Does anyone have a favorite beach destination from WDW?

[Sher]

My family wants to see the beach so I am looking for something reasonable to add on to the front of our WDW vacation. Has anyone found something? We have been to Cocoa Beach once, and it was ok. I'm wondering if there isn't something a little lesser known that would be good for a family and not too crowded.

Thanks,

Sher

[Boots]

I haven't been down that far on the gulf coast, but I think there should be some there that are quieter.

[disney4us2002]

My aunt and uncle live in Tampa and every time we've visited them we have always gone to Clearwater Beach and St. Petersburg which aren't far from Tampa. It is simply beautiful there. I'm not sure of the distance from Orlando tho. Might be farther than you want to drive.

Carla

[Poohlovr]

We always go to the Gulf Coast beaches...the Clearwater Beach area, but, more southerly, around Madeira, Indian Rocks, etc. Just as pretty as Clearwater, but, much less crowded.

[SandraC]

We have been/stayed at Clearwater, St. Pete's, Indian Rock Shores, Madiera Beach, Daytona Beach, Ormond and Cocoa Beach.

My fav is Daytona Beach and Ormond Beach. We stayed in Ormond Beach last April and we were very pleased. We did groceries at the Publix Ormond Beach before we went to WDW, so I guess we saved $$$$$$.

The Gulf coast is beautiful, we like it there too, but I think it's a *newly wed/nearly dead* area compared with the lively Atlantic beaches. I live watching the sunrise more than sunset, so anything Atlantic Ocean works for me.

Cocoa Beach is okay, but only for day trips for me, didn't have to flare Daytona/Ormond beach has for me.

Quite honestly thou, I like all the beaches, the water envokes tranquility no matter the source.

[deena]

Daytona Beach when we visit WDW in August; lots of things to do/see and great places to eat as well.

[dajim]

I would place another vote for the Indian Rocks Beach area. We go almost every year, and have not had a bad time.

[karyn]

For Deena-

Love to know which restaurants you like in Daytona and/or the surrounding area Would like to try them on our next trip. Thanks.

[disneyfan551]

...for more comments on beaches! :D

[Leigha]

We tried Daytona Beach after Disney one year and boy, were we disappointed!!!! Everything seemed dirty and very disappointing. The next time we went to Disney's Vero Beach and we go there now. It is awesome!! Very clean, not too far, great programs for the kids, not too crowded - everything we were looking for. Try it!!!

[Pixie Power!]

:bounce: Clearwater!:bounce:

Emma

[Goofyswife]

Another vote for Clearwater Beach:D

[CarolA]

Personally I don't like Daytona. I don't think cars should be allowed to drive on the beach!!!!

I vote for Sanibel Island. It is a little farther away, but it is beautiful and very relaxing.

[ZKJmomluvsCreed]

We are staying one night on New Smyrna beach. It's very, very nice, not crowded and is clean.

It's about an hr north of Orlando http://www.volusia.com/nsb

[jmminarik]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Vero yet. :-)

Although we were there in Winter and didn't really 'beach it', it's a nice small beach with a great Disney resort. Anyone know how crowded it gets? Bonuses are a good pool area, warm tub (they're not HOT, unless you define it as Disney hot) and you don't leave the Disney charm. THE negative is that it is Di$ney priced. :)

And just a thought, but you might consider reversing your plans. Go to the beach and relax _after_ running around like mad at the parks.

Hope this helps,
Joe

[BVC4us]

Karyn...we have gone to quite a few Daytona Beach restaurants. We love daytona and the restaurants. Parks, and Aunt Catfish are our favorites. Both are over the bridges (mainland side) and are on the river. Quite nice!!

[pokeysmom]

bvc4us, isn't aunt catfish's wonderful, we go every summer and this year we went at christmas, we love disney and go to new smyrna beach and drive to daytona for aunt catfish's, and sweetwaters it is great absolutely the best vacation all around. karyn i would highly recommend new smyrna beach part of the beach allows cars but most don't because of the sea turtles laying their eggs, it is best to stay in the middle part or south in newsmyrna because their is an area called the jetty that is north and last summer there were a few problems with sharks but this isn't a problem in the other areas as a matter of fact you occasionally will see dolphin in the ocean, there is also a park where you can see and swim with the manatee in the wild it is awesome.

