Florida... away from Disney?

[wishspirit]

Hello All! Very long time, no see!

Unfortunately, the adult world has kept me from joining in on the boards and listening to the podcasts as much as I'd like, but now I have finally booked my honeymoon (2 weeks at Boardwalk, and 3 nights at Universal ), I am trying to set down to planning!

Being a school teacher, I am stuck to holidays, so we are going in August. My fiancée wants to know what we can do outside of the parks.

So what is your favourite spot in Florida, that isn't Disney? What do you do? Any recommendations?

Thanks everybody!

 

[NC Belle]

Congrats on your engagement!!!


If you plan to rent a car...try a beach for a couple of nights. We enjoyed the beaches near Miami for our honeymoon...but, there many good beaches in 1.5 hours away from Orlando.

So, tell us more of your husband-to-be for more ideas.

We enjoyed going to DTD and miniture golf on our last trip (using vouchers). we are planning for our next trip to Florida to more time away from the parks to like exploring nearby towns plus some beach time (while working in time with my uncle who just moved to Orlando).
.

 

[Phoenixblue]

Congrats! Sounds like an amazing honeymoon you are planning.

Kennedy Space Center - We went for the first time on our last trip to the World. We loved it. and its only gotten better as they now have the shuttle Atlantis on display.
We did one of the center tours also, and got to go out to a launch pad and visit the vehicle assembly building. We hope to do the launch center tour next time. We rented a car and drove to the cape, made a day trip out of it. Its a bit of a drive, but very well worth it.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Some of our favourites..........

Discovery Cove

SeaWorld

Aquatica

Gatorland

Airboat Ride (we loved Wild Willy's)

Cocoa Beach

Showcase of Citrus (monster truck ride through an orange grove)

Shopping (Florida Mall, Premium Outlets, LBV Factory Stores)

Mini golf (our Orlando faves are Congo River and Pirates Cove)

Congrats on your upcoming wedding! We have been twice in August (2012 and 2013) and have August 2014 in the planning stages. Our son graduates grade 12 this June, so our time of being tied to the school calendar for Orlando visits is *slowly* coming to a close.

 

[Lee Disney]

There's so much to see and do in Central Florida. Here's a few of our favorites...

The towns of Mount Dora is a fun place to visit especially w a cruise thru the mount Dora canal.
Tavares is another nice town with a sea plane ride.
There's lots to do in Tampa besides Busch Gardens like the MOSI, Lowery Zoo, and YBor city.
Lots of beaches to visit, my favorites include Madiera and Clearwater. Cape Canaveral National Sea Shore is beautiful too.
How about some tubing and swimming at natural springs like wekiva and rainbow. Kayaking is great here too.
LoAds of manatees hang out at Blue springs in the winter, great viewing there.

 

[wishspirit]

Thank you guys for all the excellent ideas!

My fiancée desperately wants to go to Kennedy, but I'm not as keen. However, since the Dis welcome centre is nearby, I thought I could persuade him to pop in on the way back!

We are actually getting married in April, but I can't get the time off then to have a long enough holiday. So I will have lots of time after the wedding to get excited!

Keep the ideas coming!

 

[Stacy's a freak]

I've never been, but what about a trip to check out Celebration? I can't comment, but I've always wanted to go but never have a car.

 

[wiigirl]

Congrats on your engagement.

 

[OKW Lover]

Sanibel Island and the Ding Darling State Park is pretty impressive.

The sand on the beaches around Clearwater are beautiful "sugar sand". Very fine grains of sand that make the beach very soft.

How about St. Augustine and its history.

 

[Gigi22]

Ft. Launderdale, Boca Raton ... The drive along the coast from Miami to Ft. Lauderdale on the (I think) I-95 is wonderful too.