Any ideas for a nice non-Disney weekend

[icydog]

Hi we are DVC members and will be staying at OKW December 7-12. We want to check out for the weekend of 12-14 Dec to save high weekend points. I don't particularly need to stay in the Disney area and I am looking for something fun for 4 mature adults to do. We would need two rooms and since my dh and I will be paying we need something not too expensive. Any ideas on non-Disney places to go and nice moderately priced lodging. We are leaving out of MCO on Sunday so it can't be too far away from Orlando.

 

[Lisa P.]

Have you visited the Universal parks and Sea World? A stay near those may be very nice (with many reasonably priced, nicer hotels).

What about a visit to Cocoa Beach and the Kennedy Space Center? It's about an hour or so by car.

If you just want to relax for the weekend, consider a visit to the Clearwater Beach area on the gulf. Beautiful beachfront areas up and down the coast and under a 2 hour drive.

 

[icydog]

Thanks Lisa for your reply. I wonder how the beach will be in December? I know when we were down last year in January we needed winter coats all week.

 

[Lisa P.]

It can vary widely. I've been to Clearwater in January with daytime temps in the upper 70's and little breeze - lovely for walking the beachfront. I've also worn winter coats in FL in January. If it's too cool for the beach, there are still a ton of things to do in Florida.

Ocala is less than 2 hours north of Orlando, up I-75. Silver Springs is reportedly worth a full day's visit, between 2 nights in the area. In nearby Dunnellon, rental canoes are available at the State Park on the Rainbow River (a gorgeous, springfed, clear-as-an-aquarium river, where scuba divers practice their skills) Ocala is home to many thoroughbred horse farms.

Homosassa State Park and wildlife refuge is about 2 hours northwest of Orlando or 2 hours north of Tampa. There, you can see manatees and other wildlife, if that interests you.

Certainly, there are plenty of things to do in the Clearwater/Tampa/St. Pete area. Besides Busch Gardens, there are many smaller land attractions, golf, boating, deep sea fishing, sightseeing charters, museums, etc. Honeymoon Island State Park is not far away, if you want a natural beach setting.

If you end up on the Atlantic side, Daytona is about an hour and a half away from Orlando. Besides the beach, there's the Nascar Museum, some shows and smaller attractions. Down by Cocoa Beach, NASA's attractions are mostly inside (bus tour and inside buildings), so that would still be okay in cold weather. If it's not rainy, you'd be near the beachfront there for walking.

Have you considered staying the Orlando area to visit some of the quieter attractions? Downtown Orlando offers plenty of cultural arts and a great Science Center. There are some "Old Florida" nature parks in the general Orlando area too. And of course, there are smaller tourist attractions & dinner shows that you may not have seen before. HTH!

 

[icydog]

Lisa,
You are a fount of information. I thank you.
Marylyn

 

[leebee]

Hi Icy-dog-

We were in Orlando in Jan. 2003 also- went for the Shuttle launch (AWESOME!) and vacation. We really liked the Cocoa Beach area. Kennedy Scpace Center was amazing, and we (me, DH, 9yo DD) will all go again, with a two-day admission as we really didn't get to see much on our one day (we were there about 6hrs). We also spent time driving around the area, which was fun. Stopped at a citrus grove, and in addition to tasting all their juices they let DD pick oranges, right from the tree, for free! I agree, some of the days were cold in Jan, but not as bad as MAINE!! If you are interested in the area, do a search under "space coast" for info. We stayed at the Holiday inn in Titusville, across the river from the KSC launch pads and will never stay there again. Musty, dirty, diarrhea splashed inside the toilet, etc. Even a "second night free" (see Holiday Inn website) did not make us feel better. I would try the no-name local places before returning to THAT holiday inn, let me tell you. All in all, space coast area was enjoyable, and I guess the night life in Cocoa Beach can be a hoot (wouldn't know, my hooting days are over 'til DD heads for college- of course I'll be so ancient then!) Have fun!

 

[icydog]

Sounds terrific. My DH is a nut for space things as he is a pilot(private plane not airline)and I enjoy it as well. The problem is SIL who might not care about space. When DH and I go to these sort of places we like to spend time reading all the notes on the exhibits. I know that for others this can be infuriating. I guess I will just ask DSIL if she is up for this type of adventure. I know we would just love it.

I can't believe that HI story. How awful. We had a similar experience in a Ramada Inn in Miami. We got half of the money back from AAA ( it was listed in their book as being ***)and about 25% from the hotel. In fact it was so awful that we wouldn't stay there another if you paid us $$$$$ for the night.

 

[sln88]

I am going to WDW the end of Oct, and we will be spending a night in the Clearwater area(right now I am reserved at a place on Treasure Island)

Do you know much about this area? I am wondering about snorkeling or dolphin watching trips, pirate ship cruises, the pier, ect.

Let me know if you have any opinions

 

[Lisa P.]

Sorry, our only visits to Clearwater have been day trips to enjoy the lovely public beaches. There is a fishing pier with a charge to walk it or to fish from it. We saw the pirate boat from the beach - definitely a kid-pleaser! The public beach offers showers, counter service food and pay parking. Don't know anything about local tourism options.

For a stay in Cocoa Beach, there are some timeshare resorts that seem to have good TUG ratings.

The Resort on Cocoa Beach is very popular. I'd definitely look into a nightly rental there as this is a fairly new resort. It's not DVC but you may enjoy it. Sometimes a 2BR timeshare villa can be quite reasonable, rather than 2 hotel rooms for 2 couples.

Las Olas Beach Clubs operates two places. These are somewhat older timeshares but their ratings indicate that they ought to be fine for a short stay. HTH.