Five new ways to change up your Orlando vacation

The Grove Resort & Spa Orlando.

One of the newest to open in Orlando, this 106-acre resort is situated on picturesque Lake Austin with swan paddle boats available for guests. It’s a five-minute drive from the gates of Walt Disney World. Surrounded by a natural marsh and wooded landscape, guests are shielded from sounds of the city, which makes for a quiet respite after the stimulation of the nearby parks. Apartment-style rooms make this ideal for families, with modern decor and convenient self-parking adding to the easy-going resort-condo vibe. The rooms feature king-size beds plus a sofa bed in the living area, fully-equipped kitchen including a washer and dryer, living and dining area, luxurious bathrooms and a screened balcony. A mini-market on property includes a gelato bar, bakery and sandwich shop, which is perfect for those times when you just want to stay in after a busy day at the parks. Three swimming pools, a full-service Escape Spa, a fitness center and free transportation to the Disney Parks add to the amenities.

Opening in March is the Surfari Water Park, with a lazy river, a kids’ area with a splash pad and zero entry pool, water slides and Orlando’s only resort dual wave surf simulators.

Pandora – The World of Avatar at Disney.

The largest expansion in Disney’s Animal Kingdom history was six years in the making and cost a reported $500 million to build.

Set a generation after the events of the “Avatar” films, the area is based upon the fictional exoplanetary moon, Pandora. Disney’s “imagineer” designers chose to create the Valley of Mo’ara, a landscape with swaths of jungle, flowing streams, alien wildlife, a cave teeming with bio-luminescent life and floating mountains. There’s a natural drum circle, with stone structures with hollow skins you can thump on to create rhythms, a wild botanical garden and a flight simulator ride where you can choose your own avatar.

There’s also the Na’vi River Journey, the exhibit’s other main attraction, which is appropriate for the entire family. This slow and steady boat ride takes you through a cave where you’ll see glowing flora and fauna, some familiar from the film and some new. Tribal Na’vi singing and music seems to emanate from everywhere at once.

Soar at iFly Indoor Skydiving’s  new facility next to WonderWorks on International Drive, equipped with two all-glass wind tunnels in an open single-story floor plan that allows I-Drive passersby to see fliers in action. The basic first-time flyer package starts at $69.95, which includes two 1-minute-long flights. (For comparison, an actual skydiving free fall lasts the same length of time and costs upwards of $150.)  iFLY is also safe for kids 3 and up, making this a great bet for the little ones.

Morimoto Asia at Disney Springs.

Disney Springs added more new dining experiences this year including: The Edison, themed around a 1920s-era electric company with live entertainment, classic American food and craft cocktails; The Polite Pig, sister restaurant of The Ravenous Pig in Winter Park, led by local celebrity chefs James and Julie Petrakis; Planet Hollywood Observatory featuring a Guy Fieri sandwich menu; and Wine Bar George, the only Master Sommelier-led wine bar in Florida.

And Morimoto Asia, the mammoth cathedral of Asian cooking helmed by celeb chef Masaharu Morimoto, has proven popular with the hungry hordes at Disney Springs. And while cocktails at the glitzy sushi and ramen spot are normally in the double-digits, during happy hour you can score concoctions like the Smoked Manhattan – Junmai Sake, Makers Mark Bourbon, Ginger Liqueur, Orange Bitters and Hickory Smoke – for $8 as well as draft beer and glasses of wine. Bar bites like the Beef Bulgogi Nachos made with wonton chips, thinly sliced soy marinated beef short ribs, gochujang sauce, jalapeños, cheese and scallions are upscale takes on dive bar classics. Another must try are the Menchi Katsu Sliders – two pieces of Chef Morimoto’s Award-Winning fried hamburger slider topped with kimchi mayo, Japanese barbecue sauce and green papaya slaw. Sushi, ramen and wings are also available on the bar bites menu.

Happy hour is available at the bar from 3p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays from  and then again every night from 10 p.m. through close.

Lego Ninjago World.

Lego Ninjago World adds an immersive land filled with several hands-on outdoor activities at which kids can sharpen their ninja skills. Then they can move on to the ultimate showdown on Lego Ninjago The Ride, a new attraction that blends 3D computer animation,  special effects such as heat, fog and strobe lighting and groundbreaking interactive technology never seen outside a Legoland theme park.

The lush, landscaped area also features large Lego models of Lego Ninjago heroes Kai, Jay, Cole, Zane, Lloyd, Nya [NEE-AH] and Master Wu, daily meet-and-greet opportunities with sibling ninjas Kai and Nya, and Wu’s Warehouse, a themed retail shop filled with Lego Ninjago building sets, children’s apparel, costumes, books, souvenirs and more.