I have the explanation.

 

[ProgressCity]

When I worked there we were told that the few residents who lived on property were only allowed to do so for a year and then new people were moved in. It was viewed more as an honorary thing.

 

[Tara922c]

And neither the apartments nor the land, nor the transportation is owned or operated by Disney, but rather licensed to them from an outside company. And they are not very magical

no they are not, and that's why I drove my car every day when I did live there!

 

[rapriebe]

I looked into this before because was thinking of spending a winter there. like doing a 3 month stay. To my understanding you can book for 30 straight days then have to check out and spend one complete night off property and then you can do another 30 days and so on to meet Florida laws.

You can only make a reservation for 30 days maximum but you can have several continuous reservations. Last winter we stayed at Ft. Wilderness for over 3 months and we never had to leave property for one night. At the end of 30 days, you just go and check back in again. We also did it again this fall for acouple of months; no one cares how long you stay. We have some friends that arrived at Ft. Wilderness the first week of September and they won't be leaving until the end of March. They do it every year and there are lots of other long term RVers that stay for the winter. As long as you have the $$$$, Disney doesn't care.

 

[AnnaS]

I really hope someday I have the freedom/time and my (our) health to be able to do this for two months (Jan. and Feb. - would be nice). I will even take one month, lol.

 

[contemporarymom]

Back in May my husband and I were asked to participate in a survey sent out by Disney Imagineering concerning a potential new residential planned community that is in the master planning process at the Walt Disney World® Resort in Florida. They provided you with a password and the survey took approximately 15-20 minutes. If I remember correctly some of the questions involved perks such as special passes, maid service and amenities including preferred dining etc. The single family homes ranged in price from around $1 million-$2 million. Such things as a town center with concierge service were also mentioned.

I have no idea if this is going forward but I do think it may have had something to do with the Four Seasons project. It sounded really interesting. I wish I could remember it in more detail.

 

[marius97]

You can only make a reservation for 30 days maximum but you can have several continuous reservations. Last winter we stayed at Ft. Wilderness for over 3 months and we never had to leave property for one night. At the end of 30 days, you just go and check back in again. We also did it again this fall for acouple of months; no one cares how long you stay. We have some friends that arrived at Ft. Wilderness the first week of September and they won't be leaving until the end of March. They do it every year and there are lots of other long term RVers that stay for the winter. As long as you have the $$$$, Disney doesn't care.

I wonder if there is a difference in the laws for RVers vs. hotel rooms. Campsites I see as being more for longterm stays. I can easily see there being a different law covering actual hotel rooms where you can't stay 30 straight days.

 

[Shleedogg]

Also, someone before mentioned millionaires not staying in those homes. Don't count that out, the vast majority of millionaires do not live like a rock stars in gated communities. In the U.S., there are three times more millionaires living in homes that have a market value of under $300,000 than there are living in homes valued at $1 million or more.

Yep, I think they could be Disney execs living there. My ILs are millionaires (FIL worked hard, worked his way up at a local grocery store chain from a butcher and eventually, 30 yrs later, ended up a VP) and they live in the same house they bought when they got married in 1963. I think it's valued at $125,000. You would never know they had that much money, they live modestly, drive pretty standard cars. I think a lot of people with money don't flash it about. I think it's entirely possible that Disney employees live there, as discussed, but possibly Disney employees who are a little higher up on the chain than just ticket takers, ride operators, etc.

 

[DisneyFanSince71]

Wouldn't the magic wear off if you lived there fulltime? I really enjoy Disney, but I think at some point I might get jaded if I was around it all the time.

 

[justskip70003]

i just love this thread, its so interesting to read everyone's take on dreaming to live at Disney...

star light star bright, first star i see tonight, i wish i may i wish i might have this wish i wish tonight. don't forget in wishes it says just believe, and i am a believer hehehehehehe

 

[MinnieSummer]

OK, I may be really gullible for believing this buuuut, three years ago I was meeting one of my DD's friends Moms at the Poly. I told her I would park at MK and then come over on the mono. She said to just go to the Poly and give a name. I asked her who that was and she said her grandmother. When I got to the pool where she was waiting I asked her where her grandmother was and she said overseas. So of course I asked the rest of the question -- why does she have a room here if she's not and was told that she has a permanent reservation. So whenever she shows up she gets a room, either at the Poly or GF. And her grandkids can use it whenever they want. It must have worked because noone was staying there that trip and we all went right in. She used the same name another time we went up as well. Soo, am I really gullible or is this possible.

