What to do in Orlando before cruise?

[StaciaRae]

Hi! We are taking a 4 day cruise (first cruise ever). I'd like to fly into Orlando a few days early. We just returned from WDW so dh doesn't want to go back there quite so soon (plus I'm holding out for another big WDW trip in 2018). Our kids will be 6 and 4, so I'd rather wait a few more years before we take them to Universal. Legoland reviews don't seem that good. I'm looking for ideas and wondering what others do in Orlando before their cruises. Thanks.

 

[Quellman]

Kennedy Space center. Beach, Disney has a resort in Vero Beach. The Fun Spot. Medieval Times. A host of Ripley's Museums. The Orlando Eye. Sea World. You could also do Busch Gardens in Tampa. The Holy Land Experience. Old Towne.

 

[coloradocutie]

If you are looking to relax and take it easy, the Four Seasons Walt Disney World has an AMAZING pool/slide/lazy river/water area perfect for 4 and 6 year olds (ok... and parents too). My little ones talk more about that lazy river and the water slides from when we stayed there around our cruise than they do about anything about the cruise itself. We absolutely loved it!
Enjoy your cruise!

 

[Shelley Chiarats]

Wonder Works Museum - also known as the Upside Down House in Orlando.

 

[2 yl's]

They are the perfect age for legoland, its overpriced and can be a bit painful for adults but kids love it and watching them smile is enough for me...

 

[PSULion]

Another vote for Legoland. Your kids are perfect ages for it. And you can often find "kids go free with an adult" tickets.

 

[rhinodadz]

The Crayola Experience would be good.

 

[goofymom74]

We had an extra day after our cruise this past November, so we went to Gatorland. We all loved it! We are from the Pacific NW, not many gators here, LOL! My kids want to go back next time we are in FL. They have a train ride. The kids can feed the gators! They have several photo ops with gators, snakes & even giant tortoises!

 

[phinz]

We enjoyed the Pirates Dinner Adventure. Kids even got to participate (as did my wife. She was recruited to help carry the treasure.)

http://www.piratesdinneradventure.com/

 

[jerseygirlmk]

If you are looking to relax and take it easy, the Four Seasons Walt Disney World has an AMAZING pool/slide/lazy river/water area perfect for 4 and 6 year olds (ok... and parents too). My little ones talk more about that lazy river and the water slides from when we stayed there around our cruise than they do about anything about the cruise itself. We absolutely loved it!
Enjoy your cruise!

This sounds like a great idea! We usually stay at the GF but would love a night here before our trip home! How much do the rooms usually go for?

 

[phinz]

The Gaylord Palms in Orlando is also a really nice hotel with a great pool area, beautiful inside gardens and large rooms. They're usually comparable, if not cheaper, than WDW hotels.

 

[Sytrace]

International Drive has the following attractions:
Fun Spot, Wonder Works, Orlando Eye, an Aquarium, Madame Toussards (all right next to each other) Ripleys, Sea World is right off of I Drive but more south. There is also a Festival Bay mall that has a Bass Pro Shops and an indoor zipline that might be entertaining.

Down the road a bit is LEGOLAND (about an 45 to hour drive from Disney area) I wasn't all that impressed, BUT my kids are older than yours and yours might like it. They do offer adults pay and kids get in free tickets.

In between there is Old Town (Kissimmee, which also has a Fun Spot location) not a place for a whole day, but you could get some fun out of it. And if you like old cars/trucks there are certain nights where these are featured. It is like a big block party with stores and food and some attractions. Fun Spot is right next to it and priced separately.

Out by the port is Kennedy Space Center, which is a great place to visit. There are airboat rides out that way too. Very fun.

You could spend some time at the beach, there is a nice little beach with easy access, free parking and lifeguards not that far from Port Canveral called Cherie Down park. Also, Jetty Park (you pay for parking) is nice. That is the place where folks gather to wave at the cruise lines leaving.

