Great write-up! I moved to Orlando in 2015 with the "dream" of working for Disney and trying to do grad school at UCF on that wage, LOL. I hated living there just a month after moving because the Orlando that I thought I knew (i.e. Lake Buena Vista) was NOT the real Orlando. When I finally woke up from the spell of working for Disney, released myself from the shackles, and got a job that paid a livable wage, I started really exploring Orlando. I fell in love with the true city. My last two years there were an absolute ball. I moved back to NC in 2020 and I each time I visit again, I spend less and less time at the parks. They're really not representative of the whole and I urge anyone who visits Central FL to venture off property at least once. They won't regret it.
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