 

[mb168]

Yep, I think they could be Disney execs living there. My ILs are millionaires (FIL worked hard, worked his way up at a local grocery store chain from a butcher and eventually, 30 yrs later, ended up a VP) and they live in the same house they bought when they got married in 1963. I think it's valued at $125,000. You would never know they had that much money, they live modestly, drive pretty standard cars. I think a lot of people with money don't flash it about. I think it's entirely possible that Disney employees live there, as discussed, but possibly Disney employees who are a little higher up on the chain than just ticket takers, ride operators, etc.

That's pretty close to what the majority of millionaires are in this country right now. Check out ThomasJStanley.com, he's spent decades studying millionaires and written several books on who the typical wealthy rich person in America is, and is not. It's actually pretty interesting, most have never paid more than like $150 for shoes, $400 for a suit, $300 for a watch, they buy BIG American cars and keep them for a long time (he actually jokes that their have a proclivity to buying cars that have a high weight to cost ratio).

Something like 80% of Americans that live in homes valued at over $1M are not millionaires.

 

[jayandstacey]

Wouldn't the magic wear off if you lived there fulltime? I really enjoy Disney, but I think at some point I might get jaded if I was around it all the time.

me thinks it would be a different kind of magic. Not the magic of a special trip, anticipation, rides, etc. Rather the magic of consistent service, high quality and being around people in good moods.

And as I rode into the sunset, I could see putting a high value on these things and possibly sacrificing in exchange for them.

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Which is why I think the MK should be ringed by giant highrise apartments, so everyone has a round-the-clock view of the magic.

OK, maybe not.

 

[rbolt]

While at Ft. Wilderness in October I talked with a lady at one of the premium campsites just next to the Settlement Trading Post. She had been there for 7 months and and had no intention of leaving in the near term. Closet I have experienced to anyone living there full time.

 

[rapriebe]

Wouldn't the magic wear off if you lived there fulltime? I really enjoy Disney, but I think at some point I might get jaded if I was around it all the time.

Yes, I always wondered about this also; always thought it would be great to visit the parks all the time. Our original reservations for last fall (2008) were for 6 months but after 3 months we decided to leave. We had enough Disney and were ready to head home. We found that we really weren't enjoying it that much and weren't going to the parks anymore. In Fall of 2009, we only stayed for alittle over 2 months and realized that 2 months at a time is great and the magic doesn't get old. We've only been gone from Disney for almost a month but I can't wait to go back in January 2011.

 

[kindra657]

OK, I may be really gullible for believing this buuuut, three years ago I was meeting one of my DD's friends Moms at the Poly. I told her I would park at MK and then come over on the mono. She said to just go to the Poly and give a name. I asked her who that was and she said her grandmother. When I got to the pool where she was waiting I asked her where her grandmother was and she said overseas. So of course I asked the rest of the question -- why does she have a room here if she's not and was told that she has a permanent reservation. So whenever she shows up she gets a room, either at the Poly or GF. And her grandkids can use it whenever they want. It must have worked because noone was staying there that trip and we all went right in. She used the same name another time we went up as well. Soo, am I really gullible or is this possible.

hmm....I'm not sure, but what was the grandmother's name?? Maybe I could find some more info for you

 

[nroush313]

The previous poster was correct with the bing map links being the bay lake and lake buena vista communities. Here is a link to the property appraisers page
http://www.ocpafl.org/pls/webappI/get_parcel_by_addr?s_num=&s_dir=&s_name=royal+oak&s_type=ct&DI_0=on&DI_1=on&DI_2=on&DI_3=on&DI_4=on&DI_5=on&DI_6=on&x=33&y=10
you can see that the mailing address is att tax dept and that disney owns all of the land. you can also see pictures of the homes.