# Orlando advice please - beach and Thanksgiving dinner



## agedurkin (Oct 10, 2007)

HELLO, we are going to orange lake resort over thanksgiving  i have 2 questions and was hoping someone could help  FIRST I WANT TO GO TO THE BEACH ONE DAY, WHAT IS THE BEST BEACH WITHIN DRIVING DISTANCE TO SPEND THE DAY AT?  

                     Also, any suggestions for thanksgiving dinner?


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## abc31 (Oct 10, 2007)

We were there last Thanksgiving.  We decided to avoid the crowded restaurants and take advantage of our timeshare's Dining room and kitchen.  We ordered a complete Thanksgiving Dinner from Boston Market (in advance)and it felt like Thanksgiving at home.  A lot of the supermarkets also take Thanksgiving orders.  And there is also a Honey Baked Ham store in Orlando that sells prepared Thanksgiving meals .  

We stayed at HGVC International Drive and they actually offered a Thanksgiving Buffet for the guests.  You can check with your resort to see if they are offering anything.


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## Holly (Oct 10, 2007)

*I second Boston Market*

We go away almost every Thanksgiving...I'll actually be at OLCC as well, we should have a TUG gathering.  

Boston Market does a great job and it's simple.


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## TonyW (Oct 10, 2007)

*Forget the beach idea!*

If you are travelling with kids, I would forget the beach idea and visit one of the two Disney water parks instead.  Plan on arriving early and staying until closing - there is LOTS to do!!  Bring your own food (coolers are allowed) and towels, parking is free (unusual for Disney!).


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## Jim Bryan (Oct 10, 2007)

Cocoa Beach.


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## easyrider (Oct 11, 2007)

We did Disney World last Thanksgiving. The only beach we liked was Smirna. Reseved our Thanksgiving dinner at Publix for 10 of us. It needed help but was allright. Lots of turkey sandwiches the next day. Im glad we reserved a dinner because some people at our resort couldnt find a semi cooked turkey dinner at all. The grandkids and kids liked typhone lagoon alot so we went there twice. Everyone was amazed at the Disney Parades and Fantasia. The grandkids still bug me about when are we going back. We used tourguidemike.com to plan disney and it worked out great.


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## RumpleMom (Oct 17, 2007)

We prefer the Gulf of Mexico beaches.

Siesta Key has shallow blue water with gentle surf and a powdery sand beach.

On the Atlantic-side, then Disney's Vero Beach resort is beautiful and of course, family friendly.  It's a little less than a 2 hour drive from Disney Orlando.

We also love Disney's waterparks.


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## easyrider (Oct 17, 2007)

Last year there was some kind of bacteria or algea in the gulf of mexico so we didnt make it to the clearwater beaches. That was our first choice.

We took a redeye flight to orlando and had 8 hours to kill before we could check in so we went to coco beach, smirna beach and daytona beach. This killed the whole day. Smirna was the cleanest and had little shops and restarunts. coco and daytona beaches were needing a good cleaning.


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## Detailor (Oct 17, 2007)

RumpleMom said:


> We prefer the Gulf of Mexico beaches.



I agree with this thought.  At the end of November you may find that the Atlantic side might be too cool for beachgoing.  Though a little further away, I'd suggest checking out the beaches that are west of Tampa.  There are lots of them.

Dick Taylor


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## STEVIE (Oct 17, 2007)

Hi, we will be in Orlando on Thanksgiving as well.  I would like to preorder a turkey dinner.  How far ahead of time do you reserve your dinner?  When you arrive in Orlando, or before your trip?  Thank you, Sue


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## abc31 (Oct 17, 2007)

I think you should do it before your trip.  I think there was a cut off date when I ordered from Boston Market.  I don't rememberer exactly what it was.


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## Lou (Oct 18, 2007)

*Caladesi island*

Caldadesi island on the Gulf side is a beautiful beach.  Usually rates in the top 5 of the U.S. best beach list.


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## talkamotta (Oct 18, 2007)

We did Thanksgiving last year..  It was cold.  but thats unusual.  

We had 16 people.  So I got 2 timeshares.  I made 2 turkeys in the units and then we ate in one of them. I thought it was fun, one of the dil hadnt made a turkey dinner before so the girls were cooking and laughing, the boys in the other unit watched football and the kids were out in the pool, swings and played miniature golf.  Westgate got us 2 units close together.  My daughter and sil worked for Disney and they said Thanksgiving day was a bad day to go there.  So we did the parks in the first part of the week and the beach on the Friday after Thanksgiving.  I think Thursday, Friday and Saturday are pretty busy at the parks.  

We love Clearwater on the Gulf side near Tampa.   Cocoa Beach is closer.  The Gulf water is warmer but not as many waves.  Either beach is fairly easy to get to.


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## easyrider (Oct 18, 2007)

We google searched for a turkey and found all the Publix had a complete Thankgiving Dinner for about $70.00. It came with all the fixings. We reseverd this on our second day in Orlando. When we went back for other groceries Publix was out of precooked turkey dinners. 

I would get a different gravy mix, mash my own potatoes and make my own stuffing if we do this again. The precooked turkey, pie,bread,veggies and cranberries were great. You shouldnt have any problem getting a turkey at Publix if you reserve it soon after you arrive.


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## Nancy (Oct 18, 2007)

*Caledesi*

Caledesi requires a ferry (pontoon boat) or private boat to get to.  There is a fee plus a fee to get into Honeymoon State Park to get to ferry.  Caledesi is a nice beach but depending on number of people might be quite costly.  Also if really windy ferry might not run, or you might not want to take it.  

We live near Honeymoon/Caledesi.  I

If you want West Coast, I'd go to Clearwater Beach, Sand Key, Indian Rocks Beach or any other beach to St. Pete Beach.

Nancy


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## easyrider (Oct 19, 2007)

The one thing about the Clearwater Beaches is the sand is very fine and gets into everything compared to the beaches elsewhere.


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## ownsmany (Oct 19, 2007)

we did Disney last year for Thanksgiving.  We had 4 timeshare units all next to each other.  My unit was a 2 bedroom with large kitchen/dining area.  Everyone congreted in our unit and my brothers unit was attached to use by a door.

We did the Publix dinner and it was simple. good and easy.

As someone stated earlier it was cold last year in Disney.

This year we are going to Harborside - but w/o all the others.  Airfare / rooms too expensive for the group.  Shame = we will miss them.

Enjoy this great holiday!


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## dabtpa (Oct 25, 2007)

*Publix For Thanksgiving Dinner, Cocoa Beach*

If you type in Publix Supermarkets Orlando in MSN search, there is a nice store listing with  a map. You should be able to match up the store closest to your resort from this map. You need to call and order your food the week before.
As for the Gulf beaches, I live in Tampa and agree they would be better. However, the drive from Orlando, considering holiday traffic, would be at least 2.5 hours one way. The East Coast is closer and easier.


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