Ladies, Stuff of Interest in Orlando for My Wife??

[Bill From PA]

We're going without the kids for 9 days and my wife has been hinting (heavily) about doing something in Orlando. I'm underwhelmed by the prospect, but it's her vacation too, so I guess we're going. I'd prefer an excursion that didn't eat a whole day so we could hit the hotel pool early and have a night trip or go early and have Jellyrolls or PI to look forward to. Her interests are shopping (big surprise!), crafts (sewing, quilting, dolls etc.) but a nice dinner and dancing would probably appeal to her. We favor classic rock and she likes CW. We'll have a car so any place(s) I can MapQuest will be fine. Ladies, help me out! If I can come up with something appealing that fits the time available she'll be happy and we won't sacrifice a Disney Day. If she goes looking for stuff to do it'll be the 'kid in a candy shop' thing and the day will be scheduled from sun up to sun down.

Thanks,
Bill From PA

 

[spiceycat]

how about a spa treatment?

where are you staying? DD has lots of nice shops. There are several outlet malls in the area. WDW theme parks has lots of shopping.

 

[kalamazoo]

We went to Mount Dora which is 30 - 45 min NW of Orlando on our last trip. It sounds like this town would make your dw happy. Lots of little shops, picturesque plent of restaurants. You could easily fit this trip into one day and still have time in the day to do things at WDW.

 

[Aimeedyan]

If you can stand it, there is some EXCELLENT outlet mall shopping and regular mall shopping in Orlando. I love the Mall of Millenia, and I've been to all the outlet malls - there is one outlet mall in particular that is SUPER nice, high end stores.

I always do lots of shopping while there =)

 

[SoonerKate]

The nicest outlet mall in the area is the Orlando Premium Outlets , on Vineland across I-4 from WDW.

The Park Avenue area in Winter Park has lots of boutiques, shops and small restaurants. It's a gorgeous part of town with lots of events going on most of the year -- they may have some sort of art/craft show going on while you're in town. Check here for more information. The Enzian Theater in Winter Park is Florida's only non-profit art/alternative cinema, and they show all sorts of great stuff. The popcorn series shows all kinds of great mainstream flicks, too. They have a full menu with everything from burgers to pasta dishes, lots of snackable foods -- hummus and pita, a fruit and cheese platter, soft pretzels, quesadillas, popcorn (of course!), beer and a respectable wine list. It's one of my favorite places in Orlando and a great place to spend a night out.

 

[candaceg]

We spent an afternoon in Celebration when we needed a break - it's close, can't take more than a couple of hours because it's not very big, and definitely interesting. We spent the morning at Epcot, and then wanted to take a break in the afternoon because we were going to the Christmas Party. We went to Celebration, had a very nice lunch at a restaurant called Columbia, and then strolled around the shops. We ended our break by spending some time in the rocking chairs by the lake. I definitely recommend the restaurant - prices weren't much more than counter service at Disney and the food was excellent. They had tables outside on a patio, which was nice.

 

[luvey]

there were a few outlet malls. one was several malls and annexes that were spread out, waste of time driving from one place to another only to find the same stores -- found some deals but i wasn't impressed. the one good thing was the disney outlet store we found with awesome deals. i think that was the belz outlets-- www.beltz.com

and there was one outlet mall, orlando premium outlets. www.premiumoutlets.com i enjoyed this one. good shopping like banana republic, nike, kenneth cole, coach, etc. plus there was a pretty decent "mall style" eating place in the middle -- aka meaning several counter service choices. and there was a disney outlet store in there to pick up cheaper disney themed gifts outside of the parks. if you go there, and do not want to lose a whole day especially if she is a shopper, start out in the morning.

 

[PrincessCandaceMarie]

Hello ~

You can also try Pointe Orlando, that has shops, restaurants, and Ripley's, it's really nice to walk around there....

 

[Bill From PA]

Thanks for all the great ideas. I haven't been getting my email notifications for new postings so I didn't realize there were this many replies. I'll point my wife to the malls and see what she says about that, the Celebration idea sounds like a winner too, but the spa idea I never would've thought of. I'll run that by her and I have no clue, after 32 years of marriage and 38 as a couple, whether it will appeal to her. If she gets her heart set on the city of Orlando itself, I'm thinking about a walking tour of that with a stop at Jimmy Buffett's place in Universal on the way back. Thanks again.

Bill From PA

 

[tarheelmjfan]

I think Church Street Station sounds like a great option for both of you. It's an enjoyable walk through the area. If I remember correctly, it's like an old downtown with brick streets. There's shopping, dining, entertainment, & bars. There's a comedy club, similar to CW, but better from everything I've read. www.sak.com It's not at CSS, but not too far away. It's next to the TD Waterhouse arena, where the Orlando Magic play. It's been awhile since I've been to CSS. Hopefully, someone can give you more details, if you're interested.

 

[Pigsty333]

Forget Church Street Stations. A lot of places there have closed and they are trying to bring it back. You can check out Lake Eola and Thornton Park with many new shops, restaurants, etc. Check out www.icflorida.com for more details.

Remingers Antique Fair is supposed to be great. Waterford Lakes in Orlando off 408 and Alafaya Trail has a lot of stores and check out Ross, for those of you who have never done it. They are great stores with a lot of name brand clothes as bargain basement prices. I bought my son a Sean John sweatshirt that retails for $42 and I only paid $12.99. Near the Florida Mall is Old Time Pottery which has great items for the house, decorations, dishes, sheets, etc. It is the place that everyone who buys a new home or is decorating goes to purchase.