we're going to the shuttle launch on august 7th and to disneyworld for a couple of days. what else should we go do/see while there? we are a group of 6 adults, all of drinking age, two of which are my parents. someone said universal islands of adventure is fun, can anyone elaborate? what is is there to do? swamp boat rides? lol

7/18/2007 9:29:10 AM

obligatory warning: The date of launch could change any at any moment, especially this far away from the launch. Hurricane Season + Planned Shuttle Launch = good chance for delays.

7/18/2007 9:38:34 AM

^^ IOA is more of an "adult/teen" park in that it has more exciting rides and there is smoking/beer allowed. just depends how much you like theme parks (though it is the best of the bunch).

Other things I recommend:

-Orlando has a few good piano bars such as Jelly Rolls and Howl at the Moon. They are always good fun for a group of drinking adults.

-Lot of little tacky places to go to that are fun such as Old Town.

7/18/2007 9:56:24 AM

^^yes, i know this. i read the 39724237438 warnings before i ordered tickets.

[Edited on July 18, 2007 at 9:56 AM. Reason : ]

7/18/2007 9:56:34 AM

not sure if this will help but you check this old thread for ideas

/message_topic.aspx?topic=434156

7/18/2007 10:13:29 AM

well, that's more nightlife stuff but thanks for posting it anyway. we're looking for daytime activities, ecotours, attractions off the beaten path, etc.

7/18/2007 10:26:27 AM

is this question really being asked?


disney world-they have a place thats just alot of sampleing drinks i forgot which park. the animal kingdom might be fun too

sea world

dinosour land

sunset beach- tampas beaches are insanity and colmes

7/18/2007 11:18:22 AM

You can go the Kissimmee airport just south of Orlando and hitch a ride in a P-51 Mustang or a T-6 Texan.

7/18/2007 11:23:10 AM

dinosaur world and the beach arent exactly super close. not terrible, but if she's like me she doesnt like to spend her vacation driving.

Holy Land on the other hand is relatively close. get you some jesus.

7/18/2007 11:26:59 AM

If you'll be in Cape Canaveral for the launch, spend your beach day at Cocoa Beach. Check out the original Ron Jon's Surf Shop and grab some drinks at Cocoa Beach Pier or Coconuts on the Beach. The beach at the pier is more family-oriented (i.e. lots of children). The beach at Coconuts is party-oriented. Gulf Coast beaches are pretty ... but you probably don't want to spend the entire weekend in the car. If you do head to the Gulf Coast as well, check out the beach at St. Pete and stop by the Salvador Dali Museum.

7/18/2007 12:09:05 PM

yes, this question really is being asked... we're already going to disneyworld. read.

dinosaur adventure land? hell no we're not going to any creationism dinosaur kiddie park. wtf (just checked out the website)

seaworld is boring (and even more of a little kid thing than disney)

we'll probably check out the beach if we have time. we're flying down the day of the shuttle launch (we get there around 11am, launch is at 7:05pm)...so that might be difficult.

7/18/2007 1:20:53 PM

The beaches north of Cape Canaveral are clothing optional, if that interests you.

Outlet malls galore.

Universal is *not* worth it, IMO, compared to Disney. If you do go, get the pass to do both parks with the fastpass. Its extra there. The lines are horrendous. I might be biased because I was a "magic maker" at Disney, but its kinda soul-less. The hulk is a fun coaster, though, and Spiderman 3d is fucking awesome. The dragon coaster is really short cause its so fast. um... yeah. If you have an extra day to do something, its not bad.

Good live Rocky Horror at Citywalk (Universal's "downtown" everyother friday nights: http://www.richweirdoes.com

Badass movie theatre- Muvico 20 -also has IMAX (saw 300 in IMAX there and nearly creamed myself)

Charley's Steakhouse. Theres one in Orlando on International Drive, and one in Kissimmee (not really far) I actually did cream myself when I ate there, hands down the best steak I've ever tasted.

