Okay Floridians

cazzy · June 2013

The family and I will be coming your way in August and wanted to find out if there are any worthy BBQ spots in or near Orlando. Doing the typical theme park thing and we may visit another part of Florida too. With that, what other family friendly spots would you recommend us to visit?

Oh, the wifey and I are traveling with a 14 and 3 year old.

MrCookingNurse · June 2013

You flying?

FlaPoolman · June 2013

give a hollar if you hit the east coast,, I'm about 1 hour east of Orlando and the tourists traps

cazzy · June 2013

MrCookingNurse said:

You flying?

Yeah, but we'll have a rental the entire time. Going to be there for 7 days.

FlaPoolman · June 2013

cazzy, if your looking for a place off the beaten path try here http://www.tuckawayshores.com/ home of the minifest and great rates for oceanfront

Little Steven · June 2013

And they have an egg!

lousubcap · June 2013

Don't know about Q joints but in my experience, before the 7th day you will be thinking "Happiness is Disney World in the rear-view mirror".

>-

cazzy · June 2013

FlaPoolman said:

cazzy, if your looking for a place off the beaten path try here http://www.tuckawayshores.com/ home of the minifest and great rates for oceanfront

Thanks! I will check it out!

cazzy · June 2013

lousubcap said:

Don't know about Q joints but in my experience, before the 7th day you will be thinking "Happiness is Disney World in the rear-view mirror". >-

Quite possibly. We may have to cut Disney back to 2 days instead of 3. Especially since we're hitting up Universal. We thought about hitting up Sea World, but I think we're going to scratch that. I can't imagine it would be that different from the one in San Antonio. I'm sure it's better, but after 3 to 4 days of theme parks, we'll likely have no desire. I want 2-3 days of pure relaxation.

FlaPoolman · June 2013

If you call Tuckaway tell them your a egghead

SmokeyPitt · June 2013

lousubcap said:

Don't know about Q joints but in my experience, before the 7th day you will be thinking "Happiness is Disney World in the rear-view mirror". >-

Amen brother! I think it is best to plan some vacation time after the touristy stuff. Last time we went we did 3 days at the Disney and then 4 days relaxing at New Smyrna beach. That was perfect for us

.

Foghorn · June 2013

I'll handle this. My great-great-great grandfather founded Orlando. I was born and raised there. I worked for Disney for 11 years.

Yeah, I got nothing for you. The place has changed and grown so fast I have no idea where to get good barbecue there. There's a chain called Sonny's that is decent and inexpensive but probably not worth your time. They threw me out of their "all you can eat chicken on Sundays" one time back in the 80's because 4 of us went there every Sunday and were breaking them with the amount of food we could put away.

If you are near Kissimmee and want really good food at a reasonable price go to Savion's Place. It is outstanding and very affordable.

Bahama Breeze is a chain but has decent Caribbean food.

Sorry I can't be more help.

Mickey · June 2013

Pat's house and a handful of others have good Q. Eat Cuban or fish man. Both are outstanding. Don't even think Mexican.

cazzy · June 2013

Mickey said:
Pat's house and a handful of others have good Q. Eat Cuban or fish man. Both are outstanding. Don't even think Mexican.

Cool

I'm Mexican, so the last thing I ever want to eat is Mexican. The only place that makes me break my no Mexican rule is Taco Taco.

I may find some grass to cut though! :-\"

Eggcelsior · June 2013

@Cazzy

Holy crap, I skimmed your post and read "Taco Bell" instead of "Taco Taco".

I nearly snorted my water, Thanks.

cazzy · June 2013

Eggcelsior said:

@Cazzy

Holy crap, I skimmed your post and read "Taco Bell" instead of "Taco Taco".

I nearly snorted my water, Thanks.

Taco Bell...LOL I actually don't mind their hard shell tacos. From time to time, i'll get them, but that's about once a year.

flachick · June 2013

We live in Orlando and there are a couple of good bbq places around. On Maguire Road in Ocoee, there's a place called Red Eye Barbecue. The owner started out with a very popular food truck and went from there. He's also an Egger. In Winter Garden, there's Harry and Larry's. It usually wins the annual newspaper "best bbq" award, but we prefer Red Eye. Johnny Rivers Smokehouse and Barbecue is also in Winter Garden. I had brisket from there at a catered party. It was pretty darned good, but I can't vouch for anything else. All three of these are on the Disney side of town, sort of. You can check out their websites online.
And people make mock, but Gatorland in Kissimmee is a fun way to spend a few hours. I highly recommend DeLeon Springs State Park in Deland. There's cold springs for swimming, guided tour boats on the St. John's River, hiking, and best of all...the old millhouse restaurant. All you can eat pancakes (stoneground buckwheat and regular) that you make yourself on a griddle table. It's been a family favorite for years and years. Anyway, that should get you started.

