Daytona Beach

[theprincess]

How far is Daytona Beach from Disney? And is it worth it to stop there on our way down to The World?

 

[OhMari]

We stopped on our way home from WDW. It is about an hour north of WDW. I am going to move you over to other attractions and maybe someone can tell you a lot more about Daytona.

OhMari
Co-moderator Trip Reports

 

[Jason71]

How far is Daytona Beach from Disney? And is it worth it to stop there on our way down to The World?

If you are a NASCAR fan, definitely. If you are intrigued by the idea of driving on the beach or have never seen the ocean before, yes. Otherewise, skip it. It's pretty dirty and run-down, as beaches go, and built up beyond belief.

 

[kilee]

We've stopped there a few times on our way to WDW. It isn't bad for a short pit stop. HOWEVER, I will never actually stay there again. I thought the lodging was expensive and run down. It takes us 45-60 minutes to get to Orlando from there depending on traffic.

 

[jdm]

I just returned from Daytona and was very pleasantly surprised after reading all the negatives. We stayed for 4 days at Ocean Walk which was a gorgeous resort. Not knowing what to expect, we had a lot of fun. We spent virtually all our time at the resort/beach with a few ventures out for dinner and the huge Daytona flea market. We did some walking up the beach and checked out the boardwalk and little shops etc. Nothing great, but not bad either.

I found Daytona to be much bigger than I anticipated and it didn't look run down to me at all. Maybe I was just in a good area..... the beach was clean and while it was a little chilly, my kids loved it. They said this is their favorite resort and we've been to a lot of them! We'd go back in a second.

Jenn

 

[kilee]

I'm glad you were able to find a great resort. Would you mind sharing the price range.

 

[Snoopymom]

Here's some info I gave to someone on the Univ board awhile back. Daytona is at the bottom. I left St Augustine there in case anyone else is interested.
We're going to try Siesta Key on our next trip. Most here recommend the gulf side, but the drive takes an extra hour.


St Augustine

Besides the guided city tours, haunted tours and the "oldest" school, house, jail...everything tours, LOL, and the great shopping in the quaint stores along the cobble stone streets, we've done

The Alligator Farm which is fun. We liked Gator Land in Orlando a little more.
http://www.alligatorfarm.com/

We've done this chocolate factory tour. It's free and only takes about 45 minutes.
http://www.whetstonechocolates.com/

Loved this winery. They had some really yummy fresh tasting homemade grape juice for the kids too.
http://www.sansebastianwinery.com/

We haven't taken the lighthouse tour yet, but it looks like one of the most picturesque ones.
http://www.staugustinelighthouse.com/

Marine Land is now closed, and that's a good thing. Hopefully they will refurbish it. It has a lot of neat history, but it was not worth the money.

This cruise was a blast. We saw some dolphins and the captain let ds steer the boat for quite awhile.
http://www.scenic-cruise.com/

There are tons of neat little restaurants in town, but one of our favorites is Harry's, it's a lot like Pat O'Brian's. We like to sit in the courtyard.
http://www.hookedonharrys.com/

Creekside Dinery has great seafood and a nice outside deck with a fire pit. Owned by the same people as Salt Water Cowboys, but this place seems a little less touristy.
http://www.creeksidedinery.com/rest.html

The Oasis is a casual place, good for breakfast
http://www.worldfamousoasis.com/

The Sunset Grill is pretty good
http://www.sunsetgrillea1a.com/

My favorite is The Beachcomer, which doesn't have a website, but it's an itty bitty barefoot picnic table type of place right on the beach, and it's a fun place to get some oysters or peel and eat shrimp.

My in-laws just moved from there and we used to stay with them, so I can't really recommend a hotel. There are some great looking B&B's in the heart of the city, but if you wanted to stay on the beach, I'd recommend a condo. It seems like most of the hotels are across the street from the beach. We did stay at Anastasia condos once and they were nice.
http://www.staugustine.com/visit/ac...s/lodging.shtml


Daytona Beach

We've only been during off season. I don't think I'd want to go during speedweek or springbreak, especially with kids.

