Lil + Jake - Central Florida Field Guide
Florida, according to a couple of locals.
Mike casually offered Disney tickets. Somehow that escalated into an actual flight to explore something new!
So... welcome. 😂
We put this together the same way we’d plan a week for friends - the springs we actually like, places worth eating, a few wonderfully weird Florida side quests, some Disney survival knowledge, and enough local shortcuts to hopefully keep you from spending your holiday standing in the wrong line or driving 47 minutes for something that was apparently “right nearby.”
There is deliberately more in here than you’ll have time to do.
Pick what sounds good. Skip what doesn’t. Change your mind because the weather changed, you’re tired, or you spotted something interesting on the side of the road.
Good trips have plans. Great ones leave a little room for detours.
No points awarded for doing everything.
TAMPA · CLEARWATER · ST. PETE · FIND YOUR WILD · ORLANDO · SPACE · THEME PARKS
Tampa
Start with the river.
Tampa’s Riverwalk is an easy first look at the city - waterfront, skyline, palms, boats, bridges, and enough happening around it that you can wander without needing a plan.
Main idea: walk until you’re hungry.
OUR VOTE
Columbia Cafe at the Tampa Bay History Center
This is DeShawna’s pick.
It gives you a real taste of Tampa’s Spanish-Cuban history without needing to turn dinner into an event. The Columbia name has deep roots in Tampa, and this waterfront location puts you right on the Riverwalk with a covered patio and classic Florida atmosphere.
DeShawna recommends:
The Original 1905 Salad.
It’s one of those things that sounds like “just a salad” until you actually have it.
Why go: local history, waterfront setting, Tampa flavor, and something that feels genuinely tied to the city.
LOCAL PICK
Ulele
If you want another very Tampa-feeling option, Ulele is right on the Riverwalk in a restored historic waterworks building with Florida-inspired food, seafood, local beer, and outdoor seating.
Why go: great atmosphere, strong sense of place, and a little more polished without feeling stuffy.
TAMPA · CLEARWATER · ST. PETE · FIND YOUR WILD · ORLANDO · SPACE · THEME PARKS
Clearwater
This one is for the Gulf.
Clearwater is less about trying to “see everything” and more about letting the beach do most of the work.
OUR VOTE
Frenchy’s Rockaway Grill
Open-air, casual, directly on the Gulf, live music, seafood, and sunset views.
This is the kind of place where you order something involving grouper, grab a drink, and remember that beach towns run on a slightly different clock.
Why go: easy, lively, beachfront, and exactly the right level of un-fancy.
THE MAIN IDEA
Pier 60 at sunset
Head toward Pier 60 around sunset for music, street performers, vendors, and that classic Gulf-coast evening vibe. They have a nightly celebration starting two hours before sunset that DeShawna personally loves.
The point here is not really to accomplish anything.
Walk. Listen. People-watch. Let the sunset happen.
SIDE QUEST
Clearwater Marine Aquarium
If either of you watched Dolphin Tale, this is the place tied to Winter the dolphin and her story.
If that movie means nothing to you?
Skip it guilt-free.
TAMPA · CLEARWATER · ST. PETE · FIND YOUR WILD · ORLANDO · SPACE · THEME PARKS
St. Pete
If you only wander one Florida downtown, make it this one.
St. Pete has this easy, colorful Florida energy that somehow feels lively without feeling frantic. The waterfront, palm trees, murals, cafés, little shops, parks, galleries, boats, bars, and people out actually enjoying the city all blur together in the best way.
This is not a place we’d over-plan.
Start at the pier. Walk until something looks interesting.
THE MAIN IDEA
The pier itself is worth the walk - 26 acres of waterfront, restaurants, parks, public art, places to sit, and big open views across Tampa Bay. It stretches far enough into the water that the city starts to feel very far away by the time you reach the end.
DeShawna’s favorite move: walk all the way to the end first, then work your way slowly back toward downtown.
OUR VOTE
Pier Teaki
Get a drink at the top.
This is the rooftop tiki bar at the very end of the pier, and it is one of those places where the setting is half the reason to go.