Stay the fuck away from Club Paris. Go to Sunday Nights at the House of Blues in Downtown Disney. Its service industry night, so all the hottie international people that work at the parks on visas go. I have had many a drunken night with my Norwegian and British buddies making out on the dance floor. Good times.

As Disney goes, its not just kiddie. I HIGHLY suggest drinking around the world at epcot. Yes, its expensive, but its fantastic. Wimps start at Mexico with a margarita and buy a different alcoholic beverage at each country and end up in Canada with a beer and then ride Soarin. Die hard start in Canada and end up with the strongest drink, the margarita and then go ride Mission Space.
If you want to do a character dining (a lot of twenty somethings go and get a huge kick out of it) go to the Norway restaurant and meet princesses. Be sure to say hi to Ariel Jasmine is pretty hot there. Aurora is busted, but hey, shit happens. Its fun to hassle the girls, too. umm. PINEAPPLE DOLE WHIP in Adventure Land at Magic Kingdom (near where Timon and Rafiki stand) is hands down the yummiest thing to tour the property, and change in the bathroom once you get in.

I lived and worked at Disney for six months, just got back, and know TONS about the area. We did our best to do stuff that didnt involve the mouse so we wouldn't get so burnt out. PM me if you have any questions.

7/18/2007 6:08:31 PM

Quote :

"Charley's Steakhouse. Theres one in Orlando on International Drive, and one in Kissimmee (not really far) I actually did cream myself when I ate there, hands down the best steak I've ever tasted."

A++

7/18/2007 6:27:10 PM

^^ jesus fucking christ. drinking around the world is, what, like 15 to 20 drinks and THEN mission space. good recipe for death.

[Edited on July 18, 2007 at 6:41 PM. Reason : mission space is the best ride in orlando though. ill take spaceship earth after that much booze]

7/18/2007 6:41:11 PM

lol... not really. There's only 11 countries, and you can supplement them with non alcoholic beverages. And if you spread it out over a few hours and do the shops and stuff its not bad. I did it, and I'm a lightweight. I had to have someone carry me to the bus home afterwards, but it was fun.

Mexico- Margarita. Strongest drink first, to get it out of the way
Norway- Beer and some Skool bread ( Norse donut thing) from the bakery
China- Bubble tea or Plum wine
Germany- Beer. duh.
Italy- red wine
America- We always got a funnel cake here for halfway, but Sam Adams works.
Japan- Sake shots!
Morocco- Fruity daquari things. I think they have coffee liquor too, for a pick me up.
France- Champagne or cognac
UK- Rose and Crown Pub drink of the day (varies)
Canada- Moosehead beer

7/18/2007 7:05:41 PM

http://www.gatorland.com/

this was always my favorite as a kid...cause theres never a lot of people there, but theres a lot to see. i lived a mile from it and id ride my bike there.

now i see its a lot bigger and expensive (comparatively)

but i bet its still worth it.

7/18/2007 7:10:04 PM

guess they fixed it cuz that shit burned down a while back.

7/18/2007 7:29:28 PM

you HAVE to do gokarts at FUN SPOT

OLD TOWN is fun too.

7/18/2007 7:53:59 PM

Quote :

"Universal is *not* worth it, IMO, compared to Disney. "

I'll have to disagree with this one. Islands of Adventure was one of the best theme parks I've ever been to. the hulk, spiderman, and dueling dragons (esp. riding on the front) are all awesome. I got there right as the park opened and had to wait maybe a max 10 minutes each for those rides. plus the overall environment of the park is awesome, all the different worlds and what not.

if you do disney, i'd skip animal kingdom and the magic kingdom. AK has a pretty sweet roller coaster (expedition everest) but other than that is no better than the NC Zoo, if not worse. too much walking

the magic kingdom is alright, def. catered towards the kids. but as far as rides, epcot blows MK away with mission space, 'soarin, and test drive race track. if you do go to MK check out Mickey's Philharmagic. the best 4D show I've ever seen, no doubt

if you have time drive an hour and a half to busch gardens in tampa. def. worth the trip

[Edited on July 18, 2007 at 9:49 PM. Reason : .]

