Which beach to visit while in WDW in June?

[danda22]

First family vacation to Florida during the first week of June. We are staying at Silver Lake Resort in Kissimmee. We are determined to spend one beach day together to relax. Any suggestions? our group includes myself, DH, DD 10 y/o, DS 11 y/o. also tagging along will be DD 21 y/o and her BF 23 y/o. We are looking for a relaxing experience.

 

[Hootch]

beaches are on the Atlantic side. We prefer the Gulf side personally. Plus my mother lives on that side. We usually do two or three nights on the beach at the end of the Disney trip.

Cocoa is about an hour away from Disney. The Gulf beaches will probably be 75-90 minutes. It is doable from the Gulf side. Last trip we stayed on Longboat Key. There was a wedding party there and many of the guests were doing day trips to WDW.

 

[danda22]

beaches are on the Atlantic side. We prefer the Gulf side personally. Plus my mother lives on that side. We usually do two or three nights on the beach at the end of the Disney trip.

Cocoa is about an hour away from Disney. The Gulf beaches will probably be 75-90 minutes. It is doable from the Gulf side. Last trip we stayed on Longboat Key. There was a wedding party there and many of the guests were doing day trips to WDW.

Can you tell me what it is that makes you prefer the gulf side over the atlantic? I'm not much of a beach person, but I have been vetoed. Also, my husband has never seen the ocean.

 

[Hootch]

is probably driven by familiarity. My wife grew up in Atlanta and always went to the Gulf. We now live in Memphis and usually go to Orange Beach, Pensacola, Panama City (less often) or St George's when not connected to Disney.

I think overall the water is calmer and the beaches are nicer. Others will probably disagree.

We have stayed on Siesta Key, Longboat Key and Anna Maria Island in the just south of Tampa area. All have nice beaches. Accommodations for a couple of days are not plentiful. It is a condo community. The Hilton on Longboat was perfect for us but it is set for renovations this summer. (High time for the beaches is rights after New Years.

Cocoa will be closer and easier to get to. If you are going just for the day, that's a good place. You could add a trip to the Kennedy Space Center for a couple of hours if the beach is not that interesting to you. It has been a few years since we went but it was fun.

http://www.kennedyspacecentertours....wtype=search&gclid=CKrmxJDfjbYCFQ-znQodMxEAfQ

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

We have visited both the Atlantic and Gulf and we prefer the Gulf. We love to go to HoneyMoon Island. It is very relaxing. Its a state park so there is a fee per car to get in like $8.00. The bathroom/shower areas are amazingly clean, well lit and not smelly. You can rent beach equipment, -chairs, umbrella, bikes. There is a nice cafe to get a bit to eat. There are miles and miles of shore line filled with sea shells.

The gulf side take about 20 minutes longer to get to than the Atlantic but it is so peaceful at the gulf side.

 

[ParrotBill]

Here's another vote for Honeymoon. We always take a beach day and head there. Worth the longer drive.

The reason to go to the Gulf side: Warmer water with gentle waves, can hang out in the water. Safer and more enjoyable for younger children.

Reason to go to Atlantic side: Wave action, traditional ocean experience.

 

[PolkadotMoose]

So glad to see this thread! Having never been, I wasn't sure either for our "beach" day.. MIL wanted to go back to Cocoa Beach, I guess out of familiarity.. but with kiddos.. very young.. and having looked into the gulf beaches, think I will definitely heed this advice stated here so far!

 

[hardrocker1]

I was about to post this same question! I am going to check out Honeymoon now. I was reading an article about the top 5 beaches near Orlando and we thought Canaveral sounded ideal until at the bottom of the details section, I read that nudists lounge there! With 2 kids, we decided to nix that one, lol. All the other beaches the article described, like Cocoa, Daytona, etc, all sounded crowded with tons of restrictions. So will look up Honeymoon and see how far the drive will be. Thanks!