Living near the magic, questions???

[suorkaterina]

Hey everybody. I was unsure where to post this so I thought I'd try it out here since many of the podcast crew live near the magic.

I'm considering a move to Florida, probably within 2 hours of Disney...for the purpose of being near Disney and for the heat(I live in Maine and I dislike the cold, get me outta here!) Anyhow, I rarely get to go to Disney because, well flights are expensive and the priority up here is the heating bill!

So my question is...does living near the parks take away the magic of being there? Does it become "old hat" after a while? I don't want to ever lose the feeling I get simply sitting on a bench on Maine St. or driving underneath the sign when you first enter. Not that I plan on being there every day, maybe twice a month..we'll see how it goes!

Another question for those who have relocated to Florida from a colder climate...I'm looking forward to warm weather year round, do you all feel you lose a sense of the passing of the seasons without fall leaves for Thanksgiving and snow at Christmas? I spent Christmas at Disney last year and although it was AWESOME, it still didn't really feel like Christmas to me. Just wondering...

Also, anybody have any advise or websites that might help with relocation to Florida? I'm looking at either of the coasts East and West of Orlando, Cocoa Beach area or Tampa area.

Thanks you!

 

[wdwfreeksince88]

Your touring of the parks does change when you are that close. We live an hour away. We like it, I don't think the magic goes away but it does change. We go 2-4 times a month there and we still like it. This has come up on the podcast several times, and one thing to keep in mind is you now LIVE here. It is no longer vacation cause sometimes and the end of the day there is laundry to be done or a yard to mow. Real life is here as well so don't think living here is a constant vacation at the world.

 

[safetymom]

I live 12 miles from the park and have lived here 6 years. It still hasn't gotten old for me yet. I still get goosebumps or tears in my eye when something touches me in the park.

I don't do all day touring anymore though unless we have visitors from out of town. I love being able to just pop over for a few hours.

I don't miss the cold weather at all. I think we have seasons here. It just doesn't involve snow. Nothing beats touring the parks in shorts when the rest of the country has snow. Being able to turn off the a/c here in FL. is a treat in October.

 

[suorkaterina]

Well, whenever I travel two hours away it's like a vaccation=P

Thank you Safetymom! One of my dreams is to be able to choose a park a day to do my daily walk in! But I can't see myself living IN Orlando. So I'd be happy with a day trip every other weekend.

And I would MUCH rather turn off the A/C than turn up the thermostat. I had to do that last night, just about killed me!

 

[Ringmaster]

It's been 5 years for us now living in Orlando. We came from West Michigan (snow belt area). I do not miss the snow at all. You do look at the parks differently, like it was said before you normally do not do the ALL DAY in the parks. It is a nice feeling to be sitting at the dinner table and say "Let go ride Thunder Mountain" and a hour later you are back home from your ride.

I work as a seasonal cast member and each time I drive under the WDW arches I wounder how many people out there would long to be in my shoes working for the mouse. It can be brutal at times but mostly everyone is nice to the cast members.

After the first several years we said to ourselves we needed to stay away from the parks as we needed to do all the normal stuff around the house etc. We now will go once and a while. There is so much to do in central Florida we still haven't wipe out the list of things to do.

 

[WaltD4Me]

I live 12 miles from the park and have lived here 6 years. It still hasn't gotten old for me yet. I still get goosebumps or tears in my eye when something touches me in the park.

I don't do all day touring anymore though unless we have visitors from out of town. I love being able to just pop over for a few hours.

I don't miss the cold weather at all. I think we have seasons here. It just doesn't involve snow. Nothing beats touring the parks in shorts when the rest of the country has snow. Being able to turn off the a/c here in FL. is a treat in October.

This would definitely be me.

"Popping over for a few hours." - Love the sound of that.

And I am 100% positive I wouldn't miss the snow or cold weather at all. I've seen enough snow to last me 2 lifetimes, I'm over it and would be perfectly happy to hang my christmas ornaments on a palm tree.

 

[Cherinva]

Hey everybody. I was unsure where to post this so I thought I'd try it out here since many of the podcast crew live near the magic.

I'm considering a move to Florida, probably within 2 hours of Disney...for the purpose of being near Disney and for the heat(I live in Maine and I dislike the cold, get me outta here!) Anyhow, I rarely get to go to Disney because, well flights are expensive and the priority up here is the heating bill!

So my question is...does living near the parks take away the magic of being there? Does it become "old hat" after a while? I don't want to ever lose the feeling I get simply sitting on a bench on Maine St. or driving underneath the sign when you first enter. Not that I plan on being there every day, maybe twice a month..we'll see how it goes!

