Celebration Blog

The town of Celebration in Osceola County, Florida has the unique claim to fame of having been conceived and built by the Walt Disney Corporation who own and run the nearby Walt Disney World in Orlando. Today, its populated is estimated to be in excess of 11,000 residents but back in the 1990s, it was but a glimmer in the eye of forward looking Disney executives who dreamt of creating their very own town.

The Disney Development Company (DDC) initially founded a Celebration Company who was tasked to oversee the birth and subsequent growth of a new, planned town to occupy c. 4,900 acres that lay within the Reedy Creek Improvement District. 

The initial ideas were drawn up by Cooper, Robertson & Partners who were in charge of developing the overall guidelines within which a San Francisco outfit called EDAW were commissioned to design the landscaping elements such as parks, trails and pathways. The early stages of residential building took place in mid 1996. This initial stage included the development of Celebration Village, Lake Evalyn and West Village and by the time of the census carried out in 2000 2,736 people had moved into the developments. These residents lived within 952 separate households and 716 families and census data shows that the population was almost entirely (94%) white with only limited representation from black, Asian, Hispanic and other races.

Further stages of development have added additional areas which include North Village, South Village, the Aquila Reserve, the Artisan Park and the East Village and the population has now grown to over 11,000 residents. There are a multitude of community groups that have sprung up to support the creation of a community spirit within the town and the role of these organisations is augmented by the presence of seven Christian churches and a Jewish community.

 Unlike most American towns, especially those which have been purpose built or designed from scratch, Celebration does not contain a Main Street. Unfortunately, due to the fact that Osceola County already possessed a Main Street of its own prior to the creation of Celebration, the new town has had to go without, in accordance with the rule that street names cannot be replicated within the same county. Therefore, the twin roads that form the main thoroughfares of the downtown area of the town are called Market Street and Front Street.

Downtown Celebration, however, resembles many other typical US towns by hosting numerous retail outlets, eateries and all types of commercial set ups. Despite the fact that the Disney Corporation handed control of the town over to the usual authorities, downtown does contain one Disney-esque feature, namely the fact that during Autumn leaf shaped confetti pours out of the Market Street lamp posts in an attempt to replicate the effect of Autumnal leaves dropping off the trees. Soap suds also stream out of the very same posts in winter to give the effect of snow, whilst music is played from the sidewalks to add to the Christmas spirit.

 Despite the fact that some might find such special effects cheesy, many people do love to call Celebration their home and love living in what is essentially a very well organised and well maintained town. There are residents drawn from all over the world, some of whom use holiday homes in Celebration as a base to explore nearby Orlando including, of course, the Disney theme park itself.

If you are lucky enough to live in this part of Florida you can benefit from the cheery atmosphere, great weather, access to fantastic beaches within an easy drive and all of the other things that have made this part of America a favourite holiday destination for so many people right across the world. And if just the description of Celebration and the wider Florida state is enough to whet your appetite and see you reaching for your passport, simply check out "http://www.dealchecker.co.uk/real-deals.html">holiday deals and go see Celebration for yourself.