Orlando...yes or no?

[Hard-Drive]

Right, I've got a conference in Orlando next year and the missus was thinking about joining me out there afterwards...makes the holiday a bit cheaper as in effect it's only her flight we need to cover.

Bit of background...no kids, no real interest in seeing Disney or any of that "queue up and pay" crap, we are pretty outdoorsy and our holidays tend to usually be a week skiing in the winter, a couple of weeks sailing the south coast on our boat over the summer, and dissapearing to the Highlands for a week with tent, walking boots and mountain bikes for some proper escapism. Last time we did the US conference thing, it was Vegas, so we looked around for a couple of days (I'd been twice before with work) and then hired a car and spent 3 days at the Grand Canyon.

I think with Vegas, even though we don't gamble (jesus, I'm making us sound really boring!) it's the kinda place where you can spend as much or as little as you like, and wander round all day taking in the sheer lunacy of the place and enjoy it. My concern with Orlando is that it looks pretty featureless and boring, and everything is a pay for manufactured "experience" rather than the real thing. That said, I would really like to see all the NASA stuff!

Soooo...do we...

1-Go anyway...like Vegas, even if it's probably the last place in the US you'd choose looking at the brochure, you can't fail to get sucked in and enjoy it

2-Don't bother, face it, it's not our thing, save the cash and do a nice yacht charter in the med or have 2 weeks skiing instead, or just have a separate holiday in Yellowstone

3-Have a few days in Orlando, and then catch an internal flight up to New York or somewhere that's naturally beautiful...a national park or similar? Any recommendations for an itinery?

Any comments really welcome. I've had a look at some of the other threads, and whilst people are recommending some restaurants and even "Bass World" which looks like a giant branch of Millets or something, that really does not make me think "Wow" like looking over the edge of the Grand Canyon did...or dare I say it walking down the Strip at night!

[RemainAllHoof]

Well, it depends. Cast aside your adulthood, reconnect with your childhood and enjoy the parks. There's also stacks of shopping to be done on I-drive. And eating. And as you say, the space stuff is very interesting.

Edited by RemainAllHoof on Saturday 10th September 11:17

[Crafty_]

To be honest if you aren't "park people" then don't bother with Orlando.

That said there is nothing wrong with the parks - wouldn't bother with Disney ones for obvious reasons but you have the 2 universal parks and Busch Gardens further towards Tampa.

I'm guessing you are at the Convention Center on International Drive ? if so there are loads of hotels just a few minutes walk that will be quite a bit cheaper if you do decide to stay in Orlando.

Instead of staying in Orlando take an hour or so drive to the Gulf Coast and stay there - Clearwater/St Pete etc. Or you could go down to the Keys? Daytona area ? There is more to Florida!

[Mr E]

Drive down to the keys. Go snorkling for about 4 days. (ensure you're not there for spring break)

We enjoyed the space centre also.

[Deva Link]

Mr E said:

Drive down to the keys. Go snorkling for about 4 days. (ensure you're not there for spring break)

We enjoyed the space centre also.

I would agree with that. Or go across the west coast and do all you biking / hiking stuff in the Rockies.

Florida gulf coast beaches are reckoned to be amongst the best in the world, but I found that area boring.

What time of year are you going? That's pretty critical in Florida.

My missus & I love Disney, and we've even started staying on site for our last couple of trips. I like it as it's very easy holiday - I don't have to spend a week winding down, and it's all there in front of me, all I have to do is turn up. But, again, time of year is important. It's really not fun when it's packed and weather is baking hot.

[Hard-Drive]

Should have said...it's early January (hence me worrying I will be sitting in some tack diner thinking "I could be looking out over the Matterhorn!)

Going to the rockies seems a bit far TBH but it's a fair suggestion all the same.

[Deva Link]

The snag with early January is it *might* be pretty cold. The first half of Jan 2010 was very cold - my daughter did the Disney marathon and it was literally freezing, although, to be fair, that's unusual. Second half of Jan wasn't too bad.

Jan 2011 was better (around 20C during the day).

January is a pretty good time to do the theme parks as they'll be deserted, that does change the atmosphere though - I've been when it's very quiet and it can seem a bit weird. The other issue is the parks have shorter hours at quiet times (but you can get around them much quicker).

Rain is unusual at that time of year, but if it does rain then it tends to rain all day - whereas in the summer it's usually only for an hour or so in the afternoon.

[Y282]

No. Its a godawful hole of a place. Think giant butlins primarily frequented by tourists that youd expect to see in spain.

Avoid, avoid, avoid. Just ask sideshow bob.

[davidjpowell]

Some of the parks are quite good in their own right, Epcot for instance we have enjoyed, as adults twice.

I wouldn't discount the idea of doing a couple of these, then heading out to the gulf, perhaps bia Busch Gardens which was a surprise to us.

[Hard-Drive]

OK, so the replies so far are making me think "probably not".

I've got the option of going out a day or so early, so I might do the space stuff anyway with a colleague. But if the missus did come out, where is nearby that we could get an internal flight to?

