# Orlando, FL



## csb (Apr 19, 2018)

Okay, hit me. A friend and I are headed to Orlando in August for a weekend away. We know we want to go to Universal Studios and ride an airboat. 

Any recommendations for either? Anything else we should try to see? 

Should I start hydrating now?


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## knight1fox3 (Apr 19, 2018)

I will report back after our trip that starts this weekend! :thumbs:

@Road Guy had some pretty good tips/suggestions as well. Though I do not envy you visiting that area in August.


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## kevo_55 (Apr 19, 2018)

If you are renting a car, drive to Cocoa beach. There will be some tolls but you'll have some great (better than classy Daytona) beaches and you'll get to visit Ron Jon's surf shop!!


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## Ble_PE (Apr 19, 2018)

If you can swing it (they're pricey) try to stay one night at one of Universal's three nicest resorts (Hard Rock, Portofino Bay, or Royal Pacific) because they provide you with early park entry and an unlimited express pass that allows you to bypass the regular line for all the rides. You can check into the hotel at 7 am to get the pass and it's good the entire day the day you check out, so you can get two days worth of it for one night. We've had season passes to Universal since October (was basically the same price as a 4 day pass) so if you have any specific Universal questions just ask.


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## mudpuppy (Apr 19, 2018)

Look for a tank ass.


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## knight1fox3 (Apr 19, 2018)

Ble_PE said:


> We've had season passes to Universal since October (was basically the same price as a 4 day pass) so if you have any specific Universal questions just ask.


We're staying at Disney's Contemporary Resort. How do we see the most Star Wars &amp; Harry Potter entertainment possible?


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## Road Guy (Apr 19, 2018)

were not huge universal fans, its a really small park, but if you are a harry potter fan than I understand  - just plan to dead out sprint to the harry potter village when the gates open during the summer before its insanely crowded (&amp; you may get 5 minutes of "normal) 

its been so long since we have been to Orlando, but its a cool town. we were never able to stay at the on premise resorts since they are $$$$$ and generally cater to the standard family of 4 or less so we always stayed off site (they used to have a sponge bob hotel in Orlando but changed it - kids thought it was amazing..

They think they have good beer there, but most of the good beer they have is brewed in Fort Collins


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## Dexman PE PMP (Apr 19, 2018)

Hit up Remy's Bayou Airboats, but be sure to make a reservation...


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## cement (Apr 19, 2018)

I know a guy with a kayak....


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## YMZ PE (Apr 19, 2018)

It’s a good year to go to Orlando - we’re heading there in June!


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## mudpuppy (Apr 20, 2018)

We were in that area for a couple nights in March.  Don't stay at the Country Inn &amp; Suites Universal, it was a dump.

We mostly visited family and the Tank, so I don't have much other advice to give.


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## Road Guy (Apr 20, 2018)

just make sure you get some good fried seafood and none of the swanky stuff that Krak will want to take you to 

There used to a place called The Brown Lantern? looks like a dump when you drive up, but those are generally the best places...


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## csb (Apr 20, 2018)

Excellent! Thank you for the recommendations so far! I'm not sure if we're renting a car or not. If we stay near Universal, I don't want to have to pay for parking, but it looks like we'd have to take a bus to an airboat tour.


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## Ble_PE (Apr 20, 2018)

knight1fox3 said:


> We're staying at Disney's Contemporary Resort. How do we see the most Star Wars &amp; Harry Potter entertainment possible?


Get to Universal as early as possible for maximum Harry Potter enjoyment. To fully experience it you'll need park-to-park passes which is the only way you can ride the Hogwarts express. The Harry Potter worlds at Universal are extremely well done and I highly recommend them to HP fans.


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## Road Guy (Apr 20, 2018)

The time stamp on this photo was 8:13AM - so hustle from the main gate!!!!


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## csb (Apr 20, 2018)

Road Guy said:


> The time stamp on this photo was 8:13AM - so hustle from the main gate!!!!


Good gosh!


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## Road Guy (Apr 20, 2018)

its also amazing how the snow hadn't melted in the 98 degree weather!


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## Dean Agnostic (Apr 20, 2018)

Not that you asked, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay Area is also a place to visit since your in the Orlando Area.


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## csb (Apr 23, 2018)

I think we might make the trip over to Cape Canaveral. It looks like it's only about an hour away.