You’re up above the water with wide-open views across Tampa Bay and back toward the St. Pete skyline, with a tropical rooftop-bar feel that fits the city perfectly.
DeShawna vote: even if you don’t stay long, go upstairs for the view.
KEEP WALKING
Once you come back off the pier, don’t get in the car yet.
The downtown waterfront is extremely walkable, and this is where St. Pete gets good. Wander Beach Drive, duck into whatever shop or café catches your eye, look for murals, grab something cold, and just keep moving south along the water.
South Straub Park
It’s a 7.3-acre waterfront green space right between the marina and downtown, with walking paths, open lawn, a fountain, and easy access to the restaurants and shops along Beach Drive.
This is less “destination attraction” and more:
keep walking because the whole area is the attraction.
SIDE QUEST
Go when the vendors are out.
This is actually perfect timing information for the guide:
The Pier Marketplace runs Friday through Sunday from 10 AM-6 PM, with local independent vendors selling art, jewelry, apparel, specialty food, décor and other handmade goods.
And on Saturday, September 19, the larger St. Pete Saturday Morning Market is also running downtown, with local produce, food, art, crafts and vendors.
The Pier hosts Movement Monday every Monday from 7-9 PM with DJs, flow arts and dancing. If they happen to still be around Monday evening, it’s free and very St. Pete.
TAMPA · CLEARWATER · ST. PETE · FIND YOUR WILD · ORLANDO · SPACE · THEME PARKS
Central Florida Springs
Clear blue spring water. Kayaks under cypress trees. Manatees if you get lucky. Monkeys if Florida decides to get weird.
You do not need to do all of these.
Pick the one that sounds most like you and call it a good day.
FLOAT IT
Kelly Park / Rock Springs
If you want the easiest, most relaxed version of a Florida spring day, this is it.
Rock Springs runs through Kelly Park in clear, cool water, and the natural lazy-river float is the whole point. The water stays around 68°F year-round, which feels incredible when Florida is doing its September sauna impression.
COST
Park entry is currently $3 per vehicle for up to 2 people or $5 for 3+ people.
RESERVATION?
No normal day-use reservation - but the park hits capacity, sometimes very early. Orange County has reported people lining up before sunrise in busy months.
TUBES
The park itself does not rent tubes. Nearby businesses do, but honestly:
Borrow ours.
We already have tubes, so there is absolutely no reason for you to buy them.
LOCAL TIP
Go at 8-9am Grab your pass to return at 1pm. Drive to Mt. Dora for shopping and coffee, then return to float once crowds have died down. Float it a few times, dry off, then leave before the afternoon storm machine turns on.
SIDE QUEST
Mount Dora before
Wander the shops, walk around downtown, eat lunch, and turn one spring morning into a full easy Florida day.
PADDLE IT
King’s Landing
This is probably the most Lil + Jake option of the bunch.
You paddle through Rock Springs Run with clear water, forest on both sides and enough distance between you and Orlando that it stops feeling like you’re anywhere near a theme park.
RENTAL COSTS
Current self-guided rentals are up to 4 hours:
Single kayak - $54
Double kayak - $74
Canoe - $64
Paddleboard - $74
Equipment and safety gear are included.
BRING YOUR OWN
Personal vessels are currently:
Adult - $10
Weekend walk-ins can be $20, and availability can fill.
RESERVATION?
Yes - book ahead.
King’s Landing says reservations are required for limited-availability options and directs guests to reserve online.
LOCAL TIP
Do the Emerald Cut rather than trying to conquer the entire river unless you actively want a long paddle.
Bring:
water shoes
sunscreen
water
dry bag
phone leash if you have one
Because “I dropped my phone into a spring in Florida” is a great story approximately six months later.
TRY YOUR LUCK WITH A MANATEE
Blue Spring State Park
This is one of Florida’s major manatee refuges.
Important reality check: you’re here in September.
Peak manatee season is November through March, when they gather in the warmer spring water. September sightings can happen, but they are absolutely a bonus, not something we’d promise.
The good news?
It’s still a gorgeous spring.
RESERVATION?
