Moving to FLA for the love of Disney

[Disney1fan2002]

I am a huge Disney vacationer. We go every year and have since 1995. We are more about cruising, so our trips to the parks have slowed over the past few years, especially since DCL has been sailing out of NYC for a couple of years now with a day at the parks.

Many of my friends over the years have asked me why we don't just move to Florida. I would never move there. They ask Why? Well, then it would not be a vacation destination. It would be where I live.

I grew up 20 minutes from Plymouth, Ma. We would go to the waterfront, and I would see all these people with cameras, and maps, and the shops were full of people buying souvenirs, and I did not get it at all. It was just Plymouth. People come from all over the WORLD to see a little rock in the sand. Or the Mayflower. Or Plimouth Plantation. It was something I could do every day of the week, so I took living in that area for granted.

I now live in Virginia Beach. So again, I live in a high tourist area. I moved here because I did come here on vacation and fell in love with the beach, and the city. Since it was not a place near and dear to my heart like WDW is, I didn't mind becoming a "local"

I never, ever want to take WDW for granted. I want it to always be where we go on vacation. To me, moving there would take away some of that magic.

When you think about moving to Florida to be closer to Disney (and only for that reason, not for jobs or family) aren't you afraid of losing the the appeal?

 

[BrinkofSunshine]

I’ve had a similar experience with WDW that you had growing up near Plymouth. I grew up (and still live) less than 20 minutes from WDW. I, too, don’t understand the appeal of most souvenirs (especially the offsite bargain type). I will never experience Disney as a “bubble”... it will always just be a part of home for me.

On the other hand, I still very much love WDW, and I do appreciate it being so close. I don’t have an AP, so I’m still excited when I have a chance to go to the parks. But I love being able to pop over to Disney Springs when I feel like. Sudden pining to see fireworks? I’ll drive over to a resort and watch them. I’ll ride the monorail for fun. I’ll walk around Ft. Wilderness. Or I’ll grab a cup of coffee at a resort and write in my journal. I never have to miss Disney because it’s always right there when I’m in the mood.

Sometimes I do feel a bit envious of the families staying at the resorts, as they get to experience WDW as a vacation in a way I’ll never be able to; but I’m very, very grateful to be able to take it for granted.

 

[iluveeyore]

I moved to FL from Canada to marry the love of my life, whom I met through our mutual love of Disney right here on the DIS. I used to come to Disney at least twice a year on vacation, and now I still love my trips to Disney, I just don't have to fly and I can get a resident AP. But we don't take it for granted either. We live 45 min away, and my DH likes to keep WDW as a vacation destination for us, so we get passes every other year and spend a week twice during that year at whatever resort we decide. That makes us feel immersed in the magic and we can enjoy it much more. On our off year, we like to take a Disney cruise, and then just visit some of Disney Resorts to tour or relax at, or Disney Springs every few months so we still get that Disney atmosphere outside of the parks. So no, it hasn't lost the appeal being here in Florida.

I understand your point though, since I used to live near Niagara Falls, Ontario, and would just drive right by it whenever we were in the area without even really looking at it. When I took my DH there to visit as he had only been once as a young boy, I appreciated it much more through someone else's eyes and realized how fortunate some of us are to live near some place amazing that most people may never, ever see in person.

 

[Klayfish]

Yes, and it's a reason why we didn't move to Florida. We were born and raised in the mid-Atlantic...me in the Philly area and DW near Trenton NJ. About 5 years ago, we decided to move and get out of the cold. The entire USA was open to us, we had no "attachments" anywhere. We considered Phoenix, Dallas, Atlanta and several places in Florida. We ruled FL out partly (not totally) because we didn't want to live that close to WDW. Ultimately, we wound up in Atlanta.

 

[wgeo]

We didn't move to FL for Disney - we moved because husband got a great job offer here, and we're a little under 2 hours away from the parks. But I have to say that our love of Disney has only grown. We've only been here 5 years or so, I suppose that could change and we've only had AP's for 2 of those years, but we are even more "into" Disney now then we were before.

 

[GreatLakes]

I would never move anywhere to be closer to a theme park. I did move to FL for a job which is really the only reason I foresee myself moving anywhere at this point.

