Things to Do in Orlando Without Visiting a Theme Park
So you're in Orlando but don't want to go to the theme parks. What can you do?
In short: so much!!
Here are my favorite non-park Orlando activities:
🎶 Enjoy live entertainment at Raglan Road Pub with Irish music & dancers or Cirque du Soleil's Drawn to Life at Disney Springs. I also love the Hoop Dee Doo Musical Revue dinner show at Fort Wilderness.
🎆 Watch the fireworks from multiple locations outside the parks, including the Dahlia Lounge at Coronado Springs, the beaches of the Grand Floridian and the Polynesian, and the California Grill on top of the Contemporary. You could even book a fireworks cruise.
🤝 Meet your favorite characters at multiple character dining resort restaurants like Topolino's Terrace, Chef Mickey's, 1900 Park Fare, Artist Point, Cape May Cafe, 'Ohana, or even the Four Seasons.
🛥️ Grab a lunch or dinner reservation at a resort on Bay Lake and take a free boat ride to Magic Kingdom and back! If you are there at night, you might even see the Electrical Water Pageant float by!
🦒 Spot exotic animals at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Hang out in the lobby, grab a quick service meal or eat at Boma, and watch the animals!
💦 Go to a water park for the day! For the rest of 2025 and Summer 2026, entrance to a Disney water park is FREE on check-in day if you stay at a Disney resort. Or visit Universal’s Volcano Bay, which is my favorite water park in Orlando.
🐬 You can even swim with dolphins at nearby Discovery Cove!
🍫 Eat dinner and grab a milkshake at Toothsome Chocolate Emporium at Universal’s City Walk.
But that's not all! Choose from mini golf, actual golf, horseback riding, Amphicar rides, bowling, fishing excursions, Butterbeer tasting, baking classes, and more!
Reach out and we’ll find what is best for you.