TBH I've not really travelled much in the states at all...are internal flights cheap, or if we went up to NYC would we end up paying far more than if we just went there direct for a long weekend?

[Deva Link]

Sorry to harp on about the weather, and it might not bother you of you're into skiing, but NY will be very cold. Not my idea of fun.

Check flight prices on Expedia or whatever - we have tagged NY trips on to Florida holidays, but I can't remember how much it costs.

[andrew311]

Hard-Drive said:

Likes to ski and will be there in January

How about some skiing? The US is littered with resorts. It just doesn’t make sense to go IMO under normal circumstances with the longer flights expense etc but in your situation it seems ideal.

If you really want to broaden your horizons head over to California, hire a car and explore. You could tour the ski areas in addition to doing some other outdoorsy pursuits. Yosemite is largely closed accept for the valley at that time of year but there is the badger pass ski resort. Depending on how much time you have you could head to Lake Tahoe, loads of resorts up there such as Heavenly, head to Yosemite, head to Mammoth for skiing, visit Death Valley for hiking, spend sometime on the coast and if you really have time drive highway 1. Possibilities are endless.

Alternatively you could stick to the East coast and head to Vermont for places like Killington or Stowe. Most of the skiing is out west apart from California you could head to Wyoming (Jackson Hole) or Colorado or Utah.

[Hard-Drive]

OK thanks all. Someone over the weekend told me that's it's also GREAT for golf which kinda banged the nail in the coffin for me. I guess I was hoping for "ignore the brochures, half an hour out of town and there's all this nice stuff" but it's not looking great.

I think it's take it for what it is, a few drunken nights out with colleagues and perhaps a visit to NASA and then run away!

Cheers all.

[LuS1fer]

I used to say exactly the same about the parks. Refused point blank to go.
Then my wife and I went in 2005 and I really, really enjoyed it - ESPECIALLY without kids who tend to ruin it anyway.
We repeated it WITH kids in 2008 and enjoyed it but it was a lot more hard work.

The Americans do theme parks several light years better than the UK. I suprised myself.

[Matt Harper]

True - there are no mountain ranges or majestic canyons in FL - but there is stuff to see and do for those requiring a more 'activity-based' visit.
Investigate:
Ocala National Forest (hiking/riding trails)
Merrit Island Wildlife Preserve (easy to combine with a trip to KSC)
Sky-Diving - free-fall and tethered tandem (Deltona FL) - pretend sky-diving (I-Drive)
Boatless water ski/wake-boarding (Orlando Watersports Complex)
Game Fishing (various Gulf and Atlantic locations)
Boar hunting (Alachua Cty)
Track driving experiences (Mickyard, Daytona Int Spdwy, Sebring, Moroso and Homestead)
Long Gun experiences (inc. 50 cal/mini-gun etc) Hernando Sports and Shooting (Brooksville FL)
Art/Craft (Mt Dora FL)
Gambling (Hard Rock Seminole)
Warbird flights (Kissimmee)
Sinkhole Scuba (Wikeeva Springs)
I can go on, if you like.....

Unless I missed it, you didn't state what time of year you were planning on visiting - that can make a dramatic difference, in terms of what's going on. If you're into motorsports, consider:
Rolex 24 Hours (End Jan/early Feb)
Daytona 500 (Feb)
Bike Week - Daytona 200 AMA (early March)
Gator Nationals NHRA - Gainsville (mid March)
ALMS 12 Hours of Sebring (mid March)
St Pete Grand Prix Indycar (late March)
Coke Zero 400 Daytona (early July)
... and club level drag racing and short-track, just about every weekend.

Just no snow skiing or donkey rides down any canyons.

[Robatr0n]

Deva Link said:

The snag with early January is it *might* be pretty cold. The first half of Jan 2010 was very cold - my daughter did the Disney marathon and it was literally freezing, although, to be fair, that's unusual. Second half of Jan wasn't too bad.

Jan 2011 was better (around 20C during the day).

.

You're not kidding!

I've ran a couple of Disney Marathons and thought 2006 was cold but 2010 took the biscuit. Thankfully we weren't running that year but it was freezing! Iguanas were freezing solid and falling out of trees, fish were floating listlessly on the water's surface and our Camaro SS had problems staying in a straight line (this I didn't mind!).

It was a little bit odd being sat on the beach in Fort Lauderdale wearing 4 layers of clothing to keep warm whereas the year before I was walking around in shorts and a T-Shirt.

[Matt Harper]

Oh, sorry - early Jan. As stated, a bit of a crap-shoot, weather wise. Could be low/mid 70's or low 40's.
Bring a jumper.

[Matt..]

I was in Yellowstone last week. If you get even the slightest chance to go there, then do. It is amazing.

Orlando is one of the last places i'd ever go to in the US. Florida doesn't appeal to me in the slightest.

I am currently sat just outside Zion NP in my B&B editing photos of my day. If you're outdoorsy then you need to do a tour of the national parks in the southwest of the US!

I have a thread on RoadTripAmerica that i'm putting a few pics into, if you want some inspiration, take a look
http://www.roadtripamerica.com/forum/showthread.ph...