Having lived in the Orlando area for over 20-years there is much more to do than Disney.
I recently hosted a female friend for a week.
We started off by going to a drive-in movie. Over the next week we went to swim with manatees near Crystal River. Then went and rented a room in NSB and saw sea turtles coming ashore to lay their eggs. Really good restaurants up there. Went to one called The Garlic.
Rented kayaks near NSB and a herd? of manatees were so curious they came right up to the boats. One picked up my girlfriends kayak drain plug in its mouth and “towed” her boat for a bit. Then rolled onto its stomach and let my girlfriend pet her!
Went to the Old Spanish Sugar Mill in DeLeon Springs which doubles as a pancake house and natural springs. This is another location where the manatees love to congregate in the Winter. Each table has its own griddle. You order the batter you want and they bring it for you to cook tableside.
Last we went south and spent time at Cape Canaveral and beaches in Cocoa.
Orlando a dump? Far from it. Oh, and since you were in the Navy there did you know that OIA was once a B52 base? McCoy Airfield. Which is why Orlando Airport is known as MCO. There is even a B52 on display outside the airport.
So basically you didn’t stay in Orlando for entertainment because it’s a dump, right?
I’m from northwestern Wyoming, so Florida didn’t do much for me. I didn’t see anything there that would remotely compare to the Sawtooth or Wind River Mountains. I guess everybody’s gotta do their own thing.