Celebration - worth a trip?

[crim1978]

Hi all

Doin a bit of itinerary planning as we are approaching double digits and are using any excuse to talk Disney at the moment.

We (as a group of 9 including 3 kids and 2 65+ers) are planning a mix of wdw, us, ioa, sw plus a day or two at some beaches etc.

It has been suggested to us that Daytona is not very special and probably not worth the visit but that Clearwater is far superiour?????

Anyway, we had though of a trip to Celebration (maybe an afternoon after a water park?) is it worth the trip?

Is there enough to see / do to occupy an afternoon and occupy three kids??

Any help, as ever, greatly appreciated.

 

[gilld]

We went for the first time in September - OMG it was unreal. We REALLY feared we may be turned into robots - it was SO like Stepford. They even have their rubbish collected at night so no one spoils the perfection with trash!

Although we had a nice lunch and a wander around, it only took an hour or so - or maybe that's all the perfection we could tolerate.

Did we like it - not at all - it was just too much like a movie set.

 

[sunshinefinlay]

I assume you mean Celebration - the town built originally by Disney (although they no longer have control of it). It is nice to wander around and sit by the lake with an ice-cream, but I wouldn't plan to make it a highlight of your vacation.

There is a good AMC cinema there that never gets busy - often you are the only one in!

It reminds me a little of the Truman show though - it is a little precious and feels a little wierd, like you are not in a real place (artificial leaves in the Fall and snow at Christmas!)

 

[JohnnySharp2]

Ha Ha , I agree with Gill - have driven through Celebration, we did stop once and had a walk around.
It's a clean, pleasant place, quite nice in fact but there is nothing to do there as far as I am aware.

There is no doubt the nicest beaches are on the west coast, Clearwater and St.Petes are our favourites.

Daytona and Cocoa are nearer, but in my opinion the beaches are nothing like as nice, I have not been back to these 2 for a long while but I have seen threads on other forums on these boards that suggest they have become a little run down of late.

Clearwater and St.Petes are definitely our choice, the only problem like I say is they are a 2 hour or so drive away.
I am not sure to be honest what else there is to do there, the beaches were our main reason for going, I have driven across the brilliant 'Sunshine Skyway' bridge over St.Pete's bay and I know visitors go there purely just to go over it...the view is awesome.

 

[alisonbestford]

Definitely go to Celebration

We had to go there, to the bank, to cash a $50 reward we were given for attending a timeshare presentation

As Gilld suggests the atmosphere is surreal

We found a great store selling Halloween things and plan to go back again this year for an hour or two
I think you need to visit just to believe it.......

 

[pixiepower04]

Go for an hour or so but don't make it a huge thing.

We had a nice lunch and the kids got soaked in the fountain but it didn't live up to the hype that I had read about on their website. The website gives the impression of there being alot more to see and do than there actually was.

I did enjoy the peace and tranquilness though and we drove around the back of the town past all the very lovely houses!

 

[angel659]

I have never heard of it before. It maybe worth a glimpse on my next visit.

Love
Michelle

 

[julieannbabe]

i might go and check celebration out for one afternoon.

have a look in some of the shops.

wow - by what some of you are saying it sounds a bit weird - kool!

xjx

 

[alisonbestford]

wow - by what some of you are saying it sounds a bit weird - kool!

xjx

The atmosphere inside the bank was bizarre

Has anyone seen the Disney 'Halloweentown' films with Debbie Reynolds?
It reminded me of our Celebration visit

 

[UKDEB]

We've visited Celebration several times and there's no denying that 'movie set' aura. It's always so quiet, too, which just adds to the whole feeling - it's almost creepy!

However, there are some lovely shops and eateries and, once you're inside them it's all pretty normal - in fact there was a positive hubbub last time we ate at the diner.

It's certainly worth a visit, but I agree that there's probably little to hold your attention for a whole afternoon. We're going to be staying one night at the Celebration Hotel in April, so I may form a whole different opinion of the place.

What about the Scenic Boat Tour at Winter Park? You need a nice day for it, but it's enjoyable for all age groups. Winter Park itself, although immaculately manicured, has a much more 'normal' vibe and it has some fantastic shops and restaurants. There's also a mall nearby.

 

[JohnnySharp2]

We like Winter Park too, athough it is at least a couple of years since we went.

 

[terrynewpack]

Celebration was built as a residential area and not as a tourist attraction. We only go when we are totally devoid of ideas and I bet the locals love all those Brits wondering around.
Winter Park is far better for a trip out.


Terry

 

[wilki32]

We went to Celebration last October and enjoyed it. It was nice and peaceful and really friendly, we had a chat with the waiter, who had lived there for a couple of years, and did agree that it was a bit stepford.
It does make a nice quiet change from the busy parks but probably only a cpl of hours worth.

 

[Red-Snapper]

Celebration makes a good early evening destination for a couple of hours. eat in the diner (meatloaf mmmm0 and then take a stroll around the shops - the children will like the ice cream/soda fountain and the 65+ers will like the little shops.

Winter Park is a bit more of an afternoon destination - especialy the baot tour as UKdeb suggests. Also the Winter Park mall is good for shopping and they have a Cheescake Factory which I prefer to the one in Mall at Millenia.

 

[littlegreydonkey]

We go as it's one of the only places around WDW/Kissimee with enough pavement for me to run on for an hour - personally I want to move there so I go round trying to find the house I want to buy this time (today's is currently opposite the golf course and up for $1.8 million), but it's only really a must see at Xmas when they do the nightly 'snow' fall and the houses have decorations - I run past thinking how lovely it would be to live somewhere where your 4 foot Mickey Mouse is still on your porch in the morning!!! Otherwise, it's a nice half an hour detour when you're down that way on 192.

 

[cheryl.UK]

Now if it really is the Truman show experience you're after the place to go is Seaside. A long drive but worth it.

 

[Minniespal]

We've visited Celebration a number of times. It is very quiet but it makes a nice change from a busy theme park. We usually get a coffee and sit on one of the rocking chairs and watch the world go by for a little while.

If you get a chance and you are on that area of the 192 I would recommend it.

 

[Kirsten77]

I like Celebration, we are eating dinner there next Friday. My friend has never been there and I wanted to show her the town. We went and saw the model houses and they were super nice!