Does living in Orlando "ruin" Disneyworld for you?

[Special_K]

My brother and I are contemplating relocating to Orlando for various reasons. One of the biggest is that we are both Disneyworld nuts and love the parks and resorts. My brother's biggest fear is that Disneyworld will lose some of it's luster if he can visit any time he wants. He's afraid his favorite vacation spot will become stale and "normal" and not be the special escape it's become for our entire family. We especially love staying at the resorts to get away from it all. We actually enjoy the bus rides. Driving for us wouldn't be the same.

So what I'm wondering from Orlando residents who are also Disboard members: does living so close to the magic mean you LOSE some of the magic? My philosophy is why should the things you love only be reserved for once or twice a year on vacation? Do those of you living so close ever stay at the resorts for a week so you truly feel you are on vacation? Does Disney offer a Florida resident discount on the rooms? Is it a substantial savings? How about the Florida resident park pass? How much does that cost for a year?

Do you get bored visiting the parks and seeing the same attractions? Do you find yourself going to the parks less often? Is it still an escape from your everyday life? I'd especially like to hear from people that moved to Orlando from out of state to be near Disneyworld and how it's changed your view of Disney.

Thanks!

Special K

 

[DisneyFan06]

It is not boring at all. I live in Daytona Beach which is about 1 hr and 20 mins away from the parks and we still enjoy going. Disney is Disney!

Besides being a Florida resident has its perks!

 

[kaybird]

Can just give a correlation, we lived in CA, 8 miles from DL, the magic NEVER wore off, could go every month and never get tired of it. Think I would be the same in FL, would love to find out!

 

[nbodyhome]

Not at all - I love going for the events, and I never get tired of Epcot. I wish I was a tiny bit closer (I'm 35 miles or so from Downtown Disney, a little more to everywhere else).

 

[Evil Princess]

I lived in Orlando for 5 months doing the college program. I moved back to school in January, and so far I've been back twice with May and June vacations booked. Does that answer your question? lol

It did NOT ruin it for me. It is a different feeling, going often, you don't feel the need to do EVERYTHING during your trips to the parks, but I loved it. Even working as a CM didn't ruin the magic for me.

 

[mom2of2]

Florida residents do get discounts on rooms....it's usually the same rate as AP holders. A FL res AP is $361.04

We live within 10 minutes of the parks and I go very often. We love to go to EPCOT after an early dinner and watch Illuminations. I will also run over to the Poly sometimes for a cup of Kona coffee. I do a lot of things onsite as well. Gas is usually cheaper onsite at Hess. I bank in DTD. I use WDW as a shortcut when I4 is a parking lot.

I've been here almost 2 years and it hasn't lost the magic to me at all. My vacation spot has changed slightly....PC is only 45 minutes away and DCL FL rates can't be beat! In 2006 I was able to go on 2 3day and 1 7day cruise.

 

[Maria311]

Living close by makes your visit SO much more relaxing. The MAGIC never dies for me or my family. We used to live in NC and our first trip was exhausting. We felt like we needed to do everything at once.
Now, we can totally relax and enjoy a park for a few hours at a time.
We love staying at the resorts. While everyone is rushing around we hang out by the pool, miniature golf, go see the horses at FW and on and on and on. It's great!!! Being in the sunshine almost 365 days a year is a big bonus.
You should come on down!!!! We get the FL resident seasonal pass for about $200 per adult. It has blackout days over Christmas, Easter and from 6/9 to August 10. We would never go during these times anyhow so this works for us. For $200 it is the best deal around. Annual pass rates for resorts can be excellent as are FL resident rates. We are staying for a week around Memorial Day. 5 nights at BCV and 2 at the Poly. It's always FUN, FUN, FUN.

 

[Momelie]

For most of my life, I've been within an hour of the Mouse, and nope, the magic NEVER goes away! We are there 3-5 times a month, sometimes just day trips but many overnight stays. Weeks at a time, 3 times a year. Trust me, without the FL resident discounts it would never be possible, LOL!

Nothing gets stale or boring, but you DO learn how to get from one place to another quickly, and you learn all the little out of the way spots that are really cool!

 

[elastigirl]

Not yet. Some of the most magical trips are the quick trips in and out to get a snack & people watch.

