An Orlando Day Trip Without a Theme Park in Sight

A wedding invitation gave Michael and me the perfect excuse to knock out a visit to our second destination in our year of monthly Florida day trips: Orlando.

(In case you missed it, one of my New Year’s Resolutions is to explore a little closer to home throughout the year; to accomplish this, I plan to take one day/weekend trip per month within my home state).

As a native Floridian, I’m certainly no stranger to the city; I have family that live in the area, and for many years, Michael and I held annual passes to Disney World. While I’ve spent a lot of time in Orlando for shopping and entertainment, I recently realized that I haven’t explored much of its local side.

So bingo! Our goal for our day in town was simple: Explore some of the many things Orlando has to offer without paying a cartoon mouse an exorbitant amount of money.

Here’s how we spent our day:

ORLANDO DAY TRIP ITINERARY

Breakfast with International Flavors: Pao Gostoso

Pao Gostoso | 5472 International Dr., Orlando, FL 32819

If you’ve been reading the blog for a while, you probably won’t be surprised that Michael and I got a late start to our day. It’s okay, though, because apparently so did everyone else at our first stop of the day: a Brazilian bakery. Pao Gostoso is set in a shopping center we’ve driven past countless times on previous visits to Orlando yet never noticed.

When we arrived at the plaza we were shocked by our ignorance – a giant soccer player statue was there to greet us (and is clearly visible from the road!). Not only that, but it seemed that every business within the plaza caters to the local Brazilian population, as most of the signs in the parking lot didn’t include an English translation.

Once inside the bakery, we heard mostly just the swishy sounds of Portuguese on the customers’ tongues. We quickly jumped in the line before it got any longer, and began planning what we would eat. Each pastry in the case thankfully had a card describing its contents – in Portuguese and (thankfully!) also in English.

“Próximo,” the cashier insisted, and we scooted up to the register to stumble through our order. We were handed a buzzer and shooed away to wait until our order was ready. With nowhere to sit, we elected to take our delectable bites to go, and were out the door a few minutes later, eagerly anticipating our next chance to return.

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First Coffee of the Day at Lineage Coffee Roasting

Lineage Coffee Roasting | Multiple Locations

With a throbbing caffeine headache at this point (the Brazilian pastries were great but the coffee left much to be desired…) we made our way over to Lineage Coffee Roasting for a pour-over and a flat white.

The bright, industrial space would be perfect for a meetup with friends or a place to spend the day working, but as we had more to do we took off shortly after receiving our paper cups of goodness. Perhaps one day we’ll make it back to linger a while.

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A Hearty Vegan Lunch at The Sanctum

The Sanctum | Now Closed

Initially, we had planned a full-on tacos+margaritas brunch, but in the post-wedding-dinner morning light, we agreed that something much more wholesome was needed (well, one of us decided that, and she had to convince the other one that vegetables > tacos).

We wound up at The Sanctum (now closed), which serves local, organic, vegetarian fare. Michael sighed as he reviewed the menu and ordered the burger bowl, and I ordered the sushi bowl (minus the sesame as I am allergic – the restaurant is very allergy-aware and very willing to accommodate if needed!) but we both finished our plates.

Everything was very fresh and very well seasoned – the kind of lunch I’d eat every day if I could afford to dine out all the time. As a reward for eating all of our veggies, we ordered the darkest, chocolatiest brownie I’ve ever seen to-go. Incredibly full, we vowed to eat it later, but our efforts were thwarted when the fudginess seeped through the bag and we were forced to eat it earlier than anticipated (poor us, I know).

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Music in the Park at the Mennello Museum

Mennello Museum | 900 E Princeton St, Orlando, FL 32803

Following lunch, we headed over to the Mennello Museum to watch a friend play in the museum’s Indie Folkfest event. It was our first time attending the popular event, and if we hadn’t already eaten lunch, there would have been plenty to choose from on-site.

Food and craft vendors flanked the viewing area, and friends and families alike enjoyed the music and beautiful weather. Without chairs or a blanket, we were only comfortable staying for an hour or two, but we’d love to come back down and attend this free event with a group of good friends and a picnic basket filled with wine and goodies.

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More Coffee: Downtown Credo

Downtown Credo | 885 N Orange Ave, Orlando, FL 32801

It may not seem like it, but we do have interests other than sweets and coffee, I promise. Time in the hot sun at the festival made us sleepy, so we visited Downtown Credo, a unique company combining coffee and co-working spaces, for a cold brew.

The items on the menu are priced in ranges, and you can pay any amount in that range. According to their website, the company works directly with the producers to source their beans and use a portion of the proceeds to fund projects in their area.

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Retail Therapy at Orlando Boutiques + Thrift Shops

Etoile Boutique | 2424 E Robinson St, Orlando, FL 32803
Dechoes Resale | Multiple Locations
Style Encore | Now Closed

Like most large cities, Orlando is divided into different neighborhoods, but unfortunately, unlike most large cities the neighborhoods are not terribly walkable. I usually enjoy thrift, consignment, and vintage shopping in other cities, so we found a few shops scattered about: Etoile Boutique (vintage and locally-made apparel and accessories), Dechoes Resale (my favorite of the day with a good selection of designer and indie brands), and Style Encore (now closed).

How’d I make out? Well, I’m a pretty picky shopper, but I did end up with a chic wool Theory dress and a classic Fendi belt for only $60.

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Food Hall O’Clock at East End Market

East End Market | 3201 Corrine Dr, Orlando, FL 32803

Our Orlando day ended at East End Market, a food hall with similar vibes to Atlanta’s Krog Street Market.

With vendors ranging from leather goods makers to cheesemongers, Michael and I enjoyed window-shopping for a bit before having a drink and snack at Domu. The wait for a table would have lasted an hour and a half, but there were two chairs seemingly calling for us at the bar. Diners should note that most of the menu is available at the bar, however, the restaurant’s popular ramen dishes can only be ordered at a table. This was just fine with us, and we shared an unlikely combination of pork buns and burrata.

Before leaving, we purchased air plants at Porch Therapy (now closed) as living souvenirs. Mine, the necklace in the photo above, died within three days, but Michael’s is thriving in a very Roman way… And of course, we couldn’t pass up a Levain-like cookie at Gideon’s Bakehouse. Yes, that was our third sweet of the day, and no, we have no regrets.

FINAL THOUGHTS ON EXPLORING ORLANDO’S LOCAL SIDE

I thoroughly enjoyed exploring a different side of Orlando, though I know I’ve just scratched the surface and there is much more to see and do. What are your favorite non-theme park spots in Orlando?

Looking for more? You may enjoy these other Florida guides:

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2 Comments on “An Orlando Day Trip Without a Theme Park in Sight”

The Luxe Strategist says:

March 1, 2018 at 3:01 pm

I’m going to Orlando in the fall, so I was so happy to see this! I’m still not sure about going to Disney (I’ve never been), so I was immediately attracted to the Domu pork buns. And like you, thrift stores are always up my alley. Thanks for putting this together!

1. Alyssa says:
  
  March 2, 2018 at 9:05 am
  
  I think if it’s something you’ll worry about regretting, you should go ahead and do one day at Disney (as long as it’s a weekday!). If you think you’ll return one day with kids in tow, it’s probably worth waiting for a different visit. There are a lot of things about Orlando that are artificial (it’s kind of like a family version of Las Vegas), but there is a lot of good there too.