WITH its candy-coloured buildings and close proximity to the Disney theme parks, it’s no wonder ‘Celebration’ in Florida is often considered to be the world’s most ‘perfect town.’
But according to one local resident, Sophie Williams, 28, who is originally from Sheffield, the ‘picture-perfect’ town isn’t all as it seems.
Sophie lived in Celebration, Florida for over five years[/caption]
Celebration is just a 10 minute drive away from the Disney theme parks[/caption]
Despite loving her time in the town that was founded by The Walt Disney Company, the mum-of-one has spoken exclusively to Fabulous Digital to reveal exactly why she decided to move after five years.
And for anyone who has seen 1998 American psychological comedy-drama film ‘The Truman show’, Sophie says living in Celebration was just like that.
The movie sees Jim Carey play Truman Burbank, whose whole life has been the subject of a popular 24/7 reality TV show without his knowledge.
His “hometown” is just one big studio set, people around him are actors, and every second of his day is broadcast to billions of viewers.
TOO PERFECT
“If you’ve ever seen The Truman show, it feels just like that to me – it feels almost too perfect,” explains Sophie, who works in freelance marketing and social media.
“The houses are all identical to one another and are all pretty and perfect, the grass is perfectly cut, the trees are perfectly trimmed and it’s never dirty.
“It looks lovely when you’re driving down Celebration boulevard and you have all the palm trees and the blue skies – but it doesn’t feel real, it feels like a movie.
“I’m like, ‘Where am I?’”
Sophie, who lives with husband Curtis, 27, and their baby boy who they welcomed in June, says her family first moved to Florida when she was seven-years-old.
“We lived in Fort Lauderdale and then just over five years ago me and my husband moved to Celebration because I was working at Disney as a merchandise cast member in Hollywood Studios,” she explains.
“It was so fun but it was just before Covid so I only got to be there for about 6 weeks and then all of the parks closed.”
For Sophie, living in Celebration had many perks – including the Disney parks being on her doorstep.
If you’ve ever seen The Truman show, it feels just like that to me – it feels almost too perfect
Sophie Williams
“I loved it there,” says Sophie.
“Most people live there because of Disney and you’re only 10 minutes from the parks so you can’t really get any closer than that – unless you’re living in Golden Oak, which are the million dollar mansions right next to Magic Kingdom.”
The 28-year-old, who now only lives 15 minutes away from Celebration, says another perk was the hugely discounted Florida resident pass for the Disney parks – and she’s already taken her son for his first visit.
“We’re so lucky to be able to pop in with him for an hour or two,” she says.
“I pay £59 ($80) per month (in total the pass is £802 [$1,079]).
“Before having our baby, we would visit the parks two or three times per week, so it really pays for itself.
“Depending on the day, a one day ticket to Magic Kingdom for the general public is £111 ($150).”
The mum-of-one, who had her gender reveal at Magic Kingdom and honeymoon at Universal, adds: “We love doing ‘staycations’ at the parks and hotels too, so we can still enjoy the feeling of being on holiday without having to travel.”
Sophie goes on to say that Celebration also has everything you could possibly need – including a Mexican, Italian and town tavern.
There’s also a wine bar, Starbucks, bakery, bagel shop, Publix supermarket, cute boutique shops and a brewery – not to mention a farmers market every Sunday.
“There’s everything you need in the area – you really don’t have to leave that ‘Disney bubble,’ the mum-of-one says.
“I’d always joke because my apartment was just up the road from my job so I would just go there, to the shops and to the Disney parks and everything was five minutes from each other.”
She adds: “They’re even developing a new part of Celebration called ‘Island village’ which will include an elementary school and new apartments and houses.”
Before she fell pregnant, Sophie visited the parks 2 or 3 times a week[/caption]
Sophie loves driving down Celebration boulevard with all the palm trees[/caption]
The 28-year-old says she’d advise people not to visit Celebration on Halloween[/caption]
During the busier spells, Sophie says she’d just stay at home[/caption]
Sophie had her gender reveal at Magic Kingdom[/caption]
The mum-of-one thinks that Celebration is a little ‘too perfect’[/caption]
But while Sophie believes living in Celebration feels like you’re on one big holiday, she admits that’s not always a good thing.
“With all the tourists especially around the holidays, it’s like a double-edged sword,” she explains.
“Celebration doesn’t have a homely feel.
MAD-HOUSE
“Today is Labour Day – everyone is off so I imagine everyone is out and about so for me, I’m going to stay at home today.
“I don’t enjoy the big, big crowds.
“Just think about where you live and imagine there’s people constantly coming in – that’s the big downside of living there.
“It’d get so busy you couldn’t get into the restaurants you normally could because of it.”
And according to Sophie, there’s one day of the year people should avoid visiting Celebration altogether – Halloween, which they start celebrating from August 15
Driving in it’s just a madhouse – that’s why we always stay inside for Halloween!
Sophie Williams
“I don’t know what it is but people think you’re going to get all of the big chocolate and sweets so everyone for some reason always comes in on Halloween,” she says.
“The first year we lived there we popped to the supermarket that’s no longer than a 5 minute drive away and it took us more the 30 minutes to get there because of how busy it was.
“Driving in it’s just a madhouse – that’s why we always stay inside for Halloween!”
How many Disney locations are there around the world?
DISNEY parks are located in several countries around the world. Here’s the list of countries with Disney parks:
- United States
- Disneyland Resort (Anaheim, California)
- Walt Disney World Resort (Orlando, Florida)
- France
- Disneyland Paris (Marne-la-Vallée, near Paris)
- Japan
- Tokyo Disney Resort (Urayasu, near Tokyo)
- China
- Shanghai Disney Resort (Shanghai)
- Hong Kong Disneyland Resort (Hong Kong)
MURDER
And despite seeming picture-perfect, in December 2019 the Todt family murders – a multiple homicide case that happened in Celebration – came to light.
Anthony Todt, a physical therapist from Connecticut, confessed to the murders of his wife, three young children and the family’s dog.
In 2022 he was convicted of the murders and sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
“It was very shocking to hear it’d happen in a place like Celebration because you’d never assume that’ it’d happen anywhere but in a place that’s so ‘picture perfect,’ it really was shocking,” says Sophie.
After five years of living in Celebration, the tourism finally got too much and Sophie and her family decided to move to somewhere less chaotic.
“The apartments out of Celebration are a bit more updated and we moved because of the tourism there,” she says.
“It was too perfect and we just wanted to get out into normality.
“We’re still only 15 minutes away, North of Disney, but it’s just a lot quieter up here and not everyone is quite so Disney-obsessed!”
The 28-year-old and her husband get a hugely discounted resident pass for the parks[/caption]
The mum-of-one was fed up of the tourism in Celebration and says it was always busy[/caption]
Celebration residents start celebrating Christmas and Halloween early[/caption]
The mum-of-one compared Celebration to ‘The Truman show’[/caption]
The holidays always bring in more tourism to Celebration[/caption]
Sophie notes that one of the big perks of living in Celebration is the cleanliness[/caption]