Hwy 192 In Kissimmee Is A Mess Of Abandoned Buildings & Empty Eyesores - The Start Of Revitalization
Hwy 192 Kissimmee Update
Transcript
0:02
Welcome everyone. Adam of the Woo here
0:02
as the recording of this Thursday,
0:04
October 16th, 2025. I am venturing out
0:08
of the Celebration bubble into what I
0:11
refer to as No Man's Land, which is
0:13
Highway 192, which is just across the
0:15
street from Celebration. I am going to
0:18
go towards the downtown CM towards St.
0:21
Cloud area, and then possibly back up.
0:24
But I want to show what's going on on
0:28
Highway 192. Some of the stuff that's
0:30
still sitting here decaying, falling
0:33
apart, rotting away, if you will, and
0:36
what is being torn down, what is
0:38
springing up in its place. Been a little
0:42
while since I've done something like
0:43
this. And usually try to cover it every
0:45
6, 7 months or once a year
0:49
occasionally just to see what's
0:50
happening in my neck of the woods.
0:52
getting out of the celebration bubble.
0:54
Check it out what's happening on 192.
0:57
They're supposed to be doing a
0:58
revitalization.
1:01
See how that's going. Join me. Good to
1:04
have you here.
1:07
Shall you? Many years ago in the late
1:09
90s, early 2000s, I worked at a pool bar
1:12
in this motel. It has been under
1:15
construction since those days. The pool
1:18
was way back there. or they've torn it
1:19
out
1:21
many years ago. This has been 25 years
1:24
ago. And this place has been empty,
1:27
closed down, but they are making it into
1:28
an extended stay rental facility. And it
1:31
looks like they are starting to rent
1:33
back there the other side of the
1:34
property I'm standing on. And there is a
1:36
Marcos Pizza. It's going to be rearing
1:38
its head next to where the original
1:40
check-in desk was. So, when that Marcos
1:42
Pizza opens, I might have to go do a
1:44
little little food review. Next to it
1:47
was this hotel, which was an inn of some
1:50
sort. I can't really tell what that
1:51
says. That's a Wheel of Fortune moment
1:52
right there. Travel lodge, travel in,
1:56
some sort of an in. Melanoma, carcinoma,
1:58
some kind of a Noma.
2:00
Little Fletch reference. And this gift
2:02
shop closed a couple years ago. Building
2:05
still standing.
2:08
You got the flowers out here. Are those
2:11
patunias?
2:13
Little throwback. Waffle House still
2:16
kicking next door.
2:19
Love a good Waffle House meal.
2:25
Kind of surprised this has not been torn
2:25
down yet. Something has gone in his
2:28
place. I would consider this semi-prime
2:29
real estate.
2:32
Got the Gator here. Gifts for less
2:35
written on his hat.
2:41
And this place had the best prices in
2:41
town. Possibly their markup was not high
2:44
enough even though the shark was giving
2:46
it a big thumbs up. Maybe they didn't
2:48
have enough markup because they had the
2:50
best prices in town. They couldn't stay
2:51
open.
2:59
There's a little peek in the window. The
2:59
the roof tiles have fallen down. There's
3:01
the dressing rooms back there.
3:12
Little peek in the front window here.
3:12
address is 5993 Elo Bronson, which is
3:16
Highway 192 or 13th Street when you get
3:18
closer to St. Cloud. Not sure if that's
3:20
still accurate or not. I'm going to say
3:21
probably not. You can see the check-in
3:24
desk. If you peek in through here,
3:41
They do not want any soliciting going on
3:41
here.
3:43
Used to be a big sign, right? Big huge
3:46
metal sign. And I think that was here
3:48
till semi- recently. And they've just at
3:51
least as far as my memory serves,
3:54
taking a
3:57
taken a saw to it, cut it down,
4:01
chopped it off. This is across from
4:03
Chick-fil-A and the Celebration Water
4:05
Tower is right over there. I bypassed a
4:07
few things I show pretty often when I'm
4:08
on my golf cart driving down 192. So,
4:10
I'm getting past the point before I need
4:13
to turn back to go into Celebration to
4:15
Charge Mini Marge, my glorified golf
4:17
cart. So, next to Cracker Barrel.
