Day Trip from Orlando to Mt Dora
Fancy doing something different from the Orlando theme parks and mall shopping, why not take the Toll Road 429 heading an hour north and take a day trip to Mt Dora. If you’re excited about seeing a mountain in Florida, you will be disappointed, as there isn’t one, however it is the highest point in Florida, a whopping 184 feet above sea level!
We had a lovely lunch sat in the sun, with distant views of Lake Dora, whilst enjoying an oversized sandwich. Followed by a quick look in one of the shops, it was time for us to head across the road for our Segway tour, as we were booked onto the 2pm trip. Having ridden Segways before, we aced the figure of eight that we had to complete in the shop, and we were off. They are so simple to ride, pressure on the toes makes it go forward and pressure on your heel will make it stop, to steer you just more the cross bar left or right, they take a minute to learn, and a little while longer for your confidence to match the fact that you are actually doing it!
First of all we headed down to the edge of the lake where we went off roading in a park to get used to being on a Segway, then took them round to the lighthouse, the only lighthouse in Florida on a freshwater lake – very cute! From here we headed to another park, and again went off roading through the palms and hanging moss, very typical of Florida. Now it was time to up the speed of the Segways, from 8 miles and hour to their top speed of 12.5! We had some fun in the car park to get used to this new speed and then went for a tour around the town to see some of the historical buildings in the area. The town was settled in 1874 by David M. Simpson, his wife and 2 children. A very enjoyable way to spend the afternoon.
After our tour, we took a stroll around the town, and it’s many tiny shops often tucked up small alleyways, ending in a very popular wine bar, we had heard about the lights of Mt Dora that cover the park at Christmas time, and a glass of wine helped the hour disappear whilst we waited for the sun to set. It was well worth waiting for! Pictures don’t do it justice as the scale of the twinkling lights was just magical.
As alternatives to the Segway tour, there are various boat trips, train rides and even a plane ride over the area are available, in peak times I would recommend booking ahead of your trip to ensure you get a space.