BEST OF ORLANDO
So you’re headed to Orlando… but where to start? You’ll find such a wealth of fantastic resorts and restaurants it can be difficult to choose exactly what you wish to indulge in. How best can you plan a visit in which each day comes with the finest this marvelous vacation spot has to offer? In order to help you in making the overwhelming decisions of where to stay and what places to dine, here are what I believe to be Orlando’s best offerings:
Best Vacation Rental Company
Florida Leisure Vacation Homes, conveniently located at the intersection of 535 and 192, has an amazing array of homes to choose from. Everything the discerning vacationer could wish for has been provided, and the courteous staff go out of their way to ensure that every guest has the vacation of their life. www.floridaleisure.com
Best Deluxe Resort
On Disney property it’s the Grand Floridian with its upscale Victorian atmosphere and lagoonside setting facing the Magic Kingdom. Off-property, hands-down, it’s the Ritz Carlton Grande Lakes where you may never even feel the need to leave the property. At Universal, go for the Portofino Bay Hotel with its unsurpassed ambience of an Italian seaside resort, just be prepared to pay mucho dinero.
Best Resort Pool (provided you don’t mind sharing with 100s of other guests)
Best Home-Away-From-Home Property
The Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge with its Bay Lake frontage and national park character or Disney’s Beach Club Villas conveniently located next door to Epcot.
Best Resort Atmosphere
Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge where hundreds of animals roam the savanna and the air is pulsating to the beat of African drums. Running a close second is Universal’s Portofino Bay Hotel where guests are transported to a romantic, seaside Italian village.
Best Resort Lobby
How to choose? Three of Disney’s resorts make the cut: the Wilderness Lodge, the Grand Floridian, and the Animal Kingdom Lodge, all eye-popping in their grandeur.
Best Access To The Parks
The Contemporary, Polynesian, and Grand Floridian with monorail access to the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and the Ticket and Transportation Center. At Universal, the Hard Rock Hotel is just a 5-minute walk or boat ride away to Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, and CityWalk.
Best Resort For Romance
Disney’s Polynesian Resort whose lush tiki torch-lit grounds and white-sand beaches with views of Cinderella’s Castle are simply dreamy or Universal’s Portofino Bay Hotel where an evening stroll along the bay with Italian arias playing in the distance can’t be beat.
Best Resort For Nature-Lovers
Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, a nature-lover’s dream of rushing waterfalls, spouting geysers, and bubbly creeks, all surrounded by stately pine trees and beautiful Bay Lake.
Best Resort Lounges
Best Italian
Palio at the Walt Disney World Swan where the Tortellini con Aragosta topped with enormous amounts of lobster is amazing, or Portobello Yacht Club at Downtown Disney for a fantastic, thin-crusted pizza followed by the Rigatoni with Italian Sausage, crimini mushrooms, plum tomatoes, black olives, and escarole.
Best Seafood
Flying Fish at Disney’s Boardwalk for Potato Wrapped Red Snapper with creamy leek fondue and red wine reduction, or the newcomer on the block, Todd English’s bluezoo at the Walt Disney World Dolphin, where seafood is taken to new heights. Off Disney property it’s got to be Roy’s on Sand Lake Road near Universal for Roy Yamaguchi’s remarkable Hawaiian Fusion cuisine.
Best Steaks
Shula’s at the Walt Disney World Dolphin, a standout for sensational Angus beef steaks cooked to perfection, or Vito’s Chop House on International Drive for the filet mignon stuffed with gorgonzola.
Best Restaurant For Romance
Victoria and Albert’s at Disney’s Grand Floridian, the only AAA 5-Diamond restaurant in Central Florida. Here you’ll savor a sumptuous six-course meal served on elegant fine china to the accompaniment of enchanting harp music. Or try Delfino Riviera at Universal’s Portofino Bay Hotel whose breeze-swept terrace overlooks the resort’s picturesque bay and piazza. And I can’t forget Norman’s at the Ritz Carlton for fine dining in plush surroundings all enveloped in the grandeur of an amazing resort.
