Not Going To Parks

[luvdisney14]

We are coming to Orlando, staying close to Disney springs. We are not going to parks, we need suggestions what else we can do.

 

[frapdawn]

We are coming to Orlando, staying close to Disney springs. We are not going to parks, we need suggestions what else we can do.

We are doing that this summer too! We are going to visit the character outlet for sure, we want to rent a boat at the contemporary and cruise around bay lake and then we will visit the monorail resorts while we are there too. So far that’s all we could come up with.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Haven't been to Character Outlet in some years, but last I went it was nothing special. The rest of the outlet mall is pretty good, or was when last I visited, except the food court.

A REALLY fun place to visit is Silver Springs State Park if you have a car. It is about 1.5-2 hours north of WDW. In the summer the park would get warm in the afternoon, but you can walk around. they also have glass bottom boat tours. We did the shorter one, and it was a hoot. I'd totally do the longer tour, it just didn't mesh up with our schedule. Another option is to kayak the springs. Our guide suggests a great option is to kayak downstream (6miles) with the current, then arrange for the kayak rental place to give you a ride back. In addition to boat tour, we had about an hour to walk around the central area. It was fine, but we could have easily and happily spent more time there. Lots of wildlife, but no swimming.

Another option is to visit St.Augustine, if you have never been there. The Old Town and fort are something everyone should see. A little closer is Daytona, and in the opposite direction Tampa/St Petersburg. Lots to see in all of them. FL has many beaches, state parks.

Three and a half hours south of WDW is the Everglades and Big Cypress NF, but you can see a smaller offshoot of the Everglades closer to WDW. I don't know details of the closer portion, but the main area is again, something everyone should see. It is good to walk around the main trail, and January is a great time to visit. Without getting out of the car though, you can drive through a solid stretch of Big Cypress, and it is neat to see. Winter is when birds migrate to the area, and gators come in close. I'm not sure about summer. Airboat tours are really neat if you have never done one.

FL is dotted with many other natural springs that are state parks. Many are popular and unique, with low cost entry. Many allow swimming, kayaking, etc. From what I have read though, it is often (mostly) essential to arrive early.

I have never been, but Harry P. Leu Gardens are supposed to be excellent. They are in Orlando, and there is an indoor museum, botanical gardens. They also have a special dino exhibit through 7/30.

There's also the Visit Orlando webpage for ideas and deals of things to do. I have done a number of other things in the Orlando area, but many of my offsite activities were 2019 or earlier, so I can't vouch for all that is currently available or how good it is in 2023. There are things to do within WDW, but I often find myself wishing I was in a park when we do much of anything other than tour the hotels. Fort Wilderness is an option, there's a fair amount of things to do there. Universal Orlando has Citywalk.
Many other offsite options are also a bit cheesy, IMO, like the places we have visited up on route 192.

There are some great offsite dining options. Tons of chain eateries, and many non-chain eateries. There are a ton of options, and you will usually save $ over eating at WDW.

Boardwalk hotel has surrey bikes, but that is HOT in summer. If you visit AKL, you can see the animals. At night the CM's used to offer night vision goggles to see the animals. There are a number of interesting adult beverage options all over WDW. GranDestino is pretty nice. Walking, shuttle boats, monorails are all free. It can be fun to take our time touring the lagoons via shuttle boats, esp at night. Walking can also be nice, and you may well catch the fireworks - though usually with some limited view. Universal also now has rooftop Bistro 17 at Aventura (Limited menu beyond drinks, but neat view.) Other places have rooftop dining options now too. Topolino's Terrace and Cali Grill (WDW) have decks w/great views, though actual dining is indoors and they are both $$$.

If you are visiting in August, consider the Magical Dining promotion. It runs 5 weeks, and many restaurants offer a deal/special menu on a 3-course, prix-fixe dinner. The whole thing is also to raise money for local charities. Quite a few places participate each year, including some at Disney Springs, Universal, and I-Drive.

 

[snowwite]

We are doing that this summer too! We are going to visit the character outlet for sure, we want to rent a boat at the contemporary and cruise around bay lake and then we will visit the monorail resorts while we are there too. So far that’s all we could come up with.

