WDW - the BEST option: Work there? Live nearby? Semi-annual trip?

[Blufusion]

I actually moved here 8 years ago. I live in Saint Petersburg Florida 90 mins away. We have been 3 times in 8 years and 2 of those times were for The Studios and 1 time at EPCOT. It's like when we lived in D.C. Yes it's great to be right there but after working and living there it became a chore just to get thru that.

I would like to do WDW in a few years stay on property and take it easy do the parks in Oct of 2015. 1 day at a time and enjoy the few rides we never have done. But for me I Im hoping Disney adds something to the studios. Maybe a SW land or section. But at this rate I don't see that happening within the 3 years of me wanting to go. I still like the World . But after doing something else like Hawaii it was nice not to have to overpay for me what I call now the worlds largest shopping mall.
I will hopefully go back again and do my bucket list of WDW. But until then Hawaii looks mighty good.

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

I would love to live close by..That way I had something to do for the evenings and weekends..Having one park in Illinois that is open for six months doesn't cut it for me.

 

[bethymouse]

Need a roommate?

50/50 500,000$ each LOL

I moved to clearwater just so we can go whenever we want. It's about an hour and a half from Disney. And we have Busch gardens about 20 mins away and the beach 5 mins away. Best of it all,if you ask me.

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

When did the WDW CMs get rude? I hadn't heard about this. Bummer!

In the last few trips we have taken we've dealt with MANY rude CMs. More than previously. At the Contemp last week, the woman in the gift shop was completely unwilling to help us locate the package that was supposed to be there 5 hours previously for my sister. She was basically like "Oh, well, don't know what to tell you, it's not here, come back tomorrow" even though we were leaving the next day. She was just downright awful to deal with. I think most of it is that it's college program kids making $7 an hour and they really don't care about the job, but rather, want something good on their resume.

 

[Uncle Remus]

I live exactly one hour away. I would hate to not be able to go whenever I please. I might be in the minority but we still get the Disney feel and excited every time we go.

 

[Disneykidder]

Well, when I retire in 17 years from my job here in NY, I WILL be moving to Orlando. I would like to get a job working in Disney so I can be there all of the time (thinking Franck's) and on my days off go there to be a tourist.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Well, when I retire in 17 years from my job here in NY, I WILL be moving to Orlando. I would like to get a job working in Disney so I can be there all of the time (thinking Franck's) and on my days off go there to be a tourist.

Yup, that's what I thought too. Here's a little back-story. Back in 2000 my wife of 29 years decided that she was tired of being married (no other reason) and left. I was in a job I hated and couldn't see my way out of and I was only 52 years old. I went on a trip from Vermont to Florida with my daughter, her husband and two of my step grandchildren. While staying in the WDW area I decided that if I could get a license to drive buses I could have a way of making my living and being at Disney all at that same time.

A few months later I managed to get a job (entry level) with a tour bus company. They trained me and helped me get my CDL. By then it was the beginning of September 2001. I don't need to tell you what happened a few days after that. The tourist industry dried up and took a while to get back on track. In the meantime, I used my CDL to get a job with a municipal bus company as a driver. The money was good and I loved it. After driving about 4 years I applied for and got an internal promotion to supervisor level. Where I stayed until I retired in 2010. In 2009, my youngest daughter and her husband and young son decided to move to North Carolina.Then, after my older daughter paid a visit to her sister, decided that she, her husband and two kids would also move to the same area of North Carolina.

My original plan was to spend my winters in Florida (I hate cold and snow) and then return to Vermont to be with the rest of the family during the summer months. I stopped in at Casting and asked about the possibility of being a Disney Bus Driver and they were very positive, but I was told in no uncertain terms that unless I had a mailing address in Florida it wouldn't even be considered. Well, I could have used a Post Office Box, but I had no one to retrieve it in the event that Disney sent me anything important.

Anyway with my family all residing in N.C. and me freezing my butt off in Vermont, I decided to move to N.C.to be with them. Then the part-time thing made no sense at all. I already lived in a warmer climate and I still hadn't figured out how to work the address thing. So...I just stayed here, got a part time job driving locally and gave up on the Disney thing. I'm glad I did that, because I think that constant exposure would have dampened my enthusiasm for WDW and that is something I didn't want to lose. Now I take the 10 hour drive and visit once or twice a year and still enjoy it.

The whole thing was a very elaborate plan that would have worked, but even if it hadn't, it certainly improved my life by leaps and bounds. But it is funny how life can take so many unexpected turns. I was lucky all mine seemed to come out positive. Hopefully, yours will as well.

 

[Blufusion]

Goofyernmost. That story is basically the same as mine in 1997 after being in TV Broadcasting and being fired from my job in 1997. Long story but I won't bore you with that. I go my unemployment from there and took my 1st actual summer off since I was 13 yo. I went to WDW in Oct. of 1997 for 10 days and stayed FW camping out and I needed it.I was truing to figure out what I was going to do I talked to a bus driver and said I could probably do that. I thought about it. But I also knew you had to live there to apply.

So I went back and right at the end of my unemployment I went to work for another TV station for another 4 years and in Sept of 2001 I went to work for XM Satellite radio. I was in DC 4 days before 9/11 and I started working 3 weeks after 9/11 for 4 years at XM. I did really well there money wise and I had the funds to move to Orlando and work for the mouse.And be comfortable for at least a year or 2 on the money I had from XM. But about a year after moving here I got real sick.Heart,Kidney and Liver problems. I eventually had to retire at 48 and I got my disability at 50.
My partner had lived in Saint Petersburg Florida 7 years before I met in in 2001 . He asked me come look at Saint Petersburg and told me he could go back to work for Marriott and he would do well. I am glad I finally gave up on the Disney thing as far as working. I would not have made it. I'm a happy person. But I have always worked in a office setting and knew most of the people I worked with. But dealing with the public is not for me unless I could be driving the monorail. It's a closed off position and very little interaction with others. Like I said in my earlier post. I Love Disney World . But it's not what it used to be for me in terms of priorities.
I will still visit. But not every year like i did when I was younger. I love traveling and If I want to we will go . But right now there are other places that me and him want to see besides a Theme park or at least a Disney Theme park. And your last paragraph I'm stealing. It says it all for me.
The whole thing was a very elaborate plan that would have worked, but even if it hadn't, it certainly improved my life by leaps and bounds. But it is funny how life can take so many unexpected turns. I was lucky all mine seemed to come out positive. Hopefully, yours will as well.

 

[Disvillain63]

I voted too hard to choose, because I have a different option/plan. I want to work as a seasonal employee (F&G, F&W, and CP). I could still travel the world when I wasn't working with Disney, but I'd always be close to the mouse during a portion of the year.