Wait...there's stuff in Orlando besides DISNEY???

[dormouse72]

Really??

Ok - I did Sea World once about 10 years ago but wasn't overwhelmed enough to ever go off property again. This year, we're flying into and out of Miami (got a better deal on airfare) and driving up with my BFF and her hubby. The rest of my family (Mom, SIL, etc) are flying into Orlando and meeting us there.

We have our trip UP to WDW timed to the last second but, while we check out of our WDW hotel on Saturday, our flight leaves from Miami on Sunday. So we have a day to play with. The question is - what do we do?

Buy an extra day in the WDW parks? It's pretty cheap to make 6 days into 7...

Buy an extra ticket into the WDW waterparks or DisneyQuest? I can probably swing the $40 - 45 entrance fee...water park if the weather is nice and DQ if it's not...

Go to a different park? Universal and SeaWorld look awfully expensive for one day, especially after I've just spent A LOT of money on tickets to Disney.

Looking at my budget, I can find an extra $200 - 250 for something "extra". Are there ticket discounters out there who could get 2 adults, one 14 y/o, one 11 y/o, and one 7 y/o into Universal or SeaWorld for that? If yes, which would be the best bang for our buck? All but the 7 y/o love coasters, but my 11 y/o and I don't like to be upside down. What are the crowds like the weekend after Columbus Day? I read on another thread that Florida schools are off on Friday 10/16 - are there special activities or things going on which are more likely to bring in locals to one over the other?

 

[TimandTanya]

When are you going to be going? Dates? Orlando has some great stuff for FREE, and maybe there is a fun event going on in the area. IE: Festival, music, picnics, etc.

 

[dormouse72]

Sorry - I should have put that in...our "free day" is 10/17/09. The rest of Columbus Day week we'll be in Disney.

 

[Our 2 Princesses]

We are going to try Aquatica in June. It looks really fun! For our family of 4 it will cost around $180 through Sea World's website. Have a great trip!

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

You could do Cocoa or Daytona Beach.

 

[Bay Hill]

There is a great blog right now about "67 days in Orlando".
Check out the you tube link to Gatorland.

http://67daysofsmiles.com/

 

[dormouse72]

Aquatica looks really cool - but my thoughts against it are the same as my thoguhts against the water parks...the weather. I'd hate to spend the money and buy the tickets and end up with the one rainy, cool day in October.

Gatorland might be good...I'll have to check that out. My kids loved Crocodile Hunter and it's not something we can do in NY.

 

[lovepurple]

Check out Gatorland. We went last year and I was pleasantly surprised. My kids loved it. My 5 year old held a real alligator and a snake. He wanted to do the gator wrestling but I wasn't comfortable with that. Maybe next time. My teenagers enjoyed it too. There is a great water play area there.

 

[Kae]

Adding a day to your tickets would be the cheapest option. We love spending our last day just strolling thru a park & soaking it all in before we leave.

Kae

 

[isla bonita]

Adding a day to your tickets would be the cheapest option. We love spending our last day just strolling thru a park & soaking it all in before we leave. Kae

So true the longer the stay the cheaper it is.

 

[Goopy]

Daytona would probably be a bit of a waste. I live in Volusia county and its amazing how down hill Daytona has gone in the last few years. A1A just isnt what it was so unless your really interested in NASCAR and want to see the speedway Id probably just head south towards your destination and save yourself some time. If you want to go to the beach there are many others to pick from that are not out of the way.

 

[tinkerbellmichelle]

THere is so much to do outside of Orlando that you may consider heading elsewhere?? For instance - - visiting gulf-side beach such as Siesta Key or Sanibel Island - extra driving? You bet - - but think of how much of Florida you will see??? You could even hit Busch Gardens if you went 'that' way back to Miami.

We spent 3 weeks in Florida last year - with 1 week being in Orlando. We had a fantastic time..... We adored Sanibel Island. We were in Naples for about 2 weeks and did a few day trips from there. We love the beach and the weather cooperated!!!

