10 Things to Do in Orlando in July

Orlando is a city in the state of Florida known for being the mecca of theme parks, with more than a dozen of them. It is also home to a wide range of outdoor activities, museums, shows, natural spaces, and more. That is why, even if your visit is in one of the hottest and rainiest months of the year, you will have plenty of options to have fun.

If you decide to travel in July, you can celebrate the Independence Day of the United States, watch the summer sunset from the big Ferris wheel in Icon Park, and take advantage of the sales at the mall stores. You will also have the opportunity to take a trip to Wekiva Island to practice kayaking and be in contact with nature, among other of the best things to do in Orlando.

Celebrating America' s Independence Day is a must-do activity during your stay in Orlando in July. During the first week of July, you'll find a celebratory atmosphere throughout the city. You will enjoy special shows at the different attractions and amazing fireworks.

To celebrate the 4th of July in Orlando you will have several options, some of them being the following:

• Lake Eola: where you will enjoy musical shows, gastronomic areas, a pleasant natural environment and about 30 minutes of fireworks at dusk. Also, if you are looking for things to do in Orlando with kids during this day, they will enjoy the playground.
• Cranes Roost Park, with music, food, drinks and fireworks until 11pm.
• The Universal CityWal mall. There, at night you can watch the fireworks show from the balcony of Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville.

In addition, you can purchase combined tickets to Universal Studios Orlando, Isle of Adventure and Universal Orlando. This way, you will spend an unforgettable Independence Day among mechanical games, animated shows and the amazing pyrotechnics that will light up the city's sky.

During your trip of at least 3 days in Orlando, you can take advantage of the July sales to do some shopping. This month coincides with the summer vacations all over the United States and, because of this, stores usually offer good prices for all tourists and locals.

This is one of the best activities in Orlando for shopping enthusiasts. If this is your case, then you should dedicate a whole day of your itinerary to tour the big shopping malls in the city. Some of them include:

• The Premium Outlets Orlando Vineland; this is a mall with exclusive stores.
• The Orlando Outlet Marketplace, where you will find about 40 stores with fashion from well-known designers and other products.
• Disney Springs Mall, with about 100 stores and approximately 60 restaurants. In fact, during this visit you could buy tickets for Drawn to Life Cirque du Soleil in Orlando and enjoy the show offered at this mall.

Orlando in July brings with it at least 15 days of rain, which could coincide with your trip. Therefore, it is important that you do some indoor activities. In this sense, visiting Andretti Indoor Karting is a good alternative. You can have fun testing your skills as a driver.

When you arrive at this entertainment center you will find several karting tracks with different levels of complexity. You can select the one that suits you best according to your experience and age.

In addition to putting your foot on the accelerator, with tickets for the Andretti Indoor Karting attraction in Orlando, you will have access to game and entertainment areas such as the following:

• The dark ride & laser tag, which is an infrared shooting match where you'll defeat zombies and giant reptiles in 3D.
• The classic arcade with popular titles such as Temple Run, where you will be chased by monkeys; Fruit Ninja, where you will make your way through fruits; Doodle Jump, with a friendly alien, etc.
• Virtual reality games, with state-of-the-art technology.
• A bowling lane, inspired by the world of racing cars.

Information of interest

• Price: about 32€ per person.
• Hours: from 11:00 am to 11:00 am.

Whether you're in Orlando for 1-5 days or longer, you'll want to incorporate a visit to the Ferris wheel at Icon Park into your July itinerary. Take advantage of the clear skies this month and watch an authentic summer sunset, characterized by its warm and vibrant colors that gradually stain the landscape.

You can do this experience on your own. You will only have to drive about 15 minutes from downtown to the entertainment complex. There, you can buy tickets for the Ferris wheel at Icon Park in Orlando and climb into an air-conditioned cabin, which will take you to a height of 122 meters.

You will get a 360º view of the city, the wooded area of Florida and even Cape Canaveral, and you can take amazing pictures while the sun sinks into the horizon. In addition, in the cabin you will have an iPad where you will get information related to the city and each of the places seen from the Ferris wheel.

Information of interest

• Price: the entrance fee is around 28€ per person.
• Hours: every day from 10:00 to 22:00 hours.

Enduring the July heat in Orlando could be a real challenge for you. That is why cooling off in the city 's water parks is a must-do activity during your trip. You will have the opportunity to enjoy slides, pools and many more attractions to take a dip.

There are several options when it comes to the best Orlando theme parks with water activities. Some of them are:

• Volcano Bay water park, with extreme slides a little more than 60 meters high.
• Disney's Typhoon Lagoon park, where you will find pools with waves to surf, slides, artificial rivers, etc.
• Island H2O water park in Orlando, which stands out for having a theme inspired by the different social networks. There, you will enjoy raft rides, slides with tube design, swimming and wave pools for surfing enthusiasts, among other areas.

Any time of the year is a good time to stroll through Orlando's Church Street district and discover its architecture, stores and entertainment venues. However, during the month of July you will be better off doing this tour, since it is high season and most of the tourists and locals are dedicated to the theme parks.

