It sounds to me like water is very important to you. So yes please give Mt. Dora a good looking over.
One thing to not dismiss would be TV's approximation to many of these lakes you mentioned where you could dock your boat. You couldn't walk to the dock from your house but...
Mt. Dora does remind me of lakeside/seaside NE town but personally I'd be bored real quick. But if you're the type of person that wants to be on your boat most of the time then perhaps it would appeal more to you. Personally I like the variety that TV has to offer.
Mt. Dora is about 25-30 miles away from most of TV. About 45-50 min drive
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=mt+dor...N&hl=en&tab=wl
You might want to look into Harbor Hills just across from TV. It has nice homes and is right on Lake Griffin:
http://www.harborhills.com/