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Plan A Golf Vacation In Orlando

Maxx — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 14:21:55 +0000

Nowhere is the sport of golf more celebrated than in Orlando, Florida and its surrounding areas. With all of the tourism that flows through this area it stands to reason that there would be an abundance of golf courses. There are 24 public, private and semi-private courses in the city limits of Orlando alone, but when you add in the surrounding areas of Seminole County and Kissimmee, the number goes to well above 50.

The city of Orlando must be doing something right because over 30 PGA golfers live in and around Orlando. Many of the courses here are sites for some of the yearly PGA events. The Arnold Palmer Invitational is held every year in March at the Bay Hill Golf Club and Lodge.

Whether you would like to plan an entire golf vacation or if you would just like to play a few rounds while you are on vacation, Orlando has a lot to offer. There is some basic information that you should know first. For many people, cost is not an option. Unfortunately, for most of us there are going to be some courses that will be well out of our price range. It is possible to find prices in the range of $30-$60 for 18 holes at some of the semi private and public clubs if you know when and where to look. There are websites and e-mail listings that you can go on that will let you know of last-minute openings at all of the courses in the Orlando area.

It is always good to ask if the course you are trying to book offers carts or only offers caddie services. As soon as you know that you will be traveling into Orlando it would be best to get in touch with the golf courses that you are interested in, in order to find out how far in advance they are booked.

Orlando golf vacation packages are usually in a room or suite for a set number of nights combined with a certain number of rounds of golf all for one price. The Internet abounds with these sorts of special deals. You could also work through a traditional travel agency where an agent will have access to many fantastic specials. It isn't out of the ordinary to find golf packages that average about $100-$150 per day for a hotel room and 18 rounds of golf. There are many options to these golf vacation packages. They can be tailored to any taste. You could choose to stay 4 days at one resort and have 4 tee times set up, one for each day of your stay. Each of these tee times could be set up at a different course in order to experience a variety of golf that Orlando offers.

Many golf courses also offer extra amenities such as golf classes or lessons from a golf pro. Some golf courses include full service day spas and 5 star restaurants. Many of these added niceties can be added to your golf package. Many golf packages will also offer a rental car or van for the length of your stay with unlimited mileage and the resort or condominium that you will stay at may offer a daily continental breakfast to give you some sustenance before you hit the links.

Whenever you hear anyone talk about taking a golf vacation in Orlando, your first thought may be that it sounds expensive. But, when you hear that you can easily get a resort suite and a round of golf at one of the premier courses for around $100 a day, you would have to agree that it would be foolish not to go on an Orlando golf vacation.

Getting The Most Enjoyment At Disneys Epcot

Maxx — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 14:42:55 +0000

Poor Epcot. It is the one Disney amusement park that has gotten labeled as the "boring" park. Kids, even many adults can't seem to find the thrill and the enjoyment in it. Well, that view just isn't true. Epcot is one of the most interesting and fun of all of Disney's parks. Admittedly, it is a different type of fun. While there aren't as many thrill rides as the other parks, — not even Animal Kingdom, which if you aren't all that into animals of the African savanna, Animal Kingdom can be a pretty uninteresting park for some.

The key to enjoying each of Disney's parks is to see it from the point of view of its creators. Disney parks include many great rides, but a thrill park isn't always their goal. If it were, all of Disney's parks would just be different versions of Six Flag parks except theirs' would be cleaner and have better decorating. No, Disney makes a definite statement and takes us on a completely different adventure with every park it creates. Their eye for detail and authenticity allows the visitor to immerse himself or herself into the theme if they only let themselves.

The name Epcot stands for "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow". That was Walt Disney's concept. To have a park that was similar to the World's Fair, but have it be on display continuously. Epcot is the place to showcase all of the technological advances and what the future holds in these fields. Mr. Disney also wanted this to be the think tank for experts and companies to develop future communities.

