Orlando Visit
We were to attend a conference in Orlando, as we had not visited before I asked people who had, as well as searching the web for information on what there was to do.
The venue for the conference was at the Orange County Convention Center the second largest in the USA on International Drive in the Disney world area.
Our hotel was in the middle of International Drive so we were win a great position to take advantage of all the major attractions.
The hotels along International Drive are varied so a place for every taste and pocket.
I am led to believe that there are over 10,000 hotel rooms directly accessible from there.
Firstly, the transportation up and down International drive is a "I Ride" green trolley bus with a big smile on the front.
It has 42 stops - 1 starts at Prime outlets stores and 42 ends at Premium outlet stores, all have fantastic shopping so one can shop till you drop.
Ladies...
to die for, great retail therapy.
Full of designer outlets, specialty toys and hobbies, sports and fitness, home and housewares, luggage, you name it, you will find it there at really good prices.
Actually even the men could go a little crazy.
The trolley bus services the main Sea world area, Aquatica and Wet n Wild, and many other attractions.
Great for families, children ride free and adults can buy a pass for however long the want up to 14 days or you can pay the driver, but the exact fare is required, the hotel reception will advise the fare and also sell the passes.
As it was school holiday time in the UK there were a lot of families visiting.
From what I could gather the majority were staying for a week and doing a different theme park each day, prices for weekly packages for families are discounted.
From my impression it would be a super holiday for kids, wear them out in the day and adults can enjoy themselves at night.
There are heaps of restaurants to choose from, we tried a lot but I have to say my favourite was Mediterranean cuisine at Cafe Tu Tu Tango, the atmosphere was great, decor funky and interesting, helped by the fact that is was the week of Halloween so all the staff were dressed up, the wall are adorned with paintings by local artists which are available for sale plus, an artist was painting on wooden eggs.
A Tarot reader was available, just what one needs when they go to dinner especially on a first date, one could check if it is going to be a match! There are many other attractions outside this area, golf courses, indoor sky diving, swimming with the dolphins, helicopter rides, putt putt golf too many to mention.
You can go online and check out attractions but heaps of activities to keep children occupied as well as the adults.
As we were not with children the only attraction we visited in the Disney complex was the Epcot centre which was excellent.
There are future world attractions which a mono rail encircles also a world showcase where each country exhibits their unique cultures.
There was a wine and food festival and all countries were participating.
Australia had a pretty basic stand selling lamb chops and a couple of different wines so that was our representation, well at least we were there, manned by a mixed bag of people, no aAssies in sight except us...
bit of a kak.
We hired a car to visit the Kennedy Space Centre - NASA - which was amazing and really worth the visit, you can go on a tour from the hotels if you prefer.
A warning though some of the tours inside the centre mainly NASA Up Close, non residents need to take their passport, photo ID is not enough, these tours take you to the launch pads.
This is not mentioned on any of the brochures so we were not allowed to go, which was really annoying as we will probably never be back there.
Also the best tours are booked before you get there on line, so my advice would be to book beforehand.
There was a rocket ready to launch a few days after our visit, which would have been great to see but the one needing passports...
bummer! We did see the launch pad and rocket from a distance from one of the destinations on our tour but would have been better to be closer.
In the Apollo/Saturn V Center, viewing the 636-foot rocket was amazing, the command module is so small in comparison to the rest of the vehicle, the astronauts must have felt like little ants I have enormous respect for the men and women who virtually risk their lives each time they go into space.
I thought I would be disappointed with the basic tour of the Kennedy centre but it was very informative.
You can experience a vertical launch in a simulator.
IMax theatres with 5 story screens and 3-D effects.
An astronaut encounter is another feature where they will tell of their space travels.
Included in the price of admission you can also visit the US Astronaut Hall of Fame.
It was a pleasant drive from Orlando and as your are close to Cocoa Beach it is worth a visit apart from enjoying the beach there is a planetarium, a zoo and many other things to see and do.
So for someone who was only going to Orlando because of the business expo I can happily suggest this destination for a great holiday or visit and hope that these few tips are helpful.
If the opportunity arises go and enjoy Orlando you will not be disappointed and if you take kids it would be their dream destination.
There are heaps more things to do than I mentioned, this is just some of the things we did, but as I said, visit Orlando and I am sure you will enjoy the experience as much as we did.