7/18/2007 9:47:31 PM

as far as rides parks are, you are correct. IOA and then BG are the top 2. the other parks all have alright rides, but a lot of disney's shit is show format which is lame. again though, mission space is the best ride in the area. note though that shit will fuck you up if you get motion sick. lt. dan warns you at least 10x before getting on.

if you do disney, id either do MGM then Epcot unless you are going for nostalgia. Universal is worth doing the double park for Men In Black and the Mummy.

[Edited on July 18, 2007 at 9:50 PM. Reason : ps expedition everest sux my balls. all the hype for nothing.]

7/18/2007 9:50:26 PM

the drive to tampa for busch and beaches is well worth it. plus, ITS TAMPA

7/18/2007 9:54:51 PM

Quote :

"sunset beach- tampas beaches are insanity and colmes"

I love how you out of state fucks associate any city in Florida with the beach. God damn man, its painfully obvious Orlando isn't near Tampa. He asked what there was to do in Orlando. How about you dont be a pedderass and respond with an appropriate reply. It would be like asking what there is to do in Raleigh, and saying "well Wilmington is fun"

7/19/2007 1:55:47 AM

I'm all over this thread, though I'm not really into theme parks (unless you wanna go to Tampa for busch gardens)

Downtown Orlando is actually pretty cool. Lots of great restaurants and nightlife (Tanqueray's is a chill little bar) if you're up for it. Wildside BBQ is a good little place near downtown.

Tijuana Flats is a local chain that is really delicious. (one is downtown but they are everywhere)

The outlets are insane. Anything you want at a great price, but it is ALWAYS crowded.

Off the beaten path:

Wekiva Springs: really great park with swimming, kayaking, canoeing, hiking, wildlife
PR's Taco Palace: great little dive mexican restaurant. when the train comes by, take a tequila shot

7/19/2007 11:13:50 AM

thanks for all the suggestions! i've definitely got some great ideas now.

i've been to disney 6 times before, so i know all about what's there and what it's like. i was really looking for the stuff outside of disney that would be cool.

and btw, i'm a girl, so i'm not too interested in checking out ariel and jasmine. lol

on the islands of adventure site, it didn't look like there were many rides, but maybe i'm missing something.

7/19/2007 11:28:03 AM

There's a Cirque du Soleil there - La Nouba - that I enjoyed when I saw it a few years ago.

7/19/2007 12:48:05 PM

^^ shrug, it has 2 or three coasters, and a decent number of other rides. it isnt chock full like a six flags would be, but it is fun.

7/19/2007 1:56:14 PM

I think you should definitely try Mission Space in epcot... esp if you like space shuttles. It was one of the best experiences ever..

7/19/2007 3:03:24 PM

can universal studios and islands of adventure be done in one day? we're going to skip stuff we've done before (jaws, earthquake, and et). we've never been to IOA.

so yeah, can we do this in one day?

7/25/2007 11:38:22 AM

definately if you bline hulk and dueling dragons when the park opens.

Quote :

"I love how you out of state fucks associate any city in Florida with the beach. God damn man, its painfully obvious Orlando isn't near Tampa. He asked what there was to do in Orlando. How about you dont be a pedderass and respond with an appropriate reply. It would be like asking what there is to do in Raleigh, and saying "well Wilmington is fun""

Its painfully obvious its only and hour drive and you're all the way in orlando why not go see another beautiful area ~an hour away? You don't just get the beaches you get busch gardens, downtown tampa,and neat little towns south of there. Whats an hour? Thats like the time you would spend in disney's parking lot. If we both start out in orlando I bet i could make it to tampa before you could make it into disney.

7/25/2007 11:49:10 AM

Blizzard Beach is the best water park I've ever been to.

7/25/2007 12:55:14 PM