You can walk down Church Street without fear of crowds and take one of the best tours in Orlando on your own. You'll find stores, boutiques and movie theaters, small in comparison to the city's large chain stores.

You'll see the facades of the buildings, representative of the 19th century Victorian style, with their characteristic balconies and wrought iron details. And, if you are worried about walking under the summer sun in June, you can do the tour at sunset. You'll enjoy the cooler weather and get a better perspective of the streets bathed in the last rays of the sun.

Church Street is also home to a number of restaurants, bars and nightclubs. Ideal if you want to discover the lively atmosphere of Orlando at night. In fact, if you want to explore this district and its surroundings in more detail, you can connect with a guided tour of Orlando.

July's high temperatures don't have to limit outdoor activities like kayaking. On the contrary, once you get into the canoe and it comes in contact with the water, you will immediately feel less hot. Take advantage of this to explore Orlando from a different perspective.

The city has several rivers and natural areas where you can kayak safely. For example, you can take a ride on the historic Venetian Canal in the Winter Park district. As you paddle through this area, you will be surrounded by lush vegetation: palm trees, subtropical flowers, ferns and more.

You can also take a kayaking tour on the Econlockhatchee River in Orlando. This is a wooded area with native wildlife such as crocodiles, cranes, turtles, fish, ospreys, among other species, for an unforgettable adventure.

Your Orlando travel itinerary of 1 to 7 days or more won't be complete in July if you don't explore some of the city's natural spaces. You'll be able to escape the overwhelming heat and tourist crowds that characterize this summer month. Visit Kelly Park and enjoy all the activities that its spaces have for you.

This park is also known as Rock Springs because it is located within the boundaries of the Rock Springs Run State Reserve. To access it you only have to drive about 30 minutes from downtown. Upon arrival you will feel like you are in a fairy tale: the spring with its blue waters, which contrasts with the lush vegetation.

You can take a walk or bike ride through the long trails of the park. You also have the option to take a boardwalk along the spring or, perhaps, dive into these pleasant waters, which maintain a temperature of approximately 20ºC. You will swim freely and refresh yourself.

Information of interest

• Price: approximately 3€ per car with up to two people, about 5€ for cars with 3 to 8 passengers and people with bicycles or without a car pay about 1€.
• Hours: from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm.

If you are a nature lover and want to disconnect for a few hours from the theme parks, shopping malls and other attractions of the city, which in July are usually crowded, you should go to the Harry P. Leu Gardens. In this beautiful botanical garden you will breathe fresh air, relax and observe the rose bushes that bloom in this month.

This natural lung of approximately 200 thousand square meters is located very close to downtown, about 11 minutes by car and about 60 minutes by public transportation, so you will have no problems to access. When you get there, you will find a pleasant atmosphere with a dreamlike landscape design.

You will walk along a series of paths lined with beautiful palm trees and oak trees up to 200 years old. You will see some landscaped lakes, camellia plantations, rose bushes with a picturesque scene and a fragrant aroma, among other floral species. Also, in this botanical garden there is an orchard and the Leu House Museum.

Information of interest

• Price: the entrance fee is about 10 ¤ (adults), about 5 ¤ (children under 17 years old) and access is free for children under 3 years old.
• Hours: daily from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.

If you're a surfing enthusiast and you're in Orlando in July, you can't miss the great waves this month and the warm waters of the local beaches, which reach about 26ºC. You will spend a fun and different day in the so-called theme park capital.

In Orlando you will find several surfing beaches, located at least 60 minutes away by car from the city center. Such is the case of Melbourne Beach and New Smyrna Beach.

There is also Cocoa Beach, popularly known as the surfing capital. This is because its blue waters witnessed the birth of great legends of the sport such as Kelly Slater, among many others.

Also, very close to the beach, about six minutes drive, is Ron Jon Surf Shop, where you can buy a variety of surfing products. In addition, approximately 12 minutes by car, you will find the Surf Museum with the history of this exciting sport.

Temperatures in Orlando during the month of July range from a maximum of 33ºC to a minimum of 25ºC. This is the hottest month of the year. Precipitation reaches 270 millimeters, which corresponds to about 15 rainy days.

July days have 11.5 hours of sunlight, which is longer than other months; the sky remains mostly cloudy during the day (approximately 66%). In addition, the sea water is of high enough quality for swimming at Orlando's best beaches, with an average temperature of 28ºC.

July is the hottest month of the year in Orlando and, in addition, these days are part of the hurricane season, reason why the rains will not be long in coming. Therefore, during your visit to the city you should take into consideration some alternative plans that will allow you to protect yourself from ultraviolet rays and rainfall.

For example:

• Take with you a bottle of water that you can constantly refill in the parks or places you visit. This way, you will stay hydrated and save money.
• Don't forget your raincoat or umbrella. Remember that July is a rainy month and you don't want to have to stop your daily fun because of unexpected precipitation.
• Incorporate some indoors into your itinerary, at the time of day when the weather forecast predicts rain or very high temperatures are most likely. This way, you can reduce the hours of exposure to the sun and July showers. For example, you could join an escape room in Orlando, visit a mall to do some shopping, enjoy an NBA game in Orlando, among others.