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If you are voyaging to Orlando, you might
find the following helpful. |
Air
Travel
Attractions
Car Rental
General
Lodging
Road Trip
Weather |
Need a Travel Agent?
Call Christeen Pozniak at 1-800-798-7722 or Click here to email Christeen. |
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| General Orlando Area
Information |
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| Air Travel |
The most convenient airport to
fly into is the Orlando International Airport. If you have other people to
visit in Florida, you might want to fly into Tampa (2 hour drive) or Jacksonville (3 hour
drive). There are smaller airports scattered about but trust me, as someone who
travels a lot, the Orlando airport is large and tourist-friendly. That is your best
bet. Trying to save a few bucks at some dinky, little airport is only going to cause
you aggravation.
You should be able to book a decently priced flight on any Major Carrier. When
traveling between Orlando and Pittsburgh or Philadelphia, I suggest USAIR. The flights are reasonably priced, direct
and relatively comfortable. While they are cheaper, I would avoid COMAIR (a division
of Delta) unless you are petite, childless and travel without luggage. |
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| Car Rental |
| There are several car rental
companies from which to choose. I prefer AVIS for their efficiency and
service. Avoid National. They are sometimes cheap but very S-L-Ooooo-w. |
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| Road Trip |
If you are traveling by car, use MapQuest! Carl is often heard saying 'Orlando is just
not laid out in a logical manner.' There really is no rhyme or reason to the layout
of our streets. Save yourself some aggravation and get directions first!
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| Attractions |
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Disney World |
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Magic Kingdom |
The park with the old
standards. Good for families with kids. |
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EPCOT |
Best park for those who'd rather
look than ride. Many different kinds of alcohol and food. |
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MGM Studios |
Star Tours and Muppet Vision3D,
Baby! |
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Animal Kingdom |
This is a relatively new
park. It incorporates the rides with live animals. You won't be
able to get this close to exotic animals any other way. It's also
refreshingly un-Disney-esque. |
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Downtown Disney |
An entertainment complex
with fancy, over-priced restaurants, the House of Blues, Cirque du Soliel
and some assorted shops. It also includes Pleasure Island, a group
of night clubs sharing a single cover charge. |
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Universal
Studios Escape |
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Universal Studios Florida - Ride the Movies |
Rides based on movie themes.
Similar to MGM. |
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Islands of Adventure |
The running joke in O-town is that
this is the best park that Disney Imagineers ever built. It's
the most fun I've had at a theme park. The rides kick ___! There are
some excellent roller coasters, a fun raft-ride and a virtual adventure
with Spiderman that you won't believe. |
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City Walk |
A collection of restaurants and
nightclubs. Similar to Downtown Disney. |
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Kennedy Space Center |
You get to see more than old
rockets. You can get a look at Space Shuttle Cargo as it is being
assembled, launch pads, robots and more. This is both fun and
educational. It is a bit of a drive from the tourist-y part of town but I think
it is worth it if you're into space |
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Sea World |
SHAMU! Enough said. |
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Busch Gardens
(Tampa Bay) |
This is a decent park but nothing
extraordinary. Roller coasters and animals. You will be better served if
you spend a day at Disney's Animal Kingdom and a day at Universal's Islands of
Adventure. On the other hand, they do have Clydesdales and free beer
samples. |
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Belz Factory Outlet
Mall |
A collection of several malls full
of outlets. You can get some good deals but some of the stores
really don't offer very low prices. These stores are trying to
sucker the International Toursits. (Its always fun to watch the British
tourists shopping here the day after they got a Lobster-Red sunburn at
one of the parks. |
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Wet'n Wild |
A water park on I-Drive.
(International Drive. ) Disney has a few water parks that are much nicer. |
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Gatorland |
(Check out the Gator-Cam. LOL)Have
some fried Gator for lunch. This is where the scene from Indiana Jones and
the Temple of Doom was filmed. You know, the one where the bad guy falls
off of the rope bridge into the river and the Gators eat him. |
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Air Boat Rides |
This is a real Florida thing to
do. You get to ride on a high-speed airboat through the tall grasses on
the river and look for Gators. Carl loves it. He'd love an excuse to go again.
We've found that if you go on Sunday when the regular place is closed, strange men will
give you a much more entertaining ride for the same price. Much faster. Not
safer...but faster. |
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| If I've missed a good
attraction, or if you know of a discount that other guests might like to take advantage
of, please let me know and I'll post it on the web site. Click here to E-mail Amy. |
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| Weather |
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| If you live in PA, it will feel
like spring to you in Orlando during the winter. It will probably be brighter
than you're used to up North. Don't forget your sunglasses and buy some nice, strong
sunscreen. The sun is more intense here. You'll want to bring a light jacket
as well as shorts. The weather changes quickly. |
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