Orlando - Next Weekend, so what have I forgotten?
Discussion
Cool, our first 8 days starting this coming Friday are in Orlando, then 5 in a villa on Marco Island and finish up with 3 days in Miami.....so if there is bad weather at least we'll see it in loads of different places ;-) . It'll be what it'll be, nothing could quash my excitement right now!
With Universal and KSC being the main things we want to do in the first week, we'd only really do 2 days at Disney to get a flavour of it (yes, strike me down I'm not that fussed on Disney) however you can't seem to get daily tickets anywhere other than resellers? Is there a way to get a short 1 or 2 day ticket for Disney or do you have to drop loads on the fortnight tickets?
Goa'uld said:
So it's just marginally cheeky of them to only put 5 day as the lowest number of days ticket on their website then. Will see about just rocking up and getting them in the morning then if you can get them split down to 1 or 2 day amounts. Cheers.
We get better deals in the UK on tickets - the 14 & 21 day ultimate passes, for example, are not available to US residents. There's hardly any extra cost for the 7 day over the 5 day, and the 14 day pass has for years been offered at the same price as the 7 day.Not sure if the link will work, but for individual days you need to go on the US site of WDW to get the indiviudual day passes: http://tinyurl.com/9sg7mym - the prices are plus tax (6.5%). You can see that going for one or two days is terrible value for money, but then buying a 14 day Ultimate pass to use for a couple of days makes no sense either. Don't know what the answer is there!
fatpasty said:
Matt - Could you PM with some decent places to eat. So hidden gems would be great.
Cheers mate.
My telepathic powers are somewhat reduced today, so give me an idea of what tickles your tastebuds, where you are staying and how far you are prepared to travel (note: most people who come here for a holiday never actually set foot in Orlando) and I'll make some suggestions.Cheers mate.
Matt Harper said:
My telepathic powers are somewhat reduced today, so give me an idea of what tickles your tastebuds, where you are staying and how far you are prepared to travel (note: most people who come here for a holiday never actually set foot in Orlando) and I'll make some suggestions.
Sorry I realise it is a big place. We staying down International Drive. Prepared to travel a good distance as it is fairly easy to cover a good distance is a good time. Food wise - Any thing and everything pretty much. OH and I love any food and looking to try as much as we can. Anything from a good BBQ place to Seafood place. Any recommendations would be awesome.Cheers
fatpasty said:
Sorry I realise it is a big place. We staying down International Drive. Prepared to travel a good distance as it is fairly easy to cover a good distance is a good time. Food wise - Any thing and everything pretty much. OH and I love any food and looking to try as much as we can. Anything from a good BBQ place to Seafood place. Any recommendations would be awesome.
Cheers
OK, so let's start with good stuff on your doorstep.Cheers
Vito's Chophouse and The Capital Grille on I-Drive are both very good steakhouses - there is a better one, but more on that later. You might also like Texas De Brazil on north I-Drive, opposite Festival Bay - if you go for evening dinner, don't eat anything after breakfast that day - they keep bringing the meat until you tell them to stop.
Close to the intersection of I-Drive and Sand Lake Road are several notable restaurants...
Check out Timpano (casual Italian), Roy's (Hawaiian - great fish), Seasons 52 (healthy, light, but good), The Melting Pot (fondue), Cariera's Cucina in Dr Philips marketplace (excellent Italian - but don't confuse this with Christini's, which is in the same place, but much more expensive and very overrated in my view).
For barbecue, the two obvious ones for me are Keller's in Altamonte Springs and Wildside BBQ in Thornton Park (just east of downtown).
If you want a full-on, no holds barred pig-out, go to Johnny's Fillin' Station at Michigan and Ferncreek, south of downtown. Huge plates - great beer selection.
Best chicken wings in Orlando are at Gators Dockside in Ocoee.
For a little bit of everything (fish/burgers/steaks/barbecue), cheap beer and liqor, eat outside or in and live music most nights, head to The Fish on Fire Smokehouse and Grill. I promote it heavily on here, because it's my local boozer and it is what it is - a great, well run local bar. Very few tourists, very Florida and very good value. It's located just west of the Airport at the intersection of McCoy and Detwyler. Close to this (at Orlando Gateway, just north of MCO) is Bonefish Grill - very nice (better than the one on Sand Lake, because it's half as big). Their wood fired Gulf Grouper is ridiculously good.
