Moving to Disney

[MickeyMinnie1971]

We have been going to Disney with our kids at least once a year for the past 17 years. The past several years it has become 2-3 times per year. Some of our best memories have been during these trips. We have always dreamed of moving there, and specifically my husband dreamed of working there. That dream has come true, and we will be moving in a few weeks.

We are about to take our last trip there before we move which will be to start looking for a house. Although we are excited about living there I get a little sad when I think about the fact that we won't be taking vacations there anymore. I'm just curious how it changes things to go from just visiting a few times a year to living there and going often.

 

[shanejoseph]

I'm green with envy! I hope to one day share your joy, as well as, what I can only gather is apprehension! My 15 YOA DD is such an artist, my DW, and my own, dream is to one day follow her to WDW when she becomes an Imagineer!

 

[ExpatDisneyLover]

When I completed a position living seven years overseas, I returned to the States and took what I call a "Disney Sabbatical Year" while I explored various options (one of which was moving to the Orlando area). I loved being able to go to the Parks often - and would often go for 3 or 4 hours at a time.

It was nice to just go for dinner or to spend time at the F & W Festival at my leisure. I loved it! I found I actually preferred Disney that way. No pressure to see everything - it was always there to enjoy. Sometimes I would just go to a park, do a couple of favorite attractions or the fireworks and go home.

If I decided to move to the Orlando area I think I would purchase some DVC points so I could spend some time staying at my favorite resorts as well. I did use the annual pass resort discounts three times to stay onsite for a couple of days.

I loved having the flexibility to enjoy Disney a little or a lot - just the way I wanted.

Enjoy!!

 

[CouchTater]

We have been trying to move there for the past 3 years and something keeps getting in the way. 2 years ago we had everything packed and there were great deals on homes down there and family issues changed our plans. Now my wife says we either go or we unpack she's sick of living out of boxes so we're taking one last shot at it. Getting the house ready to put on the market. We have never stopped looking at homes and dreaming. The market has changed and the deals aren't as plentiful so we're having to downsize our dreams a bit but I can't wait until the day we can pop into the parks at our leisure. No more timetables to stick to, no more regrets that we can't be there for a special concert or event. Still trying to narrow down an area but hopefully no more than an hour or so away. There's so much to do in the area that we've never been able to do, so many gorgeous beaches and festivals . Praying that all works out this time. Hope your dream comes true as well.

 

[MickeyMinnie1971]

Thanks for the replies everyone. We are looking forward to be able to drop in for a few hours here and there, etc. I just don't want to lose the magic of it all. We are looking for a house in either Windermere or Winter Garden so we will be close to the parks.

I hope the rest of you that dream of living there get there one day. We were there in January on a vacation and I would have never guessed that would be moving there a few months later. We are still pinching ourselves to see if it's real!

 

[minniegirl19]

I did the disney college program and lived there for 4 months. I was at the parks almost everyday the whole time i was there! it is definitely a different touring style. I went one night for ice cream at the parlor then left. Same thing with the osbourne lights and really anything! Its so nice going doing things and thinking if i don't get to it ill just do it next time. doing the food and wine festival as a date night and not worrying about fitting it in you'll love. Take some staycations for a few days so you still get to enjoy the resorts. in the summer you can go to the waterparks as you please. Its so nice having a laid back touring style! go to the halloween and christmas parties, still schedule adrs here and there and now you'll get to try wherever you want when you want! its definitely different then the go go go of short vacations but its what you make of it now and you'll value your time there more then people who just move down and never really go to disney. you won't lose the magic if you still believe in it. you'll only lose it if you let yourself lose it. enjoy the move! I can't wait till the day i move back down too

 

[BubMunkeyBles]

I lived in Tampa so it's pretty easy to do daytrips on the weekends. For us the big thing was to still plan real trips. We loved staying for long weekends and getting hotels on property for just a couple nights. It's affordable to do 6+ weekend trips on site a year because a lot of the extra costs are cut out. AP's make it super easy.

