Two Questions - July 4th and Vero Beach

[douglas4315]

Hi

We are planning a short vacation 3 nights (2nd for this year) to either Orlando or Vero beach. Here are my 2 questions:

1) Has anyone been in Disney for July 4th and is there anything special going on? We may not even do parks, more of just a relax bu the pool vacation.

2) Has anyone stayed in Vero Beach? If so how was it and is there much to do there? Lastly, I would imagine a rental car is best to get there from Orlando????

Thanks as always

 

[iloveokw]

The 4th of July is lots of fun at Vero. They have a great pool party and lots of RWB themed activities and crafts. Yes, you would want to rent a car.

 

[DisDaydreamer]

Hi

We are planning a short vacation 3 nights (2nd for this year) to either Orlando or Vero beach. Here are my 2 questions:

1) Has anyone been in Disney for July 4th and is there anything special going on? We may not even do parks, more of just a relax bu the pool vacation.

2) Has anyone stayed in Vero Beach? If so how was it and is there much to do there? Lastly, I would imagine a rental car is best to get there from Orlando????

Thanks as always

Haven't been there on July 4th, but here are some things to do there.

The resort provides daily activities for kids & adults with the best CMs of all the resorts.

They have a nice pool & Lighthouse spiral waterslide, a REALLY cool water play area for the real young kids, a hot Jacuzzi, miniature golf, exercise room, ping pong, bike rentals, The Green Cabin Room (bar/restaurant) has 2nd floor covered deck that has a fantastic view of the ocean and is a nice place to relax with your favorite beverage. It also has live entertainment in the evenings. At night they have a campfire / s’more roast (bring the Cutter Advanced to fend off the No-see-ums). You can rent a small catamaran or jet-ski for ocean fun. Across the street they have a lake, picnic tables, nature trail, tennis courts, and basketball courts. Disney built a private tunnel under the road to access this area. And of course they have the ocean and great waves for boogy boarding. Everything from the ocean to the pool to your room is no more than 2 minutes away walking. So it is real easy to break up your day

5 minutes away is Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge and a wildlife education center. Just a few minutes further up the road is Sebastian Inlet State Park were the Indian River meets the ocean. There are many good fishing spots around the inlet, and there are river excursions where you can see dolphins, manatee, and tons of other types of wildlife. About an hour north is Port Canaveral, (where the Magic and Wonder dock), the Kennedy Space Center visitor complex, and Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge with walking and driving tours. 20 minutes south is McKee Botanical Garden (18 acres) with some REALLY cool vegetation and trees. 30 minutes south in Fort Piece is the Manatee Observation and Education Center.

Have a nice trip

 

[douglas4315]

Thank you

Should we fly into Orlando? Is that the best airport and how far is it away?

 

[Mahusky]

This question has been discussed several times before with result of West Palm Beach airport (PBI) and Orlando (MCO) coming up as 6 and 1/2 dozen in the other.

Both are similar distances.... some people like the convenience and flexibilty (and maybe cost) of MCO and other like the small airport feel of PBI.

I go to whereever is cheapest!!!

 

[Granny]

1) Has anyone been in Disney for July 4th and is there anything special going on? We may not even do parks, more of just a relax bu the pool vacation.

Yes, we have been to WDW for 4th of July, and will do our best to avoid it in the future if possible.

On the 4th of July in the WDW parks, you can count on and . The year we went (2004) they closed down MK about noon due to full capacity.

They do a great job with fireworks around WDW, and if we did it again we would probably avoid MK and just enjoy the fireworks from somewhere else such as the Polynesian.

 

[Demosthenes]

I'm surprised there is some discussion about which airport is best to fly into. I built a church in Fort Pierce (about 15 minutes south of DVB) over the last year, and I found it to be at least 30 minutes closer driving and significantly faster to get to the rental car from PBI. I also flew into Melbourne a few times, but decent fares into MLB are pretty hard to come by.

I flew my family down for the 4th last year at VB. We had a great time; it was what convinced DW that we should buy into DVC. In fact, she wanted to purchase at VB, but was convinced that we would rather stay close to WDW more frequently, and she preferred the extra 12 use years! Anyway, there was a fireworks show in town that we went to for the fourth, and there was a lot of activity at the resort for the fourth, and throughout the week. The resort is fabulous. The views are fantastic, the restaurants are good and the activities are plentiful. I think you'll have a great time.

 

[Lenc324]

If you can fly SW Airlines either West Palm Beach or Orlando have great fares

 

[2infinityandbeyond]

If you can fly SW Airlines either West Palm Beach or Orlando have great fares

SWA has more flights into/out of MCO compared with PBI, so MCO is probably the better option.

 

[floridafam]

My parents are flying into Melbourne from Chicago for $150 round trip which I think is excellent.

Sometimes they have fireworks just North of the resort near the Orchid Island development and they are some of the best I have ever seen. I don't know if they do them every year.

Last year on July 4th, there was a shuttle launch! It was wonderful.

 

[TeensMom]

Vero has nice activities for younger kids but my teens and I were bored after the first 2 days. You can rent bikes and go on long bike rides along the river. The beach is very small and surf rough (not for young kids). Poolside restaurant is nice but main restaurant is expensive and not impressive. After first night we drove into town every night.

 

[lenshanem]

We'll be there!