Orlando and South After Christmas

[jpzeroday]

We may be picking up a new coach in Ft Myers, FL this month. My thought was to fly my family out for the 10 days after Christmas. We have 4 kids 8yrs-16mos.

Was thinking a couple of days in Orlando/Tampa and hit Islands of Adventure and then Busch Gardens (we just did three days at Disneyland recently--no need to go to Disney World).

From there we need some help with recommendations:

Where's a great family beach area? Love to spend a few days relaxing beachside?
What are the must see and do destinations?
Show we go as far as the Keys?
Is Naples nice?
Should we factor in Miami and area?

Help 🙂 !!

Thanks,
JP

[ArchHoagland]

You may want to call some of the RV parks in the areas you are considering. My experience around Ft Lauderdale a couple years ago in January was that snowbirds had filled up all the parks.

We just now spent two weeks in Ft Lauderdale and were impressed by their driving skills in that area...... You'll see what I mean.

[Ivylog]

I would see if you can get into John Prince Park at Lake Worth. The beaches at L W & Lantana are good with reasonable parking. I agree with Ft Myers as you can go back and have things fixed if needed.

[TempatureContro]

If in the Everglades, do not miss Shark Valley National Park. It is on hwy 41 in Dade County and the real Florida. You can park on the highway if the parking lot is full and walk in. Get a tram reservation for a 2 hr narrated tour over a 15 mile loop. Or rent bikes if that suits your group!See MANY gators and native birds esp at the time of year you are going. Birds close up we have seen include Great Blue Herons, Tri - color Herons, Wood Storks, Rosette Spoonbills, Anhengas, Egrets and Ibisis.
Just west of this park is a Seminole museum and alligator wrestling.
Also there are 2 or 3 RV Public parks between here and Naples. Also a boardwalk through the jungle, Cypress Bend, I think! See Eagles in nest from this boardwalk, also pond at the end with birds and gators, if you have not seen enough yet.
If time permits, stop at the smallest Post Office in the US on your way west. Consider going to Everglades City and eating Really Fresh seafood along the Barron River.
The museum in the former community laundry is 1st class.
There is a private RV Park here right on the river, a little pricy but really nice for 1 or 2 nights. Call early as you will need gate code if arriving after 4/5?
Everglades NP South side of town has a small museum, and narrated boat tours. There are some RV spots here also but cannot recall if they are reserved for staff only??
Have Fun!

[jpzeroday]

Thanks for all of the recommendations!!

[cpoo]

Mr.Mark wrote:
We were just in Florida picking up our new coach too! We decided to take a quick trip to Naples (360 miles round trip from the showroom) for a 'shakedown' cruise and we had a couple of minor adjustments that needed to be done.

Anyway, Naples is a beautiful place. We have friends that live there so that was one reason for us choosing Naples. We took a bay cruise that also including lunch. The bay is very nice with gorgeous homes all lined up and huge yachts at the shoreline. Naples seems to be more of an adult destination (to me).

We also made a two day stop at Disney's Wilderness RV Resort which is adjacent to Disney World. But, we went to Universal Studios to see the Harry Potter Adventure Land. There are two area's that are connected by either walking or taking the Hogwarts Express. The ride choices are quite impressive. I can't do rides myself but they were quite busy with tourists. The wand shop must have had several thousand wands to pick from. They also have interactive wands that you can use around the park.




X-2

One such place was a metal umbrella sticking off the side of a building, if you point your 'magic' wand at the umbrella, it rains from it. Funny to watch the kids AND adults!

If you go to Disney's Wilderness park, their entrance kiosk is a little low as it was built in 1971. They are in the process of designing a new roof structure to take taller RV's like ours (13'4"). We had to lower all the way down to squeeze under the roof, we made it! The park covers 750 acres and has 799 spots with restaurants and shopping on the property. They have shuttles to Disney World. Universal Studio is about 9 miles away (if I remember correctly).... not too far.

As far as Key West, you have to put the RV a few keys up and take your car although they say parking is hard to find.

Safe travels and have fun!
MM.

[JoeH]

Can-AmDuo wrote:
Two places that your children might enjoy are the Miami Zoo (fantastic aviary)and the Brevard Zoo (smaller zoo just right for the younger set) in Melbourne, FL. They also might get a kick out of the Kennedy Space Center if they aren't too young.

If you go to that area, check out Monkey Jungle.... fun place

[Executive45]

North of Miami, in Hollywood, is Topeekeegee Yugnee Park...AKA TY Park. Means "Gathering Place". Nice clean park, big spaces and a huge park. Ask for one of the lake view sites.....from there you can visit Fort Lauderdale etc. Check Groupon for a 50% at the "Deck" restaurant. Good food, reasonable price, overlooking the beach.


Hollywood Florida

Further up the coast is Cocoa Beach, (Ron Jon Surf Shop) and Cape Canaveral. Stay at the Jetty Campground. Ask for a site overlooking the entrance to the Port. Watch cruise ships arrive and depart daily, see nuclear subs arrive or depart, fish off the pier and if you're as lucky as we were, see a couple rocket launches. The campground sits between the port and the ocean, both within walking distance...Dennis

Cape Canaveral

[tropical36]

jpzeroday wrote:
We may be picking up a new coach in Ft Myers, FL this month. My thought was to fly my family out for the 10 days after Christmas. We have 4 kids 8yrs-16mos.

Was thinking a couple of days in Orlando/Tampa and hit Islands of Adventure and then Busch Gardens (we just did three days at Disneyland recently--no need to go to Disney World).

From there we need some help with recommendations:

Where's a great family beach area? Love to spend a few days relaxing beachside?
What are the must see and do destinations?
Show we go as far as the Keys?
Is Naples nice?
Should we factor in Miami and area?

Help 🙂 !!

Thanks,
JP

Try IBE in Bonita Springs, midway between Ft Myers and Naples, so that you won't be too far from either city and IBE is 5 miles from the beaches on the gulf, straight down Beach road, which is a couple of blocks away. Key West would be 6.5 hours or so from Bonita.

[Can-AmDuo]

Two places that your children might enjoy are the Miami Zoo (fantastic aviary)and the Brevard Zoo (smaller zoo just right for the younger set) in Melbourne, FL. They also might get a kick out of the Kennedy Space Center if they aren't too young.

[jpzeroday]

We've done Disney World several times. Just looking for something more than amusement parks.

[jbrad13]

Dick_B wrote:
You might want to reconsider not going to DisneyWorld which is 10 times (guess) the size of DL.

An interesting fact: Disneyland can fit inside DisneyWorld's parking lot.

[ole_trucker]

Whatever your budget can handle, this state is beautiful from north to south!
Miami wouldn't be on my list, but then I am not from Vegas 😉

[jpzeroday]

Thanks for the recommendations. How about the beaches Miami and just north?

[Executive45]

I recommend St. Petes beach in Tampa. Go south to Naples. Naples RV resort is classA only and nice. Dont forget the Everglades. John Pennecamp SP in Key Largo has snorkeling and kayak rentals. Bluewater Key RV resort is the place to stay for Key West. Visit the southernmost spot in the US and the end/start of US 1.

Visit my blog below for pictures. We just made that trip thru Fla and up the eastern seaboard. ..Dennis