Celebration is one of our favourite places to visit at any time of the year but it has a special magic at Christmas. You will find Central Celebration either from the 192 turning left just before the junction with the I4, or from the I4 taking the junction labelled Celebration. You will then need to follow signs to Market Street. On the way in you will see many homes beautifully decorated for Christmas.
Just before Christmas it is a good idea to get there early as parking can get difficult near to all the festivities. If you get there before it gets dark it is well worth walking around the lakes to see some of the lovely mansions around the second lake.
For the winter festivities Market Street is actually closed off and at the top end there is an artificial ice rink. The remainder of the street is reserved for “Snow at Celebration”. Early evening the scene begins to be set with “snow” being laid in the street. This takes quite a while and of course it is very exciting for children who have never seen proper snow. From six o’clock and on the hour after that the loudspeakers start to play a message and Christmas music and “snow” begins to fall for about 5 minutes. There is much squealing laughing and some confusion for visiting dogs, who appear to wonder what is happening.
But there is more to the evening than this. One of the shelters is converted into Santa’s grotto and he can be visited there.
There is also a small “train” that takes its passengers for a circular tour. Slightly more sophisticated is the horse drawn wagon that will take a group of about 10 people. For a more romantic trip there are horse drawn carriages lined up to take you on your private tour. .
There is a massive Christmas tree just by the lake and of course all the restaurants are decked out with lovely decorations. There are so many choices of types of restaurants and also a great range of prices for eating out that it makes a great family evening. At weekends there are often special events on with live acts, choirs or bands so it is worth checking the local papers to see what is on. The weekends tend to be busier and so there is a better atmosphere but of course that means that the queues for Santa and for the restaurants are longer.
Just before Christmas it is a good idea to get there early as parking can get difficult near to all the festivities. If you get there before it gets dark it is well worth walking around the lakes to see some of the lovely mansions around the second lake.
For the winter festivities Market Street is actually closed off and at the top end there is an artificial ice rink. The remainder of the street is reserved for “Snow at Celebration”. Early evening the scene begins to be set with “snow” being laid in the street. This takes quite a while and of course it is very exciting for children who have never seen proper snow. From six o’clock and on the hour after that the loudspeakers start to play a message and Christmas music and “snow” begins to fall for about 5 minutes. There is much squealing laughing and some confusion for visiting dogs, who appear to wonder what is happening.
But there is more to the evening than this. One of the shelters is converted into Santa’s grotto and he can be visited there.
There is also a small “train” that takes its passengers for a circular tour. Slightly more sophisticated is the horse drawn wagon that will take a group of about 10 people. For a more romantic trip there are horse drawn carriages lined up to take you on your private tour. .
There is a massive Christmas tree just by the lake and of course all the restaurants are decked out with lovely decorations. There are so many choices of types of restaurants and also a great range of prices for eating out that it makes a great family evening. At weekends there are often special events on with live acts, choirs or bands so it is worth checking the local papers to see what is on. The weekends tend to be busier and so there is a better atmosphere but of course that means that the queues for Santa and for the restaurants are longer.