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Universal Orlando Resort: Where to Stay & Play for a Few Days

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My recent stay at Universal Orlando Resort was so much fun and I’m going to share and highlight my favorite moments with you. First and foremost, I stayed at the Cabana Bay Beach Resort on the property which allowed me early access (one hour) to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™. It was my first time experiencing Diagon Alley™. I took advantage of the complimentary shuttle service to Universal Studios Florida and was able to … [Read More...]

Life & Style

Navigating Disney World During a Pandemic

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I recently had an opportunity to visit Walt Disney World as part of my Goofy Getaways FAM Training. It was exciting and I was a bit anxious because even though some restrictions are being lifted, guidelines are more relaxed, and travel is starting to … [Read More...]

Strike a pose at Pose Selfie Studio

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I recently had an opportunity to visit the NEW Pose Selfie Studio in Raleigh, NC with my daughter and it was so much fun. The great thing about this studio is that you have all the tools you need to capture your perfect photos alone or you can go … [Read More...]

Taste the Flavors of St. Thomas USVI

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Navigating Disney World During a Pandemic

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I recently had an opportunity to visit Walt Disney World as part of my Goofy Getaways FAM Training. It was exciting and I was a bit anxious because even though some restrictions are being lifted, guidelines are more relaxed, and travel is starting to … [Read More...]

Taste the Flavors of St. Thomas USVI

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I am excited to be collaborating with my fellow foodie lover Hannah Victoria on this listing of places to eat in St. Thomas USVI whether you are visiting or local to the island. We are giving you our personal opinions based on our dining experiences … [Read More...]

Food

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How I Loved a Weekend in Orlando Without Theme Parks

How I Spent a Weekend in Orlando Without Visiting Any Theme Parks (And Loved It) sounds like a contradiction, but it became the highlight of a recent family trip. We had Orlando on our list for Disney World, Universal and the water parks, yet the thought of queues, park apps and another packed breakfast made me crave something calmer. So we gave ourselves two full days with no theme park ticket, character breakfast or alarm set for a parade. The result was a weekend of markets, good food, leafy streets and enough downtime to notice how pleasant Orlando can be beyond the big gates.

I kept a rough plan because we had travelled from Australia and did not want to wander aimlessly. We stayed near the east side of downtown, used the car only when useful and left most afternoons open for a walk, coffee or an early night. The biggest surprise was how little of Orlando required a reservation, which is not how I normally think about the city back home. The park-free weekend looked very different from the itinerary most visitors choose.

Theme-park day My park-free weekend
Large entry cost Free sights and inexpensive local outings
Fixed starts and booked meals Flexible timing and spontaneous stops
Hours spent queueing Short walks, local shops and downtime
Extra spending on food and souvenirs Spending on meals and keepsakes I wanted

Landing softly after the long haul

Getting there from Australia sets the tone. From Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane, an Orlando trip usually means a long-haul booking and roughly 16 to 18 hours door to door, often with a connection. My first afternoon disappeared into transit, so I treated Friday as recovery rather than sightseeing. I collected the hire car, found sunscreen and settled near Lake Eola before getting takeaway from the hotel.

Small differences are funny when you are jet-lagged. I still called three o’clock arvo in family messages and expected a flat white, while the local order was simply a small coffee. More usefully, I checked my Australian bank app before dinner: Orlando charges in US dollars, and my card added a foreign transaction fee. Converting some cash and choosing a no-overseas-fee card made the cost less painful.

A Saturday at Winter Garden market

We started early at the Winter Garden Farmers’ Market, a Saturday institution on Main Street. I carried a canvas bag, bought peaches, cakes and local honey, then watched families linger over coffee while cyclists passed beneath the old trees. It felt communal without being crowded, the opposite of the managed rush outside the park gates.

The surrounding blocks were the surprise. I browsed antique shops, stopped for a Cuban coffee and pastry, and popped into a sweet shop where the owner was happy to chat about the best treats to take home. The Winter Garden Antiques and Collectibles Mall gave me somewhere cool to browse when the pavement started to heat up.

