6 Wheelchair Accessible and Fun Things to Do in Kissimmee, Florida Outside of Disney World

I have visited central Florida at least once per year for my entire life. In fact, I even did my college internship at Disney World and lived there for five months. While I have been to the Kissimmee area more times than I can even remember, I have really only visited the big theme parks and bypassed everything else that there is to do in the area. To my surprise and delight, it turns out that there are actually a ton of fun things to do in Kissimmee, Florida without going to Disney World (although you should still definitely hit up Disney at some point because it’s the bees knees!). Who knew?!
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During my recent Florida trip, I had a couple days to see the sights of the Kissimmee area and I had SO much fun! From ziplining over gators to learning about the process of making chocolate and then eating it all, Kissimmee offers something for visitors of all ages and abilities. Here are 6 of the most wheelchair accessible things to do in, and near, Kissimmee, Florida
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Things to Do in Kissimmee Florida

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Explore downtown Celebration
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On my first day in the Kissimmee area, I headed to downtown Celebration for some lunch and rolling around. Celebration has been named one of America’s 10 prettiest towns and surprisingly, the town was actually founded by The Walt Disney Company in the mid-90s. No wonder it’s such a picturesque place!
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Downtown Celebration is full of shops and eateries that line a beautiful lake. You can go from store to store and shop till you drop or just enjoy the spectacular view by the lake on a nice day. The entire downtown area is easily walkable/rollable, as there are curb cuts and smooth sidewalks. If you’re looking for a bite to eat, you could hit up Kilwin’s or Wonderland Cookie Dough Company for a sweet treat. However, if you would prefer something a bit more filling, there are quite a few nice restaurants as well.
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I had lunch at Columbia Restaurant, which is a Spanish restaurant complete with tapas, sangria, paella, and much more. The restaurant was wheelchair accessible and had indoor or outdoor dining. It was pretty hot, so we opted to sit inside, but if you choose to sit outside, you’ll have a great view of the lake. We ordered several tapas for the table and my favorite items were the black bean cakes and the 1905 salad. They were delicious, but my absolute must-eat recommendation would be the white chocolate bread pudding. I am a big fan of bread pudding and have had it in a number of places, but this was hands-down the best I’ve ever had. DELICIOUS!
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The delicious white chocolate bread pudding

