Man this city is one tshirt and key chain shop after another. Three for $10. But then $50+ to get into one park. Why do we do this?

My husband loathes Orlando - he frequently quotes someone (whose identity he can't remember) who told him that going to Orlando is like going to a bonfire in a fur coat and throwing $100 bills into the fire...

Orlando can be an OK place if you get out of the zoo. We had a great time canoeing (with gators!) in whatever state park is near there for about $10 and walking around downtown. Staying downtown is a nice option because it's calmer and not that far of a drive when you do want to see the mouse.

Me as well. There is NO reason why two adults should spend ANY time here unless they have children or are entertaining children.
Unless you are into the amusement park thing.

I agree! I had to spend last Christmas there. My bf's mom and sister came from Russia just to see Disneyworld! We had to go everyday...even Christmas!! Of course I was driving.

We stayed at my sister's house in Lakeland (~45min away) which was my purpose for going to Florida...visiting my sis and niece.

Anyway, I couldn't see how even kids older than around 6 would have enough fun justifying $50/person to get in. I thought the world part at Epcot was okay, but other than that it was a waste of time and money. Even someone who likes rides would be bored since the rides are all for little kids.

Maybe the purpose was originally FOR little kids, but they advertise "Fun for the whole family."

Of course, I don't know anything since I don't have kids! I just know that I was there again this Thanksgiving and didn't spend even one hour on Disney property!

[This message has been edited by stef315 (edited 12-23-2001).]

O.K., some venues are pricey - have seen only Epcot and I liked it.
When in Orlando, I always go to Winterpark - very nice village with good restaurants.

Well when I was there recently I saw lots of pretty Latino girls.

[ducks for cover!]

[This message has been edited by eastwest (edited 12-27-2001).]

I've visited Orlando many times. Yes, it can be trashed out if you visit the mousehouse/

My 6 year old, when he was 4, hit the mousehouse one day and the Science Museum downtown the next. It had a dinosaur display..

Guess where he wanted to go the following year? Theres a great Art Museum near the Science Museum (like next door).

Orlando is a nice place. You don't have to get sucked into the tourist traps.And if you like smooth jazz, WLOQ is the best...only wish they could still broadcast on the internet.

I have the equivalent of a Mexican Hat Dance for those who need to do all of the Disney thing in one day. The usual one day ticket gets you into only one area. A multi-day pass lets you into all. When I was in the big O there was a nice secondary market in hotels and 7-11's for remaining days on multiday tickets at less than the one day price. So we each bought tix with one day left. Then we got up early and went to the Magic Kingdom - which opens an hour before the posted time - and went through the rides before they got busy (Pirates and roller coasters first). Then over to the Studios at lunch and then to Epcot for dinner and onto the rides there - the older crowd goes home early. So you get all three. The bad part was the charter airline I arrived on was bankrupt the next week and they were proving why. Have fun - if you make it a challenge you can enjoy almost anything.

Well count me as well as my teenager among the dummies who love disney world. It would take me too long to write why. We don't go to the areas we don't like, we do go to the areas we do like. We get up at 6am enter the parks by 7:30 or 8 and stay until after the fireworks late at night!!! It's a great way to escape and put the "real world" out of the way for a few days. We braved sub freezing weather to spend New Years Eve on main street last year. Love it love it! Can't wait to go again. Smallworld PS We don't go through the rest of Orlando much; can't tell you much about the t-shirt places and all. We don't even rent a car; just go straight to the WDW property by shuttle and don't leave again until the trip home!!!

Disney World is great,but Orlando is a huge tourist trap.Staying on International Drive in high season will convinve anyone of this.
Try Celebration instead.

