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Web Exclusive: The Other Orlando
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It's not all theme parks in Florida's favorite playground. There are farmers markets, airboat rides and the best Tiffany museum anywhere
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BY BARBARA PECK
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The high-speed portion of an airboat tour near Kissimmee; one of Ginny's orchids at the Winter Park Farmers Market.
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We all know why you’re heading to Orlando. It’s miles from the nearest beach . . . but yes, there are those theme parks. And true enough, they are fun for everyone.
But Orlando has more to offer. On your next trip, try exploring beyond the gates of the theme parks. You’ll be surprised to find what’s out there.
Florida’s “Hamptons”
Just 10 minutes east of downtown Orlando lies the community of Winter Park, sometimes likened to the Hamptons, the tony summer retreat for wealthy New Yorkers. Winter Park’s low-rise buildings, eclectic boutiques and sleepy, tree-shaded streets are perfect for a few hours of browsing.
If it’s Saturday, get started early with a visit to the Winter Park Farmers Market, held in and around an old train depot (New England Ave. and New York St.; 7 a.m.–1 p.m). You’ll find pastries to munch on, gorgeous orchids and great prices on local produce (take home a bag of oranges!).
Next, it’s time for the Winter Park Scenic Boat Tour, which has been operating for more than 70 years (312 E. Morse Blvd.; 407-644-4056; scenicboattours.com; $12). The 18-passenger pontoon boats launch daily on the hour, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The opposite of a thrill ride, this lazy, low-speed cruise glides across three tranquil lakes and down narrow canals bordered by lush ferns and trees dripping Spanish moss. Along the way, you’ll spot herons, cormorants and maybe alligators. You'll also get a glimpse of the well-endowed Rollins College and rubberneck at houses along the shore, some modest, some so palatial that the boathouses are big enough to live in. Your knowledgeable guide can tell you which NBA player bought which gigantic mansion.
After your boat tour, have brunch or lunch at the Briarpatch (252 N. Park Ave.; 407-628-8651). The inside has a laidback cottage-porch feel—the ice cream parlor adds to the ambiance—but try to snag a sidewalk table for views of the leafy park across the street.
Don’t linger too long, as Winter Park has another must-see attraction: the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art (445 N. Park Ave.; 407-645-5311; morsemuseum.org; $3; call for hours). Its collection of work by Louis Comfort Tiffany (stained-glass windows, mosaics, lamps, vases and more) may well be the finest anywhere. The highlight, an exquisite chapel that Tiffany created for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, is the very work that originally brought the brilliant designer into the public eye. The story about how the chapel was preserved for years and reassembled here more than a century later will fascinate you. Other displays bring the man to life, showing his personal letters, designs, photographs and memorabilia. New galleries opening in early 2011 will allow the Morse to display even more of its prized Tiffany works.
Downtown Greenery
If you have more time to spare during your Orlando visit, why not explore the downtown region? You’ll find museums and galleries galore, including the Orlando Museum of Art, the Mennello Museum of American Art and the City Arts Factory. If you prefer to be outdoors, wander through 43-acre Lake Eola Park. The loop around the lake is almost a mile, and during your stroll you can watch swans and colorful ducks, admire the fountain (it’s actually floating in the middle of the lake) and maybe even take a swan-shaped paddleboat out for a spin (407-246-2827; $15 for a half-hour).
Marsh Madness
News flash: Central Florida has its own Everglades! Discover them on a trip with Boggy Creek Airboat Rides, whose launching point is about an hour's drive south of Orlando (2001 E. Southport Rd., Kissimmee; 407-344-9550; bcairboats.com; $26). The half-hour tours leave from 9 to 5:30, no reservations required.
An airboat is a flat-bottomed skiff propelled by a giant fan in the stern. Boggy Creek’s boats can dawdle through the wetlands at a couple of miles an hour or speed through at 50 mph. You do both on this tour, slowing while your guide points out an osprey, a nesting sandhill crane (almost invisible in the grasses, despite its crimson head), a gorgeous snowy egret or perhaps a wood stork. You might have to look closely to spy a two-foot-long young gator sunning itself on the marshy shore, but your guide is happy to help.
After some peaceful meandering, your guide gooses the engine and starts hurtling across the water, just for fun. You’re going so fast your hair flies out behind you. It might seem like a theme-park ride, but with one big difference: This isn’t some hi-tech simulation. Quite simply, it’s the real thing.
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Published: March 1, 2010
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PHOTOS: Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau; Barbara Peck
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