Inexpensive/fun things in Orlando

[Awilliams3557]

Other than Disney what fun things are out there for families with kids. We will have kids from 6 to 15 and we are on a tight budget.

Some of our ideas so far:

Orlando Science museum (we have a membership to our local science museum so we get in free there)

Going to the beach for a day.

Probably will go to the big McDonalds in Orlando.


I would love to find a cheap waterpark or something like that. We will only have one day at Disney since we have the Give a day vouchers.


One other question. Can those be upgraded to 2 day passes or something?

 

[mrsklamc]

Yes, they can be upgraded, but I don't know the specifics. Look for other threads here on the budget board that say things like GAD questions...

If you go to mousesavers.com they have a list of free and cheap things to do in the parks/resorts/downtown disney.

 

[Awilliams3557]

Yes, they can be upgraded, but I don't know the specifics. Look for other threads here on the budget board that say things like GAD questions...

If you go to mousesavers.com they have a list of free and cheap things to do in the parks/resorts/downtown disney.

I will search that. Thanks. If it is reasonable I might just get an extra day. We have an exchange student with us and he really wants to go to Disney while he is here. We just went in 2008 with the kids but I dont think they mind going again. LOL

I will check mousesavers. I get their emails but I have bypassed them lately because they seem to have more info about lodging and we have a timeshare in Kissimmee so we dont need lodging.

Thank you.

 

[Evi]

I don't know if anyone posted this but we found a citrus grove someone recommended I believe it was world of citrus or something like this its all organic and you can pick your own oranges, grapefruit etc you pay for size of bag you'd like and just go pick or pick from farm stand. It was a nice change and I even had fruit shipped to MA from there. Though I think what we picked was better quality then what they sent lol. But anyhow it was only like a 20 min drive from Disney maybe a little less and wasn't bad like I think it was 20$ a bushell or something.

 

[eeyoresmom]

The GAD vouchers are upgradeable. You could upgrade to a 4 day pass for around $180. I know it sound like a lot of $$ but whenever our family tries to do less expensive activities, we spend a lot more than we anticipated. Beach parking, gas, etc. You can pack food to bring into the Disney parks and there are no extra charges. TONS of entertainment for the admission price.

 

[Ka' eo]

So for about $800 you can upgrade your GADS for 7-10 tickets for your family. You could also buy Seaworld/Busch Gardens passes for $99 each unlimited visits.

 

[pantherlj]

We had fun one day going to breakfast at the Poly (that part was pricey but it was DD's birthday treat) and then taking the monorail for a ride. We got off at each hotel and walked around the grounds. It was nice to see the theming at each hotel. The girls had fun running around on the beaches too.

There was one spot you could even take a boat ride - I want to say it was from the Contemporary to Fort Wilderness? Nobody ever asked us where we were staying or if we had passes or anything. If anyone asked, I was going to be honest and say we wanted to look at different hotels for our next visit (we were staying off site and only had water park passes). I don't think it's against any rule to ride around on the transportation system. We didn't go into any of the pools.

 

[pantherlj]

Also, we went to the Boardwalk one night. We had a great time walking around and saw a few street entertainers (magician, juggler). I think you can even see Epcot fireworks from there but it started to downpour the night we were there.

That didn't cost anything either.

 

[TiffanyK]

These are good ideas. We're staying off-site this trip and will have a day or two where we won't be going into the parks. It would be fun to see some of the resorts we've never been to or to go to the Boardwalk.