Plan Your Florida Vacation
The aim of this blog is to provide as much information about things to see and do whilst you are on the holiday of a lifetime in the vacation capital of the world - The Sunshine State of Florida.
-
Our Three Day’s with a Go Orlando Card
Posted on August 22nd, 2008 No commentsWritten by: Iain & Gillian Thompson
Authors WebsiteWe ordered our Go Orlando Cards online via the website before we flew over to Orlando. We received a voucher by e-mail that we needed to take to one of the big stores on International Drive or on the 192 in Kissimmee. We presented the printed copy of the voucher at the shop and we were issued with our 3 day Go Orlando Cards and a great little full colour guide book to all the attractions covered. The cards are available in 1, 2, 3, 5 and 7 days. The cards work out at great value - you only need to visit two attractions in a day to get more than your moneys worth.
As we had purchased a 3 or more day card we also got a free dinner show included. (Make sure that you book the show for one of the days that you intend to use the card). There is usually a choice of 2 or 3 different shows.
We booked to see The Arabian Nights Dinner Show and what a great night we had, the food was great, the drinks unlimited, (beer, wine or soft drinks), and the show was fantastic.
Once you use the card for the first time the countdown starts and the card expires 14 days from the first activation, you can use each of the remaining days at any time within the 14 day window. During a days use you can visit as many of the attractions listed in the guide book as you like. For a full list of the places you can visit have a look at the Go Orlando Card website. Many of the big names are there - Kennedy Space Centre, Gatorland, Fun Spot Action Park, Cypress Gardens……..the list just goes on and on. The card is also valid for a huge amount of special offers and discounts at many shops and attractions for all 14 days after the first activation of the card, again full details are on the website and in the free guide book issued with the card.
You can pack a lot into one day if you plan it carefully, this is what we did with the card:-
Day 1:-
- Cypress Gardens Adventure Park
- TIP - If you take your entrance ticket to guest services you will get a second days free admission for any time in the next 7 days so you actually get 2 days for the price of one!
- Splash Island Water park at Cypress Gardens
- Congo River Adventure Golf
Day 2:-
- Forever Florida Eco-Safaris
- Gatorland
- The Haunted Grimm House
- Congo River Adventure Golf
- Arabian Nights
Day 3:-
- Fun Spot Action Park
- Ripley’s Believe It or Not!
- Titanic - The Experience
- WonderWorks
- Congo River Adventure Golf
As you can see from the above we packed a lot into each of our Go Card days! If you check the guide book and plan carefully you can do a great deal in one day and get fantastic value for money. We were very impressed with the card and will be purchasing one again on our next visit as there are still many more attractions for us to visit.
If you are still a bit unsure, why not try a 1 day card and use it on the International Drive area attractions, as per our day 3 above. It is easy to hop from one attraction to the next and cram lots into one day with very little travelling between venues. Check the opening times and the times you can use the card and leave the late opening attractions until last.
Once you have tried a 1 day card I am sure the next time you go to Florida you will be getting an Orlando Go Card with at least 3 days on!
-
Tips when Visiting Florida’s Beaches & Theme Parks
Posted on August 22nd, 2008 No commentsA couple of tips for a day in the parks:-
Freeze bottles of water to take to the parks they will keep cold all day.
If you intend to go on water rides a change off clothes is advisable, if it is a little cloudy you soon feel cold (you don’t need to carry these around with you - use a locker at the entrance to the park)
Clearwater beach is one of the best beaches to visit the sand being like fine flour. Also it is well worth staying until the sun goes down with the street entertainers and a fantastic sunset at the end of the pier. Also take a trip on the pirate ship or enjoy a cruise with a buffet meal on one of the other boats all at a very reasonable price. If you are looking for that extra special evening dress Clearwater has 2 very reasonable boutiques with a good selection.
If you want surfing then cocoa beach on the east coast of Florida is the place to be and of course not far from the Kennedy Space Centre. Here you can buy all your surfing and skating needs from the many shops around and maybe stay over at a motel that is designed in the shape of a castle and painted pink!
Daytona beach has 23 miles of sugary white sand here you can go parasailing, fishing or surfing. On site vendors sell everything from hamburgers, ice cream beach umbrellas and boogie board rentals. Daytona has a lot going on with all kinds of shops and restaurants and is well worth a visit.
