Category — Orlando FL

Visiting Orlando with kids is typically a must-do vacation for any family with children. Parents try to save money by searching the web for the best deals because we all know how expensive this once in a lifetime trip can be.

However, there are more things to do with kids in Orlando than Walt Disney World. You and your family can enjoy an inexpensive visit to Orlando with these free family friendly alternatives.

Downtown Disney Marketplace – Experience the Happiest Place on Earth without paying for it. This Downtown Disney area is a perfect spot for a relaxing day. You will enjoy walking along the boardwalk and shopping in various specialty stores like Disney Mega Store and Lego store. Afterward, you can reward the kids (and yourself… go on… you deserve it…) with ice cream from the Ghirardelli® Soda Fountain & Chocolate Shop. It’s within a short distance from a value option of Disney ’s All Star Movie Resort.

Celebration Town – Escape from all the hustling and bustling of the tourist traps to this little picture-perfect town. It was carefully planned to be a place where kids could enjoy the simple life. The atmosphere of this quaint small town will make you forget that you are in the land of the mega amusement parks and gaudy t-shirt shops. You can stay nearby at the Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort.

Lake Eola Park – Visit downtown Orlando (and no, Kissimmee is not Orlando) and enjoy a nice stroll in the Lake Eola park. Kids will have fun feeding the live swan and other birds along the lake. For the active family, a walk around the lake will log you in at just under mile. If the pavement is too hard on your feet,  you can rent a paddle boat for a great fun in the lake. Also don’t forget to check the schedule for concerts or a plays at the Walt Disney Amphitheater.

See my full article at Oyster Locals.

This past Summer, we took our quick vacation to one of our family favorite spots – Walt Disney World. We have been there countless times and yet still enjoy it every time we visit.

We have been there since before we have kids. I know.. It must be something they put in the water or in the air. Every time we step foot in this place, it just likes magic. You suddenly have this happy feeling.

However, there is certain park that we seems to have the worst of luck whenever we visited. The Disney’s Animal Kingdom park is the newest park (at 11 years of age). We have visited this park a few times and each time we just couldn’t get to explore it to the full extent.

Our first couple trips we were attacked with Florida heat. No surprise here that Florida can be hot. Add that to one of the largest park with a lot of walking, we just couldn’t take the heat.

Our recent trip, we had a high hope. We came prepare with all essentials to survive the heat in Disney’s Animal Kingdom with kids. We wanted to try out the new ride – Expedition Everest. But before heading for the thrill, we opted for a easy and fun ride first.

Wildlife Express Train & Conservation Station

We hopped on the Wildlife Express Train to the Conservation Station. Believe it or not, this was our first time doing this ride! What a gem!

I highly recommended this ride and station for family with small kids. The ride is fun and exciting for kids without too much hassle. After we got off at the station, we walked along a shade path to the conservation station. Along the way, there is Discovery Kid Club station with a ranger to help kids learn about nature. There are 6 Discovery Kid Club in the whole park. You can look at the map on where to find them. Kids will get their pin and a stamp on their Discovery Kid passport. It’s a great way to get kids engaged in exploring the park.

Another big plus is that the conservation station is indoor and cool. Anyone visiting Animal Kingdom will know how hot it can be even on a good day. So this station is a great escape for family with kids. There are also picnic tables all around for you to take a break and have snack.

Kilimanjaro Safari

After spent what feel like hours there, we hopped back on the train to Kilimanjaro Safari. It was probably as close as Africa we can get for our family at this moment seeing the cost of going to the real Africa is out of our budget. Kids enjoyed seeing animals and fun bumpy ride along the way.

I think this ride will be good for family with a bit older kids. School-age kids will throughly enjoy this ride as they can look at the chart provided in the bus to look out for the animal. Younger – preschoolers might enjoy the ride but it can be a bit scary for them if they are not used to bumpy ride.

After a hot and long-lined lunch (yes, I probably should read all the tips about lunch or food in Disney), we walked toward Asia for the Expedition Everest (or we thought we could).

Flight of Wonder

But the walk proved to be too difficult for them to handle. So we took a short break at Flight of Wonder show. It was a really really nice show. The birds were amazing and the casts were very entertaining.

And don’t forget to try out the pineapple ice cream in front of the entrance. It was a life-saver for me.. Cool and tasty!

That’s when it came to an end for us. The rain came and we got soaked. So we decided to abort all other plans and head back to our condo.

Even though it was a really quick visit for us and we only covered 3 rides/attractions, the kids truly enjoyed the experience and I won’t give up on Animal Kingdom anytime soon. :)

Family Tips:

• Prepare for a long walk by bringing stroller for younger kids (or even big kids)
• Bring essential stuffs to combat the heat – hats, fan, sunscreen, water and light clothing
• Pack a poncho or small umbrella because you never when it’s gonna rain in Florida
• Take frequent break. Look for indoor theatre or store for a quick cool down in between attractions

Do you have any other tips for family travel to Disney’s Animal Kingdom? 

Check out other travelers’ Photo Friday at Delicious Baby.

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

This Summer we went to Orlando for a quick getaway and met up with great friends. One of our visit was our favorite store in Downtown Disney – The Lego Store.

Mr. Z has become such a big fan of Lego ever since he learned to master the Wii controller and play Lego Star Wars.

We spent hours in the store alone.

I was mesmerized by the wall full of colorful lego pieces.

Mr. Rojo was drooling over the Millenium Falcon lego.

Miss J was busy assemble her own gang

Mr. Z was all over the place, bouncing from the race table to the playground and back to the train table all made from lego of course.

I could fancy a giddy kid who will have eye wide when we arrive at the Legoland in San Diego.. Oh! The joy that we will get to see from their faces will worth all the troubles flying across the country during one of the busiest season. Until then…

Check out other travelers’ Photo Friday at Delicious Baby.

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek