Not Disney - Is this allowed - Which other entertainment areas have you gone to while in Orlando?

[weewuvvdisney]

Usually we try to do one day somewhere different. We have done Universal, Busch Gardens, Kennedy Space Center, Seaworld and a dinner show. Enjoyed them all. Are there any others that you would recommend?

 

[Dan Murphy]

I've done Universal, Sea World and Busch. Had an annual pass for Universal for 5 or 6 years. No others though.

 

[disneyseniors]

OP you might try Bok Gardens for something different. I only found out that they existed in a strange way. I had a very old, tintype, photo of a tower, which I do not remember where I bought it. I used to go to lots of antique shops, so that's probably where I got it. I looked at the fine print and it said Bok Tower. I looked it up online and found the site. I contacted the manager at Bok Towers and he said he would be very glad to have the photo, which I sent to him. They said it is on display and invited me to see it when I can. It is not a theme park, but a beautiful historic area. I would recommend looking it up online to see if you would want to visit it. I have not visited it yet but have plans to do so in the future.

 

[DL1WDW2]

I think BOK Towers has the original old style Carillion Bell Tower which is amazing to hear .
Thanks for reminding me of the holidays to include this for first visit !
Panic mode November is half over
Santa has arrived at the Florida Mall and the Melania Mall which is really special for holidays !

 

[greeneyedchick]

I have family that swears that Discovery Cove is the best theme park in Orlando. I have not been, but it may be of interest to you. I love the Space Center. If you're looking for something more low-key and depending on your kid's ages, the Orlando Science Center is not. It's on the smaller side and can be done in 4 hours. It's a nice change of pace. For adults, shopping/ eating on Park Ave in Winter Park and take a canal boat ride from there is fun. The Morse Museum on Park Ave is top notch, too. It's centered around Tiffany's glass works.

 

[goofyernmost]

OP you might try Bok Gardens for something different. I only found out that they existed in a strange way. I had a very old, tintype, photo of a tower, which I do not remember where I bought it. I used to go to lots of antique shops, so that's probably where I got it. I looked at the fine print and it said Bok Tower. I looked it up online and found the site. I contacted the manager at Bok Towers and he said he would be very glad to have the photo, which I sent to him. They said it is on display and invited me to see it when I can. It is not a theme park, but a beautiful historic area. I would recommend looking it up online to see if you would want to visit it. I have not visited it yet but have plans to do so in the future.

I found Bok Gardens to be the most restful and calming experience I ever had. I just sat on a bench under a huge live oak and within minutes I fell asleep. That was probably 10 years ago, but I'm sure it is still nice.

When it comes to taking advantage of trips, I have been to every theme park in the area. Uni, SeaWorld, some that no longer exist like Cypress Gardens, (now LEGOLAND), day tripped to Tampa and Sunken Gardens in St. Petersburg. Drove on the newish Sunshine Bridge. Went to the north and visited Silver Springs and the glass bottom boats therein. Made an overnight trip, down through the Keys to Key West, Went over to the Kennedy Space Ctr. and nearby Cocoa beach. Gaterland, a few flea markets, a number of really nice mini golf courses and many nice restaurants on 192 and International Drive that was easier on my wallet. Even rode in a helicopter over WDW and parts of Universal which is very impressive from above. Sometimes I just rode around exploring the area and soaking in the local flavors. After 35 active years starting from 1983, I suspect I have wandered around to quite a few places that my memory hasn't retained. I stayed offsite and spent no more than half my time in the parks. I am one that had many more relax and recouperation than most of tourists. The longest I ever stayed in the area is two weeks and the most number of days that I went to WDW was 5 days in any one trip. There was so much else to see. Don't forget the orange groves and the tours of the places where Orange Juice is processed and contained.

 

[Dan Murphy]

I found Bok Gardens to be the most restful and calming experience I ever had. I just sat on a bench under a huge live oak and within minutes I fell asleep. That was probably 10 years ago, but I'm sure it is still nice.

When it comes to taking advantage of trips, I have been to every theme park in the area. Uni, SeaWorld, some that no longer exist like Cypress Gardens, (now LEGOLAND), day tripped to Tampa and Sunken Gardens in St. Petersburg. Drove on the newish Sunshine Bridge. Went to the north and visited Silver Springs and the glass bottom boats therein. Made an overnight trip, down through the Keys to Key West, Went over to the Kennedy Space Ctr. and nearby Cocoa beach. Gaterland, a few flea markets, a number of really nice mini golf courses and many nice restaurants on 192 and International Drive that was easier on my wallet. Even rode in a helicopter over WDW and parts of Universal which is very impressive from above. Sometimes I just rode around exploring the area and soaking in the local flavors. After 35 active years starting from 1983, I suspect I have wandered around to quite a few places that my memory hasn't retained. I stayed offsite and spent no more than half my time in the parks. I am one that had many more relax and recouperation than most of tourists. The longest I ever stayed in the area is two weeks and the most number of days that I went to WDW was 5 days in any one trip. There was so much else to see. Don't forget the orange groves and the tours of the places where Orange Juice is processed and contained.

How about Weeki Wachee and Buccaneer Bay?

 

[goofyernmost]

How about Weeki Wachee and Buccaneer Bay?

I went to Weeki Wachee in 1962 when I was just a mere child of 14. I remember it only slightly. Not bad, but never had the urge to return. It probably is a lot different now then it was then. We didn't stay long because my Dad was a target driver. The goal was Key West and stopping anyplace for any amount of time was mileage lost to him. (we never made it to Key West due to the fact that as northerners they had failed to comprehend just how hot it could get in Florida in July). Four of us in a pickup camper with no AC and only a 6 inch fan available if there was a place to hook up electricity to the camper. Good times!

