Good beaches close to WDW

JiminyandTink

JiminyandTink

Well-Known Member
I was just wondering how many of you venture off property to visit any beaches close to the Orlando area during your visits to the World.

If so, do you have any recomendations?

Thanks!
 
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RedDad

RedDad

Smitty Werben JagerManJensen
I think Cocoa Beach is probably the closest to Orlando, but still about an hour away. Daytona Beach is further north, but still only about an hour drive as it's a straight shot up I-4. My family used to vacation near Daytona every year when I was kid, and it has some nice beaches, but can be crowded at times. The areas to the north (Ormond) and south (Smyrna) are less crowded (or used to be - I haven't been there in years). We vacation in Fernandina these days, which is up near the GA line.

We're actually planning to drive up to spend a couple of days in Daytona after our trip to wdw next month, as my parents will be vacationing there. They're also going to drive down to wdw one night during our trip to watch the kids for us!
 
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Z

Zman-ks

Well-Known Member
MouseDreaming said:
Ice, ice baby!
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lmao :p
 
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luv

luv

Well-Known Member
Blizzard Beach. ;) I've never actually driven to the beach to spend the day. My sister wants to do this...so I will, eventually. I have a friend who has done all the beaches and swears that east coast is better, for whatever that is worth.
 
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sweetpee_1993

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
draybook said:
We always go to Cocoa beach. Not only is it not crowded, but you get to travel on the famous A1A (beachfront avenue)! Hopefully somebody gets that reference.
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With the ragtop down so your hair can blow??? Because it totally doesn't count unless you do. LOL! J/K! I do love the Vanilla Ice Project show. Very cool. Okay, thread drift done.


I grew up in Central Florida. As teens we went to Cocoa (don't know if they still do it but every Easter weekend they used to have an Easter surf festival there), New Smyrna, or for the best waves/surf we'd venture all the way down to Sebastian Inlet.
 
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Runmyhorse

Runmyhorse

Well-Known Member
sweetpee_1993 said:
With the ragtop down so your hair can blow??? Because it totally doesn't count unless you do. LOL! J/K! I do love the Vanilla Ice Project show. Very cool. Okay, thread drift done.


I grew up in Central Florida. As teens we went to Cocoa (don't know if they still do it but every Easter weekend they used to have an Easter surf festival there), New Smyrna, or for the best waves/surf we'd venture all the way down to Sebastian Inlet.
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I would so love to watch a surf festival. Learning to surf is on my bucketlist. =)
 
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sweetpee_1993

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
Runmyhorse said:
I would so love to watch a surf festival. Learning to surf is on my bucketlist. =)
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My first real round of sun poisoning was from 9 hrs on the beach with my olive-skinned girlfriends at the Dr.Pepper Easter Surf Festival. My natural skin color is paste white. So the next day I woke up, threw up, fainted, repeated that a lot. I was so badly blistered in terribke teeny-bikini places my mom brought burn cream from the ER she worked at and I spent 3 days naked in bed under a sheet with a fan. I was so sick. I was allowed up for vinegar soaks and more cream. It was bad. Very bad. So surf but block-up first. ;)
 
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Runmyhorse

Runmyhorse

Well-Known Member
sweetpee_1993 said:
My first real round of sun poisoning was from 9 hrs on the beach with my olive-skinned girlfriends at the Dr.Pepper Easter Surf Festival. My natural skin color is paste white. So the next day I woke up, threw up, fainted, repeated that a lot. I was so badly blistered in terribke teeny-bikini places my mom brought burn cream from the ER she worked at and I spent 3 days naked in bed under a sheet with a fan. I was so sick. I was allowed up for vinegar soaks and more cream. It was bad. Very bad. So surf but block-up first. ;)
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oh wow that does sound terrible. I've been sunburned before but never to that point. I have learned my lesson with that FL sun and make sure the kids and myself are coated in it. I still get alittle red, but I'll take a little red over blisters any day. The kids really just tan they take after their daddy.
 
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sweetpee_1993

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
Runmyhorse said:
oh wow that does sound terrible. I've been sunburned before but never to that point. I have learned my lesson with that FL sun and make sure the kids and myself are coated in it. I still get alittle red, but I'll take a little red over blisters any day. The kids really just tan they take after their daddy.
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Lucky kiddos! I always wished skin color came natural for me but it just doesn't.

They do surf lessons at Typhoon Lagoon! They look really cool!
 
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Runmyhorse

Runmyhorse

Well-Known Member
sweetpee_1993 said:
Lucky kiddos! I always wished skin color came natural for me but it just doesn't.

They do surf lessons at Typhoon Lagoon! They look really cool!
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do they really? I have actually never been there. I would love to go though. I might just have to talk to husband about that. =) We are going in sept. This will be our last time for awhile. We might be doing a cruise next yr instead.
 
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sweetpee_1993

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
Runmyhorse said:
do they really? I have actually never been there. I would love to go though. I might just have to talk to husband about that. =) We are going in sept. This will be our last time for awhile. We might be doing a cruise next yr instead.
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Typhoon Lagoon is really a beautiful park. For 10 trips we ignored the waterparks. Big mistake! The theming is incredibly immersive. Really cool details all over. It's like a lighter cover of the theming that will knock your socks off at Disney's private island. It's definitely worth the price of admission to me and a great use of precious Disney time for Disney fans. We'll be there a week from Friday (pre-cruise). Can't wait! The surf lessons are done before the water park opens so I imagine it'd be extra magical to do!
 
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SAV

SAV

Well-Known Member
We always head to the Gulf side. Beautiful White Sand beaches. About 1.5 hours-ish away from Orlando. Started at Clearwater Beach, then St. Pete Beach and now Madiera Beach. Each has its own qualities to it. Clearwater Beach is your typical commercial beach town. The strip, the shops, the events, etc. An awesome Pier 61 craft fair each night type of thing. Crowded during the on-peak times. The hotels are nothing to get excited about and a bit overpriced in my opinion. St. Pete Beach is less touristy with no real strip of shops, etc to speak of. Some very nice hotels/resorts there. We had to drive anywhere we wanted to go. Now we stay in Madiera Beach. It's between both of them.

But each time we do always make the trip north to Clearwater Beach to eat at Palm Pavilion and spend an afternoon/evening in CB.
 
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