Orlando - Next Weekend, so what have I forgotten?
Discussion
This thread is making me seriously jealous.
We have a place in Kissimmee and Longboat Key and this is the first year since I was 18 months old that I've not been at least once (I'm 27 this year, must have been almost 40 times) and I'm seriously, seriously missing it.
I wish it was easier to get a job and move...
Took 6 mates a couple of years ago, downtown Orlando is very, very different and actually pretty scary for a youngish white lad who is clearly not a local.
We have a place in Kissimmee and Longboat Key and this is the first year since I was 18 months old that I've not been at least once (I'm 27 this year, must have been almost 40 times) and I'm seriously, seriously missing it.
I wish it was easier to get a job and move...
Took 6 mates a couple of years ago, downtown Orlando is very, very different and actually pretty scary for a youngish white lad who is clearly not a local.
AB said:
This thread is making me seriously jealous.
We have a place in Kissimmee and Longboat Key and this is the first year since I was 18 months old that I've not been at least once (I'm 27 this year, must have been almost 40 times) and I'm seriously, seriously missing it.
I wish it was easier to get a job and move...
Took 6 mates a couple of years ago, downtown Orlando is very, very different and actually pretty scary for a youngish white lad who is clearly not a local.
Do tellWe have a place in Kissimmee and Longboat Key and this is the first year since I was 18 months old that I've not been at least once (I'm 27 this year, must have been almost 40 times) and I'm seriously, seriously missing it.
I wish it was easier to get a job and move...
Took 6 mates a couple of years ago, downtown Orlando is very, very different and actually pretty scary for a youngish white lad who is clearly not a local.
WEHGuy said:
Do tell
We had a bright red Escalade as a hire car. We searched for clubs in Orlando and put the addresses in the sat nav. They were probably 45 mins to an hour out of Kissimmee.We pulled into this car park which was under the freeway and it was like something out of a movie, could just see whites of eyes etc.
Next minute door is open and this huge black guy is demanding 'fiddy off all er ya'.
Great I think he's rinsing us for $50 each i.e. $300.
I start getting some cash out, literally fearing for my life, he says something along the lines of 'i ain't got no change fow dat maaaan'.
We clicked in the end that he was the car park 'attendant' and wanted $3 i.e. 50 cents off each of us.
We went into a few clubs, again downtown Orlando is or seemed to be predominantly scary looking black guys and I'm by no means racist but you will know what I mean. A lot of staring and a lot of feeling like we didn't belong.
An experience to say the least.
AB said:
WEHGuy said:
Do tell
We had a bright red Escalade as a hire car. We searched for clubs in Orlando and put the addresses in the sat nav. They were probably 45 mins to an hour out of Kissimmee.We pulled into this car park which was under the freeway and it was like something out of a movie, could just see whites of eyes etc.
Next minute door is open and this huge black guy is demanding 'fiddy off all er ya'.
Great I think he's rinsing us for $50 each i.e. $300.
I start getting some cash out, literally fearing for my life, he says something along the lines of 'i ain't got no change fow dat maaaan'.
We clicked in the end that he was the car park 'attendant' and wanted $3 i.e. 50 cents off each of us.
We went into a few clubs, again downtown Orlando is or seemed to be predominantly scary looking black guys and I'm by no means racist but you will know what I mean. A lot of staring and a lot of feeling like we didn't belong.
An experience to say the least.
We are thinking of doing a US tour next year and spending 10 days or so in Orlando doing all the theme parks and other exciting things. If downtown Orlando is like that, where would you suggest 20-somethings go to party? Is the US really like the movies, do the ladies go crazy for the UK accent?
Robatr0n said:
^He probably has one of those dodgy northern accents^. 
They do seem to like the accent across the pond but bear in mind that Florida is a pretty popular holiday destination for us brits so they are very familiar with the accent.
Southern Scottish. They do seem to like the accent across the pond but bear in mind that Florida is a pretty popular holiday destination for us brits so they are very familiar with the accent.
We plan to do a road trip for a month next August. New York, Boston, Miami, Orlando, New Orleans, Dallas, Albuquerque, Vegas and finish off in LA.WEHGuy said:
Robatr0n said:
^He probably has one of those dodgy northern accents^.
They do seem to like the accent across the pond but bear in mind that Florida is a pretty popular holiday destination for us brits so they are very familiar with the accent.
Southern Scottish. They do seem to like the accent across the pond but bear in mind that Florida is a pretty popular holiday destination for us brits so they are very familiar with the accent.
