Celebration, Orlando

Travel distance/time from Florida Delight (15.3 miles: 25 minutes)

Celebration is a small town with a population of around 7,500 which was originally developed by the Walt Disney Company 18 years ago. Disney has since divested most of its control of the town but the touch of Disney is still unmistakeable.

Every time we are on holiday at the villa we make sure we visit Celebration and it is without doubt one of our favourite places to spend time having a meal, walk and an ice cream! The drive through Celebration to its town centre is a pleasure in itself looking at the colonial style homes. There is a large free car park just off the main high street behind the shops and fire station.

The town centre which is centred around a very pretty lake is lined with small cafes, bars, restaurants and boutiques. There is even a cinema. On the first occasion that we went, we bought a delicious sandwich each from the deli and then took them down to the edge of the lake which has cute little wooden rocking chairs and benches dotted around it which are perfect for enjoying the sun and the view. There are baby gators and terrapins in the lake and a lot of bird life. We loved seeing an osprey fly overhead with a fish in its mouth.

There are walking and biking trails and bikes can also be hired at the far side of the lake behind the Bohemian Hotel.

The  Bohemian Hotel is a great stop off point for a drink or meal if you walk around the lake as it has a lovely secluded terrace area.

Definitely not to be missed is the amazing ice cream parlour which has all types of ice cream and confectionary on sale to tempt you with. Perfect to take your ice cream and sit by the water fountain outside, which children love to play in and avoid getting wet, as it fires jets of water in to the air. 

When we were on holiday in November 2017, with some friends, we decided to explore Celebration by bike for a change rather than having a walk (which  is what we have done every other time). I would have to say that it turned out to be one of the most enjoyable things that we did during the holiday. We hired bikes through Kissimmee Bike Rental  which is located at the far end of the main lake in a car park near to the Bohemian Hotel. We chose to pay extra for a guide to come with us and were very glad we did because until taking the tour we had no concept of just how big Celebration actually is. It was absolutely beautiful cycling along, at a very nice leisurely pace, seeing some amazing wildlife along the way. The woods have boardwalks all the way through them which makes the cycling so easy, as do the paths all the way around the various lakes. The  magnificent houses in Celebration were a sight to behold. Having enjoyed a bike ride here so much I would make it a must do activity on future visits, although next time we will probably just hire some bikes without a guide with us and go off and explore by ourselves. I really do recommend this for people of all ages.