Florida Citrus Tower

""You've arrived" Google cheerfully announced, but looking around at the rundown parking lot and opaque windows, I wasn't so sure. I decided to drive around the building to see if there was a different, more welcoming looking entrance. There wasn't. We entered into the coffee shop and asked about the tower, turns out we were in the right spot. For 30 bucks, we could ride the elevator, I was a little surprised when the tip percentage came up, but I assumed it was there for the coffee shop operations, so I clicked 0%. The staff let me know they were not impressed with my generosity. We laughed about that awkward experience on the way up, in the slightly dilapidated elevator. Trying to not let the awkward purchase, ruin the experience. Well, turns out there wasn't much to ruin. The elevator door opened, and we were instantly hit with the stale smell of wet dog, and a nice view. I don't know if it's the roof or the old windows (with foam squished around the edges), or both that leaked, but there was standing water around the perimeter of the elevated room. Credit to the owners, they provided plenty of fly swatters, fans, and a genius fix for the leaks... A hole drilled in the wall to allow it to drain out. We looked around for a few minutes, then decided that was enough of that. Overall, probably a cool place a few decades ago, now it's one of those awkward and sad tourist traps that's just a shadow of it's former glory, being propped up like the corpse from ''weekend at Bernie's', I say, put it out of its misery."

"It was my very first time visiting the tower. I ordered an orange hot chocolate and then went up to the observation deck. Quite a sight. Nothing but regular trees and buildings. That's progress. The air was kept cool. I liked the thing on the wall, where you drop a coin and it goes down the tower. It makes a clanking sound too. The prices are reasonable."

"It was nice trip up there and easy parking. Tickets were good price and the view was Great! I didn't get to try the restaurant hopefully next time. I would also thank the wonderful staff for being informed and able to answer are questions about the Tower. I would recommend it as a day trip."

"We loved it! I'm scared of heights but this wasn't bad at all. It's a great attraction and offers a great view of the surrounding region. At the base of the tower is a coffee shop and I recommend the Key Lime Pie cooler, it was delicious!"