So is it just as magical now that you live there? This is a question I have gotten a lot! The short answer is YES! It is still super magical, but there is a longer answer to this question that I’m going to get into today.
If you are a Disney World fan or have ever been to Walt Disney World you know how magical it truly is! But have you ever wondered if that magical feeling would be the same if you got to go all the time? When we first told people we were planning to move here, of course they thought it was just because we wanted to go to Disney World all the time and would ask “isn’t it going to get old?” or “do you think you will get tired of it?” and I always said no way!! But it does change in some ways!
6 Months In
Of course we’ve only lived here for 6 months so I’m sure all of this will change and evolve over time but here’s where we are at now. The parks are still very magical for us! When it’s been a rough day or a hard week, it’s still a little break from reality to pop into a park and ride a favorite ride or just walk around and take in the music and smells. I still get goosebumps looking at the castle, I mean how can you not (see above pic)! So how is it different now?
Might Even Be More Magical
Well, in one way it is MORE magical! Now, instead of looking from afar at new things happening in the parks, we can actually go see and enjoy them! Like seeing all the parks at Christmas without having to pack it all into a 5 day trip and leave knowing we missed some things. Now we can spread it out over time and really slow down and enjoy each thing. Right now we are “patiently” awaiting the announcement of Passholder previews for the new Tron Lightcycle Run coaster opening in Magic Kingdom soon! This will be our first time doing a Passholder preview and we can’t wait!!
Another way the parks are MORE magical is the fact that we don’t feel rushed in the parks. We can slow down and do things we wouldn’t usually feel like we had time for. The walking trails in Animal Kingdom and the pavilions in World Showcase at EPCOT are prime examples! We take our time seeing everything and don’t feel like we have to see everything right now, rush to the next ride or show that we HAVE to ride. This has really been a game changer for us, there are so many things we always wanted to go and see or do when we came on vacation but they were not the major items on everyones list.
New Magic
Things like exploring the resorts, eating at different places because we aren’t missing our chance to eat at our favorite place and riding attractions we might have skipped on vacation before has been awesome! We have already experienced so many things that we hadn’t ever had the time to do on vacation. I think my favorite has been exploring all the different resorts. There are SO MANY and we have only scratched the surface. I can’t wait to visit more of them and will post lots of pictures and write about it all!
Anything Less Magical
There is really only one way that it isn’t as magical I guess and that’s the build up and planning. When we were coming on vacation we always had a countdown going and there were the ADR’s (advance dining reservations) and Fast Passes to book and the magic mail you would get from Disney leading up to your trip and just the anticipation! I will say booking virtual queues at 7am on EPCOT days gives a hint of that same anxious excitement! Hahahaha!
But I wouldn’t trade the magic of living 20 minutes down the road and hearing Magic Kingdom fireworks from my house every night for the anticipation of planning a big trip. I still get excited just having park reservations for the week! And hopefully in the future we will be able to plan vacations to other places we have wanted to do for a long time and have that same feeling with those! We have a bucket list of the International Disney Parks, Disney Cruiseline and Adventures By Disney trips we would love to do before the boys are both graduated from High School.
Conclusion
So in closing, YES it is most certainly still magical! In some ways more magical, in some ways a different kind of magical and in some ways magic lost for now. We are really loving living here, for more reasons than just Disney but that’s obviously a big part of it. I personally love being able to get all the pictures like this Christmas one from Animal Kingdom. The family is less than thrilled about taking all the pictures but they will get over it and appreciate it later….right??
If you are thinking about moving and love the idea of being closer to Disney, don’t worry it will still be the most Magical Place on Earth, I promise! And if it’s not that particular day it’s ok, you can come back tomorrow! Thank you for being here and reading this blog!! If you aren’t already, make sure you subscribe so you get the weekly posts right in your email! And make sure you follow Dancing to Disney on Facebook and Instagram, I try to post all the Disney things there everyday! I hope you all have the most MAGICAL day!