Post subject: Ideas of things to do in Orlando... please
reelguy eGrizzer in Training
Joined: 08 Jan 2008 Posts: 189 Location: grand coulee,wa 189 eGriz Bucks
I'm taking my 17 & 19 y.o. sons to Orlando for a week at the end of April. What are some recommendations. A few obvious ones I've thought of which are:
1. Cocoa beach - (can you rent surfboard?)
2. Disney world - (1 or 3 day pass? - I'm inclined to one... too many other things to do there)
3. Kennedy Space center
4. Any fishing charters recommended?
Other recommendations, from sports to outdoors to cultural, are appreciated!!! Thanks in advance.
tom
This is simple if you want to have some fun or see some eye candy. Florida + Spring Break+ 2 older teenage boys + 38 year old father= Let them do the work for you and ENJOY LIFE like you have never enjoyed.
They lead you follow. If you are married, I guess you better take other suggestions.
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Joined: 08 Jan 2008 Posts: 189 Location: grand coulee,wa 189 eGriz Bucks
mtgrizrule wrote:
This is simple if you want to have some fun or see some eye candy. Florida + Spring Break+ 2 older teenage boys + 38 year old father= Let them do the work for you and ENJOY LIFE like you have never enjoyed.
They lead you follow. If you are married, I guess you better take other suggestions.
Well, we'll have missed spring break, but I'm sure there's still plenty of candy to eye!
Good wholesome family fun.. you HAVE to go to Universal Studios.. go to the side of the park that has the Hulk rollercoaster, if you're a thrill seeking kind of person. Great rollercoasters in that side of the park. Cocoa Beach is a cool beach, and near Cape Canaveral. Ron Jon's is also in Cocoa Beach.. neat place to see if you've never been there. We stayed in Kissimee (sp?) and it's a short drive to the Disney parks from there.
Joined: 02 Dec 2006 Posts: 684 Location: The flatlands - Blgs 3178 eGriz Bucks
We just got back 2 weeks ago. There is more to do around Orlando than perhaps anywhere else on earth.
- The difference between a 3 and 10 day Disney ticket is nominal. It gives you a chance to do the 4 parks at your leisure. The new Animal kingdom is spectacular. Your kids should enjoy all the parks plus there are lots of girls around. You can park at one of the budget resorts like the Movie, Sports or Music resorts and take the Disney buses to any of the parks and save $11.00 parking fees. I don't know about the other upscale resorts.
- Seaworld is worth going to - there are some amazing shows. Also a big-ass roller coaster. My kids liked the dolphin/whale show better than Shamu. Much cheaper than Universal Studios too.
- Coco Beach of course, Ron Jons, Coco Beach Surf shop (I think) across the street from RJ's, and terrific seafood. Oh yeah, there's a beach. You can rent surfboards or wakeboards.
- Good golf if you play. UCF has a nice muni at very reasonable prices if you don't mind armadillos on the fairway and gators in the hazards.
- Might try Boston Fish House (or something similar with Boston + fish). Terrific seafood.
- Kennedy Space Center has been upgraded and is a great place to spend a few hours.
- Most of the theme parks have surprisingly good food, depending upon what you want.
- There is a big night life area at Disney for you and the boys. We started early and with 2 younger children were exhaused by then so I have no personal knowledge.
- Florida is beautiful but it is awfully busy and a lot of traffic compared to Billings. Roads are usually well marked however.
We also are staying in Kissimee. Thanks titlest... I meant to put U.S. on my list. btw, how much time did you spend at disney world?
Still does anyone know about sportfishing and/or surfing?
thx
We were in Orlando for about 5 or 6 days, we did three days at the parks (Disney, Epcot, MGM), a day at Universal and a day at Cocoa Beach. If you've got older boys, you can go all day long and cover a lot of territory. Definitely get the quick pass (I think it's called) at the Disney parks.. you pay a little more but you go to the front of the line. This is important on Space and Splash mountain (do them first thing in the morning). Thunder Mtn. Railroad is a hoot too. Epcot is great if Dad wants to get wasted. If you do the World Tour, there's alcohol at just about every stop.. I went through Mexico, Japan, US, Germany, Canada and I was f'ing drunk. Saki in Japan, beer in Germany.. fantastic! Great fireworks show at night at Epcot. MGM has Tower of Terror, and probably the best coaster in the Disney parks, Aerosmith. Do that one early as well as the line gets really long. Definitely do the Downtown Disney walk.. it's pretty cool. I think they might have an ESPNZone and a Planet Hollywood.
If the weather is warm, Universal (where the Hulk, Dueling Dragons coasters are) is a nice place to cool down as they have a couple of get you really wet rides. I loved that park the best, I think.
Where are you staying in Kissimmee? We stayed at the Holiday Inn somethingside and it was shit.. it was like a Motel 6. THe La Quinta (it's on a tiny lake) is really nice, however. If you need a battery for your digital camera, don't plan on finding one in Kissimmee.. I tried and failed. Lots of gimmicky crap in that town, however. You're just missing spring training down there.. the Braves practice in Kissimmee. It's pretty sweet, but get ready for some moisture.. it's a bit hard to breath when you step off that airplane the first time.
