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We are heading to Disney over Christmas. Thinking about hopper passes. What else is there to do that's no more than 1 hr away from Kissimmee?

It depends on what you're looking for, but we were there this past December and did Disney, Universal Studuos, Seaworld, Gatorland, Discovery Cove, Titanic Museum, and we went to Tampa for a couple of days to go to a hockey game, Busch Gardens, the Clearwater Aquarium, and the beach. Highlights for my kids, who were 19, 13, and 11 were universal and Busch Gardens for the roller coasters, Gatorland for the zip lining, and our day swimming with the Dolphins at Discovery Cove was beyond amazing! We didn't bother getting the hopper passes, we decided to pay extra to add the water park option instead, which turned out to be a good decision for us. PM me if you have any questions, as we've been there 4 times. Happy planning!

also dont forget about the awesome flea markets, helicopter rides for 20 bucks and "Old town" it is all on the east side of kissimmee. Poster above me pretty much nailed everything else  
 
PS  
Check out wet'n'wild it is closing for good dec 2016 so may be your last chance. (better rides than aquatica) Have fun! Your going to build some great memories!  
 
PPS.  
 
Also be sure to check out Islands of adventure! its with City walk and universal.  
 
 
 
Edited by Rebeldawn, 2015-07-21 23:59:05

Personally I would save the $$ on hopper passes and just do one park per day. It is sometimes cheaper to get for eg. a 5 vs 4 day pass and use 2 passes in different parks in one day if you really want to hop one day.  
 
To do: (check out tripadivsor for ideas/reviews)  
Airboat ride (we liked Wild Florida as had animals as well and a little show)  
lots of dinner shows (  
go to a beach - Daytona or  
Space Kennedy Center  
SeaWorld or Discovery Cove  
Busch Gardens  
Universal  
Tour an orange farm  
Downtown Disney is fun to hang out, see La Nouba  
Go see the Manatees (see if they are in season) in Blue Springs State Park  
Gatorland  
There are lots of things like Madame Tuossads, Titanic Experience, Ripleys' etc.  
 
We've been 4 times and there is still lots to see/do  
 

So much to do that's for sure, we covered all the parks, Daytona Beach, Discovery Cove was awesome, we swam with the dolphins. We loved Florida, the only thing we didn't get a chance to do was deep sea fishing. You will have an awesome time for sure!!!

Keep in mind this is THE busiest time of the year in Kissimmee. Make reservations as soon as you can for days you know where you will be - any of the parks or restaurants outside the parks.  
 
Evening time around the parks, traffic will be a zoo. Don't be in a hurry because it will just stress you out. We went to Epcot on NYE last year and were there for 7 hours and did 3 rides. Everything was 2hrs + for wait times.  
 
Clearwater Beach, just west of Tampa is beautiful. If you've never swam with dolphins, Discovery Cove is absolutely fantastic. Even take some time to tour all the Disney hotels, lots to look at there at Christmas time. Good luck and have fun!  
 
Bluebell: you can't use more than one day of your park pass per day so it's either a park hopper or one park only.

Unless they have recently changed things you just scan another day of your pass to do two parks per day. For example you do Magic Kingdom (this is day one of say your 5 day pass) in the am. If you want to do Epcot that evening this is day two of your say 5 day pass, leaving you 3 days left. This is generally much cheaper than a park hopper. But they may have changed things since we were there.

We went at spring break and went to Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom on the same day and had no park hopper. It is much cheaper to buy extra days then buy the park hopper. Honestly, I don't know many that would use it, there is so much to do we never would have park hopped. Our extra day ended up being $9 each.