Neat places in Orlando?

[StarCoveter]

FH and I are going to Orlando, FL for the honeymoon (we'll save up enough to travel out of the country, probably next summer), and here's where we're planning on going while there, so far:
-Universal Studios
-Busch Gardens
-Discovery Cove
-Blue Man Group - Maybe

But as far as neat, interesting, outdoorsy or beautiful places, we have no idea where to go... anyone got any ideas?

[WebLady]

There is Epcot in Orlando too; I believe there are some botanical gardens there too.

Here is a website I found real quick that might give you some ideas -
http://www.orlandotravelguide365.com

ETA - here is the botanical gargen place I had heard of - http://www.leugardens.org They have a butterfly garden too :D

There is golf too if you like that sort thing; great shopping and beaches of course; a museum ... and all sorts of guided tours.

[sweetvenus]

You should definitely see Blue Man Group.

I don't know what kind of stuff you are into, but some other neat places to go are Cirque du Soleil at Downtown Disney and International Drive (which is really close to Universal): home of one of the world's largest McDonald's (it's two floors), Ripley's Believe It or Not (although if you've been to one, you've pretty much seen it all), also Sleuths Mystery Dinner Theatre is close (I think the next road over), which I really enjoyed last time I was down there.

[Jacobs_Girl]

Dont forget Seaworld! I had to be my absolute favorite when I went to Disney few years ago. City walk was the clubbing type scene at night and thats all I saw there :D

[StarCoveter]

I think Busch Gardens and Universal are the only two theme parks we're going to. If it were up to me, we'd go to a different one every day, but FH hates the lines.

I will definitely check out the botanical gardens, I think that would be nice!

I think there's a Bob Marley tribute thing that goes on Thursday nights in the CityWalk, so we may check that out too. We really like Marley, and FH loves reggae.

What beach is the best down there?

[FLAteacher]

FH and I are going to Orlando, FL for the honeymoon (we'll save up enough to travel out of the country, probably next summer), and here's where we're planning on going while there, so far:
-Universal Studios
-Busch Gardens
-Discovery Cove
-Blue Man Group - Maybe

But as far as neat, interesting, outdoorsy or beautiful places, we have no idea where to go... anyone got any ideas?

Seaworld's Waterpark-Aquatica
Seaworld
Walt Disney Parks
Walt Disney Waterparks
I-Drive
Island of Adventure @ Universal Studios
Millenia Mall, Florida Mall
Fun Spot
The BIGGEST McDonald's on I-Drive
Wonderworks
Ripley's Believe it or Not
The Titanic Experience
SkyVenture (indoor sky diving)
Skull Kingdom on I-Drive
Old-Town

**I can continue if you would like?

[Brian's Bride]

I love Gatorland!!! We go there everytime we go to Orlando. We've been down three times now, and it's my favorite place in North America!! Orlando, that is. But Gatorland is fun, too!

[smileyone2002]

I am going to orlando also!! We went last summer to Universal Studios and I have been to Busch Gardens before too and I loved them both!!

I want to see the Blue Man group too...thanks for mentioning that!:bbmrgreen:

[neebelung]

We just got back from Orlando last night (we went for my Bday weekend with a group of friends).

Our recommendations are:

Texas de Brazil - AMAZING dinner. Plan on spending about $150-$200 for the two of you. Let them know it's your honeymoon when you make the reservation also (for our anniverasry last year, we got champagne and strawberries after dinner :D)

Epcot - I'd never really spent any time there before, but it's GORGEOUS.... walking around all the different countries is just beautiful, and then the fireworks show at closing time is breathtaking (I'll post up pics tonight). Also, if you're partyers, there's a game of "Drinking around the world" where you pick up a little passport in the gift shop, then you have a park employee in each "country" sign it/write a message and you get a beverage in each country. We didn't do this, but a couple of our friends did, and it was fun.

Hotels - this time we stayed at the Wyndham Spa and Resort on International Blvd. The property is beautiful... nice pool complex, bar/restaurant, etc.... and the beds were phenomenal. SOme of our friends stayed at the Buena Vista Palace, and RAVED about it. Our other friends stayed at The Dolphin; the hotel/property is in a great location, and is beautiful, but the room itself, for being twice as much as ours, wasn't any nicer. So it just depends where you want to spend your $$$.

