Things to do outside the parks in Orlando?

[Charlie The Chatbox Ghost]

I'm planning a trip for my brother, two friends and I for June 4th-9th. The only park days are the 7th (DHS) and the 8th (MK), and we have the 4th and 5th essentially entirely free with no concrete plans. I've suggested Trader Sam's, Disney Springs, Universal City Walk, and riding the monorail through Epcot as some things we could do. I'm not too knowledgeable on the general Orlando area, so any suggestions on things that first-timers would enjoy would be appreciated! I'm also open to resort suggestions too- we aren't staying on property, but I know many resorts are open to the public for restaurants and other such things.

 

[CSJORDAN]

Last December, my son and I flew into MCO late on a Friday night, stayed off-site. Got up the next morning, and Ubered to Wilderness Lodge to have lunch at Geyser Point. We took the boat over to Contemporary and looked at Christmas decor and had a drink at the resort. Took the monorail around the MK resorts, and snacked/drank. We walked over to MK from Grand Floridian and took a bus to Boardwalk and visited the resorts around the Boardwalk. We took the bus to DS and had dinner at Jaleo and then Ubered back to the resort. We flew home the next morning. It was so much fun taking in the drinks/snacks and food/ambience of Disney. It was a great way for us to get in the Christmas spirit! We are doing a similar trip same weekend this coming December, but adding a day at Epic! There is so much to do at the resort. With it being Summer, you could do the pool at your hotel, followed by dinner and shopping at DS. You could incorporate a water park (Disney or Uni's). Do some mini-golf. Trader Sam's would be fun as part of a monorail crawl. I've always wanted to visit the Disney outlet, but have yet to make it there. Have a great trip!

 

[Charlie The Chatbox Ghost]

Last December, my son and I flew into MCO late on a Friday night, stayed off-site. Got up the next morning, and Ubered to Wilderness Lodge to have lunch at Geyser Point. We took the boat over to Contemporary and looked at Christmas decor and had a drink at the resort. Took the monorail around the MK resorts, and snacked/drank. We walked over to MK from Grand Floridian and took a bus to Boardwalk and visited the resorts around the Boardwalk. We took the bus to DS and had dinner at Jaleo and then Ubered back to the resort. We flew home the next morning. It was so much fun taking in the drinks/snacks and food/ambience of Disney. It was a great way for us to get in the Christmas spirit! We are doing a similar trip same weekend this coming December, but adding a day at Epic! There is so much to do at the resort. With it being Summer, you could do the pool at your hotel, followed by dinner and shopping at DS. You could incorporate a water park (Disney or Uni's). Do some mini-golf. Trader Sam's would be fun as part of a monorail crawl. I've always wanted to visit the Disney outlet, but have yet to make it there. Have a great trip!

Thanks for the suggestions! Mini golf sounds like it would fit perfectly in the schedule somewhere.

 

[JIMINYCR]

You can go online to visit orlando.com and get a comprehensive guide that lists all the things available in the Orlando area . We typically go to WDW for 2 weeks at a time and always plan something as an evening out in the Orlando area to add to our trip. We’ve been to many great dinner shows and interesting things to do aside from the Disney or Uni parks. Most things aren’t much of a distance away and using a ride service like Uber is affordable.

 

[Eric Graham]

If you have the budget, Discovery Cove is a whole lot of fun. The experience of swimming with the dolphins in the park is awfully fun also. It is oh so much fun if you like to swim, and encounter birds etc while you swim. Unless it's changed, you can eat and drink (alcohol) all day. Sea World is fun too with their animals, and they have many roller coasters there in the park. We did the penguin encounter, and that was awfullly fun for us too. And, of course, Universal.. The Titanic exhibit can be fun to do also. The replica of the clock in the exhibit is really awesome. There is also an all you can eat lobster buffet, Boston Lobster Feast. Whatever you do, don't do like us one year when it was raining and go to the Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum. What a complete rip off that was. My wife said to never speak of it again. Oh well!

 

[Charlie The Chatbox Ghost]

You can go online to visit orlando.com and get a comprehensive guide that lists all the things available in the Orlando area . We typically go to WDW for 2 weeks at a time and always plan something as an evening out in the Orlando area to add to our trip. We’ve been to many great dinner shows and interesting things to do aside from the Disney or Uni parks. Most things aren’t much of a distance away and using a ride service like Uber is affordable.

I’ll take a look! I was also deciding between rental car and an Uber but I feel like Uber is probably the way to go, at least for convenience. Mathing it out it’d likely only be a little more than the car too lol

If you have the budget, Discovery Cove is a whole lot of fun. The experience of swimming with the dolphins in the park is awfully fun also. It is oh so much fun if you like to swim, and encounter birds etc while you swim. Unless it's changed, you can eat and drink (alcohol) all day. Sea World is fun too with their animals, and they have many roller coasters there in the park. We did the penguin encounter, and that was awfullly fun for us too. And, of course, Universal.. The Titanic exhibit can be fun to do also. The replica of the clock in the exhibit is really awesome. There is also an all you can eat lobster buffet, Boston Lobster Feast. Whatever you do, don't do like us one year when it was raining and go to the Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum. What a complete rip off that was. My wife said to never speak of it again. Oh well!

I’ve actually been to Discovery Cove as a kid, it was great! Though I should’ve mentioned, other parks are off the table. We don’t have any fully free days that aren’t being used for the two Disney parks we’re doing, and our friends have a very tight budget, two days at the park is a lot of money to them.

 

[Eric Graham]

Here's a list of less inexpensive things to do while in Orlando from Trip Advisor. One really amazing and fun things that I neglected to mention was Kennedy Space Center. Just a short drive from Orlando. When I went not to long ago, doesn't happen very much at all but they took us very close to the launch pad on a tour when a Space-X was about to disembark the next day. So incredibly awesome! My wife thought it would be all cheesy but she was really amazed by the experience.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g34515-Activities-zft11309-Orlando_Florida.html

 

[Charlie The Chatbox Ghost]

Here's a list of less inexpensive things to do while in Orlando from Trip Advisor. One really amazing and fun things that I neglected to mention was Kennedy Space Center. Just a short drive from Orlando. When I went not to long ago, doesn't happen very much at all but they took us very close to the launch pad on a tour when a Space-X was about to disembark the next day. So incredibly awesome! My wife thought it would be all cheesy but she was really amazed by the experience.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g34515-Activities-zft11309-Orlando_Florida.html

Thanks for this link, I'll take a look! The Space Center sounds pretty neat.

 

[graphite1326]

A few years ago we had a non-Disney trip to Orlando. One afternoon, just for something to do, we decided to do something "Disney". We started at Disney Springs. Boarded a bus to Poynesian. Once arrived, after a drink at one of the bars, we got on the monorail to TTS. Switched to the EPCOT monorail. So technically the mono-rail goes inside EPCOT, so we got in without a ticket. We got off there and boarded a bus for POFQ. Once there we took the boat ride back to Disney Springs. Just something to do.

 

[Smiley/OCD]

Another vote for Kennedy Space Center…it’s actually about an hour away…we went twice. First time on our honeymoon in ‘93, space shuttle on the launch pad…(funny, it doesn’t seem that big on TV), and on our first trip with our daughters in ‘05… KSC is also a wildlife refuge, so on the bus ride tour we saw bald eagles and gators… loved it!! It’s up to you if you want to Uber it, but even if it’s just for that day, I’d rent a car…(I think you can rent a car at the AAA car care center on property). Have an AWESOME trip!!