Leu Gardens
Harry P. Leu Gardens is a beautiful 50-acre escape, miles away from the intensity of the theme parks. If you’re looking for something relaxing yet entertaining to do while in Orlando, Leu Gardens is a great choice. You’ll have to travel a little further from your hotel if you’re staying in the center of Orlando, but these gardens are worth the drive. Here are three don’t-miss spots to explore inside the gardens.
1) Rose Garden
Take a stroll through the different types of flora and fauna and you won’t miss the Rose Garden. It is the biggest formal rose garden in Florida, boasting over 1,000 blooms a year. Have a seat on one of the iron benches and let your senses take over as you listen to the beautiful Italian fountain and breathe in the sweet scent of roses.
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Tagged as:
Orlando
Boma - Flavors of Africa at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge
Where are the best Disney World buffets? It’s a good question with a yummy answer. I know what you’re thinking: A buffet, yuck. But reserve your judgment until you’ve tried one — Walt Disney World’s buffets may surprise you.
The most interesting of the Disney World buffets is the breakfast and dinner at Boma in Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. Boma offers African inspired dishes like Couscous Marrakesh and FuFu (sweet and mashed potatoes with coriander and cinnamon). This is a meal is for the adventurous palate. It has flavors that aren’t your typical American meat and potatoes.
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Orlando
The fireworks show at Disney's Magic Kingdom
It’s without a doubt that one of the ‘must-dos’ in Walt Disney World is to find a perfect spot to watch Epcot’s Illumination Show or the Magic Kingdom’s Wishes Show. But the perfect spot doesn’t have to be inside one of these parks. If you stay at any of the Disney Resorts, there are several spots you can enjoy these fireworks without having to pay admission. Read More »
Tagged as:
Kid-Friendly,
Orlando
Universal Studios offers annual park passes for $140
Being a Florida resident definitely has its perks. Besides oodles of sunshine and great temperatures year round, residents are privy to irresistible offers for deeply discounted theme park fun in their home state. Most notably, cheap annual passes or multi-day theme park passes make a spontaneous trip to Orlando that much easier and hassle free. In order to get these tickets, you must be able to show a Florida driver’s license or student I.D. from a Florida school. Read More »
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Orlando,
Universal Orlando
Disney's Blizzard Beach
Though most associate Orlando with heat and sun, a few locales offer both genuine and synthetic escapes to the frigid cold. Three permanent winter wonderlands are highlighted below.
Disney’s Blizzard Beach (1500 West Buena Vista Drive): Florida’s first ski resort cum water park, Blizzard Beach debuted in 1995 and has since grown wildly popular, welcoming nearly 2 million guests in 2009. The kitsch blizzard motif is found throughout the park’s dozen-plus rides, including Snow Stormers, Toboggan Racers, and Meltaway Bay. There is free transport to Blizzard Beach from all Disney properties. Read More »
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Orlando
Gatorland in Orlando, FL
Talking mice with high-pitched voices are not the only freaky things in and around Orlando. In fact, the area boasts a variety of bizarre attractions, two of which may peak your curiosity.
Gatorland (14501 S Orange Blossom Trail): The crowd at Gatorland is a bit rough, but the kitschy overgrown roadside attraction houses the world’s largest collection of leucistic alligators. The four white gators have brilliantly blue eyes and are exceptionally aggressive. The rest of the gator themed attractions — wrestling shows, feedings, and a serpentarium — border between disturbing and entertaining. It’s all just four miles away from the hotels on International Drive. Read More »
Tagged as:
Orlando
Sleuths Mystery Dinner theater in Orlando, FL
Nobody likes a Debby Downer, but fewer people like wasting their time and money. Not trying to hate on anyone, but these are two of my personal least favorite things in O-town.
Sleuths Mystery Dinner Shows (8267 International Drive): The longest running mystery dinner show in Orlando is a night of painful improv and self-indulgent actors competing for stage time. Poor character and plot development hardly permit the audience to get into the mystery or to like the characters. The acting is amateur, the accents atrocious. When you finally solve the mystery, you feel relieved, not because you have ended the suspense but because you can finally leave! Read More »
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Orlando
Downtown Disney in Disney World, Orlando
Orlando is typically a must-do vacation for any family with children. Parents might try to save money by searching the web for the best deals at Disney World, because we all know how expensive a family vacation can be, but they might not look into the numerous Orlando attractions outside the theme parks. To help keep your vacation within budget, consider these fun and free alternatives.
Downtown Disney Marketplace: Experience the Happiest Place on Earth without paying for it. Downtown Disney is a perfect spot for a relaxing day. You will enjoy walking along the boardwalk and shopping in various specialty stores like the Disney Mega Store and the Lego store. Afterward, you can reward the kids (and yourself) with ice cream from the Ghirardelli Soda Fountain & Chocolate Shop. It’s within a short drive from Disney ‘s All Star Movie Resort, one of Disney’s most affordable resorts, or the pricier. Read More »
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Disney World,
Kid-Friendly,
Lake Eola Park,
Orlando
Rustic veggie plate at Seasons 52 restaurant in Orlando, FL
With over 5,000 restaurants in Orlando, it’s pretty easy to escape the fast food frenzy and avoid overpriced theme park food. It’s even possible to find affordable world-class restaurants, catering to a health conscious society. Two restaurants serving up low calorie feasts without compromising taste are mentioned below.
Seasons 52 (7700 Sand Lake Road): Orlando is the birthplace of a relatively new restaurant concept — seasonally-inspired healthy dining that changes with the products available during particular seasons. Season’s 52 caters to both the taste and calorie conscious with all menu items under 475 calories, including caramelized sea scallops, garlic chicken flatbread, roasted crab-stuffed shrimp, ripe plum tomato flatbread, and the char-crust filet mignon. Read More »
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Lake Buena Vista,
Orlando
Boggy Creek in Central Florida
[Flickr/rwoan]
Outside of theme park mayhem, suburban sprawl, and superimposed, hyper-stacked tourist shops, Orlando boasts a number of amazing encounters with nature that will easily wow you, perhaps even more so than Orlando’s most famous attractions. Two are described below.
Boggy Creek Airboat Rides (2001 E. Southport Road, Kissimmee): Who knew that Florida’s best airboat experience was found in Central Florida? Contrary to the limited mobility of the shallow southern Everglades, the barrier regions of the Central Florida Everglades include large lakes, allowing airboats to easily reach speeds of 45 m.p.h. Read More »
Tagged as:
Everglades,
Nature and Travel,
Orlando