Foghorn · June 2013

@flachick is onto something. The natural spring state parks (there are probably a dozen in the Ocala National Forest alone) are one of the underrecognized gems of Florida. The farther away you get from Orlando the less crowded they are. Silver Glen Springs is pretty cool.

cazzy · June 2013

flachick said:

We live in Orlando and there are a couple of good bbq places around. On Maguire Road in Ocoee, there's a place called Red Eye Barbecue. The owner started out with a very popular food truck and went from there. He's also an Egger. In Winter Garden, there's Harry and Larry's. It usually wins the annual newspaper "best bbq" award, but we prefer Red Eye. Johnny Rivers Smokehouse and Barbecue is also in Winter Garden. I had brisket from there at a catered party. It was pretty darned good, but I can't vouch for anything else. All three of these are on the Disney side of town, sort of. You can check out their websites online.
And people make mock, but Gatorland in Kissimmee is a fun way to spend a few hours. I highly recommend DeLeon Springs State Park in Deland. There's cold springs for swimming, guided tour boats on the St. John's River, hiking, and best of all...the old millhouse restaurant. All you can eat pancakes (stoneground buckwheat and regular) that you make yourself on a griddle table. It's been a family favorite for years and years. Anyway, that should get you started.

Thanks a bunch. Just what I was hoping to hear about.

Foghorn said:

@flachick is onto something. The natural spring state parks (there are probably a dozen in the Ocala National Forest alone) are one of the underrecognized gems of Florida. The farther away you get from Orlando the less crowded they are. Silver Glen Springs is pretty cool.

Awesome. I will check it out for sure! I think we're going to limit parks to 4 days, and 3 days to other stuff. We may swap that depending on how tired we are after day 3. It may serve us right to even space relax days between park days. hmm :-?

Foghorn · June 2013

The space center in Cape Canaveral is a good take as well. Both of your kids would probably enjoy it.

If you go to EPCOT, get to the French pastry shop early and eat lunch or dinner at the Moroccan restaurant. It is the best food there.

Definitely don't stray into a Mexican restaurant in that area. Compared to San Antonio, you will only be disappointed.

If your kids like Rainforest Cafe, there is one at the Animal Kingdom and you can actually walk in with no wait if you get there on the early side for lunch.

If you are going to watch the night light and laser show at EPCOT, the best places to do it are at the English pub or the Mexican cantina. Get there early and get a cold beer and a good seat.

The easiest place to get a good view of the night parade at the Magic Kingdom is in Frontierland.

If you want to do a character breakfast (where Disney characters come to your table for pictures and autographs), do it on the day you go to the Magic Kingdom and get the earliest reservation you can at the restaurant in the Contemporary Hotel. You can then park your car there for the day. You can ride the monorail to the Magic Kingdom very easily. Most importantly, at the end of the day, if you leave right after the night parade, you can walk to the Contemporary and get in your car faster than any of the monorail or boat lines will get you out of the Magic Kingdom.

And when traveling with small children we always found that our kids couldn't handle two long days in a row without getting really grouchy (the parents may have been part of this as well) - so we always tried to alternate late nights and early nights. This made it so that on each day that we needed them to stay up later, they had gotten a really good night of sleep the night before.

Eggcelsior · June 2013

I am sincerely dreading the day I have to take 2 girls to Disney World. :-<

Foghorn · June 2013

Eggcelsior said:

I am sincerely dreading the day I have to take 2 girls to Disney World. :-<

As you should. They will, of course, need to be dressed like their favorite princesses.....

We actually never took it to that level, but the ability of that place to suck money out of your wallet is impressive.

At this point, I have to deal with my wife and my 18 year old daughter wanting to go to Harry Potter World at Universal whenever we get within 100 miles of Orlando.

cazzy · June 2013

Foghorn said:

Eggcelsior said:

I am sincerely dreading the day I have to take 2 girls to Disney World. :-<

As you should. They will, of course, need to be dressed like their favorite princesses.....

We actually never took it to that level, but the ability of that place to suck money out of your wallet is impressive.
At this point, I have to deal with my wife and my 18 year old daughter wanting to go to Harry Potter World at Universal whenever we get within 100 miles of Orlando.

My wife is very excited about Harry Potter World. LOL

cazzy · June 2013

Foghorn said:

The space center in Cape Canaveral is a good take as well. Both of your kids would probably enjoy it.
If you go to EPCOT, get to the French pastry shop early and eat lunch or dinner at the Moroccan restaurant. It is the best food there.
Definitely don't stray into a Mexican restaurant in that area. Compared to San Antonio, you will only be disappointed.
If your kids like Rainforest Cafe, there is one at the Animal Kingdom and you can actually walk in with no wait if you get there on the early side for lunch.
If you are going to watch the night light and laser show at EPCOT, the best places to do it are at the English pub or the Mexican cantina. Get there early and get a cold beer and a good seat.
The easiest place to get a good view of the night parade at the Magic Kingdom is in Frontierland.
If you want to do a character breakfast (where Disney characters come to your table for pictures and autographs), do it on the day you go to the Magic Kingdom and get the earliest reservation you can at the restaurant in the Contemporary Hotel. You can then park your car there for the day. You can ride the monorail to the Magic Kingdom very easily. Most importantly, at the end of the day, if you leave right after the night parade, you can walk to the Contemporary and get in your car faster than any of the monorail or boat lines will get you out of the Magic Kingdom.
And when traveling with small children we always found that our kids couldn't handle two long days in a row without getting really grouchy (the parents may have been part of this as well) - so we always tried to alternate late nights and early nights. This made it so that on each day that we needed them to stay up later, they had gotten a really good night of sleep the night before.

