Florida Resident Proof

[NYHeel]

So my mother just decided that she wants to join my family for a few days of our Disney trip starting on 1/14. Aside from the FP+ headaches (just another reason FP+ is a bad system), I'm looking into Florida resident proof as my mom is driving up from her apartment in Miami Beach to join us. She owns an apartment in Miami Beach and lives there about 2-3 months a year if you aggregate all of her visits. My understanding is ownership of a Florida residence is sufficient for Disney's purposes.

The problem is proof. Since she lives in NY most of the year, all of her ID is with her NY address. I looked at the Florida resident proof page here: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/faq/tickets/proof-florida-address/ and I'm not sure she can provide any of that information. She has no mortgage on the property (the mortgage is on her house in NY), since it's a condo there's no property taxes or a utility bill, and none of her financial institutions use the Florida address. So I don't believe she can provide any of the listed items on that website. However, she told me she can get a letter from the building that she owns the apartment, she can get her recent bill of her monthly maintenance as well as a recent appraisal bill. Are those items going to be good enough?

 

[DavidNYC]

I would not rely on advice from anyone on this board who says it's OK to provide something other than what is set out on the website. The argument "but someone on a chat board told me that . . ." won't get you very far if the CM you're dealing with doesn't want to accept it.

Does she really not get even a single letter or mailing from any of those options?? The condo pays for her cable TV too? No insurance? Why doesn't she open a small bank account with a bank near her in FL?

 

[WDWFan4ever]

We have had condos were services were all provided by the HOA who purchased in bulk (including basic cable). It is unusual that she doesn't pay property tax if she truly is an owner. That is typically not something that is an HOA item since it is payable to the city by the owner and not the responsibility of the HOA. Perhaps your mother is misunderstanding it or doesn't truly own the apartment.

In any case - I think DavidNYC is spot on.

 

[NYHeel]

I would not rely on advice from anyone on this board who says it's OK to provide something other than what is set out on the website. The argument "but someone on a chat board told me that . . ." won't get you very far if the CM you're dealing with doesn't want to accept it.

Does she really not get even a single letter or mailing from any of those options?? The condo pays for her cable TV too? No insurance? Why doesn't she open a small bank account with a bank near her in FL?

She probably has some mailing but nothing important. She gets basic cable at no cost. She doesn't pay for internet and uses a neighbor friend of hers for the limited time she's there. I'll call Disney but was hoping someone here might have some experience.

We have had condos were services were all provided by the HOA who purchased in bulk (including basic cable). It is unusual that she doesn't pay property tax if she truly is an owner. That is typically not something that is an HOA item since it is payable to the city by the owner and not the responsibility of the HOA. Perhaps your mother is misunderstanding it or doesn't truly own the apartment.

In any case - I think DavidNYC is spot on.

This isn't an HOA it's a condo building. She is most definitely the owner. This apartment was not cheap as it's a Miami Beach apartment on Collins Ave. There's no property taxes because that's included in monthly maintenance, I believe, though I'll double check. The other possibility is some homeowners insurance. I'll see if she has either.

 

[NYHeel]

And I just spoke to my mother and she just got Homeowner's insurance (mostly for contents and loss of use). She's going to reach out to the agent to get the bill as she hasn't even paid it yet.

 

[Alesia]

I hate to say it, but I wouldn't bother calling Disney. Phone CMs give incorrect information all of the time. I would never trust anything I heard from a phone CM

 

[snowwhite84]

I hate to say it, but I wouldn't bother calling Disney. Phone CMs give incorrect information all of the time. I would never trust anything I heard from a phone CM

I agree with Alesia, the CMs on the phone will not know the answer and may give inaccurate info.

I also have dual NY/FL residency and I can tell you they are very strict in proving FL residency. I would try to get something from the approved list, which it sounds like you’re doing

 

[enchantingodin]

I live in Palm Beach County. While it's not shown on the list of possible items, read - Disney doesn't have to accept it, you can pull up property info on the Plam Beach County Tax Appraisers website as to who owns the unit. I'm sure Dade County has something similar. Maybe try printing that off if you can't find anything else... Good luck!