-
Central Florida Theme Parks
Posted on April 29th, 2008 No commentsAs well as being the Sunshine State, Florida is also the capital for Theme Parks after Walt Disney opened his first park around 50 years ago. Since the arrival of Disney, Florida has seen a huge increase in the number of theme parks with Disney alone having grown to a total of 4 and an additional 2 water parks.
Universal Studios followed Disney into Florida opening up it’s very own park which is also a working studio and more recently another park called Islands of Adventure which host a number of big thrill rides.
Sea World is a name that many people will recognise and they too have opened an additional park in the last few years which focuses on an “up close and personal” experience with dolphins, sharks and whales.
Walt Disney World
Walt Disney World is the collective name for all the theme parks associated with the infamous name Disney. It is common knowledge that the area of Walt Disney World is approximately equivalent to that of the city of Manchester in the UK!
Magic Kingdom
The Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World is what many people would associate with being Disney World itself. It is the land of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy and of course Cinderella’s Castle. The Magic Kingdom is divided into a number of smaller themed kingdoms, each unique and hosting a number of rides and shows. Make sure you catch the Light Parade around 9pm and get yourself a good vantage point early!!! If your visit falls on Christmas Day then you are in for a special treat of a Light Parade - if you are planning on a Christmas Day visit, you will need to get to the park EARLY… gates close and admission is refused once the numbers through the gates have been reached!
Epcot
Epcot is the park that is most commonly known for having the giant golf ball like structure that is visible from miles around. The park exhibits cultures from countries around the globe by allocating streets or sections to that country. Local cuisines can be sampled and entertainment from the countries is put on at the street side and in theatres. Epcot hosts such rides as Honey I Shrunk The Audience and a number of virtual reality games. A must see is the fireworks show across the lake which is spectacular.
Disney MGM Studios
MGM Studios is home to huge number of great rides and shows including the Aerosmith Rock ‘n Rollercoster, The Twighlight Zone’s Tower of Terror, Indiana Jones Stunt Show and much more. A fireworks show is also put on at the end of the night.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom
The newest of all the Walt Disney World theme parks, Animal Kingdom brings the African safari experience to Florida as well as animals from other parts of the world. It is advisable to get to Animal Kingdom as early in the morning as possible to ensure catching a look at the main attractions.
Walt Disney’s Water Parks
Typhoon Lagoon, the older of the two Disney water parks is themed around a tropical island which has high speed water shoots and a huge lagoon which generates man made waves every 10 minutes or so. A lazy river can be enjoyed if you can do without the big thrills of the water slides and big waves!
Blizzard Beach is the latest of Disney’s water parks and is themed around the sureal surroundings of a snow capped Arctic mountain! Again, big slides and everything that is needed to make your heart beat that little bit faster!
Downtown Disney
It is quite easy to spend an entire day and a night at DownTown Disney! Here you can enjoy dining at a huge selection of restaurants including the largest Planet Hollywood in the world where dining is amongst memorabilia of celebrities from the TV and movie industry.
Why not enjoy a visit to one of the renowned Cirqu du Soleil spectaculars or check out who’s playing at The House of Blues. If you like stay up to date with the most current hits either in the music world or on DVD then perhaps you won’t want to miss out on a visit to one or the largest Virgin Mega Stores in the world or watch a movie at the AMC 24 Screen Movie Theatre and enjoy the very best in surround sound and picture quality.
If you are over 21 and want to dance the night away and enjoy a drink then Pleasure Island is a must. Bars and clubs of various genres are here including one with a revolving dance floor which can get quite confusing towards the end of the night! They say that every night is like New Year’s Eve!
Universal Orlando Resort
Universal Orlando Resort comprises of two theme parks - Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure. The latest addition to the Universal Orlando Resort is City Walk, where you can enjoy the many bars, restaurants and night clubs.
Universal Studios Florida
Experience a behind the scenes look at TV and movie favourites including E.T. Adventure, Back to the Future - The Ride, Men In Black and so much more. As well as being a theme park, Universal Studios Florida is a working studio having been used in movies including Beverly Hills Cop 3 - the park truly is a ‘must visit’ while in Orlando!
