By Farnaz Behdinan & Megan Miyamoto

Florida has so much to offer, from its vibrant theme parks to its lush nature and delicious food scene. Here is everything we did in the four days we were there and hopefully it can give you some inspiration for your next trip to Florida!

Day 1 (Farnaz POV) 

We started our first day in Orlando and were immediately looking for a bite to eat after our long travels. We went to Sanaa, an African Indian fusion sit down restaurant in Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge (Note: You do not need to be going to the Disney theme parks or staying in the resorts to eat here, just need a reservation). All around they have African artifacts surrounding each table and they have beautiful interior design featuring trees, colorful paintings and dim lighting from wooden lanterns. The best part of the restaurant was being able to see the animals outside the windows from the safari. While we were waiting to be seated, we asked for “first time visitor” buttons that we kept as souvenirs of our experience! 

Sanaa is known for its bread service that features 9 different sauces and 5 types of naan bread. The sauces were Cucumber Raita, Roasted Red Pepper Hummus, Mango Chutney, Tomato-Date Jam, Tamarind Chutney, Coriander Chutney, Garlic Pickle, Red Chile Sambal, and Spicy Jalapeño-Lime Pickle. They were plated in increasing spice levels. The choices of bread were Traditional Naan, Garlic-Ginger Naan, Spiced Naan, Onion Kulcha, and Paneer Paratha. This dish was perfect for an appetizer and I honestly could have had another one if I didn’t also get another appetizer and an entree. We ended up getting samosas for the two of us to share and a butter chicken with rice and sukuma wiki.

After lunch we went outside the restaurant and talked to the cast members asking questions about the animals. Because Florida weather during the summer is hot and humid, we did not spend too much time outdoors and soon headed to our next location, The Polynesian Resort. 

To get there we took the free Monorail and as soon as we entered the resort, it was like we were in paradise! From getting free leis at the entrance, to eating a refreshing dole whip on a hot summer day, it could not have been more relaxing. The resort itself features tall glass ceilings and huge lanterns of various colors.

Our next resort on the monorail route was the Grand Floridian, and I felt like I was in an 18th century Victorian film. The first things you see are large glass chandeliers hanging from the ceilings, and you can hear live music from a classic pianist below. The place has architecture featuring small elegant details and a staircase like that of Beauty and the Beast!

Our last resort stop was The Contemporary and the first thing you see is an interesting native american mural that shows the original theming. A fun game you can play while you go up the escalator is to find a 5 legged goat hidden in the mural! This is a great place to shop for any disney merchandise and to view more modern architecture. 

At the end of our resort hopping trip we went to visit our second location on our itinerary, Disney Springs! This shopping center was a warm welcoming experience and had many familiar shops. My personal favorite shop was Love Pop that had intricate pop-up cards for any occasion! 

After a fun shopping spree, we went to eat dinner at The Edison! The theme of the restaurant was supposed to represent an electric power plant from 1901 that now showcases a speakeasy of the roaring 20’s. You’ll see shows from The Sound Society Radio Show playing modern songs in a 20’s jazz style. We got the Edison Burgers that were juicy and filling. 

Since Megan was a DIsney cast member, we got to attend an exclusive cast member event called the EARidescent Evening! While everyone else was leaving Magic Kingdom at 10pm, we were just entering the park. Pop music was blasting outside of the loudspeakers that traditionally showcase Disney music and ride times were less than 30 minutes. We were able to go on rides like Jungle Cruise and Splash Mountain and the whole experience was so much more fun at night under the Florida stars. 

While I wished the magical night would last longer, we couldn’t stay for long because we had a full schedule the next day in Wekiwa Springs!

Day 2 (Farnaz POV)

It was time to wake up bright and early with a small road trip to Wekiva Springs from Orlando. Once we got to Wekiva it was 12 o’clock and we waited in line for quite a bit of time. I recommend getting there earlier because they only let people in once others leave when their parking lot is full. Once we got in though, the fun was only beginning! 

We bought three kayaks for around 60 dollars and we were off to the races. The most notable part of this experience was the crystal clear water and paddling through the smooth river with no waves. Some cool sights we saw included fish and two turtles! I highly recommend bringing your swimsuits and dipping in the river whenever you find a shallow sandy region.

The swimming and kayaking made us crave some hot pot, so afterward we headed to U and Me Revolving Hot Pot back in Orlando for a futuristic all you can eat food experience. We had a robot as a seater and we were guided to our hot pot stations where we each had individual stoves to make our soups. I tried the tomato soup base and it had a nice tang to it. We then went to their meat and fish station to grab some items to throw into our soups. My favorites included the fish ball and the lamb brisket! After our meal, we got free ice cream included with our order and another robot came to bring that too! It was a surreal experience to see how far technology has gone and to have them elevate our time there.

We took a break in between traveling for a bit and then at night we headed out to Old Town! This was one of the most unique experiences I had in Orlando because the stores all had fun themes and were all locally owned. You seriously can’t find a plaza anywhere else in the US that has shops solely selling leather, spiritual rocks, groovy items, tikis, old time photos, haunted house experiences, hand wax models, unique magnets, and so much more. On top of this they have outdoor experiences every night including music and bars to dance. It’s a perfect tourist spot to grab some souvenirs of your trip and I had a blast looking around at all the different themes. 

We soon headed out to get some sleep before our next day in St. Petersburg! 

