Day activities with 3 year old pre/post cruise

[Jhondy]

It’s just me and my 3 year old going on the Wish at the end of October. For reference for later on in this post, I’m a pretty small female. I just booked flights and because it is just the two of us, I wanted to do non-stop. That means the day before we get to MCO at 11am and will be staying at the Hyatt. My plan for that day is just to walk around the airport and maybe swim at the hotel.

On the way back the direct flights were either too early or not till 7pm. Since I didn’t want to sit all day at the airport and not be able to check bags, I decided to fly out in the morning on the day after the cruise. My plan is to stay at the Hyatt at MCO again. However, this day I feel like I need to plan an activity to do (and maybe first day too)

Any suggestions on where to go that’s fun for a 3 year old? I don’t want to do WDW cause 1. One day tickets are expensive and 2. She will have gone to WDW 6 times by the time we do the cruise. I also don’t want to do Disney Springs because she isn’t in to shopping and neither am I.

Also for whatever we decide to do, what’s the best/safe way to get from the airport to there? I’ve never rented a car before and considering doing a one day rental. Is it easy to find where to drop off car when done? I’m debating doing an Uber but between my size and the fact that I work at a job that deals with criminal behavior all day, I’m nervous about the safety aspect because it’s just the two of us. I thought about doing a private car but I think that would depend on the activity and if we could estimate what time we’d be done so they could pick us up. I’m most worried about figuring out transportation once I figure out where to go.

I was thinking of Kennedy space center cause I always wanted to go there but, w/o knowing much about it, I feel like my daughter is a bit too young for that still.

 

[MommyCMickey]

My personal take is after the cruise, disembarking and the long drive back to MCO she’ll be exhausted anyways. I wouldn’t plan too much if you’re leaving the following day and Kennedy space center from MCO is about 45 minutes. I would say just enjoy a day at the pool afterwards. But if you feel you must do something after the cruise, try sea world! It’s the closest to MCO

 

[Kariyaffa]

The good thing about renting a car is you can go places and keep your luggage in your trunk.

What about something small on your way back to MCO like the Brevard County zoo?

 

[Breezer4]

Crayola Experience at the Florida Mall is fun.

 

[dcassetta]

The car rental shuttle will pick you up at the cruise terminal and you can drop the car at the airport, so very easy. The major agencies all have options for a car seat.

The Brevard Zoo is small but nice. You might also visit the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. There is a nice visitor center and boardwalk and walking trails.

In Orlando, the Science Center is excellent with a Kid's Zone that aimed especially for family with young children.

 

[Jhondy]

My personal take is after the cruise, disembarking and the long drive back to MCO she’ll be exhausted anyways. I wouldn’t plan too much if you’re leaving the following day and Kennedy space center from MCO is about 45 minutes. I would say just enjoy a day at the pool afterwards. But if you feel you must do something after the cruise, try sea world! It’s the closest to MCO

My kid will not be exhausted. She is go-go-go. She has been doing disney parks open to close with no naps since she was 1.5. We typically go for a week with no rest days. My kid has crazy energy lol.

 

[Jhondy]

Any thoughts on gatorland or sealife aquarium? We don’t have an aquarium near us so I thought that might be neat and gatorland sounds interesting. I’m not worried about drive time as we live in a small town so it takes us 30 minutes each way just to go the store. We routinely drive 45 minutes to 2 hours to go so fun activities.

 

[Girl of the South]

You can take a local bus to both Sea World and The Florida Mall. The Florida Mall has Build A Bear and American Girl Dolls and also the Crayola Experience mentioned above. I think sometimes kids like transportation - like buses - even if it's not going to the ship! $2. Not sure about the price for kids. McCoy's Restaurant in the Hyatt is very nice and serene. There are shops and an ice cream or frozen yogurt place - can't remember the name. You can do a lot of walking and escalator riding. There is a level where the hotel shuttles are - that's where the local buses are. It's called the OIA - Orlando International Airport stop. Here is a link:

https://www.golynx.com/plan-trip/ro..._1_1=showPublicPosting&calendar_entry_id=6884
Oh, also, there should be a microwave near the soda/ice machines at they Hyatt if you get some food in the food court that you need heating up.

Here is a link to the Crayola Experience at the Florida Mall:

https://www.crayolaexperience.com/orlando

 

[hpsalb]

My kids have enjoyed the Crayola Experience and The Orlando Science Center - so much that we’ve done annual passes to each on alternating years when we’ve had other passes in the area (and we don’t live in FL). Either of those could fill quite a bit of time.

We’ve also done the Wax Museum and SeaLife Aquarium, which are right next to each other. This wouldn’t fill as much time unless they are crowded, and they do tend to get somewhat crowded as the day passes.

My kids like mini-golf and there are plenty of options, you could even do one of the Disney courses. Or book a fun meal at a Disney resort and explore the resort a bit.

 

[kmedina]

Legoland