What "smaller" outside attractions are must dos for you and yours

[Jinnyboom]

Curious if anyone has favorites in regard to the "smaller attractions" in the Orlando area.....

We are considering Ripley's Museum and Sky Venture....

Thanks in advance!!!!!

 

[Steve P]

Fantasy of Flight, often overlooked but is a great
1/2 day. [ I - 4, exit 21 ] Circa 30'-40's aircraft museum, in a
war-themed 'walk and crawl' thru self-tour.

 

[GEM]

I've never done the two you mentioned, but Gatorland is our favorite smaller attraction. We just loved it! It was a fun taste of what Florida attractions must have been like before "the mouse" took over. They have LOTS of alligators and the shows and exhibits are really fun and interesting. I highly reccomend it.

 

[sillyminny]

We too are looking for something different to do this time! We are booking a few days extra for non-WDW or Universal stuff.
I think we would like to try
Sea World
Medieval times
Gatorland

Which we have never done but are all enjoyed by most folks!

 

[tink2dw]

I know Orlando all about Disney,lol,but someone might want to check out some of these at a Discounted Rate!!
Orlando Attractions Entrance Coupons
http://www.floridacouponsavings.com/attractions/attractions.htm

 

[floridalol]

Ripleys, Titanic, Wonderworks and Skull Kingdom are all worth a visit.

 

[twinz]

We did Wonderworks on our last trip, and had a great time. We had the place practically to ourselves. SeaWorld was great too. There are a lot of hands on type things, to do with the animals, my fave was the dolphin feeding. BUT be prepaired to buy food.

 

[Julie24H]

I absolutely love Gatorland but my kid's favorite is Boggy Creek Airboat Tours. See below:
- Boggy Creek Airboats

Location: 3702 Big Bass Road, Kissimmee, FL 34744

Telephone: (407) 344-9550

Fax: (407) 348-0107

Tour Price:
Adult: $16 plus tax
Child: $10 plus tax (3-12 yrs)


Boggy Creek is about a 10 min. drive from the WDW area. During the tour you will see local wildlife including gators. It is great fun! Julie

 

[Cindy B]

Warning Sky Venture is expensive....


That was near our hotel so we walked over there. DH is a former skydiver, and well, it is definetely and loud experience.

There is a FREE observation deck there on the first floor of the wind tunnel, so you can watch for a little bit.

BTW all those other off site attractions Gatorland, Ripleys, Wonderworks, Sky Venture, etc... all have coupons in coupon books that you can pick up anywhere.

Any off site hotel will have one, or look in racks at grocery stores/Walmart, etc.

 

[wdwnutze]

Gatorland, Ripleys', Seaworld, the Elvis Museum (about 13yrs ago) and the Mercado on International Drive. At night they had music playing in the center of the Mercado where you could have a drink, listen to the music and dance if you want. It was filled with couples and families and everyone had a great time. It was a highlight of a no kids trip my dh and I took about 5yrs ago.

 

[patgoofy]

I have always enjoyed Gatorland, they have lots of things you will not see any where else. If you have children they will love it. Plus it is not very expensive. Do not miss the Alligator Jumparoo they feed the gators and it is amazing to see them jump 3 or 4 feet straight up out of the water.

 

[Danfreeb]

What are you interested in?

Bush Gardens in Tampa is about an hour away. A lot of thrill rides in a zoo setting. You can also sample some of their suds.

On the other coast is the Kennedy Space Center if your are into space ships and things. They have a good exhibit.

A little up the coast is Daytona which I understand has an exhibit featuring the history of NASCAR.

If NHRA is more to your liking, Don "Big Daddy" Gartlis, has a museum north of Orlando in Ocala.

Maybe you like art museums. In Winterpark is the Morse Museum. It has a large, nice collection of Tiffany ART Glass.

If shopping is your thing, Orlando probably has the largest number of so called outlet stores in the country. Most are on the north end of International Drive.There is also a major new mall (I think it is called the Millinium Mall) opening soon just off I-4 toward Orlando from Disney.

Old Town on Hwy 192 in Kissimmee is kinda fun. It has an eclectic collectoin of shops and a couple of rides. They also have a cruise night a couple of times a month.

 

[alexandra uk]

Guiness world book of records ?

68 to go

ps . Does anyone know how much the sky venture is per adult ?

 

[Jinnyboom]

Sky Venture is $38.50 for an adult. There is a $5.00 coupon available on their website.

www.skyventure.com

Enjoy your trip!!!!!!!

 

[alexandra uk]

Thanks Jinny
We are definatly going to do this, it looks brilliant.
It doesn't say anything on the site about how long it lasts for. Have you any idea ?

68 to go

 

[vald1977]

We loved the Titanic exhibit -- very well done and worth every penny! We also enjoyed shopping at Pointe Orlando. Neat shops (they have a HUGE Fao Shwartz) and also unique dining options. We have tried Johnny Rockets which is a 50's themed diner with jukeboxes and singing waiters and also Don Marino's Town Tavern. My dh is a big dolphin's fan so we had to give that one a try. There is also a movie theater here.

 

[Cindy B]

Sky Venture, well it didn't look long at all.

I want to say a few minutes, maybe 10-15 at the most, but check that.. We were watching from the observation deck.

Its hard to say really. My DH who was a skydiver, said it seems a lot longer than what it really is.

there were some teenagers getting ready for the orientation/prep when we were there. They got there an hour early, for "training/suiting up/video, etc"

They may include that time as part of the package... so maybe your time in the tunnel is short, but they count training, etc. in that time..

 

[Captbligh]

Went to Skyventure in Aug. My DD 14 yrs., & DS 12 yrs. wanted to try it. They request that you are there about 1/2 hour before your scheduled time to suit up, and for instruction and orientation. My kids were part of a group of 10. Each person got 2 turns - of 50 seconds each turn. Expect to spend about 1 1/2 hours total. Was one of the highlights of my kids vacation. I video taped from the observation area and it came out good, or they offer to sell you one ($15.00 I think).

Barbara

 

[Jane E.]

My son's a skateboarder & had a blast at Van's Skatepark on International Blvd. We spent two - 2hr mornings there. That place is amazing.


We also took a night tour at Boggy Creek that was fun. We went in September when the gators are out. Our driver was excellent; he sure knew the lake. I would have been lost in a minute in the dark.

 

[sammi]

There's a great flea market in Kissimmee (Irlo Bronson I-92) that we always love to wander through. There is a lot to see there and in the middle area they have a "food court" with live entertainment and it has a real country style atmosphere with great country music.