A Day In Celebration

[Guest]

Hi there,

My husband and I are taking our little girl to Orlando in November this year. We plan to do the usual theme parks which me and my hubby have already done before our daughter was born but we have never visited Celebration.
Can anyone tell me if there are any special events happening during the month of November? We actually fly back to the UK on 3rd Dec. so maybe there is a Christmas event? Our little girl will have just turned 2 years old when we take our trip. Is there much to do for a toddler?

Also, does anyone know the best route to take from International Drive, (by car) we're staying at Quality Inn Plaza.
Is there are car park or do we just park on the street?
sorry for the 101 questions but I'd like to be prepared for a great day out.

It would be great to hear about your visits to Celebration.

Thanks
Jo

[debs1505]

Not an awful lot to do = lovely quaint shops, drive around the amazing houses, sit by the lake on the rockers with a milk shake from Market Street Cafe! Interactive water fountain area that your little one will enjoy. You would fill a couple of hours, certainly not a whole day, but well worth the visit. Check celebrationfl = this link doesnt always work tho!

As for directions, it is on the 192 in Kissimmee. Head down the 535 from I Drive, turn right onto the 192 and it is sign posted on the left.

[Guest]

Hi debs1505,

Thanks for that, I did try the web site for celebration and it seems to be down, maybe they are updating it in some way (does anyone know when it will be up and running again?)
Your directions seem pretty straight forward, although it's gonna be the first time for my husband to drive in the states, (I won't even attempt it)
So here's hoping it's not too stressful.
Our little girl LOVES water, she's obsessed with the bath, muddy puddles, any water at all she goes mad for, so I'm sure that she'll just love the water fountain.
We'll probably use our visit to Celebration as a rest day, go there early and maybe go shopping later on in the afternoon.
I believe that it snows in Main Street each day in Nov and Dec, not sure when exactly but I did read a post about it recently. I'm sure it's Main Street or is it Market St. ? I may be making the whole thing up, it's getting late and my head is filled with all sorts of gobble-de-guke.
well, thanks for your info debs1505.

[Guest]

Sweet-isobella

Celebration has Christmas every day... at certain time in the evening in the town centre...they play Christmas tunes and spray " snow..." which looks suspiciously like bubbles to us...lol...but would be fun for a 2 year old.
Other than that I have to say we were bored with Celebration after about 30 minutes.
It looks "quaint"..at first glance... but is totally manufactured...nothing natural about the place at all.

Having said that I'm sure your little one would love the snow!


Mike

[Guest]

Jo,
We live in Celebration and it is a wonderful place to visit and live. Beginning the day after Thanksgiving (November 23rd) we will have our annual Christmas celebration…”Snowing Nightly…..every night it snows on Market street…at the top of the hour 6,7,8 and 9 pm. We also have carriage rides, train rides, strolling carolers on the weekend…and I understand we may even have an ice skating rink this holiday. It is very festive…but not as busy as the Parks….it is reminiscent of a small town American Christmas…all of the stores have wonderful Christmas displays….we thoroughly enjoy it…if you would like I’ll email you more info as it becomes available….I almost forgot we have Father Christmas here every night and he has a very nice setting for the children to visit and get pictures
Phil

[Guest]

Originally Posted by PGCelebration

Jo,
We live in Celebration and it is a wonderful place to visit and live. Beginning the day after Thanksgiving (November 23rd) we will have our annual Christmas celebration…”Snowing Nightly…..every night it snows on Market street…at the top of the hour 6,7,8 and 9 pm. We also have carriage rides, train rides, strolling carolers on the weekend…and I understand we may even have an ice skating rink this holiday. It is very festive…but not as busy as the Parks….it is reminiscent of a small town American Christmas…all of the stores have wonderful Christmas displays….we thoroughly enjoy it…if you would like I’ll email you more info as it becomes available….I almost forgot we have Father Christmas here every night and he has a very nice setting for the children to visit and get pictures
Phil

See more...

Ah hi Phil,
how sweet of you to offer to email me, that's a really kind gesture. Thank you, that would be fantastic, my email address is sweet-isobella@blueyonder.co.uk
Are you originally from the UK?
Do you own a business in Celebration? I know that you are not MT who I've also spotted on some forums, he too seems very helpful.
I believe that Celebration is a fantastic place to visit and I really do enjoy Christmas so I'm soooo looking forward to seeing the shop window displays etc and of course the falling snow and Father Christmas. Oooh it can't come quick enough.
So maybe our visit to Celebration should be afternoon into the evening then? We have to see the snow
Your help and info. is really appreciated.
Thanks again,
Jo

[Guest]

Jo,

Speaking as an outsider i can say that we go every Nov / Dec and one of the main reasons for going at that time of year is Celebration. We, the english, are shown exactly how christmas should be at Celebration. The kids love the "snow" and you can't help be be blown away by the whole experience.

[mapman]

I love Celebration - it's very laid back and there's nothing better than getting a strong coffee take-away and sitting in the rocking chairs by the lake just spending a few minutes watching the blissful empty spaces . . and keeping an eye out for the odd croc too !

Some very nice places to eat and a few shops. MT (on the Dibb) owns the tea shop called Sherlock's ( sherlocksofcelebration/ ) and there are a few nice little shops and a "proper" post office.

There isn't a huge amount to fill a day's visit though.

There is a large free car park in the centre, and you can also park on the side of the road if you are lucky to find a space.

The Celebration Hotel is supposed to be nice as well - and they have a good restaurant.

The snow in December (and late Nov) is magical. And Celebration is famous for decorating their houses in hundreds of fairy lights (a bit like the Osborne Lights at MGM). It's fun just driving around at night looking at all the decorations - but be aware that people actually live there, so show some consideration for the locals.

A great place to unwind - there are trails around the lake too, and a cinema.

[mapman]

here are a few piccies to wet your appetite . . .

[Guest]

CHEERS FATLAD,
I'm really looking forward to it now. Can't wait to see the snow

Steve,
I love your pics and I know my little girl will absolutely love the water fountain.
I got my map by the way, thanks, it's great.
I'm going to have a really good look at it maybe some time over the weekend and plan out a few places to go other than the theme parks. (which we will be doing by the way, can't wait to go back to Magic Kingdom etc... ), but we do hope to squeeze in some shopping and one place we deffo won't be missing is Celebration.
We last went to Orlando in March 2000 (before our little girl was born) and I do remember being soooooo tired every evening, we should have gone for 3 weeks this time I think but hey, no rest for the wicked

thanks for the info. guys