Couple that lived at Disney for a year

[mi*vida*loca]

Yea. Figure MINIMUM $200/day for housing and meals, that's $73k.

Imagine spending a year at an All Star Resort. (Nothing AT ALL against values but a year!)

I could maybe do a year at WDW if I had a grand villa at a different resort every month.

 

[belle032]

I love WDW as much as anyone here, but I don't know if that sounds really appealing to me? The idea sounds like a great time at first, but why not just a place super nearby, get annual passes and do it that way? The only real novelty thing here is living in a hotel room for a year.

DH & I do throw around the idea of living on a cruise ship(s) for most of the year after we retire, which may sound horrible to some, but then we could change out ships when we get bored with one and the different ports would provide changes of scenery and offer new experiences. Considering we're in our thirties though...we have time to decide!

 

[NannyBeBe]

I wish I could afford to just stay onsite and for as many days as it would take me to do everything and eat at all the places I want to eat.

 

[snappy]

I’d like to host family and friends in a grand villa.

 

[Luvears]

If I didn't have kids and the means- I would totally live on property for a year- what an adventure.

 

[FigmentSpark]

I wonder if they had special pricing because of the length of stay and the amount of money they were clearly throwing into the resorts? I mean, if you rent a vacation rental for a week, your cost is higher than if you rent it for 2 months. Also, were they able to get special pricing for their park tickets? Did they go a week here or there not doing parks? And what kind of "Influencer" discount did they get for promoting Disney?

 

[Eeyore daily]

I wonder if they had special pricing because of the length of stay and the amount of money they were clearly throwing into the resorts? I mean, if you rent a vacation rental for a week, your cost is higher than if you rent it for 2 months. Also, were they able to get special pricing for their park tickets? Did they go a week here or there not doing parks? And what kind of "Influencer" discount did they get for promoting Disney?

From what I understand, they were annual passholders and used a combination of discounts Disney had made available and their DVC points to accomplish this. They didn't go to the parks every day since they had to still work. Their business could be done from anywhere so that's where they decided to work and live for a year. They tried to stay in every resort level and room type throughout the year with a new room every couple of days or so.

 

[omniscientmommy]

If I didn't have kids and the means- I would totally live on property for a year- what an adventure.

I'm with you on that! However my husband thinks it's nuts. I guess it depends on what kind of person you are. There are times when I just love to be in my own space, although right now I feel the opposite since I'm been stuck in the same place for several months now.

 

[KatMac]

When my learning disabled, Disneyland-loving daughter started college, her grandmother and I promised if she graduated, we’d take her to Disneyland a week for every year she completed. About halfway through her sophomore year, it was pretty clear she was going to make it, so we started saving for the trip. Sure enough, she graduated and she earned excellent grades. So she took a quarter off prior to starting school to earn her teaching certificate. We ended up at Disneyland for five weeks because she was hit by a car at the end of week four. Due to a mild head injury, her doctor thought we should wait a week to drive home. It sure didn’t stop her from enjoying every minute at the happy place!

Anyway, after five weeks our hearts hurt when it was time to leave. Our final day was just as magical as our first. We love that place and I can absolutely understand how somebody could spend a year at a Disney park.

 

[DisLiss]

For me, the hardest part would have been moving every 2-3 days all darn year. I hate packing up & moving---even if it's just a hotel room's worth of luggage.

But I totally understand why they opted to do it-----because they wanted to offer a glimpse into all room types for visitors to their blog/viewers of their channel.

I think working while there would actually have made it easier for me because it would have forced us to make a more typical schedule for ourselves---not just all being totally on-the-go "Disney-fied" all day, every day. There would be all of this built-in time to find some relative peace and quiet and let my body rest while my mind did some work for awhile instead.

 

[GoingSince1990]

No amount of pixie dust could help me survive that artificial and over-stimulating environment for a year.

Perhaps. But I would love to have the opportunity to find out for sure one way or the other!

 

[MrsPete]

I love disney but I cant say this is my dream.oh well.

Not my dream either. I guess this YouTube channel is a job for them?

 

[tex1989]

I am sure everything has changed with the building of Golden Oaks and peoples ability to purchase a home there but for some reason I seem to remember a discussion like this years ago. At that time it was Disney policy that you could not stay onsite for more than 30 nights. It had to do with residency and you potentially trying to claim it and being able to have a say in local voting. Does anyone else remember this?

 

[oompa_lumpia]

I actually just recently discovered their channel as well. I'm embarrassed to say I've explored the math on doing this myself. Being a remote worker, this is financially stupid but technically do-able. I'd probably quit after a month though (I think, maybe).

 

[John VN]

YEARS AGO one could get Special Winter Resident Rates at FW plus more discounts allowing for very reasonable year long stays. The "FULL TIMERS" living at FW, some in million dollar custom motorhomes, had the rest of us drooling with envy. Dw and I ran the numbers and it was not that bad. NOW with the crazy expensive rates ---- forget about it.

 

[Karin1984]

Not me, a month max. I like my home and privacy. At some point I need the peace and quiet of my own things.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Not my dream either. I guess this YouTube channel is a job for them?

Most likely. They can make money off views and advertisements. If they were popular enough the YouTube money could’ve paid for all of this.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I am sure everything has changed with the building of Golden Oaks and peoples ability to purchase a home there but for some reason I seem to remember a discussion like this years ago. At that time it was Disney policy that you could not stay onsite for more than 30 nights. It had to do with residency and you potentially trying to claim it and being able to have a say in local voting. Does anyone else remember this?

I swear I remember threads on the dis about an elderly woman who lived at GF for long periods of time. She’d give out teddy bears to kids. But I think I remember some posters mentioning the residency issue so every 30 days she’d have to check out and get a different booking or something like that.

 

[sam_gordon]

I mean, if you rent a vacation rental for a week, your cost is higher than if you rent it for 2 months.

The PER NIGHT cost is higher, but there's no way a two month rental is cheaper than a week. No different than if you buy a 7 day pass vs a 5 day pass. The per day cost is less, but you still spend more for the 7 night.

At that time it was Disney policy that you could not stay onsite for more than 30 nights. It had to do with residency and you potentially trying to claim it and being able to have a say in local voting.

I would think as long as you check out within that 30 days, the residency claim doesn't come into play, even if you immediately check back in.

 

[North of Mouse]

I know I'm old because this is crazy stupid to me ,they sold their house and all their belongings to do this, imagine if they did it in 2020!

and where do they go next,they say even they dont know. just crazy.not solid or mature decision making.

I love disney but I cant say this is my dream.oh well.

Wow, but I do agree 100%! No way would that be my dream 'year'!
We can enjoy it thoroughly for about 10 days, then we are both ready for reality again - It's nice to be excited and really look forward to another trip. I could never have any level of excitement just living there, in fact we would hate it. And-----we both really love Disney.