Mall at Millenia - Ok, normally a mall wouldn't make my list of things to do, but we finally checked it out yesterday. OMG. Amazing. It was worth going for Macy's alone (we don't have those in Jacksonville).

[EarlyBird]

there are soo many places. fh and i go every couple weekends. we usually frequent disney but here are some of the others;

LOBSTER FEAST- this is an all you can eat lobster/seafood buffet. Its really quite good. we dont eat anything besides the lobster, crab, oysters and clams. however, they have things like a carving station, mac n cheese and the BEST lobster bisque. DONT go for the early bird. saves you about 5.00 a person but they dont cook as many lobsters and they wind up running out etc. This place is about 30.00 pperson but if your a lobster lover, its well worth it.

Kobe steakhouse- This is a cooking (hibachi) exp. table dinner. Its an AWESOME dinner! theres nothing else to say about it, the staff is friendly and the food is amazing. go to the one on 192 instead of the one on international.

Ripley's believe it or not- This is a rather large ripley's - i dont looove it, but fh does :) I like WONDERWORKS better-- its got interactive stuff and it has shows and it has different exhibits and its just soo much fun. fh and i went in and stayed for like 4-5 hours because we did EVERY little thing. :) fh even did the simulators of roller coasters like 6 times.
http://www.wonderworksonline.com/html/default.htm thats the website.
its only about 20.00 per person and if you pick up a coupon book i think its like 2-5.00 off a person. They also have a different thing then the last time we went. Lazertag,dinner show and all the exhibits and everything else.. only 30.00- the dinner show is a comedy - it seems well worth it to me for a whole day and night :)

Also, check out the outlets in lake buena vista. they are not always the CHEAPEST around but its alot of name brand stuff and if you search you can really find good stuff. Found a cache dress (gown) for like 23.00 once. FH bought alot of stuff in the nike outlet and i loove the gap outlet.
They also have a pretty good food court in there and a candy shop that has the most INCREDIBLE candy apples.. i recommend the butterfingger one :)

[EarlyBird]

You should ALSO think about going down to the disney hotels while there. I think the yatch club one has little boat rentals. We did the paddle boat rentals. it cost us like 10.00 for an hour and that was MORE then enough. The fun part was walking around the hotel and seeing the different themes etc. We also love the key west one.

I may also suggest going to the water parks. in july it will be a nice time and its about 28.00 or 32.00 a day :) I cant decide which i like better, blizzard or typoon. however, i think typoon has cooler stuff (swim with fish) and its also a little less crowded most days b/c blizzard beach has more children attractions.

[Oct18Bride]

Hello. :-) I actually live in the greater Orlando area so I can help out with this one! There is a really great tapas (sp?) restaurant on I-Drive in Orlando called Cafe Tu Tu Tango. It's fantastic and I would recommend it to anyone for a romantic yet super fun date night! If you google it you can find the website. It's so much fun with excellent food.

Also something really fun is to go to one of the natural spings here. You can go swimming in one of the natural springs like Wekiwa Springs or Blue Springs. Or you can alway go to one of the resorts and swim in the pools there. I like the more natural settings personally!

Then there's always the parks! I like Universal/Islands of Adventure the best. After a day at the park it's always fun to walk around City Walk (just outside of the park).

I have ONLY heard great things about the Blue Man Group.

Just a couple ideas. :-)

[StarCoveter]

Hello. :-) I actually live in the greater Orlando area so I can help out with this one! There is a really great tapas (sp?) restaurant on I-Drive in Orlando called Cafe Tu Tu Tango. It's fantastic and I would recommend it to anyone for a romantic yet super fun date night! If you google it you can find the website. It's so much fun with excellent food.

Also something really fun is to go to one of the natural spings here. You can go swimming in one of the natural springs like Wekiwa Springs or Blue Springs. Or you can alway go to one of the resorts and swim in the pools there. I like the more natural settings personally!



Thanks so much for these ideas! I'm so excited now! The natural springs sound exactly like what I was looking for... we wanted something outdoors, and that sounds perfect. I will definitely check it out! Thanks! :D