Orlando Attractions and Activities..Outside the Obvious

[soldiermedic]

From April 9-16 the family is taking a trip down to Kissimme, FL. We are looking for options on things to do outside of the normal activities and attractions. We are taking advantage of a free pass to Sea World, and will llikely do Disney even though they rescinded the free 4 day pass for military members in Dec 2009 . Paying for Diney means no Universal Studios, and we are looking for other things to do from Tampa to Orlando.

Many people will say Cocoa Beach, Airstream Ranch, and Cape Canaveral. Right now those plans aren't on the books (I've been to all three already anyhow), but we are looking for good ideas for the 5 year old.

[richie rich]

The Zoo. On 17-92 between Lake Mary and Sanford near Big Tree Park.

[henw]

Gatorland. Go airboat riding. Central fla Zoo. Bok Tower. Leu gardens.
Citrus Tower. Fun Spot (kids).

Milenia Mall.

[mcair]

Take that boy to the beach! Just keep an eye on any new toys you buy right before you go there. Roger bought Kris a stuffed dolphin before we went to the beach where she promptly buried it in the sand. It's still there somewhere. Daddy was not amused.
Gatorland is fun if the weather is warm enough. Gators are cold blooded creatures and in February they were not that interested in jumping for chickens.

We did go to the space center. The kids were 5, 8 & 9 and they loved it. We stayed all day and took the bus tour. Laura and Bradley made reports about it when they got home. (We took them out of school for this trip and both had homework sent with them).You've seen it before, but has Collin?

Remember you don't have to go somewhere everyday. A day spent just hanging out at the pool is good too. We tried to have at least one day of downtime in the middle of a trip. The kids would get worn out and cranky otherwise. And so would the parents.

[kidsgone]

Sebastian Beach along A1A is great and they have a campground right on the island between the river and ocean. LongPoint Campground is just south of Sebastian that would also be fun to kick back and kyack (I believe you can rent them).
Also, driving to Port Canaveral is fun to see all the cruise ships (including disney) and stop by Grills for lunch....great fish sandwiches!(things for kids to eat too)
Sebastian would be fun this time of year as it's not hot hot hot yet!
Have fun!

[soldiermedic]

With spending over $300 for Disney (that's cheap for Disney), we are trying to find other activities that won't be costing alot of $$. Having a kitchen in the condo will help save some $$ on meals while in time. Gatorland, the space center, airboat rides, etc cost a bit of $$, so we are looking for other cost effective activities.

Thanks everyone, and keep the ideas coming!

Steve

[Mackhopp]

We hit Florida once a year for a vacation with the boys (ages 8 and 10) and we never do the Disney theme parks. Too $$. We do go to the water parks and Downtown Disney to walk around and check out the sights.

One year we went for a drive to the Canaveral National Seashore and wandered around there for most of the day. Took a picnic and stopped at various places to check out the wildlife. We saw some beautiful manatees, neat crabs, a couple alligators and lots of crabs and colourful birds.

There may be a shuttle launch depending on the weather (scheduled for April 5+ on their site now).

There's Big Tree Park that features a 3500 yr old Bald Cypress.

If you're heading towards Tampa I'd check out Fort DeSoto park - great beaches. And head over the Sunshine Skyway bridge - we always get a kick out of it.