[Wonderlandmom]

The gulf coast is much prettier than Atlantic. You have the clearer water and the powder white sand. They don't seem to be as overrun with tourist either. We will be at St. Pete Beach this summer. :)

[Melynny]

We love St. Pete Beach.. just this last trip, we stopped by the Fort DeSoto State park beaches and they were wonderful! They had: snack bar, beautiful sand beaches, starfishes, oodles of neat shells, dolphins.. and cold showers in their shower house.. which was nice. 6 out of 7 isn't bad.. I'll be doing it again!

[Yay2001]

(I'm pasting a report I posted last summer about my beach experience in the Tampa area. I mean no disrespect to anyone who likes or lives in the area -- it's just my experience -- a bad one!)

*******************


Like alot of DIS board members, we wanted to include a stay at the beach along w/ our trip to Disney. Because we had an early flight out of Tampa, we decided to stay in the St. Pete Beach area.

I had heard that Clearwater, even with its pretty beach, was commercialized, overbuilt, and overrun with juvenile delinquents. I wanted to avoid that, so I targeted the Indian Rocks/Indian Shores area. A month before we left, I rented was described as a "Completely renovated, peaceful beachfront cottage with large sundeck and wonderful view" over the internet. Paid an up-front deposit, too.

We left Orlando in an upbeat mood, which slowly evaporated as we drove through a succession of seedy little towns. After Disney's pristine resort ambience, the weedy vacant lots, rusted cars, and XXX adult emporiums were a real shock.

We arrived at Indian Rocks and were appalled at the traffic and congestion. Gulf Blvd. in this area is a narrow, two-lane road simply teeming with condos, ramshackle houses, and convenience stores. To make things worse, our "cottage" was the upstairs of a decrepit old house that smelled. "Newly renovated" meant they slapped some hot pink paint on the walls and put in new cabinets. Beachfront? Well, it *was* on the same side of the road as the beach, and as for the view -- we had one: if we stood on tip-toe and looked over the roofs of the two houses in front of ours!

Now, I realize that our Disney-enhanced standards were not applicable to this area. And if the beach had been acceptable, we probably would have stuck it out and made do. But the beach was simply awful. No sugar sand here; more like sugar with alot of woodashes ands gravel mixed in! Worse was the clientle inhabiting the beach at the time we inspected it: 3 in the afternoon, and the place was strewn with beer bottles and cigarrette butts. No way were we staying here!!

I called the rental agent, upset and fuming over the way they had misrepresented the accomodations. She offered me other units, but since they were all in this area we declined. Lost our deposit, but learned a priceless lesson: never, ever rent a place sight unseen!

It was late afternoon and blazing hot. We were weary, hungry, and beyond discouraged. My first instinct was to call the Sheraton Sand Key resort, which was sold out, of course. We decided to head south and see what we could find.

We thought our requirements were minimal: clean, beachfront, and with a kitchen, since were sick of eating in restaurants 3 times a day. There were a lot of condos, but my prior experience was that they required a minimum stay of 4 or more nights, longer than we were staying. I got in and out of the car alot, inspecting beaches and getting a general feel. Maderia Beach seemed slightly nicer, less crowded, but the only hotel that looked acceptable had a "no vacancy" sign. The beach at Treasure Island was huge -- but every accomodation in this area just seemed - worn?? (I wish I had remembered to bring my guidebooks!)

We stopped off at the Alden, which I had heard was a nice comfortable place. It was, but the beach there had more of that mucky sand. What a letdown!!

My kids were near mutiny at this point. They were sick of driving around in the heat. I had a splitting headache and an irrational desire to just go back to Orlando!

We drove aimlessly south, bickering over whether we should indeed go to Clearwater after all. Quite by accident, we ended up in the Pass-a-grille area. What a difference! This was a very nice and quiet residential section of St. Pete. Some condos (all less than 5 stories high) but mostly just very nice, historic homes. Our beach inspection yielded a pleasant surprise: lots of shells, and clean, clean sand. Uncrowded and almost secluded. My kinda place.

