Next spring we're thinking about trying Universal for the first time. Normally we go to Disney for about a week, but it seems we need only half that for Universal. What other types of things would you recommend we do to fill up a week, without breaking the bank!
I agree that three or four days is plenty of time to do all of the rides and shows at Universal/Islands of Adventure and go back to do your favorites a few more times. There are a variety of things to do in the area without incurring additional theme park prices. A few that come to mind...
A PP mentioned
Blue Spring State Park, located north of Orlando via I-4 in Orange City, it's a terrific place to see manatees during the winter (generally mid-December to mid-March) but if you're going in Spring when the ocean water is warming then the manatees probably won't be there. However, the
two-hour narrated St. Johns River nature cruise is really special. I think there's a discount coupon at their website.
Mini-golf. Orlando seems like it's the mini-golf capital of America. There's the
Congo River mini-golf on International Drive (two on I-Drive, I think, and one on SR 192 in Kissimmee),
Pirate's Cove - one on I-Drive and one behind Crossroads shopping center in Lake Buena Vista, a brand-new Hollywood themed mini-golf course at
CityWalk Universal,
Hawaiian Rumble - one on I-Drive, one on SR 535 across the road (roughly) from Vistana Resort,
Volcano Island on I-Drive,
Gator Golf near Wet n' Wild on I-Drive,
River Adventure on SR 192 in Kissimmee, and the two Disney double courses -
Winter Summerland (next to Blizzard Beach water park) and
Fantasia (across the side street from the Swan and Dolphin hotel complex that's near BoardWalk).
How about the beach?
Cocoa Beach is no more than an hour east of Orlando on the Atlantic side and there are loads of
Gulf Coast beaches about an hour and a half to the south west - the Clearwater to St. Petersburg area. Bigger wave, open ocean, colder water on the Atlantic side, relatively calm and warm water on the Gulf side (sandier beaches on the Gulf side, too). If you go to Cocoa Beach, be sure to stop by
Ron Jon's store there.
Visit the
BoardWalk complex - restaurants, shopping, surrey bike rentals, a couple of night clubs - or
Downtown Disney - lots of shopping and restaurants throughout - or the
town of Celebration - again, shopping and restaurants but not so inundated with Disney. You've gotta eat and these places are all ready to serve you.
If you're into the Disney style themes and want more. Go over to one of the monorail hotels and ride from one hotel to next (
Polynesian, Grand Floridian, Contemporary) then go over to the
Wilderness Lodge for what I think of as the best, though the others are cool, too.
If you're looking for something a little different, drive up to
Winter Park (just north of Orlando via I-4). Lots of shops and galleries and restaurants. Also in Winter Park is the launch point for the
Scenic Boat Tours. This is a fairly inexpensive, narrated trip through the area's connected lakes - a real old Florida type attraction.
Or, if you want to drive a bit more than that, go up to
Ocala (via I-4 and Florida's Turnpike) and visit the old Florida park known as
Silver Springs. Glass bottom boat tour, wild animals, etc. I think that there's a water park nearby, too.
And, speaking of water parks, there are a bunch of those in Orlando, too. There's the two Disney water parks -
Blizzard Beach and
Typhoon Lagoon, SeaWorld's water park -
Aquatica, and Universal's
Wet n' Wild on International Drive.
Go shopping at one of the two
Premium Outlets (one at the northern tip of International Drive, one on Vineland Avenue near Lake Buena Vista) or the quite large
Florida Mall, or the upscale
Mall at Millenia, or the smallish
Lake Buena Vista Factory Stores shopping area.
There are several minor attractions (in my opinion) on International Drive -
Ripley's,
WonderWorks,
Titantic,
Fun Spot.
I think that you should easily find enough to do to fill a week.
Have fun.
Dick Taylor
