Visiting Orlando for the first time (Miami, Tampa: renting, hotels, school)

[deskjockey]

Newbie to florida. Family with a 7 and a 8 year old is planning to fly into Orlando from Cleveland for a week visit in January. Planning on renting a car. Looking for tips, recommendations and suggestions regarding things to do, things to avoid, where to live, airline tickets, one or two family beaches, weather, clothing, kid activities, nearby cities to visit, food (chinese, asian indian, thai, italian). What do you think about World Quest Orlando. How far is Miami, Tampa/St. Petersburg area from Orlando and would you recommend a visit to Miami or Tampa area? Thanks folks.

[brinkofsunshine]

Although we as locals can help you, you'd be much better off posting somewhere related to Orlando tourism. Try TripAdvisor and forums such as the DisBoards. I'd also suggest looking at this website: Visit Orlando

It'd be good to know your family's interests. As a newcomer to Florida, I would stick with the basics. Do the theme parks- Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando, and Sea World. If you devoted one day to each park that would be your entire vacation!

In terms of beaches, I prefer the west coast (about 2 hours from Orlando). St. Petersburg and Clearwater are great. On the east coast, Cocoa Beach and New Symrna Beach are popular. However, don't be fooled by Florida's reputation for hot weather... January is usually quite cold (50's). Not the best time to go swimming.

Miami is about 4 hours away... that might be overkill on a first trip to FL.. and I wouldn't think there'd be much for the kids there.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by brinkofsunshine

Although we as locals can help you, you'd be much better off posting somewhere related to Orlando tourism. Try TripAdvisor and forums such as the DisBoards. I'd also suggest looking at this website: Visit Orlando

It'd be good to know your family's interests. As a newcomer to Florida, I would stick with the basics. Do the theme parks- Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando, and Sea World. If you devoted one day to each park that would be your entire vacation!

In terms of beaches, I prefer the west coast (about 2 hours from Orlando). St. Petersburg and Clearwater are great. On the east coast, Cocoa Beach and New Symrna Beach are popular. However, don't be fooled by Florida's reputation for hot weather... January is usually quite cold (50's). Not the best time to go swimming.

Miami is about 4 hours away... that might be overkill on a first trip to FL.. and I wouldn't think there'd be much for the kids there.

I agree with much of what brinkofsunshine said. WDW, Sea World and Universal are the three mainstays here. January is far too chilly for the beach as it is quite chilly statewide with the exception perhaps of the Florida Keys.
I would save the beaches for a return trip and I actually prefer the east coast beaches (waves versus relative flatness) but those to the south which aren't convenient to Orlando. Hollywood Beach near Miami is fantastic and has a great Boardwallk. In terms of restaurants I would look at websites like TripAdvisor and Yelp which offer differing perspectives, both of which I find useful.

*** I missed your WorldQuest question and don't know anything of it. It looks quite nice and the location is good which would be a main concern. It's a very nice area away from much of the congestion and convenient to the parks.

[TedTLPN]

Originally Posted by deskjockey

Newbie to florida. Family with a 7 and a 8 year old is planning to fly into Orlando from Cleveland for a week visit in January. Planning on renting a car. Looking for tips, recommendations and suggestions regarding things to do, things to avoid, where to live, airline tickets, one or two family beaches, weather, clothing, kid activities, nearby cities to visit, food (chinese, asian indian, thai, italian). What do you think about World Quest Orlando. How far is Miami, Tampa/St. Petersburg area from Orlando and would you recommend a visit to Miami or Tampa area? Thanks folks.

First look where you are comming from and to.. do you really think you need advice about the weather??? LOL!!! The only real advice I have along those lines is to not laugh too hard at the native Floridians wearing tons of winter wear swearing that 40 degrees is freezing. Oh, panchos are more convenient than umbrellas, but you shouldn't need those much either

Unless your one of those polar bear types...Forget the beaches they are a waste of time unless you want to scout where you want to go during the summer some time. Even then your kids will not like you for wasting a day.

Don't even think for a second you will be able to waste any time visiting another city or anything like that*. If you plan on doing all 4 parks at Disney, Seaworld, Universal that's 6 days, and you should plan on using your 7th to recover at the hotel**. If you need to see how the locals live come up the Altamonte Mall where there are plenty of restaurants and shopping to choose from.

*Miami is almost a complete waste of time for the kids unless you want to expose them to almost every major Latin American culture. The only thing in Tampa they would like is: Clearwater Marine Aquarium I haven't been there, but after seeing the movie....

** Or Visit KSC http://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/ as they have just re-opened the VAB for visitors with Endeavor inside!!

[deskjockey]

Originally Posted by TedTLPN

First look where you are comming from and to.. do you really think you need advice about the weather??? LOL!!! The only real advice I have along those lines is to not laugh too hard at the native Floridians wearing tons of winter wear swearing that 40 degrees is freezing. Oh, panchos are more convenient than umbrellas, but you shouldn't need those much either

Unless your one of those polar bear types...Forget the beaches they are a waste of time unless you want to scout where you want to go during the summer some time. Even then your kids will not like you for wasting a day.

