Beach recommendation from Disney World

[Gary_ISU]

Family of 5 (3 girls) are heading to Disney World for spring break. We have all the Disney plans in place, staying on resort, fast passes, etc. We are looking at heading to a beach one day. I received a recommendation that the gulf coast side was better. Any recommendations on specific beaches? We need to avoid the spring break college kids.

Also any suggestions on how to get discounted tickets into Universal? Yikes on the price.

Thanks!

 

[ripvdub]

Orlando is pretty far from either the gulf or the ocean, an hour drive to the ocean, even more to the gulf. My daughter had more fun in the pool all day last year in Ft Myers. We were directly on the gulf beach. She liked the shell searching and animal watching, but preferred the pool if given a choice. IMO, it may not be worth it, but if you have plenty of time, whatever.
My brother is a teacher and is going on spring break at cocoa beach, not too far, so may want to avoid that area.

 

[Knownothing]

We went to Daytona beach when we went. Drove by the race track and then hung out in the beach. My kids wanted to see the ocean and not the gulf.

 

[benman82]

Honestly it wasn't a great tour, but the USS Iowa battleship is right next to long beach. It was pretty cool to see it in person after seeing the model in the state capitol, and it's a good quick photo op if you end up going to long beach. Beware that it shares a parking lot with the drop off for cruise ships so your family might get the wrong idea if you do visit it!

 

[throwittoblythe]

Last time we were at Disney we went to Fort Desoto Beach. It is a bit of a hike from Orlando (2 hrs) but it was a great beach. Very clean and there was almost no one there when we went on a weekday. It's over by St Petersburg so you don't have the spring break crowd.

 

[wxman1]

Honestly it wasn't a great tour, but the USS Iowa battleship is right next to long beach. It was pretty cool to see it in person after seeing the model in the state capitol, and it's a good quick photo op if you end up going to long beach. Beware that it shares a parking lot with the drop off for cruise ships so your family might get the wrong idea if you do visit it!

He said Disney World not Land.

 

[Clonefan32]

Just this past Christmas we rented a car and drove from Disney World to St. Pete Beach. I want to say it was between two and two-and-a-half hours in the car, which may sound like a lot, but frankly it was some nice peace and quiet as the kids slept. The beaches were really nice and there were some cool marine attractions near by.

 

[BCClone]

He said Disney World not Land.

I was confused what he was talking about.

Then again, I'm confused why any dad wouldn't want to go to a spring break beach. Topless college women running around? Yeah, I wouldn't want that.

 

[jcyclonee]

Although it's on the Atlantic side, I think Cocoa Beach is the closest. It's not an upscale resort town but it's laid-back and the pier is pretty cool. It's not as clean as some other beaches but that's kind of the appeal of it. You can just relax and enjoy it.

We also did a day trip to Clearwater Beach one year. If you're on the west side of Orlando it isn't much farther. The beach is great. The sand is white and really soft. I don't know how much of a Spring Break area it is.

I hear really nice things about New Smyrna Beach on the Atlantic side but have never been there myself.

 

[throwittoblythe]

Last time we were at Disney we went to Fort Desoto Beach. It is a bit of a hike from Orlando (2 hrs) but it was a great beach. Very clean and there was almost no one there when we went on a weekday. It's over by St Petersburg so you don't have the spring break crowd.

Here's an article from 2015 about Fort Desoto

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/travel/fl-fort-de-soto-florida-rambler-20150824-story.html

 

[keepngoal]

Daytona Beach is 75 minutes from WDW. IMO, below is best beach bar near the Daytona Beach area .... I could sit there all day long, sipping on drinks, watching the kids play in the surf, and have some good shopping just a short stroll away.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/T...ca208c2fce1433!8m2!3d29.0387382!4d-80.8956217

 

[CysRage]

We are going to Disney for Spring Break too (and selfishly hoping ISU gets placed in Orlando for The Big Dance). As others have said Cocoa beach is your typical beach town. It isn't the most modern town but it is clean and safe and is the closest to Disney. I love Clearwater personally. The Gulf's water is beautiful and they have the softest sand beaches but it may be crawling with spring breakers.

As for Universal tickets, we are in the same boat. Universal has gotten insane with their prices ever since Harry Potter land was built. There are resellers in Orlando who can have 1 day park to park tickets as low as $100 but you run the risk of being scammed. If it's really what you want to do, just get the 1 day, 1 park ticket that runs about $100. Either park will take a full day to explore so save yourself the $50 fee for park to park. Unfortunately no Hogwarts Express train ride if you opt for this though.

 

[Clonefan32]

If your kids are anything like my kids they'll want to spend the whole day at the pool anyway.

 

[psycln11]

went to WDW a few years ago for spring break.

We went to beaches on both coasts and enjoyed the Atlantic side better. We tried the Cape Canaveral area on the Atlantic and Clearwater on the gulf side. Just south of the cruise ship port there is a city park (Jetty Park) with parking for a small fee and restrooms for changing.

As for discount tickets to Universal, we got ours through AAA.

 

[runbikeswim]

I don't know how old your girls are, but we took our godkids (3 girl & 9 boy) to WDW and they wanted to see the ocean, so we went to Cocoa beach, closest to us from our hotel. The boy enjoyed it quite a bit jumping with the waves, etc. but even at waters edge it was too rough/much for the girl. The waves are pretty stout on the east coach beaches. Especially if there is much ocean traffic.

The only other thing I will say is, the whole ride back, I couldn't stop thinking about how much I wanted a shower from the ocean, sun screen, sweat, sand here and there, etc.

 

[Nihawk]

Although it's on the Atlantic side, I think Cocoa Beach is the closest. It's not an upscale resort town but it's laid-back and the pier is pretty cool. It's not as clean as some other beaches but that's kind of the appeal of it. You can just relax and enjoy it.

We also did a day trip to Clearwater Beach one year. If you're on the west side of Orlando it isn't much farther. The beach is great. The sand is white and really soft. I don't know how much of a Spring Break area it is.

I hear really nice things about New Smyrna Beach on the Atlantic side but have never been there myself.

This is pretty accurate. You can't go wrong going to Clearwater beach.

 

[keepngoal]

FWIW / FTR: my kids always have life-jackets on when in the ocean. Even if on the edge, under knee deep water.

 

[cyflier]

We did this trip last fall with our 6 year old daughter and 6 year old niece. We went to Clearwater beach and stayed at the Holiday Inn. They had a nice pool and it was right next to the beach and all the restaurants. Also, kids eat free in hotel restaurant.

 

[Gunnerclone]

I know some great beaches on the gulf side, some real hidden gems, but I've sworn an oath not to reveal them.

One of them has a beach club that takes me back to Saved By The Bell during the summers.

 

[jtdoyle1]

Our family is going to WDW for spring break, as well, so thank you everyone for the input. I'm hoping the Cyclones join us in Orlando, so we can catch a game while we are there.