The delicious white chocolate bread pudding

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Go back in time in Old Town
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Would you like to go back in time to when life was a bit more laid back? If so, check out Old Town in Kissimmee! It’s a recreation of a classic Florida town and has plenty of wheelchair accessible shops, restaurants, and attractions to entertain.
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My favorite shop was Wound ‘N Around, which had memorabilia from the 40s, 50s, and 60s. As soon as I entered the store, it was as if I had rolled back in time. They had some really cool items that you won’t find anywhere else. In addition to Wound ‘N Around, there were shops selling leather goods, wooden crafts, and even an As Seen on TV store.
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After shopping around for a while, you could get an old-time photo taken, where you’ll dress up in old western clothes, get a caricature drawn, hit up the shooting gallery or arcade, and see a magic show in The Great Magic Hall. Old Town reminded me a lot of downtown Gatlinburg, Tennessee, which I’ve visited numerous times and have some wonderful memories of with my family, so it was nice to discover this awesome place in Kissimmee.
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Take in the view on The Wheel at ICON Park
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I’m always a sucker for great views, and for the best view in central Florida, I had to ride The Wheel at ICON Park. The Wheel is pretty new, as it opened in 2015 and at 400 feet tall, The Wheel is the world’s sixth largest ferris wheel. With it being a newer attraction, I was happy to find out that it’s wheelchair friendly.
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The Wheel has 30 enclosed capsules (like the London Eye or the High Roller in Vegas if you’ve ridden those?) and as long as your wheelchair is less than 36 inches wide, you can ride it. The loading and unloading process is smooth and easy and for more than 20 minutes, I got to take in the spectacular views on The Wheel.
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The Wheel is located at ICON Park and within the park, there are some other great attractions and restaurants as well. You could check out Madame Tussaud’s or the SEA LIFE Aquarium, for example. If you would like to visit The Wheel and another attraction or two, be sure to purchase a combo ticket, which will allow you to visit at a discounted price.
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Have the ultimate adventure at Gatorland
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Gatorland is a theme park, but it’s not necessarily as bright or glittery of a theme park as Disney World. Instead of meeting Mickey Mouse, you’ll be meeting giant gators and instead of riding Toy Story Mania, you could be riding over a lake full of gators on an adaptive zipline. Sounds pretty awesome, right?! I have no idea why I waited so long to visit Gatorland for the first time, but it’s now one of my favorite places in all of Florida.
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At Gatorland, you can see an insane amount of gators and they have some really entertaining shows multiple times per day as well. If you’d like to go beyond the fence and get within just a few feet of gators, you can with Gatorland’s Adventure Hour. It’s an extra cost, but completely worth it in my opinion. It’s such a wild experience to be that close to dozens of gators!
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Sure, getting within a few feet of gators is exciting, but for the ultimate adventure, try ziplining. Gatorland has an adaptive zipline that goes over a lake full of hundreds of gators. It was one of the coolest things I’ve ever done and I would highly encourage anyone to give it a try. To learn more about Gatorland and the adaptive zipline, check out my full blog post on it by clicking here.
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Cater to your sweet tooth at Chocolate Kingdom
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I have a confession to make… my name is Cory and I’m a chocoholic. That’s right, I love any kind of chocolate. Whether it’s white chocolate, milk chocolate, or dark chocolate, I will devour it. While in Kissimmee, I was able to actually visit Chocolate Kingdom and learn all about how chocolate is made.
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The tour started at a cacao tree greenhouse and then we went through the museum and factory. We saw exactly how a cacao bean becomes a delicious chocolate candy bar, and our guide let us taste the chocolate at all the different stages of its life. Without a doubt, it was tastiest as a chocolate bar, but it was fun to try it as raw cacao also.
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The really cool thing that made this tour stand out was the fact that it was very interactive. There were TV screens set up throughout the tour and we were on a mission to help teach a prince and a dragon how to make chocolate. Kids of all ages would love this tour!
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Become a knight at Medieval Times
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For the most entertaining dinner and one of the most fun things to do in Kissimmee, you should definitely check out the Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament. You’ll be transported back to medieval Spain from the moment you enter the castle, with knights and a queen greeting you. At about $65 per adult for dinner and the show, this is one of the more expensive things to do on this list, but considering you get dinner and two hours of a great show, I think it’s completely worth it.
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I would recommend getting to Medieval Times quite a bit early, as you can tour the Medieval Village before you take your seat in the show arena. The Medieval Village was super cool and had a large variety of medieval torture devices on display. Let’s just say, they did not play around back in the medieval days. The devices were pretty brutal, but it was cool to see them and all of the other parts of the village.
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The show was excellent and had jousting, falconry, horses, and was interactive with different knights competing on behalf of different sections of the audience. It was a lively and upbeat tournament and the dinner was delicious also. I opted for the vegetarian option, so I had soup, potatoes, corn, bread, and ice cream. Everything was flavorful and the portions were quite large. If you’re looking for a nice dinner spot in Kissimmee, why not see a fun show while you eat?!
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Where to Stay: A Wheelchair Accessible Condo

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During my countless visits to the Kissimmee area, I have stayed in a plethora of hotels and I thought that I had seen all there is to see. However, it turns out that there are wheelchair accessible condos available as well! Forget staying in a small, cramped up hotel room the next time you visit central Florida. Instead, stay in a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom accessible condo from 1791 Vacation Experience at Reunion Resort like I recently did!
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I stayed in building C, apartment 102, which had 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. It also had a living room and patio, and a full kitchen with every amenity that you could possibly need during your stay. The condo was extremely spacious and it was impeccably clean when I arrived.
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While all 3 bedrooms are accessible, the most accessible option would be the master bedroom on the left side of the condo, as it had the bathroom with the roll-in shower attached to it. A hoyer lift could roll under the bed and the bathroom had a roll-in shower with a handheld sprayer and a fold-down seat. There were also grab bars around the toilet.
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If you’d like to see the condo, check out this video that I made on Facebook Live –
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To book this condo for your trip, contact 1791 Vacation Experience by calling 1-888-779-5262 or visit this website.
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My two full days in Kissimmee gave me a chance to discover just how much there is to do in the area, other than the obvious giant theme parks. I only scratched the surface of all of the possibilities, but it was such a fantastic trip. Whether you want to partake in Kissimmee’s many attractions or just relax in an accessible condo, you’re sure to fall in love with Kissimmee, Florida.
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*Thank you to Experience Kissimmee for working with me on this trip! While most of my experiences were complimentary, all opinions are authentic and my own. 
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