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## knight1fox3 (Apr 23, 2018)

csb said:


> I think we might make the trip over to Cape Canaveral. It looks like it's only about an hour away.


The Kennedy Space Center is pretty fantastic. But I haven't been there since high school.


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## Road Guy (Apr 23, 2018)

One neat thing central Florida has is all the clear (cold) springs and rivers you can enjoy on a 95 degree day- @Dark Knight is probably the expert but when I lived in Valdosta we used to head to these to escape the summer temps - pretty cool- they have some you can raft in, snorkel, just swim, etc... just don't go into any of the caves under water
(And the cold water keeps the gators out)

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/travel/springs/orl-trav-springs-intro-story.html


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## knight1fox3 (Apr 24, 2018)

So far have been to Hollywood Studios and Epcot. Both pretty cool. A lot to see and the crowds are pretty large. Public transit is fairly decent (bus and monorail) but the traffic infrastructure seems largely inadequate for the volume of people that are in this area on a daily basis. I believe this might be due to an imbalance of traffic engineers vs. storm water engineers. :dunno:

In general, this area is EXPENSIVE! If work wasn't paying for half of this trip, it would make quite a dent. I'm fairly certain I'll be encountering some resistance from the finance folks when I submit my expense report. And my meals have been modest with no booze! ldman:


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## Road Guy (Apr 24, 2018)

Can you expense the Disney turkey leg?


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## knight1fox3 (Apr 24, 2018)

Road Guy said:


> Can you expense the Disney turkey leg?


I saw a guy walking around with one of those! Looked fantastic. I'm sure I could pass that off as "lunch"? :dunno:


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## Road Guy (Apr 24, 2018)

They are really good, but have a lot of bones


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## csb (Apr 24, 2018)

We're considering a VRBO or AirBNB to help reduce costs. Here's hoping a serial killer wants to have two ladies stay for a few days.


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## knight1fox3 (Apr 24, 2018)

csb said:


> We're considering a VRBO or AirBNB to help reduce costs. Here's hoping a serial killer wants to have two ladies stay for a few days.


What about Bernie's beach house as an option? :dunno:


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## csb (Apr 24, 2018)

knight1fox3 said:


> What about Bernie's beach house as an option? :dunno:


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## Supe (Apr 25, 2018)

Always knew that actor looked familiar.  Who knew he'd be the democratic runner up one day?


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## knight1fox3 (Apr 26, 2018)

I would NOT recommend the *breakfast* with Mickey &amp; Friends at the Contemporary Resort. BEFORE tip, for the (3) of us, it was $115 for buffet style. Meaning it was no better than Country Kitchen. On top of that, MiniFox said he wasn't feeling too good but we decided to press on. Which then resulted in him throwing up on the table. I only wish he had waited until the server brought the check to do that. Some funny looks from other parents around us. Just told them we all had a late night out drinking.


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## MA_PE (Apr 26, 2018)

knight1fox3 said:


> I would NOT recommend the *breakfast* with Mickey &amp; Friends at the Contemporary Resort. BEFORE tip, for the (3) of us, it was $115 for buffet style. Meaning it was no better than Country Kitchen. On top of that, MiniFox said he wasn't feeling too good but we decided to press on. Which then resulted in him throwing up on the table. I only wish he had waited until the server brought the check to do that. Some funny looks from other parents around us. Just told them we all had a late night out drinking.


even years ago when my kids were small the "character breakfasts" were a complete waste of time and money.  So are the stupid "autograph" books that force you to seek out and "meet" all the characters or look like a bad parent.

years ago we did the "hoop-de-doo review"  https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/cabins-at-fort-wilderness-resort/hoop-dee-doo-musical-revue/

it wasn't cheap but there was plenty of decent food and beer and the show was pretty entertaining


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## Road Guy (Apr 26, 2018)

yeah we never even thought about those character breakfast with 3 kids. We would normally stay off site where they had free breakfast, would take as many snacks in the park as we could and then eat one meal on Disney, and then force the kids to endure hunger games until we left and grabbed something near the hotel.

My kids have said their fondest Disney memory is one time they had this passport book and you had to do a scavenger hunt all day and if you got your book complete you got a free t - shirt. It was raining like hell and my kids were persistent about getting their books stamped. we were soaked but they had a good time at least...


