Enjoy these Insp”ear”ationals…a collection of The Relocated Tourist family’s stories of how we have inspired them. Have we inspired you? Have a story to share? I believe that inspiration is a huge form of paying it forward, and we could all pay it forward these days. Email me if you would like to share yours to amy@therelocatedtourist.com .

Enjoy these stories, and a sincere thank you to everyone who was generous with their time to share~ God Bless!

Stumbling on the Blog

What has inspired me about the Petermann family. When I stumbled on the Relocated tourist blog I had had no idea what you would be blogging about, but every week I was so drawn it by the pure feelings and emotions about wanting to move to Fl and the plan was laid out daily, weekly on take 1 step closer to that goal.

For me I lived on every word on seeing if it could be done. Considering I think their are many of us that talk about making that move, but what do we do to really make it happen I also think that with having both the husband & wife in agreement and working daily to make it happen brings reality to that dream, because you both have each other to encourage each other when the days seem blue & every wall & road block seems to be at every turn.

I have been so inspired by your determination and even finding the positive when things go wrong, I remember when you had the problems with transporation and no matter what you looked forward.

Like I had stated above everyday you all took a step forward to that goal and made it happen. Now everyday seeing you living to enjoy the gift of living your dreams gives me more encouragement to follow behind you!

I am so proud of the Petermann family to living their dream!

Hugs! ~Shelley Urick Jones

Digital Disney World

I have been a Walt Disney World enthusiast since I was a young boy.  Like many fans of the mouse, it has been a dream to actually move there someday. I have lived in CT my entire life and have a very tight knit family who all live within 10 miles. This has made it very difficult to take the plunge and relocate. However, earlier this year I decided to become more involved in the Disney community and started my own blog called DigitalDisneyWorld.com. While doing some research for an article, I accidentally stumbled across “The Relocated Tourist.”

After reading a few articles written by both Amy and Craig, I was immediately hooked. This blog renewed my excitement for potentially moving closer to the magic someday. Although it may still be a few years before a big move, the Petermann’s story has been very motivating. Reading about them making such a huge life change has helped me continue to take small steps towards the bigger goal. I felt that if they could do something so big, I had no excuse for not pursuing my Disney dreams.  In addition to my blog, I have recently become a vacation planner with a focus on Disney, and have become affiliated with a national travel agency. 

This past July, I had the pleasure of meeting both Amy and Craig in person at a WDW Radio “Meet of the Month.”  It was so nice to see how genuine they really are.  You never know what people are like when just reading about them, however, the Petermann’s are the real deal.  It was great listening to Craig talk about the moving process and how they were acclimating to life in Central Florida.  This encounter motivated me even more to keep moving forward.  Since that meeting, I have started another Disney World related business called WDW Guided Tours. I actually plan on commuting to Florida to give commando style “one day” tours of all four parks. Spending time with the Petermanns was certainly the inspiration to take this giant leap and move one step closer to relocation.  It is great that The Relocated Tourist now has this section for us to share our “Insp”ear”ational stories.  Amy and Craig are inspirational in so many ways, and its nice to know we have friends in Florida when we finally make the move. ~Dave D.

 

All the way from the Caribbean

I am a member of a Disney oriented webpage and one day I got a friend request on facebook from The Relocated Tourist. I was hooked on this blog the minute I started reading it. Craig and Amy were planning to do exactly what I want to do someday……. moving to Disney!

What I loved the most was that they were ordinary people just like me. Not some millionaire who can just pick up and leave whenever he pleases. Craig and Amy together with their kids, had to work hard to reach their dream. At times the dream seemed impossible and out of reach, but then things would start to look up again.

Craig and Amy have been my inspiration that if you wish long and hard enough, and are willing to work hard enough you will reach your dream. I am super happy that after all they went through they are finally living their dream, and I hope soon, mine dream will come true too.

 As for now I can’t wait to meet them in December! ~Thadine

 

Orlando is our Top Choice

I’ll begin with 3 years ago, I had a great business with my husband, a vacation a year at WDW habit, great kids, great life, busy but good. Then the economy tanked. As my business was a restaurant, it didn’t take long for us to feel the effects. My customers didn’t have extra money for eating out anymore so pretty soon, we were struggling.  We liquidated our assets just to keep afloat, hoping that things would turn around. They didn’t. We got involved in a partnership that was a really bad decision, financially. I’ve gotten pretty depressed about the situation. Who would ever have imagined having to start over at this point in life (I’m 47 years old!). Here is where you come in. 