4:22
So, I'm going to continue heading that
4:24
direction,
4:26
but I wanted to show this. This used to
4:27
be the movie ride building
4:31
and I covered it in pretty great detail
4:32
when they were tearing it down the weeks
4:35
leading up to the bulldozers coming in
4:36
and tearing it down. And it looks as if
4:39
they might be
4:45
they might be doing something else. Look
4:45
at this. There's other heavy machinery
4:47
over here. They could possibly look like
4:50
they've cleared a little bit of the
4:51
land. They could possibly be building
4:54
something here.
4:56
And there's also a couple restaurants
4:58
here. There's a pizzer uno and a chili's
5:00
and a sushi place, but I believe one of
5:03
the other restaurants that was next to
5:04
that just closed. So, who knows? Well,
5:08
someone knows. I don't know what they're
5:09
going to be doing with this section.
5:20
Look like they're primed and ready to do
5:20
something.
5:21
Look at all that.
5:29
All right. The restaurant I was just
5:29
describing that closed
5:32
is now a sushi place. So, the sushi
5:34
place is now
5:37
about ready to open.
5:40
This used to be a different
5:41
establishment.
5:47
So, whatever was here is not was not
5:47
sitting very long. You see where the
5:49
sign used to be right up there.
5:52
And now there's the new the new sign.
5:55
Sushi.
5:56
Love sushi. I have to check this place
5:58
out sometime. All you can eat. Many
6:00
years ago in the '9s, there used to be a
6:02
tiki bar called the Big Bamboo Lounge.
6:06
And the last time I was over here
6:07
showing where it used to be 6 months ago
6:09
or so, the building that is now in its
6:12
spot has not gone vertical. But right
6:14
there on this corner of the building on
6:17
the ground level was the big bamboo
6:18
lounge.
6:21
And I I went in there one time,
6:23
but I didn't frequent it often. In fact,
6:25
the one time I went in there, I didn't
6:27
really know what it was. I didn't know
6:28
the history of it. Kind of wish I would
6:31
have known a little bit more about what
6:32
it was when I went there back in the the
6:35
'9s. Popped in with a buddy of mine and
6:38
just kind of walked around then left.
6:42
But it was a staple
6:44
for Disney World cast members. It was a
6:47
cast member hangout called the Big
6:49
Bamboo Lounge.
6:52
you know, pre-trader Sam's.
6:58
Not saying the cast members are hanging
6:58
out in Trader Sam's, but you know what I
6:59
mean.
7:02
Same time frame as the Adventurers Club
7:05
at Pleasure Island, I would guess. So,
7:07
that same kind of era was called the Big
7:10
Bamboo Lounge. There's a little bit of
7:12
stuff online about it. Not a lot, but
7:14
there's a little info about it online.
7:16
Those that know.
7:19
was right there. And where I'm sitting,
7:21
looking across the street from where I
7:22
was, is huge patch of land that had
7:25
three motel that they tore down a couple
7:27
years ago. And now off in the woods,
7:29
it's used for city or county workers to
7:33
store road signs, like road construction
7:36
signs. That's what's back over those
7:38
trees. But again, I don't know if this
7:41
is prime real estate, but decent real
7:44
estate.
7:45
I think the era of Highway 192, hotels
7:48
being used for tourists is long gone.
7:51
That was a '9s '90s thing, early 2000
7:54
thing. All the resorts, you know,
7:56
Universal,
7:58
Disney World, they're all really trying
8:00
to get everyone to stay on property. And
8:02
with Disney Vacation Club, the 20, what
8:05
25 plus Disney resorts that you can rent
8:09
rooms with cash or credit,
8:11
all located on property. And then
8:14
Universal has a number, I'm not sure how
8:16
many they have, but they have a number
8:17
of on-site or close to on-site hotels.
8:21
So, not a lot of tourists are staying on
8:23
Highway 192 anymore.
8:26
There are some motel, but most of the
8:28
people that are staying there are
8:30
extended stay and not so much catering
8:33
catering to out of town tourists
8:34
anymore. So, that's probably the reason
8:36
these were torn down.
8:39
It's an interesting time for Highway
8:41
192. It really is. It's an interesting
8:42
time frame. Interested to see where it
8:44
progresses. Now, this is interesting.
