Old Town

Old town is located in Kissimmee at mile marker 9 on highway 192. It is a very unusual place and is supposed to represent Florida as it was in its old days. The shops are all set out as they would have been back then.

The shops do however sell 20th century goods although there are a couple that still sell cowboy boots and Stetsons and many leather goods that would have been around in the past. Most shops sell T-shirts and souvenirs etc although some have rather unusual items such as searching for your family tree or getting your coat of arms done. There is also a candle shop where you can watch the artists carve the candles into the most wonderful and complex shapes. It would be crime to light them really.

There is one fascinating shop that makes the Florida speciality confection known as Salt Water Taffy, a very chewy sweet guaranteed to remove any of your loose fillings! The machines that make them are on display at the front of the shop and you can buy some ready made. There are also some rather spooky shops selling jokes and gruesome things like stick on scars and fake knives covered in blood – all rather revolting but loved by small boys! There is even a tattoo parlour and a house of horror.

In the evening they have live bands playing in the street and you can join in the dancing or just watch the locals doing all the popular dances.

The Old Town Slingshot catapults you 365 feet in the air with extreme force giving you the fright of your life. You may have seen it featured on “You’ve been Framed” where 2 young boys screamed their way through the whole thing although I seem to remember that one was screaming and the other was laughing at him.

You can also get a bite to eat in Old Town. For a full service restaurant you can try Kool Katz Grill and Pub or for something more casual there is Flippers pizzeria.

If you are motor mad you will certainly enjoy Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights there.

Thursday has a themed bike night of all motor cycles. They are lovingly kept by their owners who are very proud of their bikes.

You will not want to miss the Friday night cruise where vehicles are between 1975 and 1987 although some are newer.

Saturday night is in my opinion the best night. That is Classic Car night. Hundreds of cars cruise slowly down the streets, and usually the occupants are dressed in the period of their cars too. If you get there before the parade starts, you can look around the cars and ask questions of the owners who are more than happy to talk about them.