Walt Disney World
Once upon a time there was a magical place filled with beauty, fantasy, adventure and entertainment. It was a place of happiness and joy, a place where troubles and cares were easily forgotten. It was a place where tears were never shed (unless your shoes happened to be uncomfortable). Actually, this place still exists, not in a kingdom far far away, but in a kingdom only five miles down the road from my house- how cool is that?
After moving to Celebration, Florida in 1998, one of the first things I did was get myself a Walt Disney World Pass, thus joining the ranks of thousands of fellow "Passholes." Living only five miles away, it’s easy to just hop over to one of the four theme parks for a few hours of fun any time I want.
Magic Kingdom, Epcot, MGM Studios, and Animal Kingdom are more than enough to keep me busy, but if I’d wanted to, I could have upgraded to the Disney World "Premium" Annual Pass. With The Premium pass, you not only get year-round admission to all four theme parks, but also admission to Typhoon Lagoon, Blizzard Beach, Pleasure Island and Disney Quest. That should be enough fun to keep anyone happy, but if it’s still not enough, the kingdom that is Disney also offers the shops and restaurants of Downtown Disney, a handful of themed miniature golf courses, numerous resort restaurants, and Board Walk with its piano bar, dance hall, and surrey bike rentals. The list of fun things to do at Disney World goes on and on. It never ends, literally. New destinations, events and attractions are being added all the time.
Walt Disney World is ever-changing and as Walt himself envisioned it, Disney World will never be completed. Theme park attractions are always being refreshed and reinvented. Magic Kingdom’s "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Swiss Family Tree House", and Epcot’s "River of Time" and "Mission Space", are just a few recent examples.
Brand new rides and attractions are also always being added. Animal Kingdom has recently debuted "Expedition Everest" and "Finding Nemo, the Musical." Epcot now offers "The Seas with Nemo and Friends," and Magic Kingdom just opened "Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor."
I’ve been a happy Passhole for many years now. I’ve been to the parks hundreds of times and I still haven’t done everything there is to do, and I never will. As I wander throughout the vast kingdom of Walt Disney World, always discovering something new, I still can’t believe how lucky I am to live here, just right down the road from the kingdom that is Walt Disney World and all it has to offer.
Saturday, June 9, 2007
The Town That Disney Built
Celebration
Welcome to Celebration, Florida- the town that Disney built, or as some of us like to refer to it, "The Bubble."
Located five miles from the Walt Disney World entrance, developed by the Walt Disney World Company and built upon approximately 4,900 acres of Disney-owned land, Celebration was designed to resemble a small southeastern town with pre-1940’s architecture. Planning began in 1987 and the first residents moved in during June of 1996. 9,500 residents currently reside in Celebration with approximately 14,000 expected at build-out.
Although not officially considered to be a real town, what Disney did build was a unique development of residential villages. These villages are connected by nature walks and sidewalks to a small commercial downtown made up of charming shops and restaurants, assorted businesses, even a movie theater. As an added bonus, Celebration’s downtown icon buildings were designed by world-renowned architects, Cesar Pelli, Michael Graves, Philip Johnson, Charles Moore, and Arthur Anderssen. Celebration is also home to over thirty parks, numerous fountains, four community swimming pools, tennis courts and an award-winning four-star golf course. Celebration is beautiful, if not downright picture-perfect. Unfortunately that’s all that many of our visitors see.
Celebration has often been described by non-residents as nothing more than a movie set town, a pretty facade with nothing much going on behind the scenes. But they couldn’t be farther from the truth. Celebration is a vibrant community with a myriad of activities to offer. From art shows to Cub Scout food drives, there’s something happening here all the time.
Just a sample of some of the annual events taking place in Celebration include the Great American Pie Festival, Fourth of July fireworks and festivities, a spring and fall art show, nightly snow in the winter, falling leaves in the autumn, Posh Pooch weekend, the great Easter egg hunt, and exotic car shows.
Celebration’s Parks and Recreation department organizes many youth, teen and adult activities open to all interested residents. From family board game nights to an extensive choice of aquatics programs, there’s something for everyone.