Don't even think for a second you will be able to waste any time visiting another city or anything like that*. If you plan on doing all 4 parks at Disney, Seaworld, Universal that's 6 days, and you should plan on using your 7th to recover at the hotel**. If you need to see how the locals live come up the Altamonte Mall where there are plenty of restaurants and shopping to choose from.

*Miami is almost a complete waste of time for the kids unless you want to expose them to almost every major Latin American culture. The only thing in Tampa they would like is: Clearwater Marine Aquarium I haven't been there, but after seeing the movie....

** Or Visit KSC Orlando Florida Vacation Destination | Kennedy Space Center as they have just re-opened the VAB for visitors with Endeavor inside!!

We visited the Disney park in southern California. It was all right, nothing special.

If we want to do just 2 parks, which would be good for the children? If we wanted to scout beaches for future summer visit, which should we check out?

[deskjockey]

Originally Posted by brinkofsunshine

St. Petersburg and Clearwater are great. .

Are they worth scouting in January for a future summer visit?

[brinkofsunshine]

Originally Posted by deskjockey

Are they worth scouting in January for a future summer visit?

I personally don't see the point in driving over 2 hours each way just to look at the water, unless you want to throw in doing Busch Gardens as well.

You really only want to do two parks while spending a week in Orlando? Please don't take this the wrong way but.. what is the point of your visit? Since you're visiting in January the only real perk is being able to see the parks in cool weather and low crowds. The other activities I would recommend would involve water (swimming in the natural springs, water parks, pools, beaches, etc..) but January will be too cold for everything except possibly a heated pool.

If you were to narrow it down to two parks, it depends on what you and the kids like. Did they like Disneyland? At Walt Disney World there's Magic Kingdom (similar to the one in CA), Hollywood Studios (which has a lot of fun shows), Animal Kingdom (if they are interested in zoos, this is a very unique animal experience) and Epcot (focused on science and world cultures).

I would also strongly recommend visiting Universal Orlando for a day, especially if they are Harry Potter fans. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Islands of Adventure is a truly remarkable place- you feel as though you've just stepped into the books and films. The rest of Islands of Adventure is more thrill-focused, if you and your kids like that. The other park, Universal Studios, has more rides suitable for everyone and offers some really fun rides.

If you/the kids really love marine animals, Sea World is a good choice.

If you really want to avoid the theme parks, nearby places of interest include Winter Park (a beautiful suburb near Downtown Orlando with a walkable historic main street) and Mount Dora (sabout an hour away from the tourist area, it's also a historic small town with lots of specialty shops and antique stores).

[beckycat]

You may want to check out the Central FL Zoo and The Orlando Science Center. The kids would enjoy that.

[bushrod43]

We like New Symrna beach and even though most locals will probably disagree, Daytona is pretty nice. At least now, and I'm sure in Jan it will be too, but during tourist season I'm sure we'll stay far from there. You can drive on the beach, which is something you can't do in many places.
As far as Disney goes, if your kids weren't impressed with Disneyland then maybe you should take them to Epcot and Hollywood Studios. Maybe go to Universal and Islands of Adventure, lots of thrills there.

[Rabflmom]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

I agree with much of what brinkofsunshine said. WDW, Sea World and Universal are the three mainstays here. January is far too chilly for the beach as it is quite chilly statewide with the exception perhaps of the Florida Keys.
I would save the beaches for a return trip and I actually prefer the east coast beaches (waves versus relative flatness) but those to the south which aren't convenient to Orlando. Hollywood Beach near Miami is fantastic and has a great Boardwallk. In terms of restaurants I would look at websites like TripAdvisor and Yelp which offer differing perspectives, both of which I find useful.

*** I missed your WorldQuest question and don't know anything of it. It looks quite nice and the location is good which would be a main concern. It's a very nice area away from much of the congestion and convenient to the parks.

I disagree about the beaches though. If you or the kids have never been to the OCEAN it is still definitely worth the trip. Personally, I think going to Orlando is like going to any other city-except for the theme parks. Coming to the beach is totally Florida! There are plenty of warm days in January-sometimes in the 80s in January. Lots of people from up north or California get in the water even though the water temp is usually in the low 60s by then, but that is the normal temp of the Pacific or Northern Atlantic in the summer. Even if you don't swim, you can walk on the beach, build sand castles, and pick up shells. The waves are usually bigger so you probably will see some surfers. It is sort of a totally different atmosphere than any where in Florida. In January you can get really good deals on hotels on the beach, too. Bid in the $60 a night range or less on some of the sites and you can usually get the Hilton, Crown Plaza etc in Melbourne area.

Also you might want to consider checking out the Space Center . It is a really cool spot for kids to see. My nieces loved it when they were in elem because they had talked about rocket launches at school and even looked for anything that had to do with astronauts they had learned about.