We plan to do a road trip for a month next August. New York, Boston, Miami, Orlando, New Orleans, Dallas, Albuquerque, Vegas and finish off in LA.That sounds like a fantastic road trip and probably a perfect amount of time to cover that huge distance comfortably.
Robatr0n said:
WEHGuy said:
Robatr0n said:
^He probably has one of those dodgy northern accents^.
They do seem to like the accent across the pond but bear in mind that Florida is a pretty popular holiday destination for us brits so they are very familiar with the accent.
Southern Scottish. They do seem to like the accent across the pond but bear in mind that Florida is a pretty popular holiday destination for us brits so they are very familiar with the accent.
We plan to do a road trip for a month next August. New York, Boston, Miami, Orlando, New Orleans, Dallas, Albuquerque, Vegas and finish off in LA.That sounds like a fantastic road trip and probably a perfect amount of time to cover that huge distance comfortably.
We plan to fly into New York with empty suitcases and stay there for 4 days doing The Big Apple shopping and partying experience. Then hire a V8 muscle car and drive to Boston to visit family for a few days. Dump the car and fly down to Miami and stay there for a few days. Hire another V8 muscle car and drive to Orlando, hire a Villa for 10 days and do all the theme parks and other Florida fun activities. Drive to New Orleans for a few days, then on to Dallas for another few days, followed by Albuquerque for another couple of days. Then we arrive in Vegas for 4-5 days(doing this towards the end of the trip so, we don't end up broke for most of the holiday.
) . Finish off our holiday with a few days in La and then fly back to the UK. I will probably start a thread closer to the time to get ideas of must do things along the way.
AB said:
We had a bright red Escalade as a hire car. We searched for clubs in Orlando and put the addresses in the sat nav. They were probably 45 mins to an hour out of Kissimmee.
We pulled into this car park which was under the freeway and it was like something out of a movie, could just see whites of eyes etc.
Next minute door is open and this huge black guy is demanding 'fiddy off all er ya'.
Great I think he's rinsing us for $50 each i.e. $300.
I start getting some cash out, literally fearing for my life, he says something along the lines of 'i ain't got no change fow dat maaaan'.
We clicked in the end that he was the car park 'attendant' and wanted $3 i.e. 50 cents off each of us.
We went into a few clubs, again downtown Orlando is or seemed to be predominantly scary looking black guys and I'm by no means racist but you will know what I mean. A lot of staring and a lot of feeling like we didn't belong.
An experience to say the least.
Downtown Orlando is perfectly safe, as long as you follow some simple common-sense rules.We pulled into this car park which was under the freeway and it was like something out of a movie, could just see whites of eyes etc.
Next minute door is open and this huge black guy is demanding 'fiddy off all er ya'.
Great I think he's rinsing us for $50 each i.e. $300.
I start getting some cash out, literally fearing for my life, he says something along the lines of 'i ain't got no change fow dat maaaan'.
We clicked in the end that he was the car park 'attendant' and wanted $3 i.e. 50 cents off each of us.
We went into a few clubs, again downtown Orlando is or seemed to be predominantly scary looking black guys and I'm by no means racist but you will know what I mean. A lot of staring and a lot of feeling like we didn't belong.
An experience to say the least.
1. (And most important) - Stay east of I-4 and that includes the street parking under the highway - which is free at night - you were just hit-up by the vagrants that live under there.
2. Valet-park your car. Parking in poorly lit garages and parking structures is asking for trouble.
3. Try not to look/act like a tourist.
4. Avoid any kind of confrontation with the locals - most will be friendly and curious, some aren't and lots are armed. Getting into a set-to with drunken, pumped-up, would-be gang-bangers could have very serious consequences.
5. Take photo ID - everyone gets carded downtown.
6. Don't use gas station/convenience store ATM's
7. Your English accent isn't worth a carrot - as stated - no novelty at all, so play it down, not up.
8. Church St and Orange Ave area for bars/clubs, Thornton Park (east of Lake Eola) for restaurants, more relaxed bars.
9. Nominate a non-drinking driver - DUI 'wolfpack' patrols every weekend.
10. Don't, under any circumstances, argue with the cops.
AB said:
This thread is making me seriously jealous.
We have a place in Kissimmee and Longboat Key and this is the first year since I was 18 months old that I've not been at least once (I'm 27 this year, must have been almost 40 times) and I'm seriously, seriously missing it.
I wish it was easier to get a job and move...
Took 6 mates a couple of years ago, downtown Orlando is very, very different and actually pretty scary for a youngish white lad who is clearly not a local.
