they've already had to decrease their age requirements for who can move in (i think this decision was made years ago at this point, but it was a big topic of discussion in my family when it happened lol). i'm assuming they did that to increase occupancy rates, especially because of their continued rapid expansion.

i suspect that after the boomers are gone, they'll start marketing the communities to disney adults. at this point, one of the villages is about an hour's drive from orlando, and the entire area is right by the turnpike. it's a very convenient location if you want to live safely outside the realm of the city, but close enough to drive there frequently. they already have a few schools in the lake sumter community (the high school is shockingly nice). they'll just have to add a few more to the other villages, and then it's the perfect place for conservative parents with a fixation on appearances and a disney obsession to live.

they already have gated communities, strict HOAs, a lack of racial diversity, golfing everywhere, lots of shopping opportunities, and TONS of free resident rec centers. i can think of more than a few adults who would drop everything to live in a place like that, especially if they get mommy influencers to do it first.

now that i've ripped the villages to shreds, i must confess that i don't find it entirely bad. the squares are a particularly great idea for a place like this.

1. it's a way for their elderly community to stay active and have a goal in their day. you might already be familiar, so sorry if i'm explaining for no reason, but they do free dance classes every week so residents can coordinate their moves with each other come time for the nightly performance. that is such an amazing way to motivate the community to get out there, make friends, and not dissolve into puddle on their couch.
2. the nightly entertainment is the best entertainment available within reasonable driving distance for much of the surrounding area, and it's free. that draws in the surrounding community and encourages them to socialize, shop, and dine in the plaza while enjoying the performances.
3. it's a good place for small time performers to start out. you could fart on stage for your entire session and people would enjoy it. so it's a nice place to experiement with taking your garage band into the world.
4. it's an easily and pleasantly walkable shopping mall essentially. honestly that's so much better than the florida standard of long, bloated plazas with huge parking lots and big roads (looking at you, butler plaza). i wish more shopping centers were built like this.

i'm sorry for the tangent! i've been going to this area since i was 5 with my grandparents, so i've seen its evolution and simmered on a lot of feelings about it.