Day 3 (Megan POV)

For Day 3 we decided to leave central Florida and go 2 hours to the coastal area of Saint Petersburg. There, we were able to make it to the tailend of the Saturday Morning Market in Williams Park. The Saturday Morning Market is open every Saturday during October – May from 9am-2pm. At the market, there was a large collection of farm produce stands, artisan food vendors and ready-to-eat food stands and trucks of multiple cuisines including Cuban, Greek, Mexican, and more. Farnaz’s family drank fresh cut coconuts while I opted for a mango drink. One of the artisan snacks we sampled was sweet and tangy candied jalapenos. I highly recommend visiting local farmers markets whenever traveling to new areas because it is a great way to get a better sense of the culture in that area.

After that, we made our way to St. Petersburg’s oldest living museum, the Sunken Gardens. This beautiful 100+ year old botanical garden contains more than 50,000 tropical plants and flowers. Other notable sights included a flamboyance of flamingos, a cascading waterfall with a koi pond, and outgoing macaws perched on open branches. The scenery was great, however the humidity was really hitting us so we only spent about an hour and a half there. Overall it  was really nice being surrounded by such lush and vibrant tropical nature. 

• There are many coupons that can be found for admission but here is the Groupon that we used. Also check out tourism brochures and magazines.

This next part of the adventure took us into the sky as we embarked on our first ever helicopter ride! Seen below us were gorgeous white sand beaches that gave way to deep turquoise water, as well as the marina housing many docked ships. During our 30 minute tour, the pilot told us how St. Pete Beach had been voted one of America’s best beaches which immediately piqued our interest for visiting later on. The helicopter tour was a great way to see the city from a whole new viewpoint.

One of the things highly recommended for us to try in Florida was a cubano sandwich. A Cubano is a sandwich with ham, pork, swiss cheese, pickles, in cuban bread. To check this off our Florida bucket list we visited the Latin American restaurant, Bodega, and, boy, did their Cubanos not disappoint! I loved how flavorful the pork was in contrast with the creamy mayo and swiss cheese. We all thought this place was an absolute win.

Then as the day was nearing sunset we traveled to the highly praised St. Pete beach. To our surprise, the clear ocean water was incredibly warm–like bath tub level warm. As you float along you can see striped fish and little stingrays in between the calm waves. It was one of the cleanest beaches I had ever visited with white sand that was nice and soft. We decided to leave the beach before sunset to head to the World Food Trucks, however I am sure on most days it is quite a sight to behold.

The final thing we did for the day was eat at World Food Trucks connected to the Visitor Flea Market in Kissimmee. This lively outdoor plaza –open until 1am daily– has a variety of global food trucks. Having lived in Florida for a couple months, I was refreshed to see authentic dishes that represent the other cultures of Florida, as opposed to the many large chain American restaurants.

I will note that we had a little difficulty ordering since we did not know Spanish and the prices for the dishes were on the higher side. I ended up ordering a cuban shrimp dish and Farnaz and her brother shared a baked potato with meat. We really enjoyed the energy of this location as well as the large variety here. Easily a place you would want to come back to try all the different types of foods. With full bellies we made our way back to our beds to rest up for our final day at none other than the Walt Disney World Amusement Parks.

Day 4 (Megan POV)

To start this fourth and final day of our Florida exploration we headed to my favorite park, Epcot. Here we toured the world showcase wandering through the 11 exquisitely detailed country pavilions. At different times of the year, Epcot has a festival and during March 2- July 4th it was the Flower and Garden Festival. Because of this character topiaries, themed food stands, and garden exhibits were scattered about the park. 

A Notable exhibit was the Bambi Butterfly House where butterflies flutter freely within the mesh house containing numerous types of flowers and signs taking perusers through the life cycle of a butterfly. If you are a thrill seeker, a must do at Epcot is to ride the Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind ride. During this experience we smoothly zoomed back in time passing planets and chasing a giant galactic villain out to destroy all of mankind. Ya know, a usual Sunday. 

After thoroughly exploring the world and the galaxy, we lift into the air on the skyliner, the free gondola system, to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. There we walked down the old Hollywood era mainstreet, past all the colorful shops and signs. We made a little stop at the Muppets theater to watch their 3D show and swiftly toured Galaxies Edge, the planet of Batuu. Then we shrunk down to the size of toys as we walked through Toy Story Land and finally entered the cartoon world of  Mickey and Minnie in the Runaway Railway ride. Now if you are able to, I highly recommend opting for the Genie Plus service. As of right now, it is an additional $15 per person, but it was a huge time saver, allowing us to fully enjoy 4 parks in one day.

A 15 minute bus ride took us to the Animal Kingdom where we went on a safari ride on which we were fortunate to see many creatures roaming around their habitats. Fun fact, Disney’s Animal Kingdom is one the largest AZA accredited zoos meaning that it follows the high standards and best particles defined by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. We then were awestruck by the gravity defying floating mountains in Pandora the World of Avatar and gazed upon all the bioluminescent flora and fauna on the Na’vi river journey. Pandora is arguably Animal Kingdom’s coolest land and going on any of the rides there is a must.

Finally we rushed to the core of the Most Magical Place on Earth itself, the Magic Kingdom, to see the fireworks display at 9:20pm. We were tightly packed on mainstreet with fellow guests as we watched Mainstreet USA light up with colorful movie themed projections and the sky illuminate with bursts of sparkles. Not only were there traditional starburst style fireworks, but the show also featured fireworks depicting other shapes like smiley faces, boxes, and the Moana swirl. It is a perfect way to end the night. And with that, having explored many lands, ridden many rides and taken almost 30,000 steps, we completed our wonderful day at Disney World.

For me, this trip meant a lot because although I had been living in Florida, getting to experience it all with my best friend and her wonderful family was truly special. It really goes to show that no matter what you are doing, it is the people that make the experience worth it. Whether or not you do similar things as us on your trip to Florida we hope you make many lovely memories to last a lifetime.

EnJoy more of Life