Yeah I'd been to the US every year 2004-2010 but didn't go last year and really missed it.We have a place in Kissimmee and Longboat Key and this is the first year since I was 18 months old that I've not been at least once (I'm 27 this year, must have been almost 40 times) and I'm seriously, seriously missing it.
I wish it was easier to get a job and move...
Took 6 mates a couple of years ago, downtown Orlando is very, very different and actually pretty scary for a youngish white lad who is clearly not a local.
Rental Mustang and flights booked, now I just need to sort accommodation. How hard could it be??
WEHGuy said:
We plan to fly into New York with empty suitcases and stay there for 4 days doing The Big Apple shopping and partying experience. Then hire a V8 muscle car and drive to Boston to visit family for a few days. Dump the car and fly down to Miami and stay there for a few days. Hire another V8 muscle car and drive to Orlando, hire a Villa for 10 days and do all the theme parks and other Florida fun activities. Drive to New Orleans for a few days, then on to Dallas for another few days, followed by Albuquerque for another couple of days. Then we arrive in Vegas for 4-5 days(doing this towards the end of the trip so, we don't end up broke for most of the holiday. ) . Finish off our holiday with a few days in La and then fly back to the UK. I will probably start a thread closer to the time to get ideas of must do things along the way.
At risk of pissing on your chips a bit here, one-way rentals on anything other than standard (i.e. unexciting) cars is going to be difficult/not possible and/or bloody expensive. ) . Finish off our holiday with a few days in La and then fly back to the UK. I will probably start a thread closer to the time to get ideas of must do things along the way.Hertz do not offer one-way rentals on their "Adrenelin Collection" - Avis do allow one-way on certain 'executive' models, but charge a BIG premium (hundreds of dollars) for the concession. You might want to investigate this a little more thoroughly before you get too excited...
It is possible to get the hammer down here as much as anywhere else really, you just need to be aware of your environment and maybe think more like a traffic cop, so you can anticipate where you are likely to attract attention. Sustained high speed (85+) on the Interstate, without a radar, will get you busted sooner or later. I drive from Orlando to Tampa quite frequently and if the time of day and conditions permit I can run at around 100 between Haines City and the other side of Lakeland, only lifting off when the radar tells me to. Even a good detector doesn't protect against an "instant-on", so again, think like a cop and ask yourself, "Where would I hide?". Bridges, crests in the road, stands of trees in the median - all likely trap locations - don't forget light aircraft and helo's that also patrol some highways.
Speeding in towns/neighborhoods is much more risk-laden than out on the highway, because the latitude cops have to use discretion is much narrower.
Personally, the benefit of a 'muscle-car' (not sure that my 5.0 Mustang qualifies) is the abundance of torque that delivers hard acceleration, rather than balls-to-the-wall high-speed runs - any rental car will comfortably cruise at 95-100mph, you don't need a thumping great 8 cyl to do that.
Some states have a much more prolific and aggressive Highway Patrol stance - in my experience, GA, IN, OH, VA, MI and AZ have a policy of only employing neo-nazi State Troopers.
Speeding in towns/neighborhoods is much more risk-laden than out on the highway, because the latitude cops have to use discretion is much narrower.
Personally, the benefit of a 'muscle-car' (not sure that my 5.0 Mustang qualifies) is the abundance of torque that delivers hard acceleration, rather than balls-to-the-wall high-speed runs - any rental car will comfortably cruise at 95-100mph, you don't need a thumping great 8 cyl to do that.
Some states have a much more prolific and aggressive Highway Patrol stance - in my experience, GA, IN, OH, VA, MI and AZ have a policy of only employing neo-nazi State Troopers.
Matt Harper said:
...think like a cop and ask yourself, "Where would I hide?". Bridges, crests in the road, stands of trees in the median - all likely trap locations - don't forget light aircraft and helo's that also patrol some highways.
It's like that in the UK now, and it's OK if you know the road but you're asking for trouble if you don't.You can drive hundreds of miles on UK motorways and not see a marked police car - there are some unmarked, but very few. I drove the Turnpike down to Ft Lauderdale and was just astonished at the number of Police cars I saw. I set cruise at 70, if nothing else as it was easier to just go at the same speed as the rest of the traffic. The odd vehicle would come past at not much faster and then we'd pass it a few mins later having been pulled over. Saw that several times on the trip.
I have seen people hoofing it on I4 back from Tampa, but they looked like Brits heading back to the airport. Most drivers (of all types of vehicle) seem to drive at the same speed so anyone going even a bit faster stands out.
Appreciate the comments about the V8 torque. I had an Escalade in the US last year. Floored it once, for about 2 seconds, in the whole trip - there's just nothing you can do with it.
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