What to do in FLL?

[ali6879]

We'll be flying in the day before our cruise at 10:00AM. Very early. We are myself, DH, and DD10. I'm considering a drive up to Universal Studios for the day and renting a car. If we did that, not sure if we'd try driving back to Fort Lauderdale the same day or spend the night in Orlando. Is there anything in Fort Lauderdale or close vicinity to keep DD amused all day? The beach will NOT do it for the entire day, we have them here at home and she enjoys it for about 2 hours. TIA!

[BlueHerons]

That just sucks the life out of me thinking about flying, heading to Universal, the park, drive back, etc. I'm exhausted thinking about it LOL!

 

Tons to do in Ft. Lauderdale.

 

www.Sunny.org

[NCmom]

The drive from FLL to Orlando is at least 4 hours, so you wouldn't be getting to Universal until after 2; then if you wanted to be back in time for a reasonable bed time, you'd need to start the drive back by 7 pm. To me, it would not be a relaxing start to my cruise.

[Cruzin Chris]

I agree on Orlando. If you REALLY want to do Orlando I would suggest spending the night and driving back to FLL the next morning. Traffic can be pretty bad as there is some construction on the Florida Turnpike right now as well, and that trip can be pretty draining before the cruise. If Orlando is something you REALLY want to do, you may want to fly into Orlando and out of Ft Lauderdale after the cruise. It is usually not much more (if any at all) and you can do a one way car rental as well (usually no drop-off fee between Orlando and FLL/MIA. It sounds like you have alreay purchased your tickets but if you have not, that may be an option.

 

There is lots to do in and around Ft. Lauderdale. You could always check out Boomers in Dania Beach just off of I95. They have a small rollercoaster (nothing compared to anything in Orlando but it is still fun) plus other activities. Also, you could check out Miami Metro Zoo (quite nice), Rapids Waterpark in West Palm Beach, Everglades National Park is very close and just outside the park there are airboat rides, Ft. Lauderdale Museum of Science and IMAX theatre, obviously there are many water activities in the area (sailing, snorkling, diving, waverunners, etc.), the list is really endless. Sunny.org is a great place to check out as BlueHerons listed.

 

A few things to think about but you will definitely have a great time if you stay in Ft. Lauderdale. May not be the theme park excitement of Orlando but fun in its own way. Plus, you will already be there!

[sharecruises]

LOL>>> IMHO there is plenty to keep any 10 year old kid happy here...

 

driving willy nilly back and forth to Orlando and rushing around Universal for about 2 hours might make any kid cranky tho ??? It would make ME cranky...

 

All kidding aside...you really do not seem to understand how tiring your "plans" would be....and any little snafu : ie, a wreck on turnpike, a traffic jam, a slow hotel check in, busy day at Park, could turn your day into a real nightmare

 

Stay in Fort Lauderdale, go to Sawgrass Mills....they have Wanadoo City there for kids, sort of a "pretend play" at "jobs" place...a Johnny Rockets...

a "Rainforest Cafe">> and a gazillion shops, the worlds largest outlet mall..and number two tourist attraction in the state....

 

Check out the Jungle Queen tour....also the everglades...ride an airboat...see the gators...

 

there is plenty to do in Fort Lauderdale.

[willysgrandma]

I second the Jungle Queen cruise.

 

There is also a magnificent beach - there is a trolley that can take you from near most hotels for 50 cents a person.

[DaveB]

We'll be flying in the day before our cruise at 10:00AM. Very early. We are myself, DH, and DD10. I'm considering a drive up to Universal Studios for the day and renting a car. If we did that, not sure if we'd try driving back to Fort Lauderdale the same day or spend the night in Orlando. Is there anything in Fort Lauderdale or close vicinity to keep DD amused all day? The beach will NOT do it for the entire day, we have them here at home and she enjoys it for about 2 hours. TIA!

 

If you are in to gambling, there's always the Hard Rock Casino in FLL.

[firefly333]

We did something different in FL with my friend for a week. We did the airboat rides out off Alligator Ally (thats the name of the turnpike), I highly recommend them rather than right in Ft. Lauderdale where the real swamp has been paved over much more. We saw tons of real swamp and alligators and natural life. I love airboats and how they speed over the swamp even though they are noisy and the ride is short for the price.

 

Butterfly World up on Sample Road in Broward Cty is one of the best probably in the world, but not cheap.

 

We found a great place to go see alligators that had NO OTHER TOURISTS, so we got a private tour and got to hold the alligators ourselves which was neat. My friend from Hawaii said she wasnt going all the way to Florida and not seeing some alligators up close.

 

I agree with everyone else, I would not consider driving up to orlando without spending the night and seeing Universal the next day. Just the walk to the park from the parking lot was about a mile and a half, very tiring. Parking was a flat fee after a couple of hours so if you get into the park late why bother paying that expensive parking and the entrance fee.

 

We are going to do Universal I am pretty sure, but we picked a ship out of Port Canaveral for that reason, to be close to orlando and a port. The only way to get from Ft. Lauderdale very fast is toll roads all the way, which add up too. It takes at least an extra hour each way going back roads, up I95 and cutting across.

 

Monkie Jungle I think its called would be fun for most kids in Ft. Lauderdale/Miami area.

 

The flea market on Sunset has a free circus and lots to look at and a few rides...then keep going west on Sunset to get to Sawgrass the biggest outlet mall probably in the world. It has a place for kids now last time I was there to spend the day, cant think of the name though. Near where the luggage store is.