Friday 31 October 2008

If anyone can help?

I am heading on holiday (next month) to Orlando. I have been before (quite a few times) but this time I am looking for suggestions of some different/unusual things to do. I would also love to know if anyone knows of any free things to do that may be taking place at the end of November?

If anyone has any suggestions or ideas and fancy sharing I would be very, very grateful!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Have you tried a google search of activities? I found this: http://www.10best.com/Orlando,FL/

Alison at Wardrobe Oxygen said...

Looking forward to the responses. I went to Orlando two years ago at this time. It was for work so all day was in conferences and I went with boring people so all we did was Downtown Disney which is the free part that is only restaurants, a waterfront and shops. I KNOW there is more to Orlando than drinking at lame chain restaurants!

Boutique Girl said...

Thank you both.

Allie - I really want ot try and plan a different experience my parents are coming too and they have been so many times. Trying to break away from chain restaurants etc!

So far I have found that from dec 1st it "snows" nightly in Celebration - it is free to see and there are little street vendors, carol singers etc!

Meghann E said...

I didn't forget about your honest blogger award! I am in the middle of moving and a blog relaunch!

Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Hi, My husband and I go to Orlando every year at the end of January (we have a time share that was given to us)...we always look for other things to do besides the regular theme parks. Here are just a few things we've enjoyed.

We always go to Harry P. Leu gardens in Orlando. It's always so pretty. www.leugardens.org In November they have a Fall Jazz tour. It can be hard to find (but really worth it) - so get good directions.

Gaylord Palms resort. A friend recommended it a few years ago - we didn't think we'd go look - but are so glad we did. It's worth it just to walk around...Amazing! They have a HUGE atrium with walking paths, caves, waterfalls, alligators, birds, etc. http://www.gaylordhotels.com/gaylord-palms/ And their restaurant Villa de Flora is wonderful. Pricey, but worth it. (Look at their menu - it's different depending on the night of the week) Thursday nights (Greek night) is one of our favorites - we go every year.

The town of Celebration is always a fun place to walk around. (the town that Disney built) There is a nice walking path around the lake and main street shops are nice. The Columbia Restaurant is delicious. If you drink - try their signature vodka martini with stuffed blue cheese olives. Or their house Sangria. The original Columbia restaurant (1905) is in Ybor City - which is really fun to check out...

The Orlando Museum of Art is really nice. www.OMArt.org

This might be sort of lame...but, Old Town is sort of cute. On Saturday nights there is a free rock-n-roll concert and a parade of vintage cars. They also have a few rides. www.old-town.com

Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge (not the theme park - the actual Lodge) is cool. It's an African Themed Game Preserve. (This was another recommendation from a friend) It's fun to walk around with lots of animals to see. And - parking is free, if you tell them you just want to look around.

All of the above with the exception of Leu Gardens and the Orlando museum are located on Osceola Parkway - all very easy to find...

Every year we also look in the phone book - the calendar of events always turns up things to do and items of interest. We usually find at least one new thing to do. The City of Orlando has a website http://www.cityoforlando.net/calendar.htm that lists their events.

Sorry for the long comment but, hope the above helps.

mags

Anonymous said...

Have you tried the Sky Venture (indoor sky diving)? http://www.skyventureorlando.com/

We did it last year and absolutely loved it - very different, and lots of fun!

I always go to Celebration and to Disney's Boardwalk - you could try hiring a boat at either Boardwalk or Downtown Disney, or if you fancy getting out of Orlando, Tarpon Springs isn't too far away, and there's a fantastic dolphin cruise there which only costs about $12 each.

It might also be worth visiting the NASA site and finding out if there are any rockets due to launch or return while you're there - you can watch from Cocoa Beach and then go for a swim :)