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Celebration, Florida

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Celebration, Florida is an unincorporated master-planned community near Walt Disney World which was developed by The Walt Disney Company. Celebration is located in Osceola County, Florida. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 2,736. The band Chumbawamba used Celebration to indict the perceived excesses of American consumerism in their song "Celebration, Florida", from WYSIWYG.

History

Celebration was founded in 1994 on Disney-owned land which had previously been undeveloped (and used for relocating alligators which had been caught near Disney guest areas). One story for the reason behind Disney's idea to build a community there was that Osceola County was considering taxing the land at a higher rate to recognize its potential, and so Disney chose to make money off it.

The philosophy behind the town is that it is to be a friendly, neighborly place, drawing its design and its sensibility from such places as Savannah, Nantucket, and Charleston. The town uses the concept of "new urbanism" to emphasize parks, sidewalks, and a mix of residential and commercial space. The bank, the post office, the town hall, the movie theater, and other downtown buildings were designed by renowned architects. The majority of homes are within one mile of the downtown area. Segway scooters and small electric cars called "NEVs" ("Neighborhood Electric Vehicle") are common. Community events are held downtown throughout the year; for example, during the Christmas season it "snows" on Market Street (bubbly foam blown from machines on the lampposts). There is one Presbyterian Christian church, a hospital (Celebration Health) and a fire station in Celebration. An eighteen-hole golf course winds through the town. Celebration is not a gated community; the downtown area depends on revenue from tourists.

There are seven developments in Celebration: North Village, South Village, East Village, West Village, Celebration Village, Lake Evalyn, and Roseville Corner, and Artisan Park. Homes are built in various pre-approved styles including Victorian, Mediterranean, French, Coastal, and Colonial Revival, and there are seven general 'sizes' of homes ranging from cozy Bungalows to huge Estates. The styles and sizes of homes are mixed through the town; there are streets of large homes right next to streets of small homes. Most homes have alleys behind them to hide driveways and trash cans. Each person who buys a home in Celebration must sign a thick binder of "covenants" which protect the 'feel' of the town: for example, you must keep your lawn mowed; you aren't allowed to park a boat or an RV in front of your house for more than a few hours; there are rules on what kinds of 'for sale' or political signs you're allowed to display; there are restrictions on putting birdbaths, lawn gnomes, or pink flamingoes in your front yard; and you must have approval from the town's architectural board before you paint your house a different color or put up a fence. Many homes have a front porch, and all homes are fairly close to the street and to their neighbors to encourage a closer sense of community. Celebration homes do not have large yards. Pricing for homes begins around $150,000 for condiminiums up to $300,000-$500,000 for houses and $800,000 and upwards for estates. Apartments typically rent for $800/month and up, and several apartments are available above the downtown businesses.

Celebration has a similar appearance as the town of Seaside, Florida (which was used in the filming of the movie 'The Truman Show'). As a result of its careful design and strict rules, Celebration tends to evoke strong reactions in people: either they fall in love with the town and say that it looks like a movie set, or they are disgusted by the price which people pay to live in an artificial-looking fairy tale with seemingly-oppressive rules.

In 1994, all that existed of the town were a bunch of roads being dug and one trailer with a facade on it to make it look like a stately home. A drawing was held for the opportunity to buy a home in this new "Disney town," and all 351 home lots in the town's first development were quickly sold through the auction, leaving a six-month waiting list. But the builders were unprepared for the demand and therefore the quality of the initial construction was sub-par, helping to earn Celebration ridicule in the press. Another point of contention was the Celebration School (K-12), which attempted to incorporate many progressive ideas in ways that turned out to be more confusing than successful. The sense at the very beginning was that Celebration's connection to Disney meant that nothing could go wrong there, but that misconception was short-lived.

Through the first years of the town, many townspeople persevered and banded together even more tightly as a community to make sure that the town lived up to its commitments and its promise. As a result the town of Celebration, Florida, can be said to have fulfilled most of its original intentions.

One peculiarity of the town early on was that it was run by the Celebration Company, a subdivision of the Disney Company, rather than by elected officials. The result of this has been that some decisions made on behalf of the residents of the community were made with Disney's profits in mind rather than the townspeoples' desires -- for example, the downtown area contains several shops selling collectibles, but no gas station or video rental store. This problem is going away as residents have gained elected positions on the board of the Celebration Residential Owners' Association, and as Disney diminishes its role in the town. Disney recently sold the downtown area to Lexin Capital, a private real estate investment firm, and Water Tower Place is being built with Chick-fil-A, Mobil, a dry cleaners, and a video rental store among its tenants.

Surprisingly, Celebration does not have any roads named "Main Street," because that name is already used elsewhere in Osceola County. The two roads going through the center of the downtown area are named "Market Street" and "Front Street."

Celebration is connected directly to the Walt Disney World parks and resorts by World Drive; the north end of World Drive begins near the Magic Kingdom and its south end connects to Celebration Boulevard, allowing Celebration residents and guests access to any place on Disney property without having to use a highway. However, Celebration residents are not 'special' in Disney's eyes and do not receive free park passes, discounts, or any sort of preferential treatment. (In fact, Disney employees can receive castmember discounts at some of the restaurants in downtown Celebration, while residents cannot. Some Celebration critics have pointed to this as an example of how Disney uses the town to fill its own pockets at the residents' expense.)

Geography

Celebration is located at 28°19'12" North, 81°32'25" West (28.320059, -81.540149)1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the community has a total area of 27.7 km² (10.7 mi²). 27.6 km² (10.7 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.28% water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there are 2,736 people, 952 households, and 716 families residing in the community. The population density is 99.0/km² (256.4/mi²). There are 1,093 housing units at an average density of 39.6/km² (102.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the town is 93.57% White, 1.72% African American, 0.26% Native American, 2.41% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 1.02% from other races, and 1.02% from two or more races. 7.60% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 952 households out of which 45.1% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.5% are married couples living together, 6.3% have a female householder with no husband present, and 24.7% are non-families. 20.2% of all households are made up of individuals and 3.6% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.82 and the average family size is 3.30.

In the community the population is spread out with 30.8% under the age of 18, 5.1% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 26.4% from 45 to 64, and 6.9% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 37 years. For every 100 females there are 94.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 93.5 males.

The median income for a household in the community is $74,231, and the median income for a family is $92,334. Males have a median income of $51,250 versus $46,650 for females. The per capita income for the town is $39,521. 6.2% of the population and 4.3% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 8.5% are under the age of 18 and 0.0% are 65 or older.

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