Things to do in Orlando

My husband and I are going on a cruise, which departs from Miami. The other couple we're traveling with is going to Orlando for 4 nights before the cruise and then driving to Miami. We can only take time off to go for 2 nights before our cruise, which only gives us 1 full day in Orlando.

I've never been to Florida and I'm looking for suggestions on what we should do on that 1 day we have in Orlando. Is there anything that's a "can't miss" attraction? I'm looking for a cool place that has some awesome rides but is also something I can't experience on a trip to California (I'm on the west coast, so LA trips are a lot more likely for us in the future). I've been to Disneyland, so I don't need to see all the Disney stuff that can be seen at Disneyland.

Does anyone have suggestions/recommendations? Thanks!

I've never been to Disney Land, but I've heard that Disney World is a lot different. I know it is bigger. If I was going for a day, I would go back to Disney World and pack as much in as I could. I'm older, so I don't do the rides as much. The one thing that I would not miss on a visit to Disney World is the electric light parade. I don't know if they do it every night, so check for a schedule.

klk said:

My husband and I are going on a cruise, which departs from Miami. The other couple we're traveling with is going to Orlando for 4 nights before the cruise and then driving to Miami. We can only take time off to go for 2 nights before our cruise, which only gives us 1 full day in Orlando.
I've never been to Florida and I'm looking for suggestions on what we should do on that 1 day we have in Orlando. Is there anything that's a "can't miss" attraction? I'm looking for a cool place that has some awesome rides but is also something I can't experience on a trip to California (I'm on the west coast, so LA trips are a lot more likely for us in the future). I've been to Disneyland, so I don't need to see all the Disney stuff that can be seen at Disneyland.

Does anyone have suggestions/recommendations? Thanks!

Click to expand...

How about going to Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure? If you guys like roller costers then consider going to Islands of Adventure. If you want to enjoy some movie rides then Universal if fun too. You can buy a 1-day 2-park pass and go to both these parks.

A word of caution, the weather here is acting typical.. meaning it rains in the afternoons/evenings. Take a look at the weather information before you plan on anything.

Vishal said:

How about going to Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure? If you guys like roller costers then consider going to Islands of Adventure. If you want to enjoy some movie rides then Universal if fun too. You can buy a 1-day 2-park pass and go to both these parks.

Click to expand...

Being a Florida native (more or less), I would definitely recommend making it to one of the theme parks - check out . There are MANY theme parks in Orlando. Also, Disney in CA has NOTHING on Disney in Florida - Disney in Florida is like 3 times larger. :true:

Also, will you be confined to Orlando? Tampa is about an hour away down I-4 (depending on traffic); there are things to do there as well. You can also go to the other coast (Melbourne) for the Nasa, space coast thing. So depending on your desires ... there are many, many things to do.

To start whittling it down; check out this website --> http://www.orlandoinfo.com/articles/things...-in-orlando.cfm

Vishal said:

A word of caution, the weather here is acting typical.. meaning it rains in the afternoons/evenings. Take a look at the weather information before you plan on anything.

Click to expand...

This is very, very true. Things to consider:

Oppresively hot AND humid weather;

Powerful rainstorms on practically a daily basis; and

Potential for tropical storms/hurricanes - no tropical systems for this year yet.

I would try to make plans for a few different activities (indoors and outdoors) and proceed based on weather and comfort.

Also, consider, you will be in Florida at the height of tourist season - it *WILL* be crazy! :wacko:

JR

klk said:

Does anyone have suggestions/recommendations? Thanks!

Click to expand...

If you are going to do a theme park, I would suggest EPCOT!!! It has several cool rides for all ages plus the The World Exihbit, and still has a fireworks display at closing. You can pick a nice sitdown restraunt from seafood at the Coral Sea, belly Dancing in Morroco, or a steak dinner in Canada. It is nice to tour the countries in the afternoon getting an adult beverage in each country.

