During a recent trip to Florida I took some time to check out the Disney-founded community of Celebration.
The experience was much more subtle that I had expected; perhaps the true nature emerges more through residency than driving through. Overall, it felt a lot like The Truman Show – a set that made everything a bit too perfect and while one can appreciate just how nice everything is, it lacks a certain organic naturalness.
The town theater is achingly new, yet completely retro. There’s no funk here.
The downtown area is beautiful, branding is kept to a minimum.
Starbucks, the Americanized faux-Italian experience (so faux and so Americanized that you can enjoy it without knowing where it comes from) seems to fit right in (but then Starbucks is the ultimate brand for fitting in everywhere and anywhere).
These electric vehicles were ubiquitous, some turned into rolling advertising vehicles (as has happened with the PT Cruiser, the New Beetle, the Mini, and the Smart Car). I imagine the retirement communities in Florida have a wider general adoption of those vehicles and that’s part of the reason they are seen in Celebration.
Chick-Fil-A branding at a church event.
And about 2 miles down the road, familiar sprawl returns, highlighting the contrast. I think that’s the tallest Starbucks sign I’ve ever seen.
Previously: Florida Faux, part 1
Also: Orlando pictures; Miami pictures.
Tags: architecture, branding, celebration, community, design, disney, electric car, electric vehicle, florida, logo, planning, segway, starbucks, vehicle
[...] Steve Portigal has some photos over on his blog from Celebration, FL, the Disney founded community that appears to try to bring back the closeted perfect veneer of the 1950s for the modern world. [...]
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