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  • Haley Haskin
    • Feb 10, 2018
    • 6 min read

Happy Valentine's Day: Top 10 Date Ideas in Central Florida

Okay, fellow Orlandians. Between Disney, Universal, Sea World, Busch Gardens, Lego Land, yada, yada, we live in one of the most tourist trap towns in the U. S. And I don’t know about you guys, but sometimes I get a little sick of doing the same old Disney dates. And I’m sure I’m not the only one trying to avoid bank breaking, overpriced Disney menus and attractions.

Well lucky for you guys, I really love going on dates and adventures, and am never content to leave the world around me unexplored. So to save you and your date from the same old tourist filled monotony, here is a blog of my top ten favorite date ideas in the Orlando area that don’t involve Disney or draining your wallet. I assure you, your times will be just as magical, away from the tourist crowds, and your sudden normality will feel like a vacation - a beautiful feeling indeed.

Tea Room in Celebration, FL

If you are looking for a semi-fancy daytime outing, the tea room in Celebration, Florida is a lovely place to go for brunch! It has an elegant atmosphere, but affordable prices, and all the tea you could possibly wish for! I recommend the Cheshire Cat High Tea with the broccoli cheese soup and the Peaches and Cream or Vanilla Chai tea. Also, if you are an Alice in Wonderland fan, one of the rooms is themed through the looking glass! And all the dinnerware and utensils in the tea room are custom themed in the shapes of tea cups, hearts, and tea pots!

After you have finished your lovely brunch of tea, scones, and sandwiches, you can walk around the quaint little downtown area in Celebration. There is a walking trail along the lake, a cute ice cream shop, and lots of beautifully groomed pups on their afternoon walks with their owners. It is a great place to ride a bike, or just walk around! There is also a library a small driving distance away if you and your date find joy in settling down with a nice book.

Fun Fact: Did you know that Disney actually built Celebration because they wanted to create a utopian town? Of course that is why it is so quaint, picturesque, and lovely!

Yellow Dog Eats in Windermere, FL

This is a great, hole in the wall, local restaurant that you will find hiding among all the boujee houses on the streets of Windermere. The walls are lined with condiments, beer bottles, graffiti, old clippings, and brightly colored posters. If you go at night, there is live music at the outdoor bar, just beside the old Volkswagen van. Their BBQ is off the charts. You will feel very hipster.

Winter Park Village and Foxtail Coffee in Winter Park, FL

Winter Park Village is an adorable place to walk around and shop. They have everything from frozen yogurt, to spas, to movie theatres, to antique markets. Not to mention the giant chess and checkers boards at the end of the square (which if you aren’t careful, and happen to be a competitive couple, will take an hour and a half out of your day, so we learned). There are also great places to eat! For example, we had brunch at Another Broken Egg Café, and it was lovely!

After you’ve shopped around a bit, make sure to stop by Foxtail Coffee Shop for a chill afternoon. With a rugged warehouse theme, Edison bulbs, and a sleek and clean finish, the atmosphere is super trendy. And there is a glass room where you can watch them grind the coffee fresh, and press their own Tshirts!

Also be sure to check out the Foxtail Farmhouse next door! There is a brand new gravity bar that just opened up on the other side of the coffee bar that is equally aesthetically pleasing, just with alcoholic drinks and appetizers instead of coffee and pastries.

Nighttime in Celebration, FL

Celebration part two! Downtown Celebration is also a really great place to go at nighttime, because it is lively but still not crowded. There are a ton of great restaurants in the square that range from Mexican, to Italian, to Thai, to American, and more. Just make sure you hop on over to Wonderland Cookie Dough afterwards to get yourself a cup of edible raw cookie dough that you can eat like ice cream! I recommend the Snickerdoodle.

