KID FRIENDLY BEACH NEAR DISNEY
 

Hi, we are going to Disney in early Sept. for 3 days but want to have some beach time as well. Any suggestions on a NICE KID FRIENDLY BEACH close to Disney. AND CAN you suggest any not too expensive hotels close to beach? Thanks!

Clearwater Beach (Gulf side) is very kid friendly. There isn't much of a surf, the beach is wide and lovely and there is playground equipment, if you wish. They have a thing each evening called "Sunsets at Pier 60" which is fun. There are booths with items for sale and they have various types of entertainers. When we were there, the was a balloon artist, a parrot show, a band, and a fire eater. You'll need some $1 bills for the entertainers. We stayed in the Comfort Inn, which was not right on the beach.

How long of a drive is it from Orlando?

Cocoa Beach is a straight shot from Orlando on the Beachline (SR 528) - takes about an hour to drive it. East coast beaches don't have the pretty white sand that the West coast beaches have, but they are closer to Orlando. There is a wide variety of accomodations in Cocoa Beach; most of the chains are represented and there are some good independent/mom-n-pop places (Wakulla and Beach Island are two that come to mind).

Jetty Park and Lori Wilson Park both have good facilities.
http://www.portcanaveral.org/funport/parks.htm
http://www.brevardparks.com/parks/prkbch3.htm
http://www.orlandosclosestbeach.com/

I like the Gulf, too, but I cashed in some free points and booked my friend and her daughter in the Cocoa Beach Holiday Inn pre-Disney and they loved it. She said her daughter didn't want to go to Disney after that, it was so nice.Rooms were freshly renovated, they had a great pool area including a kiddie water park. They went to Canaveral one day and another time, they drove down to the public park and watched the cruise ships sail away from port.

Kid friendly near Disney<b>land</b> (the original in CA) or Disney<b>world</b>, FL?????

hsv is right in pointing out that the OP gives us no clue as to which Disney park he/she is referring to. Here are my suggestions for the <b>original</b> in Anaheim, California.

Maybe 20 minutes away from Seal Beach (I-5 south to CA-22 west, merge with I-405 north, exit at Seal Beach Blvd.). Seal Beach is IMHO quite kid-friendly. Another 5 minutes to Huntington (better for teens), another 10 minutes down PCH to Newport Beach (good for small kids), another 10 minutes to Laguna Beach (varies, but I see families with kids there all the time). Long Beach (my hometown!) is just north of Seal Beach, but the beaches themselves aren't that great (although there are man-made lagoons north of the East Marina that have beaches that are wonderful for families), so I'd head to Seal Beach.

Define &quot;not too expensive&quot; and the locals can come back with many, many suggestions.

sorry, yes I mean DisneyWORLD.

Disneyworld is in the middle of the state of Florida. There is no beach near it. There are beaches on the coasts, an hour to 2 hour drive.

Indialantic Beach is nice ( Melbourne area)....From Disney,
just take 192 STRAIGHT EAST and you will crash into it. It is a very nice family beach with restrooms and changing rooms and lifeguards....and make sure to eat the pizza at the pizza joint right on the beach! Its de-lish! Unfortunately there are not enough...actually hardly any hotels on this beach, (try the Tuck Away or Ocean fron cottages) but head a little North and there are several....Hilton, and Raddison and Holiday Inn....I believe.
If you don't have to be RIGHT ON THE BEACH....
on hwy 192 there is a nice Courtyard Marriott. it is a few miles before you get to the beach. There is a nice mall right down the street from the hotel. And the beach is a short drive (few miles, maybe 3) down 192.

The drive to the gulf is much longer but the gulf is so much prettier. Cocoa Beach is fine but the gulf, ahhh, that white sand is awesome. When we went to Disney, we took the kids to St. Pete's Beach, the sand was so soft. They loved it.

My kids love St Pete Beach, too, and the gulf is usually calmer and better for swimming.

My vote is for St Pete Beach or Treasure Island or even Clearwater Beach. IMHO, the west coast is a little less commercialized than the east coast. The water is definitely calmer and you can't beat the white sand.

Cocoa Beach! Like dsquared said, it's a straight shot. The Melbourne area is nice, too. I haven't been to that part of Florida in a while, so I don't have any hotel reco's.

Don't expect soft white sand if you go to Treasure Island. That sand was the coarsest I've ever set my feet in.

Have fun!