Mini golf winter summer land
Lake eola has pretty park, swan boats
Silver lake drive in movie! It was awesome
Old Town and some really cheesy souvenir shops like the giant mermaid and the sorcerer
AKL even if you just grab something at Mara and sit in the shade it’s such a nice resort and there are several places to view animals
Kobe steak is like Teppanedo but way more affordable and they have a nice koi pond too
If you like the beach it’s not too far to Clearwater
Celebration is a cute town and The Columbia is fantastic especially the gazpacho and 1905 salad made tableside. Plenty of parking behind the restaurant at the bank outside bank hours.
Maybe do a water park?it’s gonna be hot

 

[mdurette]

We head to Orlando alot and don't do parks or maybe just one. The best tip I have is to stay at a resort that has stuff to do! We have access to timeshare weeks, so for less than $500 for the week we typically will stay in a 2BR Marriott property. There is enough to that we really don't need anything else. But, when we do venture: We take a day trip to the space coast if they have a launch going on, we grab subway and head to Jetty Park for picnic and launch. Bonus is they have a huge playground if you have kids. Bonus #2 is watching the cruise ships go by. We will head to both outlet stores (Vineland and International drive) When we want a touch of Disney: Resort hop day. We start in Springs and then hit between 8-12 resorts via Disney transport, check out the theming, pin trade and have lunch. Mini golf at either one of the Disney options. MK fireworks from Disney hotel that offers (we like grand floridian dock, but there are other places).

 

[DisneyTexan]

https://showcaseofcitrus.com/

My husband and I enjoyed Showcase of Citrus recently. We did the monster truck tour, and bought a slushie drink. One slightly negative thing to be aware of is that it will be dusty if it hasn't rained in a while.

 

[BingandNelsonFan]

My grandmother is about an hour from Disney, so when we visit her, we spend a lot of time soaking in Disney fun without always going to a park. Our favorite thing, actually, is going to the Polynesian. We enjoy doing the Monorail ring around MK -- starting at Poly, then Grand Floridian, pause for a pic in front of MK, and on to Contemporary. Boating out to Wilderness Lodge is great, too. They have good french fries and coffee at Roaring Fork (name???) the quick service out there. If you like pin trading, all the resorts have multiple boards and mystery boxes for trading.
Also, just found out (after coming home from our last visit) that Poly has a make-your-own Kukui Nut Lei activity three days a week. You don't have to be a guest to do it, and the fee is $15-20, depending on the size of lei you want to make.

Disney Springs is actually one of our favorite destinations, and walking around there is always fun (and parking is free).
There are Disney transport boats from Disney Springs that will take you out to several of the resorts -- Old Key West, Saratoga Springs, PO French Quarter and PO Riverside. The boat ride from DS to Riverside is one of our two favorite Disney "things" to do! It's absolutely beautiful, and Riverside is so peaceful and pretty. Their quick service eatery is amazing, and you won't find a nicer spot to rest for an hour or two and really feel the Disney magic!

 

[frapdawn]

Mini golf winter summer land
Lake eola has pretty park, swan boats
Silver lake drive in movie! It was awesome
Old Town and some really cheesy souvenir shops like the giant mermaid and the sorcerer
AKL even if you just grab something at Mara and sit in the shade it’s such a nice resort and there are several places to view animals
Kobe steak is like Teppanedo but way more affordable and they have a nice koi pond too
If you like the beach it’s not too far to Clearwater
Celebration is a cute town and The Columbia is fantastic especially the gazpacho and 1905 salad made tableside. Plenty of parking behind the restaurant at the bank outside bank hours.
Maybe do a water park?it’s gonna be hot

That’s a great idea! We just bought a small resale contract I wanted to check out the dvc rooms at ak anyway. That might be a great at to spend some time. We have 3 passes for the water parks too. We have a toddler and a teenager so maybe my husband and teen can go do that. We have a drive in near us we love doing that. I’m also dying to see celebration too! Thanks for all the ideas.

 

[Sacahara]

Haven't been to Character Outlet in some years, but last I went it was nothing special. The rest of the outlet mall is pretty good, or was when last I visited, except the food court.

