Advantages: Disney, Sunny, Nice people Disadvantages: Heat (sometimes)
...to update my review of Orlando as I have just come back from there and thought I could give better, up-to-date information. Included in the update you will find a more extensive review of theme parks and some more practical information.
So, I have been to Florida two times now and most of this review talks about my first experience. However, I will input some relevant stuff from the second. I really did enjoy this holiday and it is a dream destination. ... ...start, some basic facts about Orlando and Florida to get you acquainted with the place:
· It is home to 1.5 million inhabitants (Orlando) and 40 million tourists visit it each year.
· The average temperature between October to May is low 70s (22 to all of us!) to mid 80s (27) and between May to September the average temperature is from upper 80s (27) to mid 90s (32).
· It is five hours behind GMT.
· There are over 125 golf courses situated in ...
ashtonluke 01.07.2004 (02.08.2004)
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Orlando
Advantages: Hot and sunny, good family holiday, friendly locals Disadvantages: Can be TOO hot in summer, need to watch for hidden costs
...spending at the hotel. In Orlando you'll spend most time out at attractions, so you won't really take much advantage of a gym or spa, although it may be useful if it's not too costly. All hotels have at least one pool, for those lazy days in between exhausting yourself in theme parks! Other facilities that are useful are on-site shops. They can be a little pricey - I tend to stock up at the local supermarket or minimart - but are useful for those ... ...you'll see covered in the Orlando brochures are: International Drive: The most popular area to stay in Orlando, and its increasing in the number of hotels and timeshares that are there. If you're not hiring a car (see my section on car hire later) this is a pretty good place to stay. There is a bus service called the "I Drive" that runs regular buses up and down it. Don't be fooled that its a short road by the maps - it is a few miles long from end ...
cazm17 15.10.2002
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Orlando
Advantages: You get your photo taken with Mickey Disadvantages: You get your photo taken with Mickey
...are is not actually in Orlando at all but some fifteen miles south around an area called Kissimmee. The 'action' centres on five main places which you will get to know well during your stay. They are DisneyWorld itself, Universal Studios, SeaWorld, International Drive and Highway 192. The first three cost money to visit so I will deal with them in a minute. International Drive and Highway 192 are 'touristy' type areas, you can think of them as being ... ...sea, if you see what I mean... They are just chock full of eating places, bars, amusement areas of one kind or another and loads of Florida's famous low-cost 'designer' outlets. The whole area is absolutely full to the brim with these outlets. They sell famous label clothes at a fraction of the price you would pay anywhere else. So what's the catch? Well, actually there isn't one. What they are selling, in the main, are the remnants of last year's ...
tagheur 26.10.2002 (27.10.2002)
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Orlando
Advantages: beautiful, great parks and spacious, cheap Disadvantages: you may find few people not speaking english!
...Studios
A little bit of Orlando city itself.
Hotels and Lodging:
Every major hotel chain heard or unheard of exists in this city. In fact half the city is made up of hotels. EVEN THEN, at peak times, ALL hotels might run FULL!!! Nonetheless, on a decent day, you might find lodging in a good hotel. It’s a good idea to book your hotels atleast one month earlier so that one gets the best deals on rates. Ideally, if you book one month earlier through ... ...several great companies too, and Orlando does host one of top 10 research laboratories of science in U.S. The kennedy space center is also very near, and again, visiting the center is going to take up another day of your trip! We didn’t visit it though because of the days constraints on us. The food in this city is awesome. The food is dominantly Mexican and my! How I love Mexican. The people are very good and polite. However, you will find many ...
suyog 18.07.2002
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Orlando
Advantages: Wonderful Weather, Friendly and Good Mannered Locals Disadvantages: None
Orlando and its surrounding areas have something for everyone - yes this does sound like a cliché but it is true. Take a boat ride in to the heart of the everglades and see all the wonderful wild life, and see Alligators and Crocodiles in there natural habitat. Theme Parks =========== Entertainment is no problem, whether its Disney, Universal Studios, shopping or visiting a Seminole Indian Reserve or cruising to the Bahamas . See it does work for ... ...non Disney attractions in the Orlando area, Gatorland is a fun day out, but it is more of a half day attraction that a full day thing. Gatorland is just what the name say’s it is, lot of Alligators for you to look at and feed and even touch (don’t worry it just a baby, its mouth is tapped up and someone is there to hold it so it wont run away). There are Alligator Wrestling shows, plus snakes in tanks for your viewing pleasure. There ...
