... A few weeks ago I asked for suggestions of things my Disney-hater guests could do in Orlando besides theme parks. KQAN gave me some super-helpful insider info - it's like having a mini Lonely Planet guide for my guests. I thought I'd repost it here for anyone with a similar need to entertain the Haters...
Things to Do in Downtown Orlando
- Walk around Lake Eola
- Rent a paddle boat on Lake Eola
- Check out the trendy boutiques, restaurants, bars, and historic homes in Thornton Park, just north of Lake Eola (Restaurants/bars include Dexters, Hue, Wildside, Shari Sushi)
- Check out the antique shops, funky boutiques, vintage clothing stores, restaurants, bars in the burgeoning ViMi neighborhood/Orange Avenue (a cool bar and live music venue is Peacock Lounge)
- Nightlife is especially good on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday in the heart of downtown: cool bars include Eye-Spy, Independent Bar, and the Social and Backbooth for live music. Wall Street is also popular.
- Go to College Park, north of downtown, for antique shops, historic neighborhoods, and good restaurants and bars (Harmoni, Nonna, Jax, Alfonso's, Jade, K Restaurant)
The closest thing to Orlando for Hipsters is the Orlando Weekly. They have listings for bars, music, etc.
http://www.orlandoweekly.com/
Getting to downtown is a bit squirrelly because there is some construction going on, and Im not sure which exits are closed. I think the Amelia Street exit off of I-4 East will be best it will probably take about half an hour to get there from Disney. I think this is exit 83B. Once you see the collection of tall buildings, youll know its downtown. Google Maps is your best bet, though.
Orange Avenue is the main street in downtown. Eye Spy is a cool hipster bar (indie music, hidden passageways, and secret rooms!) and you get to it by walking through Bar-B-Q Bar, another cool hipster bar, at 64 Orange Avenue. They dont seem to have a website, but it is the corner of Orange and Washington. Next door is Independent Bar, or I-Bar.
http://www.independentbar.net/ This place plays good music and has dancing, and it is SUPER hipsterrific (to the point that it kind of annoys me sometimes)! There are a good collection of other bars in the Orange Avenue/Church Street/Wall Street area, but many of them get overly crowded with the 20-22 year-old-crowd, play cheesy music, etc.
The Social (
http://www.thesocial.org/) at 54 N. Orange Avenue, gets a lot of good indie bands. Peacock Room (1321 N Mills Ave) gets good bands too, and also provides a laid-back, diverse crowd.
www.peacockroom.com
Winter Park- Winter Park is a suburb of Orlando but is adjacent to the historic center of Orlando, just off I-4. It is a historic, affluent, attractive little town.
- Go to Park Avenue for trendy, upscale shopping and restaurants. There is also a nice park along Park Ave called Central Park.
- Just west of Park Avenue is an up-and-coming neighborhood called Hannibal Square. It is home to the best bar in the area, Red Light Red Light.
To get to Winter Park, take I-4 east to exit 85, Princeton Street. Turn right onto Princeton, left onto Orange Avenue. Follow Orange Avenue for about 5 minutes, eventually it will turn into Fairbanks Avenue. A popular Irish pub is located here: Fiddlers Green
www.fiddlersgreenorlando.com
Continue on Fairbanks another 5 minutes or so
on the right will be a cool restaurant and bar called Urban Flats:
www.urbanflats.net
Turn left onto Park Avenue. This street is lined with upscale shops and restaurants. A fun wine bar is The Wine Room
http://www.thewineroomonline.com/ where you can sample a huge variety of wines by the ounce.
Located a few blocks west of Park Avenue is Red Light Red Light. Most of Winter Park is upscale, but Red Light is definitely hipster-friendly. It is located in an attic above a French bakery; there isnt even a sign, it just says bar. Inside you will find a huge variety of good beers, including a lot of Belgian ales, and a laid-back, diverse crowd listening to indie rock and watching weird movies on a projector.
http://www.myspace.com/theredlightredlight
). $20 vs. $110 for a floral refresh - no contest!
That being said, if you need me to stop spreading negative energy in your PJ, I'll refrain. 
Otherwise, if I need to post this in a large, colored font to make us feel better, I can do that too! Just let me know. 
I was just thinking, how come I never noticed your thing says Disneyland?? I just read someone else's thread where you mentioned you were buying hats from Disneyland because you lived close. Weeeird. I wonder if I've ever passed you up? 
That's awesome! At one of my friend's bridal shower, we got put into groups to "design" a TP wedding dress - and then they brought out the husbands (playing video games in the back room) to judge! 
