Vacation in Orlando

Whether you're by yourself or with a family of four, first thing's first: Orlando is an expensive city, so be prepared to shell out some serious dough.

The two busiest times of year are from Christmas through New Year's, and most of March when kids have their spring breaks. Thus, if you want to avoid the crowds, come at any other time.

Rent a car if you can. The buses are okay, but because traffic can be horrendous, a simple 15-min. trip from the south part of the city (near SeaWorld) to downtown (where the arena and stadium are) can take 1.5 hours! There's a trolley called the I-Ride, but it only goes up and down International Drive.

SeaWorld
Plenty of fun for all ages. Most of the shows (i.e. dolphins, Shamu, etc.) last around 20 min., but you have to get in line early to get a seat. On the more crowded days, Shamu can draw a line an hour before the show begins!

Also, you can get very wet at the shows, so don't sit in the front rows (known as the "Splash Zone") if you want to stay dry. You can also get wet on the rides.

Great tip: SeaWorld is owned by Anheuser-Busch (the place can remind people of "Duffland" from the "Simpsons"). If you look closely on the park map, there is an A-B hospitality area in the northeast corner of the park. It's two free beers per person, but usually you can get away with a lot more.

CityWalk
Excellent restaurants and bars are located here (you have to go through this area to get to Universal Studios).

The bars include: Bob Marley (Jamaican), CityJazz (features entertainment of all varieties), the Groove (dance club), Pat O'Brien's (has dueling pianos similar to Howl at the Moon), Margaritaville and the NASCAR bar.

The restaurants include: NBA City, Hard Rock Cafe and Emeril's. The latter is fine dining, and you usually need to make a reservation at least one week out to have any chance of getting a table.

There's also some nice shopping at CityWalk: Cigarz, Fossil, etc.

Universal Studios/Islands of Adventures
These are two distinct parks. Universal Studios includes non-rollercoaster rides, such as Jaws (you ride a boat as Jaws attacks you), Back to the Future (you ride a Dolorean in front of an Imax screen) and Earthquake (you are in a subway car in the middle of an earthquake.

Islands of Adventures, meanwhile, has all the rollercoasters, such as the Incredible Hulk. The Jurassic Park ride in which you hang from the air in a pteranodon-like vehicle seemed pretty fun.

Whichever you choose, buy the ultra-expensive Express Pass ($37). That allows you to take a shorter line, which can save you literally hours of wait. One other way to get in front is to use the single rider line, which puts you with two others in a three-person row.

Disney World
This place is gigantic! It will take you days to see it all, as it is divided into four areas: Magic Kingdom (similar to Disney Land), Epcot, MGM and Animal Kingdom.

You can't buy express passes here, but you can get a free Fast Pass at each ride. They tell you to come back at a certain time and go to a separate line. Unfortunately, many people do this, so on crowded days, if you were to get one at say, noon, it might tell you to come back at 7 p.m.!

Other Places of Interest
-->If you like cigars, go to the Corona cigar store on Sand Lake Road west of International Drive. The entire store/bar is basically a humidor, and the prices are outstanding (it's like the Best Buy of cigars). You can smoke what you buy and have a drink, too!

-->The Orlando Magic don't sell out, so you can always buy a decent ticket the day of the game. They play at the TD Waterhouse in downtown.

Please note: this page on Orlando will be updated in the near future