When I was down there I had an annual pass and went often and it never lost any of the appeal for me.

 

[ArwenMarie]

I’m not a fan of Florida’s climate so that would be a dealbreaker. My dream climate would be 50-60 degrees year-round and lots of rainy days

 

[Klayfish]

I will add to my earlier post to say that when DW and I are empty nesters we very well may move to central FL.

 

[Christine]

I agree with you 100%. I am a Washington, DC native and spent my life touring all the historical stuff in DC. Now, I actually do think DC is pretty cool; however, I am always kind of taken by surprise that people actually spent whole weeks of their vacation here! I get it, but yeah, it doesn't feel "special" to me.

So when I have, over the years, seen all the threads about moving close to Disney I do wonder what people will think happens to that *magical* feeling the so love. Pretty much, it goes away. Not that one can't move to Florida and just love it overall.

My cousin spent her life LOVING going to our local beach (not too local, 3 hours away) but she ended up buying a condo there and goes every weekend. She enjoys the condo, but the beach has definitely lost its "magic" somewhat as now when she takes vacation she doesn't feel like it's a vacation anymore.

 

[jerseygal]

We love the sunshine and warmer weather, not fans of cold weather. Love an active lifestyle, so we are hoping when we retire we will reside in Florida, become Florida residents, but Memorial Day through end of September, head up to New Jersey and do a 4 month rental near the beach somewhere, maybe Barnegat Area, close to LBI. We will be able to enjoy our 2 sons and their future families during those four months. CAN'T WAIT till retirement; will be looking in the Tampa area, have read that there is good growth predicted. Want to be a little over an hour to St.Pete Beach, Clearwater Beach, or Siesta Key. Will love that Disney and Universal will be about an hour and a half.

 

[Disneylover99]

When you think about moving to Florida to be closer to Disney (and only for that reason, not for jobs or family) aren't you afraid of losing the the appeal?

No. Not at all.

But I spent a good chunk of my childhood vacationing in Florida, so there is a lot of nostalgia there for me and the older I get, the more I want to move to a hot climate. If I did end up losing my desire to go to Disney, there would be plenty of other ways down there to fill my time.

 

[Nayan]

I've lived within an hour of Disney for the better part of 40 years. When my son was younger we went often, but the last time I went was 6 years ago and really have no desire to go back and probably never will. The appeal wore off many moons ago and there's so many other things to do around the state that I don't miss it a bit. I hate the heat and I would love to move to a colder climate, but living here is cheap for me so I stay.

 

[OhMari]

2 years ago, I received a phone call from a lady in Orlando. she needed her information of her school records, baptismal certificate, so she could apply for a PassPort. She was retiring. She worked for a lawyer for 40 years and he was giving her a 6 week cruise around the world. She said she moved to Florida with her husband 40 years ago and he was a contractor that worked at WDW. His biggest thing he built was Splash Mountain. We became friends and kept in touch with each other thru email mostly. She told me in the 40 years that she lived in Orlando, she never went to any Theme Parks, including Walt Disney World. I asked her what did she do with her vacations, and she told me, she brought her kids back to Wisconsin at the beginning of the summer and they stayed here with her parents. She would pick them up before school started and she would stay a week and then they would all go back home. She told me her kids would go to the Theme parks with their schools or friends, yet she never went. Her daughter works at WDW at one of the resorts. So I told her when I come down in February we are going to meet up and she is going to go to the Magic Kingdom with me and I am going to show her Splash Mountain. I told her to get a ticket from her daughter, which she did. We spent the morning and part of the afternoon together. She was so amazed with the park. When we got on Splash Mountain, she was hesitant and she screamed all the way down. She loved. it. I asked her why she never came to the parks, and she said she felt it was just not part of what they did as a family. It was a place her husband worked at, her life was her husband, kids and her job. Her kids were involved in a lot of sports, especially baseball. So that is a story from someone I know that lives in Florida.

 

[LibrarianPrincess]

I wouldn't live 15 minutes from Disney. I always thought it would be neat to live 2 to 3 hours. That way when you left it still feels like a vacation. Your far enough from home, but close enough to go to Disney randomly.

LOL, my family is from Taunton. I understand how you feel about Plymouth. I always thought that about the Cape. But, Plymouth is beautiful.

