More Than Just Disney, Florida's Activity Center

I doubt that there are many people that aren't aware of all that there is to do in Orlando and in the central Florida area. It is just one of those places that is bursting with tourism and is constantly growing and offering new options and things to see and do. I spent a few years of my childhood growing up in the near by town of Melbourne, which is now almost unrecognizable from what it was 15 years ago. Such is the way with Florida, and when I came back to visit and show friends from the UK around, I was rediscovering it myself as an adult and all that is has to offer.
To my surprise, some of the things that had been looked forward to, really didn't live up to the hype at all, where as other places were discovered that have remained some of my favourite spots in the world to this day.
The great thing about Orlando is, and I realize what a cliché this is, that there really is something for everyone. It does have the reputation for being a family oriented place, but the options don't stop there. I loved trips into Orlando as a kid, and what was offered to make a great family day out then luckily has only improved. But coming back in my 20s I was pleased to find there was just as much to enjoy, and a way to explore it in a completely new light.  If you are someone who has fond memories of Disney World and Florida theme parks as a kid, it might be worth a trip down to the sunshine state as an adult to see what else it has to offer.
Or if you are returning with family, there is just as much now to offer, it not more.  Aside from the theme parks which is so well known for, Orlando has a great selection of restaurants, cafes, nightlife, hotels (Both good and bad which I will elaborate on to save you a night such as I spent on arriving back in Florida) as well as beaches and the still surviving outdoors that are just outside of Orlando in the central Florida region.  Plus what is quite possibly the best seafood in the world.

Quick Tips:

If you've never been to Florida at all, then the combination of big tourism dollars and old fashioned Southern hospitality make for an interesting place. Florida, with its lush Everglades, Atlantic and Gulf Coast beaches and small and large towns makes for a wonderfully rich environment. It is true that in the last 20 years it has grown into more of a tourism industry and the people retiring to Florida ever year have changed the colour of the place somewhat... but the small town hospitality and charm can still be found... north of Miami that is.
Spanish is rapidly becoming one of the largest spoken languages in Florida, so knowing a few Spanish words wouldn't hurt, though as long as you are in the Orlando area, and not directly in down town Miami then English should certainly suffice in your trip.
The heat is intense and getting more so every year, so as with every hot and tropical place be aware of how intense the sun is. I would highly recommend March, April or May as good times to visit the area. It is still going to be very hot (mid 30's C) but not as uncomfortable and muggy as it will be later in the summer.
The shark problem in Florida beaches isn't what it is in places like Australia; but still be ware that there are very often shark sightings and close to the beach. They do keep a close watch on such things, though, and so just pay attention to any warning signs or to the life guard.
There are great hotels on the beaches for non astronomical prices; though the prices do get better the farther away you are from Orlando. In Melbourne, for instance the beaches are lined with hotels with ocean view rooms.
I would also highly suggest that while visiting Orlando you drive out of the city and visit some of the smaller communities in the area. The old school southern feel of Florida can still be found, and not far off the beaten path, either. Just a few minutes out in Kissimmee, the pace of everything slows and you get a better glimpse of what Florida is really like.
Orlando is kind of known for its themed restaurants and bars, so make a point of checking some of these out. One thing the tourist industry knows well is food, and Florida does it well.

Best Way To Get Around:

Your only real option here is a car. Unless you plan to fly directly into Orlando and stay there then there are virtually no other options. You can get shuttles from the airport to hotels for reasonable fair, and there are taxis, though I would stay far away from them if at all possible, and if you want any cash left over to do sight seeing. I would highly, highly recommend renting a car while staying in Florida. With one you can have a very easy and enjoyable trip and see a lot that Florida has to offer. With out one it's going to be extremely tricky and frustrating (and expensive) to get around.
There is always the Greyhound bus option if you need to city hop... but I would recommend you try walking in the Florida heat before giving in to that option.
Walking around some of the central areas is fine, but as I said you will certainly need a car to get there.

