Our Annual Trek to Orlando!

We travel to Orlando at least once annually. There are probably hundreds of journal reviews here, so it is difficult to add new material. I will say that every year, we take in a day at Universal Studios and two days to cover the four Disney theme parks (Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Animal Kingdom and Disney/MGM Studios). In the evening, there are plenty of fun things to do regardless of your social interests.

Quick Tips:

There are literally dozens of opportunities to pick up discounted or even free tickets to all the local attractions. We bought our tickets in advance of our trip through a tourist broker, Maple Leaf Information Center (407-396-0300), and received significant savings!

You may also find the Entertainment Book and Restaurants.com as valued resources for dining discounts.

If you are thinking about scoring "discounted attraction tickets" by doing timeshare presentations, you should seriously consider just how much time and hassle you are willing to go through for those tickets. There are some developers in the Orlando who are simply cut-throat marketers who will really push on you hard. If you think you may want to do a timeshare presentation, be sure to do some homework before going in or hold firm to your commitment to not buy!

We have found that the best time to visit Orlando is May and October. The weather is warm enough for swimming, and yet not too hot for being out and about. Additionally, we have rarely had big crowds to hassle with at the attractions. And speaking of the attractions, we like going on Saturday, largely because of the transient nature of vacationers. With people typically travelling in and/or out on Saturday, they aren't in the parks. We've even been known to fly in late on Friday night so that we can start Saturday early at Disney where you can knock off two parks in one full day!

Best Way To Get Around:

We suggest you rent a car to adequately get around the area, although if you are staying on International Drive (I-Drive), you could take the I-Drive Trolley (75 cents each way) or the LYNX (local bus system) to get around the area. Our preferred car rental company is Alamo, where we were able to get a four-door mid-sized Chevy for just , including all taxes and airport fees. Check them out for their Internet deals (5% off) at www.alamo.com.

You arrive approximately an hour in advance of the show. (Doors open 90 minutes before show time, so you can get there even earlier if you'd like.) You will first enter through a somewhat small gift shop that has all sorts of souveniors from the Arabian time period.

The next "room" where you will await show time is a large open area with a bar. Here we were treated to some very fun acrobatics and belly dancing. Bar drinks were very expensive, served in a "take home" plastic glass. HINT: If you buy one (nearly $10 each), take your souvenir glass back for any subsequent drinks that you buy, and they'll discount the price $3.50!

Once inside the show arena, you will have your choice of four dinner entrees (prime rib, chicken, chopped beef steak, or veggie lasagna). Dinner comes with salad, vegetables, and cake, plus free soft drinks, beer, and wine.

The show was very good, with lots of stunts and stories. The Arabian Nights theme is primarily focused on horses, some of the most beautiful animals I've ever seen. The actors were good and were very athletic. All in all, the show was outstanding!

If you are looking for the one fun family night that includes dinner and a show, this is the one!! It provides a wonderful value and great show. Even the food is good.

Doors open 90 minutes before show time, and you'll want to arrive early! They provide complimentary appetizers in the main hall that also includes several shops and bars. Cocktails here are on the pricey side (approximately $6 each), but at least you're not forced to buy the souvenir glass.

During the time in the main hall, there are plenty of entertaining skits performed, including some that are audience participation (most for the kids).

Guests are divided into one of six groups identified by colors. Each audience group has their pirate, for whom they will cheer as he competes in several acrobatic and athletic competitions fitting the high seas. We were amazed at the talents and strengths of the pirates and all of the actors in the show.

Dinner included salad, roasted chicken quarter, veggies, and a yummy apple cobbler a la mode.

"The World's Greatest Aircraft Collection" is how they bill themselves, and they certainly live up to their promotional literature!!

This is a private collection of aircraft dating back to the beginning of flight. Kermit Weeks is the owner and collector who shares his passion for flight with all those who choose to take in this attraction.

When you first arrive, you will take a walking tour of the history of air travel dating back to the days of the hot air balloons and the Wright Brothers. You will also experience WWI and WWII before entering the hangar/museum area. There are approximately 50 vintage aircraft on exhibit, each with their own story. Some of the planes in this collection are one of a kind known to still exist.

There is also a restoration hangar which is very interesting. It's impossible to imagine all that goes into restoring these beautiful airplanes!

Late in the afternoon (around 3pm), a pilot will take out one of the collection pieces and put on a short aerial show for spectators.