Awesome stuff! Thanks for the recommendations and advice!!

flachick · June 2013

If you have questions about the Orlando area and getting from "here to there" my email is joebensara@aol.com. I'm no tour guide, but I'm more than happy to offer an opinion or suggestion.

Cheers,
Syd

cazzy · June 2013

Thanks a bunch @flachick

Medicman627 · June 2013

If you go towards the Space Coast (NASA, yadda yadda yadda), make sure to stop in at Dixie Crossroads in Titusville. It's a couple miles east of I-95. Great local seafood. Try the rock shrimp. Shorts n T-shirts are fine.

NecessaryIndulg · June 2013

We are an hour east near Poolman.. Let us know if y'all head towards the beach, we can all meet up somewhere for dinner (like, Poolman's house).

Regarding Orlando BBQ, I recently ate at 4 Rivers Smokehouse, it was pretty tasty! http://4rsmokehouse.com

cazzy · June 2013

NecessaryIndulg said:
We are an hour east near Poolman.. Let us know if y'all head towards the beach, we can all meet up somewhere for dinner (like, Poolman's house).

Regarding Orlando BBQ, I recently ate at 4 Rivers Smokehouse, it was pretty tasty! http://4rsmokehouse.com

That would be pretty cool! I'll obviously know more as we get closer, so I'll keep y'all posted!

Thanks to everyone for the feedback.

@Flapoolman tuckawayshores is pretty cool. Got to love a hotel ran by eggheads!

GrannyX4 · June 2013

@Cazzy, Florida in August is brutal. There isn't any good way to survive Disney. But there are a few things I can suggest. Stay on Disney grounds. Our favorite hotel is the yacht Club and we enjoy the boardwalk. In the evening we get pizza and eat out on the boardwalk watch the street performers, and then get some ice cream. The animal kingdom lodge is a nice change of pace. We take the bus to the lodge and watch the animals out in the back of the hotel and eat at Boma. It has something for everyone and a change of pace from chicken strips and pizza. The boys enjoyed the space center. We where there when the last shuttle was on the launch pad. I think the vehicle assembly building might be open to the public. This past spring we took the grands on a airboat ride. When the ride was over they asked to go again. They loved it. Gator land is not my favorite. It's a little cheesy but the little ones love it. When we go to Universal we stay at one of the universal hotels. This allows you early admission to the park and Harry Potter befor the rest of the crowds. Also the hotel gives you a speed pass so no standing in lines at the parks. The cost of the speed pass was almost the cost of the room. The daughter and I survived by stopping at margaritaville first and taking the kids to City walk for the splash pad, shopping, and carnival games and street performers. Disney vero was one of the better beach vacations. Don't forget the character breakfast or dinner for the little one. It's special.

cazzy · June 2013

GrannyX4 said:
@Cazzy, Florida in August is brutal. There isn't any good way to survive Disney. But there are a few things I can suggest. Stay on Disney grounds. Our favorite hotel is the yacht Club and we enjoy the boardwalk. In the evening we get pizza and eat out on the boardwalk watch the street performers, and then get some ice cream. The animal kingdom lodge is a nice change of pace. We take the bus to the lodge and watch the animals out in the back of the hotel and eat at Boma. It has something for everyone and a change of pace from chicken strips and pizza. The boys enjoyed the space center. We where there when the last shuttle was on the launch pad. I think the vehicle assembly building might be open to the public. This past spring we took the grands on a airboat ride. When the ride was over they asked to go again. They loved it. Gator land is not my favorite. It's a little cheesy but the little ones love it. When we go to Universal we stay at one of the universal hotels. This allows you early admission to the park and Harry Potter befor the rest of the crowds. Also the hotel gives you a speed pass so no standing in lines at the parks. The cost of the speed pass was almost the cost of the room. The daughter and I survived by stopping at margaritaville
first and taking the kids to City walk for the splash pad, shopping, and carnival games and street performers. Disney vero was one of the better beach vacations. Don't forget the character breakfast or dinner for the little one. It's special.

Wow, I feel like I was with y'all! Thanks a million for all your suggestions! The airboat ride sounds really cool!!

Will need to look into rates at universal studio hotel.

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