So, thanks to my oldest daughter who got to decide our holiday destination (on account of her going to (the Dutch equivalent of) high school next year) we’ll be spending our holiday in Florida this year! We’ll be spending about a week in Orlando to see some of the Disney Parks and the Kennedy Space Center, then take a cruise from Miami, to end the trip in the Everglades and the Florida Keys.
Now, most of the 3,5 weeks of our holiday are already filled with stuff that my oldest daughter wants to do (it is, after all, supposed to be her trip), but we still have several days left to go and see other things. So I was wondering: does anyone have any suggestions? What are the places or sites, other than the obvious tourist stuff, that we (family, two girls of 12 and 10) shouldn’t miss, and why? Ideally, it should be within easy driving distance of either Orlando or Miami, because that’s where we will probably stay (haven’t booked a hotel or apartment yet, so any suggestions on that are also much appreciated).
Hehe, I asked something similar early on last year! I asked very late though and our holiday wasn’t nearly as long.
From our experience of the parks, Universal’s Islands of Adventure was the clear highlight for the variety and the surprises. The water rides there were so much fun with family in the hot Florida climate. I’m not a big fan of Harry Potter either but all that stuff blew me away. Very creative and wonderfully crafted.
Of the water parks we preferred Disney’s Blizzard Beach to Typhoon Lagoon (Universal’s Volcano Bay wasn’t open then). I’d like to have seen the new Avatar area too.
Epcot is definitely worth a visit if you get a chance, put a day aside to explore it properly and enjoy the food and drink. The lake lightshow at the end is really cool too.
Our trip was short and full-on so we didn’t stray too far from the parks. Ripley’s Believe It or Not was amusing and 'gator spotting on a Boggy Creek airboat ride was an interesting experience, and loud!
I’ll come back with more info down the line, but it’s going to be in the high 80s up into the 90s Fahrenheit with 90% humidity and rainy all the time, so plan for that and pick lots of indoors things.
Also, plan to get out to the beach, it’s one of the best things to do in the heat.
Yeah, it was about that for us too, only without much rain. I don’t think we spent longer than a few hours indoors during the day for the whole holiday!
The family did visit Clearwater but… I don’t like sand, and we got gouged for ‘luxury’ tired loungers and a parasol. I think it was over $50. We had some nice ice cream there though, and Frisbee in the sea is always fun.
Oops, missed that, and it didn’t show up in the (quite handy!) list of similar topic suggestions. I’ll definitely check it out!
That great to hear, because we sort of decided to try that one instead of just something similar to Disney Land Paris. As for Harry: my oldest daughter has read all the books, my youngest just finished the first. So they’ll love that!
Yeah, we’ll definitely do lots of beach, although it will probably mostly be in the last week of our stay (after the cruise). Still, we don’t really mind the heat, and we are definitely used to rain here in Holland, so we’ll be oke I think :-).
Cape Canaveral is one of the things my daughter didn’t necessarily include on her wishlist, but it is definitely on mine! So we will most certainly go there. Is it true that there are still launches from there every now and then?
Edit: never mind: found the link to the launch schedule in Geggis’ linked thread. looks like there is at least one launch around the time we are there, so we’ll try to visit at that time! :-)
For a beach at Canaveral, think about Playalinda. Partly for the launch view (close enough that it was closed for shuttle launches, but has been left open for SpaceX, etc.) and mostly because it is a lovely, lovely spot. Part of Canaveral National Seashore - quite undeveloped other than one road and a few parking lots.
As someone who used to live (and work) at Cape Caneveral, I am surprised anyone would want to go there. Too crowded and everything is pretty meh, no great restaurants, shopping areas, etc, nice beaches sure, just crowded.
My kids never liked Epcot. I think if time at Disney is limited Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and then Epcot (for most kids that age). The Avatar ride has long lines. On Thursday last week it was 5 hours long. We have tried to run to it first getting into park and it was still three hours. We have annual passes and never been able to get a fast pass. If you stay on premise you get to go into the parks an hour early and I believe would have a better shot at getting in line plus they give you 60 days ahead to schedule your fast passes (everyone else only gets 30 days ahead).
If you want character pictures than I recommend planning on one good meal. Certain restaurants at Disney have the characters travel around the tables. This allows you to get your pics in without staying on line at the characters stations. You get good food, characters, and a bit of a rest in the air conditioning. (when regular food is so much, hamburgers etc, the better food areas are not that much more why not have at least one good meal). You are able to bring food into Disney, we bring water etc. it saves some money but also saves time waiting on line for a simple drink.
If you like roller coasters I was told by my brother Sea World has some really good ones.
If you want restaurants and T-shirt shops, then yeah - avoid the protected National Seashore with its lovely natural dune system (what I described as “quite undeveloped”). Crowded is relative, I guess. Compared to Cocoa Pier, etc?
My kids always loved Epcot. They loved the sciency parts and the World Showcase, and they loved taking the monorail to get there (sad that they will no longer let your kids ride up front with the driver - that was awesome). I was totally bummed by the demise of the little Maelstrom ride, but it could just be that your girls are more interested in Frozen… In July/August, Animal Kingdom was always a bust with our kids (too hot, the attractions too far apart, the animals sensibly waiting for dark).
Are you staying on-site? If so, you can possibly get a decent deal on a meal plan and wind up with a couple of nicer meals.
Florida in summer? Yeah make sure not to miss air conditioning. And while I haven’t been there in over 20 years, I was blown away by Epcot, especially the aquarium. I could have sat and stared at that thing for hours, but maybe I’m just weird that way.
Since you mention ENP, check out the big Crocs and Opreys at Flamingo. Fair warning though: July and August might be the worst time for mosquitoes in ENP…
Thanks for the advice everyone, and thanks for the heads up about the heat and the mosquitoes. Not that we have any choice in the matter really: summer holiday is the only time we will be able to visit America, unfortunately. But it is good to know what we are getting into. Lots of beaches, pools, airconditioning and cocktails required I guess :-).
Speaking of cocktails: in the Netherlands, you are allowed a maximum of two alcoholic drinks before driving. What is the limit in Florida? Cause if it is the same or less, I’d better make sure we book our hotels within walking distance of the beach…
.08% blood alcohol content (BAC). So for most adult males that would be 4 drinks where a drink is a beer, glass of wine, or shot of hard liquor. Obviously don’t push it, Florida cops don’t mess around with it and you’ll be in jail pretty quick if you violate the rule.
I think you also need to show you aren’t “under the influence” so to speak so you’d also need to pass coordination tests if it came down to it.
That much!? Well, in that case there isn’t much of a problem. I like having a drink or two when sitting on a beach somewhere, but I don’t have a problem limiting myself to a couple if I have to drive. Not being allowed to drink at all would have been annoying, but this is fine. Thanks!
