Okay, so I just spent a few days in Orlando working on a new travel guide for Thomas Cook, and I had the opportunity to revisit all of the major theme parks, as well as a handful of lesser known and independent attractions in the Orlando area.
First off, if you're traveling with a family, for about the same price as a standard, three-star hotel room (one room with two beds, some basic furniture, one bathroom and a television), you could stay in a large, multi-bedroom condo located just minutes away from Disney World, Universal Orlando and/or Seaworld.
All-Star Vacation Homes (800-659-2579) offers a collection of multi-bedroom condos, complete with living room, full-size kitchen, laundry facilities, multiple bathrooms, a dining area, and in many cases a private patio and swimming pool. These condos are clean, extremely spacious, comfortable, and ideal for families or extended families that want affordable, but highly functional accommodations.
I have stayed with All-Star Vacation Homes twice now (at two different properties located in the Orlando area), and my stays have been top-notch. I highly recommend this as a viable alternative to a traditional hotel.
Another option which I've written about here is a stay at one of the Marriott Vacation Clubs in the Orlando area. These are timeshare resort properties, however, non-owners can book nights at these resorts for about the same price as a standard three-star hotel. With several different timeshare properties in the Orlando area (with several that are literally walking distance to Seaworld), you can enjoy spacious, clean and affordable accommodations and full resort amenities. It's a perfect option for families.
During this most recent trip to Orlando, I spent time visiting some of the smaller area attractions, like Gatorland and SkyVenture, and I want to recommend both of these attractions!
Gatorland is a perfect place for families to spend a half-day. It's a family-owned attraction that's been around for decades, but they've recently expanded and remodeled. This attraction offers a wonderful opportunity to get up-close with alligators. You'll experience many different exhibits, plus a handful of fun-filled and entertaining shows. Gatorland is affordable, less commercial than the major theme parks, but offers a very enjoyable experience, especially for kids and teens.
Admission to Gatorland is just $22.99 per adult and $14.99 per child, but the food and souvenirs are very affordable, plus the parking is free. The attraction is open daily from 9:00am to 5:00pm. For details, call 800-393-JAWS or visit www.Gatorland.com.
For teenagers and adults, SkyVenture offers indoor skydiving that's thrilling, but not scary. The one-hour experience includes all of the training and equipment you'll need. No experience is necessary. This includes about three minutes actually "flying" within the indoor skydiving tunnel.
While you'll have the sensation of actually skydiving, when you're placed within the massive wind tunnel, you're never more than a few feet off of the ground, plus, you're always in the tunnel with a professional skydiver/instructor. This is an incredible experience that should not be missed while you're in Orlando. Plan on the entire experience lasting about an hour.
The "Intro To Flying" package is priced at $44.95 per person. It provides a wonderful introduction to the world of "body flight" and includes two to three minutes of actually flying on a 125mph column of air. Group packages and different solo flight packages are available. Call 800-SKY-FUN-1 or visit the SkyVenture website for details - www.skyventureorlando.com.
Meanwhile, if you'll be visiting the Walt Disney World Resort, be sure to check out the new American Idol Experience attraction at Disney's Hollywood Studios. If you're a singer, consider auditioning in the morning. Or, if you're just a fan of the show, you can experience the interactive attraction as an audience member. It really is the closest thing possible to being at an actual American Idol live show in Hollywood.
The entire "experience" lasts about 45 minutes, but you'll need to arrive at the theatre at least 20 to 30 minutes prior to the posted show time. Don't worry, you'll be entertained by video performance clips from past American Idol seasons.
Disney and the American Idol producers put a lot of money and effort into creating this extremely impressive attraction. It's well worth experiencing...and when you're done, head over to The Brown Derby restaurant and taste their awesome cobb salad.
Over at Universal Orlando, within the Universal Studios Florida theme park, the new ride/attraction based upon The Simpsons should not be missed. It's probably the best and most impressive ride/attraction within this park, whether or not you're a fan of the animated series. They're also hard at work building a new roller coaster that'll take guests around this theme park at lightening speed. The Hollywood Rip Ride Rocket coaster should be opening later this year.
In between Universal Studios Florida and the Islands of Adventure theme parks is the new Blue Man Group show, which is presented once or twice each evening. If you're not familiar with Blue Man Group, it's hard to explain this upbeat musical show. Basically, the performers are covered in blue paint and wear black outfits, as they perform music using very unusual instruments. The show can be a bit loud at times, and it's very unusual, albeit very entertaining.
While it won't be open until 2010, within Island of Adventure, the new Harry Potter attraction is under construction and that looks like it'll be extremely impressive. So, if you're planning your Orlando trip for 2010, be sure to leave time to check out that attraction.
Over at SeaWorld in Orlando, the Believe show in Shamu Stadium (see photo above) continues to be the park's main attraction. It's a heartwarming and spectacular show featuring killer whales and their trainers. However, in time for Memorial Day, this park is opening a new roller coaster, called Manta that looks like it'll quickly become a favorite ride amongst thrill seekers.
Manta is inspired by the underwater flight of manta sea creatures. Riders will get strapped into this coaster and fly face-down in a horizontal position underneath the belly of the coaster. You'll experience flight at 60 mph through four inversions on 3,359 feet of track.
For adults, teens and kids alike, Orlando's theme parks always offer new and exciting attractions, and a seemingly endless supply of ways to experience a memorable and fun-filled vacation. The trick is to pace yourself and plan ahead to insure you have the opportunity to see and do everything on your agenda.
While all of the theme parks are offering money-saving admission tickets and package deals, some of which include accommodations and/or meals, if you're looking to save money on many of Orlando's smaller attractions, be sure to pick up an Go Orlando Card, which for a pre-determined number of days (one, two, three, five or seven), offers unlimited discounted admission to over a dozen popular museums and attractions.
The Go Orlando Card offers a discount of up to 35 percent off of standard admission prices. Call 866-628-9036 or visit the Go Orlando Card website for details.
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