Sadly, the Christmas magic of the Citrus Tower ended in 2017. Too many local jerks took advantage of the lights and music to do stupid stuff and let their kids do worse there. Instead of leaving the tower lit without dancing lights and music, sadly it donated everything and did away with it all. So, it's sadly just a worn out tower that's cool to go up in once in a while. read more

Coffee shop was cute, but $11 per person to go to the top? You would think with a purchase of coffee you could go to the top? Super silly.

Great vintage Florida attraction worth a visit.  As others mentioned, the tower is past its prime, but they seem to keep it in decent condition.  It was a nice diversion from the newer, crazier, busier attractions in Central Florida. We love old-school attractions like this, and the Citrus Tower did not fail to deliver.  The elevator ride was smooth and did not smell or appear unkept as others mentioned. The observation deck was clean with what appeared to be updated tiles. I love how they kept the vintage 1950s-era signage showing distances to notable areas.  I'm sure you'll realize you will not see any rolling hills of orange groves these days, but who cares at this point? Any view from over 200-feet is going to have some wow factor, regardless of what you're looking at. The woman at the gift shop where you purchase your excursion, was very kind and helpful.  We had a very nice chat. The gift shop itself, however a bit small, had just enough of a variety of items to please someone.  We bought a mug and coaster with the Citrus Tower graphics on it. There is a small, but very cool and informative history hallway around the corner inside from gift shop that should not be missed.  There are plenty of vintage photos, artifacts, old souvenirs, etc on display. The drive was not too bad from Orlando area.  The surrounding area of Clermont has a nice charm to it, and you can certainly do some light sightseeing while in the area.  The barbeque place in the same parking lot as the tower is excellent (separate review on that). And of course there's the Hall of Presidents museum next door, another old-school attraction.  We will have to check that one out next time. read more

I was here a year ago and the price was $10. That was already way too much. We were close by for lunch so we dropped in. Unbelievable, they want $11 a person !! WOW! Ten was greedy but $11 is just like so pathetically obvious " let us try to get one more dollar out of people" Any one with any marketing or business sense knows raising a price one dollar is a bad move and $11 is the kiss of death, Only thing worse would be if they set it at unlucky $13. They should put the extra buck towards some renovations. Place is a nasty mess. my wife took this pic. Awning on Citrus Tower, Come on man, what's wrong with whoever owns or manages this place! Again they ask $11 a person and they don't even bother to replace or even clean this embarrassing eyesore. Makes Clermont look bad! They advertise like the tower is something special. It's clear they only care about putting your money into their pockets, Its not going into maintenance of the "Icon" read more

Citrus Tower - Filthy!! Who allows a business... much less a place advertised as an attraction, to look so nasty. - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Clermont, Florida

Great view of clermont and surrounding area. Very historic building with lots of history. Complete with coffee shop and sitting areas to enjoy your coffee read more

I first stopped here about 40 years ago when the Citrus Tower was surrounded by citrus groves and the elevator ride to the observation deck cost $1.00. So when I was passing through the area recently, I decided to stop again. A lot has changed in the 40-years, gone are the citrus groves, replace by homes, urban concrete. You can still take a ride to the observation deck in the original elevator for $8 to $10. Once at the top you still get a commanding view of the surrounding area and on a clear day you can see the skyline of Orlando some 30-miles away. The observation deck is completely glass enclosed and getting a clear photo is some times difficult due to the reflections. There is a small snack bar and gift shop on the lower level, and the tower is surrounded by a small strip mall. Parking is free. My total visit to the Citrus Tower lasted about 45 minutes including the trip to the observation deck. If you are in the area it is worth a visit especially on a clear day. read more

Citrus Tower - The Citrus Tower - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Clermont, Florida

I love old Florida tourist attractions and was looking forward to visiting the tower for the first time while I was in Orlando last week. The area is a bit blighted but that should not deter anyone from coming here. What should deter you from going up to the top of the tower is that it is FULL OF GIANT WASPS. They are swarming overhead near the windows and are completely unavoidable and are the size of goddamn butterflies. Good news: for the extremely brave, they provide two fly swatters hanging on the wall as soon as you step out of the elevator that takes you to the top. Ever anger a wasp or a colony of wasps? Don't. We made a harried circle around the inside wall of the tower and indiscriminately snapped a few pictures just to make it seem like we didn't waste the $6.00 admission charge. We GTFO'd out the back door as soon as the elevator brought us down. Wear a bee-keeper's suit or something if you must go here. It's funny that none of these other reviews mentioned the mutant wasps so I'm thinking it may be a temporary affliction. I would have told the lady at the gift shop but I was so freaked out by any little buzz or flit of wind for the remainder of the day that I just wanted to get out of there. If I go again and the bug residents aren't carrying stingers, I'll update my review. read more

How do you rate something like this and still be objective. On the one hand, it is a historical landmark, and is something unique to the Central Florida area. On the other hand, it could really use some help, a restoration of sorts, to really bring it back to its former glory. I am a native Floridian, and had always heard, but never visited this landmark. We were in the area visiting Donut King, and decided to drop in. The view from the top is really neat, you can clearly see the downtown Orlando skyline (which is about 20 miles away), and there are signs up top showing you points of interest to see. The issue here is that it really could be so much more. Up top, they could have the gallery of pictures that they have down below (which seemed almost hidden), showcasing all the great history of the citrus industry, and the history of this great tower. The view itself is great, but I found it almost more interesting seeing pictures of Central Florida in the 1960's and 1970's, and reading about how great the citrus industry was before the deep freezes in the 1980's. Aside from just the interior, the exterior of this tower could also use some freshening up. New coats of paint would really do wonders to bring back the old look. I assume of course that all of this is quite expensive, and judging by the lack of people out there when we visited, it is probably not a hugely profitable landmark. I will definitely come back when I am in the area, there really isn't anything like it around anymore. read more

Interesting blast from the past. You go up the tower 22 stories and can see as far as the eye can see. You can see 8 surrounding counties.

