I think the trip report is longer than the trip….sorry
IT WAS CROWDED! Geez, seems to get worse every year. Can%26#39;t wait for the kids to get old enough (soon) to go in the off season again!
Due to limited time as this was actually the 3rd part of our vacation (Vegas and Gainesville preceded it), we bought the 3 day park hoppers with water park options to Disney and a one day ticket to Sea World. Both are good values for Florida residents....
Concentrated 2 days hopping at the parks visiting ';new attractions';, ones that are scheduled to close/change soon and/or favorites. And did both Disney water parks…everyone preferred Typhoon Lagoon, by the way.
Animal Kingdoms new Evererest ride is very cool to look at but much tamer than expected to ride? Sorta cheesy special effects too considering all the hype. Wasn%26#39;t really impressed.
MGM%26#39;s Fantasmic show is very good. We had never seen the ';whole'; thing before, but this time we did the special dinner package at Hollywood and Vine to get reserved seats. Much different than the one in Calf, but not sure if it’s better? The dinner was well worth the money too as it is a pretty good buffet although if you don%26#39;t like BBQ sauce, you may disagree as most dishes had same on them. The new stunt car show was also good...but it is very hot in the stadium and there are only 3 shows a day so you can’t go later in the afternoon when it’s cooler which would be preferable. We fast passed Tower of Terror and the Rockin Roller Coaster so that was good, but most everything else had a very long wait time. And there is no shade anywhere in this park as I remember every time ';after we get to this park'; so it%26#39;s very hot. Caught the ';Walt Disney'; history attraction and movie here as usual and it%26#39;s never crowded, although it%26#39;s very worth while?
MK; only went at about noon time to miss the terrible crowds when it 1st opens and left at about 6pm to avoid the crowds at closing (parked at Epcot and took the monorail each way). The ';new'; Pirates ride is really the same except for a couple of figures from the movies. The Star Wars ride still needs to be retired (only went as it was ';Star Wars weekend';), got stuck on Splash Mountain for nearly 1-1/2 hours as it broke down 5 times during our ride...but we got several ';good anytime/anywhere'; fast passes when we got off due to same which we used wisely!
Epcot; fast passed Soarin 2X as it%26#39;s so good, but the screen is very dirty and same is evident during the ride which can diminish the “soarin feeling”. Saw the Canada movie probably for the last time as it%26#39;s scheduled to be closed and/or replaced...too bad as it%26#39;s a favorite of ours (but not many other peoples). Space Ship Earth is being rehabbed, but the ride itself is still pretty much the same (sans the AT %26amp; T logos, etc), but they have finished the interactive area at the exit which is a big improvement over what was there before (nothing). The food at the Seasons food court in the Land Pavilion is much better than it was previously and the Chinese stir fry was actually the best Chinese food I’ve had in Orlando in a few years. Sadly the fireworks show has been changed and although still quite good, it’s not as good as before.
Sea Worlds new Shamu show isn’t nearly as good as the old show. It seems to emphasize the trainers more than the killer whales which makes no sense? The only day it rained while we were in Orlando was at Sea World and it helped to clear out a lot of the crowds. The dolphin interactive feeding/petting area is roped off now and appears to be only for those who want to shell out the $5 for a couple of sardines to feed same. Lunch at the SeaFire Inn was actually pretty good for counter service (the Mahi Mahi %26amp; grilled chicken were both much better than average) and they had a “dueling pianos” show which was entertaining, but not loud enough to be disruptive.
Ate at the Olive Garden….sorry don’t get the appeal. Very bland, generic Italian food from a chain restaurant. Had a surprisingly good steak at Black Angus as did everyone in our party. Ate at the Kobe steak house which was good %26amp; fun. Tried the Chinese buffet next to the Gooding’s market next to the Mercado (which is all but closed down by the way) and they had a very large selection of nearly everything you could want, but everything was very non-descript…not good, not bad. Ate at Sonny’s BBQ in Apopka and it’s still the best tasting BBQ in Orlando in my opinion.
Overall a shorter than usual trip with ups and downs (got rear ended our first day there so drove around with the rear bumper duct taped on just to be safe…the car goes in the shop tomorrow), the La Quinta on International Drive was fine but is starting to show it’s age a bit, but the housekeeping was improved, everything/everywhere was very very crowded, bargains are still to be had but take some searching these days….demand is exceeding supply, the weather was great as it only rained one day but the locals are feeling the effects of the drought, service seemed to be better than our previous few visits…hope it continues and it sure is better than visiting Gainesville (niece’s graduation ceremonies was the only reason for that visit).
short trip, long trip report?
Enjoyed your report and have learnt one thing.........Stick to off peak times!!!!!
short trip, long trip report?
thanks for the report
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