Islands of Adventure
The Universal company extended their popular theme park by adding a completely new park called Islands of Adventure which quite simply is an adrenalin junkie’s paradise. In Marvel Super Hero Island, experience The Incredible Hulk Coaster, the 3d Amazing Adventures of Spiderman and more. Get wet helping Popeye save Olive Oil on Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges in Toon Lagoon and even wetter on the Jurassic Park River Adventure. If you are in to big rides you will love the Islands of Adventure.
City Walk
At Universal’s City Walk you can enjoy a number of themed bars and restaurants. Special mention should be made of the world’s largest Hard Rock Cafe where you can dine with views of rock star’s memorabilia from Elvis to U2.
Hard Rock Live hosts many a rock concert in it’s 3000 capacity arena, so keep your eyes open and follow this link to stay up to date with their schedule - during 2004 and 2005, Hard Rock Live has played host to performers including Maroon 5, Nelly, Willie Nelson, Velvet Revolver, Keith Urban, The Killers and more..
Of course City Walk isn’t just about Hard Rock Cafe and Hard Rock Live… it has many bars, restaurants and night clubs of different themes and genres of music from hip hop to jazz.
Wet ‘n Wild
Located adjacent to Universal Orlando, Wet ‘n Wild-Orlando features a full day of fun for the entire family. The name Wet ‘n Wild has long been one of the nation’s best attended water parks - the world-class signature thrill rides and quality service offer something for fun-lovers of all ages!
Sea World
The Sea World brand is owned by the Anheuser Busch company which you may recognise is the owner of the famous American beer, Budweiser. In Florida Anheuser Busch has a total of 4 parks and all are within easy reach of our villas. Sea World and Discovery Cove are located in Orlando while Busch Gardens and Adventure Land are about an hour away near Tampa. Of course, due to the relationship between the parks and it’s various beer brands, you will find Anheuser Busch hospitality areas in the aforementioned parks where you are encouraged to sample their best selling and new brands of beer free of charge!
Sea World Orlando
Visit Shamu the killer whale and watch as these giant mamals jump feet into the air with their human trainers. This amazing show is the star attraction at Sea World Orlando. If you can, make time to view the daytime and evening shows as each is different and memorable.
When you visit the coast in Florida you may be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of a dolphin or two. At Sea World Orlando you are guaranteed to see and even touch the dolphins. Also, make sure you take in the dolphin and whale show which is another of the park’s major attractions.
The Clyde and Seymore show is a must see - this team of sea lions will have you in stitches when they get up to their trained (and sometimes untrained!) antics!
In recent years, Sea World Orlando has added a new element in the way of rides and roler coasters. The Kraken is one of the fastest roller coasters ever made - in Orlando there is nothing to beat it as it is the fastest, longest, tallest floorless roller caster… you will reach speeds of 65mph and heights of 15 story buildings… you’ll love it!
The Journey To Atlantis quite simply will soak you - if you like to stay dry, stay away! This ride will take you on a log flume style journey through Atlantis and send you plunging from the mountain into the pool below. Beware of the sadistic on lookers at the end of the ride who have paid good money to soak you with water jets!!!
Discovery Cove
At Discovery Cove you can get a real up close interactive experience with dolphins. You will be provided with snorkel equipment, swim vests and everything needed to make your in the water experience with the dolphins a truly memorable one. Click on the link to visit Discovery Cove official website.
Busch Gardens, Tampa Bay and Adventure Island
Quite simply Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is a 335-acre, African-themed family entertainment park located in Tampa, Florida. It features naturalistic animal attractions such as the renowned 80-acre natural setting of the Serengeti Plain, thrill rides like Montu, a massive inverted roller coaster, and live entertainment. When you visit, make sure you take a ride on the Sheikra roller coaster which drops you 90 degrees… straight down at 70mph!
Adventure Island operates on 36 acres next to Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. The park features several unique water-play areas, thrilling splash rides and a 17,000-square-foot wave pool.
Busch Gardens, Disney, Disney's Animal Kingdom, Disney's Blizzard Beach, Disney's Epcot, Disney's Hollywood Studios, Disney's Magic Kingdom, Disney's Typhoon Lagoon, SeaWorld, Theme Parks, Universal Islands of Adventure, Universal Studios, Water Parks Busch Gardens, Disney, SeaWorld, Theme Parks, Universal