Anyone from Celebration?

Just Believe · Post by **Just Believe** » Oct Wed 18, 2006 6:57 pm

I only hear things about Celebration at WDW. Is it a really nice city? I'm sure its REALLY EXPENSIVE and NEVER A HOUSE FOR SALE!! Can anyone share info about this place?

SysFail · Post by **SysFail** » Oct Thu 19, 2006 10:01 am

I worked in Celebration for the year I was living down there (2004-2005)

It is an amazing place actually. What i was surprised about was that I expected it to be this HUGE Disney fan filled town, and it really isn't. Most people living there are extremely rich and live there for the atmosphere and bragging rights I guess. What was really neat though, was that because of the location, I met ALOT of Disney people. It wasn't unusual for me to meet a monorail driver and then perhaps Snow White one day, and then turn around the next day and have a full blown Imagineer, or a high level Disney marketing exec sitting across from me at my desk.

Homes pretty much START at $350k + ..every apt that was in the town I believe has been converted to Condos now that run $170k +

I tried to rent an apartment there at the time and the best I found was a 700 sq foot one bedroom for $1200 a month!!!

In the Fall they truck in dead leaves and blow em all over the steets downtown, and in Dec they actually make it SNOW in downtown..

kronk's angel · Post by **kronk's angel** » Oct Fri 20, 2006 4:48 am

I once heard a call-in show one afternoon on NPR about how many of the original residents felt ripped off and angry -- said the homes were already falling apart, not built to code, the school was too ordinary, and on and on.

Captain Schnemo · Post by **Captain Schnemo** » Oct Fri 20, 2006 3:14 pm

Interesting point about the income. EPCOT, from the start, was supposed to be a place where people from any income bracket could live.

My favorite story from Celebration was about people who rebelled against all the rules and would take part in acts of defiance like putting plastic pink flamingos on their lawn. When they'd get the order to remove them in 30 days, they'd move them to the neighbor's lawn on Day 29 and start the process all over again.

I've always wondered how they would have dealt with the American spirit of individuality in a place like EPCOT.

Just Believe · Post by **Just Believe** » Oct Fri 20, 2006 5:31 pm

Captain Schnemo wrote:Interesting point about the income. EPCOT, from the start, was supposed to be a place where people from any income bracket could live.

My favorite story from Celebration was about people who rebelled against all the rules and would take part in acts of defiance like putting plastic pink flamingos on their lawn. When they'd get the order to remove them in 30 days, they'd move them to the neighbor's lawn on Day 29 and start the process all over again.

I've always wondered how they would have dealt with the American spirit of individuality in a place like EPCOT.

That's actually really interesting. It seems like that EPCOT would have already been a flop from the start. Walt wanted a perfect society, but was it going to be more like a controlled society?

Captain Schnemo · Post by **Captain Schnemo** » Oct Fri 20, 2006 7:29 pm

It all depends on how the issue was handled. There's a difference between an association that nags you for pointless things because a bunch of megalomaniacs have suddenly gotten a tiny amount of power that they want to show off and rules that prevent you from leaving your car up on blocks in the front yard.

I think it would easier to convince people to conform in EPCOT, since there would have been an overriding goal that everyone would be actively contributing to. If you wanted to live there, you'd probably be more interested in making a statement, since there would be the tradeoff of having your neighborhood also be a tourist destination. There would probably be other ways to express your individuality that would be encouraged, as well.

Celebration is sort of a mutant...it has the Disney name and some experimental community concepts, but it's also an attempt to capture an imaginary version of American history. If it's trying to prove any concept, it's that rich people can live in really nice places, which I think we all knew already.

If you gave regular people the ability to live in an extraordinary community (with the understanding that there would be extra responsibilities), you might get a different result.

Or not. Guess we'll never know.