YES. This one matters. Reservations can be made up to 60 days ahead.
COST
$6 per vehicle for 2-8 people.
SWIMMING
Swimming season runs April 1-November 14, so September is currently within the open-water season, assuming conditions allow.
TUBING
Blue Spring Adventures currently lists:
Single tube - starting around $7/hour
Double tube - starting around $9.96
Tubing is walk-in only.
LOCAL TIP
Go expecting:
clear water
boardwalks
birds
fish
a beautiful spring
Then if a manatee shows up?
Everybody loses their minds appropriately.
GO LOOK FOR MONKEYS
Silver Springs State Park
Yes.
Wild monkeys. In Florida.
Rhesus macaques live along the Silver River, which still sounds made up no matter how many times you say it.
There’s no guarantee you’ll see them, but this is one of the best wildlife-heavy choices on the list.
You can also spot turtles, alligators, birds, and occasionally otters.
COST
Park admission is currently $8 per vehicle.
KAYAK RENTALS
Current rates include:
Single kayak - $30 first hour / $45 two hours
Tandem - $50 first hour / $65 two hours
SUP - $35 first hour / $50 two hours
Clear tandem kayak - $60 first hour / $75 two hours
A personal kayak/canoe launch is $4 per vessel.
GLASS-BOTTOM BOATS
If you don’t feel like paddling:
30-minute tour
Adult - $17
90-minute extended tour
Adult - $35
Reservations are available and are especially smart for the longer tour.
RESERVATION?
Park entry itself does not currently require a day-use reservation.
I would reserve the glass-bottom boat or kayak rental if either matter to you.
LOCAL TIP
If wildlife is the priority, I’d personally choose kayaking over the boat.
You’re quieter, lower to the water, and more likely to feel like you’re actually in the river instead of touring it.
GO UNDERGROUND
Devil’s Den
This is the “this does not look like Florida” option.
Devil’s Den is a prehistoric underground spring inside a limestone cavern. Light comes through the opening above the water and the whole thing feels slightly ridiculous in the best possible way.
RESERVATION?
YES.
Snorkeling is done in 90-minute reservation slots. They recommend arriving at least 15 minutes early.
COST
Snorkeling admission:
$30 per person
Required snorkel gear is not included.
Rental bundle:
$15
mask + snorkel + fins.
So if you need everything, figure roughly:
$45 per person
before any extras.
LOCAL TIP
Do this one if the goal is the experience, not spending an entire day somewhere.
It works really well as:
Devil’s Den
→ lunch
→ keep road-tripping
Water shoes are useful around the property, but fins are required in the cavern.
COOK YOUR OWN BREAKFAST, THEN JUMP IN A SPRING
De Leon Springs + Old Sugar Mill Pancake House
This one gets bonus points for being wonderfully weird.
The Old Sugar Mill Pancake House sits inside De Leon Springs State Park, and every table has a griddle where you cook your own pancakes.
Then you walk outside and go swim in a 72°F spring.
That is a deeply Florida morning.
COST
Park entry:
$6 per vehicle for 2-8 people.
PANCAKE HOUSE
Open daily:
8 AM-4 PM.
RESERVATION?
The restaurant uses a waitlist system rather than treating this like a formal reservation meal.
Big local tip: arrive early.
The park can reach capacity - sometimes as early as 9 AM in busy periods - and even having a rental reservation does not guarantee entry once the park closes at capacity.
PADDLING
Kayaks, canoes, SUPs and pedal boats are available.
Current rental information lists:
1-hour rentals for kayaks/canoes/SUPs
extra hour: $9 for singles/SUPs
extra hour: $11 for tandems/canoes
max day rate: $45 singles/SUP
max day rate: $60 tandem/canoe
TUBES
Tube rentals are also available for $5.
LOCAL TIP
Get breakfast first.
Join the restaurant waitlist, then use the waiting time to walk around the spring or take the boat tour.
Very important bonus: the park specifically notes that if you take the boat tour while waiting for the restaurant, you keep your place on the waitlist.
That is elite-level Florida efficiency.
