Dare we begin to list all the stuff that you can do in Orlando? Before you head there, you’ve got a pretty good idea about the theme parks, the particular rides and the restaurants. This is entertainment epicenter of the country.
What you may not know is that you can stretch your trip dollars further by interspersing all those pay-for-play activities with some free adventure. Here are some ideas from Visit Orlando:
- Pay a visit to masters such as Matisse, Picasso and Moran at the Cornell Fine Arts Museum on the campus of Rollins College. Admission is gratis with any valid student ID from any school.
- Explore central Florida’s “secret garden,” the 5.22-acre Kraft Azalea Gardens. You can find them on Lake Maitland. That’s in Winter Park.
- Stroll through Lake Eola Park. Smack, dab in the heart of downtown Orlando you can’t miss the place. This 43-acre enclave offers free concerts, lots of elbowroom, and places for the kids to run off all that pent-up energy. One favorite pastime is feeding the swans.
- Here’s a Disney deal that’s for free. Really. Head to Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort and roast marshmallows with Chip ‘n Dale for a song. The evening-long sing-a-long around the campfire includes a Disney movie and starts at 7:30pm.
- More free Disney doings. The LEGO Imagination Center at Downtown Disney Marketplace is also gratis. Kids get to build their dreams with little plastic bricks in this LEGOcentric center.
- Quack, quack. The famous Peabody Hotel ducks just don’t hang out in Memphis, they’ve set up shop down at the Orlando property too. The mighty ducks march through the atrium of the Peabody Orlando twice daily, at 11am and 5pm. The ritual dates all the way back to 1966.
(Image: nrparsons)