I don't usually feel the need to review hotels that aren't good, unless they are so bad that I want to help others avoid making the same mistake that unknowing travellers touching down in a new city are likely to make, (such as myself.) Or if they are comical that they are so bad, and in this case, the Days Inn Orlando fits both categories.
I have stayed in worse places in my life... or at least, I'm sure that I must have, but I'm fairly certain I didn't pay for the privilege.

When my friends and I landed down in Orlando in the midst of a cross country trip, we realized that the reservations we had made for the night had gone awry and we had to quickly make new plans for the night. We spent some time in the Glorious Orlando airport eating our meal and looking for a new hotel, and (as always) because we were on such a very tight budget this wasn't exactly easy. But to our great relief we found a reasonable room for the night in a good location that, even better, had shuttle service from the airport. If you are a budget traveller coming into Orlando, you may well get enticed by just such an offer, but let me warn you - unless you are truly prepared to enjoy a night of a very unpleasant room or at least a good laugh at just how bad it is, then don't bother.

It is cheap; I will say that for it. And getting there from the airport is easy. And the further bonuses are that there is an International House of Pancakes next door to revive you from what will certainly be a bad night's sleep. And the location in the area is pretty good. But the hotel itself is laughable. When we arrived I thought I was at some horrible little out of date hotel from the 70's in a little town with no other choices. I really did not expect this from Orlando. With absolutely no frills... (and keep in mind, I expect very little from a hotel. Clean beds and a shower and TV that works are about my standards) this place was filthy and miserable. The smell of mould was so bad that we had to call the head office that sent a guy in half an hour later with a bottle of bleach. He even asked my friend if he wanted to 'have a go' at spraying the room. The shower worked, but only barely and the hot water was gone before we both were showered. It was old, dirty, it stank, and the TV only worked half of the time.

Even the pool couldn't be used. The only good thing I could say about the entire place was that we could use the Howard Johnson Pool next door, which was really nice and by far the best bit of staying there. Unless you have no other choice, avoid it.

Probably the most unexpected surprise in my most recent trip to the Sunshine State was wandering up the Universal Studios Citywalk after an entire day of standing in hot lines to wait for crowded rides and seeing the welcoming sign of Margaritaville.

A lot of themed restaurants were recommended to me when I returned to Florida as an adult, not least of all Hog's Breath Saloon and others. But no one had mentioned Jimmy Buffet's to me, which was obviously a serious over sight.

My friend and I, when we could stand the kids and the lines and the heat of Universal Studios no longer went for a walk looking for a place to eat. There is no lack of selection in this great little spot outside of Universal, but finding a place where you can even sit down without a decent bank roll is a bit trickier. And after our day spending much more than we really should have getting into one of the biggest tourist attractions in the state we were running a little short on cash. Not to mention that we looked a bit like we'd been through some ordeal, sweating and near death with heat stroke and far from looking our best, all we wanted in the world was a relaxing place we could sit, have a drink and maybe get some bar nuts to tide us over till we headed to dinner in Kissimmee.

Luckily for us, though, we found something much better, and even if you aren't in such a dire situation whilst in Orlando, I still highly recommend you pop into this great little restaurant. It's situated in a very convenient place; just a few minutes walk from Universal studios and right around the corner from Hard Rock and NASCAR Cafe. However, it's much more relaxed place. We made our way in, ecstatic feeling the cool fans blowing on us from above and the relaxing tunes of Jimmy Buffet playing over the sound system. We knew instantly we'd made the right choice. We ordered drinks and to our great joy and surprise we noticed that there were things on the menu to accommodate our very skimpy budget. We ordered some nachos and shared them, and we were even more pleasantly surprised when they arrived and we realized there was more than enough for the both of us! Their serving sizes are very impressive, and the food and drinks were both wonderful.

You can't very well go to Margaritaville and not have a margarita, and so we spent the hottest part of the afternoon sipping the salty drink and lazily eating nachos at the bar and for the first time since we landed down really felt we were enjoying what Florida was all about. The have a great menu, so even if you want more than an afternoon snack, Jimmy Buffet's is well, well worth a stop in.