A REALLY fun place to visit is Silver Springs State Park if you have a car. It is about 1.5-2 hours north of WDW. In the summer the park would get warm in the afternoon, but you can walk around. they also have glass bottom boat tours. We did the shorter one, and it was a hoot. I'd totally do the longer tour, it just didn't mesh up with our schedule. Another option is to kayak the springs. Our guide suggests a great option is to kayak downstream (6miles) with the current, then arrange for the kayak rental place to give you a ride back. In addition to boat tour, we had about an hour to walk around the central area. It was fine, but we could have easily and happily spent more time there. Lots of wildlife, but no swimming.

Another option is to visit St.Augustine, if you have never been there. The Old Town and fort are something everyone should see. A little closer is Daytona, and in the opposite direction Tampa/St Petersburg. Lots to see in all of them. FL has many beaches, state parks.

Three and a half hours south of WDW is the Everglades and Big Cypress NF, but you can see a smaller offshoot of the Everglades closer to WDW. I don't know details of the closer portion, but the main area is again, something everyone should see. It is good to walk around the main trail, and January is a great time to visit. Without getting out of the car though, you can drive through a solid stretch of Big Cypress, and it is neat to see. Winter is when birds migrate to the area, and gators come in close. I'm not sure about summer. Airboat tours are really neat if you have never done one.

FL is dotted with many other natural springs that are state parks. Many are popular and unique, with low cost entry. Many allow swimming, kayaking, etc. From what I have read though, it is often (mostly) essential to arrive early.

I have never been, but Harry P. Leu Gardens are supposed to be excellent. They are in Orlando, and there is an indoor museum, botanical gardens. They also have a special dino exhibit through 7/30.

There's also the Visit Orlando webpage for ideas and deals of things to do. I have done a number of other things in the Orlando area, but many of my offsite activities were 2019 or earlier, so I can't vouch for all that is currently available or how good it is in 2023. There are things to do within WDW, but I often find myself wishing I was in a park when we do much of anything other than tour the hotels. Fort Wilderness is an option, there's a fair amount of things to do there. Universal Orlando has Citywalk.
Many other offsite options are also a bit cheesy, IMO, like the places we have visited up on route 192.

There are some great offsite dining options. Tons of chain eateries, and many non-chain eateries. There are a ton of options, and you will usually save $ over eating at WDW.

Boardwalk hotel has surrey bikes, but that is HOT in summer. If you visit AKL, you can see the animals. At night the CM's used to offer night vision goggles to see the animals. There are a number of interesting adult beverage options all over WDW. GranDestino is pretty nice. Walking, shuttle boats, monorails are all free. It can be fun to take our time touring the lagoons via shuttle boats, esp at night. Walking can also be nice, and you may well catch the fireworks - though usually with some limited view. Universal also now has rooftop Bistro 17 at Aventura (Limited menu beyond drinks, but neat view.) Other places have rooftop dining options now too. Topolino's Terrace and Cali Grill (WDW) have decks w/great views, though actual dining is indoors and they are both $$$.

If you are visiting in August, consider the Magical Dining promotion. It runs 5 weeks, and many restaurants offer a deal/special menu on a 3-course, prix-fixe dinner. The whole thing is also to raise money for local charities. Quite a few places participate each year, including some at Disney Springs, Universal, and I-Drive.

The Harry P. Leu Gardens is really good! My grandmother is a big flower person so when I take her with me to Orlando to go 'parking' (as she refers to me going to theme parks) I'll make a day to take her there to look at all of the pretty flowers! They used to (not sure if still do) have a seed collection tour that you could book a week in advance and be able to get some seeds for your garden!

 

[snowwite]

That’s a great idea! We just bought a small resale contract I wanted to check out the dvc rooms at ak anyway. That might be a great at to spend some time. We have 3 passes for the water parks too. We have a toddler and a teenager so maybe my husband and teen can go do that. We have a drive in near us we love doing that. I’m also dying to see celebration too! Thanks for all the ideas.

