Odd Things To Do Around Orlando Florida

An Overview of Orlando

Thought it’s best known as the access point for the famous Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando amuseument parks, Orlando is home to many odd and interesting features outside the parks. Orlando hosts over 100 lakes, numerous swampy trails, odd urban art galleries and robust shopping centers. The region’s warm climate, numerous festivals and thriving nightlife provide many odd things to do around Orlando.

Odd Things To Do Around Orlando

Harry P. Leu Gardens 

These gardens contain a vast array of tropical plants collected by a vacationing couple.  The gardens are home to landscaped grounds, small lakes and shady trails with 200-year-old oaks. While the site is undoubtedly beautiful and refreshing, visiting is somewhat pricey.

Gatorland 

Considered the Alligator Capital of the world, this Orlando gator-zoo contains 110 acres of crocodile and alligator tourist experiences.  The parks have somewhat impressive boardwalks tracing over large habitat bogs. Visitors can watch gators being fed, observe them basking on wooden platforms or attempt to spot them at night during dark-tours when gators are often actively hunting.

Bok Tower Gardens 

This is a lush oasis nestled between Tampa and Orlando, complete with alluring flower beds dotted with azaleas, magnolias and 700 acres of citrus groves. Located atop Iron Mountain, the tower gardens are an active bird sanctuary. The tower also contains a Carillon, a massive pitched-percussion instrument which uses a keyboard and rows of cast-bronze bells capable of playing different, ringing notes. Bok Tower Gardens is located roughly an hour south of Orlando’s city center.

Kennedy Space Center 

Operated by Delaware North, this museum displays the real Lunar Module 9.   The Kennedy Space Center is among the most famous space displays in the world.  Unsurprisingly, countries with robust space programs generally build their launch sites as close to the equator as possible, since the centripetal force of the Earth rotating “flings” the rocket skyward.  This physical phenomena substantially cuts down on fuel costs.

Boggy Creek

Boggy Creek Airboat Tours are one of many fan boat tours which travel through the untouched nature reserves around Orlando.  There are many local tours that provide this service, but most operate around the undrained swamps in the Boggy Creek Area.

Tibet-Butler Preserve

This is an casual nature hiking network following dreamy wildlife boardwalks through pine forests, bayhead swamps and cypress lakes.  Wildlife is abundant here and the entire hiking loops take a little over two hours.

Spook Hill 

Located in Lake Wales, Florida, Spook Hill is an optical-illusion, reverse-gravity hill which makes it seem like things roll uphill. Placing a car in neutral or a water bottle on the inclined surface causes it to roll, seemingly in defiance of gravity.

Lake Eola Park 

This is a relaxing urban park with views of the city.  There are numerous species of geese, swans and ducks who call this lake home.  Additionally, the park contains various coin-operated feeding machines for people wishing to provide food-offerings to the feathered landlords of the park.

Valhalla Bakery

Valhalla Bakery is a popular vegan doughnut shop known for brunch meals and artisanal pastries.

The Boathouse Restaurant

The Boathouse Restaurant is a famous eatery which also hosts the largest vintage Amphicars in the world.  Amphicars, as the name suggests, are road-vehicles which can be driven into the water, transforming into operable boats. Only 4000 of the vintage amphibious automobiles were ever made and only a few remain.

Orlando Fire Museum 

The Orlando Fire Musuem is a passion project exhibition containing everything related to fire-fighting including old equipment, historical archives, and historical references to firefighting as a profession.  The Orlando Fire Museum is a children’s education center.

Ivanhoe Village 

Ivanhoe Village is Orland’s craft hub with kooky art galleries and retro retailers.  The area is favored by many locals as a balance between tourism and practical nightlife.

Twenty Pho Hour 

This is a unique Asian-eatery experience with walls and furniture painted to create the optical illusion of flat-paper. Visitors can take photos while eating inside “2D” phone booths or while eating on “paper” tables.

Player 1 Video Game Bar

This is a alcoholic video game center with numerous retro arcade games filling the walls, along with joystick, Wii and other gaming counsels. The bar served themed craft beers and cocktails.

Blue Springs State Park

Blue Springs State Park is a popular destination for canoeing, scuba-diving, kayaking, fishing, camping, hiking, wildlife watching, and swimming. The magical pools of water in the area are a soft turquoise color, creating quite, clear pools of beauty surrounded by green foliage. The State Park is especially well known as a manatee protection area, as mentees often use the protected space during migration season. From mid-November to March, hundreds of manatees gather in the spring run to seek shelter from the cold.

Margaritaville Resort Orlando

Margaritaville is a spacious, sprawling resort in Orlando, filled with clubs, restaurants and numerous bars. The resort is a popular entertainment-and-dining hub with relaxing poolside views. On most weekends, Margaritaville hosts car shows and other events.

Showcase of Citrus

Located on Rt 27, this is a large family-owned-and-operated citrus ranch featuring scenic orange groves, the occasional monster truck tours, a small petting zoo, a gem mining site and an old-fashioned country-styled store. Visitors can wander through the area, picking fruit off trees while enjoying a range of other strange activities.

Read more about odd things to do around Orlando and seeing the world by visiting Leftfade Trails Blog.

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