In case you are not sick of another Orlando thread...

[MamaBee]

We are going to Orlando in June... hubby has an all week conference and kiddo and I are tagging along. Granted majority of the week we are just going to be stuck in the hotel while hubby is at the conference during the day, but the weekend we are planing to do something there... now we are not Disney people - (*shock, gasp* )... So what else would you recommend doing down there... kiddo isn't big into amusement parks or seaworld, really... we want to do something different while down there... maybe tour a citrus grove or something like that... the last time we were there, we did the space stuff - which was really cool, but kiddo is just too young to really understand that...

Any ideas?

[jessica31876]

There is Gatorland. It is LOTS of fun!!

Fort Christmas Park which is pretty cool. Your son may like seeing all the old buildings and learning about the history of the town Christmas. They have a lot of old buildings which have been restored and a fort too.

Then there is an aviation museum towards Lakeland. As well as Lego Land (I think that is what it is called)

Fun Spot has go-karts which some have two seats. My kids love doing go-karts all day. And on Saturday they have a car show with old cars.

[liriel]

OMG, I am going to be in Orlando in June too. My hubby is going to a Microsoft conference most days, but I am a huge Disney fan, so I will be going to the parks! If your son likes Legos, I would definitely check out Legoland.

[jessica31876]

There is a "theme park" with giant dinosaurs off of I-4. I have seen some of the dinos from the road but never went there so I do not know what it is like. But if your son likes dinosaurs he would LOVE going there.

There are lots of springs in Central Florida which on a hot day are sooo nice because they stay cool in the summer. You can go canoeing (rent a canoe there), get an inner tube and float down the river or just swim. My favorite is Deleon Springs. It is not inside Orlando but close enough you could be there in like 45 minutes maybe.

There are a couple dinner theaters which are fun to see. They do a show while you eat.

[jessica31876]

Also Ripley's Believe It Or Not and Wonderworks are both on International Drive. They are both alot of fun.

And I know you said you did not want to do Disney but Downtown Disney is fun and free. Mostly shops but they have lego figures built (giant dragon, tourists some other stuff) and a lot of themed stores as well.

[jessica31876]

And my final suggestion would be the zoo in Tampa. It is so big and really nice. It is so much different then any zoo I have ever been to. It has a few little rides inside the zoo. While you are over there you could meet Winter from the movie Dolphin Tale. She is at an aquarium in that area. Also there is another aquarium in Tampa with all kinds of fish/birds.

[nesser1981]

You said he's not into theme parks, but if he likes Legos they opened a Legoland down there.

When we were there in March we did all the Disney Parks, Islands of Adventure and Sea World. You might want to consider one of the water parks in the area.

Wet & Wild, Aquatica (by Sea World), or one of the Disney Water Parks. There is tons of awesome Mini Gold courses down there, my kids both love Putt Putt, LOL! .

Tampa is about 80 miles away, Busch Gardens is really cool, the Lowery Park Zoo in Tampa is nice.

Ripley's Believe or Not is neat, but if you've been to one, they're not much different.

They have Medieval Times (DH really wants to go, LOL!) And Arabian Nights dinner shows, I know we're going to do one of these next time we go to Orlando.

And there is Kennedy's Space Center.

In Downtown Disney there is a AMC Downtown Disney 24 with Dine-in Theatres, that might be something different if there is a good kids movie out when you're there. I would have liked to have done this too, maybe next time.

And the T-Rex Restaurant Was cool, they have a Build a Dino there instead of Build a Bear, my kids also thought that was awesome when we went the first time. They still have their Dinos. It's also in Downtown Disney.

[MissKim]

Another going to be in Florida in June. We will be doing Disney and Universal parks. Dying to do Gator Land, but I don't know how we'll fit it in.

Just wanted to say hi to my fellow SSD/Orlando June people.

[tanyiadeskins]

I agree with Gatorland, it is not too expensive, really cool to see and kids just love it! Plus they have a Splash area where you can cool off and the kids can play in the water, and also they have zipline stuff if you are into that.

The Orlando Science Center would be fun and indoors so it would not be too hot if your little one likes that kinda thing.

Downtown Disney I also agree with! Lots of themed stores and so much to see and look at! You could also go hotel hopping and see the animal kingdom lodge, etc and take the boat and / or tram and just take it all in for free.

[SmallMoments]

We'll be in Orlando in June, too!!!

Luke went with my parents last winter- he LOVED Gatorland & also the race track in Daytona. He also loved just searching for shells and starfish on the beach.

[Tracyfish]

Wow so many of you coming down this summer! If anyone wants to get together while you're here, let me know. My kiddo will be out of school after the first week in June so we'll be on the hunt for fun stuff to do.

I think Jessica already said most of the fun stuff...if I think of anything else, I'll pop back in here.

[julifish]

Depending on my work schedule I could pop over to Orlando from Tampa for a meet up as well.

I was going to suggest checking out the Orlando Science Center or some of the local parks. You might be able to find some fun summer park programs or library programs not far from where you are staying. There aren't going to be an orange grove type tours, especially in summer.

If you have any kind of science, zoo or children's museum pass at home there might be a chance to use it when you are down here.

[MamaBee]

ooohh... so many great ideas!!! Will totally have to look up these places!

Oh - when hubby was in Ocala last week, he was on the flordia turnpike going back to the Orlando airport and he was seeing signs for doing Disney Tickets $25... or something like that... since he was driving, he didn't see the "fine print"... do you know what he is talking about?

We are going June 10-17th and we are staying at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort (where the conference is)... then we move to a different hotel on the weekend. I would totally be up for a meet up - I probably won't have a car during the week, though... hubby hasn't decided on transportation yet...

[MamaBee]

Oh - Are there anything Pixar Cars related down in Orlando? I got all excited seeing in Family Fun magazine that there was a Radiator Springs attraction and then got disappointed that it was only in California... Jake is OBSESSED with the cars movies...

[nesser1981]

Lightning McQueen & Mater are at Hollywood Studios and you can get your picture taken with them, but there wasn't much Cars related other than that, from what I saw while we were there.

[MissKim]

Originally Posted by MamaBee

Oh - Are there anything Pixar Cars related down in Orlando? I got all excited seeing in Family Fun magazine that there was a Radiator Springs attraction and then got disappointed that it was only in California... Jake is OBSESSED with the cars movies...

Depending on when you're going to be there in June, the Cars section at the Art of Animation resort is opening on June 16. It's Disney's newest resort and has different themed sections. Nemo opens at the end of May, Cars in mid-June. You could go and walk around and eat a meal in the food court. Pretty sure Lightening McQueen is also in the car stunt show at Hollywood Studios as well. We don't really care for that show, but I remember reading they replaced Herbie with Lightening.

[kendallt]

Oooh, the waterparks are SO much fun! You've gotten some great suggestions so far. The only thing I can think of that hasn't been mentioned is The Titanic Experience. If you're into history, it could be fun, although Jake might be a little young for it. We went when my DD was 6, and she loved it...but she and I are big history buffs. Here's the website: http://www.titanictheexperience.com/

[scrap2day]

Originally Posted by MamaBee

Oh - when hubby was in Ocala last week, he was on the flordia turnpike going back to the Orlando airport and he was seeing signs for doing Disney Tickets $25... or something like that... since he was driving, he didn't see the "fine print"... do you know what he is talking about?

I have no idea what the "fine print" is but I'm guessing it could be one of those sit through our time share presentation.

[scrap2day]

I was going to say Kennedy Space Center too.

World's Largest McDonald's and PlayPlace

[tanyiadeskins]

omg kendall my dd loves Titanic stuff, and this is on our list to do in a week or two.