Kissimmee, Florida -
Xanadu: Home of the Future - Closed

Xanadu: Home of the Future - Closed

Plastic dome homes, once envisioned as the domiciles of tomorrow, are all but extinct. The three tourist attractions that promoted them have long been closed. Roadsideamerica.com Report...

Kissimmee, Florida - Tour of Xanadu: 1985

Xanadu: Home of the Future - Closed: From the RoadsideAmerica.com Archives: We wandered through this futuristic tourist attraction in 1985, and here's the fuzzy VHS footage to prove it. Watch Video.

Demoliton: Future Arrives Without Xanadu
The last Xanadu, foam bubble "Computerized Home of the Future" in Kissimmee, Florida, has been totally demolished. Starting October 6, tipsters reported that a bulldozer had arrived at the former tourist attraction and was poised to reduce the Xanadu structures to rubble.... [10/12/2005] Complete News Story

Xanadu

I decided to drive over to Kissimmee to take a look at Xanadu myself. I wish the owners would sell it to someone who would like to refurbish it. I'm sure it was really cool when it was up and running. It's a bit creepy now. The homeless have obviously laid claim to it. Beer cans and smashed beer bottles all over the place. The overwhelming stench of mildew and urine. The furniture that was being stored there has been destroyed and turned into beds.

I didn't make it upstairs. I was turning the corner to do so, and there was a half-rolled, blood-stained mattress on the floor. I'm a small woman, and nobody knew I was there. Wasn't going to take any chances. I'm planning to go back again. It's such a shame that this place is going to waste. [Dana Duffy, 08/08/2005]

[RA: We remind our readers that Xanadu is closed and you visit at your own risk. This is private property.]

Xanadu

I saw Xanadu from the car and I knew I had to get closer, so I parked in a little hotel-type place to its right and went in. Xanadu is really interesting, with its weird shapes and little corners. I went to the second floor via a semi-hidden stair case and it felt like I was in a cave. There is trash everywhere, and broken glass. I took another flight of stairs, circular and narrow, to a third or semi-third floor. I saw a little semi-hidden doorway and was about to go inside when I saw somebody sleeping on a mattress. A homeless person. I felt a little afraid, but I wasn't ready to leave just yet so I kept exploring and taking pictures, but at a faster pace. I took another set of stairs down and ended up on the second floor again, but in another section. I went out to a little balcony and went I came back in I saw a pair of legs. Another person sleeping on the floor.

I went back to the first floor and was impressed by the design of the main lobby, if that's what it was. It has a foam thing that resembles a tree trunk going up to the ceiling, and there's a hollow space in it. It is a circular lobby and there is a circular ball-like chamber to the left with two windows. The bathroom is nice and has a little chamber that seems to be dug out from the wall. I guess that's the "sensory deprivation" bathtub I read about somewhere.

The place made me sad because it is actually really cool and it is all abandoned. [Roberto, 07/05/2005]