Orlando on a budget - best things to do the day before the cruise?

[Impromark]

Fellow travelers, we are planning to arrive two nights before our cruise, and are looking for things to do during the buffer day that won't break the bank.

As we're arriving in Orlando transcon from Western Canada, we decided to arrive the Thursday evening before the cruise instead of the Friday, so that if anything happens with the flights we won't be risking arriving the morning of the cruise. This gives us a single "port day" in Orlando before we actually get on the boat.

We decided to save our pennies for a proper multi-day WDW safari at a later time, so we're looking for simple, easy things to do during this Friday that aren't WDW or some other theme park. We intend to rent a car on arrival and drop it off at Port Canaveral on embarkation, and stay somewhere budget-friendly in between.

Thoughts, experiences, recommendations? Thanks in advance!

Mark

 

[Maggie'sMom]

Fellow travelers, we are planning to arrive two nights before our cruise, and are looking for things to do during the buffer day that won't break the bank.

As we're arriving in Orlando transcon from Western Canada, we decided to arrive the Thursday evening before the cruise instead of the Friday, so that if anything happens with the flights we won't be risking arriving the morning of the cruise. This gives us a single "port day" in Orlando before we actually get on the boat.

We decided to save our pennies for a proper multi-day WDW safari at a later time, so we're looking for simple, easy things to do during this Friday that aren't WDW or some other theme park. We intend to rent a car on arrival and drop it off at Port Canaveral on embarkation, and stay somewhere budget-friendly in between.

Thoughts, experiences, recommendations? Thanks in advance!

Mark

What types of activities do you like? I would probably recommend staying close to Cocoa Beach, but not in Cocoa as the prices in Cocoa are higher than if you stay slightly inland. Hang out at the beach.

 

[Impromark]

We're fairly open to anything that doesn't need a FastPass or extended lineups prior to a cruise. Beach time sounds good! The DW loves the eco-tourism thing, so maybe a local scenic hike? I'm a big space stuff fan, but the DW and DD are not, so I may have to look longingly at the Cape this time out..

We're not avid shoppers and are saving those pennies for the cruise itself, though we may end up spending time exploring the local Walmarts and Best Buys and Costcos just to see what they're like compared to ours. And to grab essentials and booze.

Mark

 

[Maggie'sMom]

We're fairly open to anything that doesn't need a FastPass or extended lineups prior to a cruise. Beach time sounds good! The DW loves the eco-tourism thing, so maybe a local scenic hike? I'm a big space stuff fan, but the DW and DD are not, so I may have to look longingly at the Cape this time out..

We're not avid shoppers and are saving those pennies for the cruise itself, though we may end up spending time exploring the local Walmarts and Best Buys and Costcos just to see what they're like compared to ours. And to grab essentials and booze.

Mark

Check out tripadvisor.com. They usually have a category for outdoor activities which would list places to walk/hike.

 

[coloradocutie]

We are going to be on WDW property but not in the parks. We are planning on going to chip and dales sing along at ft wilderness (free)
going to the stables to see cinderellas horses (free)
going to the lego store at downtown disney (lets see if we can get out of there without spending any money...)
you had said that you did not want WDW, but we are going for the free events while we are there...
enjoy your cruise!

 

[AngelDisney]

Disney Springs has free street entertainment and the Uniqlo there has Disney tees at reasonable price. I bought a few $10 ones for the cruise. Kids stuff is so adorable! Too bad DD is all grown up now. If you collect airmiles, you can use cash miles to get Starbucks evouchers and there are two Starbucks there. I had a light dinner there using my free Starbucks money. If you want to keep yourself inside the Disney bubble, I would go to Disney Springs.

 

[Narnia_girl]

You can visit Animal Kingdom Lodge. Besides the gorgeous lodge itself, you can see some animals and talk to naturalists. Also, they offer a free culinary tour of Jiko and Boma--just check times. When we were there it was around 4 p.m.

You can do the monorail resort tour. We do this every trip and it's a nice way to see a lot but not be hurried. Since you have a car, you could drive to Wilderness Lodge for a visit (gorgeous!) then take the boat ride over to the Contemporary. From there the resort monorail runs a loop through Polynesian and Grand Floridian. At Poly you can buy a Dole Whip. Explore the resorts, eat lunch in one of the restaurants, browse the shops and when you are done, take the boat back to Wilderness Lodge to get your car. Wilderness Lodge also has a tour but we've not been able to do it yet; I think it's morning.

Also: visit Art of Animation or The Boardwalk

 

[dcassetta]

if you enjoy outdoor activities, Kelly Park just north of Orlando is very nice and has walking trails. If the weather is warm rent a tube and floats down the springs. Fort Christmas is a historical park about halfway between Orlando and the port. It has displays on pioneer life in Florida.

For modern developed beach life, try Cocoa Beach and the pier. For natural beach in Florida, the Canaveral Nation Seashore is beautiful. Check their website as the park may close for launches at Kennedy.

Gatorland in Orlando is a fun example of what tourism in central Florida used to be before the arrival of Mickey and Shamu, but it's not as cheap or as cheesy as used to be.

Tne Central Florida Zoo is a nice little zoo north of Orlando in Sanford.

 

[starvenger]

Where in Western Canada are you located? If you have an annual pass for Telus World or Telus Spark you can get into the Orlando Science Centre for free via the ASTC Passport Program. We did this a few years ago when we had a pass to the Ontario Science Centre.

 

[Impromark]

I'm in Calgary (and a fellow 1970s anime fan, it seems). We've been to Telus Spark but don't have a membership - but good to know regardless!

Thanks for the tips everyone! I hadn't considered a "free" day touring Disney without actually going into the parks before. When we were there for the honeymoon the Downtown/Disney/Springs was mostly closed so we skipped it on our week there; that plus a monorail ride or resort tour could indeed be pretty fun. Same for the local hiking, Cocoa Beach, and other outdoorsy things! We'l be there in late October, hopefully it'll still be warm enough for us...

Mark