Fun day trips from Orlando for families

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Living in the Orlando area is a great way for families to experience a wide variety of family-friendly activities but sometimes, it’s fun to venture out and see what else is out there to explore. When you’re ready to do other fun activities for families, just hop in your car and take a day trip from Orlando to one of the places listed below.

The Central Florida area has some of the best family-friendly activities that are certain to have everyone having a blast!

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Fun day trips from Orlando for families

This list is just a small sampling of ideas and places to visit. Decide how far you’re wanting to travel away from your house and then make a plan for the day after that.

Daytona Beach

Pack up the sunscreen and head to the beach. Daytona Beach is one of the most popular beaches in the state of Florida, so be prepared that there’s going to be quite the crowd.

Luckily, even though it’s a popular destination, the beach is quite large as well. This means that while there might be an abundance of people, there is still plenty of beach area and shoreline to share.

If you want to make it an overnight or weekend trip, you can stay over at one of the numerous hotels located in the area.

Daytona International Speedway

Do you have a need for speed? If so, why not try a different approach for a fun family outing and head to the Daytona International Speedway. They offer fun tours and a chance to see the “other side” of how the racers live and work.

This is one of those day trips that is truly a unique experience that allows the kids (and you!) something new to see and do.

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Giraffe Ranch

Being among the giraffe’s at Giraffe Ranch is a really cool experience. You and your family can see them walk, eat, interact, and sometimes play around as well. The kids will love to see how tall a giraffe truly is up close and maybe you’ll even get a peek at their black tongue!

Kennedy Space Center

Spending the day exploring the Kennedy Space Center is a wonderful day trip to plan. You and your family will get to not only see and experience some very fun exhibits but you’ll also be able to incorporate an educational aspect as well.

Lake Toho

Don’t forget the fishing poles! A trip to Lake Toho means that the day outdoors will be full of fishing, fun, and sun. Pack up a picnic lunch and let everyone in the family enjoy some Vitamin D while they’re out running and hiking the day away. If you don’t have your own boat you can rent one to go out on the lake for the day. If you don’t want to drive yourself, feel free to join a fishing trip or take an airboat tour on the lake.

Legoland

Legoland is one of those places to visit that really is great for a wide variety of ages. Parents will love being out of the house and reminiscing about their childhood while the kids will be able to build, be creative, and use their imagination all day long.

You can easily spend the day exploring everything that Legoland has to offer. If you want to make it an overnight or weekend trip, Legoland offers two fun hotels where you can stay.

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Marine Discovery Center

Marine animals and aquatic life is something that is forever interesting. Take advantage of being able to “dive” into the massive amount of information that is available at the Marine Discovery Center. Not only are there fun things to see and do, but there are also a ton of educational resources there as well. While the Marine Discovery Center does have an aquarium and indoor exhibits, most of the fun takes place outside on the water. Take one of the boat tours on offer where you can see the marine life up close. They offer a dolphin tour, a know what’s below tour, a creature connection tour (where they trawl the bottom of the lagoon and bring up creatures to see) and more. You can also take a kayak tour of the lagoon.

After your visit to the Marine Discovery Center, you can stop by the beach in New Smyrna for a dip!

President’s Hall of Fame

Learning about the history of our country and politics can be fun. Take a trip to the President’s Hall of Fame and explore the current and past presidents. Challenge yourself to see how much you truly know about them – you might be surprised! The President’s Hall of Fame is not too far from Winter Garden, so after your visit you can stop in at Plant St. Market or one of the eateries in downtown Winter Garden for lunch.

Being able to hop in the car and explore any of these great day trip options is certain to make up quite the fun day for families. You can easily pack up a lunch and make it a fun experience that everyone in the family will love. As long as you’re able to keep the driving within a 3-hour radius or so from your home, any of these options above are great to have!

Do you have any other recommendations for fun day trips from Orlando for families?

by Thena Franssen

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