Ohh Orlando - you did not disappoint
Over Easter Break we made our way to Florida to visit our daughter. She moved there a couple of years ago with her partner, and has really fallen in love with the state. She described it as a place as green as Seattle (where she grew up) with abundant water everywhere, but with sunshine and warmth instead of cold and darkness. A perfect combination really.
They were eager to share some of their best discoveries with us for this trip, and we were happy to sit back and let them be our tour guides. And let’s just say right now – Florida (and our savvy tour guides) you did not disappoint.
This Disney loving family had made many trips to Florida over the years, but mostly those were centered on Disney World and not much else.
With the exception of one trip, a few years back to the Gulf Coast, our taste of Florida had only included Mickey ears and Space Mountain.
This time around we decided to break out of the box, and explore the area around Orlando. There was SO much to explore that we just barely scratched the surface, so we have already started mapping out another trip in November. Stay tuned for that later this year.
But for now, here is a run-down of our incredible, jam-packed, 7-day itinerary in the Sunshine State. (Oh and still plan to pack those Mickey ears - even on this short trip we managed to squeeze in a day at Disney – of course!)
Having flown from Seattle to Florida over the years we were pleasantly surprised at how easy and quick it was to get to Florida from Palm Springs. Maybe, because these days, we often compare our U.S. flights to an overseas flight, and that can make anything under ten hours seem easy and fast! But this really was simple and quick. Two manageable flights with a short layover in Denver, and then we were walking off the plane in Orlando, and catching the train to the terminal to pick up our luggage.
We decided to stay at the All Star Music Resort at Disney World to make our Disney visit day as smooth as possible and, it turned out to be a great hotel despite the fact that we only went to Disney one day out of the seven.
It was close to our daughter’s apartment, about the same price as other hotels in the region, and easy access to many of the other things we wanted to see and do. There was food on site, and a lovely little outdoor bar where we could sit in the evening and relax, watching the swarms of tired Disney folks return from the parks.
And you really can’t beat Disney’s customer service.
(Quick side note: Orlando traffic is monumentally bad, so make sure you pick a place that is close to all you want to see and do or you will waste all your precious vacation time sitting in traffic. And also, be ready to use the toll roads, it saved us quite a few times while we were there. It will be worth the investment – trust me).
On our first night, we grabbed a quick bite to eat, and then finished off with ice cream from a cute little chain that shapes all of their stores like ice cream cones. It is all outside seating, but on a lovely spring night it was the perfect nightcap to our travel day.
The next day we plunged full bore into Disney World – hitting three parks in one day (not recommended for most folks, but we are well seasoned Disney peeps - don’t try this if it is your first visit to Disney World).
We decided to pass on Hollywood Studios, and focus our morning attention on Animal Kingdom so we could check out the new Pandora -The World of Avatar Land, and ride our most favorite roller coaster of all time, Expedition Everest (which we rode twice), then head to Epcot and end our day in Magic Kingdom.
After our morning in Animal Kingdom, we caught the bus over to one of the hotels close to Epcot and entered Epcot through the back entrance (The International Gateway). They are doing major construction here, and adding an air tram, which will make this lovely and quiet entrance much busier – so if you love sneaking into Epcot this way to avoid the crowds like we do) beware, big changes are on the horizon.
We wandered through Epcot’s World Showcase and enjoyed the flowers on display for the Flower and Garden Festival, stopped for an early dinner, and then road the monorail over to Magic Kingdom.
I love Magic Kingdom at night, and we had decided to book Fast Passes for rides there in the evening. We enjoyed some of our favorites, including Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, and Aladdin, before watching the fireworks display. By this time, we were wiped out, and hungry again, so we stopped for a quick hot dog, then headed back to our hotel for a much needed night of sleep.
The next day we had hoped to go pick peaches and blueberries, but Mother Nature had other plans and brought in a thunderstorm that dumped rain and wind all day long. We were still tired from our busy Disney day, so it kind of worked out for the best. We started out with an amazing breakfast, at Holler and Dash (located in the kind of strange, planned community of Celebration), where we chowed down on some of the best biscuits I have ever eaten.
After a wonderful breakfast, we stopped and picked up some board games, and then headed to the neighborhood of Winter Garden to enjoy the Crooked Can Brewery which is located in the Plant Street Market.
The market is located in the historic downtown area, and is full of food vendors, as well as the brewery. It was such a fun place to wander through, pick out what we wanted to eat and then enjoy a beer from the brewery. We sat there for many hours, playing Uno, and watching the rain fall outside. It was the perfect way to spend a day recovering from our full-blown day of touring at Disney.
