Orlando Area Entertainment

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.

No Orlando vacation is complete without visiting the place where dreams come true and where magic is a reality. For over 35 years Walt Disney World has continually upheld its bargain to children and adults of all ages by offering an unforgettable experience highlighted by magical rides, incredible shows, and award-winning restaurants. 

There is never an end to the fun at Disney. It is very possible to spend two weeks at Disney theme parks and still not have seen everything. The most shocking part is that after two weeks the “Disney thirst” would still be unquenched. With four theme parks for families to choose from, there is something sure to make everyone’s “wish” come true. The little ones just love getting their pictures taken with their favorite Disney characters like Snow White, Cinderella, Aladin, Tinkerbell, Goofy, Donald and of course, Mickey and Minnie Mouse! And for families on a budget, they offer an array of different ticketing options ideal to suit your needs. So, make sure you don’t miss out on the adventures your entire family can take at Walt Disney World and make sure you grab those famous Mickey Mouse ears!

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.

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.

When it comes to top sushi restaurants in Orlando, Ran Getsu on International Drive, has to rank towards the very top. I read about Ran Getsu on a plane ride with my fiancée to Orlando. After reading Sky Mall for the 3^rd time I switched over to the travel magazine in the seat pocket and stumbled across the Ran Getsu write up.

After gorging myself with their specialty sushi’s and delicious tempura I could attest to the fact that this sushi restaurant may have very well been “one of the nation’s best” like the magazine said.

We even got lucky and dined on a night when they performed a traditional Japanese drum ceremony in the restaurants beautiful garden.

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.

I am a pretty frequent traveler and in my travels I have been to many large airports like LAX, JFK, and O’Hare in Chicago. In saying that, it’s obvious that I am accustomed to the headaches of a lot of the major airports problems like crowded ticket counters, broken kiosks, and the infamous slow moving security line. My point is that most large airports are usually a nightmare.

This held true until I was rushing to the Orlando International Airport for a business trip one afternoon. I don’t know whether they have more staff than most other large airports or whether they just drink their fair share of coffee in the morning, but I can honestly say that everything was smooth sailing from collecting our baggage to checking in on the day we left.

The best part was I was only 20 minutes away from Ginn Reunion where I work. Easy access, updated airport and a wonderful experience. I highly recommend MCO if you are flying into or out of Orlando!

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.

If you are on business, like I was, at Ginn Reunion, and looking for things to do take some time out to go see an Orlando Predators game. Boy, am I glad they were in town.

I had never seen an arena football game before but I will certainly seek out more now. I can’t even recall who the Predators played but I can tell you that both teams scored over 60 points. The action never stopped on the 60 yard field. This type of football was made to be fast and mean. I loved watching the defense tackle the ball carriers into the walls. It was like combination of hockey and football.

Take my advice and check out a game if you are in the need for something different out of Orlando.