What to do... Key West, Key Largo or Epcot

[cruisinutsrus]

We are flying into Fort Lauderdale a day early before our cruise out of Miami. We have been trying to decide what to do.There are 2 couples and we are all open!.. We talked about driving down to Key West since we have never been there, but on the other boad with Key West was advised not a good idea since there is only road in and out and in the event of an accident or whatever the road is pretty much shut down and there is a chance of missing the ship!

 

So we talked about maybe Key Largo, since the drive is much shorter.. we have never been there either. But not sure if there is much to do there, like Key West..

 

Then since we did visit Disney last year, we do have Annual Passes (as it saved us in our resort stay) so admission would be free and we could enjoy the Food and Wine Fest at Epcot without the kids.

 

Yes with both Key West and Disney we would have a 3 plus hour drive from the airport in Ft Lauderdale and are willing to do it. We are not willing to miss the cruise.

 

Any suggestions would be appreciated!! We want to have fun.. both leaving behind kids, so we want to enjoy a nice "adults" trip!!

[TrentS]

Wow, you're energetic! If you're only flying in the day before your cruise though, why not just spend the afternoon/evening in the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area? There are many many fun things to do right here. The drive to Disney or Key West with traffic is closer to 4 hours which doesn't leave you much time to enjoy either as I assume you would be driving back to a hotel in Miami that night???

 

If you want a nice "adults" trip, why not go down to South Beach, have a nice dinner and perhaps hit a club or two?

 

I always like to be well rested and get on the ship early so I can enjoy that first day onboard, but I would think if you tried either of those long drives you would be exhausted! :eek:

 

I highly recommend the drive to Key West and back, it's absolutely spectacular, but that's just not something you would want to do in your time frame, or in one day. You need to at least spend one night there, and yes, you have to allow for the possibility that there could be an acccident that closes the road. It's not like it happens every day or anything, but it does happen.

[judyf]

We did the Ft. Lauderdale area with the water Taxi on Easter Sunday this year after our cruise and we had a wonderfull day. Not a long drive and more time to enjoy. We had a great lunch and the drinks were 3 for 1 that's not a typo it's 3 three for 1 all day long. I have to long at my review to remember the name in was on the water taxi route.

[tarheelmjfan]

I agree that I would probably stay in the area, if I only had one day. If you want to get out of the area, perhaps you would enjoy a visit to West Palm Beach. It's not nearly as far as Key West or Orlando, & it's a beautiful & very posh city. The shopping & waterfront mansions are in a small, concentrated area. Stay on the water & avoid the area on the other side of the bridge.

 

To answer your question, IMHO this isn't even debatable. I would go with the F&W festival @ Epcot. We love it & try to go at least once a year. However, if you choose this option, I would suggest staying at one of the Epcot resorts & getting up early the next morning for the drive back to Ft. Lauderdale. You can partake of all the food & wine you want w/o having to drive afterwards. Also, WDW is celebrating Disneyland's 50th with new attractions. If you want more Epcot or resort info., feel free to ask.

 

I personally don't think Key Largo alone is worth the drive. On the other hand, Key West is a lot of fun with plenty to see. I just don't think I would choose to visit it over the F&W festival.

[baesue]

Hey cruisinuturist-baesue here; I too live in the FLL area and your thoughts of doing Key West or Orlando in 1 day are not practical. You're right on all counts, it's about a 3 - 3 1/2 hour ride each way and if you have a problem with traffic, well you do understand the problem. TrentS actually gave you a pretty good idea. Do South Beach for the day if you into art deco areas, eating and people watching. However if you're into Florida touristy things, you might want to consider (1) the rivertaxi in FLL - which is a water taxi to many different places in the FLL area, (2) the Jungle Queen - which is a paddle wheel boat that takes you to sights in the area, (3) airboat ride in the Everglades - only 30 minutes out of FLL, if you've never done it, it's really unique, (4) you might also want to consider the Morikami Japanese gardens, (5) or butterfly world. All of these places are unique to FLL and there's really no reason to go to Key West or Orlando if you're only here for 1 day.

 

Good luck with whatever you choose and have a good cruise.

 

baesue