What to do in Orlando -- no theme parks, popular museums etc.

March 9, 2025 9:09 AM

I'll be in Orlando, Fl. for a week sometime in the next couple months for a work trip. I may have some obligations in the evening occasionally but will largely have my run of things. Staying out by Disney World, will have a rental car. I'm 30s, active, gay woman. I'll be bringing running shoes. No interest in theme parks, tourist traps, etc. What should I do?

Things I would like:
- Live music in casual settings
- Fun gay bars
- Unique cuisine (I ate at 3 different hot chicken places in Nashville when I went for work)
- Super long walks
- Awesome music/instrument shops

Things I wouldn't like:
- Most things that are on TripAdvisor (lol)
- I'm really not that big on space stuff, so no Kennedy Space Center

posted by vocativecase to Travel & Transportation around Orlando, FL (11 answers total)

Golf?
posted by fairmettle at 9:20 AM on March 9

There's a few gay bars in the artsy district...nothing great, but their ok. I would rent a car and drive to Wikiva State park for kayaking, nature rocks, wildlife, etc. You are probably near Kissimmee which is kind of awful...but they do have a terrific rodeo show. That's still cattle country...most head of cattle after Texas...Or drive to the ocean beach about 40 minutes away. Watch out for sharks.
posted by Czjewel at 10:00 AM on March 9

Drive down to St Pete's and visit the Dali museum.

Bok Tower has nice gardens.

Leu Gardens is also nice.

If you like architecture, you can visit/tour Florida Southern University, where he designed a bunch of buildings.

And, yes, it's touristy, but Gatorland is pretty awesome.

Or, yeah, it's not a big drive to hit the coast and see the ocean.
posted by mrphancy at 10:12 AM on March 9 [1 favorite]

Were it me, I would be checking out what Atlas Obscura has for Orlando.

I particularly enjoyed swimming on top of the spring head at Rock Springs.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 10:19 AM on March 9 [2 favorites]

If the season lines up and you like citrus, try to go to a pick-your-own citrus farm. The one I went to and really enjoyed has changed its model to one that allows a lot less freedom (instead of roaming freely, you have to take a bus to a supervised section), so I don't have a current recommendation but it was a super pleasant way to spend an afternoon.

If you have any interest in urban planning (and/or corporate control of daily life), Celebration is an interesting place to spend an hour walking around. They also have a pretty nice lake with a walking path where you should be able to see ibises, herons and maybe a small alligator.

Even if you don't care about space, Canaveral National Seashore is great (although seems to be closed at the moment, but hopefully will re-open soon). Tons of cool nature to see (scrub jays! shorebirds!), miles of beach to walk on, some nice non-beach nature trails, and you can catch a glimpse of some space stuff for (I think) $25 vs the much steeper price of admission into the actual space center. Also, if you like doo-wop/googie architecture, just driving around the space coast is pretty great for that.
posted by snaw at 10:44 AM on March 9

- Super long walks

Assuming this means you're generally inclined towards seeing things outside, it's still manatee season, and if you've never seen them, they are very cool. It will likely require renting a car for the day, but there are places all over Central Florida where you can see them.
posted by coffeecat at 11:20 AM on March 9 [4 favorites]

Not a walk but when I was in Orlando I took a wonderful most-of-the-day canoe trip. Unfortunately I don't remember what river, but we were taken to start where the river was a creek a couple of feet wide, then drifted down the river (individually .. I was alone) for hours ending up with the river a hundred yards wide. It went through pretty woods and was magical.

I also swam in a natural spring (?Blue Hole?) which was equally lovely. It was summer though, so I don't know what swimming is like at this time of year
posted by anadem at 12:21 PM on March 9 [1 favorite]

If you’re noping the space center, you're notionally open to the east coast for other reasons? Like the best beaches in Florida? (I’ma west coast resident so it’s not chauvinism). I love cocoa beach, personally, and it’s a great beach to run on.
posted by toodleydoodley at 2:41 PM on March 9

Disney World is to the southwest of Orlando. It is a very car dependent area. You will need to drive an hour, maybe 2 hours to get to an area of interest.

Wekiva Springs, very flat hiking, but some of the best water around FL. Bring a swimsuit, rent a canoe. Turn around when you get to the bridge.
Lake Eola is in the gentrified and gay friendly section of the city. Walk around the park, get a pizza and Orange Blossom Pilsner at Antony's.
Cape Canaveral has NASA, and some of the best beaches. Learn to surf at a local surf school
Scuba is a big deal in Florida. Book a dive on a local charter.
Head to the west side and the Sunset Beach. Have lunch at 82 Degrees.
Go cave diving at Ginnie Springs, or just paddle around with the Manatees at Manatee Springs

Best of all, just blow off work and head to Key Largo. Go fishing, scuba, swimming until you forget that corporate exists.
posted by pdoege at 9:53 PM on March 9

If you ignore the "Disney" in the name, the Nature Conservancy's Disney Wilderness Preserve is a great outing. The name comes from the fact that MouseCo funded it.

Moss Park has lots of wildlife. We saw deer and turkey without even trying (may not fit some people's definition of wild).
posted by intermod at 11:57 AM on March 10 [1 favorite]

I know you said you don't care about space stuff, which is fine of course. But if you just stand outside and look east at the right time, you can see a rocket launch from Orlando! Use NextSpaceFlight.com to check on when the next one is, from either Kennedy or from Cape Canaveral SFS (likely a SpaceX launch out of LC-39A or LC-40). Then just find a spot with no trees to the east at the launch time, and about 60 seconds after launch you'll see the bright spot climb up into the sky and then heading further away (east). If you want some live commentary, in particular to hear if it actually lifted off, tune into NSF's Youtube channel since they cover every single launch out of the Cape, even the relatively boring Starlink launches. SpaceX launches an average of every three days now, so you'll definitely get to see one while you are there for a week.
posted by intermod at 12:07 PM on March 10 [1 favorite]