Not many accomodations, though. Our options were Islands End cottages -- which has recieved rave reviews and so of course was sold out, or a narrow selection of converted beach houses operating as "inns." We rented a two-room studio at what seemed our best option, and ended up enjoying our two day stay, for the most part.

I'm sharing this experience out of a desire to inform my fellow DISrs who may be considering a stay on the beach. I asked for recommendations and got a little frustrated at the repeated recommendations for the Sheraton Sand Key, Don Ceasar, and Tradewinds. Now I understand: for those of us just coming off a nice, luxurious, service-filled stay at a Disney-resort, they are probably the best choices. I wish I had listened!!
Also: the beaches in this area -- with the exception Pass-a-grille -- are so-so at best. If I had it to do over, I would have built in a few extra days and gone further north or south. Live and learn!!

[eller]

We found both to be very nice.

Lori

5/1997 Off site, 2/2000 Off site, 2/2001 Poly, 10/2001 POFQ, AKL & Magic, 1/2002 ASMo & AKL, 12/2002 CSR & CR

[Wonderlandmom]

Yay2001- I think your post was one I read which helped with our decision. We ARE used to nice resorts and are booked at the Don Cesar. I guess Disney has spoiled me:rolleyes: :D ! Certainly not a budget trip, but one we look forward too and should enjoy:) ! St Pete and Clearwater beaches really are nice. There are other pretty gulf beaches in the panhandle, but that would be quite a drive for you. You could also do the beach at the end of your trip as a way to unwind.:)

[disneyfan551]

Any suggestions for a good sandy beach (with shells!), without a ton of people? We will just be driving with uor 7 m. old DD, and want a decent place without a huge hassle, or drive!

Thanks!

Only 15 days to go...I'm already losing sleep!!! :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[cindyfan]

We ususally do Datona Beach for a day trip. Leave WDW early.....9am and return around 7pm. But we learned last year....timing is everything if you like the ocean. We were there in late April.....the water was COLD!! So instead of swimming we rode the motorcycles. We did have alot of fun!!! Not crowded because it was a school day.
I am not one that really enjoys the cars driving on the beach either, nor do I like swimming in the ocean.....but DH and DD like Daytona.

This year we were thinking Clearwater for a day or Vero Beach.
Can anyone tell me how long of a drive from WDW to either of these???
Just looking for a day trip too.;)

[krina19]

I vote for Pass-A-Grille beach. It's quiet, beautiful and the perfect place to get away from it all. We will be there for 4 days in late April and can't wait to go!

[Jingle]

I like the Neptune Inn on Ft Myers Beach. It's a small family run hotel. It has two swimming pools right by the beach, gas grills for guests to use, and 4 or 6 person rooms with kitchenettes. It's not a luxury hotel and there is no restaurant attached with the hotel although there is plenty within walking distance of the hotel, and it is clean, friendly and right on the beach for a reasonable price.

[Sher]

Just an update since I posted this question... We decided to go with the familiar and stay at Cocoa Beach again. We got a good rate at the Doubletree, which has direct beach access. The hotel was good--the room was slightly worn, but the lobby, hallways, restaurant and outdoor areas were very nice.

We were only there for one night, arrived around 1:30 and planned to drive on to Orlando the next day. The weather was cold and windy on arrival day--way too cold to swim. We walked on the beach and had a great dinner at the Atlantic Ocean Grille on the Cocoa Beach Pier. The next day we had brunch at the Three Wishes Restaurant at the hotel, changed into swimsuits and packed up the car. Then we spent the afternoon on the beach before rinsing off, putting shorts on over our suits and heading to Orlando. The weather was much better--although the water was still too cold for me. My ocean-loving daughters didn't seem to mind and we had a great day.

I agree with one of the other posters that when we are used to the pristine Disney-style vacation, many other places seem dirty and tacky. This was really proven to me with this trip where we were offsite at WDW. Our hotel in Kissimmee was beautiful and very clean, but we were offended by the cheap souvenir stands and such. We really have been spoiled by Disney!!

Thanks for all the great suggestions. I am taking notes for our next trip!

Sher

[peanut4]

Pokey's Mom would you mind telling me where you stay in New Smyrna and where the park is that you can swim with the manatees. We will be there in May. Thanks.