Honeymoon couple with empty pockets..Ideas?

[Planogirl]

Don't people realize that Florida was quite a tourist destination long before Disney built a park there? Certainly a lot of those old attractions were driven out of business by this but there is still a lot to do.

 

[ScottOKW2K]

Don't people realize that Florida was quite a tourist destination long before Disney built a park there? Certainly a lot of those old attractions were driven out of business by this but there is still a lot to do.

I remember thinking that when the wife and I took a day and went to Silver Springs. I was just over 50 at the time and I felt like I was one of the youngest patrons there.

I remember leaving and thinking on the way out "this must be the dinosaur graveyard for theme park goers."

 

[usnuzuloose]

I was born in Orlando, but never lived there. My mom moved away when I was little. But when I got remarried my DH and went to Florida for WDW and a cruise.
It was the first time I could honestly say I had been there. As exciting as it was for a cruise and WDW, I was more excited to drive around and see so much stuff. We visited the malls. Did not buy anything. We drove to the Florida keys.

The one thing I was grateful for was my camera. I had so much fun taking pictures for memories. Hopefully they have a camera to take many pictures and have those memories.

 

[dsneprincess]

My friend's family just returned from Florida, she is a "deal" person. She swears by the coupon books you can pick up all over town. They played buy 1, get 1 free mini golf from the book. She has twice (3 years apart) gotten DisneyQuest to do 1/2 price tickets. She says it is a special they run.......I have never seen this advertised anywhere. She did 1 day park hoppers for $130 each. They went on a day with long MK hours and very happily did Epcot, boat, HS, bus, MK, monorail back to Epcot parking lot. They were most excited by the many forms of transportation in their day, more so than any "ride."

I think they will find plenty to enjoy on their honeymoon! I am off to check out the spring/inner tube thing another poster mentioned.

 

[NewRVLady]

Didn't realize there was a correct way to do a vacation in Orlando. We are locals as in live in Orlando locals and I promise you we don't spend every waking free moment at the parks.
!

Actually we have made many trips to Florida...and my fave is the west coast and seeing the Old School Manatee boat trip, Tampa Bush gardens and Clear springs and going shell collecting on Sanibel Island

BUT -I sure would NOT stay in ORLANDO and do all this!!
That was my point
Orlando is a traffic nightmare-that's why we love to stay put on WDW grounds-we drive there mostly.

 

[thedonduck]

Actually we have made many trips to Florida...and my fave is the west coast and seeing the Old School Manatee boat trip, Tampa Bush gardens and Clear springs and going shell collecting on Sanibel Island

BUT -I sure would NOT stay in ORLANDO and do all this!!
That was my point
Orlando is a traffic nightmare-that's why we love to stay put on WDW grounds-we drive there mostly.

Again, I will just disagree with you. The only place traffic is bad is i4 and maybe around the 192 area by Disney. Stay away from there (with a decent gps this isn't hard to do) and you will avoid that craziness. You don't need to drive that far to the golf coast to enjoy those things.
OP maybe a trip to the Indian River to check out the manatees and then head to Cocoa beach for some fun.

 

[Hisgirl]

Well....we have an interesting turn of events!

YES...I am going to copy and paste and collect all these GREAT ideas! But guess what! When I put the word out to the friends who had met this sweet gal, folks wanted to help. Two people donated cash and one person donated some old discontinued wedgewood china....still in the box! Already got a great offer for the china!

We have enough now to get 2 SURPRISE three day passes via UT!! This way they can see three parks and spend the rest of their week visiting the other great sites. Yippee!

SO! Now to figure out a fun way to deliver this surprise! I love surprises! Any ideas on how to 'package' this fun gift? Yay!! Disney surprises!

 

[marcyinPA]

y'all are cracking me up, there is SO much more to central Florida than just Disney. Here are some non-Disney things for them to consider

Florida is a BEAUTIFUL state, and there are some gorgeous parks really close to Orlando. If they are going to be in Orlando in the winter they should check out Blue Springs state park and see the manatees in their natural environment http://www.floridastateparks.org/bluespring/

Rainbow Springs isn't far from Orlando and they have awesome tubing, which is so much fun! http://www.floridastateparks.org/rainbowsprings/default.cfm

Deleon Springs is also a great state park (and one of the rumored locations of the fountain of youth). It has swimming, canoeing, and one of my favorite restaurants on earth, the Old Spanish Sugar Mill. All of the tables have griddles and you cook your own pancakes. Its not fancy or expensive, but it is SO much fun! http://www.planetdeland.com/sugarmill/index.htm http://www.floridastateparks.org/deleonsprings/

Daytona beach- its fun, its kitchy, and its close. They could drive over for the day, take in some beach time, walk along the boardwalk, ride the ferris wheel, visit the speedway, tour the lighthouse, there is so much to do!

Kennedy Space Center is really fun, even for those who aren't big space fans. The history is so interesting!

