anyone from, near, or frequent Orlando?

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InnerPinup79
InnerPinup79 Posts: 129
in Introduce Yourself
Hi! My husband and I are going to Disney in a few weeks for our 5 yr anniversary/finally going on a honeymoon trip and I wanted to know what are your favorite places to go for food and fun outside of Disney.

Thanks!

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  • drunkymunky75
    drunkymunky75 Posts: 2
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    We holiday there - I love the Outback Steakhouse :)
  • PagalM
    PagalM Posts: 19
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    Depends on what you are looking for.. If you are looking for clubs/restaurants then you need to go to Universal's Citiwalk! There is kareoke, Latin music, Top 40, Bob Marley's, House music. There are restaurants and shops there also. This is located at the entrance area of the 2 Universal Studios parks. You can buy a party pass for $12 for all the clubs and just hop back and forth. If you get there early enough there is food at the Latin place and Bob Marley's. You can head into downtown Orlando where there is a bunch of clubs, restaurants and night life also. There is a place called Hamburger Mary's that has an awesome drag queen show during dinner on Sat nights. You should make a reservation ahead of time. The food and drink specials are pretty good there also.
  • graycaro
    graycaro Posts: 71 Member
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    Hi! Cafe TuTu Tango on International Drive is a great tapas restaurant that has really unique, wonderful food. I'm not from Orlando, but tried this place last time I was there and I'll be heading back for sure -- so good, and an interesting atmosphere!
  • mellimeter
    mellimeter Posts: 102 Member
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    I am from the Orlando area :-) There is something for everyone here, it just depends on your personal preferences! For great restaurants, check out the Dr Phillips area; there are really great restaurants (in fact, this area is nicknamed Restaurant Row!). There's plenty of unique "tourist" things to do on International Drive and 192 (indoor skydiving, Wonder Works, Sleuths Murder Mystery Theatre, Medieval Times, Arabian Nights), and then the Downtown area has a pretty good nightlife scene - clubs, piano bars, and restaurants!

    Will you have a car? If not, there's plenty of things to do on Disney property utilizing their free transportation. There are excellent restaurants of all kinds, in and out of resorts and theme parks (Boma at the Animal Kingdom Lodge is truly unique and scrumptious!) Make sure you make Dining Reservations in advance (www.disneyworld.com/dining)! As for activtities, at the Boardwalk there is JellyRolls (piano bar) and Atlantic Dance Hall (a club). Downtown Disney has live entertainment, lots of shopping, great restaurants, a movie theatre (check out the Fork and Screen, certain theatres are dine in!), a hot air balloon flight, and more. Elsewhere on property, there's mini golf at Winter Summerland and Fantasia Gardens, full golf courses, boat rentals, surrey and bike rentals, parasailing, etc.
  • mellimeter
    mellimeter Posts: 102 Member
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    You can head into downtown Orlando where there is a bunch of clubs, restaurants and night life also. There is a place called Hamburger Mary's that has an awesome drag queen show during dinner on Sat nights. You should make a reservation ahead of time. The food and drink specials are pretty good there also.

    In addition to Hamburger Mary's, there's a few other restaurants that offer great drag shows! Banana's and Funky Monkey! Banana's is one of my favorite places, the food is excellent and the shows are hokey and fun!
  • GlenWalterGal
    GlenWalterGal Posts: 85 Member
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    One place we always go to is "Sweet Tomatoes". It is a wonderful place with a buffet of fresh salad fixings as long as my house lol: many kinds of lettuce, tons of vegetables, it also has a great soup bar, some pasta, some pizza and for an amazingly reasonable price. So you can have a wonderful dining or lunch experience and still eat healty.
    I recommend joining their website and they send you coupons that make it even more affordable. You can "unjoin" after your trip.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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    If you stick around International Drive there are quite a few things to do and places to eat, as well. I'm not much of an expert on the local cuisine, but I do love the really neat mini golf courses there. And it's close-ish to Disney and easy to find. It's also very near Seaworld.

    On Disney property, my friend's parents took us to this AMAZING restaurant near the Boardwalk. I don't remember what it was called, but I think it's the only one in that area. The food was to die for.

    And when I'm there, I always stop by "France" in Epcot for a cheese plate and chocolate mousse at the ittle a'la carte place.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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    One place we always go to is "Sweet Tomatoes". It is a wonderful place with a buffet of fresh salad fixings as long as my house lol: many kinds of lettuce, tons of vegetables, it also has a great soup bar, some pasta, some pizza and for an amazingly reasonable price. So you can have a wonderful dining or lunch experience and still eat healty.
    I recommend joining their website and they send you coupons that make it even more affordable. You can "unjoin" after your trip.

    I'm pretty sure Sweet Tomatoes is a national chain.
  • GlenWalterGal
    GlenWalterGal Posts: 85 Member
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    Oh, did not know that as there are absolutely none around where we are, or any along the route we drive on to get to Florida. Well, anyway, it's still a good place to eat.
  • Felidae_1981
    Felidae_1981 Posts: 200 Member
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    Another place, which is cheaper than the Melting Pot is the Colorado Fondue Company. If you sign up for their newsletter you'll get a couponf for the free dessert fondue (chocolate). It's a ton of food, but rather healthy...nothing is cooked in oil. The starter is a cheese fondue, main course a hot stone for the meat and with veggies in broth and then chocolate fondue for dessert. And lots of fruit for the chocolate fondue - for the ones that like it (I don't).

    I also second Epcot, Tu Tu Tango, Hamburger Mary's and would like to add Ceviche (Tapas Restaurant).

    Christine
    (also live in Orlando)
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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    Oh, did not know that as there are absolutely none around where we are, or any along the route we drive on to get to Florida. Well, anyway, it's still a good place to eat.

    Had to look it up to double check myself. It's national, but not in every state. None in the Northeast, a few in the South and it looks like it's quite popular out West. We have one here, but I'm just in a different part of Florida. It's also called Soup Plantation (been mentioned on Big Bang Theory, actually! lol).
  • InnerPinup79
    InnerPinup79 Posts: 129
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    Thank you all so much! We aren't club goers but a drag show sounds awesome! Thanks again everyone!

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