For hotels, I'd ONLY recommend the Hilton
http://www.daytonahilton.com/contactus.htm

and the Ocean Walk Resort, which has 2 indoor pools and the outdoor pool has a lazy river, a slide and a great kiddie pool with it's own slides and tunnels, etc.
http://www.oceanwalk.com/

which has the Ocean Walk village connected to it with restaurants and a movie theater. It's so nice to have everything within walking distance.
http://www.oceanwalkvillage.com/home.html

The speedway is fun. It has been awhile, but we loved taking the tour where you get to go on the track and walk on the bank
http://www.daytonaintlspeedway.com/

The Marine Science Center is an inexpensive neat little place to take kids, only takes an hour or two and you pretty much get your own personal guide, real casual and interesting.
http://echotourism.com/msc/

We haven't done it yet, but there's a chocolate factory tour.
http://www.angellandphelps.com/

The lighthouse at Ponce Inlet is right next to the Marine Science Center
http://www.ponceinlet.org/

and there is a nice restaurant there called Down the Hatch where you can watch sailboats and the most beautiful sunsets and another called The Inlet Harbor
http://www.sealoveboatworks.com/dth/map.htm
http://www.inletharbor.com/

We love to just walk around the board walk, eat taffy, ride the go-carts, play in the arcades and sit on the pier at the outdoor restaurant. It has that tacky old carnival feel to it, but it's fun. There's music on the weekends at the BandShell next to the pier, but we've always missed it.
http://virtualvolusia.com/Pier1.html
http://www.bandshell.org/

There is a new water park that just opened that we haven't been to yet
http://daytonalagoon.com/

There's also a dog track there. When we go with extended family, the guys like to get together and go. It's a little seedy, LOL.
http://www.dbkennelclub.com/information.htm

Our favorite restaurant is the Ocean Deck. You can eat upstairs with a view of the ocean or you can walk in off the beach downstairs. If you like hot and spicy, try the rasta wings. We brought back a case of the sauce last time we went and Casie's Vanilla something is awesome! The seafood platters are enough to share, the bisque and chowder are great, and the kids meals come on a frisbee.
http://www.oceandeck.com/

The Oyster Pub is a sports bar, great for snacks, and if you're looking for somewhere to watch your "can't miss" football game. (They have a room and big screen just for Steelers fans, it's a blast!) The website is under construction
http://www.oysterpub.com/

For breakfast Steve's Famous Diner is good.

Billy's Tap Room is a famous little restaurant we tried last time. It's awesome, a little pricey...about $30 an entree.
http://www.billys-tap.com/

Aunt Catfishs is also a well known place, casual, kid friendly with comfort country style food.
http://www.auntcatfish.com/


Have fun planning!

 

[Jason71]

it didn't look run down to me at all.

I admit that Ocean Walk is nice, the newest and nicest place on the beach. But you went to the the Boardwalk (the same Boardwalk that is under condemnation) and drove from beachside to the flea market (I assume along US 92, tho Mason Avenue is even worse) and didn't think the city looked run down?!? To each his own, but are you sure you don't work for the Daytona Chamber of Commerce?

BTW, from beachside in Daytona to WDW property is at least an hour, even without traffic. And there's always traffic in Daytona.

 

[Snoopymom]

I'm glad you were able to find a great resort. Would you mind sharing the price range.

Off season, I've gotten a studio for $99 and a 1 bedroom condo for $139, but I just checked rates for the beginning of June and they're double that. Also, if you keep checking the Hotdeals on their website, you can apply the better price to an existing reservation.

The Hilton which is right next door runs about the same. It was hit pretty hard by the hurricanes, so I think it has been completely refurbished.

They're both nice, but I like that the Ocean Walk has big balconies.