In as much as I hate to give anything a bad review, I must start this one out by saying that this is quite possibly the most over-rated tourist attraction I've ever been to. Being one of the things that Orlando, and in fact Florida is well known for and one of the things that brings in so many visitors from places far away, it has the potential to be extremely disappointing. But also, as with most things, it does have its positive parts. I'll try to lay them both out in this review, so that any considering visiting this well known and generally well liked theme park will have some idea if it will meet their expectations.

The first thing I will say, is that if you have kids, in particular kids in that awkward age that are too old for Disney but who still want a bit of childhood fun theme park entertainment, this could well be a good thing. Growing up right outside of Orlando I spent most of my preteen years wishing desperately to get to Universal Studios and sadly never made it. As an adult, with friends visiting from abroad also wanting to see what all the hype was about, we excitedly made our way to Orlando for a trip around some of the best known theme parks. For an adult, this is a very disappointing experience, especially if you had been wanting to go when you’re a kid.

I highly recommend if you, or the people you are travelling with are over 17, go to Islands of Adventure next door instead which has a lot more adult entertainment and actual roller coasters which I wasn't aware that Universal completely lacks. But despite your age, I have to say I found this theme park over all disappointing. It was very dated and more than a few of the 'seams' were showing.

All in all it was very expensive (tickets for the day at $50 each not including any parking or extras) and consisted mostly of a lot of walking around in very hot, very busy lines for short, childish things that I can hardly even call 'rides.' There were some very good bits, like seeing the Back to the Future De Lorian, or the Jurassic Park jeeps...movie memorabilia to photograph yourself in front of. But the 'rides' on a whole were bad. Many involved just standing in a room watching a screen that made you 'feel' as if you were in a bit of a film. Not impressive if your not 10.

The Jaws ride was the highlight of the day, and was enjoyable, but the well known King Kong ride was old, dirty and actually kind of shabby (and after standing in line for over an hour). Again, had I been 8-13 I may have found it fantastic, but as a 22 year old I and my friends wandered out half way through the day and had nachos at Margaritaville.

As far back as I can remember into childhood, Disney World was The place to get to. The first time I ever visited I was 7 years old, and it is something that stayed with me to this day... it really is a magical experience and everything I had hoped it would be.

Someone once described Las Vegas to me as 'Disney World for adults'. And that is very true in that is in a place as wonderful and as far away from real life as you could possibly hope it to be. The only problem I have with the comparison is that Disney World, in many surprising ways, is also Disney World for adults. This is a theme park that changes and updates and grows and improves constantly... so even if you took your family 5 years ago there are almost certainly more and newer things to see now.

If you went as a child and are thinking of sharing the experience with your own family, you won't be disappointed. Even as an adult this is a place that is so incredible that it can really be enjoyed by everyone.

It's also rather vast though, and depending on the length of your stay and how much time you want to spend at the Disney theme parks, it can take a fair amount of planning (both financially and for scheduling). It's worth it though, and if you check out their official website it is very useful and well laid out. A great tool in planning the trip. If you, like me, are returning to a modern Disney with the fond childhood memories, 'Oh! Space Mountain was wicked! I wonder if they still have the Haunted Mansion?' The answer is yes... many of the rides and attractions we all experienced with such nostalgic wonder are still there, though some have been improved upon, along with a whole host of new generation rides, sure to be appreciated by the younger crowd.

I can't really say enough about what all the Disney theme parks have to offer. Big, thriller rides for older kids and adults, small child rides well done and beautifully themed. Shows, restaurants, luxury accommodation, studios... there are very few interests it doesn't cater to in some way or another. It's not a cheap experience, but at least in this you do get what you pay for.

As with almost any theme park, the earlier you get there the better. Walt Disney World is notorious for its incredible long lines, and remembers you will be standing in them in Florida. Go in the off season if at all possible, but if not prepare yourself for the bustle and the lines and enjoy what theme parks are all about!

This really isn't something you should attempt on a budget (and as you know I rarely give advice on non-budget trips) but it has so much to offer, it would be a shame to lessen it by constant financial worry.