I have a confession to make. Before going there I thought the only thing to do in Orlando was go to theme parks. Which, yep, makes me sound so uncultured. I’m quite ashamed of myself, don’t worry. But… in my defence when I Googled 'Orlando as a holiday destination' I found so many blogs and articles detailing exactly how to plan your trip to Orlando, jumping from theme park to theme park.
And while I did want to check out the parks, what I didn’t want was to spend my whole time being flung around upside down, or chasing Mickey Mouse for a selfie. Thankfully, as I discovered there’s plenty of time to do both and Orlando is a whole thriving city with so much to do than just rollercoasters.
Where to stay in Orlando
The Alfond Inn, in Winter Park. Don’t be confused by the name, as ‘Winter Park’ isn’t one of Orlando’s many theme parks but instead the prettiest, bougiest area in the city. I found that the easiest way to visit Orlando is to think of each district as its own little destination to explore, as each area has its own distinct feel. This makes it easier to travel around on foot (I’m not a driver, making holidays in the US that little bit trickier) as we would plot each day depending on the area you're going to, then catch a Lyft (they don't use Uber) to said area and then explore on foot. As a fun bonus, it also means you feel as if you're getting multiple holidays in one. Particularly, if, like me, you decide to inhabit a different character in each place…
When I was in Winter Park I became the lead in a Christmas movie, visiting my local village where I was just bound to bump into my high school sweetheart as he was helping his dear old, and incredibly rich, grandma with her shopping. OK, I won’t get too carried away with this fictional tale of mine, but hopefully it’s helping you get the idea of just how cute this area is.
Winter Park was founded in 1887 and was originally a destination for wealthy New England residents to come to, to escape the cold winter months (hence the name) and it has retained that exclusive, ‘family money’ feel to it – I loved spotting all the retired ladies, clad in pink tracksuits, with their fluffy little dogs (in matching tracksuits, natch) weaving through the streets, stopping off to gossip with each other. There’s a high street full of independent boutiques - from old-fashioned pharmacies to clothes stores - with so many parks and green spaces to explore as well as museums, galleries and restaurants with outside tables dotted along the cobbled streets. I felt like a local there, yes the properties there go for well over a million and I do not, sadly, have a trust fund but shhh no one needs to know that, and the Alfond Inn became my home.
This boutique hotel is located just off of Downtown Park Avenue (the main shopping street) and has rooms with beds in them that are so comfy they feel like home, but, let’s face it, are much better. The rooms are all wood panelling and soft luxurious linen, with ensuite all marble bathrooms, that feel cosy and comforting (something I needed after ending up land sick after returning from my first cruise.) But while the rooms feel slightly old fashioned, the vast lobby and accompanying restaurant are anything but, with modern art lining the walls. The hotel also masquerades as an art gallery with the Rollins Museum of Art housing much of their contemporary collection within the walls of the hotel. Ideal for those who like to immerse themselves in culture (and those who just love a pretty snap for their Instagram feed…)
The starting rate at Alfond Inn in January is $319 per room based on two people sharing.
What to do in Orlando
Remember how I said you need to split your time between the different areas, devoting a day or an evening in each? First up: explore the aforementioned Winter Park (I will get to other areas too soon! Though tbh could have spent a week feeling charming there). The best way to do so is by jumping on a boat tour, as the area is built around seven lakes.
Take a boat tour
Our little pontoon (around $15 each, Scenic Boat Tours) took us through three of the seven, made possible by the small manmade canals connecting the lakes. You cruise through, plants tickling your shoulders, and come out onto a vast, open landscape dotted with the most incredible houses you’ve ever seen. Our tour guide also filled us in on the history of the area, the famous inhabitants of the houses (Tom! Hanks!) and pointed out local wildlife (some people have even seen alligators!) It was a dreamy morning, and we continued the wholesome vibes, by pottering around the Morse Museum. It houses one of the largest collections of Louis Comfort Tiffany works, you might know his name from his jewellery but the Tiffany family were also known for their pottery, art and stunning stained glass pieces.