IF WE WERE PICKING FOR YOU
I’d put this little decision card at the bottom:
I just want to float:
Kelly Park
I want the prettiest paddle:
King’s Landing
I desperately want a manatee:
Blue Spring - but September is a gamble.
I want wildlife + weird Florida:
Silver Springs
I want the best “wait, WHAT is this?” stop:
Devil’s Den
I want food to somehow become an adventure:
De Leon Springs
TAMPA · CLEARWATER · ST. PETE · FIND YOUR WILD · ORLANDO · SPACE · THEME PARKS
Orlando
THE PART THAT ISN’T JUST THE PARKS
Orlando is more fun when you stop trying to “do Orlando.”
You can absolutely spend the whole trip chasing rides and giant signs. Or you can slow it down a little, wander somewhere pretty, eat somewhere we actually like, and remember that there is a real Central Florida outside the theme-park bubble.
For this section, I’d give them a few easy, low-pressure options rather than one giant list.
THE MAIN IDEA
Disney Springs
This is one of the easiest ways to get a little Disney atmosphere without committing to a park ticket.
Walk the waterfront. Browse. Grab a drink. Listen to live music. People-watch. Eat somewhere good. Leave whenever you’ve had enough.
DeShawna’s vote: Morimoto Asia for date night.
And if you want something very Orlando but completely different, Drawn to Life by Cirque du Soleil is right there and genuinely mesmerizing.
OUR VOTE
Celebration
This is one of those places we send people when they want something pretty, walkable, easy, and very Central Florida without needing a ticket for anything.
Walk around the lake. Wander through town. Grab lunch. Sit outside if the weather cooperates. It’s intentionally charming in a slightly suspicious way, which is part of the fun.
Mike’s pick
Celebration Town Tavern
Celebration Town Tavern
Mike recommends the Maine Lobster Roll. The Tavern’s current menu lists it with lobster meat, mayo, celery, scallions and Old Bay on a New England-style split-top bun.
This is a casual, family-run tavern right on Front Street, so it works perfectly with a walk around Celebration instead of feeling like a whole separate dinner mission.
SIDE QUEST
Sunday market
If you’re in Celebration on a Sunday, the Celebration Farmers Market runs every Sunday from 10 AM to 2 PM in the Town Center area, with produce, local food, handmade goods and small vendors.
This is exactly the kind of thing I’d tack onto lunch rather than build a whole day around.
Walk the market → wander the lake → lobster roll.
Hard to argue with that.
GO FULL ORLANDO
ICON Park + I-Drive + The Point Orlando
If you want the louder, weirder, neon version of Orlando, this is where I’d send you.
Walk ICON Park, grab food, then decide how ridiculous you want the night to become.
DeShawna likes: Gordon Ramsay Fish & Chips.
Then, depending on your mood:
Dick’s Last Resort
For intentionally rude service and chaos.
Comedy club
If you want a proper laugh.
Howl at the Moon
If drinks + dueling pianos + singing strangers sounds like a good idea.
This is absolutely not the quiet side of Orlando.
That is also the point.
WEATHER NOTE
Florida will absolutely try to humble you.
Right now it is hot, humid, and very capable of producing a dramatic afternoon thunderstorm with almost no emotional warning.
Don’t assume rain means the day is ruined.
If it starts pouring, go inside instead of going home.
At Disney Springs, ICON Park, or even the theme parks that might mean:
food
shops
indoor attractions
drinks
sitting somewhere with AC until Florida finishes being theatrical
And skip the giant tourist ponchos if you hate feeling like a steamed dumpling.
Better move: quick-dry clothes + water-resistant shoes.
A pair of Chacos or similar water-friendly sandals works really well here because they can handle sudden rain and double as spring shoes later.
If we were picking for you
Want easy + scenic:
Celebration
Want dinner + wandering:
Disney Springs
Want funny + loud:
ICON Park
Want a Sunday morning:
Celebration Farmers Market + Town Tavern
Want one very Orlando night:
Dinner, drinks, dueling pianos, and absolutely no early-morning plans the next day.