Try to get Fast Pass tickets for Soarin and Mission Space ASAP in the morning. For lunch try to snack around the world with brauts and beer in Germany, pastries and wine in France, and candy and saki in Japan.

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/parks/epcot/

Thanks everyone for the responses! We're pretty much confined to Orlando b/c we're sharing the rental car with our friends. I was pretty much thinking of going to one of the theme parks, but there are so many options that I've having a hard time narrowing it down to fit in one day. Islands of Adventure sounds like my type of park, but I know not everyone loves roller coasters. I didn't know about the 1-day 2park pass. I'll definitely look into that.

I also appreciate the info on the weather. I've been only really thinking about packing for our cruise, so its good to know I might need to be prepared for rainstorms. I already know about the potential for hurricanes, which is the primary reason for getting to Florida a few days before our cruise in case the flights get all messed up. August wasn't my first choice for a Caribbean cruise, but we are limited to go during the summer vacation since one of the people going with us is a teacher.

epcot really is awesome, as slugger described. I really like the DIsney MGM studios too. they have some great rides, and interesting shows too. we would go on the off season and loop the tower of terror and the rock n roll rollercoaster until our ears bled.

disenyworld really is magic though. my wife cried the first time she saw it because it was so beautiful and perfect. or maybe it was hormones

cement said:

tower of terror

Click to expand...

Is that one of those towers that drags you to the top, then drops you? If so, I'd take a pass. A girl's foot got lopped off by the cables on one of those rides at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom a couple years ago. The ride has since been removed.

cement said:

disenyworld really is magic though. my wife cried the first time she saw it because it was so beautiful and perfect. or maybe it was hormones

Click to expand...

I cried at Disney World during the Magic Kingdom's nightly fireworks show. :bawling: It was beautiful.

klk, since you'll be leaving port in Miami, and if you have time to kill, I heard about this Coral Castle near Miami. Here are a few websites that have more details on it:

Coral Castle

Coral Castle - The Unexplainable

I've never been to it. It's just so coincidental that it came up during a conversation this past week.

Having grown up in Florida I'll just say it really depends on what you want to do and how much you want to spend. There is a lot to do and a lot of variety so I'll give a few quick recommendations...

If you want to do theme parks, all of them are pretty good, including the water parks. Universal Studios, "Hollywood Studios" (former MGM theme park) and Epcot I'd say are more for older kids and adults, and while they are still crowded and have lots of children, I would say they have shorter lines than Magic Kingdom this time of year. The latter is charming and quite lovely, though, but be forewarned, it will be extremely crowded.

If you want to save some money but still be touristy... For FREE stuff that's picturesque, clean, fun to walk around and shop, try Downtown Disney, Disney Boardwalk, or Universal City Walk. For cheap outdoor entertainment, I'd actually recommend Disney's Fantasia Mini-golf. Best putt-putt golf course I've been to.

If you want to see some more history, you can check out historic districts and homes near Lake Eola, downtown Orlando, Winter Park...

If you want to do something focused on nature, I'd recommend looking into the nearby natural springs to go swimming. Crystal clear, perfect temperatures, amazing stuff (and you might see a manatee!).

Lastly, I'm guessing you're an engineer, so if you want to indulge your nerdy side, Kennedy Space Center is only about an hour away. It's great, but expensive. Totally worth it if you're someone like me who loves that sort of thing.

I suggest you should try your hand at storm water modeling. I hear it's particularly difficult in that part of the country.

Epcot is awesome, if you have narcolepsy. They should call it "the most boring place on earth."

If I had to pick one of the parks to appease everybody, Universal would be the one. Plenty of cool rides that aren't scary in the rollercoaster sense, cool shows (Indy, etc), and plenty to see.

roadwreck said:

I suggest you should try your hand at storm water modeling. I hear it's particularly difficult in that part of the country.

Click to expand...

I'm surprised it took twelve posts for this to pop up...

I say dust off your resume and see if you can land a coveted position with Orlando's finest civil engineering firm!

