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.
Comments
Steve
Caledon, ON
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
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.
XL BGE, Klose BYC, ProQ Excel, Weber Kettle, Firepit, Grand Turbo gasser, and a portable Outdoor Gourmet gasser for tailgating
San Antonio, TX
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! :-\"
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.
XL BGE, Klose BYC, ProQ Excel, Weber Kettle, Firepit, Grand Turbo gasser, and a portable Outdoor Gourmet gasser for tailgating
San Antonio, TX
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 :-?
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.
XL BGE, Klose BYC, ProQ Excel, Weber Kettle, Firepit, Grand Turbo gasser, and a portable Outdoor Gourmet gasser for tailgating
San Antonio, TX
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.
XL BGE, Klose BYC, ProQ Excel, Weber Kettle, Firepit, Grand Turbo gasser, and a portable Outdoor Gourmet gasser for tailgating
San Antonio, TX
Cheers,
Syd
Regarding Orlando BBQ, I recently ate at 4 Rivers Smokehouse, it was pretty tasty! http://4rsmokehouse.com
I write about food & travel on Necessary Indulgences. You can also find me on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Thanks to everyone for the feedback.
@Flapoolman tuckawayshores is pretty cool. Got to love a hotel ran by eggheads!
Will need to look into rates at universal studio hotel.