The Forgotten Roadside Attractions Near Disney World - Themed Motels / Closed Dinner Shows & MORE
A visit to Hwy 192 in Kissimmee Florida to check out all the former roadside attractions that have closed over the years . Including themed motels , dinner shows and where they used to be .
Transcript
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welcome everyone in the whoo here
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Osceola County Kissimmee Florida is the
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location of today's adventure the
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Turnpike exit right behind this former
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tourist info center a lot has changed
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over the decades and years down this
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little strip and thoroughfare I'm just
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gonna pull off the road driving up
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towards the theme parks and just do a
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little VIN and now comparison of
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attractions abusement facilities gift
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shops and hotels inviting you to join me
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there was a time when these places were
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bustling with activity and visitors
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keeping all the guests on site at the
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resorts is now kind of the common
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denominator this vintage postcard shows
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the sunrise motel
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look at those classic cars in the
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parking lot promoting color television
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and also the county land company tucked
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away around the back it is good to see
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that it is still open for business
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although some of the lettering has been
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removed from the side no longer the
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Osceola organization meets around the
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back or has their office former Pizza
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Hut Alert Pizza former Taco Bell alert
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Taco Bell alert diplomat motel with a
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game room and a pool shun there in the
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top right corner
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it is now the golden orchid in at one
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point this was a Kmart and then became a
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Super K and then it closed
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here on the right
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Krystal's is now closed its doors for
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good
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and right next to the crystals was a
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restaurant that used to sit here on the
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little grassy section you can see the
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pavement where the parking lot used to
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be and it was built around a train car
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it's been gone for probably 10 15 20
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years
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I do remember eating there back in the
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early 90s mid 90s he'd walk up this
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platform and go onto the train and get
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yourself a meal it burned down as best
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as I can remember fun and wheels Central
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Florida's family fun park
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who would have guessed by looking at it
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now that this empty field would be a
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beehive of activity with go-karts slides
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and other assortment of attractions 192
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is on the other side of those buildings
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the part of the property has been
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developed with other establishments but
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it stretched all the way back here
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if this plot of land could talk off
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across the road is medieval times the
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adventure motel used to have these
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objects on either side of the signage
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and they have HBO and to this day
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currently still have HBO for free even
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though the signage is a little different
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classic Viking motel right on a man-made
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lake themed like a castle which just so
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happened to sit adjacent to River
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Adventure Golf
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that I worked at part-time a long long
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time ago in the evenings you still see
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the lights there but back to the Viking
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motel it was placed here has been torn
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down and here is that Lake
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what was said to have been the second
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largest Gator ever created out of
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materials is right next to where I just
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parked notice that motel behind him that
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is the backdrop of where it was located
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right here it's been repaved that he
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would overlook the highway and help
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promote this Zoo which has closed and a
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lot remains back in the woods behind
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this building but plenty of signage say
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you're not allowed to go back there a
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nice waterfall would take place
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trickling down from this rock formation
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property now giving helicopter tours or
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using or using the property for such
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things
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but the section that is no longer in use
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used to be the amazing maze this entire
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section if you were to see it from that
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helicopter you know ten years ago or so
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would be a pattern
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you pay a couple bucks and be challenged
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to find your way out
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the Haunted Mansion no affiliation
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whatsoever with Disney and has closed
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since closed structure still remains
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even though it has been repainted but
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still looks like the castle
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pictured here I went through a couple
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different versions when it was open had
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a gift shop and you know basically a
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little scare zone inside now they can
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see use for the church building or a
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school utilizing this once grocery
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stores parking lot and got to walk over
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to a couple of former attractions that
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are in the general vicinity right next
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door in fact big bamboo lounge with the
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truck parked out front and that little
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two-story overlook this Tiki themed bar
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has a lot of dedicated people who miss
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it considerably in that photo you can
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see this facade to the far left of it
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now while I cannot pass by this side my
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order of that Proclamation it was right
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next to this tree you can kind of see a
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little patch of gravel over there where
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the foundation was I would also like to
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imagine and pretend that these are some
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of the remains
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from what was once there but in reality
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they're not a tower have been there on
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the far left this was a place loved by
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many Walt Disney World cast members a
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local hangout for some tourists but more
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for locals with the resurgence of Tiki
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the last few years it'd be neat if
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someone else bought this property and
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built their own version can be called
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something totally different but be fun
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if there was a similar type of thing
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here Santa do home of the future was
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just catty-corner to that other property
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I just showed right across the street
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down a few feet a very odd shaped
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building sat here and you could tour
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through it and see what it would be like
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living in the future
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it's sat next to the key motel now
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called the magic key resort and that
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patch of grass right there in the center
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is just about where it would have been
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stationed
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and pavement and concrete has been newly
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placed all around that area what it
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looked like is as follows I'm pretty
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thankful and was lucky enough to check
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it out before it closed
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I was a much younger been informed in
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the past that this building is still
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used occasionally for other operational
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purposes but it used to be not an
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antigravity center but movie writer for
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a short time can't forget about the Rock
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Church which used to be the American
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Gladiators live it was a dinner show it
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could watch them perform and battle it
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out their slogan was catch a wave at
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water mania today and even though the
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signage has been removed as well as the
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entire park that water tower that
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celebration is still across the road and
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where I've parked I would be in one of
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the pools but it's been repaved so I'm
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okay speaking of other dinner shows
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there was Arabian Nights
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these two horses at the gateway into the
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property there are some new living
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accommodations back there where the
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dinner show used to sit
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but where the statues were still remains
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and the signage caution please do not
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hang on them they will break
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you still see the screws there that held
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them down one and the second I don't
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know if everyone else finds this kind of
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stuff fascinating I have quite an
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enthusiasm you know for not only current
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attractions but also the past and
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memories especially when they were
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places that I visited kind of holds an
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extra special place in my heart there is
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a light that's one of the lamps that
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would have shifted towards those statues
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and made them more visible under the
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Shroud of nightfall one of the two
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wizards here in Kissimmee Florida along
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highway 192 separated by a few miles of
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the two of them this is the one that
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I've shown the lesser amount of times so
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wanted to pull over and just say hello
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lesser shown wizard that's gonna do it
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