Planning Help required

[zippy99]

So as the title says - I need some help planning. This will be our 4th trip to Florida in October and we have always stayed onsite so spent 80% of our time at Disney.

This year - we are going with friends (a couple and their son) which we are really looking forward too, however it was £1000 for a 4 bed villa or £3500 onsite with DDP. They want to explore more than just Disney - and I suppose as it is our 4th time we ought to be a bit more adventurous!

We are staying at Emerald Island Resort and have an 8 seater - I understand that the 192 is very close to us for eating & shopping, AK is literally 5-10 minute drive (close than most onsite resorts when using the transport!)

We will of course be visiting Disney, Universal etc.. what I was wanting to know is what else...

Where are the other good places to visit - it seems a shame to just visit Florida all the time and live in the theme park bubble and forget what else is around.

Would love some recommendations of where to go and places to eat. What sort of things do those staying offsite get up to as this is all new to us and dare I say it.... a bit scary!

Look forward to some helpful advice

 

[taylor91]

Hi
I've always stayed offsite so am looking forward to going into the themepark bubble this time. In the past when I have stayed in Villas we have spent time shopping in the outlets where you can find lots of bargains, especially those on International Drive. Also one of my best adventures has to be going on an air boat ride to see Alligators in their natural habitat, and the air boats themselves are a laugh too http://www.bcairboats.com/
As for eating offsite, there are so many different places that you will find a lot cheaper than onsite... and lots of good buffets too... my favourite is the Ponderosa, but everyone has different tastes
the beach is also good for a chill out day, I loved Clearwater
I hope you have a fantastic trip and fun planning all your new experiences

 

[zippy99]

Thanks Taylor - any other ideas - with so many members I was hoping for a few more replies.

I am now getting worried that we have made a mistake staying offsite - just wanted to hear some of peoples experiences and what they get up when exploring Florida.

 

[Rachandco]

Hi

We are going at Easter this year and this will be our fifth visit. We have stayed on and offsite previously and have found that each time we do roughly the same things. So this year we have decided to include some firsts. We will be doing Old Town Kissimee, which I have wanted to do previously, but never managed to fit it in. We are also doing Boggy Creek Airboat Ride, Celebration, Gatorland and making sure we eat at The Cheesecake Factory Other than that we will be doing the usual parks and shopping trips to the malls.

Have fun with your planning!!

Rach

 

[UKVeggie]

Have you been to Mount Dora? It's a lovely place and isn't too far away from Orlando. There's lots of different little shops and also a lake which you can go out on. Winter Park is also lovely

 

[orangetiggs]

how about a day at the beach, we hae been to st petes and clearwater

boggy creek was good

i have never been to celebration but heard thats nice to visit

 

[pacman9a]

We really enjoyed our day at Kennedy Space Centre.