This summer we had to quickly transition our summer vacation plans for two reasons. First, we grossly underestimated the amount of time a new passport took to get this particular year. They usually say if you have 12 weeks you can get it done without expedited fees, but after an almost expired passport derailed hubby and my Spring Amsterdam trip, we realized we needed 6 months or more to get all the documentation in order. The second reason we changed our plan was that Ken’s mother decided to move in with our family and make the migration from Florida to Colorado. We made a big pivot and planned a three-week, cross-country road trip, with four kids. Due to how many people we had, I booked a series of Comfort Inn and Quality Inn’s through my Choice hotel membership app. Since I live in Colorado and we have experienced lots of great Choice hotels in mountain towns, I had points built up, so I continued to easily book and rebook hotels with complete flexibility and without having to pay deposits. The July heat settled in, and we were on our way for three, 10-hour days of driving!
Orlando- Kids version of Las Vegas
My husband used to live in Orlando and still has a few friends and family members we like to see when we visit Florida and typically make an Orlando stop. We also lived in a town less than 2-hours from Disney, bought annual pass-holder tickets for Christmas each year and my brother-in-law was a Disney cast member. My husband’s family have always been “Disney people” and we all share fond memories of the parks over the years. We no longer live close by, so we thought we’d plan a 1-day nostalgic trip to Magic Kingdom, the most iconic of the parks. It was typical Florida summer weather, over 100 degrees, extremely humid and we had to take cover for 45 minutes during a monsoon. I figured I was going to push everyone to get in at least a 12-hour day and stay until the fireworks to make the most of how much we spent for 1-day tickets, but we were in the resort pool with my husband’s brothers by 5:30 dying from the heat. Us Coloradans can handle altitude now, but that kind of heat is just not for any of us anymore! Next time we plan a theme park visit it will not be in the summer months, so May-October is out for the Myers family.
If you are traveling from out of town, don’t make the mistakes we did thinking we can just do one day or we can do a cheaper hotel option. Generally speaking, if you are going to do Disney, just do it and stay on property. There are three tiered accommodations at Walt Disney World Resort, the value resorts, moderate resorts and deluxe resorts. The value resorts are fine and honestly the best if you are booking numerous rooms, but they are just a basic room and the food at these resorts is nothing spectacular. The best thing about these resorts are the character themed pools, playgrounds for kids and Disney transportation anywhere on the property. The moderate resorts have always been my sweet spot, I would try to get deals and specials for value prices on these properties, our favorites were Caribbean Beach Resort and the Cabins at Fort Wilderness. You can’t go wrong with any of the deluxe resorts and the transportation is much quicker and easier from these hotels, but they are going to cost a lot, especially for larger families. An awesome option I am going to try in the future is to save Marriott points and book the Swan or Dolphin hotels located near the back entrance of Epcot. I love this Epcot entrance, because it drops you off right in the international pavilion and that is my favorite place to be, however I have thought many times, “Why do we pay so much to see replicas of the Eiffel tower, let’s just go to Paris for how much we spend coming to Disney.” One off property spot that is right outside the Disney compound is the Caribe Royale. A huge coral colored building, that is a resort itself with a great hotel, game room, restaurants, spa, etc. with family friendly suites. If you are only planning one day at a park, this might be a better way to book accommodations. Keep in mind all the Disney parks, resorts and restaurants when planning and consider using a travel agent that specializes in Disney… I would if I didn’t marry into having my own Disney travel agents!
· Magic Kingdom
· EPCOT
· Hollywood Studios
· Animal Kingdom
· Disney Springs
· Blizzard Beach
· Typhoon Lagoon
My hubby’s niece has worked at Universal for years and I think the next time we visit we are going to go this direction instead of Disney with our older kids. My sons have experienced the Wizarding World of Harry Potter almost 10 years ago and my daughter and I have not had the opportunity yet, we are due. Universal Orlando Resort also has their own accommodations attached to the parks and are always the best value, but never at the best price. This area is in a much more accessible location to chain hotels offering a less expensive rate or possibly redeeming on points, helping offset the expense of Orlando trips. Universal consists of:
· Universal Studios
· Islands of Adventure
· Volcano Bay
· City Walk
There are other full Day Experiences in the Orlando area that can be paired with another theme park trip to add a little more science or education value consider Discovery Cove, but you need a full day to experience a majority of the attractions. Aquatica is a waterpark with thrill rides, perfect for the teens and young at heart versus Island H2O Live with Margaritaville Resort, attracting the senior crowd. Finally, I have included a list of other popular and iconic activities to do in the Orlando area, mostly on the I-drive corridor:
· Fun Spot America
· Gatorland
· Airboat ride to see alligators
· Icon Park- The wheel, Madame Tussauds, Sea Life Aquarium, Museum of illusions
· Pointe Orlando- Wonderworks and Main Event entertainment
· Andretti indoor karting and games
· Crayola Experience
· TopGolf
· Medieval Times dinner and tournament
Even though everyone calls Disney Orlando, it’s really Lake Buena Vista. There is a nice downtown Orlando area, hubby and I had a romantic weekend there walking around the lake Eola and then going to Winter Park to shop and eat in the cute town. Legoland Florida Resort and waterpark is advertised in Orlando all the time, but not actually in Orlando, in fact, it is about 1 hour south of Orlando. Traveling an hour east will get you to Port Canaveral for any cruise departures and to visit Kennedy Space Center. Cocoa Beach is in this area too, for the closest beach day to Orlando and relief from the heat with the ocean breeze.
