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February 10, 2023
Ultimate Orlando Florida Bucket List!
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Have the BEST trip ever with our ULTIMATE Orlando Florida Bucket List!
Orlando Florida is one of the most visited destinations in the world! And for a great reason… This Orlando Florida bucket list has no shortage of fun, jaw-dropping beauty, adrenaline-seeking adventures, relaxation spots, and gorgeous sights to see!
Whether you are a local looking for your next adventure, or you have traveled a long way, you’ll find a lot of inspiration in this Orlando Florida bucket list! With everything from the top theme parks in the world and emerald beaches to hidden oases and attractions for the whole family!
Save this to Pinterest, as your ultimate travel planning resource, and to reference on your adventures!
Let’s start with the obvious reason everyone loves Orlando – the theme parks! Of course, there’s Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando Resort, and SeaWorld, but there are also plenty of other amazing theme and water parks worth checking out!
Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World: Our #1 favorite WDW Park! The Tree of Life, Pandora/Avatar, Expedition Everest, and Kilimanjaro Safaris are at this park. Don’t forget to check out all the amazing animal encounters as this is an accredited zoo also!
Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World: Home to Galaxy’s Edge, Slinky Dog Dash, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, and more.
Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World: Classic Disney park with something for everyone in the family!
EPCOT at Walt Disney World: Home of the “World Showcase” and the brand new Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure ride!
Universal Orlando Resort: Tied with Animal Kingdom for our favorite theme park! Here you’ll find The Hogwarts Express at King’s Cross Station in “London”, Diagon Alley, Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts, Transformers, Rip Ride Rocket, Revenge of the Mummy, The Bourne Stuntacular (do NOT miss this!) and so much more!
Islands of Adventure at Universal Orlando Resort: Definitely go for the 2 park pass at Universal! This allows you to soak up both amazing parks and ride the Hogwarts Express between the two parks! Ride Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, Harry Potter & the Forbidden Journey, the brand new Jurassic World VelociCoaster, The Hulk, and more!
Universal Orlando’s Volcano Bay: A water park without the long lines? Yep, Universal nailed it with Volcano Bay! They provide you with a “Tapu Tapu” wearable device that holds your spot in line, so you can eat, swim, lounge, shop, or just relax until it’s time to ride. And if you’re not into waiting, just look for the rides marked “ride now” and hop on with little to no wait!
Discovery Cove: An all-inclusive, hidden oasis in the city! Snorkel through a saltwater reef with tropical fish, swim with dolphins, dine with unlimited food & drinks, feed tropical birds, and more with complimentary wetsuit/snorkel use!
Seaworld Orlando: Lots of fun for the whole family with rides, roller coasters, shows, shops, animal encounters, and a splash pad. So pack the kids a swimsuit and towel!
Seaworld’s AQUATICA: A water park with the most water slides in Orlando! Including a clear/enclosed slide through a pool of commerson’s dolphins, a lazy river through an “underwater world”, the world’s tallest duel raft racing slide and so much more!
Disney’s Typhon Lagoon Water Park: With attractions and slides designed for little ones, to adults, there is something for everyone.
Disney Blizzard Beach Water Park: Temporarily closed at the time of posting this. Click the link for updates.
LEGOLAND Florida: Theme & water park with over 50 rides, shows & attractions!
Fun Spot Orlando & Kissimmee: Think your favorite country fair, with some go-carts and a few rollercoasters sprinkled in.
Cirque Du Soleil: Experience the world of Disney and Cirque du Soleil in Drawn to Life, in Disney Springs.
Escape Rooms: With lots of fun-themed rooms, and 60 minutes to escape, bring your family, friends, and thinking caps! Universal’s Great Movie Escape, The Escape Games on I-Drive, and Escapology are a couple of options.
Treetop Trek Ariel Adventures: Located next to the Brevard Zoo, this is an outdoor adventure park with fun courses and zip lines for anyone that meets height requirements and can properly use the safety equipment.
Adventure Mini Golf: There are TONS of locations around Orlando if your family enjoys a fungame of put-put golf! Pirates Island, Pirates Cove, Congo River, and Lost Caverns are just a few of the awesome highly themed options. Or try Hollywood Drive-In Golf, located in Universal’s CityWalk, for a unique and interesting take on put-put golf.
Aerophile Charters in Flight: Float 400′ in the air over Disney Springs in the world’s largest tethered helium balloon.
Orlando StarFlyer: At 450′ tall, the world’s tallest swing ride boasts great aerial views of Orlando!