I have loved Disney always. I read everything I can find about Disney and dream of living in FL and going to Epcot at the end of my day just to watch Illuminations. Aaaahhh, what a great thing that would be.Then, I discovered your blog, your family doing what I dreamed of. I didn’t really have the courage to just go. Now though, I am in the position of starting over, I no longer see it as only a bad thing. Yes my house is worth less than I paid for it. I may not be able to sell it. I don’t know. But thanks in part to your example, my husband and I have decided to sell everything and start over. A place of our choosing, where we want to be. Orlando is our top choice. We may have to work for other people elsewhere for a while to repay business debts and save a little, but our goal, is to relocate to FL and begin our little business there. Do you know how wonderful it is to have a goal that really motivates you and helps you get through the hard times (of course you do!). I am excited about the new chapter in our life. Yes, our business failed, the economic crash, crushed us too. But I’ve learned that you can get up and find a new dream and not feel like you’ve failed. Thank you for that. 

Didn’t mention spirituality in there but, although I keep my beliefs to myself mostly. I can say that I thought when things began going badly for us, and honestly we may still lose our house if we can’t sell. I believed that we had been abandoned by God. But I’ve discovered friends I didn’t even know I had, offering help to me and my family. Wow. That answers to prayers may be different than you would like, but they are still answers. And I’m learning that through our “failure” my dreams of living in FL and for me working at Disney, even as a custodian, can come true. And you have helped with that. Thank you.

 ~Cheryl Anraku… Greenville, SC (currently-but trying to get to FL!)

 

Fighting to Get Better

I have always loved Walt Disney World since I was a child of the 80′s. I’d plan trips, years in advance before going/ My first time going was in 1995, on my Senior trip. While other classmates goofed off and partied, at WDW; I was the one who had my days already planned, on what to see/do, etc. I knew then, in ’95 that I just had to be living here, and I would and will find a way to make that dream come true.  

I found Amy’s blog, during a time when I had been in the hospital, at UNC, and was immediately connected with her writing and her dream of moving to Orlando.  I became a huge fan of her blog, and thoroughly enjoyed each blog, and couldn’t wait for the next one to be published.  By reading her blog, during my illness made me fight even more to get better and make my own dream happen to move to Florida. I had once already lived in Florida, for about 4 years, but I was 3 hours aways, and was sick a lot when I went.  So, when I did go to WDW, at times I wound up in the First Aid area, for this or that. I had to leave living in South Florida, for various reasons, but I always knew in my heart that I would be back. This was/is where my heart is. 

 As of today, and through the power of prayer, and how Mighty our God is, I am now cured, and healed of a horrible illness; medically documented too, and am currently in the process of planning my move to Orlando. By reading Amy’s blog, keeping up with her on Facebook, I felt so connected to her and her family. I vicariously lived her ‘adventure’ of moving from WI to FL, knowing one day this would be me. Now, that I am completely healed, her blogs and stories on moving have helped me out a lot. The little things she’d write about on “Oh, I need to do this before I move”, stuff like that I wouldn’t have thought of had it not been for the  blog. 

 She inspired me, on my recent WDW trip, in Oct to attend Animation Academy. WOW! I went in thinking “this isn’t going to be good”, and my finished drawing had me impressed! I did so well, that I went back and did 3 more classes. This is one place that I will definitely be visiting once I officially move there, and what great souveniers they are. In my case, I will frame them and display them in my new house Without reading her blog, i would have never known this was someting I could do. I am in love with this area!

 Thank you Amy, and Petermann family for sharing your journey with us all on living your dream. You have inspired me, and the others in some way or another. You’re a blessing more than you know. I’ve yet to meet Amy and her precious family, but I feel like I already know them. So, thank you for your blogs, you sharing your life with us through the ups and downs.  I am so happy and thrilled that her dream of moving to Orlando came true. I know that soon,  mine will be fulfilled too. Each day is a day closer, and each day brings progress in my move. As, Walt Disney has said himself, “All our dream can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them”. That is so true, and also my favorite saying is, “With God all things are possible!”  ~Monica

 

A Big Life Change

Walt Disney always talked about following your dreams – and in May that’s exactly where I found myself…except that I was SCARED!  My family’s dream has always been to live amongst the palm trees in sunny Florida and escape the snow and gray of Chicago.