TAMPA · CLEARWATER · ST. PETE · FIND YOUR WILD · ORLANDO · SPACE · THEME PARKS
Space Coast
Kennedy is worth giving a real day to.
If space, engineering, giant machines, ridiculous human ambition, or standing underneath something that actually went to space sounds even remotely interesting, go.
Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is open 9 AM-5 PM during September, and this is not a place I’d squeeze into two or three spare hours. The bus tour alone takes you behind the gates past working NASA facilities and the enormous Vehicle Assembly Building before ending at the Apollo/Saturn V Center.
THE MAIN IDEA
Give it most of the day.
If you only prioritize a few things, make them:
Space Shuttle Atlantis - the actual shuttle, displayed as though it’s in flight.
Kennedy Space Center Bus Tour - this gets you behind NASA’s gates and out toward the operational side of Kennedy.
Apollo / Saturn V Center - stand underneath a real 363-foot Saturn V Moon rocket, see Apollo artifacts, and touch an actual Moon rock. The Saturn V Center is reached by the included bus tour, and Kennedy recommends allowing about an hour once you’re there.
Local tip: do not leave the bus tour until late afternoon. The last tour departs 2½ hours before closing, and it leads to one of the best parts of the entire complex.
SIDE QUEST
Check the launch calendar before you go.
This is a functioning spaceport, not just a museum.
Launch schedules change constantly, sometimes because spaceflight apparently has no respect whatsoever for vacation itineraries. If something happens to be going up while you’re here, that can completely change the day.
OUR VOTE AFTERWARD
Skip the theme-park food mission. Go eat where the boats bring the fish in.
After going through current Space Coast recommendations, Cocoa Beach/Cape Canaveral discussions, and multiple local Reddit threads, my #1 food pick for Lil + Jake is:
Seafood Atlantic
Seafood Atlantic is both a working seafood market and a waterfront restaurant. Our chose as the choice for legitimately fresh, cooked-to-order fish, and probably the best seafood restaurant at the port, and specifically preferred it over some of the bigger-name waterfront tourist spots.
What I’d order
The menu changes with market availability, which is exactly what you want at a place like this.
Current options include fresh fish sandwiches, oysters, local Canaveral shrimp and a Mahi Burrito with fresh local mahi, pineapple-black-bean pico and rice.
Ask what came in fresh and work backward from there.
GOOD TO KNOW
They’re currently closed Monday and Tuesday, so this recommendation only works if the Kennedy day lands Wednesday-Sunday. Current hours vary by day, and the restaurant recommends calling for reservations.
If you still have daylight
I would not automatically send them to Cocoa Beach Pier afterward. Local advice around Kennedy repeatedly favors heading toward the port or a more natural beach rather than treating the pier as compulsory.
If they’ve spent all day around rockets and still want another hour outside, Canaveral National Seashore is much more their speed - a dramatically less developed stretch of Florida coastline with Kennedy nearby rather than another strip of restaurants and souvenir shops.
TAMPA · CLEARWATER · ST. PETE · FIND YOUR WILD · ORLANDO · SPACE · THEME PARKS
Theme Parks
There are so many parks but if you only have a couple days these are our pics
MAGIC KINGDOM
THE MAIN IDEA
Go for the feeling.
Walk Main Street. See Cinderella Castle. Take the photos. Let yourself be a tourist for a minute.
Then choose a couple of things that are actually worth your time.
OUR VOTE
TRON Lightcycle / Run
If you like thrill rides, this is the modern one we’d prioritize.
Fast, different, and very unlike the classic Disney attractions around it.
THE CLASSIC
Pirates of the Caribbean
If you only do one old-school Disney ride, make it Pirates.
It gets you away from some of the kid-heavy chaos around Fantasyland, gives you a genuinely iconic Disney attraction, and it still has that wonderfully strange old Disney atmosphere that somehow works.
LOCAL TIP
You do not need to prove anything by staying at Magic Kingdom until you’re exhausted.
See it. Ride a couple things. Then leave while you still like everyone.
HOW TO GET FROM MAGIC KINGDOM TO EPCOT
This is slightly less obvious than it should be.