The Imperial Wine Bar and Beer Garden in Winter Park, FL

This is a perfect place to have a chill night enjoying delicious beer in an incredibly unique and cozy atmosphere! The Imperial is basically an antique shop, where you can dine and lounge on all the furniture. These furnishings are exotic finds of Washburn imports, collected from all over the world! The interior aesthetic of this wine and beer garden is wonderfully rustic, grungy, and heavy, with its thick wooden furniture and intricate tapestries. The outdoor area is equally as rustic, but also has a fairytale feel, complete with low strung porch lights, trickling fountains, plants, and statues. This warm little hideaway has plenty of nooks and crannies to make for a cozy night of laughing and solving the world’s problems over a rich mug of beer with your significant other. Also, it is here that I discovered St. Peter/s Cream Stout beer, and fell in love. Happy hour is 5-7 pm Mon-Thurs!

Gaylord Palms in Kissimmee, FL

The Gaylord is a beautiful (non Disney) resort, that is fashioned like a giant greenhouse. Its glass windowed ceilings and lobby full of live trees, plants, flowers, and waterfalls make you feel like you’re in a tropical paradise. This hotel is wonderfully fancy, and has a lot of nice restaurants and steak houses if you’re looking for a more formal date night. There are also coffee shops, gift shops, and fun activities available, based on the season. It is really fun to go at Christmastime when they have the ice sculptures, giant trees, lights, and seasonal entertainment going on!

Lido Beach in Sarasota, FL

Lido Key is my favorite beach I have experienced in Florida yet, because it is so much quieter and more family oriented than most beaches. Go on a day when it isn’t too hot. My favorite time to go is about 70 degree weather. That way you can just lay on the sand all day and never really get sunburned, dehydrated, or sweaty. Then you can take a little trip to the square down the road for dinner, shopping, or ice cream! Or you can carry on our tradition, which is being cheap and stopping for Wendy’s 4 for 4 on the way home!

(Granted Lido Key is pretty far away from Orlando- about 2 ½-3 hours. I have also heard of St. Augustine having a good beach and downtown area, but I’ve never been because it is on the Atlantic coast and not the Gulf, which means murkier water.)

Picnic in the Park in Windermere, FL

We really like going to the Tibet-Butler Nature Preserve to walk around the nature trails and take photos. They also have a nice little porch with wooden rocking chairs where we like to sit and talk afterwards. The rustic setting reminds us of being in the mountains of Tennessee. We just imagine we are looking at falling leaves and tall trees instead of palms and whispy greenery.

We also had a really fun date one time where we packed a picnic and took it to West Beach Park just down the road from the preserve. It is small, secluded, and has some cute picnic tables by the lake. It is a nice place to watch the sun set over the water and munch on sandwiches together. There is also a small playground where you can swing into the blue hour afterwards.

Uno Night In in Lake Buena Vista, FL

Being in Florida, we have access to this amazing pizzeria and grill! Uno has the best Chicago style deep dish pizza you’ll ever put in your mouth (outside of Chicago I would imagine). It is buttery, meaty, thick, and rich, and each slice probably weighs one pound. Grab one of these pizzas for takeout, and take it home with your love to have a fun night in. Turn the TV off, light some candles, and bond with some coloring, a puzzle, a game, or maybe making a collage. In its simplicity, this cozy night in may be one of your fondest date night memories.

Mt. Dora and Winter Garden

These are the next two places on our list to visit! Living in Kissimmee, we are pretty far from these areas, so they are day trips for us. But I have heard good things about downtown Winter Garden, and I know that Mt. Dora has a lot of festivals and quaint little things to do! If any of you have nice memories at any of these places, I would love for you to comment or message me some of your favorite things to do there, so we can try them out too! Let’s share the date night love!

I hope you could find these date ideas useful! If you have any fun things you and your significant other enjoy doing, or just things you like to do with your friends, leave a comment or a message! I would love to learn more about what there is to explore in the area! Now, go, live, laugh, and love. Leave nothing around you unexploited, and strive to do the unique! You will create some of your best and most special memories happening upon your new favorite places together. As always, please share and subscribe! And Happy Valentine's Day!

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