We've been to Orlando 10 times now and for at least the past 3 trips we'd planned on visiting Winter Park, but only actually got around to it in January this year. We absolutely loved it. We strolled along Park Avenue browsing in all the boutique shops there and stopped for lunch at one of the sidewalk cafes flclarkkent mentions. We then took the scenic boat tour - a wonderful way to while away an hour. You're taken on a tour of several of the lakes and the guide is very informative about all the beautiful lakeside mansions and Rollins College, as well as the flora and forna. We didn't have time to visit any of the museums, but there's always next time!
Celebration is worth a visit. You won't spend a whole day there, but there are some nice boutique shops, and restaurants set around the lake. Just driving around is fascinating.
The Mall at Millenia really is THE mall for me. It's high tech and glamorous, and manages the mix of upscale and chain stores surprisingly well. The restuarants get very busy, but we've eaten several times at both The Cheesecake Factory and Brio Tuscan Grill with acceptable waits. In July we're going to try McCormick and Schmicks which I read good things about. I also like the Florida Mall, especially the newer wing which houses Nordstrom and Saks amongst others.
In January we stayed at the new Ritz Carlton. The whole resort (including the JW Marriott) is absolutely fabulous. The spa is housed in a separate building with its own indoor and outdoor pools. They offer all kinds of wonderful treatments and you could easily spend a day there and then maybe have dinner at one of the hotels. We ate at Norman's and the Vineyard Grill at the RC, Primo at JWM and Fairways on the golf course. All were fantastic and the staff at the RC (including the spa and golf course) are the most incredibly friendly, helpful, polite and efficient I've ever known anywhere.
One of our favourite pastimes is nosing around the resorts at both Disney and Universal. Most of them have great bars and restaurants too. It's sometimes nice to take a break from the parks and visit a resort for lunch, although unfortunately, not many of the resort restaurants open for lunch. From MK you could take the monorail to Kona Cafe at the Polynesian, or go for afternoon tea at the Grand Floridian. The boat trip from MK across to Wilderness Lodge is really relaxing, but the only restaurant open for lunch is the Whispering Canyon Cafe which is just OK in my book. At Epcot you can either walk or get the water taxi to both the BoardWalk and the Yacht and Beach Club. The BoardWalk's also a nice place to visit during the evening - I've always fancied spending an evening at Jellyrolls, the duelling pianos bar. There's a good atmosphere at the ESPN bar, especially when there's a game on, and both the Flying Fish Cafe and Spoodles are good restaurants.
Downtown Disney is another good evening venue. How about Cirque du Soleil and a meal at one of the Westside restaurants? I'm not a fan of Pleasure Island, but if you like clubs and dancing, I'm sure you'd enjoy it. CityWalk at Universal is another place which comes alive during the evening - I love the atmosphere there.
Keep an eye on who's due to appear at both the House of Blues and Hard Rock Live during your stay - we've got lucky a couple of times.
