Non-Disney week in Orlando

[BuzznBelle'smom]

DH and I are contemplating a week in Orlando in Feb. We'll likely rent a house in Windsor Hills, just because there's one we've stayed in before and love, but won't be doing any of either WDW or Universal. What things do people like doing, outside those parks? We're already thinking Sea World and probably Medieval Times again--our kids loved that last summer. Probably no water parks, as we'll have a private pool. Oh, and Wonderworks is also on our list. Any other thoughts of fun things to do?

 

[MissBritt]

If you are a shopper, there are plenty of malls and outlets to choose from!

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

There will probably be a mother/daughter trip to the outlet mall and maybe a flea market--fun to poke around in. That would probably be a good day for DH to hang out at the hosue with the younger kids.

I should have mentioned, I have a DD14, DS12, DD6, and DS3 (turning 4 on the trip, we'll likely order a cake from Publix or something).

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

How about a walk round Celebration - or take a tour (bike or Sedgway I think are available).

I love Sea World and always enjoy it there - or of course Busch Gardens.

You could drive to the beach one day or go to one of the state parks - depends if you want to drive a lot or stay nearer to WH?

 

[Gr8t Fan]

The Orlando Science Center has always been a hit with our kids. We have a museum membership here in Chicago that allows us free entry there so it's a lot of fun and doesn't cost anything.

 

[GrtWtNorth]

I highly recommend visiting Busch Gardens Tampa. For family's that love seeing animals, the African animal exhibits are great to see. If you're family enjoys thrill rides, there's several good coasters there too. (Montu was our favorite.)

If you're looking for something a little smaller scale and closer to Orlando, I've heard nothing but good things about Gatorland.

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

We might consider a beach day if the weather's warm--it'll be Feb., so I don't think I'd positively plan on it, just maybe have it in the back of my head, KWIM?

My only concern with Busch Gardens is the little guy. I'll have to look into it further--if there's enough for his age (turning 4), then it might be a go. especially if we planned a quiet day for the next day.

The kids would probably like Gatorland, but I'm not so much of a snake/reptile person. I do a lot for the sake of my kids, not so sure I'm ready to do that, though...

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

A couple of other things - an Air Boat ride - there are a few place off the 192 that you can do this - or go pick some fruit - World of Citrus (?) seems to ring a bell.

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

Ooh, citrus picking would be fun! Especially if we go early on, we can snack all week. Normally we go to WDW in summer, so it's never been an option before. And the kids love strawberry and blueberry picking up here, when we go.

I'll have to look into if you can ship a box or two home.

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

How about Daytona or Cocoa Beach?

Nice dinner at the Gaylord.

Walk around Lake Eola and see the FL birds.

 

[tripletots]

We went for 10 days back in August and did not visit a Disney Park, however, we did hotel hop (pin trade) and ride the monorail, indulge in a Kitchen Sink at Beaches and Cream, visit Downtown Disney and eat at Margarittaville (great) and Hardrock Cafe (not so great) at Citywalk.

Our favorite thing to do is visit Celebration. We eat pizza at a place called Upper Crust, walk around and shop then have ice cream at Kilwins. This year the big event was an alligator in the water. Everyone stopped to watch it. It was exciting as this was our first gator sighting not in a park/zoo setting.

In the past we have taken day trips to Daytona Beach and Cocoa Beach, but this year we went to Siesta Key near Sarasota. It was so beautiful.

We've never gone outlet shopping since I like to shop and when we are on a vacation we are also on a tight budget, especially this year which is why we couldn't do Disney. Tickets cost more than our vacation for 7!

Just remember you'll have fun because you're not at home!

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

I hear you on the tickets! There are 6 of us--this is supposed to be a more budget trip (Ha! Like ANYTHING is budget with 4 kids!). We might do non-park Disney, but I kind of would like to stay out of WDW (why raise the questions with little ones?), and focus on other fun Orlando stuff.

We would probably go Daytona if we do a beach, just because I'm familiar with it. I'm torn on a nice dinner out--I know DD14 would babysit, especially if there was shopping $$ in it for her, and the kids could have fun at the house. But, I'd probably be paranoid about the pool, and I don't know if DH and I would really ditch the kids for a meal. But, you're right--even having burgers on the grill on vacation is much better than being at home.

 

[Vivianne]

http://www.fantasyofflight.com/

http://www.lowryparkzoo.com/

http://fl.audubon.org/who_centers_CBOP.html

We enjoyed each one of these. Have a great time with your family.

 

[toverly]

Some fun things we have done are M&M World in the Florida Mall, Ron's Minatures in Orlando (dollhouse store), Putt-Putt courses on Disney, Rainforest cafe in DTD, DisneyQuest, Richard Petty driving experience and La Nouba. As you can see, some are Disney but not the Parks. If you do decide to do a water park, we have done Wet and Wild and Blizzard Beach.

 

[love2disney]

Probably wont be open in feb but this is a great even too
http://www.gaylordhotels.com/gaylor...e-ice-experience.html?intcmp=gp-tsr-ice_event

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

Thanks for the suggestions! DH just said this morning that it's definitely a "go", so I'll make my reservations and start collecting more ideas. DH and I will decide on the bigger things, like Sea World, but then I'll have the other things available as suggestions for the kids, see what they want to do.

 

[TDSAXX]

Kennedy Space Center is another attraction you might enjoy.

 

[MissBritt]

Oh yeah, I loved Lowry Park Zoo and Gatorland as a kid. And there is the Museum of Science and Industry in Tampa. If you want to stay on a budget, RFC in DTD and La Nouba are probably not the best options for your family.

 

[OhMari]

Go online for tickets for Bonnet Creek AirBoat Rides, you can get tickets cheaper. If you don't want to do WDW why don't you go somewhere else in Florida, like further down by Key West, it will be a lot warmer, or price out how much an all inclusive would be in the Dominican Republic or Jamaica. Lots of people are getting some great deals for Spring Break and sometimes kids stay for free.

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

Eh, we considered stuff like all-inclusives, Jamaica in particular. But, our little two don't have passports (easy enough to get, I'm sure, but...). Also, because we're a family of 6, we typically need two rooms, which makes it quite pricey. Plus, that would be great for the younger two, but there won't be much for the older two, since we're on a different school schedule than most. DD14's friends have reported no other HS aged kids on cruises, for example (looked into that, too).

In any event, we really enjoyed this house last June. It was available for our vacation week. There were things we liked in Orlando, I'm just too cheap to hit the mouse again.