Once upon a time, a Disney World fan named Barb was stuck on the cold tundra of Chicago. She could only visit her beloved Florida theme parks once or twice a year. She must have had a Fairy God Mother because one day, despite many obstacles, she found the perfect house in the perfect town for a Disney lover like herself: Celebration, Florida. She didn't have a pumpkin coach, so she packed up her Aztek with her husband, pets, and belongings to start a new life living next door to Mickey Mouse where she could hear the Magic Kingdom and Epcot fireworks through her windows every night.
"Mickey Mouse is My Neighbor: Living Next Door to Disney World in Celebration, Florida" is the story of Barb's adventures, from the time she bought her house in Celebration in 2003 while still living and working in Chicago to the glorious day in 2005 when she made her official move to Florida. It follows her adventures as a long distance commuter and her first year as a full-time resident in Celebration, as adapted from her Celebration, Florida, blog.
You'll read all about:
-The Mickey Mommas and the Bunny Brigade, two intermingled social groups whose adventures include everything from stalking Davy Jones at Epcot to visiting a nudist resort near Disney World.
-The traumas and travails of furniture deliveries in Florida, a state that definitely proves that time moves much more slowly in the South.
-Learning to live with tourists and to adapt to the idiosyncrasies of the Sunshine State.
-Skippy, the tattered old car that was Celebration's unofficial mascot for many years.
-Peaceful coexistence with Florida wildlife, like basking alligators and raging armadillos.
-Living through a hurricane long distance and then trying to dodge one firsthand in order to have a community picnic.
-The bliss of never having to "go home" from vacation.
Other books claim to tell the true story about life in Celebration, Florida, but Barb writes from the perspective of a real resident who calls the town her permanent home, not of someone who moved there temporarily just to bang out a quick book. Even though she sometimes takes a cynical view, her love for her hometown is always apparent.
Barb continues to blog about her adventures and the many changes caused by Disney's sale of the downtown area, the housing bubble's implosion, and rampant foreclosures. If you enjoy this book, which covers 2003 to 2005, catch up on her most recent adventures in "The Celebration, FL Blog."