 

[lorenae]

I did not change my drivers license to FL yet, but I brought my Verizon and Spectrum bills, my bank statements, and my tax receipt for my property taxes. The wouldn’t accept my taxes at all, but glanced at the utility bills and said it was fine. I’m not sure a 2-3 month stay is actually going to be considered a resident, though.

When I handed her my tax bills (with my Florida address as my address), she told me that all people who own in FL have those, but they are not necessary residents and are not accepted as proof. She told me it’s for residents, not just property owners in Florida.

So, a bank statement and utility bill will suffice.

 

[lorenae]

Oh, I forgot to mention (duh!) that they looked at the MAILING address, not the service address. You have to show that you get regular mail to your Florida address.

 

[snowwhite84]

I’m not sure a 2-3 month stay is actually going to be considered a resident, though.

Why wouldn’t 2-3 months be enough? I think the NY/FL snowbird is common. They’ve never asked me how much of the year I spend at my Florida residence, just proof that I do indeed have said residency. I don’t think they make a distinction between primary residence vs vacation residence.

 

[CastAStone]

I would call and explain the situation

Why wouldn’t 2-3 months be enough? I think the NY/FL snowbird is common. They’ve never asked me how much of the year I spend at my Florida residence, just proof that I do indeed have said residency. I don’t think they make a distinction between primary residence vs vacation residence.

Disney’s policy on this is pretty clear IMHO. If you own or permanently rent (not seasonally rent) a personal residence in Florida, you qualify, no matter how much time you actually spend there, no matter how recently you moved there.

 

[lorenae]

Why wouldn’t 2-3 months be enough? I think the NY/FL snowbird is common. They’ve never asked me how much of the year I spend at my Florida residence, just proof that I do indeed have said residency. I don’t think they make a distinction between primary residence vs vacation residence.

When I was at the ticket office, they did make the distinction. Having my tax statement was not even looked at- and she told me that I couldn’t use that. but they did glance at my mailing address on my utilities. Maybe it was the CM I had, but she told me that owning a place was not what they needed- without a FL driver’s license they needed proof of my actual residence mailing address and the utilities bills did that. They didn’t ask me how long I owned or how much time I spent at my house at all- but without the FL driver’s license, they wanted proof of residency via my mail.

 

[snowwhite84]

When I was at the ticket office, they did make the distinction. Having my tax statement was not even looked at- and she told me that I couldn’t use that. but they did glance at my mailing address on my utilities. Maybe it was the CM I had, but she told me that owning a place was not what they needed- without a FL driver’s license they needed proof of my actual residence mailing address and the utilities bills did that. They didn’t ask me how long I owned or how much time I spent at my house at all- but without the FL driver’s license, they wanted proof of residency via my mail.

I’m just not sure what you mean, they made a distinction between what? My point is you just need one of the items listed (license, utility bill, piece of mail from a bank) with your name mailed to your Florida address, and it doesn’t matter if you use that residence for a month or live there year long. I have a similar situation to OP’s mother. I own a home in Florida that I spend a week or two at a time at, adding up to a few months a year. I live primarily in a different state. I’ve never had a problem using a recent utility bill to purchase my Florida resident ticket.

I just would hate for someone to think they can’t use a seasonal Florida residence to get the resident discount. You definitely can!

 

[lovethattink]

My parents had FL identification cards from the DMV when they were snow birds. My son has one too. I don't remember what all was required for that, but those last for years if they meet the requirement.

 

[NYHeel]

My parents had FL identification cards from the DMV when they were snow birds. My son has one too. I don't remember what all was required for that, but those last for years if they meet the requirement.

I guess my mother can do that but as of now she doesn't have one and isn't likely to get one in the next week. But the good news is that she just bought a homeowners policy even though she's owned the apartment for about 4-5 years. So she's going to use the policy for proof of residence.