8:46
Right next door to a motel called the
8:49
Magic Key Motel. No affiliation with
8:53
Disney Corporation.
8:55
Here at 4800 Erllo Bronson, Highway 192
9:01
is a sign that states Eden Suites
9:03
Boutique Hotel that was never built.
9:06
Lour Eiffel Paris Gift Shop, never
9:08
built. still under construction behind
9:11
that fence.
9:12
But this is where Mystery Funhouse used
9:14
to be. A really interesting roadside
9:18
attraction
9:19
back in the early '9s called Mystery
9:21
Funhouse. I think there were three of
9:23
them across the US. None of them still
9:25
exist, but one of them was right here in
9:28
the parking lot of this never developed
9:31
Eden Suites Eiffel Tower Paris gift shop
9:34
place in CMI. Fun fact.
9:38
All right, moving on. Way to get a
9:41
traffic light at marker 12. They have
9:44
these markers up and down Highway 192.
9:51
There used to be a series of condos
9:51
through here. Now it look like they had
9:52
a some security on site, but riding
9:56
right along the side of the road where
9:57
I'm showing, I just parked past the
9:59
marker 12
10:01
stansion. used to be a bunch of vacation
10:05
homes right along here that were torn
10:08
down a few years ago.
10:10
This is right on the corner of 192 and
10:13
Seven Dwarfs Lane.
10:16
For many years, there was a dinner show
10:17
here called Capone's Dinner Show.
10:20
It was themed around Al Capone and the
10:23
era around gangsters and things like
10:25
that. It is now a Polynesian show.
10:28
Polynesian Fire luau, but it was Capones
10:31
for like three decades.
10:35
And there's the new sign
10:37
right there. Polynesian Fire Dinner Show
10:39
at 40 4740
10:42
Elo Bronson. New show. I got to check it
10:44
out sometime one day. Back in the late
10:46
90s, early 2000s, I worked at Kmart
10:48
full-time and I had a handful of
10:51
part-time jobs at night after the Kmart
10:54
Kmart gig. Worked at Kmart 5 years. One
10:57
of those part-time jobs I had was a
10:59
place called Video Center, a video
11:01
store. And the owner closed down when
11:04
DVD started to, you know, to rear their
11:07
head. He was like, I'm going down with
11:09
the ship with this VHS thing. And his
11:11
selection of VHS was amazing, but he was
11:13
ready to retire. and he was taking that
11:15
as his retirement time frame.
11:18
But between working at the video store
11:21
either before or after I quit there
11:22
doing part-time while at Kmart, I worked
11:25
over here at River Adventure Golf. And
11:27
I've shown this before and I had high
11:29
hopes that it was the land was going to
11:32
be clean because it's been abandoned for
11:35
I don't know 10 years, 10 plus years,
11:37
maybe more 15 plus years.
11:40
But about a year ago, there was an
11:41
announcement I saw
11:44
this land was going to be cleared and a
11:46
Wizard of Oz museum which now resides
11:48
over on the coast of Florida was going
11:51
to move inland to the tourist area of
11:54
CMI and was going to be built here. But
11:57
I am seeing absolutely no progress at
11:59
all. None.
12:05
So, that might have just been a heavy
12:05
rumor or
12:07
it may have been a fact that they have
12:09
now gone back on because I don't see any
12:11
construction here. So,
12:18
yeah, still sitting empty. Look like
12:18
it's going to be empty for a while. Oh,
12:19
there is a fire over there. Look, look
12:22
at the billowing smoke.
12:24
That would be maybe Point Sienna area.
12:28
That's over towards Point Sienna. That
12:29
is a massive billow of smoke.
12:40
First, I thought it was an unusual
12:40
cloud, but that's definitely not a
12:41
cloud. That is a cloud of smoke,
12:44
not of weather.
12:54
Look at that thing. Holy cow.
12:54
Used to be an active miniature golf
12:56
course over here by Walmart.
12:59
on Highway 192 near medieval times.
