Orlando is just a quick two-hour trip from Jacksonville Beach and it’s a popular destination for friends and family. We’ve spent a couple of weekends in Orlando over the last few years spending time with my sister and her family.
Disney is of course the biggest draw in the area. We’ve been to Disney before, in fact it was one of our very first vacations we took as a couple (I believe the year was 2005!). During our first visit, we went to Magic Kingdom, MGM Studios and Animal Kingdom. Animal Kingdom was hands down our favorite. We hadn’t been since that visit so we were excited to see it again, so many years later.
We stayed at the Art of Animation as Rowen, our nephew, was really into the movies Cars and Finding Dori at the time. We ventured to Magic Kingdom for the day and loved seeing his face light up with joy when he saw Mickey Mouse! We were true sports attending the Chef Mickey dinner that evening at the Contemporary Resort. We were completely taken aback by the joy in the room. I’ve never seen kids so incredibly happy!
Our next visit to Orlando was about a year later. This time we stayed at The Grove. This place was awesome! You name, it had it – pool, splashpad, surf simulation, lazy river and more! We ventured out to Disney Springs for the day and I must say, it was quite impressive. It had a lot of great shops and restaurants. We grabbed lunch at Frontera Cocina. The food was pretty good and the margaritas were even better. It was nice too that you could leave with your drink as you continued perusing the outdoor mall.
Bottom Line:
Orlando, while not our favorite place to visit, certainly has a lot to offer.
Habitual Tourists 
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