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## snickerd3 (Apr 26, 2018)

We did the disney meal plan which includes the character breakfasts at no additional charge.  So we had a character breakfast everyday to make sure we got our money's worth.  We also did the Character dinner at the revolving restaurant at Epcot.  It also made sure we got to see the important characters in a climate controlled environment and some personal time with the characters at the table.  We then only had to wait to see the Toy Story folks...cuz you can't not see Buzz and Woody.  

Ditto the Contemporary Mickey Breakfast...if we had paid outright that was way too expensive for a buffet.  The Lilo and Stitch breakfast at the Polynesian was probably the best value for the money...family style with as much as you wanted.


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## snickerd3 (Apr 26, 2018)

Donald at the Comtempory...minisnick looks so little in this pic and it was only like 3.5 yrs ago.


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## youngmotivatedengineer (Apr 26, 2018)

Took the 2 little kids last year to Disney as we had friends who were getting married at Disney. I would highly discourage doing character breakfast and if possible try to avoid them at lunch time also. Although the kids loved seeing the characters for the few lunches we did, each character lunch ended up being about 2 hours long which is a long time when trying to maximize the attractions you stop at.


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## csb (May 16, 2018)

Thanks, everyone! We're not going to Disney, because we're exhausting our nerd at Universal Studios, Kennedy Space Center, and still possibly the airboat tour. We want to see gators.


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## Road Guy (May 16, 2018)

Just drive down any road next to a canal to see gators


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## MA_PE (May 16, 2018)

csb said:


> Thanks, everyone! We're not going to Disney, because we're exhausting our nerd at Universal Studios, Kennedy Space Center, and still possibly the airboat tour. We want to see gators.


sounds like a good plan.  Both are very cool.  It's pretty far south of Orlando but when many years ago we were visiting the in-laws down in Boca Raton and  went to Billy's Swamp Safari and took an airboat ride.  It was a great time.


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## RBHeadge PE (May 16, 2018)

csb said:


> Thanks, everyone! We're not going to Disney, because we're exhausting our nerd at Universal Studios, Kennedy Space Center, and still possibly the airboat tour. We want to see gators.


I'm surprised you didn't see any at KSC/CCAFS. They're in pretty much every freshwater body.

Alternatley you can look in any of the stormwater ponds in between the tarmac at the airport. I usually see a few before every takeoff.


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## csb (May 16, 2018)

And the other wildlife Florida has to offer- egrets, manatees, elderly...


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## Road Guy (May 16, 2018)

And 1 billion bugs that bite once the sun goes down


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## csb (May 16, 2018)

Road Guy said:


> And 1 billion bugs that bite once the sun goes down


This is why I live somewhere with winter.


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## Dexman PE PMP (May 16, 2018)

csb said:


> This is why I live somewhere with winter.


Where the air bites instead of the bugs.


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## leggo PE (May 17, 2018)

Don't get your hopes up to see a manatee! I remember really, really wanting to see a manatee when my family was visiting extended family in Florida back when I was a little kid. We went to a spot where you were pretty much promised to see manatees, were there for a while, and didn't see one. It was the only chance I was given!


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## MA_PE (May 17, 2018)

leggo PE said:


> Don't get your hopes up to see a manatee! I remember really, really wanting to see a manatee when my family was visiting extended family in Florida back when I was a little kid. We went to a spot where you were pretty much promised to see manatees, were there for a while, and didn't see one. It was the only chance I was given!


Seaworld -Orlando will have manatees

https://seaworld.com/orlando/animal-experiences/manatee-rehabilitation-area/


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## Road Guy (May 17, 2018)

go to MM 78 (+/1) in the keys, pretty much always there, great spot to feed angry tarpon too!


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## leggo PE (May 17, 2018)

MA_PE said:


> Seaworld -Orlando will have manatees
> 
> https://seaworld.com/orlando/animal-experiences/manatee-rehabilitation-area/


We went to a place where they were just known to like to hang. So looking back on it, I probably shouldn't have gotten my hopes so high. But clearly, it still gets me!


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## MA_PE (May 19, 2018)

leggo PE said:


> We went to a place where they were just known to *like to hang*.


That’s pretty much all they do.  Not a lot to see.


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## P-E (May 19, 2018)

We took mini p-e to Disney (magic k &amp; animal k) and legoland.  I thought Legoland was a bit cheesy - he liked that one best, go figure.


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