We were on vacation and decided to try something different. Next time i would make sure visibility was at its peak. It wasn't bad when we were there, but couldn't see as far as we would have liked. For the small fee of $6 for an adult and $4 for a child, it is worth a visit. read more

Beautiful views and amazing lights at the holidays. Badically it is an elevator ride to the top of a tall tower.

The view from the tower is incredible! WOW! Unfortunately, before you enjoy the view, you have to walk through an overly scented and over-priced gift shop to get to the elevator which costs $6 per person and that you may well get to observation deck, as we did recently, to find most of one side blocked off for construction, tools strewn around where the kids can get to them , bees and remnant of bee's nest strewn around. They handed us a pamphlet with the history of the tower on it but then we were asked to return it as it was their last copy! Good thing we did not want it for the scrapbook, huh?! The history of local orange groves and photos of view in bygone eras were interesting but truly believe that this is vastly over-priced at $6 per person for the elevator ride! If you decide to go anyway, take your binoculars and enjoy the view! read more

I also love old Florida tourist attractions, and was looking forward to a new adventure. we definitely got an adventure, but it wasn't the kind we were hoping for. It was more of a game of DODGE WASP. The place was crawling with them. we could could hardly look out the window to see the view unless we wanted a WASP in our face. I had my 2 year old daughter with me, so we took a quick walk around, swatted a WASP off of the elevator call button, and got the hell out of there. we told the lady in the gift shop, and her reaction was just kind of a shoulder shrug. I am giving it two stars. one because it's there, and two because it's nostalgic. PUT SOME SCREENS OVER THOSE DRAIN HOLES ON THE FLOOR. Easy fix for the safety of your guests. read more

A pre-Disney World iconic landmark, built in the mid-1950's when miles and miles of citrus groves rolled forever west of Orlando in Clermont. The citrus is why it's called the "The Citrus Tower." Standing at 226 feet tall and on a hill more than 300 feet tall, it's more than 500 feet above sea level and provides a panoramic view of Central Florida. After a $6 elevator "Ride to the Top," the doors open and you can't help but gasp a little as the horizon and rolling hills unfold before you. You'll walk out onto the enclosed observation deck and see literally for miles. Disney's Space Mountain, the Contemporary Hotel, and Epcot's Spaceship Earth dot the horizon, as well as sparkling lakes and bustling roadways. Downtown Orlando's skyline is visible as well. Supposedly Walt Disney himself visited the Citrus Tower when surveying the area for a future theme park location, according to local legend. In its heyday, it was "the thing to do" and surprisingly is well-known to European tourists who occasionally stop by. A historical display in the lobby gift shop shows pictures and artifacts of its glory years of operation, especially before the great citrus freezes of the 1980's forced most of the citrus industry south. Worth a brief stop if you're heading south down Highway 27 on the way to Disney and LEGOLAND parks. An average stop is probably around a 20 minute visit. Visit www.citrustower.com for the official website. read more

Tourist trap overpriced hot - you can go to the top FL of many Orlando hotels for free & get better view - costs family 4 $20 for a5 min view - no ac staff not friendly - thought would like museum but nothing but waste $$$ read more

The place is of historical significance but it really is a dump now. The owner can only float on what is was for so long. Friends came to town and we went up in the tower and the view was good but that elevator ride was like ....man. Don't go if very old slow small elevators scare you. It just seems that more could be done with the place...like Old Town in Kissimmee. Restaurants, bars, shopping, etc. read more

The Citrus Tower was visible for miles while rolling down Hwy 27 on our way to Disney and LEGOLAND. I've heard of it as a popular tourist attraction years ago before Disney World opened in 1971, so I decided to stop by. To my delight, it was open for "Rides to the Top." I enjoyed the history display in the gift shop lobby, illustrating the Citrus Tower's construction in the 1950's. Also interesting were photos of people in the 50's, 60's and 70's enjoying the Tower and its restaurant with large windows on the ground floor lobby. Must have been a big deal in its day, with miles and miles of hilly citrus groves as far as the eye could see. A bell carillon played all sorts of music from the Tower, which was pretty cool. Even played Top 40 renditions. Despite the lack of citrus groves (most were wiped out in the late 1980's due to hard freezes) the view at the top when you first step off the elevator made me gasp. You can walk around the 360 degree observation deck and see the horizon all around. At the top, I could see downtown Orlando's skyline 30 miles away, Walt Disney World's iconic buildings such as Space Mountain, the Contemporary Resort Hotel, Spaceship Earth (aka the "Big Ball") from Epcot, and Expedition Everest at Disney's Animal Kingdom can be seen as well. A complimentary pair of binoculars can borrowed from the friendly receptionist in the gift shop at the lobby. All in all, it was a very unique experience, complete with the nostalgia of Old Florida's tourism heydays. I'd recommend it as a sort of "Bucket List" item, especially for those thoughtful of history and respectful of how things used to be before the big mega attractions took over Orlando. read more