Real Estate

HOAs Working Well In Celebration

Living in Celebration FL, has been a unique experience.  While some people don’t like the idea of living in an HOA-managed community, Celebration really makes it work. The town was originally designed by The Walt Disney Company, and thanks to the dedication of our HOAs, it has largely maintained that original vision of charm, order, and community spirit.

One thing that sets Celebration apart is how well our HOAs function. In my case, our property is part of three different HOAs: the Celebration Residential Owners Association (CROA), which oversees the overall neighborhood and ensures everything stays beautiful and well-maintained; the Artisan Park Clubhouse, which manages amenities like the clubhouse and social events; and the Artisan Park Condominiums, which focuses on keeping our condo community in top shape.  There is also a Celebration Commercial Development District which represents the business interests in the city.   

It might sound like a lot, but in reality, each HOA has a specific role, and together they create a smooth, well-organized community that looks nice and up-to-date.  Not everything is perfect, but they’ve mostly maintained Disney’s meticulous attention to detail. 

We’ve gotten the chance to get to know board members on each of the HOAs that govern our property and attend some meetings.  Having done board work myself, I really appreciate how seriously our HOA board members take their roles. They don’t just enforce rules for the sake of it—they genuinely listen to residents and work hard to maintain the high standards that make Celebration such a unique place to live.

Of course, HOA living isn’t for everyone. Some people prefer fewer rules and more flexibility. But in Celebration, the system seems to work. Maybe I’ll change my mind once we’ve lived here awhile, but for now I’d say the town continues to reflect Disney’s original vision – beautiful streets, well-kept parks, top-notch amenities, and a true sense of community. 

Do you live in an HOA community? How has that been for you?

Image: (c) MrFireStation.com; Celebration Exotic Car Festival (3/29/25)

14 thoughts on “HOAs Working Well In Celebration”

  1. I don’t live in an area with an HOA. However, we have a worse situation where a statewide government agency “The California Coastal Commission” controls all development and even tries to keep people from cutting their native chaparral AKA brush which contradicts with CAL-Fire and insurance company requirements. Building permits also go through the county.

    I perused Celebration and the houses look nice with a small town Midwest vibe. Really like the ones with the wrought iron fences around them. Local with people you get to know is better than statewide or county-wide bureaucrats who don’t have to eat their own cooking.

    How are the able to coordinate between overlapping HOAs to assure that they are not doing things that are at odds with each other?

    Is the owner / management of the downtown area managing for optimal revenue to them or optimal experience?

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    1. They do a nice job collaborating here. The HOAs have representatives that sit “ex officio” on the other boards, where needed.

      The downtown is actually just a shopping mall with a single landlord. They have some covenants with the CCDD that require them to favor small, local tenants, although we do have a Starbucks down there.

      The downtown was also designed to serve residents by its location. It’s inconvenient to reach from the 2 big highways, although there are national chain restaurants near those exits.

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      1. The Fortuna Bakery and Coffee Bar looks like more my speed. Cuban pastries and coffee. My favs are a cortado with a Guava Cheese Pastry. Everyone in my family has a cortado every morning. A cortado is a Cuban espresso with steamed milk. Once you have had a good cortado, Starbucks will never seem the same.

        Looks like they have dog friendly venues too!

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      2. Yes – I was at the Fortuna Bakery yesterday morning. A friend was visiting and got his son a big cookie there. I’m not a coffee drinker at all, but I’m sure a Cortado is well-made there. Yesterday was the big sports car show on Market Street … https://www.celebrationcarshow.com

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  2. Exotic cars are fine! If you want to have fun, hang out with the Classic Car Guys. https://www.onallcylinders.com/2023/08/02/photo-gallery-hot-august-nights-downtown-show-n-shine/

    Hot August Nights features the Classic Cars that people wish they could have had in high school. Now they have the funds, thanks to RMDs, they build the car they wanted when they were teenagers. They do a lot of work on the cars themselves and love showing you their handiwork. Worlds oldest teenagers.

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    1. I always say … there are a lot of different ways to enjoy cars. From this era, I would love a classic early-1960s Corvette.

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      2. My buddy has a 1978 US Mail Jeep DJ5. The kind with the sliding doors & RHD. He can’t go faster than 40mph. He paid $3K for it and people absolutely go nuts over it. Big smiles.

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  3. Not related to the post but in the spirit of Mr. Fire Sation I thought I would report I handed in my notice on April 1. I recall getting the idea from some of our blog posts when you talked about leaving

    I also adopted the 52 week post it tear off countdown clock. Mine was posted on a column in my office and you could see it on the side of any Zoom calls I was on. Not one person commented or asked about it – although it shrank every week

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    1. NICE! – Congratulations! Get ready for a life of complete freedom & autonomy. Those 52 little Post-it flags disappear pretty quickly, don’t they? In fact …. I didn’t think about it until just now, but TODAY – April Fools Day – is the 9th anniversary of my last day. So long ago! CONGRATS!

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      1. Not quite as early as you but I am 54. The count down clock was so fun I did it twice. I did the OMY as my wife decided she wanted to retire also – she’s out at 50 last week

        Got to say it was hard to put all the tabs up again to restart the clock 1 year ago. Painful

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