Fort Lauderdale- the Venice of America
Fort Lauderdale is called the Venice of America for a reason, and it is not because you must travel by gondola, but there is a maze of small canals from the intracoastal waterway and homes with canal access from Downtown Ft. Lauderdale. Boat is the best way of transportation for some great restaurants including my favorites Southport Raw Bar or Shooters for brunch. On land, there are the areas of Las Olas and Riverwalk for great shopping, eating, drinking and partying, but this area is not oceanfront. Instead, head to Ft. Lauderdale Beach, the strip that runs from Birch State Park to the Elbo Room beach bar. Lots of touristy bars, clubs, restaurants and shopping, but this area can also be fun when it is not packed to capacity during Spring Break or New Year’s Eve.
During this summer trip, we did a family day on the beach at Ft. Lauderdale. We got the brothers and the kids together and had a fun day in the sun, while the rest of the area battled rainstorms that afternoon. As often happens, rain clouds typically stop at the intracoastal, yet the weather on the beach is sunny and perfect. All the tourists see dark clouds and run for the car, leaving the beach much quieter.
This beach trip I experienced one of the two times I’ve been swimming with manatees. We had gone way out in the water and been hanging out on a sandbar when I headed back to shore with my daughter on my back. As we swam back, I saw a huge, dark mass in the water close enough to touch us and I would’ve bumped into it if I hadn’t seen the giant manatee in the water! I pointed it out to my daughter, and she panicked at first, thinking it was a huge whale or shark. But as I explained to her they are herbivores and sweet, gentle animals she realized how fortunate we were to get to naturally interact with a manatee. This encounter reminded me of the first year my husband and I were dating, the boys were young and digging in the sand at the shoreline at Naples beach in Florida. We were swimming in the warm ocean, watching the boys build sandcastles on the beach, our backs to the ocean. Suddenly, we had a crowd of beach goers trying to get our attention saying, “There’s something behind you!” We turned around, afraid of a giant stingray or worse a shark… until we saw a bunch of bubbles and a whiskered face emerge from the water and we immediately relaxed and enjoyed the experience with the cow of the sea. Both east and west coasts have great opportunities to see wildlife in the oceans.
Instead of Ft. Lauderdale beach, I prefer Hollywood Beach and Hallandale Beach, both just south of Ft. Lauderdale. The Diplomat Beach Resort is the best of the best with 5-star accommodations for tourists in both Ft. Lauderdale or Miami. This is the type of place you come and stay at a resort the whole time you are in town, with amazing food, pools and activities. I got to enjoy this resort for 2 days with my daughter while hubby was on a work trip and it did not disappoint! Hollywood Florida is a fun beach area that goes all the way west to the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood and has Young’s Circle centrally located for a perfect date night atmosphere. Taverna Opa for Greek food is another great option in this area, especially during sunset.
Head inland to experience a simple but delicious crab meal at Rustic Inn Crab Shack. This is not a dressy restaurant, and you will get messy, but the work fighting for your crabmeat is worth it. It is a great location for birthdays and parties or just a family meal to teach your kids how to eat crab. Even further west in Ft. Lauderdale is the Young at Art Museum at the Broward Mall which has moved to a huge new space. So many malls lay vacant in recent years, but this former mall space has been used to ignite the young arts in children. Try Landlubbers Raw Bar and Restaurant in Plantation for lunch before heading back out east or take the pilgrimage to the Sawgrass Mills Mall for some of the best outlet shopping.
Lauderdale-By-Sea is located on the beachfront with a great fishing pier. There are a few good restaurants and some shopping but try to go on a weeknight since it gets very busy with minimal parking on the weekends. Even further north, Deerfield Beach gives off beachy, coastal town vibes and boasts its own fishing piers. I got to live just a block back from the ocean in Deerfield Beach for a couple years, before moving to Germany. You can’t ask for a better place to take daily walks or be able to party and walk home after drinking. Amante’s Italian and pizza or The Whale’s Rib are both great for casual meals and Oceans 234 or JB’s on the Beach have amazing views and seafood menus, but need a reservation most of the time to get in on the weekends at least. The Cove or Patio Bar are great places for happy hour and partying into the late night with warm ocean breezes. Ken and I have made this little spot on the beach a romantic getaway spot, using points for one of the hotels and spending two days eating and drinking on the beach!
