ttfn3
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2000
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We took a trip to Central Florida the last part of July 2021, and stayed 3 nights in Winter Park (LOVE WP) and 5 nights at the Vistana Resort Lake Buena Vista (near Disney Springs area). I thought I would share a few things we did outside of Disney while were were there, in case anyone was interested in doing something nonDisney (gasp!) related for a day. I'll get to Winter Park on a later post. While we were at the Vistana, we took a boat tour of the Chain of Lakes in Windermere (about 20 minutes or so north of the Disney Springs area). https://www.orlandolaketours.com/boat-tours It was a great tour that departs from R.D. Keene Park. Nice big pontoon boat, shaded, with plenty of room. We had 8 people on the boat, including the captain and had plenty of room to spread out. Very comfortable. The area is very beautiful - with LOTS of very expensive homes and bird sanctuaries. Some of the homes are extremely large - such as the almost 90,000 square foot Siegal Versailles house that is being built. Shaquille O'Neal lives there. Tiger Woods lived there during the "infamous" golf club incident. You get the picture. We saw cormorants, herons, turtles, a bald eagle (way cool!), and even a cardinal (we recognized the chirp) etc. The ride through the lakes was relaxing and the captain knows a lot about the area/houses/wildlife. The boat ride was about 90 minutes (says 75 min on the website, but we were on the boat a little longer). You have to book with a credit card. It was $25 per adult. We didn't have any kids on our boat tour. I did see the website has a kid price of $15 (for under 10 yrs old). I really enjoyed this boat trip. I especially enjoyed that we didn't have to take I4 to get there. We took 535/Winter Park Vineland Road all the way there, to Chase Rd.
After the boat tour, we continued up to Winter Garden to visit Crooked Can Brewery (a little over 20 minutes more north) & Plant Street Market. It's a great brewery/market - and Winter Garden is a nice town with local shops, farmers market (on Saturday morning), a kids water fountain area, and a nice bike path goes through the center of the downtown area. https://crookedcan.com/ The Plant St. Market has some really good local food offerings https://crookedcan.com/plant-st-market/, and we enjoyed the Florida Sunshine brew with some sushi and buffalo cauliflower. Plus, there is an amazing artisan chocolate shop. We got some chocolate covered bacon, and a gourmet caramel/chocolate brownie creation that was delicious. We discovered Winter Garden about 5 years ago when Off Kilter had a CD release party there (remember Off Kilter? They played for years at Epcot). We enjoyed our visit then, as well as the CD release concert/party (we supported the making of the album). The funny connection is that a 2nd Crooked Can brewery/market was built in our town in Ohio (Hilliard) which opened right before the pandemic shutdowns started (currently doing very well). It was nice to go back to the market/brewery in Winter Garden. I recommend a visit, if you are interested in supporting local businesses. The area is a nice break from the touristy areas of Central Florida.
That's my tips for today. Please feel free to share your tips for things to do outside of Disney. We are always looking for new things to do when we visit Central Florida.
After the boat tour, we continued up to Winter Garden to visit Crooked Can Brewery (a little over 20 minutes more north) & Plant Street Market. It's a great brewery/market - and Winter Garden is a nice town with local shops, farmers market (on Saturday morning), a kids water fountain area, and a nice bike path goes through the center of the downtown area. https://crookedcan.com/ The Plant St. Market has some really good local food offerings https://crookedcan.com/plant-st-market/, and we enjoyed the Florida Sunshine brew with some sushi and buffalo cauliflower. Plus, there is an amazing artisan chocolate shop. We got some chocolate covered bacon, and a gourmet caramel/chocolate brownie creation that was delicious. We discovered Winter Garden about 5 years ago when Off Kilter had a CD release party there (remember Off Kilter? They played for years at Epcot). We enjoyed our visit then, as well as the CD release concert/party (we supported the making of the album). The funny connection is that a 2nd Crooked Can brewery/market was built in our town in Ohio (Hilliard) which opened right before the pandemic shutdowns started (currently doing very well). It was nice to go back to the market/brewery in Winter Garden. I recommend a visit, if you are interested in supporting local businesses. The area is a nice break from the touristy areas of Central Florida.
That's my tips for today. Please feel free to share your tips for things to do outside of Disney. We are always looking for new things to do when we visit Central Florida.
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Just too many things to do in the area, that's what.