Paddle boarding
For a totally different, but also water-based excursion, book in with Epic Paddle Adventures, for a few hours of guided paddle boarding. I’d never paddle boarded before and was slightly nervous about the whole thing, but our guides made us feel so comfortable as we took to the water of Spring Lake, an urban paradise of crystal blue (and this is key: steady) water which made it easy for a beginner like me to learn. But… what made it even easier was the joy of pugs coming out with us on the boards. Yes, really! They’re totally happy and well looked after (in little life jackets) and hop from board to board.
Visit a brewery
Next up reward your bravery with some beer. Spring Lake is in the Ivanhoe Village area of the city which is famed for its independent restaurants, shops and bars, including breweries. So, we hopped from board to beer, and booked in for a tour and tasting at Ivanhoe Park Brewery. On site, they create both all-year-round and one-off special craft beers, with everything from golden ales to fruity sours (all delicious but I adored guavication, which felt almost like a fruit smoothie and a beer) as well as hosting various events and parties for locals in their vast, friendly taproom. As someone who doesn’t know a lot about beer (could you tell from my comparison of smoothie to beer?!) I found it a fun tour where I didn’t feel stupid for asking any (probably quite stupid) question that crossed my mind. Hopped up (ha geddit) we then carried on our beer tour of the area (Orlando is famous for craft beers, you know) and hit up GB Bottle Shop round the corner for even more weird, wonderful ales and sours. Or if you’re more into wine try The Imperial, located inside Washburn Imports at Ivanhoe Village, a neighborhood bar housed in a furniture store specialising in boutique wines, craft beers and cocktails.
If you don’t feel like drinking The BANDBOX is Orlando’s first alcohol-free cocktail tasting lounge and package shop, at Ivanhoe Village. The lounge’s menu features non-alcoholic cocktails curated by both in-house and local mixologists; booze-free wines, beers, aperitifs, bitters, shrubs, tonics, CBD sodas both for consumption and for sale; along with vintage clothes to browse while you’re at it.
If you want to party…
You gotta go Downtown (downtown…) the streets are jam-packed with people dancing and singing their way through the huge variety of nightclubs, rooftop cocktail places and dive bars which, much to this British tourist’s sheer delight, host beer pong tournaments. We stumbled upon the Sly Fox which was covered in graffiti and had an old-fashioned photo booth. Or there's Wall Street Plaza, for all-in-one fun with seven different bars, from a club in an old moonshine warehouse to a tiki bar. We weren't there on the right day but they host Sunday Funday block parties with pumping music and big-sesh-energy day drinking vibes, that I definitely want to check out if we ever go back.
For cocktails Hansons Shoe Repair gives off speakeasy vibes, with a changing password needed to get in (go on their Twitter or text the number on the website to find it out for the day you're visiting), while Cocktails & Screams is Halloween themed all-year-round. Tip: Americans don't sing "Halloween is comin', the ghosts are gettin' fat" and will look confused if you choose to sing it at them.
Where to eat in Orlando
The Hall On The Yard
For casual but fun and inventive, The Hall On The Yard in Ivanhoe Park is the perfect place to soak up all that beer (or wine, or both). It’s a food hall style concept with nine different food places, and three cocktail bars, but the best bit is you don’t have to do the wandering from food stall to food stall… you simply order on an app and everything is brought to you. We had a mix of Norma’s (Italian food recommended to us by some of the locals in the area) and Shay’s Kitchen for some classic Southern fried chicken and waffles. For the best Asian food hit up Mills 50, one of Orlando’s oldest neighbourhoods with plenty of places to try such as Chuan Lu Garden, Nha Trang Subs, Little Saigon, Hawkers Asian Street Fare and Mamak Asian Street Food. Also worth checking out in the area is Plantees, an all-new vegan restaurant concept, opened in May in the Mills 50 district featuring 100% plant-based burgers and shakes.
AVA MediterrAegean
In Winter Park, on Park Avenue (so, like three minutes from our hotel) is AVA MediterrAegean, a new Mediterranean restaurant and lounge. It’s chic and sexy with a hidden underground lounge for cocktails after dinner. As for the food itself, it’s mezze style dining but the halloumi, honey-coated and flame grilled, is what I’d return for again and again.
As for the rollercoasters…
When I was researching Orlando most places advised you schedule in two weeks to hit up all the theme parks. TWO WEEKS! Ain’t nobody got time for that. But, as someone who has wanted to visit Orlando’s theme parks since I was a little girl, I did get quite stressed out by this… would there just not be enough time for me to truly enjoy them? I didn’t need to panic. While, of course, if you want to go to every theme park Orlando has to offer and go on every single ride, you would probably need a fortnight, we only had two days and we still got to go on plenty.