If you head even more north, you start to hit the bougie areas of Boca Raton or Delray Beach. Mizner Park shopping and eating block is a great spot to eat and shop in unique businesses. It has an amphitheater for summer concerts and a fantastic ice cream shop. My tip is to get ice cream, then find a bench to enjoy it by the valet. You are bound to see some of the most expensive and beautiful cars in this area! Delray Beach is a bit further north and on the beach front. Head up there to spend the morning on the beach, select an amazing restaurant for lunch and walk Delray Beach Blvd. in the afternoon shopping. Alternatively, this is a great area for date nights too. Have a drink at the Blue Anchor Pub before walking down to the beach. Wear shoes you can easily take off to be able to enjoy beach access and then arrive at a restaurant you have a reservation at in the evening. Additional attractions around Ft. Lauderdale include:
· Everglades Boat rides
· Half day and whole day fishing trips, deep sea fishing options too
· Snorkel and sailing excursions
· Jet ski tours
· Kayak and paddle board tours (intracoastal or mangroves)
· Jungle Queen Riverboat cruise
· Sunset cruise
· Ft. Lauderdale Segway tour
· Golf
· Gumbo Limbo Nature Center
· Museum of Discovery and Science
· Young at Art Museum
· Butterfly World
· Morikami Japanese Garden
· Flamingo Gardens
· Bahamas ferry day trip to Bimini
Miami, You Can Skip South Beach
There are so many amazing places around the Fort Lauderdale area or the Keys, there is very little need to travel to Miami to get that same experience. I’m not a big Miami fan, to me the best places in Miami are at the cruise port or airport because then I’m headed to some exotic location! However, there are a bunch of annual events that are worth the trip and all the crowds, such as Art Basel international art fair, Art Deco weekend, Pride Fest and the Miami International Boat show are some of the most well attended. Plus there are a few other attractions and areas you can’t get anywhere but Miami:
· Ocean Drive (get your South Beach experience if you must)
· Coconut Grove
· Bayside Marketplace
· Fisher Island & Star Island tours
· Little Havana food & walking tour
· Sunset cruise of the Miami Harbor
· Vizcaya Museum and Gardens
· Miami Seaquarium
· Zoo Miami
The Florida Keys, Island Life
Traveling south of Miami you will dead-end into the Florida Keys, a more relaxed island feeling. The first island is Key Largo, where you will find John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park to play and Shell World for all your souvenir needs. The Key Largo Conch House is a historic restaurant that is worth the stop for lunch. If you decide to stay in Key Largo there is a highly acclaimed, adults only resort called Bungalows Key Largo. It’s considered the only all inclusive in the States and high on my bucket list. Next is Islamorada where the infamous 7-mile bridge is located, Theater of the Sea and the History & Discovery Center. The next island is Marathon where the Turtle Hospital and Dolphin Research Center are located. Next stop, Key West.
Key West is my favorite of the Florida Keys, but that might be because I got married at Pier House Resort in Key West, just about 10 years ago. Key West does not have the expansive, white sand beaches that most people picture of Florida. Most of the big resorts have a beach area that is well maintained, but not large. There are also few swimming beaches such as Ft. Zachary Taylor park, Higgs Beach. Smathers Beach and Rest Beach are great when there isn’t too much seaweed. Seaweed season is usually July and August, so expect to see it (and smell it) during the summer.
What Key West lacks in soft sandy beaches, it makes up for in sunsets and watching the sunset is a thing here, every night it’s not raining. Mallory Square is the busiest place to watch the sunset, but in the last hour or so of the day, you will see people all over the island facing west watching the sun go down.
· SouthernMost Point (90 miles to Cuba)
· Ernest Hemingway home & museum (and his cats)
· Key West Hop on, Hop off tour
· Ghosts and Gravestones trolley tour
· Renting a kayak, paddleboard or jet skis
· Glass bottom boat tour
· Snorkeling, shark or dolphin viewing
· Sunset dinner or drinks cruise
· Dry Tortugas National Park (boat trip)
There are many other great areas of Florida to visit for beachy relaxation, interacting with marine wildlife and thrill park adventures. Many of these adventures and excursions can be booked on Viator, including a Key West marriage proposal package that really captured my attention. My husband and I got married in Key West and it is a very romantic spot with epic sunsets, so I might just be bias. What a great idea for a Florida trip and easy proposal idea that no one would ever forget. Even though my husband is from Florida, all of my children were born in Florida, and I have managed to move back to Naples or Ft. Lauderdale 4 times in my life… I’m a half Philly-half Florida girl. I think trips to Florida in my youth and moving to Ft. Lauderdale right after college helped expose me to a lifestyle of traveling, the idea that there is a whole world out there to see and explore. All these years later, I still love a great Florida beach vacation and even dream of having a vacation home on the West Coast of Florida one day….ahhhh dreams!
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