Celebration

Understand

Celebration is a community developed by the Walt Disney Company. It is considered a "perfect community" and often compared to utopian values. For example, residents must have their grass cut to a certain length, they must do certain activities such as walking their dog in a designated area, and they even need to paint their house a color from a hand-picked palette set forth by Disney. Failure to commit can result in fines and dismissal from the community. Celebration is 5 miles (8 km) from the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. The design of this award-winning community includes a downtown, health center, school, post office, town hall, golf course, and a blend of townhouses, apartments and estate homes co-mingled within the same neighborhoods. Conceived as a pre-1940s type of town, classical architecture prevails with garages located behind the houses and everything within walking distance.

When Walt Disney was building Walt Disney World, or "The Florida Project", he had a concept in his head towards the end of his life. It was a City of Tomorrow. The planned city was to be a "community of the future" designed to stimulate American corporations to come up with new ideas for urban living. It was called EPCOT, which stood for "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow". Walt Disney is quoted as saying, "EPCOT will take its cue from the new ideas and new technologies that are emerging from the forefront of American industry. It will be a community of tomorrow that will never be completed. It will always be showcasing and testing and demonstrating new materials and new systems." EPCOT as it's known today meant to be this amazing city, but Disney Imagineers took Disney's ideas and applied them to the EPCOT theme park with monorails, technology consistently 20 years ahead of its time, and attractions to engage Guests to think and look to the future. These ideas were then brought together by the Walt Disney Company and in sync with Imagineers created the community of Celebration. Celebration is one of the top greenest towns in the world, with residents traveling throughout town in personal electric vehicles. The Disney-created city also stimulates urban planning perfection to inspire future towns and cities, engaging in Walt Disney's goal with EPCOT.

Get in

Celebration is a few miles away from the 46 square mile (120 km²) property of the Walt Disney World Resort. Most tourists visit the area for Disney's attractions and accommodations, so traveling to Celebration is quite simple.

If you're staying in Walt Disney World then traveling to Celebration is quite simple. You have multiple options of travel:

• Disney Transport: The Walt Disney World Resort Hotel Guests can visit Guest Relations or their hotel's front desk to find out when the next Disney Transport bus will leave for Celebration. Since Disney privately owns Celebration, transportation through Disney can easily be arranged. Since Celebration is not a top-priority attraction at Walt Disney World Resort, the bus schedule is quite narrow due to less demand to visit Celebration.
• Taxi: There are dozens of taxi companies in Osceola County, home to Celebration and Disney's Parks and Resorts. If you are staying on or off Disney property, visit your Guest Services desk and ask for a recommended taxi service. Celebration's small distance is calculated to an average taxi fare (not including tip) to $16 one way without traffic.
• Driving: The Walt Disney World parks and resorts are connected seamlessly to Celebration via World Drive. The north end of World Drive begins near the Magic Kingdom on Disney property and its south end connects to Celebration Boulevard, allowing Celebration residents and tourists to drive to the Walt Disney World Resort without using any busy roadways. Parking can be slightly hard to find. Although there are convenient parking lots that are specifically designated for visitors downtown, they do fill up, so you may have to circle around a bit. Alternatively park on the street – if you don't mind parking a few blocks away and walking into the downtown area, you shouldn't have too much trouble finding a spot. Make sure you park correctly when you parallel park. Due to the perfection of Celebration, if you park more than 8 inches (20 cm) from the curb, you will receive a ticket.
• By public transportation: Limited bus service is available from LYNX.

Get around

Residents of Celebration have to follow a series of rules and regulations set forth by the Supreme Board of Governors in Celebration, and transportation is not left out from those laws. Visitors to Celebration are encouraged to rent out options of transportation to travel within the community. The town is made up of plenty of winding walkways and there are sidewalks for added accessibility. Residents of Celebration must use these options of travel within the community, and residents are encouraged to join in. Transportation and welcome centers in downtown Celebration let you know how to get your hands on:

• Neighborhood Electric Vehicles: These vehicles can hold up to 4 people (depending on car type) for travels within the community. They are low speed vehicles and will get you around town quickly, safely, and efficiently.
• Segway Human Transporters: Segways are an up-and-coming form of transportation. Disney uses them thoroughly throughout their parks and resorts for quick access to locations via their Cast Members (employees). A 1-hour class and helmet is required and provided by the city. They have wireless remotes that shut the Segway off if you leave a certain vicinity of town. They can travel up to 12½ mph (~20 km/h) on the highest setting, and provide a new outlook on city tourism.
• Bicycles: There are a few locations throughout Celebration where you can rent a bike for the day to take in on the scenery.
• Walking

All of this ties back into Walt Disney's vision of EPCOT, where residents would either rely on public transportation in the form of monorails, or use an environmentally friendly alternative, like the People Mover or walking.

Stay safe

Go next

• Orlando
• Disney World
• Universal Orlando