My first piece of advice is stay in one of the many on-site theme park hotels there are. But go prepared! You’ll want to stay on site, particularly if, like me, you can’t drive, as there’s transport direct from your hotel to the parks, often with earlier access than the general public (read: less queuing, more rollercoaster time.) But what I wish I’d realised is that once you’re in the area of the theme parks you’re kind of trapped, meaning paying a huge bill for every single dinner. All the shops on site have the same mark-up prices so there isn’t even really the option of getting a few bits for your room and eating there. Saying that, one night exhausted (from flinging ourselves about in the air) we successfully ordered food to our room from a local take-out.
We stayed at Loews Sapphire Falls Resort at Universal Orlando which, super excitedly, had floor to ceiling windows with views of the park. It also has a huge swimming pool, with waterfalls, hot tubs and dotted with fire pits where you can sit and drink an obnoxiously blue, slushie cocktail feeling as if you’re on an island somewhere. Needed after two days of getting the steps in walking through all the theme parks.
As for the parks themselves, we chose Walt Disney World for our first day, and Universal Orlando the second. It provided a good mix as Walt Disney World is less rollercoaster heavy and more fun to simply see the castle, try and meet some characters and catch the parade (I don’t mean to brag but Minnie Mouse waved at me). It’s also fun to people watch as pretty much everyone there is in matching family t-shirts (I didn’t get the memo!) or are real Disney obsessives with every single piece of merch crammed onto their being.
There are four theme parks in Walt Disney World in total and, as warned, we wouldn’t manage all of them in the same day so I’d recommend picking which spots you want to see the most and focusing on them, rather than stressing yourself out cramming it all in (if you don’t have much time.) We managed the Magic Kingdom (where the castle is), EPCOT (which has a 1.3 mile promenade where you ‘visit’ miniature version of places all across the world, it’s odd but kinda sweet) and my favourite Disney Hollywood studios as it had the Rock n Roller Coaster, starring Aerosmith. I just love a classic coaster, OK?
Which is why, out of the two (sorry Minnie) Universal Orlando Resort came out my favourite. It’s comprised of three parks: Universal Studios Florida, Islands of Adventure and Volcano Bay, which is a water park. We managed to go on pretty much everything in the first two as crossing between them is really easy (you can walk… or even better go on the Hogwarts Express train taking you between Diagon Alley and King’s Cross to Hogsmeade Station (the two Hogwarts areas are fully immersive and split between the two parks.) We spent the day careening between them, using the app to see which rollercoasters had the shortest queues and even managed to go on our favourites (The Incredible Hulk Coaster and Jurassic World VelociCoaster) a couple of times. But, even if you’re not the biggest scary ride fan I still think you’d love it in both parks. They’re so immersive, from entering into Springfield and having a beer in Moes Tavern (and buying souvenirs in the Quick-E-Mart) to supping on a Butterbeer while a dragon roars actual fire above your head, in each area you truly feel like you’ve stepped into a movie or TV show. There’s even a mini ‘New York’ and, just as the park was closing, we watched the fireworks from there from an empty street, which was one of the most magical, memorable experiences of my entire life.
For more information on planning your perfect Orlando trip, check out: Visit Orlando.
Stay for 7 nights at the Loews Sapphire Falls hotel in January from £1,739pp with direct flights from LGW and 7 days Walt Disney World park ticket entry or £2,179 for Walt Disney World and Universal entry based on two people sharing. www.magicbreaks.co.uk
Catriona Innes is Cosmopolitan UK’s multiple award-winning Commissioning Editor, who has won BSME awards both for her longform investigative journalism as well as for leading the Cosmopolitan features department. Alongside commissioning and editing the features section, both online and in print, Catriona regularly writes her own hard-hitting investigations spending months researching some of the most pressing issues affecting young women today.
She has spent time undercover with specialist police forces, domestic abuse social workers and even Playboy Bunnies to create articles that take readers to the heart of the story. Catriona is also a published author, poet and volunteers with a number of organisations that directly help the homeless community of London. She’s often found challenging her weak ankles in towering heels through the streets of Soho. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter.