We went to Daytona and loved it too. Could have had something to do with the fact that I got to meet and chat with Patrick Dempsey at the speedway as his racing team was doing some testing but we've got 2 days planned in Daytona this year as well.

 

[cobraroll]

67daysofsmiles has a BUNCH of stuff to do outside of Disney. It will cover EVERY attraction in ALL of Orlando. There's also a new blog up about Hollywood Studios and the American Idol Experience. check it out 67daysofsmiles . com

 

[dormouse72]

We looked at Gatorland. The kids were excited about it and the prices seemed reasonable (especially after Disney) so we'll see. But only if one of them wrestles a gator; I took them swimming with sharks over the summer - now gator wrestling. We have such action-packed, he-man vacations for a bunch of girly-girls!

Extending in the parks is cheapest for us, but my friend has a few days left on some non-expiring tickets and is just buying the rest to cover our trip. So it's more money for her to add days in the parks even with the Florida resident discount. She has loads of water park days but we'd have to buy those separately in order not to have paid for something we may not use and they are more expensive than Gatorland seems to be.

Any other ideas? It may be hard to top gator wrestling though...

 

[ChristmasElf]

Orlando to Miami will take you almost 4 hours on the Florida Turnpike and that is cruising doing over the limit of 70. Watch out for FHP as they have many traps especially near Yeehaw Junction.

Busch Gardens is in Tampa and will be way out of the way if you save this for your last day of your trip.

If you decide to head back down the east coast of the state on your way back to Miami, you could do Vero Beach, or visit West Palm Beach or even check out Ft Lauderdale and just hit the beaches.

 

[lisajl]

Glad you posted this. My DH always complains that we never go to the beach when we are in Florida. So, next month, we are taking time out of our precious Disney schedule to go to the beach. Should be fun. Our kids are older and not so "disneyfied" like me.

Lisa

 

[cinderella73]

Daytona would probably be a bit of a waste. I live in Volusia county and its amazing how down hill Daytona has gone in the last few years. A1A just isnt what it was so unless your really interested in NASCAR and want to see the speedway Id probably just head south towards your destination and save yourself some time. If you want to go to the beach there are many others to pick from that are not out of the way.

I second that. I grew up there myself and sad to say its nothing like it used to be. If anyone wants to see Daytona stick to the raceway amd mainland. If you want to see the beaches in that area or stay on the beach in that area stick with Ormond Beach side.

GOOPY: BTW semi off topic here but how is St Augustine looking these days? It was getting pretty transient a few years back. Have they cleaned it up any ? It was such a nice place to visit.

 

[bennythepug]

great ideas! we are thinking of doing a beach day this trip too.

 

[dormouse72]

I know this is sacriligious in parts of the country but...I'm not a NASCAR fan...

While I love the beach, the idea of sitting in a car for four hours all sandy and sticky from salt and lotion isn't my thing. I can never get clean enough at the beach showers.

Four hours isn't too bad a trip as long as we're moving. It's taken me 4 hours to get from the Bronx to Queens and that trip should only take 45 min (I blame the L.I.E - it's always a disaster and the main reason I'd NEVER move to Long Island). My kids do pretty well on car trips (though I admit we fly to Disney - 20 hours in a car just cant compete with 2 hours in a plane) and if they've been busy all day it just makes them nice and quiet in for the trip.

If we started back at about 4 PM we'd be down in Miami by 9 (give or take with stops for gas and bathroom). We have an insanely early flight the next day so I'd even look at staying out a bit later - just put the kids in sweatpants, let them fall asleep in the car and put them right to bed when we get to the house. The suitcases will already be packed and in the car (no need to take them out for one night) so I'd put all our morning "must haves" in my carry-on. We can sleep when we finally get home late Sunday morning. Vacation isn't a time to sleep!!!

I know it's early yet but it seems like the deciding factor may be weather. I know it's been hot as anything down there now. Do the weather reports say that's likely to continue through the middle of October? I don't know that I'd want to be wrestling gators in high heat and humidity. Even if it was cloudy humidity would be sending me to the water park.

 

[babybaja2]

How about the Kennedy Space Center?