We enjoyed the nightlife at Church St. Station, it's a whole block of bars. You buy one bracelet to get into them all. There was a place in Orland where we raced the mini Indy cars. Daytona Beach is only about a 30 mile drive.
Joined: 20 Jun 2006 Posts: 2539 Location: The Zoo 2279 eGriz Bucks
I went there as like an 18 or 19 y.o. for my grandparents 50th and have to say i hated disney world. if your kids have like any experience at all w/ rides and the like i'd stay away. of course i only went in like the main part, not epcot, magic kingdom, whatever. even so, seems geared towards younger kids. one place i'd definitely hit up is unversal studios' islands of adventure. my dad hates like amusement parks, lines, etc and he had a good time there.
Joined: 16 Oct 2005 Posts: 3658 Location: Ferndale (Bellingham), WA 1443 eGriz Bucks
The Orlando area is just unbelievable. You could spend a month there and not see it all. We had gone a couple of years ago in the fall.
My suggestions:
- Don't try to see everything. Plan some downtime.
- Give your kids each a day to plan. My son picked a Jacksonville Jaguars game and my daughter picked a jet boat ride to see the alligators. Early is best for seeing many alligators and then you have the rest of the day to hit something else.
- Leave 2 days open to repeat a popular amusement park or decide after you had gotten there - especially during the off-season.
- Use the fast pass systems at the parks. It gives you a window of about an hour to enter the fast lane to the rides. Some will let you get a fast pass even if you hold an open one for another ride. Some will not.
- Beware of buying partially used multi-day passes. The park may pull you aside to compare signatures.
Since your kids are late teens:
- A must see is Islands of Adventure (Universal Studios sister park, next door).
- Plan to go to one of the great water parks: Blizzard Beach, Typhoon Lagoon (both Disney), and/or Wet-n-Wild (Universal). Your kids may want to do nothing else after going to one of these.
- Plan a night in Downtown Disney at the comedy clubs, restaurants, etc. One cover price gets you into all the (all ages) clubs.
- Hit an all-you-can-eat crab feed at a restaurant on one of the coasts. We hit one at Coco Beach.
- Orlando is centrally located so both coasts are 1 to 2 hours away, depending on traffic. We went to Clearwater beach (just north of Tampa), which was a little warmer and the best sand around. Coco Beach is less protected and can be colder.
Our favorite parks:
- Disney's MGM Studios - now called Disney's Hollywood Studios. The main rides are incredible. You have to see the night show Fantasmic! It is the most incredible laser and fireworks show you have ever seen.
- Universals Islands of Adventure (see above)
- Discovery Cove - Swim with dolphins (expensive, but worth it), float the "river", swim with stingrays, etc. It is a sister park (and near) Sea World.
Other cool things to do:
- Silver Springs glass-bottom boat tours.
- Hot air ballooning
- The Kennedy Space Center is awesome. However, 1/2 to 3/4 of a day is plenty for a teenager. Hit it early and go to Coco Beach in the late afternoon. All-you-can-eat crab for dinner.
- Sea World - It is not just exhibits. The BIG ride is Kraken.
Joined: 16 Oct 2005 Posts: 3658 Location: Ferndale (Bellingham), WA 1443 eGriz Bucks
One other thing, if you have never been to Disney World, you will be amazed at the size. It has its own freeway system. It is about the size of San Francisco:
Quote:
Walt Disney World Resort is a contiguous 47-square-mile, world-class entertainment and recreation center featuring four theme parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney's Hollywood Studios and Disney's Animal Kingdom); two water adventure parks (Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon); 32 resort hotels (22 owned and operated by Walt Disney World); 99 holes of golf on six courses; two full-service spas; Disney's Wedding Pavilion; Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex; and Downtown Disney, an entertainment-shopping-dining complex encompassing the Marketplace, Pleasure Island and West Side.
Joined: 06 Nov 2006 Posts: 940 Location: Great Falls 1674 eGriz Bucks
The Kennedy Space Center is a must. Try to time it for a launch if you can. We saw one of the mars rovers launch at night...unreal. Coco Beach is a great place to watch.
Disney World is huge with tons of things to do. It will probably take more time to do everything then you think.
Universal is not to be missed too. All in all i liked it better then Disney.
Joined: 08 Jan 2008 Posts: 189 Location: grand coulee,wa 189 eGriz Bucks
Again, Thanks for tall the input...
The Bud, do you know if there is surfing on the gulf side of florida or best on the atlantic coast side.
Right now I'm planning Monday at Disney World, Tuesday at Universal Studios, Wed at Kennedy Space center/Cocoa beach then Thursday and Friday for repeats of what the boys enjoyed most...
Joined: 06 Nov 2006 Posts: 940 Location: Great Falls 1674 eGriz Bucks
We did the restricted areas tour at the space center. They take you past the shuttle launch pads, press viewing areas, VAB and a few other areas. It's a pretty neat tour.
I saw a few people surfing at coco beach. Not sure where the best surfing would be tho.
You definitely need a day at Epcot.. lots of interesting stuff there, though, not really any rides. The World Tour is great.
MGM is worth hitting for the Aerosmith and Tower of Terror rides.
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Lots of gimmicky crap in that town, however. You're just missing spring training down there.. the Braves practice in Kissimmee. It's pretty sweet, but get ready for some moisture.. it's a bit hard to breath when you step off that airplane the first time.