Snoogans 12.12.2001
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Orlando
Advantages: So much to see and do, lots of things are cheap. Disadvantages: Not enough time to do it all, some big costs.
Orlando Florida, Wow! Where do I start, can I fit all the information in this review, will I forget details as is so often the way of great places, let’s hope not. I booked my trip to Orlando in October 1999 for Summer 2000, there were 4 of us going, all adults (21-33 years old) Therefore we had no children and several people had told us it was more for kids.
We flew from Manchester Ringway to Orlando Airport, taking little over 9 and half-hours. ... ...airport.
The Airport.
Orlando Airport isn’t among the worlds most luxurious. It has lots of seating, and a few little shops and cafes in the departures lounge, but there is little to do in the event of a delay. It is however kept extremely clean and tidy, making it a little more bearable. There is in the departure area a small terrace where you can overlook the runway. This means the kids (should you have them) will have something to do rather ...
Nameless 03.05.2001
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Orlando
Advantages: Entertainment for All Ages Disadvantages: sure there are some, but I can't think of them
I travelled to Orlando with my wife and three children aged 7 to 10 for the last two weeks of August this year (2006). We flew with Virgin and stayed on the northern end of International Drive at the Quality Inn (see my separate review on the hotel) for a fortnight.
Places to Go/Things to Do
Two weeks is not enough time to do everything, and as we have not been a number of times (yet!), I can only tell you what we managed to cram in. We managed ... ...the parks were relatively quiet (our longest wait time was 45 minutes for Peter Pan). Even if you think Orlando is not for you, GO - you may be pleasantly surprised. If not, there is a lot more to Florida and it is a lovely place to go. ...
Alslad36 15.09.2006
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Orlando
Advantages: Loads to do, good weather, very friendly people Disadvantages: won’t be a very restful holiday
...I have been to Orlando three times and I still want to go back again. Every time I go back there’s something different there and new things to look at, it’s never the same.
Obviously the biggest attraction in Orlando is Disneyworld but this isn’t the only one! You have to visit Disneyworld but other theme parks include Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, Sea World, Kennedy Space Centre. And then there are all of the waterparks ... ...not only about theme parks though, there is the SHOPPING, which is my favourite pass time. I would suggest that you take hardly any luggage with you at all. You will buy so much in Florida because everything is so cheap. Average price of Levi’s is about £22, a bit different to what you would pay over here. And they fit as well, which is always a novelty for me. They go up (and down) to ridiculous leg lengths which is great for us tall people ...
annette_tr9 18.06.2001
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Orlando
Advantages: Lots to do Disadvantages: Heat, Rain (in summer)
...what I would like to do if I went again is stay in Orlando (International Drive) for 1 week and further south poss by the coast for the other week. We spoke to a few families during our holiday and that was what they were doing. Good idea I think! ...
diddy1 28.07.2006 (23.10.2006)
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Orlando
Advantages: hot, fun, cheap? Disadvantages: too hot, long flight
...to Fly to?
McCoy Orlando International is Central Florida’s main airport. Easy to get to, big, well organised and closest airport to Disneyworld.
Sanford is a smaller airport about an hours drive away that most British charter flights seem to use these days (it must be cheaper). It’s a bit small and a bit of a tip, and further to drive when you get off the plane. If you do fly into Sanford, avoid the toll road which will cost you $s and follow ... ...a half away. Similar to Orlando but is usually quieter. Worth considering because it’s not a great hassle to drive to Orlando.
Getting to the Airport in the UK
Flightlink bus Cramped, usually full, takes AGES to get to the airport.
Train EXPENSIVE
Driving yourself and parking at the airport
Parking at most major airports is very expensive – usually around £70 for two weeks. Then you sometimes have the hassle of catching a shuttle bus to the ...
paulfoel 22.10.2004
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Orlando
Advantages: Something to see and do for all age groups. Great for shopping Disadvantages: The flight took nine and a half hours. :(
...each weekend in search of Orlando info. Arriving home each time with various expensive books covering all topics on Orlando and Florida in general.