St Augustine is about an hour and a half from Orlando and well worth the drive! The Castillo is amazing and St. Augustine is such a fun city to walk around and explore. It has an almost European feel to it. The ghost tours are really fun and not very expensive, and there are great restaurants. If they are looking for something delicious but not fancy or expensive, they should try out Osteens (my other favorite restaurant on earth!). They have the greatest fried shrimp in the world, nowhere even comes close. I still taste it in my dreams, its that good! http://www.osteensrestaurant.com/

The Bok Tower gardens are right outside of Orlando and are beautiful and romantic, the "singing tower" is amazing, its a really unique and special place, perfect for honeymooners http://boktowergardens.org/

The Central Florida zoo is fun, its a smaller zoo, but it has some nice animal exhibits. http://www.centralfloridazoo.org/

If they are looking for something fun and a little cheesy, they should check out Medieval Times. Its a little over the top, but its memorable. http://www.medievaltimes.com/

I'll keep thinking and I'll let you know if I come up with anything else, but there is so much to do in Central Florida, they don't have to feel like they are missing out on anything by skipping the parks. Heck, the vacation I just outlined sounds pretty awesome to me!

I'm not planning on going to FL anytime soon, but I really want to go to that pancake restaurant!! That sounds like fun!!

 

[Gracefulskinny]

Well....we have an interesting turn of events!

YES...I am going to copy and paste and collect all these GREAT ideas! But guess what! When I put the word out to the friends who had met this sweet gal, folks wanted to help. Two people donated cash and one person donated some old discontinued wedgewood china....still in the box! Already got a great offer for the china!

We have enough now to get 2 SURPRISE three day passes via UT!! This way they can see three parks and spend the rest of their week visiting the other great sites. Yippee!

SO! Now to figure out a fun way to deliver this surprise! I love surprises! Any ideas on how to 'package' this fun gift? Yay!! Disney surprises!

How Wonderful!!! Maybe package them up in a box with a pair of the bride and groom mouse ears?


Or more cost effective... How about making a mickey head shaped envelope for the tickets?

 

[Mrs.Malone]

Well....we have an interesting turn of events!

YES...I am going to copy and paste and collect all these GREAT ideas! But guess what! When I put the word out to the friends who had met this sweet gal, folks wanted to help. Two people donated cash and one person donated some old discontinued wedgewood china....still in the box! Already got a great offer for the china!

We have enough now to get 2 SURPRISE three day passes via UT!! This way they can see three parks and spend the rest of their week visiting the other great sites. Yippee!

SO! Now to figure out a fun way to deliver this surprise! I love surprises! Any ideas on how to 'package' this fun gift? Yay!! Disney surprises!

How sweet is that? Wonderful!

 

[IceSkatingPrincess]

Well....we have an interesting turn of events!

YES...I am going to copy and paste and collect all these GREAT ideas! But guess what! When I put the word out to the friends who had met this sweet gal, folks wanted to help. Two people donated cash and one person donated some old discontinued wedgewood china....still in the box! Already got a great offer for the china!

We have enough now to get 2 SURPRISE three day passes via UT!! This way they can see three parks and spend the rest of their week visiting the other great sites. Yippee!

SO! Now to figure out a fun way to deliver this surprise! I love surprises! Any ideas on how to 'package' this fun gift? Yay!! Disney surprises!

Oh my goodness! What generosity! That is amazing. I second the bride and groom mouse ears. I wore them on my honeymoon and you get SO much special attention at the parks, it really adds to the magic. I hope they have a fairytale trip!!!

EDIT: or a cheaper option, bride and groom buttons. Or somehow include instructions for them to pick up *free* happily ever after buttons when they get to the park.

 

[nicolita3]

Just remind them that they will have to pay for parking, just in case they don't know.

 

[Kellydelly]

Well....we have an interesting turn of events!

YES...I am going to copy and paste and collect all these GREAT ideas! But guess what! When I put the word out to the friends who had met this sweet gal, folks wanted to help. Two people donated cash and one person donated some old discontinued wedgewood china....still in the box! Already got a great offer for the china!

We have enough now to get 2 SURPRISE three day passes via UT!! This way they can see three parks and spend the rest of their week visiting the other great sites. Yippee!

SO! Now to figure out a fun way to deliver this surprise! I love surprises! Any ideas on how to 'package' this fun gift? Yay!! Disney surprises!

What if someone else already came up with this idea? If I were a close relative of this couple and knew they were headed to Orlando I would probably think of this gift idea . Maybe you should give them the cash and not tickets, just in case this happens.

 

[disneymom3]

What if someone else already came up with this idea? If I were a close relative of this couple and knew they were headed to Orlando I would probably think of this gift idea . Maybe you should give them the cash and not tickets, just in case this happens.

Cash. Not only for this reason, but are you even sure they WANT to go to the parks? We also didn't live together before getting married and I swear one of the best parts of our honeymoon was waking up in the morning and saying, "Hi!" paired with the other honeymoon activities and the rest after planning a wedding, I know we wouldn't have wanted to go to the parks. Just give them the money and let them decide what they want to do on their honeymoon.

 

[ronandannette]

What if someone else already came up with this idea? If I were a close relative of this couple and knew they were headed to Orlando I would probably think of this gift idea . Maybe you should give them the cash and not tickets, just in case this happens.

I was thinking along the same lines. And do we even know if they WANT to go to WDW? Maybe they would prefer something else, and I'm sure the sweet people who gave the gift (including YOU, hisgirl ) would want them to do whatever they'd like best.