Losing the magic??

[newarknut]

Ok, I'm sure this has been discussed before. I'd like some opinions from those of you who have moved to the central Florida area. We love going to Disney! It's simple. Great weather, so much to do and, basically, just a wonderful time with family.

For those who have moved near WDW, how has it changed how you view Disney trips? How are they different? If you had it to do over, would you still move to the Orlando area? And, if you NOW work for Disney, how has that affected your view of the "World".

Thanks for the feedback! My wife and I are wondering if this would be a good move in a few years. I would love to work in the Event Planning Group. She might really enjoy a part time position, or none at all. We are asking ourselves these questions...but we're not sure of the validity of our answers!

 

[Disney1fan2002]

I have not moved, but I think it would make you lose some of the magic.

People ask us all the time why we don't move to FLA. Why would we? We love WDW as a vacation destination. Part of the excitement is the planning and the waiting. If we could just jump in the car and go anytime we wanted, what fun is that?

Now, I may consider moving to FLA ...but have it be HOURS away from WDW. Because then, it would still be a "trip" and we would not be able to go home and come back the next day..so hotel rooms would be used.

 

[palmtreegirl]

We wanted to move to Florida for years before we finally did, we kept chickening out because all our family and friends were up in NJ/PA. Before we moved down I use to tell myself it wouldn't be as special and boy was I wrong! Our time at Disney is even better. We can run over after my DH comes home from work and go on a few rides, or just get dinner, it's so much fun. We go over for all the special events(NYE, Everest preview, looking forward to Star Wars Weekends etc..) and on the flip side we just leave or stay away when it's exteremly crowded.

We love Florida and plan on never leaving! Good luck withy your descision.

 

[diznygirl]

It hasn't lost the magic for us - we've been here a little over three years. We moved here from SoCal where DH worked for Disney in Burbank. We could be one of those families that will never ever get tired of Disney, no matter what we do.

We like going to the resorts for dinner, or spending a morning in a park and leaving after lunch. We are DVC members and our getaway is Vero Beach. But we can use our points on property for long weekends. We find it's much more relaxing than a vacation at WDW because there is no rush to go to the parks.

The down-side has been out-of-town visitors. While I love seeing everybody, it's a WDW vacation for them and they want to be in the parks early and stay late. But they stay in my house and want me and the kids to go with them. So now we take them and pick them up later on most days, and spend one or two days (usually on the weekend) doing stuff with them.

I should also mention that there is a self-imposed exile in the summer months - much too hot and busy for a local to go to the parks!

Good luck with your decision.

 

[CapeCodTenor]

I would think it would depend on the person and the job. I have two friends who work for WDW. One, Joe, did the college program and loved it. But he told me that after a while it does tend to loose some of the magic. But he still loves going to WDW when he gets a chance. Now, my other friend Melissa is currently working for WDW as an Imagineer (the construction area), and while she loves Disney and her job, she doesn't go to the parks every weekend. So she's able to keep some of the magic. May not be much help, but I hope it did to some extent.

 

[Galahad]

When we lived in the Tampa area and went regularly, it definietly lost a lot of the Magic for us. Not sure it wouldn't have been lost anyway, but from a WDW standpoint, it wasn't that good for us to be close.

 

[newarknut]

Just a shameless bump. I'm really anxious to hear about as many experiences as possible.

Thanks!

 

[CathrynRose]

For those who have moved near WDW, how has it changed how you view Disney trips? How are they different? If you had it to do over, would you still move to the Orlando area? And, if you NOW work for Disney, how has that affected your view of the "World".

Thanks for the feedback! My wife and I are wondering if this would be a good move in a few years. I would love to work in the Event Planning Group. She might really enjoy a part time position, or none at all. We are asking ourselves these questions...but we're not sure of the validity of our answers!

We made the move in January 2004 and promptly returned the following February 2005.

We didnt lose any of the Magic, AT ALL. In fact, that was the *only* thing we enjoyed and the *only* thing we truly, truly MISS about Florida.

Florida wasnt our cup-o-tea. Walt Disney World on the other hand - there's too much to see, to get sick of it. Even when we went every weekend, always something new to do. The merchandise changes - the shops move stuff around - benches come up missing, and show back up a few weeks later - paint gets brighter, duller, a different shade - little things through-out the park change.... something you dont notice unless youre constantly there.

I miss being there so much. I cant even tell you how awesome it is to go to the parks, when theyre JAM PACKED with people - but youre in no hurry what-so-ever.... sitting on a bench, enjoying a soda/glass of wine/ice cream for hours.....

But, Florida is a whole different place. I was willing to give up my Disney love to be back where I was more comfortable.

So, no magic lost for me - In fact im counting down until my September trip, this year.

 

[anewvance]

We are in South Florida, about 3 hours away from Disney. A perfect amount away that we don't go every weekend but make a number of trips a year. Too far away to just go up for the day, usually like to make long weekends and twice a year will go for 5 or 6 days. It has never lost the magic for us, my girls are just as obsessed as ever and love our trips! But then again, i'm one of those Disney die hards! My twin sister and I went our freshman year to collage at UCF and we went weekly to Disney to hang out and it STILL never lost the magic.

 

[newarknut]

CathrynRose, can you expand on the statement "Florida wasnt our cup-o-tea"? What is it about the Florida living style that didn't suit you and your family?

Thanks in advance...

 

[Feralpeg]

I live about ten minutes from WDW property. We moved from the midwest about a year and a half ago. Living close has not lessened the magic for me. I visit DTD several times a week. We run over to Epcot for dinner every couple of weeks. We do not go to the theme parks every week. Real life just takes up too much time. So, when we do go to enjoy the parks, they are still very special. The nice part is that we can pick and choose when to go and how long to stay there. It is nice being able to head home when we get tired. We like to take advantage of the concerts at Epcot.

 

[Chicago526]

My dream has always been to work at WDW (in one of the parks) and for a while I did worry about "losing the Magic" by being there every day. But I've decided that I wouldn't lose the magic, but that it would change. It would still be magical, but in a differant way.

I'm only 29, but as I begin to grow older and get closer to retirement, I'll definatly try to arrange things so I can retire from "real" work, move to FL and get a part time job at WDW.

 

[CathrynRose]

CathrynRose, can you expand on the statement "Florida wasnt our cup-o-tea"? What is it about the Florida living style that didn't suit you and your family?

Thanks in advance...

Check out this thread::::

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=994400

 

[Sylvester McBean]

there's so much to do to even think about spending all of your time in WDW. we stagger the parks between WDW, Universal, SeaWorld, and Busch Gardens outside of spring break and summer. if you went to WDW every weekend sure, it loses appeal. in July, we're on a beach or in the Keys. the tourists can enjoy the parks. it gives you a nice break, and gets you pumped to hit the parks again. plus, there's no rush. we've done days at the MK and maybe ridden 3 rides. so you get to see the parks in a whole new perspective. we've left Universal and stopped into MGM to catch Fantasmic or ride the TOT on the way home. how cool is that?