sparky 25

Since this damn recession kicked in my usual yearly holiday to florida has gone on hold, that was three years ago,

this year has been good to us with work, so we decided to book a vacation in orlando for july,

cant wait until july to get a break from the day to day stresses of work and cold rainy weather in ireland,

has much changed in florida in the past three years since we were last there?

are there any new theme park rides that im unaware of that are a must do?

just trying to put together a list of things to see and do while in florida,

so we can pre purchase our tickets before we go there.

The_Shark

i only had one vacation and that was to florida, and that was YEARS ago.

when i was over there, the tourist parts are gaudy, brightly colored, and riddled with gift shops, i avoided those areas, the economy was taking a dive when we visited, so there where alot of forclosers and for sale signs on lawns.
the people drove like jackasses.

dont go to pondarosa[:'(] i got sick eating ad mc-d's the night before i left, so i puked my guts out that morning and on the plane, not a good way to end a good trip.

Ttam Says Blarg

Been to Ft Lauderdale a couple of times. The water out there is something else. You cant see through our water out here on the west coast.

The_Shark

just noticed your from ireland... anyway, universal studio's is a great place to go to, lots of rides and neat stuff to check out.

on coco beach first time in the ocean there where MILLIONS of manta ray (or sting ray, i forget) i went a little too far out, and had to strain myself to get back to shore, on the way back i felt a quick nip, i ignored it, a few feet later and i felt the nip again, so then i started moving faster, i felt another nip and panic but was not franticly moving about, something then swam between my legs and then i was surrounded by rays, i actually had to step around them... when i got back my anckle was bleeding a little, but just like a little nick.

moral of the story... dont swim with rays but i was told they migrate and come back to that part of the ocean every once in a while.

i wouldnt go to coco, the sand was really course anyway.

sparky 25

Yea, ive been to orlando every year from 2003 but 2008 was our last time there due to the recession,

gonna do the disney thing this year and take another trip out to kennedy space center,

last time we went to the space center it was just too hot that day to even be outside, and my fiance began to feel unwell with the heat,

this year we will be heading back there to take the tour around the launch pads,

i was wanting to know if there was any new attractions outside of disney/uiversal studios since 2008?

The_Shark

yeah there is, not sure whats new, but there is new stuff.

Eman77

We just got back from Florida recently. Visited the Kennedy Space Center, it was really cool - kids loved it, so did I. If your vacation is in July, you're going to hit hot weather again of course, so have fun with that. If you didn't like KSC before in the heat, July in FL isn't exactly optimal. But I found the KSC has plenty of indoor things to bop around between, so it keeps it decent - most of the stuff is indoors (other than the launch pad lookout point), you just have to go outdoors from one to the other. Anyway, we really enjoyed it there.

Disney is always a lot of fun - and they're always putting in new attractions, so I'm sure you'll see a lot more/different from the last time you went. They add stuff every year.

Outside of that, I can't offer much in terms of FL tourist advice.

proanti1

My Feedback: (2)

Don't go to Orlando, go down to Key West... it way better.

sparky 25

I think after a couple days i would get bored in key west,

Eman77, the last time we visited the space center it was the highest recorded temp that year,

we both go to florida for the hot weather and the attractions, but that day in ksp was some serious heat, and people were feeling ill all round us with the temp, around 105f

i really cannot wait to go back there and do the full tour,

the hobby stores in orlando area are fantastic also,
last time there we spent a full day visiting hobby shops and i got a couple new engines worth the money,

as at that time the exchange rate was two dollars and six cents to one pound sterling.

magnus213

Lest we forget the new Harry Potter world at Universal...

tommygun32

If you want heat....come to Dubai. Broke a hundred by 10:30 this morning. [:@]

I know you can get some SERIOUSLY brilliantly good package deals from UK to here.

We did Florida last year. Did a whole road trip thing from NYC to DC to Philly to South Carolina to Georgia and ended up in Kissimmee, Fla.

The wilfe and kids loved it. Spent 3 weeks in total. The last 7 days were in Kissimmee and we hit a park every single day. We were in Disney World for 4th of July. Universal has a new coaster, the Hulk ride is pretty good. As was also mentioned the Harry Potter ride....but that was a seriously stupid long line of more than 2 hours.

Just go....have fun....it's usually the classic rides that I remember from my childhood that are the best.

The_Shark

yeah, thats it, i was at kisssammee. used a friend's time share, nice little condo, i swam every day at the pool (no one seemed to use it, dumbasses) i wanted to stay outside all day.

Blkft1

We go just about every year and stay at my sisters in Kissimmee which gave us free room and board with a pool and a lake/dock tributary from lake Toho to fish from.
I personally like ClearWater and Cocoa beach.
Last time I was at ClearWater [last year] we parasailed [sp?] and was dipped into the ocean several times,thrown off a wet banana after holding on for dear life while being pulled behind a crazy guy drivin a jet ski and rode on a pirate ship just off shore that had a firing cannon,,,oh yeah and I swam at the beach,it was a blast! This last year there were dolphin's swimming off the bow of the Pirate ship and every once in awhile one would leap out'a the water.Everyone on the beach [couple hundred?] got quiet then roared when it lept,reminded me of being at a stadium during a game,,,pretty cool! Spents some $$$ but was well worth it.
Cocoa's a nice older beach with decent waves and which also has Ron Jon's surf shop [boy has it grown!] and a really nice hole in the wall crabshack restaurant with cold beer and a pool table,its the only time I ever "pop a top" since I'm not really a drinker.
Every once in awhile down there we hit the beaches at night with flashlights to catch ghost crabs and whatnot' with the wife and kids,I think its rather spooky out there but they loved it.
If your in Kissimmee hit Old Towne on the weekends,there usually a decent car show and rides and games,plus a bunch'a gift shops.
I'd pick Universal any day over Disney or Epcot.
This past trip we rented a fully loaded Ford Flex while down there for cheap,pretty cool little suv/van whachamicallit[?],right now with Florida's economy down you can get some sweet deals.