Cocoa Beach or St Petes

[mommic32]

Hi All, I would like to get some opinions on a few things, We are a family of 4 going to Disney May 14th!!
We are staying in Disney 6 nights and then are heading to Beach for a few days or R&R and would like some opinons, What I want is a nice place to stay relaxing by the Ocean and am considering Ron Jon in Cocoa Beach or Tradewinds in St Petes. What I am concerned about is distance on the weekend, so I am leary about St Petes. Another consideration though is at Tradewinds I can put kids in a kid Kamp of the day and have a day to myself on the Beach with a book and aftre Disney I am sure I will need it...So if anyone has stayed at either resort bring on the opinions... Remember I want to be on beach and relax but am leary of Traffic to get back to Orlando departure time is 11am, so would have to arrive at 9am? and if coming from St Petes that would mean we would have to leave at 7Am ish... Any help is appricated!
Thanks MIchelle

 

[tinksgirl]

I havent been to St Petes In years,I lived in Cocoa Beach about 20 years ago
it was not a nice place then a bit on the seedy side,I returned to CB a few years back to relax after a disney trip all i can say is yuck the place does not give off a safe vibe.My DH and DD went for a few days last year to visit the space center and Jetty Park stayed at the beach front holiday inn also a yuck
I feel we have given this place many chances it continues to be dirty and seedy,some may disagree this is our experiance with the place.We will be going to vero beach DVC for any further beach trips.

 

[micks]

We just returned from a week at the Tradewinds with a little side trip to WDW in the middle! You will REALLY like the Tradewinds (Island Grand or Sandpiper?) It's very clean and safe. The traffic wasn't too horrible - we left at 6:00 am to get to Orlando for the MK opening at 8:00. We did see some WICKED traffic coming back (around noon) that was heading into Orlando, but that may have been a traffic accident.

The KONK Club at the Tradewinds is pretty good, you'll definitely feel safe leaving your kids there and the resort includes a beach "cabana" with each room and all towels. They also have a bunch of community sand toys for the kids. There is a Publix about 1/2-1 mile down the street too - very convenient.

Any other questions, just let me know!

 

[mommic32]

Thanks Micks for the info...
I was leaning towards Tradewinds, but like I said I am concerned with traffic, I did try to geta flight out of Tamp but the times did not coordinate. Can you tell me how much it was for the kids activites? Btw it is tradewinds were I want to stay, even though sandpiper is cheaper. The rates are a little high for me, but figuired it was only 2 nights and we are cutting our disney trip short a day so all should work out well...I am glad you enjoyed your trip. The resort looks wonderful! I am so excited to get there.. In my mind I keep picturing the beach . Any recomendations for something to do at night with a 9 & 11 year old? Also, was it a far walk to the ocean ? And where was your room located at?Thanks for all the info.........

 

[micks]

It *is* pricey - kind of like a Disney deluxe, I think. We were in a one bedroon suite, "tropical/pool view" and we were in the Jacaranda building and could see the pool and a good part of the ocean. The ocean is RIGHT there, no walk at all past the main pool. The kids activites prices should be listed on the website, we didn't do the KONK club, so I'm not sure about that one. Some things they charge per activity (bouncy houses, mini golf, BIG slide on the beach, necklace making, sno-cones, etc) and some are included in the resort fee ($12/day, includes parking). The big slide on the beach is $3/ride or $30 for the whole day. The mini golf and bouncy houses are $5 for the whole day. That's all I can remember for now. We did like it there, but it was easliy as expensive as WDW and not quite as nice - the service was terrific though, and the place is clean and you'll feel comfortable there.

 

[luvthatduck]

The beaches at St. Petersburg (area) are some of the nicest in the world. Dr. Beach always has Candelesi and De Soto highly ranked.

Try this:

http://www.flausa.com (great site for Florida vacation planning)

http://www.floridasbeach.com (for info on St. Pete area beaches)

I like Cocoa Beach, myself. It is significantly closer to WDW than St. Pete. But St. Pete has that white sand.....

 

[danield]

Here is two picture I took early March 2005 of the beach from the Cocoa Beach Pier. We usually park at the Sheppard municipal parking lot and walk to the pier. Kids love the pelican on the pier. If you want more pic, I'll post them on the Kodak gallery.

Granted, there is not much to do in Cocoa Beach itself but the beach is usually nice (but the water cold) and is not overdevelopped. Ron Jon surf shop is a must.

Did also Sand Key Park in 2004 (very nice but the drive was awfull-2.5 hrs) and Fort De Soto Park this year (nice also but traffic terrible even on Sunday).

For convenience I would choose Cocoa but for scenery definitely Sand Key. But we look at it with adult eyes. Kids usually don't care as long as they can play in the sand.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c...vu&x=0&y=5q53is

Dan

 

[Briseis82]

We've stayed at both places. The beaches are 20 times better in St. Pete!!!!

 

[disney 4me2]

St. Pete is by far a nicer area! If you are leaving St. Pete headed for Tampa or Orlando FROM St. Pete on a weekend , then the traffic wll not be so bad, as most people will be headed TO the beach while you are going the opposite direction. I lived in Indian Rocks Beach waaaaay back in 1980! I loved it, it is right down the road from St. Petes beach. Sand Key is also very very nice. You just can't go wrong with the beaches anywhere near St. Pete. The sand is white, the beach is clean and lovely. We are going to Orlando in 2 weeks, and I am not at all happy that we will just not have time to go to the beach!

 

[Jeremy B.]

We are going to WDW from the 24th - 29th and have a couple free days of in which one we would like to spend at the beach. We plan on going to Clearwater to the Pier60 area for the day, what do you guys think? It will be my wife, daughter (turns 5 during the trip), and son who will be 16 months during the trip. Is this a pretty nice area to go to? We would like to go hang out at the beach for a while, eat at an authentic seafood restaurant, and check out the Pier nightlife before heading back. TIA!

 

[Kas31675]

I would say St. Pete but I live in Clearwater and am partial to our area beaches!
The sand is soft and white not rocky.

Jeremy- I think pier 60 is a great choice! They have a nightly goings on that is fun for adults and children.
Here is a website for it http://www.sunsetsatpier60.com/