 

[vratiana]

I lived near Disneyland for the last 15 years and just recently moved to the east coast. I adored the local touring style of just dropping in whenever we wanted to. Having a bad day? Go to Disney! It was my "happy place" and definitely never lost its magic. I especially loved being there for AP preview days and special days (valentine's, dapper days, etc, etc). Usually I would take my kids to the park every week or two for the day or half a day. But a few times a year we would get a hotel for a few days and really treat it like a vacation. The very best part is that it becomes completely stress free. If the lines are crazy, we'd just hang out, because you never have to worry about fitting it all in. I am in complete withdraw after moving to the east coast now, which is only eased by planning possible future WDW trips. Congrats, I hope you love it.

 

[2girlsmom]

We moved to Florida for my job 3 years ago, albeit in the Tampa Bay. We are about an hour and 15 minutes from Disney. The housing market is starting to rebound JUST a little, there are still a lot of short sales and foreclosures around both Orlando and Tampa. I would give the warning that many jobs don't pay the same here as in other parts of the country, my husband left his job in Iowa making $62k and moved here doing the same job for $30k, is now the manager (electronics department for county government) for one of the local counties and is still making less than he did 3 years ago in Iowa. Good luck to all who opt to move down, I agree that the touring style changes in that there isn't the pressure to try and do everything, etc, you have the time to really explore the parks and see things/do things you wouldn't have had the opportunity or wanted to take the time for otherwise, it is definitely a more relaxed pace, and while I wish the pay scale was better here, I adore Florida life!

 

[csmith041177]

Congratulations! I think it would be awesome to live there. My longer term plans include a possible retirement there. But I can definately see where youa are coming from. We started going to the parks 2 times a year a while back...and I have to admit going that often took away some of the magic.

 

[Princess_Nikki]

ExpatDisneyLover-I agree! We are only about a 6 hour drive away, and I love that we feel no pressure to "do it all" while we are there. We have FL AP passes...so only 2 hours at AK? No big deal! We can go again another day.

I would love to live closer someday soon, but we love the Gulf Coast so much, too. We have white sandy beaches, Bahama blue tropical waters, and everyday is like Paradise!

I have found it's super hard to be miserable in Florida

 

[MickeyMinnie1971]

Almost all our friends and family have been supportive of our decision to do this. Only a couple have been negative and told me things like "it won't be the same once you live there" and that type of thing. I think the ones that think that are the same people that never understood why we went back over and over again. I was just curious what others had experienced after moving there. It sounds like the magic continues on, and it's a less stressful way of enjoying the parks knowing you can always get to it next time if you miss something.

We will be there in a few days to start looking for a house. I have no idea how I will be able to concentrate on house hunting while on Disney property. It's a good thing that SDMT isn't open yet or I would really be in trouble!

 

[JimmyV]

Almost all our friends and family have been supportive of our decision to do this. Only a couple have been negative and told me things like "it won't be the same once you live there" and that type of thing.

This is silly. Of course it won't be the same. But "different" isn't a synonym for "worse". One of my brothers lived there for close to 15 years and worked both on and off property. When he was by himself as a "resident" he experienced Disney one way. When we visited, he experienced Disney another way. Double the pleasure, double the fun. After you move there, relatives will come out of the woodwork and you will become a de facto tour guide. You will still get to experience Disney as a "visitor", only, when you do so, it might be with others who are on vacation. Or maybe you will take a vacation there yourself. Often times when we would visit, my brother would take several days off from work, would check himself into the same hotel as us, and live like a tourist for a while. You will still get to do that if you want. Best of luck with the move.

 

[Bluegrrl]

Touring style def changes. I think you get 2 types (maybe 3) types:

Type 1 is the "I couldn't care less about the parks and will only go if I can get free tix from a friend who works there or if family is in town". They generally hate the tourists that make the roads crowded and take up our resources and ruin our environment with land speculation and over building.

Type 2 is the "I love all things Disney and other attractions, have all the annual passes and go whenever I can." These guys love Disney, follow the Daily Disney articles in the Orlando Sentinal, have aps for the other attractions, knows everything about the parks, can't wait to bring friends there, and may even work for the parks. Anyway, the attractions are a HUGE park of their life.

Type 3 is the more laid back version of 2. They may have an ap for a park but it's usually for one park, not multiple (Disney or Uni, not both). They go when friends feel like it, or during festivals. They will go for 1/2, they hate the tourists who crowd the parks, they may ride 1 thing then go home. Or they only get tixs for special events, not aps. But they def have a very casual style. Many floridians turn into this style. I guess it's a matter of having something so close that it's no longer super special.
However, I will say that the hotel resturants still remain very popular, along with dtd and Universals citywalk. The movie theater at citywalk is super popular (they have performance of Rocky Horror Picture show there) and Halloween Horror Nights is insanely popular with locals.
So, that's my thoughts. Good luck with your move, hope to see you soon in our insane state!