In February, we took a step closer when my parents purchased a plot of land in The Villages, FL with the thought that we had a year to build on it. In May we took a giant leap towards our dream when we found out the model of house that we wanted to build was being discontinued!  Luckily, we were going to be in Florida for our annual May Disney trip so we took a day at The Villages, walked through the model that was replacing the one we fell in love with, decided we didn’t like it and spent the next 8 hours picking out tile, counter tops, and paint colors!

When we got back to Chicago I had a BIG decision to make. The plan was for Mom to retire in November and Mom and Dad move to The Villages at least part time.  I could stay in Chicago, for now live in our house and stay at my job OR I could move to Florida with my parents.  I am very lucky in that I get a long very well with my parents and I knew that I was always welcome to come to Florida. In fact, my Dad always says the house we picked was picked with me in mind (Yay for walk in closet and beautiful bathroom “suite”!).  After that, everything happened very fast! In the Villages, they don’t mess around – our house was built and ready to move in on July 20^th!

So, after a few days of serious thought and contemplation I decided that I was going to be a true Floridian! I decided that turning 30 in November was the perfect time to make a big life change.  After I made the decision I was SO nervous! I was leaving everything I have ever known – the house we live in at home in Chicago is the house I have lived in since I was 2. My teaching job is the first job I got right after graduating college. Yikes! Needless to say, I had my good days and my bad days.

One summer Wednesday night I logged onto the WDWRadio newscast/chat and discovered that Lou was hanging out at the Polynesian and had two special guests that night – Scott Otis and Amy Falk Petermann! I loved Amy’s awesome smile and outgoing personality and I’m always looking for new friends to talk Disney with so I looked her up on Facebook (ha-ha I’m such a stalker) – only to find out she had a blog called The Relocated Tourist.

After reading a few posts I realized that Amy was in the same boat as me – following her dream to Florida…. and the best part was – she made it!  Amy and her family escaped the snowy Midwest to the sunny skies of Florida! Reading her experiences gave me hope that even though I feel like I have completely turned my life upside down, everything is going to be okay. I love reading each new post at The Relocated Tourist to read about Amy following her dreams and the rest of her family blossoming in their new surroundings!

Besides knowing that every thing is going to be okay, Amy blogging about her family’s journey has taught me a VERY important lesson in this experience – I’m not doing this alone. My whole family is in this together!

I haven’t had the privilege to meet Amy and her family yet but when I do I owe them a BIG thank you! So for now I’ll just end my story with this –

Thank you Amy, Craig, Kyra and Emily for being my Insp”ear”ation to follow my dream!

~Katie McNamara, The Villages, FL

 

Kungaloosh!

 I came across this blog through a coworker at Disney and as I started to read it, I started to feel like I was going on this adventure as well.

My dream for Disney started after I completed my first College Program in 2007. I went back “home” to PA to finish my degree, which now had changed to Hotel and Resort Management. I had a date in mind to be back in Florida and to continue my dream of working for Disney! I moved back in August of 2009 and was on my second College Program. When that came to an end I ran into a wall, Disney wasn’t hiring any part or full time positions and I needed something with health benefits.

 I ended up going and working at Universal for a while, it is a great company and I have met some great people along the way, but it wasn’t Disney… It didn’t have the same magic and feel. And at this time, I had about given up on that dream… Until I went back and started to catch up on the relocated tourist, they had gotten rid of a lot of their stuff and the countdown was days, instead of months. The words dream and goals kept appearing and that is when I realized that I needed to follow my dreams again. I applied online the beginning of May and by the end of May I was working Part time at Disney. Now almost 6 months later, I am a full time cast member at Disneys Animal Kingdom Lodge doing housekeeping. And my dreams are still being followed, because the best thing about dreams , is that they can change and evolve into things you have never imagined!

What this blog has done for me, is make me realize that no matter what obstacle is in your way, you are the ultimate person to make your dreams and hopes and wishes a reality!

~Heather McClay, Orlando, FL

 

A Story from the United Kingdom

 ‘I first discovered ‘TheRelocated Tourist’ in December last year when I received a Facebook friend request from Amy. The Relocated Tourist blog intrigued me and although I was joining the ‘Relocated family’ a little later than other readers I couldn’t wait to follow the Petermanns and their Florida adventure. I soon found myself caught up in the highs and lows of Amy’s adventure and looked forward to leaving comments for each new post.

