WDW Theory.

[ltbeach]

We lived all over the country, most recently in NJ. I retired from the USAF in Sept and we now live in East Orlando. It takes about 30 min to get to WDW. One of the first things we did was buy annual passes. We still love it, but here are some things that changed for us.

1. We no longer get to use extra magic hours. We used to love staying out past closing. Except for Feb 29th...that was awesome.

2. When we are done, we have to drive back to our house, not the bus to the hotel.

3. We are never in a hurry. If the line is long, we skip it cause we know we can come back next weekend.

4. We now have no idea where to take a vacation...

5. We don't plan anything anymore...for instance, I came home from work today and my daughter asked if we can go to a water park tomorrow...Sure!

6. We get to do all the things we skipped before because we only had so much time. miniature golf, walk the boardwalk, etc.

So we still love going. The magic isn't lost, but the approach is different.

 

[menamechris]

I live in downtown Orlando, about 20-30 minutes to Disney property depending on traffic. My friends and I usually get out there about once a week. It's definetly something after all these years I still look forward to during the week. I know if I make it through the work week, I will be able to go to the parks on Saturday or Sunday.

Living here does lack the sense of immersion that tourists must feel though. Most are staying at the hotels, doing all the dinners out, spending the entire vacation doing nothing but...well, Disney. Those of us who live here are still thinking about what we have to do when we get home, what to do for dinner (I would be poor if I ate at Disney all the time), etc. So it is kind of like a day vacation every week, but we really don't get to escape reality the way visitors do.

But I agree - we are spoiled living in Central Florida. There is SO much (even beyond Disney) that's no more than an hour away. In fact, I don't think i could ever move from here.

 

[Mr Wizard]

Even tho it's Disney and it's great I think it would loose some of it's zing if it was right down the street. I do believe that the road trip down is definately part of the fun too. But I believe as someone already posted "absence makes the heart wish it was at the Haunted Mansion" . . . . . . or something like that.

 

[Susan Savia]

Susan, I think that's because 495 Beltway traffic kills the 'magic' for us even before we reach DC.:lol:

Very true, it can get ugly.

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

I think it certainly changes things...

Living close would allow you the luxury of attending specific events - food and wine, the holiday seasons, and any other kind of celebratory event (ie 40 year celebration).


I can also attest to the whole "I've lived here my whole life and why do people come here" attitude. In Boston... we have boat loads of tourists here all day. My office is a stones throw from Faneuil Hall and I can't seem to understand why people come here and do this stuff. Perhaps people from Orlando feel the same way.

I relate to this...i like close to Cape Cod (well about 45 minutes away) And have been there so many times, and I can't understand the tourists that flock there...hence why i would probably never like the Beach Club in WDW reminds me too much of home lol

but I would totally be happy to live near WDW one day

 

[real mad hatter]

cheers all for your answers.

 

[MrsWhiffo]

If I had won that £126 million lottery last night the first thing I would purchase would be a "Chez Golden Oak", saying that though I would be scared that if it was available all the time it would become less exciting than it is now. I would never want to get "used" to it.

 

[Sharkreef11]

I can understand what you are saying. I have wondered this same thing. I used to want to work for Disney but was worried it would ruin the magic for me. I live about 15 mins away from the Mall of America. We go there all the time but usually its just to go to eat or walk around. But there are so many tourist there who take a whole vacation to come here! To us we are thinking why?? But it is unique to anything everyone else has. It's just we have access to it anytime and most don't. So I spose distance can play a factor in experience.

 

[The Duck]

I've lived in (or near) New Orleans all of my 50 years and people always ask me if I enjoy Mardi Gras and my answer is "Not for a very long time". For me, Mardi Gras has become an enormous drunken party for obnoxious tourists and I have no desire to be among the intoxicated frat boys urinating in the street. The suburban festivities are more family-oriented but driving to the parade routes and finding a place to park is a nightmare so I normally stay at home. BTW, the girls that you see flashing for beads are 99.9% tourists.

 

[Jimmy Thick]

Didn't I apply my McDonald's theory to people who live by Disney World months ago?


Jimmy Thick- <----The most stolen from forum poster on this site.

