Experience Orlando

Welcome to Part Three of a three part series. This time I’m focusing on tips that should not be attempted by the casual Walt Disney World Guest. This all about getting in the things you want, while avoiding the attractions you have limited interest in. These are for the expert not because they are difficult but because you will be sacrificing some of the overall Disney experience in order to maximize your ride time (which means these are especially bad suggestions first timers, or those traveling with first timers).

Click the “(more…)” button below to continue.

Welcome to part two in a three part series. I’m putting my years of experience visiting Walt Disney World to work for you, the wonderful readers of Blog.ReunionResort.com! I’ve been visiting WDW almost annually for well over twenty years, and now that I live in Florida I’m there at least once every few months.

As mentioned in my previous post, I’m all about getting the maximum amount of Disney into one trip, this post will feature tips for those of you who have are planning a return trip to Walt Disney World (or those of you who have already committed my previous post to memory). These suggestions aren’t more difficult than the basic ones, but they are intended for someone with a more ambitious schedule (and some will be hard if you are traveling with small children).

But let’s dispense with the preliminaries and move on to the reason you came here, right after you click that “(more…)” button.

If you’re like me, you love the idea of casually sauntering around Walt Disney World, taking in the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of the parks, but in reality you don’t have that kind of time. One of these days I’ll take a trip to Disney for a full week (in the off-season) to allow myself time to take the parks at a leisurely pace without missing anything, but for the time being (assuming I can muster the energy) Disney trips will remain action packed weekends. This means effective time management.

As a Florida resident, I have the luxury of being able to visit the parks several times a year, meaning that I’ve gathered together quite a few time savers for my own personal use, and now I feel like I should share them with the world at large (or at least those of you who have found this blog).

After a three day Disney immersion my girlfriend and I were looking for something a little less hectic and with a bit more substance. We thought we would give Sea World a try considering that we’d both been living in Orlando for quite some time, but had never been over to check it out.

All we expected out of Sea World was a Shamu show and a dolphin encounter but we were amazed by how much more there was to do. We did see the Shamu show, it was amazing, but we also saw a play that included dolphins, dancing/diving acrobatic dolphin trainers, and a robotic parrot. That show proved to be our favorite.

Aside from the shows, there were also great rides. My girlfriend and I are avid thrill ride lovers and we were impressed by how much fun Wild Artic and Kraken were. I think we may spend a little more time at Sea world next trip.

Who would have thought downtown Orlando would have such a beautiful lake sitting smack dab in the middle of it.

I didn’t expect the lake to be so beautiful and didn’t expect to have so much to do there. We road a swan boat, found room to have a nice game of catch, and were only a block away from a cozy sandwich shop. All this was nestled in between beautiful cobblestone streets and gorgeous natural scenery.

What a place to just kick back and enjoy nature and the family for free…

What a breath of fresh air this place is. I know it would be a sin to say anything negative about Disney World, especially for an Orlando native but sometimes I just gets a little sick of the mouse.

In saying that, we took and weekend trip to Epcot just to get away and spend some time together. Both days we were there we had a great time. We loved how it was an educational place hidden behind a fun and exciting exterior.

My husband probably could have spent all day looking at the futuristic inventions and I felt that the “World Showcase” was as close as you could get to visiting all the places we ever wanted to go around the globe in one day.

For an older crowd looking for a Disney Experience that has a little more culture, Epcot is the best theme park in Orlando.

Looking to catch one of Orlando’s famous dinner shows? My family and I recently had the same idea and ended up choosing Medieval Times and I’m glad we did.

The food was far beyond what I expected (Be ready to eat with your hands) and was more than filling. As far as the show went, we were entertained from the opening introduction of the knights to the closing ceremony where they fought on horseback.

This is no ordinary meal with the family and I would go back again.

There is nothing harder than coming to Florida knowing you are there for business and not for vacation.  The good news, is you just might get an afternoon to yourself, and if you find yourself with a bit of free time, why not do what I did recently.

I hopped into my car to seek out blue water and salty ocean breezes, and set out on an easy, 45 minute drive to Cocoa Beach. Man, it was gorgeous. I spent the first two hours at the pier just basking under the sun and then I took a walk and found a beach bar called Coconuts where there was live music and delicious piña coladas.  

I would have to recommend Cocoa Beach to any young, old, or family traveler who is looking for attractions outside of Orlando.

Nobody offers a vacation experience packed with more thrills, more flare, more of today’s hottest entertainment, and more value than Universal Orlando. In one shot you can experience the pulse pounding thrill of Spiderman through his 3-D thrill ride, you can drive your taste buds wild with one a kind cuisines at Bubba Gump’s Shrimp Co. or Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville, you can witness performance perfection as the world famous Blue Man Group engulf your senses with their irreplaceable musical and comedic act, and you can let loose while taking in the nightlife at Universal Citywalk. No two vacations are the same and that is why Universal Orlando works tirelessly to provide a unique travel experience that will have its guests coming back for more and more without ever having to wander into the realm of the ordinary.

This place is no regular zoo. My family and I have been to a lot of zoos and have visited Animal Kingdom many times in our travels to Orlando and I can say that Gatorland may be the most entertaining of all.

For people who are not used to seeing alligators, this place is amazing. Gatorland gives guests a feel like they are walking in the Florida everglades. The while park really gives you the chance to capture the true natural wildlife of Florida.

My son loved the show where a “crazy trainer” performed stunts with the gators like putting his head in their mouths. I personally just appreciated a zoo that was different than most I was used to taking my 8 year old too. This place is a must see.