Florida Trip Disney/Fort Lauderdale/Key West?

Hi, I'm new here to the DISboards, but this will be our 3rd trip to WDW. I hope I'm posting in the right place.

We are planning a trip to FL next spring - first destination the Fort Lauderdale/Miami area because SIL and family just moved there this year from the midwest. We definitely want to make a stop at WDW, but we also want to visit with the family and take the kids to Key West. We will have approx 10-11 days, 4 of them driving. (Yes we will be driving - we have already decided). We are aboout 20 hours, so we will do 10 hours, stop for the night, and 10 more, both there and back.

For those who know FL better than I do, is this even going to be possible? We love our family, but will likely only be spending a limited amount of time with them - they have work and their kids may not have the same spring break as my kids and could be in school while we are there.

My basic plan:

Thursday/Friday: leave Thursday, arrive at SIL's Friday evening.
Sat/Sun/Monday: Spend the weekend with them.
Tuesday morning: drive to Key West. Spend the night?
Wed: Key West most of the day, leave there around 4 or 5pm and head to Disney
Thursday-Friday: Disney (DHS, Epcot)
Sat/Sun: leave Sat, arrive home Sunday.

We have been to WDW twice, so we are OK with only doing a day each in the two parks above. They kids got to pick their choice (DHS) and I got to pick mine (Epcot!). All DH asked is that we NOT do MK again this time. He agreed with me on Epcot.

Is this going to be too much driving/fragmentation? My biggest hesitation is having to keep packing up and unpacking. I think it will make the trip go by too fast to always have to think about moving to another sleeping location in a night or two, but this could also be part of the adventure if we can pull it off!

Any advice?

Oh, and kids will be 15, 11, and 10 at the time of the trip.

I live in Marathon (about 1 hour north of Key West in the Keys). Depending on where in Fort Lauderdale/Miami the family is you are looking at a 4-5 hour drive to Key West. It will take 3 hours without traffic once you reach the keys off the turnpike to get to Key West.

From Marathon to Disney is 7 hours up the turnpike so from Key West you are looking at 8 hours driving time to Disney.

The big thing to think about is what you want to see in Key West- there are some museums but the big thing with Key West are the bars and such, which your children are too young for. You might prefer something in the middle keys like going to Baha Honda(State Park Beach- named in the top 10 beaches in the US each year), visiting places with the marine mammals (sea turtle hospital, dolphin research canter, Theatre of the Seas(those are all in the middle keys). If you are there to see the Southernmost Point in the US(well that you can get to without a military id) then go to Key West but there is not really a ton there for children/teens. Although I can highly recommend Goldman's Bagels for breakfast if you go down there- they actually make the bagels served at the higher end hotels throughout the lower keys.

If you really want to see Key West then you may want to do anything you want to do there on Tuesday and then start heading back up through the keys to find a place to stay as well as to see the beaches and parks.

The biggest problem I see is leaving Key West at 4-5 to drive to Disney,that's a pretty long drive that will have you arriving past midnight.I would spend Tuesday seeing the most you can in Key West and then Wednesday leave Key West in the morning seeing things along the road and getting to Disney at reasonable time.

rlovew said:

The big thing to think about is what you want to see in Key West- there are some museums but the big thing with Key West are the bars and such, which your children are too young for.

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Having lived in Miami most of my life -- and being a BIG fan of Key West -- I agree with this.

There are basically four things to do in the Keys: enjoy the amazing waters in the Middle Keys...fish...dive...and drink.

If you go to Key West, you go for the experience, or for the Hog's Breath Saloon "Hog's Breath Is Better Than No Breath At All" teeshirt. The "Southernmost Point" is literally a sea buoy by the side of the road. We can send you a picture of that by email.

Okay, okay -- sunset at Mallory Square is worth doing -- but not worth driving an extra day for.

You might prefer something in the middle keys like going to Baha Honda(State Park Beach- named in the top 10 beaches in the US each year), visiting places with the marine mammals (sea turtle hospital, dolphin research canter, Theatre of the Seas(those are all in the middle keys).

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That's Bahia Honda State Park, to correct the typo. Lovely place -- but regardless of the ratings, the beaches are better anywhere in Dade (Miami), Broward (Ft Lauderdale) or Palm Beach counties -- in fact, anywhere else on the Atlantic Coast of Florida.

Just FYI, there are three distinct parts to the Keys -- the ugly Upper Keys, mostly Key Largo and Tavernier (which have some good restaurants and nice places to visit), the absolutely gorgeous Middle Keys, which are actually about the middle 60 miles south of Tavenier to about Big Pine Key, and then the ugly Key West area (which is a world of it's own!).

The Keys have beaches, but they are not a place you go for beaches. Bahia Honda is nice. Long Key is nice, but the water is awful. Personally, I think the best beach in the Keys is Sombrero Beach in Marathon, but others may differ.

I agree with rlovew's suggestions above and would add two others.

One is Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary, accessible by boat tours from Ramrod Key and possibly Summerland Key -- both just south of Big Pine Key at roughly Mile Marker 27 (everything in the Keys is identified by MM's from the Southernmost Point, which is MM 0.) Looe Key is a wonderful reef about 5 miles offshore which is very suitable for both snorkeling or diving. Easily the best experience in Florida for novice divers/snorkelers. We have used the Looe Key Resort trip several times, always with good results.

