Well, If you want something cool for dinner, the
Enzian is an independent non-profit art theater that also serves full meals and has a full bar -- it's wicked fun and one of my favorite places in the city. They sponsor the Florida Film Festival and are really big on community education and involvement. Obviously, my love for them knows no bounds.
If y'all aren't playing at
The Social , they've always got someone good coming in, so you might check that out (Good drinks and generous bartenders, too.) There's a vegan hot dog stand across the street that is more delicious than it has a right to be. Park Avenue CDs is a great indie record/CD store that used to be in Winter Park, but is moving into Orlando proper; their new location is going to be pretty big which should be nice. Will's pub is another fun place for a night out -- they have open mic hip hop nights which are always entertaining, if nothing else. They're up near the Orlando Science Center (which is fun in an entirely different way), off of Mills Avenue. Downtown Orlando is fun to go out in; I like Mako's and the Ybor Martini Bar, which could not be more polar opposite in their environments.
For eating, Bubbalou's Barbecue is good, not great, but I'm from Oklahoma and unreasonably picky about smoked meat. It's definitely some of the best you can get in the area, though. There are a bunch of locations around town. Rincon Criollo is on North Orange Ave, and they're probably the best place for cuban food I've found in the city. The black beans have crack in them, I think.
At WDW, Epcot is always fun -- a word of caution, ride Test Track and Mission: Space
before you attempt to drink around the world. My first stop in Epcot is always Spaceship Earth, without fail. Illuminations (the fireworks show there) is, I think, the best fireworks show on property. The Moroccan restaurant in World Showcase is probably my favorite in any of the parks. Disney-MGM Studios is also good; you have to do Tower of Terror and Rock n Roller Coaster, but I never miss the Muppets 3D, either. You can't not go to Magic Kingdom, so be sure to ride Peter Pan, Space Mountain, Carousel of Progress if it's open and Splash Mountain. Sunday and Thursday nights are free for cast members at Pleasure Island, so you'll find lots of college students there then. Tuesday nights are also big cast member nights at Jellyrolls, a dueling pianos bar at the Boardwalk Hotel. It's packed, but you won't find a more fun place on property that night. (Plus, you can go to Epcot, watch Illuminations, and then walk over to Jellyrolls afterwards.)
I'm moving back down at the end of May/beginning of June (don't have a lease date yet; that's why I'm spending spring break there.). If you have anything else you'd like to know, I have a list of suggestions longer than anyone in their right mind would ask for. It all depends on what y'all want/like to do. My e-mail and IM are both in my profile if there's anything else you'd like to know.