The venue for the conference was at the Orange County Convention Center the second largest in the USA on International Drive in the Disney world area.
Our hotel was in the middle of International Drive so we were win a great position to take advantage of all the major attractions.
The hotels along International Drive are varied so a place for every taste and pocket.
I am led to believe that there are over 10,000 hotel rooms directly accessible from there.
Firstly, the transportation up and down International drive is a "I Ride" green trolley bus with a big smile on the front.
It has 42 stops - 1 starts at Prime outlets stores and 42 ends at Premium outlet stores, all have fantastic shopping so one can shop till you drop.
Ladies...
to die for, great retail therapy.
Full of designer outlets, specialty toys and hobbies, sports and fitness, home and housewares, luggage, you name it, you will find it there at really good prices.
Actually even the men could go a little crazy.
The trolley bus services the main Sea world area, Aquatica and Wet n Wild, and many other attractions.
Great for families, children ride free and adults can buy a pass for however long the want up to 14 days or you can pay the driver, but the exact fare is required, the hotel reception will advise the fare and also sell the passes.
As it was school holiday time in the UK there were a lot of families visiting.
From what I could gather the majority were staying for a week and doing a different theme park each day, prices for weekly packages for families are discounted.
From my impression it would be a super holiday for kids, wear them out in the day and adults can enjoy themselves at night.
There are heaps of restaurants to choose from, we tried a lot but I have to say my favourite was Mediterranean cuisine at Cafe Tu Tu Tango, the atmosphere was great, decor funky and interesting, helped by the fact that is was the week of Halloween so all the staff were dressed up, the wall are adorned with paintings by local artists which are available for sale plus, an artist was painting on wooden eggs.
A Tarot reader was available, just what one needs when they go to dinner especially on a first date, one could check if it is going to be a match! There are many other attractions outside this area, golf courses, indoor sky diving, swimming with the dolphins, helicopter rides, putt putt golf too many to mention.
You can go online and check out attractions but heaps of activities to keep children occupied as well as the adults.
As we were not with children the only attraction we visited in the Disney complex was the Epcot centre which was excellent.
There are future world attractions which a mono rail encircles also a world showcase where each country exhibits their unique cultures.
There was a wine and food festival and all countries were participating.
Australia had a pretty basic stand selling lamb chops and a couple of different wines so that was our representation, well at least we were there, manned by a mixed bag of people, no aAssies in sight except us...
bit of a kak.
We hired a car to visit the Kennedy Space Centre - NASA - which was amazing and really worth the visit, you can go on a tour from the hotels if you prefer.
A warning though some of the tours inside the centre mainly NASA Up Close, non residents need to take their passport, photo ID is not enough, these tours take you to the launch pads.
This is not mentioned on any of the brochures so we were not allowed to go, which was really annoying as we will probably never be back there.
Also the best tours are booked before you get there on line, so my advice would be to book beforehand.
There was a rocket ready to launch a few days after our visit, which would have been great to see but the one needing passports...
bummer! We did see the launch pad and rocket from a distance from one of the destinations on our tour but would have been better to be closer.
In the Apollo/Saturn V Center, viewing the 636-foot rocket was amazing, the command module is so small in comparison to the rest of the vehicle, the astronauts must have felt like little ants I have enormous respect for the men and women who virtually risk their lives each time they go into space.
I thought I would be disappointed with the basic tour of the Kennedy centre but it was very informative.
You can experience a vertical launch in a simulator.
IMax theatres with 5 story screens and 3-D effects.
An astronaut encounter is another feature where they will tell of their space travels.
Included in the price of admission you can also visit the US Astronaut Hall of Fame.
It was a pleasant drive from Orlando and as your are close to Cocoa Beach it is worth a visit apart from enjoying the beach there is a planetarium, a zoo and many other things to see and do.
So for someone who was only going to Orlando because of the business expo I can happily suggest this destination for a great holiday or visit and hope that these few tips are helpful.
If the opportunity arises go and enjoy Orlando you will not be disappointed and if you take kids it would be their dream destination.
There are heaps more things to do than I mentioned, this is just some of the things we did, but as I said, visit Orlando and I am sure you will enjoy the experience as much as we did.