Another question for those who have relocated to Florida from a colder climate...I'm looking forward to warm weather year round, do you all feel you lose a sense of the passing of the seasons without fall leaves for Thanksgiving and snow at Christmas? I spent Christmas at Disney last year and although it was AWESOME, it still didn't really feel like Christmas to me. Just wondering...

Also, anybody have any advise or websites that might help with relocation to Florida? I'm looking at either of the coasts East and West of Orlando, Cocoa Beach area or Tampa area.

Thanks you!

Tampa is very nice. My sister lives there...it's a major city, and the traffic can be hectic at times but she loves it. I myself have been toying with the idea of moving to Florida. Been looking at job sites and housing. I've found a nice area a little Northwest of Orlando...Apopka. The housing prices aren't bad at all, not compaired to Va. Beach where I live now. If the oportunity arises, I'll be gone in a NY Minute. Good Luck to you.

 

[suorkaterina]

I've heard that the Lake Mary area is nice. It's hard to figure out where to move, having not been to these places. I know the Tampa/Clearwater area because my grandfather lives there but I've never been east of Orlando.

I still need to do a little more convincing with the rest of the family, the resposible one of us is mulling over the logistics of moving/selling a house/finding a job etc., but this morning she was drooling over the anual passes page on the Disney website and was talking about how cool it would be to try some of the other resorts for one night here and there when we go for a weekend visit With any luck we'll be spending weekends with Mickey by this time next year

 

[RutgersAlum]

Hey, just wanted to say, first of all, I'm jealous of you for thinking of moving to FL!!!

But also wanted to say that when I was listening to some older podcasts a few months ago, the Podcast team totally talked about this, I just don't remember for the life of me which episode since I was jumping around old ones. I'll do a search of the archives, but not sure I'll find it there.

GL in your quest!
Michele/RutgersAlum

 

[WaltD4Me]

I've heard that the Lake Mary area is nice. It's hard to figure out where to move, having not been to these places. I know the Tampa/Clearwater area because my grandfather lives there but I've never been east of Orlando.

I still need to do a little more convincing with the rest of the family, the resposible one of us is mulling over the logistics of moving/selling a house/finding a job etc., but this morning she was drooling over the anual passes page on the Disney website and was talking about how cool it would be to try some of the other resorts for one night here and there when we go for a weekend visit With any luck we'll be spending weekends with Mickey by this time next year

Just curious...why are looking for something 2 hours from Disney?

Believe me, if I'm ever lucky enough to move to Florida, max I would consider distance wise from the mouse is 45 minutes, but preferably closer than that. If I had my way and had the $$$$, I'd move to Celebration.

 

[jacstangler]

Hi: We live about 1 hour in Viera south of Cocoa Beach. Viera is a relatively new city and is a great area to live. We live in an over 55 community but the total area is large and has many choices.

What's nice about being 1 hr away from WDW is I can hop in the car and go by myself to any park and enjoy the day. We have annual pases that you get a discount on by being FL residents. The magic for me is never gone by living close.

The only drawback are the lovebugs that come twice a year. They don't last that long so no big deal.

Don't worry about the season changes because you will get used to it. If you want the cold for a short time go to the Gaylord Palms for their ice show.
It's about zero in the show area.

Send me a private message if you want to ask any questions.

jacstangler


John

 

[Disney MAINEiac]

just visited a friend from Maine who bought a house down there near the Mouse. You should check out Clermont, it is beautiful and a real growing area. He is out in the country, but town has everything not too far away and it is a short 30 minute drive to WDW. except for the palm and orange trees you might think you were in Maine at times, once out of the town. Crescent lake is really nice.

 

[WaltD4Me]

just visited a friend from Maine who bought a house down there near the Mouse. You should check out Clermont, it is beautiful and a real growing area. He is out in the country, but town has everything not too far away and it is a short 30 minute drive to WDW. except for the palm and orange trees you might think you were in Maine at times, once out of the town. Crescent lake is really nice.

Bob from the podcast moved to Florida from Maine and picked Clermont too!
Are the alot of people there who drop their "R's" ???

 

[MM32830]

Bob from the podcast moved to Florida from Maine and picked Clermont too!
Are the alot of people there who drop their "R's" ???

Actually, Bob moved down here from Massachusetts but it's still New England, right?

I am just a few miles from Bob's house. Clermont is a wonderful little town that is growing quickly (a couple of years ago we were the fastest growing town in Florida) but the growth is controlled well.

My ride to the parks is a little over 30 minutes (depends on which park) but I use back roads all the way to Disney property. It is one of the prettiest drives. I see cows, horses and other farm animals on the way in.