By the time the day arrived for us to travel, my "two kids" had our holiday all mapped out for us, without any input from me what so ever, this did not really bother me as I was just so happy that the time had come at last for us to actually get there and happily fall in with all their well thought out ... ...*** So what does Orlando have to offer?
If I tried to tell you about everything that there is to see and do in Orlando, it would take forever so I will give you what to us were the highlights of our much awaited holiday in Orlando.
First there was the Walt Disney Resort, which consists of the four main theme parks, The Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney-MGM Studios and Disney's Animal Kingdom. All four parks were well worth a visit, offering something ...
xanadu 13.03.2001
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Orlando
Advantages: There is so much to do and see Disadvantages: You need to go for about a year to do it all!
Orlando is probably the most visited part of Florida by British tourists and I understand why. Everything is larger than life. It is like the entire city is a theme park!
Magic Kingdom is amazing. However if you visit in-season then you should be prepared for very long queues. There is a queue jump system where you can get tickets for a certain time and when you get there you can enter a different queue line which is inevitably much shorter. Before ... ...aware of when driving in Orlando is the road system. There are many toll booths and if your route consists of one, ensure that you have the correct change as not all of them are manned. Another point for consideration is that unlike in England there is very little warning before an exit off a highway, literally the sign appears and the slip road is immediately afterwards
As for accommodation staying in a Disney Hotel is very appealable, however ...
girlstar 30.06.2002
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Orlando
Advantages: Amazing sunshine, shopping and theme parks. Disadvantages: occasional thunderstorms.
Orlando is the dream destination of many British tourists with the attractions of Mickey Mouse and U niversal Studios on its doorstep it has great appeal to young and old. Flights to Orlando can arrive at two different airports Orlando International or Sanford. Orlando International is a very modern busy airport and nearer to the centre of Orlando where as Sanford is an old military airport very basic but adequate and roughly an hours drive into ... ...and is excellent value.
Orlando doesn’t have a beach but all hotels have swimming pools and as temperatures can soar into the high nineties in the Summer they are essential to cool down as the humidity can be quite oppressive. Having said that Florida is used to very hot weather and so all hotel rooms restaurants and most shops have wonderful air conditioning.
Don’t be disappointed is it rains it quite often does from around 4pm onwards ...
elspeth334 26.07.2000 (05.06.2001)
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Orlando
Advantages: theme parks, sunny, magical Disadvantages: heat when you get off plane
...first time I went to orlando Florida was when I was 11 years old and it was like paradise. Me and my family went there for my sisters wedding which was an amazing day but will get to that later. The first time we went for 2 weeks and did not do everything we wanted to do and we had to go again for another 2 weeks but we still did not manage to do everything we wanted to do. So it looks like somewhere in the future we will be going again and it is ... ...you will most probably know orlando is a place of magic. And the theme parks make it magic as they are totally and amazing and make our theme parks in England look like a children's park with swings. Magic Kingdom This is the place where little kids dreams come true as they get to meet mickey mouse. When you walk through the gates there are so many different little shops from crystal shops to magnificent candy shops the choice is amazing and this ...
motty03 06.01.2007
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Orlando
Advantages: Hot, millions of things to do!` Disadvantages: Hmmmm....NONE!
...more could you want from orlando it has somthing for everyone and i mean everyone.
It as crystal clear beaches, wonderful, fun and amazing theme parks and water parks, shopping malls galore and the most improtant thing luxury hotels with big swimming pools.
I have been to florida orlando eight times, i have also been to treasure island (a small island off florida) once and all. Ive been to many places round the world but this tops them all. The ... ...The uinversal area of orlando as two parks one where the movies are brought to life via rides and the other park really is an adventure where the cartoon and comic side of universal are bought to life via amazing breathtaking rides.
Do not let the que time hinder your decision about going on a ride go on them all. i liked universal islands of adventure most. Why? because it was themed so well. The surroudings of the park where fun eye catching and ...
joanne_bryan 06.08.2006
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Orlando
NH Hotels, the hotel chain leader in Europe, with more than 300 hotels in 20 countries in Europe, Latin America and Africa. Enter into our web site and find the best available tariff at all times
|