Topgolf Orlando: Three floors housing over 100 golf bays, 200+ TVs, a restaurant/bar, a rooftop terrace with fire pits, and more.
WonderWorks: Picture an upside-down version of The White House, filled to the roof (or basement) with over 100 interactive exhibits to explore! Experience a 5.3 mag earthquake, feel the force behind a category 1 hurricane, climb through a glow-in-the-dark ropes course, compete in laser tag, experience weightlessness like an astronaut, and littles will love the bubble lab, gigantic Lite-Brit, interactive sandbox and so much more! Don’t forget to check out the comedy dinner show also!
ICON Park: Enjoy 50+ attractions, shops, restaurants, and more like The Wheel, Sealife Aquarium, carousel, 7D motion theater, and more.
Go Skydiving at iFLY: If the thought of jumping out of a plane at about 14,000 feet makes you nervous, don’t worry- this free-falling experience happens indoors, no plane required.
Chocolate Kingdom: Is a Factory Adventure Tour: If you love chocolate, you won’t want to miss a visit here! Tip: For an extra small fee you can even make your own custom chocolate bar!
Ripley’s Believe It or Not: A visit to Ripley’s, is sure to take you on a journey through crazy and bizarre oddities of people and places, while hard to imagine- they are all real!
Andretti Indoor Karting & Games Orlando: Indoor, multi-leveled go-karting track, plus VR games, laser tag, ropes course with a zipline, simulators, arcade, and more!
Crayola Experience: Customize and wrap your own crayon, see the world’s largest Crayola crayon, playground, create a melted crayon piece of art, watch a live crayon factory show and so much more!
GORGEOUS BEACHES
No trip to Florida is complete without visiting the beach! Orlando isn’t located on the coast, however, Florida isn’t very wide so you can easily escape to gorgeous beaches within a short drive! Our top recommendations for under two-hour drives…
Clearwater Beach: Hands down, one of our favorite beaches we’ve ever visited! The sand is powdery/white, the water is clear/turquoise and treasures are everywhere in the sand! A short walk from the beach is a marina, with lots of tour options. Some options: Dolphin tours with a pit stop on a cute little island to shell, swim, and snorkel! Or take a high-speed boat, to watch the dolphins play in the boat wake. Or go on a fishing or sailing adventure.
Honeymoon Island Beach: Swim, hike, bike, or relax. Honeymoon Island has four miles of beaches, three miles of trails, mangroves, oyster beds, and tons of wildlife along the way! Try kayaking from Honeymoon Island Beach to Caladesi State Park on your visit, definitely worth it!
Egmont Key National Wildlife Refuge: This is a nature preserve with secluded beaches, a lighthouse, ruins, and at least 10 historic military sites. Fort Dade and Battery James Mcintosh are a couple of options. Access to Egmont Key is accessible only by boat or the Hubbards Ferry which departs from Fort De Soto Park.
Cocoa Beach: Located on the Atlantic side, Cocoa Beach is only an hour’s drive from Orlando. You might even get lucky and witness nesting turtles (a dream of mine)! Sandy shores and bigger waves make for some fun boogie boarding/surfing.
If you don’t mind a little longer drive, these beaches are definitely worth a visit…
Longboat Key
Siesta Key Beach
Venice Beach
Boca Grande Beach
NATURAL ADVENTURES
Get to know Florida outside all the attractions and come seek adventures in the Everglades, springs, underground cave pools, historic sites, and more!
Airboat Tours: As if gliding over mere inches of Florida’s swampy everglades, seeing gators and wildlife in their natural habitat, and the thrill of an airboat tour wasn’t enough, you get to hold baby gators at the end, at Wild Willy’sAirboat Tours. At Boggy Creek Airboat Adventure Toursyou can feed gators, mine for fossils/gems, eat at their BBQ restaurant, and more. Other tour companies: Wild Florida and Spirit of the Swamp Airboat Rides.
Shell Key Nature Preserve: This is a group of undeveloped islands, beaches, and mangroves, off the coast of St. Petersburg. You can boat/kayak over to the preserve, or jump on one of the three ferries to get there.
Rock Springs Run River, via King’s Landing: Located 35 mins NW of Orlando, in Apopka, this is a natural spring-fed river. The untouched beauty of the crystal clear, emerald water, averages 72°, and if you’re lucky you might even get to see manatees! Rent or bring your own kayak/canoe/SUP to enjoy the tranquil beauty of Rock Springs Run. They have tours and shuttles available.
