Florida recommendations - Key West, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando

Planning a 9 day trip in February. Here's what I have so far:

Key West - No tiki that I can find, but some good cocktails at:
The Other Side
The Rum Bar
Key West Rum tour

Fort Lauderdale:
Mai Kai - probably a few times, catch the floor show, dinner, Molokai lounge
Wreck Bar

Orlando:
Polynesian Resort / Grog Grotto
Aku Aku

Anything I'm missing? Any other sights I should hit while in the area?

We have some great home bars here on the Space Coast. A side trip over this way may get you a cocktail or two in one of them.

That would be great! We were thinking about heading over that way as well.

I suggest looking at North Beach Village in Fort Lauderdale for a place to stay. Great properly renovated mid-century hotels near the Mai-Kai and ocean and walkable to lots of things like the Gateway Theater. We stayed at The Victoria Park last time and loved it.

For the Mai-Kai, weekends can be pretty busy. Try to get in there on a weeknight to enjoy a quiet Molokai Bar. Make a dinner reservation and tip the Maitre D' for a better seat for the show. The show is a MUST.

Any other cheap places close to Mai-Kai?

On 2016-06-14 20:35, TheParkCollector wrote:
Any other cheap places close to Mai-Kai?

Was there in Feb. and we stayed at the Casitas Coral Ridge. NE 32nd St. It's an easy well-lit walk, or stumble distance. Had a 3-day minimum in Feb., however don't see that listed on website. Various rooms with different rates. Not an outstanding place, but clean, quiet and had a kitchenette. There's a mall and a liquor store half way in between.

Jeff - did you end up taking this trip? I will be taking my two daughters to south Florida for 5 days and a week in Orlando this summer and curious about your experiences.

On 2017-01-19 12:06, headpaneer wrote:
Jeff - did you end up taking this trip? I will be taking my two daughters to south Florida for 5 days and a week in Orlando this summer and curious about your experiences.

Sure did. Ended up in Fort Lauderdale and the Keys. We didn't find much tiki, other than the amazing Mai Kai, which we spent multiple nights at. In Fort Lauderdale Miami area, we really enjoyed taking the water taxi and wandering around. In Miami, little Havana was fun. Key West is amazing as well - lots to eat and drink, and we enjoyed the art galleries, the Hemingway House, and we took the boat trip out to the Dry Tortugas which was really fun.