By late morning, the free splash pad beside Main Street became our unexpected favourite with the children. Nobody needed a wristband or timed session, and we were home and changed within an hour. The market cost only the food we chose to eat, making it better value than the extras we would have bought on a theme-park day.

Antiques, murals and a walk around Lake Eola

After lunch we drove east to Antique Row around East Lake Avenue. The shops range from genuine antiques to quirky vintage booths, and several courtyards invited a slow wander. I bought a small blue bowl I still love, although the pleasure was comparing three versions of the same glass without rushing towards a checkout deadline.

Our walk continued around Lake Eola, where families fed birds, runners circled the water and office workers ate lunch on the grass. The lake looked completely different from the version I knew from photographs, with buildings and palms framing the skyline. We covered barely a kilometre, yet it gave us the reset we needed.

Thornton Park and the nearby cafés made an easy final stop for cold drinks. We stayed until the afternoon heat eased, watching people exercise and children chase each other across the grass. It was exactly the kind of unplanned scene that never appears in a tightly packaged park schedule.

Eating like an Orlando local, not a park visitor

Food became the main event on my park-free days. Breakfast was eggs and grits near the lake, followed by an iced coffee stronger than I expected. Rather than hunting for a themed dining reservation, I asked the server what locals ordered. Her suggestion was a hot sandwich from a nearby deli, which became lunch.

That advice led me to places I would never have found on a park itinerary. I tried a Cuban sandwich packed with roast pork, pickles and mustard, then shared chicken wings with a properly spicy sauce. A produce stall sold fruit resembling the peaches from Winter Garden, although at a very different price.

Dinner was at a small pub near East End, with local beer, a burger and a salad. The room held regulars rather than families in matching mouse ears, and the music was loud enough to make conversation require the occasional lean across the table. I left with a pub T-shirt and no souvenir poncho, which suited the weekend perfectly.

Driving, dollars and other Australian considerations

Orlando’s road system was easy in a broad, American way, but the details caught me out. Cars drive on the right, unlike Australia, and highways can expand suddenly into many lanes. I carried my Australian licence and an International Driving Permit in case the rental desk wanted it, and photographed both before leaving home.

Parking was free at the market and some smaller attractions, while central Orlando charged by the hour or day. The cashless toll roads were the biggest surprise: there was no booth for coins, and the rental company later added a service charge to each toll. I used its toll package and checked the final invoice carefully.

Most places accepted cards, but I kept some US cash for market stalls and small cafés. Publix is the supermarket locals use, so I stopped there for water, snacks and breakfast supplies. It was a useful change from the supermarket rhythm I know at home, where Woolworths and Coles brands are familiar but absent in Orlando. Tipping was another adjustment, since Americans usually add around 18 to 20 per cent for good table service.

The unexpected value of doing nothing

The financial difference was impossible to ignore. Our park-free weekend cost about US$700 for the family, including two nights, meals, coffee, the market and a few purchases. A single day at a major theme park can begin around US$100 per adult before food, parking or paid experiences. My money went into meals and small things we kept instead.

The time difference mattered even more. A park morning involved security queues before breakfast, then a packed calendar until fireworks. Here, I could sit beside the lake, read under a tree or take a spontaneous detour into a shop. For the heat, I adapted my island packing list, bringing breathable clothes, a refillable bottle and sunscreen.

On the second afternoon, we skipped the planned outlet run and found a tiny bakery instead, then returned to the hotel pool without checking whether it closed at five. That unplanned stretch became my favourite part of the trip and cost less than the themed accessories I had been browsing online.

The Orlando memory that stayed with me

I still think Disney World and Universal are brilliant for the right trip. My family had plenty of reasons to visit, and Orlando deserves time and money. Yet the park-free weekend won me over because it felt spontaneous without being empty, affordable without feeling cheap and full of small moments that did not need scheduling.

Two days in, my favourite memory was not a particular attraction but returning from Lake Eola with warm bread from a local bakery, tired feet and no desire to hurry anywhere. My children still mention the Winter Garden splash pad, while I remember the antique dealer wrapping my blue bowl in brown paper. That is what made the weekend stick: Orlando gave us something to enjoy without asking us to consume as much as possible in a single day.