Celebration clubs and social groups are too numerous to mention them all, with more forming all the time. Rotary, Chamber of Commerce, The Celebrators (over age 55 club), Women’s Club, community theatre groups, Writers Group, Computer User’s Group, Garden Club, Red Hat Society, DAR, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts, Brownies, and a variety of political groups, just to name a few.
But as wonderful as all of these activities and amenities are, it is the people who give Celebration its real heart and soul.
In this small town atmosphere we are blessed with an amalgamation of the most wacky and wonderful bunch of people you could ever wish to meet. We have our heroes, our villains, and our buffoons, and all of the romance, intrigue, and social scandal to accompany them. I kind of like to think of it as Jane Austen meets Petticoat Junction. And like Petticoat Junction, we even have our own water tower and train. (Actually, it’s a small, Neighborhood Electrical Vehicle train and the water tower is just an empty decorative landmark, but close enough.)
Unlike a sitcom or a 19th century novel though, our characters are real people and our community is a real place. And unlike a movie set, there’s a lot more going on here than meets the eye of the casual observer.
Life in the Bubble is good and I can’t imagine living anywhere else.
Welcome to Celebration, Florida- the town that Disney built, or as some of us like to refer to it, "The Bubble."
Located five miles from the Walt Disney World entrance, developed by the Walt Disney World Company and built upon approximately 4,900 acres of Disney-owned land, Celebration was designed to resemble a small southeastern town with pre-1940’s architecture. Planning began in 1987 and the first residents moved in during June of 1996. 9,500 residents currently reside in Celebration with approximately 14,000 expected at build-out.
Although not officially considered to be a real town, what Disney did build was a unique development of residential villages. These villages are connected by nature walks and sidewalks to a small commercial downtown made up of charming shops and restaurants, assorted businesses, even a movie theater. As an added bonus, Celebration’s downtown icon buildings were designed by world-renowned architects, Cesar Pelli, Michael Graves, Philip Johnson, Charles Moore, and Arthur Anderssen. Celebration is also home to over thirty parks, numerous fountains, four community swimming pools, tennis courts and an award-winning four-star golf course. Celebration is beautiful, if not downright picture-perfect. Unfortunately that’s all that many of our visitors see.
Celebration has often been described by non-residents as nothing more than a movie set town, a pretty facade with nothing much going on behind the scenes. But they couldn’t be farther from the truth. Celebration is a vibrant community with a myriad of activities to offer. From art shows to Cub Scout food drives, there’s something happening here all the time.
Just a sample of some of the annual events taking place in Celebration include the Great American Pie Festival, Fourth of July fireworks and festivities, a spring and fall art show, nightly snow in the winter, falling leaves in the autumn, Posh Pooch weekend, the great Easter egg hunt, and exotic car shows.
Celebration’s Parks and Recreation department organizes many youth, teen and adult activities open to all interested residents. From family board game nights to an extensive choice of aquatics programs, there’s something for everyone.
Celebration clubs and social groups are too numerous to mention them all, with more forming all the time. Rotary, Chamber of Commerce, The Celebrators (over age 55 club), Women’s Club, community theatre groups, Writers Group, Computer User’s Group, Garden Club, Red Hat Society, DAR, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts, Brownies, and a variety of political groups, just to name a few.
But as wonderful as all of these activities and amenities are, it is the people who give Celebration its real heart and soul.
In this small town atmosphere we are blessed with an amalgamation of the most wacky and wonderful bunch of people you could ever wish to meet. We have our heroes, our villains, and our buffoons, and all of the romance, intrigue, and social scandal to accompany them. I kind of like to think of it as Jane Austen meets Petticoat Junction. And like Petticoat Junction, we even have our own water tower and train. (Actually, it’s a small, Neighborhood Electrical Vehicle train and the water tower is just an empty decorative landmark, but close enough.)
Unlike a sitcom or a 19th century novel though, our characters are real people and our community is a real place. And unlike a movie set, there’s a lot more going on here than meets the eye of the casual observer.
Life in the Bubble is good and I can’t imagine living anywhere else.
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