What else is there to do in Orlando besides Disney World?
My family is planning a trip for Orlando and we want to know other things to do in Orlando besides Disney World and Universal studios
The Orlando area is NOT only theme parks In addition to the ones you mention there is also Sea World, Wet N/Wild and Holy Land. Legoland Florida will open in October. Busch Gardens is in Tampa,90 miles from WDW. Disney World is not in the city of Orlando. The area is about 2500 sq miles, with a population of over 2 million. Only 10% live in the city of Orlando. There are so very many non theme park oriented things to do. Many free or for very little expenses. Golf is big time. Water activities also. Great place is Blue Springs in Deland – swim with the manatees. Wekiwa State park – great park for water activities – spring fed water always at 72F Touristy area mainly International Drive – Too tacky to many or parts of the city of Kissimmee. Downtown Orlando quite nice, but now mostly office bldgs and little shopping. Better shopping Millenium Mall and Florida Mall..The city of Winter Park, adjacent to Orlando is the best non mall shopping (this is local secret and very few tourists). In Winter Park boat ride through a chain of lakes (Morse Blvd).. Then of course there is the Kennedy Space Ctr and the ocean beaches from Cocoa Beach to the famous Daytona Beach. The vast majority of visitors to the area never leave the theme park zone and that is a shame. Google or Yahoo searches have all kinds of info
Besides all the theme parks, no. Trust me I go every year with my parents and all we do is we stay for 3 days and while we are there we go to a theme park and thats it. But there are some nice restaurants and city walks that are cool but thats it. Just stay for a few days =) Have fun if you go!
-seaworld
-ripley’s believe it or not
-wonder works
-titanic experience
-gatorland
-shopping
attractions that aren’t too far of a drive…
-busch gardens
-kennedy space center
-weeki wachee springs
-homosassa springs
-silver spring
-the beach
-st. augustine
I would assume you are not looking for a theme park but there is Seaworld and Aquatica too!
Seaworld, Aquatica and Busch gardens.
You’ll love it, have fun.
Sea world, Busch Gardens, are the other 2 main theme parks. Aquatica and Wet and Wild the other 2 main water parks to Disney’s. Discovery cove (amazing but expensive!) Also there is Gator land, Beaches, Shopping, The Space centre and of course Miami which we go to for 2 or 3 nights of our 2 or 3 week stay so my husband can do Business while hes there.
I live in Orlando, and trust me there is tons to do. Universal Studios is really good, also. As far as water parks, you have to visit one. My favorite in the summer is Blizzard Beach. For the winter Aquatica is good as is Typhoon Lagoon. Arabian Nights is really enjoyable and so is Medieval Times. As far as day trips, there are many nice towns in the area like Winter Park. In Winter Park is Park Avenue, and has many nice stores and boutiques. The Morse Museum is there (with tons of Tiffany glass) and the Scenic Boat tours is amazing. They also have a great golf course. Sea World is fun. You might consider driving to Tampa (2 hrs) to go to AnnaMaria Island (a nice and not so busy beach.). If you go to Tampa you also HAVE to go to Busch Gardens. They have fun for the entire family there. Also, for shopping the Florida Mall, Mall at Millennia, and the Prime Outlet Malls are fantastic. You can really get good prices. If you have a horse lover in the family, go to Camp Wilderness at Disney, as they have a fun horse ride. If you have any other questions, just ask me!