The next day we were back at it again. This time leaving early to drive to De Leon Spring State Park for breakfast at the Sugar Mill Restaurant, located within the park.
Florida is covered by these amazing natural springs, about 1000 or so, much more than any other state. We planned to visit two that day, De Leon Spring and Blue Spring. First up was De Leon Springs, located about an hour’s drive from where we were staying southwest of Orlando.
The area around the springs has worn many hats over the years, originally home to the native peoples, then it became a sugar-producing slave plantation, later turning into a resort destination in the early 1900s, and then a roadside attraction with a water skiing elephant in the 1950s. Now it is a recreational space, open to the public for a fee, where you can swim in the large spring-fed pool, hike, rent a canoe, take a boat ride, or cook your own pancakes at the Sugar Mill Restaurant.
The restaurant gets very crowded so plan to arrive early and walk around while you wait for your name to be called. There is an interpretive center that gives a little bit of the history of the place, and sometimes vendors are set up outside selling all sorts of goods. We were fortunate to meet Monna and Carmen, a couple of friends who can just about anything you can imagine (yes, even venison), and make their own honey. We brought homemade wildflower honey that I am eager to try out. We also got to watch a Manatee floating around in the spring fed lake.
Breakfast was such fun. The servers bring large pitchers of pancake batter to your table and a bowl of eggs, and you cook it all yourself on a little hot plate in the center of the table. I am not sure I have ever had so much fun paying to cook my own breakfast. It is truly a can’t miss experience. Why hasn’t anyone else ever thought of this elsewhere? It reminded me of a Japanese Hibachi restaurant where you create all the magic and entertainment yourself.
We had planned a vigorous canoe trip after breakfast, so we stuffed ourselves with pancakes thinking we would need the carbs for all that paddling, only to find that Mother Nature once again had other plans for the day. While we were busy cooking our pancakes, the weather turned from sunny and warm, to windy and cold, and the canoe rental booth had shut down. We were pretty disappointed, but decided to head down the road to Blue Springs State Park, and see if the weather could improve while we drove in the car.
Blue Spring State Park is about 30 minutes back down the road toward Orlando, and it is probably up there on the top ten beauty spots I have ever visited. There is an elevated walkway that runs along the Blue Spring Run which flows out into the St. John’s River.
The water is crystal clear and full of fish (it was extremely cool to see the pointy-nosed Gars swim by) and in winter, hundreds of Manatees. In fact, Blue Springs is a great conservation success story, raising the number of wintering Manatees from an all-time low of 14 wintering Manatees in 1970 to a record 485 in 2018.
We were there in spring, so there were no Manatees hanging out, but that was a bonus as it allowed people to float down the 72-degree water in inner tubes (which would be a big no-no in Manatee season).
It was still pretty chilly, but we decided it was just one of those experiences you can’t miss out on. We changed into bathing suits, rented our inner tubes and plopped into the water.
It was a bit of a workout to get upstream to the spot where the spring starts but well worth the visit. From the surface, you can float over the top of the spring and see down in the clear water to the opening 80 feet or more below. The idea sort of freaked me, out so I held onto all the inner tubes while everyone else took turns swimming up to look down.
Afterward we climbed back into our tubes, and floated down the run, watching the fish in the water and looking up into the sky through the branches draped in Spanish Moss. It was a wonderful combination of relaxation, beauty and joy, as the families splashed and played around us. I would go back and do it again and again if we lived there.
The next day was Easter, and that meant that just about everything was closed, and therefore a perfect day for the beach. We started out early again, and headed to one of my daughters’ new favorite places, The Cape Canaveral National Seashore located on the Atlantic Coast, about an hour east of Orlando.
We stopped first at the Visitors Center and enjoyed a nature walk along the raised boardwalk, learning about the native Cabbage Palms, Saw Palmettos and admiring the massive Live Oaks. We were on the hunt for alligators, as the girls had spotted many the last time they visited. But it seemed they were all hiding away from the sunshine for the day, so we jumped back in the car and drove to the beach.
Cape Canaveral National Seashore is actually a barrier island in the Atlantic Ocean and is just south of the actual launch pads for Cape Canaveral. With 24 miles of continuous, undeveloped beach to walk on and enjoy, it is a real treasure. The beach is dusted with bits and pieces of shells, beautiful white sand, and an overall lovely place to spend an Easter Sunday.