Best Restaurant For Kids
Children love the Rainforest Café at the Animal Kingdom or Downtown Disney where they’re bombarded with thunderstorms and noisy audio-animatronic wildlife. A close runner up is Whispering Canyon Café at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge; come prepared for plenty of hoopin’ and hollerin’ and please, whatever you do, don’t ask for the ketchup unless, that is, you like a lot of attention.
Best Character Meal
Cinderella’s Royal Table at the Magic Kingdom, a chance to feast in a fairytale castle with Cinderella, Jasmine, Aladdin, Belle, and Snow White. Or try the Crystal Palace at the Magic Kingdom for a tasty, bountiful buffet hosted by Winnie the Pooh and his friends.
Best Hip Atmosphere
Todd English’s bluezoo at the Dolphin, the coolest spot this side of South Beach, or Tchoup Chop at Universal’s Royal Pacific Resort, a knock-em-dead, Asian-inspired beauty.
Best Disney View
Arthur’s 27 at the Wyndham Palace whose drop-dead setting is only topped by its creative cuisine, or California Grill at Disney’s Contemporary Resort with its picture-perfect views of the Magic Kingdom, the Seven Seas Lagoon, and the Wishes fireworks presentation.
Best Disney Resort Restaurant
Tough call. My favorites are the California Grill at the Contemporary Resort (just about anything on their exceptional menu is fantastic), Victoria and Albert’s at the Grand Floridian (particularly the Chef’s Table where Chef Scott Hunnel oversees an 11-course meal designed especially for you), and Todd English’s bluezoo at the Dolphin (try the miso glazed Chilean sea bass with warm sesame spinach).
Best Universal Resort Restaurant
Tchoup Chop at the Royal Pacific Resort. Wonderful Asian and Polynesian-influenced cuisine in a stunning setting of bamboo, waterfalls, and a lotus-filled reflecting pool. Share the Crunchy Shrimp with butter lettuce leaves and hot & sour chili glaze, move on to the Firecracker Fresh Fish served with papaya-serrano salsa, Asian pesto drizzle, and coconut-lemongrass sauce, and finish with a slice of Banana Cream Pie topped with caramel sauce and chocolate shavings.
Best Downtown Disney Restaurant
Wolfgang Puck’s Upstairs Dining Room for dishes like Szechuan marinated “Chinois” lamb rack served with a spicy cilantro-mint sauce or the restaurant’s exceptionally great Wienerschnitzel.
Best Epcot Illuminations View
Rose and Crown in World Showcase’s United Kingdom. Set your priority seating for about one hour prior to show time and pray for a table with a good view.
Best Milkshake
Beaches and Cream at Disney’s Beach Club Resort serves oh-so-delicious thick shakes and malts in a frosty fountain glass with the extras on the side in the stainless steel shaker.
Best Pizza
You can’t beat the pizzas at Downtown Disney’s Wolfgang Puck Cafe (choose the BLTA with applewood-smoked bacon, mozzarella, roma and sun-dried tomatoes, avocado, and chopped romaine), Downtown Disney’s Portobello Yacht Club (thin-crusted and smokey flavored), or Mama Melrose’s at Disney-MGM Studios (don’t miss the grilled chicken pizza with sun-dried tomato pesto, pancetta, and asiago cheese).
Best Breakfast
Spoodles at Disney’s Boardwalk. I love the Egg Rotollo, scrambled eggs with chorizo, onions, peppers, and cheddar cheese rolled in Lavosh (flatbread) and served with breakfast potatoes and marinated tomatoes.
Of course, all of these fancy resorts come at a high premium, and quite frankly nothing compares with renting a spacious, well appointed villa with a PRIVATE pool and your own parking space … less than 10 minutes from Disney and all the attractions. Why cramp your whole family and friends into a tiny and expensive box, when the alternative is so delightful. Call Florida Leisure at 407 870 1600 and see how they can make that daunting Orlando vacation a breeze … literally just a walk in the (theme) park.