Rock Springs Run River, via Kelly Park: Located on the same river as King’s Landing, this location is further S on the river.
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge: A 140,000-acre U.S. National Wildlife Refuge, on the Atlantic coast of Florida’s largest barrier island.
Rainbow Spring State Park: A little over an hour NW of Orlando you’ll find another gorgeous emerald tropical oasis. Here you’ll find a swimming area, trails, bird watching, camping, kayak/canoe/tube rentals, wildlife viewing and so much more!
Real Florida Adventures: From kayaking in crystal-clear natural springs to exploring the Kennedy Space Center, experiencing thrilling airboat rides, swimming with manatees, and much more—there’s an adventure for everyone! Plus, all tours include convenient transportation, with some even offering meals. How amazing is that?
Scenic Boat Tour: Less than 10 miles from downtown Orlando, you can take an hour-long cruise in an 18-passenger pontoon boat. Glide through three of the seven lakes and two narrow canals on the Winter Park chain.
Revolution Adventures: This is an off-road adventure park! Some of the experiences you can find here are, driving ATVs and side-by-side buggies, archery, bass fishing on their private lake, and clay shooting. Or get dirty driving one of the Mucky Ducks through trails and over water!
Bok Tower Gardens: A tranquil garden with a “singing tower”, nature trails, and a children’s garden. Complete with a hidden water zone, a boardwalk, climbing features, and lots more natural experiences.
Epic Paddle Adventures: Located right in Orlando, you can rent kayaks and SUP to make your own adventure, or choose from one of many tours they offer for guided experiences
ZOOS & AQUARIUMS
SEALIFE Orlando Aquarium: Located at ICON park, walk through a 360° ocean tunnel, admire the jelly wall, see sharks/turtles/octopuses, and more.
Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Garden: Covering 116 acres, you can feed giraffes, ride a zipline, have rino encounters and so much more.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom: Yep! This is not just a theme park, it’s also an accredited zoo.
Jungle Adventures: An 11-acre zoo in a natural setting, with guided tours, a river cruise, and gator feedings.
Gatorland: A 110-acre gator theme park and wildlife preserve. Here you can zipline over a swamp of alligators, see one-of-a-kind animal shows, go on a Stompin’ Gator Off-Road Adventure, and more.
Brevard Zoo: Located under an hour E from Orlando, this zoo has over 500 animals, a zipline, a water play area, a chance to feed giraffes, and more.
Amazing Animals Inc: Over 100 exotic rescued animals with guided tours and educational opportunities. At the moment they are only offering private tours, so book in advance.
The Florida Aquarium: Located in Tampa, they have a 4D theater, splash pad, art galleries, and several animal exhibits. You can find sharks, sea turtles, tomato frogs, garden eels, sting rays, and more.
Giraffe Ranch: Go on a variety of different safaris like camelback, on segways, jeeps, and more. Upclose animal encounters and/or feedings with rhinos, ring-tailed lemurs, giraffes, camels, and more.
Wild Florida’s Drive-Thru Safari Park & Aligator Park: Self-drive thru the park to encounter more than 100 native and exotic animals wandering around. They also have airboat tours as well!
Sugar Factory: If you want a sugar overload, look no further than The Sugar Factory! They have insane and over-the-top desserts like their “World Famous Sugar Factory King Kong Sundae”. Picture 24 scoops of ice cream and over 20 different toppings like candy necklaces and huge sparklers!!
City Walk: Our favorites are the NBC Sports Grill & Brew, Hard Rock Cafe, Margaritaville & Bubba Gumps.
Disney Springs: With over 62 dining options, you’ll find something to make everyone happy! One of our favorites is The BOATHOUSE, where you can take a ride around Disney Springs in a vintage amphibious car.
Kennedy Space Center: Explore the museum exhibits, go into restricted areas on a behind-the-scenes tour, watch a space shuttle launch, and more.Titanic, The Artifact Museum: See over 300 artifacts, full-scale room recreations, and costumed actors. Explore at your own pace or choose one of their guided tours. And don’t miss out on the First-Class Dinner Gala experience.
Orlando Science Museum: Explore hands-on exhibits, watch 3D films on the giant screen, planetarium shows, and more.
Museum of Illusions: Over 50 exhibits of mind-bending and eye-fooling illusions for all ages.
Madame Tussauds: Meet realistic celebrities and historical icons in these themed rooms with full-size replicas made of wax.
So what are you going to add to your Orlando Florida Bucket List?!