 I should explain that I have been a Disney fan since childhood and in recent years discovered the on-line Disney community. For a year or so I had been thinking about starting my own blog, written from the perspective of a Disney fan living in the UK and not able to ‘pop’ over to WDW whenever I wanted. But I was scared of taking that first step, would I be able to write interesting articles and would anyone read them?!

 And this is where my insp”ear”ation from Amy comes in. This summer I suggested to Amy that I was thinking of starting my own blog. I had been inspired by Amy’s writing style, using the blog as almost like a diary, sharing day to day events and observations. Amy reassured me that this was a great idea and explained how to go about setting up the software I needed. After lots of planning and a number of ‘concerned’ messages to Amy my blog www.daydreamingdisney.com was launched in July this year.

 I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Amy for her support and insp”ear”ation. I look forward to publishing my weekly blog posts and the number of visitors to my site continues to grow. I might not have relocated quite like the Petermanns but thanks to Amy I’ve taken a small step closer to the magic.

 ~Emma Godbold from the East of England, United Kingdom.

 

 Long Hours

 January of 2011 was to start off with a inner mountain for me to climb. The first 6 months were hard ones and I prayed hour after hour while driving at night. I missed being at home in Florida and I missed our trips over to Disney which had been the biggest reason we had moved to Lakeland,Fl. Those every time we’re home trips to enjoy the magic. Those trips kept me going and suddenly we had to take those times to deal with matters I found hard to face. Amy and her sweet family moved to Florida and WAM suddenly everyday I had my Disney. Everyday reading her along with my wake up coffee I started being able to focus on what had been important to me all along not my mountain and to laugh while enjoying Disney through her daily updates. It kept nagging at me that if they could leave home and jobs and move their family to Florida to be close to the Disney Magic that I could climb my mountain and in the process change jobs that would help me get off the road and home where I want to be. I have been among the fortunate  who have meet Amy and Craig. My gift to myself for changing the trucking companies Bill and I drive for. Everyday I am so thankful to have their blog  and Amy’s words in my life. They will never know how sharing their family and their lives with their readers has been a daily insp”ear”ation  to me. Along the way I have found a good friend who I am enjoying getting to know and that is truly the greatest blessing.

~Lorie Cruickshank … Lakeland,Florida 

 

Hope to Relocate

Amy, Craig, Kyra, and Emily-wow. Although we have not met face to face (yet!) this dear family has touched me and inspired me so much. To follow my heart, and to go after all of my hopes and dreams. I have been following their blog and talking with Amy on Facebook for awhile now and everyday I look forward to hearing about another one of their adventures. I also hope one day to relocate to Florida and this amazing family has shown me that it is completely within my reach. I look forward to the day when I can walk thru those wonderfully magic gates at Disney and look up and see this family smiling at me saying “welcome home”. I want to say thank you Petermann family-thank you for being such an incredibly magical family. You have truly blessed me and I look forward to having a long friendship with you.  ~Sherry Jackson

 

Losing Hope on a Dream

Amy, I found your blog at a time when I was losing hope on my dream to move to Florida. I read through the entire blog the first night I discovered it and wept. I was amazed at how similar our families feelings of Disney World were. How we felt lost when our vacations were done. When I finally came to your moving in week and how you first walked into your house I got chills as I thought that could be us…we could do this too! Each day I can’t wait to hear from Florida. I feel a little bit of Disney with each post you give in your blog. As I type this I am counting down the days until we can finally say we are Florida residents and Disney World is our backyard! I so look forward to the day we can meet. You have inspired me to Keep Moving Forward! I will not give up on my dream…thank you.       ~Libby, North Myrtle Beach, SC

 

Handling Relocation Emotionally

In May 2011, I landed a great job where I get to work from home 100%
and travel occasionally. My first thought was that now I could live
anywhere and I immediately thought of Orlando because of my love of
Disney. With my fiance on board, we started to plan our move. But, we
didn’t know where to begin or what to do so I used my good old Google
search to find information. I came across The Relocated Tourist and
the information was so good I ended up reading a year’s worth of posts
over a weekend! I loved hearing the story of relocating from a real
family’s point of view. It’s not just logistic or financial
information, it’s also about handling relocation emotionally which is
exactly what I was looking for. Thank you so much for all your
efforts, you really inspired us to make our dream a reality!
~Shelley Benhoff, soon to be Orlando, FL