13:03
Quite a few times before they put this
13:04
fence up, I walked around the property,
13:06
but since then,
13:09
it's probably been a year ago since I
13:11
traversed
13:13
up into the cavernous pirate area,
13:17
miniature golf course here. Since then,
13:20
they put up this chain link fence,
13:27
but they haven't torn it down. Again,
13:27
some good real estate here. It's just
13:29
not being used for anything other than
13:31
just something that's decaying.
13:34
See, that door has been busted out.
13:47
Adventure Island or Pirate Island.
13:47
Adventure Golf.
13:50
Still got the shackles right there. that
13:52
you used to be able to get a photo op
13:54
in.
13:56
Put your friends and family in the
13:59
the shackles.
14:16
Pirate ship looks like it's still back
14:16
there.
14:18
Yeah, right there.
14:26
All grown over now with weeds and
14:26
foliage.
14:48
All right. This is very unusual. the
14:48
fact that this is open. I haven't seen
14:51
this open in years. This is known as the
14:54
192 flea market.
14:57
I don't think it's open. I think it's
14:58
just for U-Hauls. Yeah, it's just U-Haul
15:00
U-Haul rentals now. But this was
15:03
thriving at one point where all the
15:06
booths were filled up. It's open 7 days
15:08
a week. But I haven't seen the property
15:09
open in a while. But the fence is open.
15:12
There's people back in here. Evidently,
15:14
there's just one store now. Oh, it's the
15:17
U-Haul rental place.
15:39
Yeah, this brings back memories.
15:39
My flea marketing days back in the early
15:41
90s. There used to be one in St. clouds
15:44
are going into CM. And now it's
15:46
completely torn down and gone.
15:56
This one's still here. Look at this.
15:56
Do not leave cameras, camcorders, and
15:59
valuables
16:01
visible in car.
16:05
When's the last time you saw the word
16:06
camcorders on a sign?
16:27
There's a layout of the land right
16:29
West Vine Street, also known as Erllo
16:30
Bronson and also
16:35
192
16:43
just U-Haul storage now or U-Haul rental
16:43
facility now. Well, I guess storage
16:45
also, but they also rent.
16:49
And these apartments have an interesting
16:51
view of a decrepit old flea market.
16:56
Let's see if you have one of those
16:57
balcony views. This is what you would
16:59
look at all day long from your balcony.
17:07
Look at that old bike rack.
17:07
Actually, no. That's a shelf unit. It's
17:08
a shelf unit.
17:14
Wow. I haven't I haven't driven up in
17:14
here in years. Years.
17:27
Who knows if I'll ever be able to come
17:27
up in here again. Who knows if that
17:28
U-Haul place will even stay open.
17:34
In front of where the bowling alley is.
17:34
It used to be a Sunny's barbecue.
17:41
They tore they just tore it down. This
17:41
is very recent. The Sunny's Barbecue
17:44
that sat here abandoned for a decade or
17:47
more has now been erased from existence.
17:50
You can still see the foundation.
17:54
And then just all the rubble that comes
17:56
with the destruction and tearing down
18:00
of the barbecue joint.
18:10
And this is a little farther back the
18:10
demolition of this building. There was
18:11
another restaurant right here
18:18
or some sort of structure that was torn
18:18
down. I cannot recall what this was.
18:21
This has probably been leveled for a few
18:23
years now.
18:38
And I'm no expert on, you know,
18:38
progress, but I know usually something
18:40
does not get torn down unless it's just
18:42
really unstructurally sound and
18:44
dangerous. But if it's still
18:46
structurally sound, which most
18:47
buildings, you know, once a business
18:49
pulls out of them are, usually something
18:52
is not torn down, like for example the
18:54
barbecue place over there, unless
18:56
there's plans to put something else in
18:57
its place. So again, I've heard rumors
19:01
of a Highway 192 revitalization,
19:05
maybe that's what this will be. Fingers
19:08
crossed.
19:14
Used to be a Hooters probably 20 years
19:14
ago.
19:16
used to live in this neighborhood
19:17
actually across the street in one of the
19:20
oldest housing developments
19:22
in the CM area. It's back when I worked
19:25
at Office Max which is I don't know half
19:27
a mile from here.
19:29
But I point that out to point out the
19:31
parking lot that this former Hooters
19:32
used to sit in cuz I just heard that
19:36
this area might be getting a massive
19:39
overhaul.
