Let me start off by saying that purchasing a vacation place in Florida wasn’t ever in our thoughts. To us, it wasn’t even “Florida”, it was Disney. We always wanted to go to Disney. We honestly didn’t even know what the surrounding area looked like, except for the highway ride from MCO to Disney property. We didn’t know about the lakes, the beautiful state parks and the breathtaking Spanish Moss trees.
As the years passed, the kids grew and moved out to start their own families, we found ourselves still wanting to go to “Disney”. And we found that going to Disney as adults without children, was even more fun than we had imagined, and we still wanted to go to Disney for our vacations. We had purchased an rv one fall, and did some little trips, but where did we want to end up in? Disney, of course. So we booked an rv site at Disney’s Fort Wilderness, Disney’s campground. We stayed for a week, and we had a blast! If you’ve never visited Fort Wilderness, it is beautiful! There is so much to see and do. And you can tent camp, rv camp (full hookups) or rent one of the newly renovated cabins, which we had stayed at years earlier. And the campground is just a boat ride away from Magic Kingdom, with firework and Electrical Water Parade views.
One day, while sitting in a rocking chair overlooking the bay outside of Crockett’s Tavern, in The Settlement area, I looked at my husband and said “what is the longest amount of time that you can stay on a campsite?’ I believe it was 30 days. Now I know some do that, and if you wanted to stay on property longer, you would have to move to another room or site. As fun as that sounded, that started us on the journey of seeing what the surrounding Florida area is like, and was it possible to find a place of our own, that we could go to anytime we wanted. No booking a room or an rv spot. No planning … just go whenever we wanted. And with a lot of research, my husband found the cutest town, just an average of 30 minutes from the parks, depending which one we were headed to.
And we were shocked. This was something we could do …. so we did! We found what is called an “RV Resort”. It’s a community of RV pads, full hookups, where you can live all year long, Many have put what they call Park Models, on their properties. So we took a trip down, found the property we absolutely loved and purchased it. Now we have an, albeit small, a little home away from home, where we can go to Disney whenever we want!!!
So here are the things I wish we knew before we bought a place near Disney:
- You can hear the fireworks! Now when I realized that we could hear the fireworks from our RV, right on our property, I was incredibly, extremely, overly EXCITED!! I can’t explain, but my heart … when I hear them … 💕
- You can see the fireworks.- Well thats depending where you are, but, when I look out my front window, I can see the tops of the fireworks. I know that doesn’t sound like much, but for me, just knowing that I can see what I not only love, but know there are at that moment, thousands of people tearing up at the emotional beauty of that spectacular show … well … yeah
- Disney will be Stress Free – since it is so close, you don’t feel the need to wait on a long line to go on a ride, because you can go on another time. You can wait the crowds out, sit with a cup of Joffrey’s coffee and people watch. And when the time is right, the line goes down, you can practically walk on.
- Small towns – did you know that there are the cutest little small towns surrounding Disney? With coffee shops and farmers markets? I sure didn’t. And let me tell you, I visit them often,
- Alligators – well yes, of course, it’s Florida. But I mean, you walk past a pond or a sandy lake, and they’ll just be laying in the sun, or peeking up at you from beneath the water. I mean, they are just there …
- The Convenience – Florida has everything. Every store, every restaurant … everything, but you have to drive there, which leads me to …
- Traffic – if you have to be somewhere at a certain time, and the GPS says 15 minutes, add an hour. 😂 Actually, we only seem to hit traffic in the morning and evening rush hour, so you learn to not drive anywhere during those times,
- Summer Heat – The summer heat in Florida is no joke. And the humidity can feel like you’re carrying around an extra 50lbs. BUT the fall through spring are amazing. Honestly, February is the best.
- Nature and State Parks – I don’t know why, but I never really thought about Florida being full of nature, but Florida has some beautiful state parks, lovely lakes and really great walking and bike riding trails.
- And finally – I didn’t know that I would want to live there full time! Well, actually maybe Snowbird someday, because as I said in point 8 … those crazy sweltering summers.
Are you considering a move to Disn … I mean Florida? Are you wondering what life would be like there full time or just a vacation home? We did too, and we were so pleasantly surprised. It is one of the best things we did. I hope your journey leads you to the place that makes you most happy! Please let me know in the comments what stage you’re in, and if you’re planning on going for it. I’d be so excited for you!! Have an amazing day!