# Florida Vacation -  Help



## HiDef (Feb 28, 2013)

I was hoping there are some Florida exterts out there who could help us with our vacation planning.

We are planning a family vacation to Florida for 4-5 weeks in July / August 2014.   Our kids are 11 and 8 so we were going to go to Orlando Disneyworld.

We want to checek out other areas of Florida and maybe some other areas on the east coast and we a looking for suggestions for areas/places to visit and also places to stay.  I have done an II search for this summer and there seems to be lots of nice places in and around Orlando but it seems a little more difficult to get into places in other areas of Florida.  My plan is to put some early requests into II to help our chances.

Any advice on places to stay and sights to visit will be much appreciated.


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## 55plus (Feb 28, 2013)

Daytona Beach is my pick because it's on the ocean. I usually can get folks in at Wyndham Ocean Walk. Any place on the ocean is better than inland. Since you're going to be there in the summer, try to stay on the coast where it's a bit cooler. After 4 weeks when you'll be acclimated to the heat and humidity, just when you'll be leaving...


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## Loueloui (Feb 28, 2013)

*Ideas*

Hi Def,

Orlando native here. I have been to WDW over 100 times. Depending on the kinds of things you are looking for I have a few suggestions for the Orlando/Central Florida area.

First and foremost, July and August in Orlando is scorching hot. Also, this is a REALLY crowded time in Orlando in general and Disney in particular. I've lived in Florida almost all of my life so I am used to the heat, and I would pause before attempting this. 

My favorite tips are these: Make sure your room has a freezer, and freeze a couple of water bottles each night. You can either buy or bring a small soft-sided cooler to put them in. Not only will they keep other stuff cool, they will melt slowly over the course of a day, like a drinkable cold pack. 

My other suggestion is make sure you get there EARLY. Ride the main attractions, then leave during the day for a few hours to relax and cool off before going back. Hit the pool, take a nap then go back and ride a few rides and look at the fireworks.  

Also, the Disney Crowd Calendar at touringplans.com is excellent, and spot on most of the time. It is well worth the small fee to get a paid subscription. I also highly recommend their book 'Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World' The smartphone app of theirs is great for checking on ride times/availability in the parks. It will save you LOTS of shoe leather walking across the park to find out Peter Pan's flight or whatever is down. Disney has their own app which is good for navigating, but only OK at updating ride times.


Outside of Disney some of the fun things to do in Orlando are: Wekiva Springs park in Altamonte Springs. It is a natural spring in a great park for picnicking, but it gets crowded some days so call ahead.

Wet 'N' Wild on I-Drive (International Drive) is pretty fun, so is Wonderworks and Ripley's believe it or not. The dinner shows are fun also, I recommend Medieval Times, and Arabian nights. Pirates not as much, and Capone's (gangster theme) or whatever they are calling it now is the pits.

Of course you will want to eat while you are there. I would recommend 4 River's smokehouse. Best barbeque I've ever had- hands down. I would seriously think twice about eating anywhere in Kissimmee or St. Cloud especially, except for those noted above. Even marginal restaurants are so few and far between, most locals have written the area off entirely.

There's really so much more I could tell you. If you want PM me, or reply with some things you are interested in doing (fishing, shows, clubs, etc.) and I can point you in the right direction.


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## Joan-OH (Feb 28, 2013)

Loueloui said:


> Hi Def,
> 
> Orlando native here. I have been to WDW over 100 times. Depending on the kinds of things you are looking for I have a few suggestions for the Orlando/Central Florida area.
> 
> ...



Incredibly helpful post.


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## HiDef (Feb 28, 2013)

Loueloui

Thank you so much for your post!  We will be travelling with our two young boys so your suggestions about:

Wet 'N' Wild on I-Drive
Wonderworks
Ripley's
Medieval Times

Are spot on.  Also, I just visited the touringplans.com site and that is another great tip.

We are from Vancouver, Canada and I didn't realize how hot it gets down there in the summer.  The previous post about staying near the coast for large parts of the trip makes a lot of sense.  I have only just started looking at the options II has in terms of resorts and areas.

The Orlando area seems to have lots of resorts, but I suspect the coastal areas will be a little tougher to get into.


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## Loueloui (Mar 1, 2013)

*More ideas.*

If you wanted to venture further afield, I would also recommend the following:

The Tampa Bay area, about 70 miles west down I-4 is nice, and has some great beaches. Many of them are ranked by 'Dr. Beach' as top 10 in the nation. I would personally recommend Siesta Key. Busch Gardens is also here, as is Adventure Island (a water park) though I would not recommend staying in a hotel near there as the surrounding area is not good at all. Pro tip: You can buy passes for Busch Gardens, Adventure Island, and SeaWorld bundled in one for a lesser price. If you buy individual tickets, and change your mind later, they will use that as credit towards the package deal.

The East coast, about 80 miles west of Orlando down the 528 (Beachline) has Kennedy Space center, which is neat. Call ahead before you leave and ask about any launches. If you take the tour, you can have a pretty good view of the launch. No more shuttles sadly, but a few satellites, and supply ships, etc. which is still cool. 

Cocoa Beach, also on the East coast, has the famous Ron Jon's surf shop which I think is totally overrated. I would only make this a side trip. The beaches on the Cocoa Beach side have more surf, but are not as good. Also a lot of Cocoa, and Cocoa Beach unfortunately is pretty down at the heels. there is a lot of crime in some parts, so make sure you know where you are and where you are going. 

Even further away South on the Florida Turnpike (from Orlando) or I-95 from Cocoa,  is Lion Country Safari in West Palm Beach. This is much further away, about 150 miles south of Orlando. This is a pretty unique experience. Instead of the animals being in cages, and you roaming around looking at them, they turn this on its head. you are in your car, and the animals are roaming around (to some extent). This is really cool, and worth the trip. Unfortunately there's not really a lot else in West Palm. Boca is nice, especially Mizner, and is a bit farther south, but not really 'attraction' quality IMHO. 

If you would like some more info, PM me, and I can pick up some brochures the next time I am in Orlando and mail them to you.


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## abc31 (Mar 2, 2013)

If your boys are into super heroes, you might want to fit Universal Islands of Adventure into your plans. My boys absolutely loved it, even more so than Disney.


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## Rent_Share (Mar 2, 2013)

Loueloui said:


> Busch Gardens is also here, as is Adventure Island (a water park) though I would not recommend staying in a hotel near there as the surrounding area is not good at all. .


 
I used to travel to that neighborhood on a regular basis, usually stayed at an Embassy Suites adjacent to University of Southern Florida on Fowler. Never sensed that I was in a bad area, once stayed in a Double Tree, closer to Busch Gardens the hotel property wasn't up to Hilton standards, but the neighborhood seemed safe enough. Florida real estate had not imploded at the time


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## Loueloui (Mar 5, 2013)

How long ago was this? While I agree hotels nearer to USF (Bruce B. Downs Boulevard) are not too bad, from my experience hotels near Universities get a LOT of wear and tear from the drunken carousing of the students.

The hotels from say Armenia Ave on the west to 56th on the East and Fletcher to I-4 are pretty wretched. Some of these may not be horrible, but they are really not vacation quality in my book.


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## New2time (Mar 15, 2013)

You really can't go wrong staying on the Panhandle....we live about 3 hours away and go every year.....very beautiful beaches and water


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## vacationhopeful (Mar 15, 2013)

Go down to the Keys and be just about surrounded by water.

I like Ft Lauderdale area in the summer. Definitely cooler on the coast and be sure to latter up several times a day with sun screen. And drink lots of water.

Stuff to do in the FLL area: snokeling, drift boat fishing, Everglades tour with air boat ride & swamp buggy ride, Water taxi in FLL on the intercoastal waterway, Bonnet House tour (the old guy had a pet chicken, now there are just spider monkeys roaming the grounds) along with a fox, swans, etc. Yes, I have seen the wild fox and I HAVE PICTURES - on the barrier island in the HEART of Ft Lauderdale. It was not a dog.

Have fun ...


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## stonebroke (Mar 15, 2013)

*Rain*

Maybe it was just me...but there was a thunderstorm almost every afternoon the two times we were in Orlando during July.  It would then get clear off and the rest of the day was nice again.


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## ronparise (Mar 15, 2013)

stonebroke said:


> Maybe it was just me...but there was a thunderstorm almost every afternoon the two times we were in Orlando during July.  It would then get clear off and the rest of the day was nice again.



We have 2 seasons in Florida...the rainy season and the dry season..expect thunderstorms every day in the rainy season


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## Talent312 (Mar 15, 2013)

Don't miss St. Augustine -- The nation's oldest city... Historic sites, beaches, tours...
http://staugustine.com/visitors-guide
http://www.visitflorida.com/St_Augustine
http://www.oldcity.com/
.
.


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## talkamotta (Mar 16, 2013)

You need to start putting in weeks for anything you can get on either coast.  Cocoa Beach would be good because they would like Kennedy.   St Augustine would be good for the parents alot but as long as there's a beach kids dont get tired of it. There is a cool fort in the middle of the city that the kids would like.   The panhandle would be good because it might be cooler.  

I personally love the Gulf coast, Siesta Key,etc but the water is not as exciting as the Atlantic Ocean in the summer.  

Orlando can be the fill in week when you dont get anything else. I would try to go to the beach every other day and find something else to do on the off day.  You could even go some place else and then Orlando and then some place else and do Orlando again and maybe concentrate on Universal instead of Disney that week.  Even if you do Orlando there are state parks that have lazy rivers that you can tube down.