19:44
They might be tearing this whole
19:44
property out to build apartments,
19:48
which makes sense. They're not using
19:50
this for anything. That used to be a
19:51
Publix back in the day. I worked at
19:54
Publix from 1991 to 1994, 1995ish
19:59
at the one in St. Cloud, also the one in
20:00
Buura Lakes, BBL. But occasionally they
20:04
would let me go to other stores to work.
20:06
And I did work in the Publix here for a
20:08
couple nights when they needed help.
20:12
Then it turned into a big lots.
20:15
Then it closed. Home Depot is right next
20:17
door. And this was Kmart. And after my
20:22
Publix days, years after, I worked at
20:25
Kmart.
20:26
And I worked at the other CM location.
20:29
This is the second of the Kmart
20:31
properties. And I also worked in here
20:34
for a few weeks when they needed help.
20:35
But
20:38
most of my days at Kmart were at the
20:40
other spot.
20:46
And I could definitely see how leveling
20:46
this and building, you know, housing
20:48
accommodations makes a lot more sense. I
20:50
don't know if a business would really
20:52
work in here. Definitely not a a big box
20:55
store
20:57
out front. They used to have those, you
21:00
know, you put the quarter in the
21:01
machines and you get on the horse, you
21:02
ride the horse. They used to be plugged
21:03
in right over there. You still see the
21:05
plugins.
21:07
Ah, yes. The Kmart days.
21:25
Huge chunk of land that could definitely
21:25
fill up with some apartments.
21:27
I definitely foresee that rumor coming
21:30
true. Well, if it does happen, it makes
21:32
sense. I can understand why some would
21:35
say that
22:07
used to have the maintenance area around
22:07
here for cars. At Walmart, they used to
22:09
call it TLE, Tiger and Lube Express. I
22:12
worked at Walmart also. I worked at a
22:13
lot of retail places, but at Kmart, I
22:16
think they had a different name for it,
22:18
just like a mechanic shop of sorts.
22:49
Now we're getting over to the former Big
22:49
Lots area. Loading dock for Big Lots and
22:52
that Publix I was mentioning prior to
22:55
Big Lots
22:57
speed hump.
23:09
Well, no. This is probably the big lots.
23:09
This is it. That was probably the Publix
23:12
loading dock. This was the
23:15
or that was the Kmart loading dock back
23:17
there. Now we're getting into the
23:18
Publix. Yeah, this was the Publix and
23:20
and then eventually Big Lots.
23:30
the truck lift that would lift up. You
23:30
pull the pallet jack up on the the
23:33
forklift or not the forklift, but the
23:36
lift would go up to the height of the
23:39
truck trailer. You take the pallet jack
23:40
off, go onto the truck trailer, pull the
23:43
pallet off on here, use a mechanism that
23:46
was probably mounted on the wall to the
23:49
electricity to bring the lift down. So,
23:52
we go from here up, pull the pallet off,
23:55
put it on there, drive it down, bring it
23:57
in the back room.
23:59
That's how it worked.
24:07
I'm actually surprised they haven't
24:07
leveled this many years ago. This has
24:09
been like this for a while.
24:37
turned off the thorough affair I was on
24:37
and just kind of tucked away.
24:40
I don't know maybe quarter of a mile off
24:42
of the highway over there.
24:46
This is the Orlando health training
24:48
ground for the soccer team here in town,
24:50
the Orlando soccer team. But it used to
24:52
be the spring training facility baseball
24:56
field for the Houston Astros
24:59
back in the '9s. And I were concessions
25:01
there part-time for a little while, for
25:03
a brief while. and also met many players
25:07
for the Astros and their
25:10
their coaches and
25:13
other team members over here in this
25:15
parking lot.
25:17
But also, I went to one semester of
25:20
Florida Christian College right here at
25:23
1011 Bill Beck Boulevard
25:31
in the '90s.
25:31
And this property is no longer owned by
25:34
the college. The college changed its
25:36
name way after my time. Think I even had
25:40
a little lock on there. But I vividly
25:43
remember even though that's been 30
25:45
years ago.
25:48
I remember going in that building many
25:49
times. Since then they expanded the
25:52
property.