 

[LurrrvtheDuck]

I think if you love Disneyworld like you guys seem to, then the answer is no, but there are quite a few people in Orlando that really dislike Disneyworld. I live in Miami and wish I lived closer to the World.

 

[DOOM1001]

I'm not that close to WDW,I'm in Miami but I still manage to average a trip every 2-3 weeks.I have AP's to all the FL parks and as someone said,there's always different events going on at the parks.At Disney you have festivals like the Food and Wine and Flower and Garden that also bring in concerts daily,Universal has Mardi Gras with it's parade and concerts on saturdays fro February thru April and Halloween Horror Nights in October.Busch Gardens has Howl o Scream and a couple other events throughout the year .Disney also has ESPN the weekend and Star Wars weekends plus all the Christmas events at all the parks.Having all these special events basically year round DO NOT,repeat DO NOT make the parks stale whatsoever!!

 

[nbodyhome]

Wow, that far and still here so often. That is amazing to me.

The nice thing about being close is that I can be flexible. Like with the free dining, I could have gone nearly anytime. Or when Peter Noone is there, I can drive down for the day (or when anyone is there, I can't wait to see Davy Jones!)

When I lived 10 minutes away, walking at Disney was part of my walking/exercise program 3 or 4 times a week. That was awesome! Like a little mini-vacation for a few hours, walking around the BW, Epcot, Fort Wilderness, etc.

 

[xApril]

I've always been a half hour away. It doesn't ruin the magic, but after a one day visit, I want to go back again! So sometimes, I'm actually jealous of you guys being able to stay at the hotels and go everyday for almost a week.

 

[MiniGirl]

First off, to the DIS.

I live about 90 minutes from WDW outside of Melbourne. I love Disney so much that I went and got a job there as a seasonal employee, and none of that has killed the magic for me. However, things are different. If you live there, you are bound to meet lots of people who work there. It is the largest single site employeer in the country after all. That also means that you are bound to meet a few disgruntled employees whose pixie dust needs to be recharged, so you will undoubtedly hear about the less than magical side of Disney.

I still love it though. Yes, we're still 90 minutes away, so we can't just swing by; but it is great. We can go for a few hours and take our time. When it is time to leave, there is no crying (except from me sometimes) because the kids know we will be back in a few weeks. We can just take things at a much slower pace, and we get to see so much of the details that others seem to miss.

 

[Metro West]

I've been here three years and I haven't lost any desire to go to Disney. I like being able to run over whenever I want...even if it's an evening for dinner or meeting friends who are visiting. Being 40 mins from Disney and 20 mins from Universal is definately a huge benefit.

 

[BC1836]

We have wondered about the initial question and are extremely pleased to read the subsequent replies. It seems that there is little relation between the location of one's home and the impact of WDW (or DL) "magic."
Great replies from all!

 

[icartjetta]

I was born and raised here in Orlando and I live so close that I can see the MK fireworks from my porch. And I have to say that living so close is awsome. There is no pressure when we go to the World, just about every weeekend. Sometimes we don't even ride anything we just walk around and enjoy the atmosphere. I will admit I would love to stay there on property, but living so close it's just not worth it, when you can be home in 10 minutes, in your own bed. I am very spoiled when it comes to the parks if there is a line for a ride over 10 minutes I do not ride.
I would say that the magic is not spoiled but I feel like it's my backyard park and I never take a camera to take pictures because I know I will be back very soon. Hope this helps.

 

[paper1225]

We are planning a move down to that area within the next year.........and here is the way we look at it-we love the FL/WDW area so much we cannot stop going down at least once a year-some years(as in last year) more than that........at least if we live down there-we can vacation in other places some times! I know that sounds strange, but I would like to explore other vacation destinations......but when it comes to planning we ALWAYS end up in Florida and WDW!!

 

[DVC Jen]

We lived in Anaheim just 3 blocks from what is now Downtown Disney and it never ruined it for us. As a matter of fact that is where our love of Disney began.

 

[momto2girls]

I guess I'll be the lone dissenter. I used to live in Florida (Tampa, to be exact) and living that close did ruin the magic for me. I am very happy not to be living in Florida anymore (for many reasons) and I'm thrilled that WDW is more "magical" now that I don't live so close.