Classic Entertainment District Announces Renovations and New Family-friendly Events
After nearly 4 years in the Orlando area, you’d think we must have visited all the central Florida attractions by now, but there are just so many! Last weekend, we had the chance to check out a place we have been meaning to visit for some time — Old Town in Kissimmee!
Maybe you’ve heard of it, maybe you haven’t. If you know of Old Town, you probably know it for its live concerts or the weekly Classic Car Cruise that takes place on Saturday nights. At least, those are the aspects I was familiar with.
What I didn’t know is Old Town is a longstanding Florida attraction that’s about to celebrate it’s 30th anniversary in December! Built in 1986, Old Town is the re-creation of a classic Florida town at the turn of the century. With historical architecture and distinctive storefronts, Old Town offers shopping, dining, and entertainment that breaks from the typical theme park experiences found in Orlando.
Even though it’s located just minutes from Disney, Universal, Sea World and International Drive, Old Town has a unique atmosphere that transports visitors back in time, particularly so during the Saturday Night Classic Car Cruise. We loved seeing all the old timey signs and the classic muscle cars of years gone by.
We enjoyed strolling down the beautiful, tree-lined brick streets and discovering over 50 unique shops, restaurants, bars, and family friendly amusements! And we could see why Old Town has become a beloved family tradition during their long tenure on U.S. 192.
Old Town is currently in the midst of a major revitalization effort to bring back it’s classic image but in a completely new way! Some of the biggest and most notable changes include an 85-foot brand new Ferris wheel and two 45-foot neon “jukeboxes” which will serve as the main entry signs. Inside the complex, they’re adding 7 water features and fountains, a new entertainment area, and an open-air bar designed to look like a classic carousel! The new bar will be the perfect place to watch the classic cars cruise the newly widened and (ADA compliant) streets! Now Old Town will have two entertainment stages to host their weekly live music performances that take place on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.
From now through the end of the year, Old Town is inviting guests to make memories and participate in the excitement with new events and happenings every month as part of its countdown in celebration of 30 years of family friendly entertainment.
September brings an End of Summer Country Concert with musical artist Mark Wills on September 24th at 6:30pm. Wills is a multi-platinum selling country music star with eight top 10 hits to his name including “19 Something,” “Wish You Were Here” and “Don’t Laugh At Me.” Tickets are only $15 in advance and $25 at the venue. For more info and tickets, visit https://myoldtownusa.com/events/endofsummer-countryconcert/.
In October, the Halloween festivities go into high gear with The Haunt and all new Zombie Tag attraction! As the signature Halloween event, The HAUNT at Old Town will take place for seven consecutive weekends, beginning on Friday, September 23 and until October 31 from 8:00 p.m. until midnight. The HAUNT at Old Town will include five haunt zones, two haunted mazes and the debut of Zombie Tag, a new interactive experience where guests try their hand at surviving a zombie apocalypse. There will be live entertainment and exclusive performances of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” in addition to Halloween costume contests and a decorating contest of Old Town’s classic cars. For more info, visit: https://myoldtownusa.com/events/the-haunt-at-old-town/
We enjoyed learning about all of these exciting new plans and activities coming to Old Town. We’d like to thank the staff at Old Town’s Corporate Offices for the tour and the information they shared with us.
After our tour, we were left to enjoy and explore Old Town on our own. In typical Florida fashion, there was a mid-day downpour which gave us the perfect opportunity to hunt for treasures the many, many shops!
As a kid, Andy loved magic tricks, so we had to visit the Magic Shop! The magician there even did a few tricks for us! We learned that they not only have magic kits for sale, but they also have three shows each day.
We explored the wide variety of items for sale in Old Town’s storefronts, which included everything from handmade soaps to tricked out golf carts to celebrity jewelry reproductions and so much more!
We had a great time looking through the “touristy” souvenir shops, the As Seen on TV store and even found tons of Pokemon items in a Japanese gifts store!
When it was Classic Car Cruise time, the nostalgia factor went way up! Strangers were chatting and laughing together, old-timers told stories about their hot rods and people were signing and dancing in the “streets”! It was such a fun time. And did you know this car cruise is one of the longest running in the country — they’ve never missed a Saturday night in 26 years! Wow!
Oh, and by the way, Fun Spot is right next door! We had so much fun riding go karts, Flying Bobs, the Swings and my favorite the Tilt-a-Whirl! The attendants were all so friendly and clearly hard-working, we were definitely impressed!
There are far too many details to share in just one blog post. The best way for you to learn about Old Town and to really feel the nostalgia is to come out and see it for yourself! We know you’ll love it too — and it’s only going to get better as the renovations unfold next year!
Old Town is located at 5770 West Irlo Bronson Memorial Hwy, Kissimmee, FL 34746. Visit www.myoldtownusa.com for more info.
Disclosure: We were provided refreshments during the Old Town presentation and admission to Fun Spot during our visit. All opinions presented above are authentic and our own.