 

[Here4mydisneyfix]

Oh my goodness, Us too! We are moving there in about 3 weeks as well! It really IS a small world afterall!

We have been waiting unofficially for over a year to get to move, but officially for 3 months, and there is FINALLY a spot for my husband to transfer to! We have been very busy packing and selling all of our excess junk, furniture AND our second car (crossing fingers the person looking at it today buys it!) so we can GO as soon as they are ready for my husband. It feels a little crazy because we have NO idea where we plan to live yet. It's really not a huge deal though, because we plan to rent for the first year, and then buy a house after we figure out the area we love the most. I just cannot wait, I too am a veteran Disney junkie! I've been going for 30 years...ever since I was a baby, and I too have always wanted to live close, now we actually get to! The dream is finally about to come true! wahoo!

I definitely understand your concern about not taking vacations to Disney anymore, I have pondered the same thing myself. From what I read, the touring just changes a bit. I think it sounds nice to not feel like you HAVE to do everything you possibly can each day to get the most "bang for your buck," you know? I LOVE the idea of going just to ride on your favorite thing and have lunch or a churro or something, while strolling around enjoying the ambiance! And if it gets too busy, just leave and come back tomorrow! lol Yep, sounds lovely! And, I figure if we still need that "vacation" feel, there is always Disneyland, or DL Paris or Tokyo! We definitely have plans to visit the overseas places ourselves!

I keep reading that living in Florida is as close to paradise on earth as it gets! I don't know where you are coming from, but for us, coming from rainy Seattle, I am pretty certain that will feel true! LOL

Good luck with your move! I hope everything goes smoothly for you, and I hope it's everything you have always dreamed of!

 

[Here4mydisneyfix]

I have found it's super hard to be miserable in Florida

I just have to say I LOVE this statement, because you know what? It is really freaking easy to be miserable in gloomy Seattle! Ready for sun and fun!

 

[palavra]

We moved to Florida last summer for my job as a teacher. Although my husband found work, it wasn't something that he wanted to stay in long-term. Just last week, he was hired full-time at Disney as a chief security officer. We are thrilled! So far, I have phone interviews set up with 4 schools in the Kissimmee area, and we plan to move to the WDW area in July. This is truly a dream come true for our family as well. My 11 year old daughter is a lover of all things Disney!

I can already speak a little about how going to Disney might change. We now live 1 and 1/2 hours from WDW. We do not have park passes because they were not in the budget yet. However, we planned on purchasing them for Christmas. For the past several months, we have visited areas of Disney at least once a month. My daughter is now really into pin trading, and we love being able to drop by DTD just to trade pins. We have visited most of the resorts and love how relaxing it is to just spend a Saturday there. Now, we can't wait to have our park passes and get in the parks. I think we are going to love the laid-back park touring too!

 

[Alice Royal]

I grew up in New Hampshire but eventually chose my college based on proximity to WDW...chose Rollins in Winter Park, moved in last August. Everything's been awesome since. We go once a week in a good month based on when all of my friends' schedules line up and who has a car available (I currently don't own one due to expenses).

Obviously the anticipation of a long trip is gone, but that doesn't make it any less 'magical'. In fact, I'm pretty sure I survived my first year of college thanks to Disney. It was my incentive to finish work early and my spot for 'mental health breaks'!

Congrats on the move and I hope y'all have fun being locals! It's a blast!

 

[MickeyMinnie1971]

Wow! Other families are on there way there as well. Congrats to all of you! Thanks to all of you that helped ease my mind that although it will be different, it will still be magical.

 

[OKWJan]

My husband and I moved to Celebration from IL 7 years ago now and LOVE it!
We both work part time at Disney and love our jobs (these are our fun retirement jobs ). We still love Disney, use our DVC points to go to Vero Beach, or stay on property for a "staycation", and have a whole new, relaxing way of doing Disney now. We love walking around the parks, and also walking the grounds of the different resorts. Nice day? Take a boat ride to Ft. Wilderness for lunch.

Life is good!