Subsonic Radio

We stay at Port Orleans when we go to the World. My children have never seen the ocean. I would like to rent a car and take them for one day out of our vacation and let them see the ocean. Has anyone ever done that or does anyone have any pointers on how to achieve that?

Which beach do you want to go to? Gulf side or What?

jacobcary1 wrote:Which beach do you want to go to? Gulf side or What?

Agreed rphillips, you have to choose the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic Ocean. Either side is going to be a bit of a drive.

I found this little blurb on another Disney forum that addresses this very topic. Here is the link http://www.intercot.com/infocentral/bey ... eaches.asp

Personally, since my Mom grew up on the Gulf coast, I prefer visiting the Gulf with it's salty water and lovely beaches. But the Atlantic side has the draw of Cape Canaveral if you are interested at all in NASA.

Or you could always start your trip a day early (with a rental car or whatever) travel to Miami, or other beach town, then take the long drive to WDW the next day.

Go to the Gulf Coast!! Stay away from Miami!! It's not worth the 5+ hour one way trip!!

Yeah but wouldn't you rather see a nice bikini model rather than this... As they say, the further north you go the more south it gets.

Wizzard419 wrote:Yeah but wouldn't you rather see a nice bikini model rather than this... As they say, the further north you go the more south it gets.

Don't be too hard on yourself Wizzard, your hair looks very nice in that photo!

Girl please.... I go to the gym to look better than that.

Wizzard419 wrote:Girl please.... I go to the gym to look better than that.

Oh I know with all your healthy eating you wouldn't have a tummy like that ~ but I couldn't resist

Jacca5660 wrote:Go to the Gulf Coast!! Stay away from Miami!! It's not worth the 5+ hour one way trip!!

Well... I live in Miami and it's 3 hours and 45 minutes door to door, not 5 hours. And being that this is my state and touring areas, I would suggest going to the Gulf and heading towards either Siesta Key just west of Orlando, or Sarasota. The beaches on the Gulf are spectacular, and the shells are so plentiful that you will have a hard time not collecting 100's of them! I also truly appreciate the beauty of the sunsets over the Gulf, they are a really big wow!

The east coast of Florida is nice as well but the beaches do not compare to the powder white sand of the west coast. If you want to come down to my Miami, it's fun as well. There is a lot more to Miami than the beach though, in fact the beach is really the least of the fun here. Miami is very cultural with many museums and restaurants from the nationalities of the world. We always joke we are the only non-Latins in Miami and we don't really live in Miami, it's North Havana! All joking aside, if anyone ever wants touring help in Miami, let me know, I am glad to help!

My vote is the Gulf coast, you will love it!

Interesting. In all honesty, I had never even considered the west coast. Is there a particular beach on the west side with white sands and lots of shells that you all would reccomend? How far a drive in a rental car would it be and how hard is it to get a rental car from Port Orleans?

We cannot go to Miami although we would love to it won't fit into the plans. This trip will take place on the day of the night of our "Not so Scary Halloween Party" so we have to be back at 4:30 ish.

Does anyone know of a beach, less than 2 hours from Disney on the west side of the state.

...and Wizzard I opened this at 7 Am on Sunday morning and I don't know if my eye's will ever be the same (Although I do agree with Amy, you have great hair!!)

rphillips14 wrote:......and Wizzard I opened this at 7 Am on Sunday morning and I don't know if my eye's will ever be the same (Although I do agree with Amy, you have great hair!!)

Aha-ha-ha-ha! There is a risk associated with checking the forums early in the morning
You might want to call Port Orleans directly and ask them about the rental car. That way they can let you know if you can do it directly through them, or if you need to go somewhere else on property. I would guess it isn't too hard. If you mention what you are wanting to do, they might also have some specific suggestions on beaches as well. My tip for your trip to the Gulf, other than sunscreen, is take some ziploc baggies so you can put your wet little shell treasures in them. Saves you digging a whole lot of sand out of your pockets later. Plus it helps keep the littlest shells you find from getting lost

rphillips14 wrote:Interesting. In all honesty, I had never even considered the west coast. Is there a particular beach on the west side with white sands and lots of shells that you all would reccomend? How far a drive in a rental car would it be and how hard is it to get a rental car from Port Orleans?

We cannot go to Miami although we would love to it won't fit into the plans. This trip will take place on the day of the night of our "Not so Scary Halloween Party" so we have to be back at 4:30 ish.

Does anyone know of a beach, less than 2 hours from Disney on the west side of the state.

...and Wizzard I opened this at 7 Am on Sunday morning and I don't know if my eye's will ever be the same (Although I do agree with Amy, you have great hair!!)

I live in Sarasota, so I'm on the gulf side - about 2 hours from the World. The closest "nice" beach on the gulf side would be Sand Key http://www.pinellascounty.org/park/15_Sand_Key.htm
in Clearwater Beach, which is 1 1/2 to 2 hours away (Google maps says 1 hour 53 minutes, but its only 97 miles so it depends on how fast you drive) http://www.visitclearwaterflorida.com/. It is pretty there, soft & white sand, clear water (hence the name!) - you will like it. Also, the gulf side does not have waves like the Atlantic, so its good for kids.

When you first drive into Clearwater Beach, if you hug the shore, you will see that the first area of beach is really crowded, don't park there. Continue onto Sand Key Park and then park your car there. They have facilities at Sand Key Park - there is a charge for parking everywhere in Clearwater Beach.


Renting a car should be no problem, you'd just contact the Alamo car rental at the car care center by the exit to Magic Kingdom. They even have shuttle service to the resorts so you could shuttle form Port Orleans to pick up your car. Here is the info from disney's site:

Alamo® Rent A Car, the Official Rental Car of Walt Disney World Resort, has locations at the Orlando International Airport and at the Car Care Center near the parking exit of Magic Kingdom theme park. For Emerald Club customers, National Car Rental® also has a location at the Car Care Center. Shuttle service to and from your resort location is provided 7 days a week, Monday through Friday from 6:00 a.m. — 8:00 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 8:00 a.m. — 6:00 p.m. (holiday hours may vary). Shuttle service should be scheduled at least one hour in advance.

- From this page on thier website: http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/faq/directions/

Hope that helps!! Have a wonderful trip

WOW Lizzy, that is the EXACT info I needed thank You!!!

Wow the info from disneylizzy is awesome!