Or if you want to drive a bit west to Tampa/Clearwater/St. Petersburg the beaches are incredible. They are on the Gulf and the water tends to be warmer and more clear than the Atlantic.
You could reasonably, do a lot of things and stay away from Disney. Lol

 

[coloradocutie]

This sounds like a great idea! We usually stay at the GF but would love a night here before our trip home! How much do the rooms usually go for?

We stayed in May right after they opened and got a rate of 400-sh through Amex Platinum/Fine Hotel and Resorts, breakfast included. At that time, we were also looking at the Contemporary and it was drastically cheaper, and honestly, far more luxurious. It looks like they have some specials on the FS website.

It was so unbelievable delightful! They are completely child friendly and had gifts in the rooms for the little ones, as well as having a scavenger hunt through the resort that ended up at the gelato store . The water slides and the lazy pool were so much fun. I had a lovely time in the spa. They do have a bus that goes right to the transportation center from the resort, if you do want to visit the parks. There is also a Disney staffed help desk in the lobby where they did help me snag some fast passes that we couldn't get ourselves. The store in the hotel has Disney parks merchandise, but you will see similar items on the ship. We ended up using Mears transportation (same price through Mears or through the hotel) to get to the port. Let me know if you have any questions, but for us, it was just what we were looking for and it was beautifully memorable.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[AAAG]

My boys, who were 2.5 and 5, thought Legoland was awesome! Even DH and I enjoyed it. If your kids are at all into lego, I vote Legoland.
We have also done the Kennedy Space Centre and were surprised that there were parts (mainly the Atlantis exhibit) that were good for kids that age.

 

[jerseygirlmk]

We stayed in May right after they opened and got a rate of 400-sh through Amex Platinum/Fine Hotel and Resorts, breakfast included. At that time, we were also looking at the Contemporary and it was drastically cheaper, and honestly, far more luxurious. It looks like they have some specials on the FS website.

It was so unbelievable delightful! They are completely child friendly and had gifts in the rooms for the little ones, as well as having a scavenger hunt through the resort that ended up at the gelato store . The water slides and the lazy pool were so much fun. I had a lovely time in the spa. They do have a bus that goes right to the transportation center from the resort, if you do want to visit the parks. There is also a Disney staffed help desk in the lobby where they did help me snag some fast passes that we couldn't get ourselves. The store in the hotel has Disney parks merchandise, but you will see similar items on the ship. We ended up using Mears transportation (same price through Mears or through the hotel) to get to the port. Let me know if you have any questions, but for us, it was just what we were looking for and it was beautifully memorable.

Enjoy your cruise!

That sounds amazing! Thank you so much! I will have to look into some room rates for May! I definitely have to make it there lol!

 

[jeepnjudy]

Another vote for Legoland here...our kids love this place but they also love legos!

 

[coloradocutie]

Enjoy your cruise and time in Orlando!!

 

[dsdeleon]

This next cruise we are doing Kennedy Space center but my 7 year old begged for LegoLand again too. Mouse savers has an excellent deal link for buy one adult/get child for free. I am going to zip down for a day just us and leave the rest of the family at Universal. LL is really awesome for the 3-8 yo set!!!

 

[bovioask1]

The Crayola Experience would be good.

This is great, only 3 of them in all of US? Definitely something the kids would want to check out, and if you got any daughters there is the American Girl shop by the crayola experience too, right at the Florida Mall.

Old Towne is also a fantastic place for families. And if you head east, North of the Port there is New Smyrna with soft white sand beaches and a restaraunt called JB's Fish Camp it is amazingggg!

 

[Stratus22]

We have a list going and thanks to these suggestions, we've added a bunch. We are on the fence about doing Disney Worlds Magic Kingdom. We aren't staying on the property but at the Hyatt MCO for 2 days. The Crayola Experience sounds awesome and so does LEGOLAND........Ugh, decisions. My kids love both of those ideas too.