Free & Cheap Things to Do in Orlando

Parks & Plazas

Orlando's signature downtown park — 43 acres around a sinkhole lake fed by underground springs, with the iconic Linton E. Allen Memorial Fountain illuminated at night, a 0.9-mile sidewalk loop, a Chinese pagoda donated by the city of Guilin, the Walt Disney Amphitheater, and resident swans and pedal-powered swan boats. The Saturday Orlando Farmers Market and free outdoor yoga round out the regular programming.

Address: 512 E Washington St, Orlando, FL 32801

Tip: Free park 5 am - midnight daily. Saturday Farmers Market 10 am - 4 pm. Free yoga programs throughout the year. Swan boats Tue-Sun 10-7, first-come first-served, weather permitting.

Gardens

A 47-acre free urban botanical garden in Winter Park with a creek-side boardwalk, butterfly garden, greenhouse, pond, and tall pine trees. Hiking trails, a community garden, a Discovery Barn for kids, picnic shelters, and an outdoor amphitheater for occasional free concerts. One of the largest free public gardens in Central Florida.

Address: 1500 S Denning Dr, Winter Park, FL 32789

Tip: Open daily 8 am to dusk. Well-behaved leashed dogs allowed in most areas. Free parking. Mead Garden Festival each fall is the main event, with environmental education vendors.

Family Fun

Walt Disney World's free-entry shopping, dining, and entertainment district — 103 shops, 66 dining venues, and 25 attractions across four themed neighborhoods (Marketplace, The Landing, Town Center, West Side) with no Disney theme park ticket required. Free Disney-character meet-and-greet appearances, free live music at the Waterview Park bandshell, and the World of Disney store (Disney's largest character merchandise shop).

Address: 1486 Buena Vista Dr, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830

Tip: Free self-parking (valet $25). Typically open 10 am - 11 pm (until 11:30 Fri-Sat). Free shuttle from Disney resort hotels. Free Disney Voluntours and craft tutorials at certain shops.

Family Fun

Universal Orlando Resort's free-entry dining and entertainment complex between Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure. Free CityWalk stage with rotating live music and DJs during busy hours, free water taxis to the Hard Rock Hotel, Royal Pacific, and Portofino Bay, and walkable browsing through shops, restaurants, and bars at a mix of price points.

Address: 6000 Universal Blvd, Orlando, FL 32819

Tip: Parking free after 6 pm (oversized vehicles or events excepted). Always free if you take the free Universal Resort hotel water taxi. Free live music on the central stage during busy evenings.

Arts & Culture

Free art museum on the Rollins College campus in Winter Park — 5,000+ works spanning antiquity to contemporary, including the Orlando area's only European Old Masters collection, a sizable American art collection, and the forward-looking Alfond Collection of Contemporary Art. Formerly Cornell Fine Arts Museum; rebranded 2021 with a new state-of-the-art facility planned to open in 2028.

Address: 1000 Holt Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789

Tip: Open Tue-Wed-Fri 10-4, Thu 10-7, Sat-Sun 12-5. Closed Mondays and during exhibition installations. Free street parking on Holt Ave; free Rollins visitor parking at the Mills Memorial Hall lot.

Gardens

A small 5.22-acre lakeside park on Lake Maitland in Winter Park, shaded by towering bald cypress trees and the namesake azalea bushes that bloom from January through March. Centerpiece is the Exedra monument, a classical curved stone bench backdrop popular for photography. Park borders a dock on the lake.

Address: 1365 Alabama Dr, Winter Park, FL 32789

Tip: Open daily 8 am – dusk. Parking is very limited — visit weekday mornings or late afternoons for the best chance. No restroom on site. Wedding and photography permits required for paid sessions.

Arts & Culture

A small but distinctive city-owned museum in Loch Haven Park focused on American folk and contemporary art, with the country's largest collection of Earl Cunningham paintings as its anchor. Rotating exhibitions cover self-taught artists, contemporary Black artists, and the museum's own commissioned outdoor sculpture park (free anytime).

Address: 900 E Princeton St, Orlando, FL 32803

Tip: Free admission second Sunday each month 12-4 pm (Family Funday with docent tours and craft stations). Bank of America cardholders free first weekend of every month. Always free for under 6 and active/retired military with families.

Gardens

A 50-acre botanical garden two miles from downtown Orlando on the shore of Lake Rowena — formal rose garden, the Southeast's largest formal camellia collection, native palm collection, herb garden, butterfly garden, and the historic Leu House Museum. Mature oaks, magnolias, and tropical plantings throughout. The Leu family donated the property to the city in 1961.

Address: 1920 N Forest Ave, Orlando, FL 32803

Tip: Free Day on the first Monday of each month (arrive early — popular). Includes story time for kids on free days. Leu House Museum tours included with garden admission.

Arts & Culture

Home of the world's most comprehensive collection of works by Louis Comfort Tiffany — including the restored chapel interior Tiffany designed for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The Morse holdings span Tiffany lamps, leaded-glass windows, jewelry, pottery, paintings, art glass, and decorative arts plus a broader American art collection of late 19th and early 20th century American art and pottery.

Address: 445 N Park Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789

Tip: Free Friday Nights at the Morse run November through April, 4-8 pm with live music on selected evenings. Closed Mondays. Walking distance from the Park Ave shops in downtown Winter Park.

State Parks & Family

A 7,000-acre state park in Apopka, 20 miles northwest of downtown Orlando, built around the headsprings of the Wekiva River — a constant 72°F natural swimming hole flowing 42 million gallons of crystal-clear water a day. Hiking trails, canoe and kayak rentals on the spring run, picnic areas, and a paved entrance road through old-growth Florida hammock forest.

Address: 1800 Wekiwa Cir, Apopka, FL 32712

Tip: Day-use reservations required — book up to 60 days ahead at floridastateparks.org. Open 8 am – sundown daily. Bring water shoes for the limestone bottom; kayak rental at the concession is the most popular activity.