Do you lose the magic living so close? Not really. I guess some would say if you go too often you would get tired of it but I haven't.

Also, there is so much else to do. Make sure you buy APs not only at Disney but Universal and Seaworld. Heck, Seaworld has a great deal going on right now; $150 for 2 years. That's $75.00 a year! And it includes parking and all the discounts that go along with an AP.

My Universal AP is only $110 a year. Of course, Disney's AP is the most expensive but it's still worth it.

You're gonna love it down here!



___________________
Armand

 

[Disney MAINEiac]

Bob from the podcast moved to Florida from Maine and picked Clermont too!
Are the alot of people there who drop their "R's" ???

let's get it right people its pronounced "ahs" for instance Pahk yah cah in the yahd"

 

[Disney MAINEiac]

Actually, Bob moved down here from Massachusetts but it's still New England, right?



My ride to the parks is a little over 30 minutes (depends on which park) but I use back roads all the way to Disney property. It is one of the prettiest drives. I see cows, horses and other farm animals on the way in.


Armand

yeah I guess we can't deny it people have maps and they will eventually figure it out


do you go out county rd 561 and across 474 to 27? that's a great ride. we just went down for the 1000th saturday night cruise at old town. Great car show. He has a 60 vette that we took over for the day and the cruise.

 

[MM32830]

yeah I guess we can't deny it people have maps and they will eventually figure it out


do you go out county rd 561 and across 474 to 27? that's a great ride. we just went down for the 1000th saturday night cruise at old town. Great car show. He has a 60 vette that we took over for the day and the cruise.

I go down Hartwood Marsh Rd in Clermont (which becomes Marsh Rd in Winter Park). Then down either CR 545 or down Stoney Brook Parkway to CR 535.

Once all the construction is done on Hartzog Rd, CR 545 will be a great way to Disney. It connects to Western Way, the newest Disney entrance that comes out near Blizzard Beach.

If I take CR 535, then I go down Buena Vista Dr right off CR 535 that leads right to DTD (Marketplace).

Either route is wonderful.

If you bike (that is, a bicycle) then it's a great bike ride too. I'm about 20 miles away and it's mostly flat once I get away from the hills in Clermont.



_______________
Armand

 

[IWISHFORDISNEY]

Well we just relocated here about a month ago. We also chose the Viera area. It is a very nice small town about 10 min from the Beach (East Coast), 15 min south of Cape Canaveral and about an hour from the parks. As another poster stated this area is very nice. It is a new city and growing in this market. We researched the entire east coast and this is the best area we found in over 3 years of research. I have a young child so I needed good schools, low crime and alot of family frinedly things to do. We have several small commmunites inside a larger town. All the areas had to be approved by the owner of the land The Duda Family so it is controlled and no speculators can take over the area. That is very important in FL. I avoided the West coast because of the traffic and higher cost of homes. So if you want close to the beach and close to the parks I recommend Viera. We can not wait until our house is done being built. Here is a link to the area.

http://www.viera.com/public/recreation.jsp


I go to the parks 1-2 times per week. Not old yet has I have just moved here. I also dont think I will miss the snow and dirty mush any time soon. Have fun!! We love it so far.

 

[suorkaterina]

Thank you all! This is helpful, very helpful.

We're looking NO FURTHER than two hours away. But closer is better. I just don't want to live in the city.

As for the dropping of the R's, we're native New Yorkers so...huh...I guess New Yorkers drop the r's too, just in a different way....huh.

I shall check out Clermont and Viera!!! How close can you get to Disney before it gets congested? I think I really just need to come down and drive around!

It's hard to say if we're looking for an older community or younger. It will be my parents(older) and me, 30 this november, swingin' single. Okay, maybe not swingin I guess if we are within an hour of Orlando I can find plenty to do so it won't matter if we're in a sleepy suburb. I'm just thinkin' out loud here. hehe I'll let you guys know if I have any specific questions!

for all your help.

...one more thing...I wanna live in Celebration too!

IWISHFORDISNEY Thank you, Viera sounds perfecto. I'll check out your link. I do miss the beaches on Long Island...Maine just has rock beaches. Blech. Ah to sink my feet into some sand...*sigh*

 

[MM32830]

To answer your question about how close you can get to Disney before facing congestion, how about right next door?

Walt Disney World is in Lake Buena Vista and, except for the tourists, it isn't a large city.

Actually none of the towns/cities around Disney are exceptionally large. The great thing about living in any city around Disney is that it's a short drive to Orlando where there is lots of things to do (ie, nightlife).



_______________
Armand