We had packed a picnic lunch, brought a boogie board for the waves, and just played and sunned all day long, capping it off with a long walk down the beach. As we packed up to head out, a large formation of Pelicans flew directly overhead and marked the day’s end with their beauty. As a final treat, we drove further into the park to view the Mosquito Lagoon (I know not a really desirable name for a place) in search of Horseshoe Crabs.
On the girl’s last visit they had seen Manatees and horseshoe crabs all over the lagoon. We were not fortunate enough to find any Horseshoe crabs this time around, but as we walked around the mangroves edging the lagoon, we caught sight of two Manatees floating next to the boat launch.
We walked over, and as we stood there watching, a dolphin surfaced and began hunting in the small harbor area. We stood mesmerized, as it surfaced and circled, blowing air up in bursts as the sun began to set. It was a perfect day, and one that I will remember for many years to come.
We polished the day off with a seafood feast at the iconic Dixie Crossroads Seafood Restaurant, where I wouldn’t say the food was exactly great, but it was certainly fun. And you would be hard pressed to find a fancier women’s restroom than the one we encountered there.
Monday found us traveling to Universal Studios.
In all the years of visiting Disneyworld, we have never made it to Universal so we decided it was a must do this time around. Especially since it now has Harry Potter World! I have to say it was well worth the ticket price when I stepped into Diagon Alley and felt liked I had just entered one of my all-time, favorite book series.
The ride on the Hogwarts Express to Hogsmeade was just the topper, and later in the day we capped it all off with a drink in the Leaky Cauldron.
With so much to see in the two Harry Potter lands, we were still lucky to explore other areas of the park, and discovered two water rides that might have become my all-time favorite water rides around, Popeye and Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges, and Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls. We laughed so hard on both rides that we had tears coming out of our eyes. But beware – you will get wet on both of them – really, really, really, really wet, so be prepared. Wear quick drying clothes, and sandals without socks, or you will be walking around in soggy shoes for the day. And in muggy Florida, things don’t always dry quickly.
Tuesday morning meant that everyone had to go back to work, so Jason and I were on our own for the morning. We had not stopped thinking about those biscuits at Holler and Dash, and decided that we both needed one more fix before we had to head home.
We each ordered an extra biscuit, just because they are so darn good, and topped it off with a refreshing Aqua Fresca. We then headed into downtown Orlando to visit the Orlando Science Center , where my daughter and her partner both work. We had fun exploring the exhibits and playing with the hands-on displays.
The high point for me was probably the living coral aquarium, where you can sit on stools and just watch the coral breathing. It was breathtaking, and really brought home the lesson that coral is a living and breathing organism.
My daughter was able to join us for lunch, and took us to a local restaurant around the corner called Pig Floyds Urban Barbokoa.
We sat on their lovely patio, and enjoyed the beautiful, and moving, Diversity Mural installed on the next-door building.
After googling about it on my phone, I was excited to discover that Orlando is full of amazing murals. Something we will have to make a point of checking out next time we come to town. And, if you are hungry, Pig Floyds will not disappoint.
After lunch we drove with our daughter to an offsite meeting she had in St. Cloud. While she worked, we took the car and drove down to East Lake Tohopekaliga, where we found an amazing lakefront park on the south side of the lake.
We walked down some of the boardwalks and marveled at the clouds reflecting back in the smooth water.
The area is home to hundreds of birds, and large groupings of turtles that would scurry into the water when we got close by.
Finally, on our way to the car, we were rewarded with an up-close alligator sighting.
Fortunately, it was just a juvenile, and we were able to admire from a safe distance before heading back to pick up our daughter from her meeting. We topped off our last day with a wonderful meal at one of our favorite Disney restaurants, Sanaa, located at The Animal Kingdom Villas, where you get a great view with your dinner.
On the way back to the hotel, the girls serenaded us with an acapella version of the Pocahontas classic, “Colors of the Wind”. It was a sweet, and perfect topper to our wonderful, jammed-packed, Florida trip. There was no going back – we were smitten.
As we flew out the next day, we both agreed that we would be back. Florida has a unique and special beauty all its own. I think our daughter described it best when she said is as if the land is ancient and mysterious.
All those Live Oaks and Spanish Moss, water every which way you look, birds that look like they just flew off the pages of an Audubon guidebook, and a funky urban core as cool as some of the better-known cities in the U.S.
It is well worth a visit - or two, or three, or four, if you have the time. So, go ahead and enjoy those wonderful theme parks, which have so much to offer, but then be sure to branch out and do some more discovery while you are there. You will not be disappointed.