 

[Dan Murphy]

Ha, a target driver. I can sympathize, GM. And I can't imagine Florida, in July, no AC. It's tough with AC.

 

[fla4fun]

Usually we try to do one day somewhere different. We have done Universal, Busch Gardens, Kennedy Space Center, Seaworld and a dinner show. Enjoyed them all. Are there any others that you would recommend?

It really depends on what your interests are. There are things like airboat tours if you want to go on the wild side. There are smaller themed parks in the area, like Fun Spot or Gatorland that are more like the old Florida roadside attractions. You could spend a day at the beach (it’s not much farther than KSC to the Atlantic beaches). If you are into architecture, visiting the Frank Lloyd Wright Museum in Lakeland might prove interesting, as they have ten buildings on site designed by him (plus you could do a side trip to the Lakeland Antique Mall, where Disney sells a lot of items when they refurbish resorts). For another Disney connection, you could take a drive north of Orlando to the Ponceannah Cemetery where Walt’s grandparents Charles and Henrietta Call are buried (Walt’s parents were married in the tiny town of Kismet, Florida which was nearby, and Walt visited family in this part of Florida many years before WDW was conceived).

 

[goofyernmost]

Ha, a target driver. I can sympathize, GM. And I can't imagine Florida, in July, no AC. It's tough with AC.

And therein lies the reason why I never once did I ever go to WDW in the summer. Up in Vermont, and I think most of New England we had a mid-winter school break in the last week of February and extended to the first few days of March. The last day of that run was Town Meeting Day in Vermont. That gave us about 10 days to head on down to WDW. For us it was always a road trip for two reasons. The first was that in the early years I couldn't afford a plane for four of us and second, I love me a road trip.

The luck we had was that trip after trip the weather was sometimes cool in the morning, but if you left a place in sub-freezing temperatures and were in a place where cool was 50 degrees it was tropical for us. I only remember one very brief rain shower in all of our first 10 years of visiting the Kissimmee area. It would get hot there during that time but nothing like Florida in the summer. Back then it was also the off season, but close enough to the end that all the attractions were in operation and very few where down for refurbishment. It was ideal. I predict as things are changing that before to long Summer will be the off season. The thing I remember the most is that when leaving Vermont on those trips it was almost always anywhere between -5 to -20 F.

 

[RickNJane]

Our family tradition is to do a side trip to Gatorland. As @fla4fun mentioned it harkens back to the old road side attractions. I always thought it was just a cheap tourist-trap, but I was wrong. (ok mostly wrong!). It is an easy drive from WDW and a nice diversion. A total change of pace.

We have also done trips to Busch Gardens and Universal, which we also enjoyed.

 

[lovethattink]

Spook Hill. It’s not really an attraction, but it is on the National Register of Historic Places. It’s located in Lake Wales. You park your car, put it in neutral. It drifts backwards appearing to go uphill.

Tarpon Springs to watch the sponge diving.
(Though I’m not sure if things are back to normal after the hurrricanes.

Crystal River to swim with the manatees.

Also there is a book called One Tank Trips that one of the news stations put out years ago.

 

[OKW Lover]

If you are into broadway plays check out what is happening at the Dr Phillips Center during your trip.

 

[Chuck S]

When Mom and I would drive down (wow, hard to believe she's been gone 13 years) we tried to do something off sight every trip.

We did a hot air balloon ride, went to Universal, SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, as well as the now defunct Splendid China, and Cypress Gardens. Never made it to Gatorland or Weeki Wachie Springs, but they are still on my to do list.

 

[DisneyTexan]

We have enjoyed a couple other attractions:

Showcase of Citrus. https://showcaseofcitrus.com/

Boggy Creek Airboats. https://bcairboats.com/

Both are a nice, easy break from the theme parks.

 

[weewuvvdisney]

When Mom and I would drive down (wow, hard to believe she's been gone 13 years) we tried to do something off sight every trip.

We did a hot air balloon ride, went to Universal, SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, as well as the now defunct Splendid China, and Cypress Gardens. Never made it to Gatorland or Weeki Wachie Springs, but they are still on my to do list.

Splendid China was that a display on China in miniatures? If so, we saw it as well. So intricate. It was something so different to see.

 

[RickNJane]

Ok I know this is an old(er) thread, but a bit of resurrection is warranted . We are going to Universal and staying on property for 5 days before our November WDW trip. The package includes 1 day at Epic Universe,ExpressPass unlimited, and 4 days at 2 parks. A bit on the expensive side, if you ask me. However it has been 20 some odd years since we last visited, so why not.

 

[disneyseniors]

That sounds like the kind of stay we are looking for. I know it's expensive, but that seems to be the norm these days. We spent 6 days in November and still did not see or do it all. I feel that we get return for our money at Universal, even though it is expensive. If we did not feel that way, we would not go. We are looking at late October or early November for our trip and plan on 6 days again.

I guess I don't have any ideas about what there is to see besides Universal. We usually stay at our resort when we go to Universal. I'm sure there's lots of tourist places to visit. Good luck.

 

[RickNJane]

That sounds like the kind of stay we are looking for. I know it's expensive, but that seems to be the norm these days. We spent 6 days in November and still did not see or do it all. I feel that we get return for our money at Universal, even though it is expensive. If we did not feel that way, we would not go. We are looking at late October or early November for our trip and plan on 6 days again.

I guess I don't have any ideas about what there is to see besides Universal. We usually stay at our resort when we go to Universal. I'm sure there's lots of tourist places to visit. Good luck.

We are staying at the Royal Pacific Resort. Looks nice enough, but it is not the 1br DVC suite that we are used to. However it does come with the express pass unlimited as part of the deal.