Westcoaster,

Did not mean to yell... sorry about that.

My partner and I have no children... of course that is posted online... but not here.

Sorry about that!

William

No problem. And I hope you do get a chance to see the Cirque du Soleil. It's an amazing show.

Have a great trip.

William,

If you don't have kids ... here's my suggestion ... skip Disney.

Universal Escape is the way to go ... and here's the best thing about Universal ...

They have two excellent hotels on site, the Hard Rock Hotel and the Portofino Bay Hotel. The Portofino Bay is one of the top three hotels in Orlando and the Hard Rock is in the top 10.

If you stay at one of these hotels you get Front of Line access at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure, the two parks that make up Universal Escape. You show your room key to the attendant at the entrance to a ride and they point you to a side door and you're on any ride in five minutes or less. No lines ... period ...

This is the only way to do an amusement park if you ask me, and I'm totally spoiled now. I've done this three times since July (once at the Portofino and twice at the Hard Rock) and am doing it again in April ...

I don't know where you're planning on staying right now ... but I can't tell you how great an experience Universal is with the Front of Line access ...

I bought an annual pass earlier this month, and with the front of line I can make a one day trip to Orlando and do every ride in both parks in a single day ...

Hey Beckles,

We will be staying at the Hyatt Orlando for two days (free) and three days at the Homewood Suites (free). Can't pass up those prices!!!

We personally will probably do Universal... but we have a friend coming along who is a major disney fan... and has never been there.

So, sure we will spend one day there...

Also just reserved tickets for the Cirque de Solei!

Thanks for all the advice.

William

here are a couple more of my favorite restaurants.
1.25 hour trip to tampa and bern's steakhouse. make your reservation now and bring a coat, you will need it there.

universal has free parking after 6pm, valet is $7-$14. emerils, if you want a table, 10-12 weeks for a reservation, but you can walk in and sit at the bar and get full dinner service. 2 people are easy to seat there, 4 is hard. go during the week. bar crew is susan (blonde), rachel (short brunette), ramon (black hair), lindsey (brown pig tails) and dennis (dirty blonde). i havent seen any others.

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f

[This message has been edited by fparker1 (edited 03-09-2001).]

You could also enjoy a fine dinner with MRKEY-give me a shout!

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MRKEY

I second the trip to Bern's Steakhouse with their incredible wine list! I'm doing a mileage run from SJC to TPA in April just to have dinner and come back.

Just got back from Orlando area and wanted to give you a little heads up about Universal! My partner and I were there last week and found ourselves in the Islands of Adventure part, where we didn't want to be ,instead of in the Universal Studios part, where we wanted to be!! There didn't seem to be clear signage as to which way to go as you are walking through the Citywalk area to the two parks, and since we hadn't been there for a few years we just kind of followed the crowd so to speak and ended up in the Islands of Adventure both assuming that we would find Universal Studios attached to I of A. How wrong we were, they are 2 separate parks and one must pay seperately for entrance into each, however,we did find a guest services area and the attendant there changed our tickets so that we could enter the Universal Studio part without having to pay again...seems like this happens to alot of people!!

Have fun on your trip!( We did Disney (MGM and Epcot), SeaWorld, and Universal and had a very good time, the weather was fantastic!)

If you make reservations soon,(and you're flexible on times) you should be able to get into Emerils. Last November I made reservations 3 days ahead. Forget the fact that you won't see Emeril and that there are a lot of tourists there. It's simply an excellent restaurant--service, food, everything. Don't let them seat you upstairs. If you have reservations, you won't have to pay for parking in the Universal lot.

Any other thoughts on things to do?

Thanks

William

For Kennedy Space Center info, you can start with
this link.

It's not a long drive over to the coast and KSC is well worth the visit, imo.

Our favorite area of Orlando is Winter Park (for shopping and restaurants). It caters more to the locals than tourists. There are parking meters on the streets, although parking can be tough, esp. on weekends.

[Edited for syntax; the grammar police enforce the syntax.]

[This message has been edited by GG (edited 03-08-2001).]

Cirque de Solei is fantastic. Afterwards maybe head walk down to Pleasure Island.

If you just want to try one of the Disney parks, I recommend Epcot Center. It's more adult oriented. You can eat and drink your way around the world in one day.

Sushi in Japan, Octoberfest celebration (everyday) in Germany, tacos in Mexico, Pastries in France etc... Everyone who works in the lands must speak the language and BE from that country. There are rides and other things there too. (They do have adult beverages too)

I would definitly go to The Space Center too.

If you like that kind of stuff. I thought it was great.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by wharvey:
Hi Gang,

Going to Orlando for the first time... and want to do as much as possible.

What all (besides the obvious Disney stuff) would you recommend we do? We will be there from March 17 thru March 22.

Also, any way to get discounted tickets to the major attractions?

Any help would be appreciated.

William[/QUOTE

For the most awsome, authentic pizza pie(true NY Italian style!) you have ever placed in your mouth, you just have to include a visit to NYPD (New York Pizzza/Deli)on Orange Ave. in downtown O-Town
In addition to fantastic food at unbelievably
"still got money in your pocket" prices, you will get a kick out of seeing walls full of pictures of our Home-Town Boys...BackStreet & NSYNC who are no strangers to this hang-out
NYPD is partly owned by Lou Pearlman (Trans-Con Mogul who gave both groups their jump start) Be sure to meet Paul Russo, Lou's co-owner & Manager who is one super nice guy who can give you the low down on the Orlando Music Scene & celebrities, if you have any interest in that I would also recommend a visit to The Orlando Ale House on Kirkman Rd. across from Universal. Again, delicious food(lots of it!!) at guest friendly prices. And..you HAVE to order Zingers, the house specialty! Last, but not least you should visit Faith World on Tues. PM for a praise & worship service you will not soon forget! Have a terrific time in our wonderful city! God Bless!

I like WINTER PARK small village with European flair just outside Orlando:
lake with boat tours, Rollins College, upscale mansions, nice restaurants etc.