This place is ridiculously expensive and everyone there tries to make a profit. There are so many "discount ticket booth" trying to get you into time-shares. These are the things to watch out for:

1. You ask the hotel front desk to call a taxi, they will call a private car with no meter instead.
2. You ask direction how to go to a shopping mall, they will give you a referral brochure with their name / employee id printed to get referral comission.
3. You ask where is the closest car rental place from your hotel, someone will show up 5 minutes later from a small privately owned car rental company to pick you up free to rent their car. The place is usually quite far away and not well known.
4. You drive around, make a mistake... then you end up on a toll road. You won't be able to come off an exit unless you pay for $1. You then need to pay another $1 to go back the opposite direction. More than half of the highways in Orlando are toll roads.
5. The local call area is very small, like 10 blocks. Calling from Kissimee around DisneyWorld to downtown Orlando is Long-Distance. This means most numbers need extra fee to be called. The largest cab (Yellow/Checker Taxi) number is Long Distance from most Disney area hotels.
6. Most hotels renamed themselves "Resort" so they can charge a $3 extra of resort fee. This fee is never quoted at reservation until you arrive for checkin.

The list goes on and on... maybe someone else can share some experience.

Recently went to Orlando for a convention. Took a taxi from the airport and was told by the dispatcher the fare would be $28. When I asked the driver why he had not turned on the meter, he said that I already knew the fare. Paid him the $28 plus tip and he gave me his card, stating that if I called him for the return trip to the airport, he would take me for $20. I did not call him.
On the way back a few days later, made sure the meter was on. When we got to the airport, the driver asked if I knew that the fare was a flat rate -$28 (the meter showed $24). I pointed to the sign prominently displayed in the cab that said "No flat rates. Always pay metered fare". He claimed the airport was "an exception". Gave him $24 and walked away. Unbelievable.

I know this sort of thing happens everywhere but the rip offs were so blatant that it is clear nobody ever gets in trouble for it.

We must not forget that there are a lot of BIGG kids without children, who love Orlando. I have gone there for some meetings at the hotels in the park and saw some parents with an infant to small to know where they were, but the parents were enjoying every minute of it! Who am I to judge?

1975:I was a freshman at a hippy, intellectual, surfer college an hour and a half from WDW. I was VERY much into the Earth and the environment and not at all into what I thought would be a plastic, phony culture. High school friends (girls) visited because they wanted to go to WDW. Yuck. But they were my friends, so I went. Man, oh man! I worked at Disney the next four years! Hahahaha...

This is the first place that I ever knew of that really treated people like they were "guests" instead of just customers. Now everyone follows their model. They paid (and still do) great benefits and treated ALL employees like a valuable resource. (Another first?) Is it any wonder that visiting Russians would want to go somewhere where they can forget about the world?

I live in one of the greatest cities in the world (San Francisco) and it is filled with tourist traps, homeless people begging and our downtown "signature" street smells like urine 24/7. Lots and lots of cheap t-shirt shops.

I can't imagine anyone would go to Disney (ESPECIALLY FT's!) without asking for tips here and reading a few "insider's" guides.

Future tips:

-Don't go when school is out. The place will be overflowing. Adult couples esp are there in Feb.

-Each park opens an hour before the published time. (This may vary by season/park on occasion.) You are allowed into the first area and there is usually a quality place to have a sit-down bkfst. (Magic Kingdom: The Crystal Palace.) THEN at the "scheduled" opening time a rope is dropped and you may enter the rest of the park(s). They really do call it "rope drop"... ask about it. This is to reduce the crowding at the front gates.

-reserve a sit down meal FIRST THING for lunch and then dinner. Do lunch at reg time and dinner late. That way you can go on rides, etc. wehile others are eating. (e.g. In the Magic Kingdom eat in Cinderella's castle!).

-ALWAYS geta multi-day pass... they make great xmas presents for the remaining days as they NEVER expire(or you can sell them to the
bellboys/concierges at the hotels)

lots more.... this really can be a fun place..

oh... and one more thing: I can get you 3 t-shirts for 10 dollars in San Francisco, San Antonio, Nashville, Memphis, Miami, Key West, LA, Cleveland, NYC, Chicago, Paris, London, Bangkok, blah, blah, blah. (maybe cheaper in some of those, huh?)

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