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## Rent_Share (Mar 16, 2013)

stonebroke said:


> Maybe it was just me...but there was a thunderstorm almost every afternoon the two times we were in Orlando during July. It would then get clear off and the rest of the day was nice again.


 
I would be curious what the rat makes from the sale of ponchos, that eveyone wears in the summer time


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## silentg (Mar 16, 2013)

You give some good advice LouieLou, but I have to say that St. Cloud is a wonderful place. I would know, I have lived here for 25 years. There is a beautiful Lakefront area with bike paths and walking trails. We have some real good restaurants here too. Mutt's is known for the burgers. Jalapeño's for great Mexican Food. The Other Place in downtown St. Cloud is a good spot for breakfast. These are local places not chains. There are not many hotels in St. Cloud, but you should not lump it in with Kissimmee. St. Cloud is its own city.


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## npey (Mar 17, 2013)

silentg said:


> ...but I have to say that St. Cloud is a wonderful place.



And closer to Forever Florida!


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## Cdn Gal (Mar 17, 2013)

Buy your tickets at Undercover Tourist (just google it) they will send you discounted tickets to your house in Canada.  W have used the three times now and are very happy with the service!  Since you are from Van, you may find the humidity a bit much.  We were fine since in Ontario it's Unbelivevably hot and humid in July- much the same as in Florida.  Every afternoon there will be a rain shower, but it doesn't last long.  Hope you have a wonderful stay!


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## Donna111 (Mar 22, 2013)

For excellent info on Disney World and also Universal/IOA and Seaworld see:
http://www.wdwinfo.com/
We also enjoy visiting some of the Disney resort areas and having a meal at one of them.
Also - we were at Ron Jon's resort last October and agree that stay at a beach resort or at least a short walk to the beach is a wonderful second week in Fl. This resort is not a far ride to the Kennedy Space center and also the town of Titusville - that has a little history museum and a little space museum - both packed with interesting things to see and also 2 outdoor space memorial parks, and a historic house.
As previously written, St Augustine and Daytona and so many other are great places also.
It will be super hot and humid - bring mister fans and also they have cooling neck/headbands that work well.
Have a great trip.
Donna in New Jersey


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## PStreet1 (Mar 22, 2013)

I remember being there ONCE in the summer months; I thought I was going to die from heat prostration.  Being at Disney World anytime but first thing in the morning and sunset to closing was just not something I could deal with.  I think how much the humidity and heat hit you depends on what you're used to.  At the time, I lived in Colorado and was used to extremely low humidity, so it hit me hard.  The kids were better--but they, too, needed to be out of the park from about 10:30-5:30.

I second the recomendation of purchasing The Unofficial Guide to Disney World.  In my opinion, it pays for itself quickly in the tips for how to most effectively "do" Disney World.


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## LisaRex (Mar 23, 2013)

I agree with the others to make a beeline to the ocean/gulf.  There is a huge difference in comfort level between the interior and coastal areas.  That ocean breeze is worth every penny you'll pay to stay on the ocean. 

We traveled to Disney in August years ago, and it was sweltering.  My advice is to not over plan things and to avoid midday sun.  Let your kids and the heat dictate what you do. There is nothing worse than seeing a bunch of miserable people at the Happiest Place on Earth, because Mom and Dad were hell bent on following their well-planned itinerary.  If that meant that they were at Cinderella's Castle Wednesday at noon when it was 100 degrees and 90% humidity, then by gawd, that's where they were.

I know they're expensive, but for that very reason, I recommend Park Hoppers.  They give you so much more flexibility. We usually got up early (8ish) and headed to the park that didn't have early admittance that day.  Around noon, we'd go back to our villa for lunch and naps.  Then we'd hit the pool til dinner time.  Then, _if we felt like it_,we'd head to the park that was expected to be the most crowded that day, just as the exhausted, crying families who'd insisted on staying there all day, were clearing out. 

I also highly recommend Adventure Cove, which is pricey but sooo worth it. Swimming with the dolphins is the first thing that my kids recall about that trip.  The capacity control A.C., the pools are very cold, and there's plenty of shade and beach chairs to lounge it, so it's a great respite from the hyperactivity of Disney.  If it still gives you free admittance to Sea World, that's also a great break from Disney because most attractions are shaded and cool. 

As far as where to go the rest of the time, you have so many choices. Heck, with 4-5 weeks, I'd even consider driving up to South Carolina or Georgia.  If you prefer to stick to Florida, I'm partial to the Gulf -- Longboat Key and Anna Maria Island are beautiful, though there aren't a lot of touristy things to do such as water parks and shows.  If that's your thing, consider Destin, which is known as the Redneck Riviera, because it attracts so many Midwest vacationers. The upside to being a tourist town is that the rental prices are very reasonable and there's lots for kids to do.

Good luck with your plans!


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