FL peeps, chime in. Vacation Suggestions (1 Viewer)

[Trihonda]

We normally take a spring break vacation to somewhere warm and tropical. However, this time we plan on trying something a little different with a trip down to Florida. We are not huge Disney freaks, but my kids love them some Harry Potter. Sounds like universal studios might be in the cards.

Couple of questions.

Looking for any pro tips on visiting Universal Studios. Never been.

Also looking for suggestions for housing. My wife has indicated she is looking at renting a condo for a week in the Orlando area. This sounds legit to me, but if someone has Suggestions or other tips, I am all ears.

Another question has to do with other attractions in the area. For some background, I spent a summer as a kid in Florida. I remember fondly taking trips to Pine Island (days at the beach collecting shark teeth) and visiting Tarpon Springs on the golf coast. I also remeber going to Weeky Watchi. I really enjoyed these trips. However, Staying in Orlando seems like we are closer to the Pacific. So are there must-see destinations nearby, or towards the pacific that we should consider?

Thanks for any tips/Suggestions you can offer up.

 

[ThinkingFold]

When I was a kid I liked Gatorland more than I did Disney or Universal.

 

[Trihonda]

When I was a kid I liked Gatorland more than I did Disney or Universal.

That sounds awesome. Either a bad B horror movie waiting to be filmed, or a cheesy kids theme park. Either way, a win!

 

[xxmurrxx]

I went to Gatorland last year, it was pretty cool if you have never seen anything like that before.
If your headed to Universal and it's within the budget I'd recommend the "fast pass" for the rides... without it you'll just be in line all day long.

 

[k9dr]

Orlando is slightly closer to the Atlantic than the Pacific

 

[links_slayer]

Orlando is slightly closer to the Atlantic than the Pacific

It's all relative, suppose. It's closer to the Pacific that Daytona Beach.

 

[inca911]

At Universal, there are tickets that get you into the park an hour earlier than the rest of the people. Definitely get those, and hurry to the Harry Potter area. You want to hit Olivander's wand shop before the line gets long, else you'll wait an hour in line. My son, the big HP fan, was selected from his small group to "pick his wand", which was the highlight of his trip. I also recommend hitting the indoor HP ride (Forbidden Journey, I think), since that line also gets extremely long. Other than that, you can pay for the "jump the line" privilege, which is worth considering during spring break time. We didn't pay for it, and none of our waits were prohibitive. Oh, definitely don't ride the Hulk roller coater with 7 inversions more than 5 times in a row. It's called Hulk, because it does turn you green.... We did a multiday pass, spending one day at the main Universal park, another at Islands of Adventure. That was enough to see most everything. Also caught a concert at Universal in the evening. Another tip, we bought one "unlimited soda" cup for the group. It's like a half gallon container with infinite refills.

Gatorland was decent. The kids loved the indoor bird rookery, where they ended up covered in songbirds eating from their hands. Definitely a great memory for that trip. I'd recommend it.

We also did a daytrip to Cocoa Beach + Ron Jon surf shop./museum. I was there in the 80s before it became hugely popular, so it was fun to go back. The beach was the highlight (very shelly, not fine sand), but Ron Jon was a big draw for the kids. They were scouting what to buy during the car ride. You can also extend to include Cape Canaveral, but the boys were good with just a day at the beach. Edit per plytrgyst comment: We just missed being there during a Falcon launch, else we would have definitely gone to the Cape to experience that.

 

[rowlin]

Off the Florida Keys, there’s a place called Kokomo.

 

[Trihonda]

Orlando is slightly closer to the Atlantic than the Pacific

Lol. Geography FAIL. Wow, I need to lay down and check my temp. Obv im coming down with something. Lol.

 

[pltrgyst]

....Staying in Orlando seems like we are closer to the Pacific. So are there must-see destinations nearby, or towards the pacific that we should consider?

Sorry, I’m not expert on family entertainment.

But I don’t think the distance to the Pacific matters too much for your vacation... :

And I expect the “golf coast” would be the east coast, what with Ponta Vedra and all. The Gulf coast is more tennis-oriented.

Thanks for the mid-week smiles!

 

[pltrgyst]

....We also did a daytrip to Cocoa Beach + Ron Jon surf shop./museum. I was there in the 80s before it became hugely popular, so it was fun to go back. The beach was the highlight (very shelly, not fine sand), but Ron Jon was a big draw for the kids. They were scouting what to buy. You can also extend to include Cape Canaveral, but the boys were good with just a day at the beach.

If you can time your trip to coincide with a Kennedy/Canaveral launch, that could be a spectacular experience for the kids.

Before this cruise, we stayed in the Four Points (Sheraton) hotel which houses the Ron Jon shop. It was pretty decent.