25:54
There were people there were students
25:56
living on property. I did not live on
25:58
property because I was local.
26:01
I only went to one semester. Didn't even
26:03
go a full year.
26:13
Not sure what they're going to do with
26:13
the premises.
26:15
And evidently the college, they changed
26:17
names. A lot of a lot of Christian
26:20
colleges would drop the word Christian
26:22
from the vernacular, from the title, if
26:25
you will, and they would call it
26:27
something else as time went on. on I
26:30
think Atlanta Christian College where my
26:31
mom and dad met
26:34
that was the same way
26:37
but it became a it became a different
26:39
school name and then eventually just
26:41
folded for whatever reason
26:47
right here on the corner of Bill Beck
26:47
Boulevard and Sun's Circle. I guess
26:50
that's the name of the road.
26:53
I just wanted to swing by. My dad was
26:55
telling me that it closed its doors.
26:58
There it is.
27:20
Pretty decent size campus
27:20
with the dorms and everything.
27:36
And across the street, Ociola Heritage
27:36
Park
27:38
used to have a
27:41
a farm team
27:43
that played over there as well as the
27:45
Astros Spring Training Home for many,
27:48
many years. Again, that's been a couple
27:50
decades ago.
27:52
Not even used for baseball anymore.
27:56
It's a soccer training ground or a
27:58
soccer training facility.
28:06
Made it to St. Cloud, Florida. Now, 192
28:06
dumps into it. Also, if you're playing a
28:08
drinking game and every time I say
28:11
192 or highway,
28:15
it wouldn't end well.
28:21
So, don't do that. This Aldi used to be
28:21
a Windixie. one of the two Windixies I
28:23
worked at.
28:26
It's now no longer a Windixie. It's an
28:28
Aldi.
28:33
There's also a Blockbuster Video right
28:33
over there. It used to be a Blockbuster
28:34
video that I wasn't able to get a job at
28:40
even though I worked at a video store
28:41
elsewhere. The Blockbuster would not
28:43
hire me because I had tattoos,
28:49
like visible tattoos. It was a long time
28:49
ago, but yeah.
28:55
I'm going to head to my parents house
28:55
now
28:56
and enjoy some off- camerara time with
28:58
them. Catch up with them. Maybe have a
29:01
bite to eat. Maybe have some dinner and
29:03
then head back down 192 again a little
29:06
bit later. Probably
29:09
probably a little bit later when it's
29:10
either dusk or nightfall or maybe
29:12
before. Not sure. But
29:16
head over to my parents now as I focus
29:19
on this cloud.
29:21
See you soon.
29:23
All right, it's night time. Few hours
29:25
have passed. I'm over here at a property
29:27
on the outskirts of St. Cloud. I
29:29
mentioned this earlier about the flea
29:31
market that used to be at the entry
29:33
point into St. Cloud. This is where that
29:35
flea market entrance used to be.
29:39
That was a long time ago, but I spent
29:42
countless weekends roaming the aisles of
29:44
the flea market. That was right in here.
29:48
And now it's a bunch of restaurants,
29:50
shops, traffic,
29:52
but I'm basically standing in where some
29:54
of the aisles would have been. Well,
29:56
sitting in my car where some of the
29:58
aisles would have been.
30:06
Pretty fascinating how thing time
30:06
changes things.
30:08
And I never would have thought the flea
30:10
market would have been, you know, torn
30:12
down and gotten rid of, but sign of the
30:15
times perhaps.
30:22
And over next to the flea market, well,
30:22
at the entry point of the flea market,
30:24
right here where this restaurant is,
30:27
used to be a country bar car that called
30:29
the Cracker House, and it stood right
30:32
here for a long time.
30:34
Now it's a first watch.
30:39
Yeah. Cracker House used to be right
30:40
here, the entry point into St. Cm and
30:44
St. Cloud.
31:17
And that's going to do it for today.
31:17
Just a simple ride down Highway 192. Oh,
31:19
I said the words again. 192.
31:23
A lot of lot of that in this video.
31:26
That's the subject matter. Heading home.
31:28
I'll see you in the next video. The
31:29
vlog.
31:31
Thanks for watching. The vlog is over.