Things to do in Orlando Besides Disney
From ages 4-12, I went to Disney World with my family every four years. It was always a bit of a reunion. I remember going with different cousins, aunts and uncles each time.
When I was 22, I went to Disneyland, Tokyo in December and the next year, my family returned to Orlando for the first time since I was 12. One of my uncles gifted all the kids and young adults day passes to Disney for Christmas.
When I was 27, my good friend from law school got married in Orlando. I went down with a group of friends, and we thought we’d check out the parks.
We had all been before (heck, I just told you I’d been multiple times) so we should have been prepared for what happened next...right? Wrong...you should’ve seen our bottom lips hit the floor when we realized there is no such thing as an impromptu trip to Disney for 5 entry level employees lol. To say it was expensive is the understatement of the century. I immediately called my mother to ask her how in the WORLD…she just laughed and said “it took a village.”
I’ve already started saving to take my nonexistent children to Disney or Universal years from now. But at this big age, I’m cool not setting foot in either until they arrive. So, when I was invited to Orlando this past weekend, I wondered…what will we do? I had a few ideas from 2016 when I went to my friend’s wedding and had my rude awakening. But five years later, I was open to learning something new about “The City Beautiful.” So here are some ideas for colorful people who explore Orlando when Disney is too much:
HILTON ORLANDO
By far, the best part of my recent trip to Orlando was the accommodations. We stayed at the Hilton Orlando which is a resort style hotel located minutes from Icon Park, Mini Golf, Top Golf, Go Carts and other non-Disney entertainment. But the space itself is BEAUTIFUL. There is no shortage of things to do inside the resort, from dining to the state of the art gym this place is fantastic for a good stay-in-place-cation. No doubt, the best part of this place is the water. From the lazy river to the 3 onsite hot tubs, there’s something for everyone.
ICON PARK
What’s a vacation without brunch? As a wise philosopher once said, “you can’t drink all day if you don’t start in the morning.” Icon park has just what you need to get your AM mimosa fix. There’s everything from dive bars, to bistros, to mid-end restaurants in this cute tourist attraction which lends itself to both daytime and nighttime fun. We did a morning bar crawl of sorts and I lost track of how many mimosas were involved. I’ll give the Floridians credit though, they will do anything to keep cool. You can try a frozen mimosa from I Cafe De Paris or catch a breeze on the large ferris wheel. Whatever you decide, there’s no shortage of fun here for small groups or large families.
WINTER PARK
A few miles outside of Orlando, you will find Winter Park, Florida. It’s much less of a tourist trap so you can escape some of the markups of the city. There’s a strip of decent bars on Orlando Avenue where you can get a couple drinks and snap cute instagram photos. Unfortunately for me, I went during a time in my life where the only photos I took were of shot glasses LOL.
GOLF
Florida is known for it’s beautiful golf courses, and Orlando is no exception. Even if you’ve never played a round of golf in your life, you’ll still find yourself drawn to the course. For me, it was the mini golf course. Eighteen holes at Gator Golf Adventure Park hit the spot for my friends and I. Nothing will encourage you to make the shot more than a live gator staring you in the face. After a few hours of carrying around our putters and fearing for our lives, we worked up quite an appetite. Luckily, there was nothing miniature about the portions at Hash House a Go Go located just 5 minutes down the road.
Top Golf wasn’t open when I visited in 2016, so it was at the top of my list for this visit, and it did not disappoint. If you have a group of golfers with mixed levels of experience, Top Golf is always a good option.
