Please help me with offsite ideas for last 2 days!

[momtotwinglesx4]

My family (me, dh, dd9, ds9 (twins), ds6 and ds4) will be spending 10 nights at Pop Century on the (free) dining plan, followed by a week in a 2br condo at VV @ Parkway in September.

We purchased the 10 day MYW plus tickets which we will spread out using the 10 park days and the "plusses" for DQ and the WP's for the first 14 days of our trip. Since the MYW tickets expire 14 days after 1st use, we will have 2 more days in the condo at the end of our trip with no Disney tickets.

I'd like to hear your suggestions for (hopefully relatively inexpensive) things to do during our last two days in FL.

Thanks!

Sue

 

[Janet Hill]

You could probably catch the movie at Fort Wilderness. We've done that after eating over there and were never asked for any resort ID.

 

[bearzabout]

I'd consider a drive to Kennedy Space Center or driving to the Clearwater area to spend the day on the beach.

Cheaper options include seeing the animals roam around the savannahs at Animal Kingdom Lodge or walking around Disney's marketplace area. Have lunch at Earl of Sandwich and split the volcano for dessert at Rainforest Cafe.

 

[Frothy]

Agree re: Kennedy but if you have two days...why not go to the Gulf Coast or to the Ft Lauderdale area?

 

[momtotwinglesx4]

Agree re: Kennedy but if you have two days...why not go to the Gulf Coast or to the Ft Lauderdale area?

Since we'll still have the condo (near WDW), we'd want to be able to return there to sleep. Definitely don't want to have to pay for another place to crash!
So Ft. Lauderdale would be too far, wouldn't it? Not sure how far that is from WDW. A day trip to a beach might be nice though.

 

[Camp Rd. Lady]

Tampa is about 90 minutes away.

 

[alexbigday]

Silver River in Ocala is interesting.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/getaways/content/entertainment/getaways/bandb/north_silversprings.html

Also, the beaches (Daytona or Cocoa) aren't too far. Clearwater is a little further, but the beaches are very nice there.

In the Orlando area, perhaps just hang at the condo at the pool, head over to Old Town or City Walk for a few hours.

 

[isla bonita]

I have to say that our vacations are nice to wind down and really do nothing . We swim and relax some days. My kids have the best times just doing that.

 

[f7prez]

We try to hit a beach when in Florida. Clearwater is a really nice beach for younger kids. Approximately 1 1/2 hour drive.

This April we are going to try orange picking for the first time. Not sure how it is, but like you, we were looking for something outside of a theme park to do during the day. There is a place nearby, I posted the link below. We usually pick apples at home in the fall, the kids love it so we thought we would try oranges.

http://www.showcaseofcitrus.com/

 

[palmtreegirl]

Cocoa beach is only 45 minutes from Disney and you might even get to see one of the Disney cruise ships in port.

Siesta key is about 2 hours and amazing! http://www.siestakeychamber.com/beaches.htm It's like a tropical carribean beach, so pretty and the sand is so white it's not hot, it's also incredibly soft.

Clearwater is fun but I'd drive the extra 30 minutes to go to Siesta instead.

Oh you could also to the Tibet-Butler wildlife preserve if you want a taste of real Florida, it's right next to Disney- http://www.floridaconservation.org/viewing/sites/site-c07.html and it's free!

There's the Orlando Science center- http://www.osc.org/

http://www.floridastateparks.org/lakelouisa/default.cfm

 

[winterman]

The Space Center is a great place to visit and not far away. In the other direction there is a very nice aquarium in Tampa. But I would just sit by the pool and relax. The first time we went to WDW our kids were 8 and 11. The parks wore them out but they were happy to spend hours in the hotel pool.

 

[dougsmom98]

What about Gatorland? I haven't been since I was a kid, but I have 3 boys and I think they would love it. I also want to try orange picking. I would save my shopping at Downtown Disney until then too. We look forward to just relaxing by the pool. By that time, you will need some rest.

 

[keishashadow]

Jetty Park @ Port Canaveral is surprisingly nice for a visit, beach is clean.

Kennedy is nice too.

If you are up to setting thru a TS presentation off-site, you can probably pick up free tix to Univ.