 

[dish rag]

2 years ago, I received a phone call from a lady in Orlando. she needed her information of her school records, baptismal certificate, so she could apply for a PassPort. She was retiring. She worked for a lawyer for 40 years and he was giving her a 6 week cruise around the world. She said she moved to Florida with her husband 40 years ago and he was a contractor that worked at WDW. His biggest thing he built was Splash Mountain. We became friends and kept in touch with each other thru email mostly. She told me in the 40 years that she lived in Orlando, she never went to any Theme Parks, including Walt Disney World. I asked her what did she do with her vacations, and she told me, she brought her kids back to Wisconsin at the beginning of the summer and they stayed here with her parents. She would pick them up before school started and she would stay a week and then they would all go back home. She told me her kids would go to the Theme parks with their schools or friends, yet she never went. Her daughter works at WDW at one of the resorts. So I told her when I come down in February we are going to meet up and she is going to go to the Magic Kingdom with me and I am going to show her Splash Mountain. I told her to get a ticket from her daughter, which she did. We spent the morning and part of the afternoon together. She was so amazed with the park. When we got on Splash Mountain, she was hesitant and she screamed all the way down. She loved. it. I asked her why she never came to the parks, and she said she felt it was just not part of what they did as a family. It was a place her husband worked at, her life was her husband, kids and her job. Her kids were involved in a lot of sports, especially baseball. So that is a story from someone I know that lives in Florida.

I have many friends and family who have never been to WDW, and don't care to. And even more who have once or twice long ago. Living here it's something that's really not much talked about, going to Disney that is. Some go, some don't. I'm sure there are many children in the poor areas who have never been there. It's not cheap to go, as you know.

 

[fla4fun]

I wouldn't live 15 minutes from Disney. I always thought it would be neat to live 2 to 3 hours. That way when you left it still feels like a vacation. Your far enough from home, but close enough to go to Disney randomly.

LOL, my family is from Taunton. I understand how you feel about Plymouth. I always thought that about the Cape. But, Plymouth is beautiful.

When I first moved to Florida we lived in the St. Petersburg area, almost exactly two hours from WDW. We never went to Disney without spending the night, and we often would spend our week long vacations there just as any other tourist would.

Now I live about 20 minutes west-ish of WDW (actually can see MK fireworks from the driveway, and I can hear them going off now). Although I have an AP and could go every day if I want to, I rarely do day trips. I get six weeks vacation and spend 3-4 weeks every year staying on property. I enjoy being in the bubble and it still feels special to me. I just don’t have to deal with the hassle of the airport or a long road trip to get there.

I think it’s less about proximity alone and more about how you treat that proximity. If you treat WDW as casually as a trip to the mall, then it can lose its specialness. If you still treat it as a vacation destination even though it’s is your backyard, then the magic is still there to be experienced.

 

[low-key]

And I thought I was nuts

 

[goofy4tink]

I have family in Florida...my step-sister is in Boca, step-mom is a snowbird between Quincy Mass and Pompano Beach, my ds lives in Tampa, b-i-l and his wife are in Delray, and my 24 y/o dd works for Disney. We've always talked about moving south when dh retires. We both hate the cold, snowy winters up here! We are now considering downsizing our house here in Mass, getting into a condo up here, and buying a condo within 30 mins of WDW. Then, when dh is ready to retire, and find something that is more fun to do as far as work is concerned, we would sell the original condo and move into something nicer permanently. We really don't have much family left up here.
I've been going down more often and staying off-site. It's nice to be closer to my dd and be able to spend time with her. I do find that I don't spend nearly as much time at WDW as you would expect though. But, when I have friends down there, I head to the parks with them and have a ball. And even though my dd now lives and works there, she still goes to the parks and has a ball with her friends. Says it's still magical for her.

 

[tltay2005]

My husband and I have been in Central Florida (about 40 minutes south of WDW) all our lives and have been annual pass holders for over 28 years. I still love it and look forward to every trip, whether it is a day trip or a weekend or week long stay at Fort Wilderness. We are avid campers and stay at Fort Wilderness 5 or 6 times a year. We get extra excited for new attractions and are always looking for something new to do each trip. It's amazing that as much as we go, we always enjoy ourselves and look forward to the next trip.