When my kids were younger we checked in the lobby for daily activities. Most are free and either in the lobby or the little library on your left as you approach the grand staircase to go outside. There is also a door to a balcony off the library that has giraffe feeder. When we went in March the flamingos were nesting by the pool. We find some new thing every time. I like to do some non dis stuff. Windermere is cute. Love the Dixie Cream over there for the key lime pie and also the fried green tomatoes. They only do breakfast, brunch and lunch. Next time my daughter wants us to do Dino world. It’s one of those really cheesy old places with huge cement dinosaurs. Kids will have fun no matter what you do.

 

[Titanium]

Mini golf winter summer land
Lake eola has pretty park, swan boats
Silver lake drive in movie! It was awesome
Old Town and some really cheesy souvenir shops like the giant mermaid and the sorcerer
AKL even if you just grab something at Mara and sit in the shade it’s such a nice resort and there are several places to view animals
Kobe steak is like Teppanedo but way more affordable and they have a nice koi pond too
If you like the beach it’s not too far to Clearwater
Celebration is a cute town and The Columbia is fantastic especially the gazpacho and 1905 salad made tableside. Plenty of parking behind the restaurant at the bank outside bank hours.
Maybe do a water park?it’s gonna be hot

Anyone remember the MK Swan Boats?

 

[snowwite]

Anyone remember the MK Swan Boats?

Were they at the Swan and Dolphin?

 

[Titanium]

Were they at the Swan and Dolphin?

They were in the moat around Cinderella's castle. The loading dock was between the castle and Tomorrowland. Gone but not forgotten.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

https://showcaseofcitrus.com/

My husband and I enjoyed Showcase of Citrus recently. We did the monster truck tour, and bought a slushie drink. One slightly negative thing to be aware of is that it will be dusty if it hasn't rained in a while.

I haven't been to this location, but generally Citrus season is November to April.

The FL citrus groves were badly damaged during last year's hurricane and citrus greening (a blight), but hopefully they will recover. The FL growers have been hit hard.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

They were in the moat around Cinderella's castle. The loading dock was between the castle and Tomorrowland. Gone but not forgotten.

They still have Swan boats available over at the Swan/Dolphin. Not the same, but still nice. I think guests staying at S/D/SR get a discount coupon as part of staying at S/D/SR.

I tried to find details by looking on the touring plans webpage, and YIKES! their review is bit harsh. We did not incur any surprise expenses of $50/day. We did pay the resort fee, but it was disclosed when we booked the hotel. All in all, we saved quite a bit staying at the Swan over a WDW deluxe hotel, and we have gotten some really nice rooms.

TP doesn't mention that the hotels have a AAA 20% discount on food. I don't know if there's a discount on the boats or gift shop, but there might be. Just off the room alone, a night or two and the AAA discount pays for a AAA membership.

TP also gives a mildly negative impression of the S/D/SR employees, that I don't feel is fair. The employees we have met there a quite a few stays have always been excellent.

 

[DisneyTexan]

I haven't been to this location, but generally Citrus season is November to April.

The FL citrus groves were badly damaged during last year's hurricane and citrus greening (a blight), but hopefully they will recover. The FL growers have been hit hard.

The Showcase of Citrus website shows that "pick your own citrus" is November to May. Everything else is open year-round.

 

[snowwite]

They were in the moat around Cinderella's castle. The loading dock was between the castle and Tomorrowland. Gone but not forgotten.

Oh I don’t remember those.

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

Mini golf at Fantasia gardens.
Disney springs has a lot of activities from dine in movies to cirque de soliel to characters in flight to the amphicars to splittsville to every restaurant imaginable (as well as boats to POFQ and POR where you can see Yeehaw Bob and other entertainment, do the surrey bikes or fishing or horse carriage rides). Some of the resorts offer pottery painting. The Boardwalk resort area has a lot of dining options and jellyrolls. Maybe do the area around the eye.

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

There's a little zoo called Wild Florida that is near St. Cloud. My niece used to work there. They have airboat rides, a drive-through safari, plus the zoo. They have a pair of albino alligators that have actually produced eggs the last couple of years. They have several different shows. It's a very family-friendly park. Closed on Sunday.

 

[Timandalicia]

We are coming to Orlando, staying close to Disney springs. We are not going to parks, we need suggestions what else we can do.

Hmm idk. Maybeeee. Go to the parks. I’m out of ideas.