 

[R W B]

I've also lived in New Orleans my whole life (24 years) and I go to the French Quarter to "party" maybe once every 6 months the past few years. My g/f and I will go during the day to a few local shops and we'll see tourists drunk at 1pm and we all know these people don't do that back at home lol. There is something to do in this city every weekend so I guess I understand why tourist come here but since I live here I can't wait to get out. I feel like living in or around Orlando would make me feel the same way about Disney, it would lose it's magic and that's not good lol.

 

[Epcot-Rules]

I've lived in (or near) New Orleans all of my 50 years and people always ask me if I enjoy Mardi Gras and my answer is "Not for a very long time". For me, Mardi Gras has become an enormous drunken party for obnoxious tourists and I have no desire to be among the intoxicated frat boys urinating in the street. The suburban festivities are more family-oriented but driving to the parade routes and finding a place to park is a nightmare so I normally stay at home. BTW, the girls that you see flashing for beads are 99.9% tourists.

I grew up in Mobile, AL. Mardi Grass was a big deal for the area. I feel the same way you do about it, I have no desire to be around that many drunks at one time. I have not been to a parade in 10 years.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I lived in FL for about 7 yrs and while I went a lot while living there, it did change it for me...at least for those years. It was still very fun to go and I'd never turn down a chance to visit the parks...it stopped being a destination- if that makes any sense. It was more of a day thing or a weekend thing. i.e. we'd just pop in for the day and do one park or go down for a long weekend and not really make a huge deal out of it. It was fun, but it's a lot more fun to me when I'm planning for a big trip there. Honestly, I don't know if I could see myself doing a big trip there when we lived so close. It was pretty much that way with us with anything in state. i.e. trips to Clearwater, St. Pete Beach, Sanibel, the Keys, etc. as well as WDW just felt more "we'll do it b/c it's close and easy" kind of trips. It's the same way with where I am in TX now and how it was growing up in NJ. i.e. trips to Galveston, S. Padre, Austin, and San Antonio are all nice, but it's become what those FL spots were to me when living there.

Another factor is the people you know. While you wouldn't find them on any of these boards, I encountered A LOT of Disney haters when living in FL. In fact, I think I knew more people that actually loathed all things Disney than those who liked it. So, if you're surrounded by Disney haters, it's tough to really get into the magic. It's funny- my parents loved Disney and would take us every other year before we moved to FL, but after a couple of years living there- they became mouse haters b/c there were just so many FL resident haters around us. It was a really hard sell when I invited them on my girls' first WDW trip in 2010. It did help that the WDW mentality seems to turn more positive in my experiences the farther south and more coastal you go in the state. Now, I'm by no means saying that all FL residents hate WDW- just the people who seemed to be around me and my fam. Still- just makes it tough.

 

[Magenta Panther]

To me, the tediousness and strain of packing, flying and standing in line for the busses at WDW are downers. I would LOVE to live minutes away from WDW..and someday I WILL!!!!! (promise to myself).

 

[Florida_is_hot]

Kind of biased. Non Disney fanatics would not read this board and not make any comments.

For me Walt Disney World over the years has seemed to become not as friendly, everybody especially when it is crowds seem to be hostile and on a short fuse. I went to WDW recently for the first time in years, not much at all was new so I can not see me going back every week.

 

[Redsky89]

We live close to Washington, DC and all the monuments and musuems and yet we haven't been to visit in over 20 years. We visit WDW once a year and the excitement and anticipation builds over the year so when the time comes we're super charged and ready to return. I think that old saying, 'absence makes the heart grow fonder' is true.

I live outside of Washington DC also and I agree with you completely. All the things we have in the DC area are just whatever to me. There aren't many people I know who actually live near Disney World that are as big a fans of it as me. The whole concept of having that one magical week or few days in Disney means so much more to me then lets say me driving 15 minutes there whenever I like.

 

[disneyrcks]

I'm sorry if this is douch-ey but.....

Y-o-u-'r-e is you are, y-o-u-r is your!

But.......d-o-u-c-h-e is , douch-ey is nothing!

 

[koryadams]

I have thought about this too. I think it would be better because I could actually do everything and not be 1,000 miles away wishing I could be there everyday. I even want to work there. So I think it would be better to be closer. For me at least.