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Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2012 11:00 pm
by KevinW
Disney kept Disneyland open 24 hours on leap day as a promotion. That gave me an off-the-wall idea: what about spending almost all your time in one of their parks?
A 365-day pass to DisneyWorld in Florida is $552.74/year and Disneyland in California is $499/year. If you work full time and use it a few times, it's expensive entertainment. But what if you're FI, treat the park as your living room, and spend almost all your waking time inside? Then it's pretty cheap rent. You'd still need somewhere to sleep, but by day you'd be living on grounds that are more opulent than anything the kings of Europe ever had.
I wonder if they'd hassle you if you came in every morning and set up shop with a bag lunch and laptop. Or if there's some fine print buried in the terms that prevent this.


Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2012 11:11 pm
by jacob
It's certainly not unheard of to live permanently in long-term-stay hotels or book a permaticket on a cruise- or cargo-ship. In terms of day-time a lot of people have arranged for their "office" to be in a cafe or coffee shop.
But Disneyland ... (OMGWTFBBQ), it's full of ... people! ;-P
One weird thing is that, particularly young, career/mission-oriented people only use their home for sleeping. This is a huge waste of resources. If I designed workspaces, I'd allow for bunk beds or some such. That way some people could and would gladly work round the clock in exchange for free rent. I've seen several [Chinese] grad-students camp out in their office until they're found out... which leaves me to think, the zoning boards would never accept it.


Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2012 12:09 am
by Dragline
I think you would go insane listening to "It's a Small World" every day. Very dangerous experiment.


Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2012 12:44 am
by Obadobadope
Hilarious!


Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2012 12:46 am
by chenda
I'm not sure I understand - why would you want to spend all your time there if you were FI ? Can you get free coffee or accommodation there or something ?


Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2012 1:23 am
by C40
Dude, Disneyland? I've never been there, but I imagine after a while there I'd be looking for an escape route.
** I suppose if there are some park-type areas away from the concrete jungle stuff, that are free of a lot of people, it might be alright if the trek there is not too bothersome. (I'm sure they take very good care of the park type areas - nice landscaping, no trash, visually appealing, etc..)


Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2012 4:00 am
by dot_com_vet
If you like rides and have the time of ERE, I can see doing this for a year.
But it's hot as blazes, full of people, and food is pricey. I think I'd take a national park.


Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2012 12:30 am
by KevinW
@chenda, @C40

Well some people want to make a nice home with furnishings, decorations, gardens, entertainment, etc., before they retire. My point is, it might be more economical to rent a share of a big park that has all those things rather than buying and maintaining them yourself.
Incidentally, about $40k worth of DIS shares would generate enough dividends to cover a D-World pass every year. Then you'd be owning your share rather than renting.
I'm only half-serious, I wouldn't do this myself. The Disney-Matrix is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there.


Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2012 4:35 am
by George the original one
I can't stay in Las Vegas for long without noticing how fake it is, so the organized & sanitized version known as Disneyland would just drive me to heavy drinking.


Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2012 9:39 am
by Felix
The day you find Minnie Mouse attractive is the day you should leave...
But the idea seems like a pretty good thing to do for a while. I'd pick Universal Studios, though.


Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 3:38 pm
by jennypenny
I chaperoned my DD and friends at disneyworld for a weekend last year. I brought my Nook and sat in "england" in Epcot and read and drank Harp all day. It was actually really pleasant, BUT I did have several people in plain clothes stop by to chat me up throughout the day. They seemed like guests and were very nice, but by the third I recognized it as a script. After I convinced him that I was familiar with the security business he opened up a little.
There are a lot of plain clothes people in the parks. They generally discourage loitering like I was doing. Some are harmless (like me) but most fall into several groups that they have to watch out for like:
ROH criminals--Generally a lookout or a scout sizing up locations. They also act as a drop for merchandise someone else has lifted.
pimps--Yup, the oldest profession is alive and well and apparently themed girls (for those of you with a princess fetish) are available in the World.
pedofiles--He said they don't worry about abductions so much but lots of discreet photo taking. With this group bumping up against people in lines is also a problem. I knew of this tactic. Watch for single guys (sorry but it's mostly men) who wait to join a line until they find the person they want to get behind and then hop on. Usually it's teen or preteen girls. This is very common at water parks on the lines for slides or in wave pools (they purposely wipe out into you).
A new one--furries. I guess if you're a furry fan disneyworld offers a lot of opportunities to satisfy your fetish.
So if that hasn't creeped you out, enjoy your season pass and be prepared to try and explain why you're there :)


Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 4:34 pm
by jennypenny
I should say that Furries aren't considered a criminal element like the others listed. The problem they face is avoiding any unofficial furry conventions in the disney hotels.


Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 6:06 pm
by JohnnyH
lol, the seedy Disney underbelly is amusing to me... I foresee a very awkward exchange with Princess Jasmin sometime in my future. :\


Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2012 6:19 am
by dragoncar
I've considered the like. Definitely considered sleeping in my office (what a waste of really expensive rent at night!). I don't think it would break any codes either, since there's a kitchen, etc.
Interesting the level of security at Disney. I reckon that they'd kick you out and refund your money after a couple weeks of full-time loitering (at the latest). They have so many properties, though, you could probably rotate locations and be fine. But as others have said, it's not like you get much for free.
For $400/year, you can get a pass that will give you access to a bunch of VIP airport lounges. There you get free snacks, drinks, internet, etc. Some even have showers and beds. Of course, you'd have to get past security somehow (i.e. buy a fully refundable ticket, and then cancel the flight once you're through)


Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2012 6:26 am
by secretwealth
George hit the nail on the head for me.
jennypenny: "pimps--Yup, the oldest profession is alive and well and apparently themed girls (for those of you with a princess fetish) are available in the World."
What the hell? This is the funniest and weirdest thing I've ever heard of. Can you really get a prostitute at Disneyworld? Who is running this operation and who is taking it? Is there an article on this? This just sounds too outrageous to be true.
IMO, if location really isn't important to you, the best way to retire is in a third world country. Two-bedroom houses in Thailand rent for $300/mo. or less.


Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2012 9:20 am
by aussierogue
Man vs Disney
Id be prepared to try it for a year. We could make some money from this. We need a small film crew...man vs disney...
I would need 40k upfront...50k if prostitutes invloved...
I see it being a hit on discovery....maybe 2 x 1 hours specials..


Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2012 10:01 am
by jennypenny
"I would need 40k upfront...50k if prostitutes invloved..."

ha! Too funny aussierogue. Needed that this morning.
@dragoncar--Small companies don't have the resources to watch you, but for big firms sleeping in your office is a big red flag for security unless you're with a group working on a project. The boss might like you coming in early and leaving late (or not at all) but if security notices you'd be under observation for a while. The suspicion is that you're either doing something to the company or using the company's resources to conduct another business (legal or not).
@secretwealth--You're surprised there are prostitutes? Don't you live in NYC?? OK, I'm teasing you a bit (especially since you then suggested Thailand :P), but you know any tourist spot is big business. There's a large clientele that's not too drunk or stoked, clean areas (like bathrooms) to work, and people in the mood to spend money and treat themselves because they're on vacation. He said they used to use the cabs outside of the parks but Orlando tightly regulates them now (the cabs, not the girls) so they've scattered a bit.
And no, you'll never read about it. Have you ever read about anything at Disney? Fire? Theft? Abduction attempt? Robbery? Trust me, security is not THAT good. Unless it's something as big as a monorail accident you never hear about it.
@JohnnyH--TMI my friend, TMI...


Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2012 10:56 am
by secretwealth
Oh, trust me, prostitution in itself isn't shocking at all, but I'm surprised that there'd be demand for it in Disneyworld. If I were looking for a lady of the night to accompany me for some debauchery, Disneyworld is one of the last places I'd think of going (just behind Saudi Arabia and Baffin Island).


Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2012 11:19 am
by aussierogue
has anyone ever seen Hugh Hefner and Walt Disney in the same room?


Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2012 1:41 pm
by Chad
Funny, though, unlikely, as Hefner technically was 1/2 Jewish and we know how Walt felt about them. Also, the rumors of Walt being gay would suggest that Hefner's parties might not have been Walt's style.
@secretwealth

Agreed. I can't stand Disney World/Land. It is so overrated.