Step 1
Leave Magic Kingdom and follow the signs for the Monorail.
Step 2
Take either the Express Monorail or Resort Monorail to the Transportation and Ticket Center.
Step 3
Get off there and follow the signs for the EPCOT Monorail.
Step 4
Ride directly to EPCOT.
If you’ve parked at Magic Kingdom you can take the Monorail back to your parking at the end of the day.
EPCOT
OUR ACTUAL ADVICE
Stop trying to optimize it.
This is where we’d slow down.
Walk World Showcase.
Eat weird things.
Drink something.
People-watch.
Go inside countries.
Take photos.
Let the afternoon happen.
That’s honestly the best advice we can give you.
You’ll also be there during the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival, which is running August 27 through November 21, 2026.
So the wandering becomes even better because there are festival booths everywhere with small plates and drinks from different regions.
IF YOU LIKE COASTERS
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
DeShawna’s favorite Disney ride.
If you like coasters even a little bit, this one is worth prioritizing.
It’s fast, ridiculous, and one of those rides that makes you get off laughing.
Disney currently lists Guardians among EPCOT’s headline attractions.
OUR COMPLETELY BIASED EPCOT STOPS
Mexico
Get a margarita.
That is all.
France
Go find the pâtisserie.
Get something involving butter, pastry, chocolate, cheese, or all four.
This is not the day for nutritional discipline.
SIDE QUEST
Jake. We found the Cars detour.
If you need a break from the parks - or you simply want to stand next to Lightning McQueen - take the Disney Skyliner from EPCOT’s International Gateway (near the France pavilion) and go wander the Cars section at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort.
You’ll transfer at Caribbean Beach before continuing to Art of Animation.
No ride strategy. No queue. Just Cars
FIREWORKS WITHOUT LOSING YOUR MIND
EPCOT’s current nighttime show, Luminous: The Symphony of Us, is scheduled around 9 PM on current September park calendars.
You do not need to claim a lagoon railing two hours early. Literally Every spot is great, however two spots DeShawna likes:
UK
The seating area behind the fish-and-chips restaurant.
You don’t need to eat there just to sit in the area.
Japan
Near the upper stairs / terrace area around the Japan pavilion.
Both can give you a solid view without feeling quite as packed as the most obvious lagoon-front spots.
Local tip: treat these as lower-stress favorites, not guaranteed secret locations. Disney crowds have a way of discovering everything eventually.
HALLOWEEN HORROR NIGHTS
SIDE QUEST
Not remotely our cup of tea. Possibly very much yours?
Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights is the opposite of the calm little spring-and-sunset itinerary we’ve been building.
Haunted houses. Scare zones. Loud noises. Jump scares. Fog. Chainsaws. People whose job is apparently to figure out exactly who in the group is the easiest target.
If you love horror and adrenaline?
Absolutely consider it.
Universal is selling separate 2026 Halloween Horror Nights admission, so remember that this is a separately ticketed nighttime event rather than normal Universal park admission.
DESHAWNA’S SURVIVAL GUIDE FOR THE EXTRA AFRAID
(aka DeShawna)
Wear earplugs.
Hide them under your hair or hat if you want.
A huge amount of the jump-scare effect comes from the sudden sound, and regular HHN visitors repeatedly recommend earplugs because they lower the intensity without completely blocking the experience.
And absolutely stay off your phone while you’re walking through scare zones.
Scare actors are very good at noticing the person who is distracted, looking down, or clearly not paying attention.
If you enjoy becoming the obvious victim of a jump scare?
By all means, text away.
If you do not?
Eyes up.
If we were choosing your day
Morning: Magic Kingdom
Classic ride: Pirates
Thrill ride: TRON
Afternoon + evening: EPCOT
Best approach: eat, drink, wander
If you love coasters: Guardians
If Jake needs Cars: Skyliner side quest
If you love being terrified on purpose: Halloween Horror Nights
You do not need to conquer every theme park. Pick the parts that actually sound fun.
TAMPA · CLEARWATER · ST. PETE · FIND YOUR WILD · ORLANDO · SPACE · THEME PARKS