 

[Snoopymom]

I admit that Ocean Walk is nice, the newest and nicest place on the beach. But you went to the the Boardwalk (the same Boardwalk that is under condemnation) and drove from beachside to the flea market (I assume along US 92, tho Mason Avenue is even worse) and didn't think the city looked run down?!? To each his own, but are you sure you don't work for the Daytona Chamber of Commerce?

BTW, from beachside in Daytona to WDW property is at least an hour, even without traffic. And there's always traffic in Daytona.

I agree, it's run down, but to me it's sort of like driving through the bad part of downtown Orlando (don't get off on the wrong exit) to get to Disney or the bad part of Memphis to get to Graceland, look straight ahead and think positive thoughts.

 

[jdm]

We traded into Oceanwalk with our Worldmark timeshare so I don't know what the rental rack rates would be.

Ya know, I guess it depends on your idea of rundown. It's a beachtown so I wasn't expecting the Ritz. It had your typical restaurants, junkie sovenier shops, etc. Typically, what you'd see in a lot of beach towns. I've been to Cocoa and it was similiar. Mission beach in San Diego (I'm talking the strips here, not the neighborhoods). Same thing, your typical tourist traps etc. It didn't seem overly scroungie to me. And, I didn't feel unsafe or creeped out or anything like that....

As I said, it was way bigger than I thought. I was thinking a little dinky strip with a racetrack and some broken down buildings and was pleasantly surprised. Maybe I had just gone with low, low, expectations.

No, I don't work for Daytona Chamber of Commerce and I wouldn't make it my only destination to fly across country to go to. But, I would definitely go back to Ocean Walk for an add-on to our usual Orlando trips.

It took us about 45 minutes to get to Orlando with DH (Mario Andretti) driving.

Jenn

 

[Sylvester McBean]

We're going to try Siesta Key on our next trip. Most here recommend the gulf side, but the drive takes an extra hour.

it's worth it. we just had friends visiting us for spring break, and we had them stay near SK. they're looking for job transfers when they get home today.

 

[olbear]

Hello,
I live in Ormond Beach, Florida which is right next door to Daytona Beach. Please keep in mind that year before last we got hit with THREE hurricanes. So yes, things are in a bit of repair. Some stretches of the beach are nicer than others. The same with most of your tourist towns. The Boardwalk area next to the new Hilton is really nice, and they just opened up a nice water park.

Old downtown Daytona has been refurbished and is looking nicer than ever, with nice little shops and Cafe's. And yes, there is Angel and Phelp's Candy store and Cafe. Going south on A1A you will end up in Ponce Inlet home to the nations oldest light house where you can take a tour, and then have a nice bite to eat at one of the few seafood restaurants nearby. Unless you like to catch your own fish on a chartered deep sea fishing boat. You can do this in Ponce Inlet as well.

Going up US 92 toward I-95 you will find our local Mall, and across the street is the Daytona International Speedway, and right up the rode the Dog track.
The speedway has daily tours and a great place to spend the afternoon, Daytona USA.

Just north on I-95 about 45 minutes away is old St Augustine. Lots to do there! A great shopping district filled with history and legends and tales from days gone by. Don't forget to visit the Spanish bakery and enjoy an empanada and homemade Cinnamon cookies.

In good traffic we are a little over an hour from Disney World. In traffic it is more like an hour and a half.

Have fun,
Winnie

 

[Jakesmom1]

olbear you beat me to it.

We also live in Ormond and do not find Daytona as run down as earlier Orlando poster stated.

Hurricanes did have an impact on the Beach side, but there is more and more refurbishing going on.

We moved here from NY right after Hurricane Francis and saw the devistation first hand. I am amazed at how much that town has accomplished in less then 2 years.

Ponce Inlet is a great trip , and if you go, you must walk up the lighthouse,

Also Daytona Lagoon is not just a water park, it also has go carts and putt putt golf.

Lots of good restaurants also.

The beaches are very pretty and I have been to some of the worlds most beautiful beaches.

If you want a nice side trip Daytona is a good choice. Just as a previous poster wrote, You can find a crappy part of town in anytown if you look hard enough.