The other is in ugly Key Largo -- John Pennekamp State Park. The landside part of John Pennekamp is rather nondescript, but they have a very nice glass bottom boat trip which takes you out to Molasses Reef where you will see cool fish and a very nice reef. Worth doing.

For snorkling at Pennekamp, we prefer Quiessence, a dive shop outside the park. They have small boats -- 6-8 guests max -- and they let you pick where they take you by majority vote. With 5 of you on the boat, you decide where you go. I would suggest Christ of the Deep and one other reef, rather than Molasses. Molasses is better, but it's a long trip.

In the MIAMI area, it would be helpful to know more precisely where SIL lives. Lots to see and do in South Florida, but my recommendations would depend on specifically where you are staying.

I'm 49 years old raised in Fort Lauderdale and have never been to Key West, 2 years ago we drove to Marathon. My daughter had a wedding photo shoot to do. Having grown up in Florida I expected a ton of beaches, I was wrong. A lot of water, not much beach. It was an experience, thought about going to Key West but the sunset in Marathon was lovely, didn't feel like I miss anything.

There's more to see in Key West than in Marathon but their itinerary has them spending a good chunk of Tuesday and Wednesday there,there's stuff to see and do,but not that much,try and get it all in on Tuesday and head back north on Wednesday.I live in Miami and haven't been to Key West in at least 8-10 years.

Did a Fort Lauderdale/Key West combo trip .... and I think you have scheduled way too much in a short time. Most your vacation is going to be spent in the car.

Thanks everyone!

Sounds like most agree that if we do the keys, it will be more to say that we were there/cross it off the bucket list more than getting a whole lot out of the destination itself? Neither DH or I have ever been and we just thought it would be fun to bring the kids. Kind of like going to Chicago and eating touristy Geno's East pizza and paying $25 bucks/person to ride an elevator to the top of the Sears Tower. Not a whole lot of people who live in Chicago actually do this outside of 5th grade field trips LOL but it's a rite of passage for most visitors!

I agree about the 8 hour trip to Disney - for some reason when I was typing my post I was thinking 3 hours, but that was back to Miami, not all the way to Orlando. Thanks for clearing that up!

That being said now, is the Keys worth it enough to just head down for the day and come back to SIL's (close to Lauderhill, I think? Not sure of their exact address yet. They just moved in July) or somewhere in the Miami area late that night? I don't really want to pay $300 for a hotel room just to stay in the Keys.

It just seems a shame to get "that close" and not go, but it's not going to make or break us, either.

Thanks!

I live in the Ft. Lauderdale area. It's just a little over an hour to the upper keys. We did John Pennekamp park as a day trip a few weeks ago. I'd recommend a Keys day trip as part of your Fort Lauderdale time. Do some research to find what you'd enjoy in Key Largo, Isla Morada. John Pennekamp has a glass bottom boat over the coral reefs, and scuba and snorkel trips. Look for a good local restaurant and cross conch fritters and real key lime pie off your bucket list. And skip the 8 hour drive from Key West to Orlando.

In Fort Lauderdale, check out Sea Watch restaurant for amazing ocean views. The water taxi on the New River is a great way to see the city, and everyone loves strolling Las Olas.

I would personally skip Key West for this trip. Maybe you could leave Ft. Lauderdale and stay a night or two in Vero Beach? Disney has a resort there and it is on the way to Orlando heading north from FLL.

Lilacs4Me said:

We are planning a trip to FL next spring...

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What are the DATES of your trip. Those could have a great impact on what we suggest you see or do, because there are numerous festivals, etc during the spring. The weather will also affect what you can do, so the dates matter some there as well.

glassslippergirl said:

Look for a good local restaurant and cross conch fritters

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Or "cracked conch."

and real key lime pie off your bucket list.

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Yep!

And especially -- Stone Crabs! IF you visit in an "R" month. If not, not...because they'll be either an imitation or frozen.

The water taxi on the New River is a great way to see the city, and everyone loves strolling Las Olas.

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Agree with both of these. I've never done the water taxi, but my wife, her cousin, and our daughter spent ALL DAY with the water taxi last year and loved every minute of it.

JimMIA said:

And especially -- Stone Crabs! IF you visit in an "R" month. If not, not...because they'll be either an imitation or frozen.

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Can't believe I forgot stone crabs!

Also, since this is a Disney forum, I wanted to let you know that there is a Disney parks outlet at Sawgrass Mills in Sunrise (pretty much due west of downtown Fort Lauderdale). It used to be better but is still a pretty good place to pick up Disney deals on park-exclusive merchandise. Since your time at WDW will be limited, you could do your shopping here. (The mall is huge, so if you're just going for the Disney Character Premiere-- I think that's what it's called-- it's right next to Marshall's.)

FT Lauderdale is a great vacation destination in itself. If it were me, I'd skip the keys and do the beaches in FT Lauderdale, the water taxi, Los Olas, and a fishing trip or other water excursion that appeals to your family.