Things To Do Outside Of Disneyworld?

[TAZBOM]

DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY GREAT IDEAS FOR DAYS AWAY FROM THE PARKS. WE WILL HAVE A COUPLE OF NON-PARK DAYS DURING OUR TRIP AND ARE OPEN TO ANYTHING. IS A TRIP TO THE BEACH OUT OF LINE...ANY GOOD BEACHES FOR 3 BOYS (13, 11, 7)? WE LIKE TO DO OUTDOOR THINGS. ANY IDEAS WOULD BE MUCH APPRECIATED. WE HAVE NEVER BEEN TO FLORIDA BEFORE (JUST HICK LOS ANGELEANS) AND NEED HELP. THANKS FOR EVERYTHING.

 

[MrsMud]

I don't know anything about beaches, but if you like outdoor things, how about a trip to Fort Wilderness (It is one of the WDW resorts/ campgrounds)? I just started researching it myself, and it sounds fun: They have a petting zoo, pony rides and horseback riding, hay ride, carriage ride, fishing and a nightime campfire sing along with Chip and Dale. Also a buffet breakfast, lunch or dinner which is supposed to be pretty good and reasonably priced. We are planning on doing this for the first time on our next trip!

 

[alisbarc]

Hi Tazbom,

We are just some Tennessee hicks that just got back from Florida (Daytona & Vero Beach). There is tons of things to do outside of WDW.

Daytona Beach is about 75 miles away and is very nice. Plus you are allowed to drive your vehicle ($5 per day) on the beach. Our kids got a real kick out of this. The Beach was wide and the water nice with waves of reasonble (but not to big) size.

Closer to Orlando you have all the other parks (Universal, Island of Adventures, Sea World, Wet n Wild etc). Our favorite is Sea World. Puts the San Diego Sea World to shame. Kids love feeding the sting rays, dolphins, and sea lions.

ttfn
david

 

[Beena]

The Space Center in Cape Canaveral. Boys would love that! It's about an hour drive, if I remember correctly. And Cocoa Beach is nearby too.

 

[Grand Canyon]

We go to Coco Beach every year. Last year we went to Caniveral Beach and watched a shuttle launch. We also so to Clearwater Beach every year (Clearwater beach is the nicest we think).
Coco is 1 hr away and Clearwater is 2hrs.
Have fun
Mike

 

[Beena]

Another idea.......the Orlando Science Museum: www.osc.org
or Gatorland: www.gatorland.com

 

[Earstou]

We have a day at SeaWorld planned, plus two nights near Cocoa Beach, with a visit to the Space Center. I'm also looking into doing an airboat ride so that my kids can see some of the "real" Florida.

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

If you like spending time outdoors, don't overlook the water parks at WDW. Either typhoon lagoon or blizzard beach will give your boys a real workout, and save you the drive to the coast. I have to give a plug to Universal Studios, too. You can see both US and IOA in two days, especially if you book a couple of nights at an on site hotel. Then you get front of the line access to all rides. It is a fantastic place, and not really comparable to Disney.

 

[jeffreyml]

Take a day and go to Madeira Beach http://www.ci.madeira-beach.fl.us/. The have a great shopping area called John's Pass and lots of beach access and all around fun things to do. It takes about 1-1.5 hours to get there.

This is a great place to go dolphin watching or shelling on the beach.

We rented a boat one year and the dolphins were swimming next to us were ever we cruised. The kids had a blast!!

 

[ahutton]

We almost always have non-park days, and have never run out of things to do. We've played mini-golf, both at Fantasia and Winter-Summerland, which my DD loved. We have rented boats over at WL and cruised around in front of the MK and all around Bay Lake. We have also, especially on rainy days, enjoyed a tour of monorail hotels, just seeing, shopping and playing in the arcades and having a meal at different stops around the MK monorail.

 

[jwolfe]

During the middle of our last october trip, we took a day off and went to Cocoa Beach. It is very easy to get to and well worth your time. It's also a pretty cheap thing to do. It was very relaxing and our 3 children ages 8,7,5 loved it!!!!!! It's just a short drive away about 1 hr on the Bee-line expressway (which by the way will end up costing you about $8 in tolls by the time you come and go). Another FYI, my children loved looking at the cruise ships in Port Canaveral, very cool!!!!