Of course, there are also some decent chain restaurants too. The Cheesecake Factory at the Mall of Millenia is very popular - again, big, highly calorific portions, long wait times (can't make reservations).
For pretentious, but awesome sushi, go to Shari Lounge on E Central, for unpretentious, but almost as good and half the price, go to Bikkuri on E Colonial.
Orlando's swanky hotels have some very, very good restaurants - but they are mostly piss-takingly expensive and somewhat up their own arses, so I hesitate to recommend any of them.
My final recommendation is my favorite, as I am a dedicated meat-eater. Del Frisco's is generally considered to be among the best steakhouses in North America and their Orlando location is usually stated to be the best of the lot. It is located north of downtown Orlando, just to the west of I-4 at Lee Road. It is a wee bit 'poncey' (you should wear a jacket and leave your flip-flops at the hotel), but the food is something else. The last time I was there, I had a dry aged rib-eye that was cooked 'black and blue' - you need an extremely hot oven to pull this dish off, but it was just perfect. It's not cheap, but I guarantee that you will enjoy it. My only gripe with the place is that it is a little 'stuffy' and the wine-list is eye-wateringly spendy.
If you need anything else, let me know.
For those arriving imminently, storm's gone (brace yourselves Big Easy), back to 90 degrees and sunny.
I've got Marco Island, Naples and Miami covered food wise but also not Orlando area other than;
Yellow Dog Eats
http://yellowdogeats.com/
Bahama Breeze
http://www.bahamabreeze.com/
Various fast food near and around downtown disney.
Have no problem with driving out for dinner from the downtown disney area for good solid off the beaten track places.
One other one is the trip to KSC, is there anywhere on the route between downtown disney and KSC that should be thought about for a detour to get either breakfast/lunch on the way there or dinner on the way back?
ETA .......just gonna read through the wealth of info just posted aswell!
ETAx2 - that above, that's getting printed off that is.
Yellow Dog Eats
http://yellowdogeats.com/
Bahama Breeze
http://www.bahamabreeze.com/
Various fast food near and around downtown disney.
Have no problem with driving out for dinner from the downtown disney area for good solid off the beaten track places.
One other one is the trip to KSC, is there anywhere on the route between downtown disney and KSC that should be thought about for a detour to get either breakfast/lunch on the way there or dinner on the way back?
ETA .......just gonna read through the wealth of info just posted aswell!
ETAx2 - that above, that's getting printed off that is.
Edited by Goa'uld on Tuesday 28th August 15:12
The obvious route from the 'attractions' to KSC is I-4 east to 528 (Beachline) and then 528 east, past the airport out to the Cape. There's nothing actually on that road - and it goes out through the middle of nowhere.
So, that begs the question, 'what are your preferrences?' On the way out, you can get off 528 at the airport exit, but head North on Semoran Blvd (SR436) where you will find Denny's, Cracker Barrel, Bob Evans diners, all within a mile of the turn-off. But these are no-frills 'eat it and beat it' kind of places.
On the way home, you could exit 528 west at Co Rd 15 (Goldenrod) and head south a little to Lake Nona. There are a variety of restaurants and bars on the main drag that suit most budgets and tastes.
Or, you could exit 528 at South Conway Road, (1st exit after airport toll plaza), turn left, then right onto McCoy and stop at The Fish on Fire - fine for family, won't break the bank and a nice selection of southern fare. Tell Jay (owner) Matt sent you and I'll earn free beers!
So, that begs the question, 'what are your preferrences?' On the way out, you can get off 528 at the airport exit, but head North on Semoran Blvd (SR436) where you will find Denny's, Cracker Barrel, Bob Evans diners, all within a mile of the turn-off. But these are no-frills 'eat it and beat it' kind of places.
On the way home, you could exit 528 west at Co Rd 15 (Goldenrod) and head south a little to Lake Nona. There are a variety of restaurants and bars on the main drag that suit most budgets and tastes.
Or, you could exit 528 at South Conway Road, (1st exit after airport toll plaza), turn left, then right onto McCoy and stop at The Fish on Fire - fine for family, won't break the bank and a nice selection of southern fare. Tell Jay (owner) Matt sent you and I'll earn free beers!
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