Is the Old Town area of Orlando a "bad" area?

[roliepolieoliefan]

My friend and her DS are staying at a hotel in Old Town with a baseball group. Someone told her that area is a bad area of orlando. How true is that? I know where it is but we usually stay onsite at WDW so I have no knowledge of the actual area. THX!

 

[momofdbsdc]

Old Town is located on 192. It is one of the major strips near Disney. It is extremely busy, but I wouldn't call it the bad area of Orlando.

 

[Figment22]

I don't mind walking around Old Town for entertainment. We usually go there on Friday and/or Saturday night when we're down for the car show as both my DH and older DS are total gear heads but I absolutely wouldn't want to stay in any of those "hotels" next to Old Town. (I use that term very loosely as even "motel" is a nice reference for them ) From what I recall there have been problems at some of those hotels in the past. Also, if you check out the "sticky" thread about best/worst offsite hotel experiences, the Days Inn Old Town comes up A LOT.

Just my opinion, but I'd rather stay anywhere but next to Old Town.

 

[cinamin27]

the only nice hotel in the Old Town area is the Comfort Suites Maingate East (2775 Florida Plaza Blvd)
all the other hotel/motels around there are pretty crappy, especially the Days Inn.

I believe one of the reasons is has been deemed "bad" is from the robbery gone wrong/murder that happened at the Checkers several years back (someone please correct me if I'm wrong with the what & where on that). also, the most of the hotels close to Old Town are pretty run down, the exception being the Comfort Suites.

Old Town itself is like a (very) mini amusement area with shops, a couple restaurants & maybe a bar or 2(??) - nothing at all like downtown disney. twards the front, there is a ferris wheel, sky jump (or what ever its called, its fun to watch tho), and a go cart race track. next door, closer to the Comfort Suites is a mini golf place.

 

[spiceycat]

people have been shot in this area.

 

[Figment22]

I believe one of the reasons is has been deemed "bad" is from the robbery gone wrong/murder that happened at the Checkers several years back (someone please correct me if I'm wrong with the what & where on that). also, the most of the hotels close to Old Town are pretty run down, the exception being the Comfort Suites.

Hi Cinamin! Haven't seen you around these parts for a while.

You're right about this incident. I've Googled trying to find the info on it with no luck but I knew I remembered it. As I said, I wouldn't stay there if it were me.

 

[SandraVB79]

I have survived a week on my own there!

 

[cinamin27]

Hi Cinamin! Haven't seen you around these parts for a while.

You're right about this incident. I've Googled trying to find the info on it with no luck but I knew I remembered it. As I said, I wouldn't stay there if it were me.

HEY Figment! I think we just must miss each other on threads! I hang around every now & then. I hope, you, the boys & your hubby are doing well!

My daughter & I stayed at the Comfort Suites at Old Town a couple years ago, no problems at all, we felt safe & actually moved to this hotel because of the one I booked was completely NASTY when we got there (Candlewood Suites near the FL Mall). I rode around trying to find a vacancy during a holiday weekend. The downtown disney hotels were all booked. This was of course before I discovered how great it is staying in timeshare condos!

 

[kilee]

We've stayed in this area as well (at the Day's Inn, not the Day's Suites). The hotels are definetly budget friendly. Meaning no frills. However, the rooms we got were much nicer than the Holiday Inn Nikki Bird for comparison. I'd say on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the nicest) our room was about a 3.5. It was clean and updated, just small and no upgrades. Everything was as basic as it gets.

That being said there are a lot of eateries and shops in this general area. Flippers pizza over in Old Town is some of the best I've had away from home (I'm in Buffalo, NY area and we have awesome pizza).

I'd use the same common sense about safety over there that I'd use elsewhere. Many "blanket statements" are made that are not specific and not taken from personal exp.. That being said, I'm sure we can find crime statistics for many of the area's in and around WDW. When we watch the local news while on vacation I'm always amazed by the high rate of criminal activity all around that area.

 

[safetymom]

I tried responding to your note but it kept getting returned by AOL. I don't think it is a bad area but as every where else you need to be careful.

Celebration is right up the road and Old Town has some great shops. They have car cruises on Friday and Sat. night. I agree about Flippers also.

 

[jeff968]

We visit Old Town for the Car show on Saturday night and it is always fun. It is a crazy place with lots of kids. It is a carnival type of setup but we always have fun. There are many nice places to eat on 192. I wouldn't worry, BTW, Old Town is actually in Kissimmee.

 

[brer rabbit 28]

I have never stayed in old town but have visited a few times.Seems fine to me,i see it as a budget version of int. drive!

It is pretty close to disney as well.

 

[momofdbsdc]

Amen to the Buffalo area pizza! it is AWESOME!!!

 

[utahkennedys]

I wouldn't stay there...about 12 years ago on Spring Break with college friends we did, b/c we booked last minute, and although at the time it worked for us, the last time I was in the area 3 or 4 years ago it had REALLY gone downhill to me...There are way to many nice places/areas to stay in Orlando to stay there...

 

[JCuel]

Stayed at I think it was the Days Suites 10/05 for one before going to CBR. Very safe area and right next door to Old Town. For $45 it was a nice enough place. Old yes but maintenance fixed the problem we had. There was at least one bar and a Damons. Great night what I remember of it. 10 hours of driving led to 5 hours of drinking.

 

[bonnyl]

My DH and I have stayed at the Comfort Suites the last 2 trips to Orlando and have had no problems at all and the rooms have always been clean. We've walked over to Old Town for an evening and even walked along 192 to some of the shops with no incidents. The Comfort Suites is by no means a budget hotel, but I wouldn't call it an upscale hotel either. It all depends on what type of accommodation you are looking for and what kind of money you are willing to pay. We definitely wouldn't stay at any of the other hotels/motels nearby though!

 

[lucky winner]

Stayed at Days suites 3 times before. I found it to be a fair value and really liked the area. Yes there was a person murdered at the Checkers last year but how many other area of the country deemed to be safe have had a murder/ I am sure there are plenty. I now find that renting homes from owners is a better value but still stay in Kissimmee east of Disney because of all the places to eat and shop.

 

[ralphd]

people have been shot in this area.

Note the B'ham murder rate is 4.63 times the national average:

' http://www.cityrating.com/citycrime.asp?city=Birmingham&state=AL '

 

[ralphd]

I believe one of the reasons is has been deemed "bad" is from the robbery gone wrong/murder that happened at the Checkers several years back (someone please correct me if I'm wrong with the what & where on that). also, the most of the hotels close to Old Town are pretty run down, the exception being the Comfort Suites.

QUOTE]

The Checkers suspects were arrested.

 

[DOOM1001]

I stayed at the Comfort Suites next to Old Town and it is a really nice hotel where I would stay at again without a problem.I've also stayed at the Days Inn Suites which wasn't as nice but the suite set up in those rooms is pretty good when you're with a group since it has like 3 separate rooms.

The Old Town area isn't bad but you're not inside of Disney and should be careful as you should at most places.However the further east you go on 192 the worse the area does become.