Bring the kids, as they will love the Corsair Fighter simulators. You can fly your own aircraft, seek out enemy planes, and engage in aerial combat. But be careful, as the enemy can be sneaky and shoot you down.

There is a full-service restaurant in the main building with a decent menu selection and reasonable prices.

Ticket prices are $24.95 for adults (ages 13 and up), children are $13.95 (ages 5 to 12), and children 4 and under are free. They also offer military, senior, and group discounts.

For more information, check out their website at www.fantasyofflight.com.

Universal is divided into two parks--Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. We enjoy spending time in both parks and doing the attractions that are for the high-thrill seeker!

In addition to the rides, there are also shows that are fun to take in when you need a slower paced break. We enjoyed both the Animal Planet Live show and Beetlejuice's Rock and Roll Graveyard Review. Unfortunately, the Fear Factor Experience was not open yet--look for that where the old Wild West Show took place, opening in June 2005!

The food and snack areas are pretty much what you'd expect in such an area--mediocre and expensive. We'd suggest going out to one of the restaurants on City Walk instead of eating inside either park. There are a lot of choices out there too--NBA City, Margaritaville, Pat O'Briens, and Motown Cafe, just to name a few.

During our May 2005 Orlando vacation, we spent a full day over at the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The morning started out a bit dreary with some light rain, but by mid-afternoon it was sunny, warm, and humid! About an hour’s drive from the I-Drive area of Orlando, this is a wonderful way to spend a day of learning. There are interactive exhibits, guided tours and a wonderful IMAX movie to be taken in.

We first did the walking tour around the Rocket Garden, which is filled with older rockets from past NASA missions, as well as space capsules from the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo space missions. It is a very interesting self walk tour through this area, especially when you can go inside to see how small the quarters really were for the astronauts. (See the photo of David inside a space capsule!)

Each day, they have a featured astronaut speak to the group about their experiences as a NASA astronaut. Because we arrived late, we didn’t get the name of the gentleman who spoke during our visit. He said that he was on two of the Apollo missions and had since retired. One of the young kids asked questions about how to become an astronaut, while another asked what it was like to be weightless in space. If you have the chance, we’d encourage you to take in the "Astronaut Encounter" in the area around the main visitor center complex where you first purchase your attraction tickets.

From this area, if you buy the NASA Up Close tour package, you take the tour bus over to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) and launch pad. The VAB is huge! Standing over 500 feet tall, it is visible for miles around. See a photo of the VAB attached to this review. You really cannot tell how big this building is but when you consider that the stars on the flag are over six feet across and each stripe is wide enough for a bus to drive over, you get a better perspective of just how huge it is.

Just beyond the launch pad, they allow guests to get out and walk up to a viewing area that provides a very nice perspective at the launch pad. The tour also drives out to the landing strip where the shuttle has often returned to earth. Perhaps the most fascinating part of this tour is seeing the roadway that is used to move the shuttle to the launch pad. The shuttle transport crawler truly crawls at a pace of one mile per hour. The total time necessary is between eight and ten hours. With a launch coming up soon, I was hoping we might get to see the shuttle being moved over to Launch Pad 39, but we were really too early for the July blast off. Maybe next time!

On this tour you will also have the opportunity to visit the gift shop that is located out by the spectators’ area used for the shuttle launches. There is also a snack bar area in that same building, plus several interactive exhibits and games. This tour is one of the most popular at Kennedy Space Center and reservations are strongly encouraged, as they say that they sell out daily.

Tickets for the NASA Up Close Tour is $59 for adults and $43 for children (ages 3-11). This price includes the basic Kennedy Space Center admission. If you are interested in doing just the basic tour of the KSC and the exhibits around the Visitors Complex, the price is $38 for adults and $28 for kids (ages 3-11). I’d suggest planning at least two hours to explore Kennedy Space Center just the Visitors’ Complex area. Add another two hours if you are going to take the Up Close Tour. And another 90 minutes if you are going to do the IMAX.

There are two other packages available to visitors. . . Cape Canaveral Then and Now (also $21/$15 in addition to the base admission fee) and Lunch with an Astronaut (around $30/$16 on top of the base admission fee). For us, we were there to learn about and see the shuttle, so we just took in the NASA Up Close Tour.

We thoroughly enjoyed our day at KSC. I suspect that the next time we go; it will be closer to the scheduled time of a shuttle mission. We highly recommend this and would consider it a "must do" for any family with children interested in science and space exploration.