If I were going, I'd skip the theme parks, they don't really do it for me. If it's anywhere nearby, I would want to take an everglades tour on one of those fan boats. Or go to the Kennedy Space Center. Though I don't know if these are near Orlando at all.

^ I think the space center is about 1.5 hour drive from Orlando. A couple of us were at a conference in Orlando and we took a side trip over to Kennedy.

Supe said:

Epcot is awesome, if you have narcolepsy. They should call it "the most boring place on earth."

If I had to pick one of the parks to appease everybody, Universal would be the one. Plenty of cool rides that aren't scary in the rollercoaster sense, cool shows (Indy, etc), and plenty to see.

Click to expand...

Haha, I'd have to agree, Epcot is somewhat boring - but it depends on what interests you! It doesn't have much in the way of thrill rides, and it's a little more on the nerdy/scientific side. Also there is the whole Epcot World Pavilions area which is nice and has wonderful gift shops. Disney Animal Kingdom is also supposed to be amazing but I've never been (and again, it's not exactly thrilling).

I would say the Universal theme parks (Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure) are more exciting. For thrill rides, from what I recall, Islands of Adventure has more rollercoasters than regular Universal Studios, while the latter has more immersive/special effects shows and rides (like Jaws and 3D shows).

If you go to the IoA, make sure to go on the Hulk ride. If you go Universal, go on the Mummy ride.

I guess that epcot is more of a mature experience, for want of a better term. depends on what you are into. universal has great rides, but the overall park quality is not quite up to disney standards IMO.

now as for fan boats in the everglades, didn't they do a deliverance remake there recently?

Slugger926 said:

Try to get Fast Pass tickets for Soarin and Mission Space ASAP in the morning.http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/parks/epcot/

Click to expand...

Obviously I can't say for sure, but Mission Space has got to be the closest you can get to space travel without leaving the planet...it is a pretty wild ride (or a tamed down version for you pansies). Although I will say, do not, I repeat, DO NOT, ride it twice in a row. We had our kids with us so we were able to do the kids passes (the person who sits with the kids while everyone else rides gets a pass to go right on the ride once the rest of your crew gets off) and I was the one that waited in line to ride and then rode again right away with the wife while grandma watched the kids. One ride is a blast...doing it twice in succession I thought I was going to puke.

wilheldp_PE said:

Is that one of those towers that drags you to the top, then drops you? If so, I'd take a pass. A girl's foot got lopped off by the cables on one of those rides at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom a couple years ago. The ride has since been removed.

Click to expand...

Same idea, different ride. The Drop Zone at SFKK was one of those things that leaves your legs dangling. TOT is supposed to be an elevator so you're sitting in a seat and nothing is exposed.

EPCOT is better than it used to be. They added Soarin' and Mission: Space in recent years, Test Track is pretty good too. There's some pretty good restaurants in there as well if you have time for a sit down.

Universal ticket prices aren't too bad: http://www.universalorlando.com/tickets.html

If you've never been to a Cirque du Soleil, La Nouba is at Downtown Disney and is very good IMO.

GTjoy said:

I would say they have shorter lines than Magic Kingdom this time of year. The latter is charming and quite lovely, though, but be forewarned, it will be extremely crowded.

Click to expand...

We went to Disney/Animal Kingdom/Universal this past September...must have been because school had just started up because there weren't any lines at all. The longest we had to wait for any ride at any park was about 15 mintues for the cheesy (but you've gotta do it) Jungle Cruise at Disney. Our last day at Magic Kingdom we were done by about noon because we had already done everyhting we wanted to do...a lot of them twice. No lines made a huge difference.

GTjoy said:

If you want to do something focused on nature, I'd recommend looking into the nearby natural springs to go swimming. Crystal clear, perfect temperatures, amazing stuff (and you might see a manatee!).

Click to expand...

These are a lot more fun than you would think and I would recommend trying them, but I believe most of these are north of Gainesville so they may be a little out of the way.