Epcot is shaped like a giant figure eight. The first circle area that you enter is called Future World. This is where you will find information about technological and scientific advancements. The area is "made more fun" with rides and entertainment such as "The Seas with Nemo and Friends", "Honey I Shrunk The Audience", "Mission Space", and "Test Track". All of these rides and shows manage to teach while entertaining the guest at the same time.

The top circle of the figure eight is called World Showcase. This circle looks like a giant doughnut from an aerial view because the center of the circle is a giant lagoon or lake with a large globe in the center. This is where the nightly fireworks show will originate from every evening just before closing. Around the lake are representations of many other countries from around the world. Each pavilion offers an authentic look into the customs, the speech, and the tastes of that country. Each country is employed with people from the actual country, who can answer your questions and make you almost feel that you really are on the other side of the world.

One way to enjoy the World Showcase even more than just shopping, eating and viewing the occasional informative movie or ride, is to take the time to view the shows and the customs of the "native" people and to become friendly and talk to the representatives. At all of the gift shops around Epcot, you can purchase a passport book for yourself or your children. Each country has a passport station where the children (of any age) can partake in a craft of that country and have their passport stamped. One year, before our son was born, we purchased an autograph book instead. Then we went to every passport station, completed the craft as we spoke to that country's representative. We always took a picture of them or of all three of us and our crafty work to put in the book later and had them write a message in their native language to us. (We always had them translate what they wrote, which we jotted down on the opposite page.) Each person we met was nicer than the one before and almost all of the messages reminded us of the humor that everyone had. Well, almost everyone. The lady in China didn't speak English at all and jotted down a Chinese symbol, which we eventually had translated. It said, "Go luck." Go luck? Not, "Go with luck" or "Go and be lucky", just "Go Luck". Actually, "China" has become our fondest and funniest memory of all.

Orlandos Museums And Cultural Events

Maxx — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 04:12:55 +0000

Orlando is not all Disney and theme parks. There is a vibrant theater community and many museums and the opera, as well. Downtown Orlando has several venues, which host everything from the current "pop star of the day" to Shakespearean plays to ballet and stand-up comedians.

The Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre is located downtown and this location sponsors the yearly Broadway Series, which brings some of the most popular Broadway plays and musicals to Orlando. This venue also hosts the Orlando Philharmonic and the Southern Ballet Company.

Nearby is the TD Waterhouse Centre where the Orlando Magic and the Orlando Predators play. The Waterhouse building also hosts many live events including concerts by big names and the most popular artists and performers of today and yesterday.

Orlando's annual Shakespeare Festival is held at the Walt Disney Amphitheater. On the second Tuesday of every month the Walt Disney Amphitheater also hosts a comedy series. These comedy performances are free and are very enjoyable and make a wonderful break from all of the shopping, golfing and amusement park hopping. Cirque du Soleil is also a very popular performance to attend and it is located in its own performing arts building at Downtown Disney at the West End of the complex. This is a very popular show that regularly sells out. If you are interested in seeing this show while you are in Orlando make sure to purchase your tickets as soon as possible.

The Official Orlando Visitor Center on International Drive near the Convention Center offers tickets to most of these venues at half price for all seats that have not been sold by the day of the performance. Simply choose any performance that is available that peaks your interest. This is a clever way of being able to attend a professional concert or play at the last minute and save money at the same time.

Orlando is abundant with museums. First and foremost is the Orlando Museum of Art. The museum houses many American works of art dating from the 18th to the 20th centuries, as well as early Native American art and African artifacts. The museum also plays host to many traveling exhibits. The Mennello Museum of Folk Art is another popular museum that has an impressive collection of many well-known American folk artists.

Another must see museum is the Orlando Science Center. It is located about 10 minutes north of downtown Orlando. The Science Center is a great attraction for the entire family. You can spend the day experimenting with hundreds of educational programs and learning activities. Make certain to view the movie feature at the 8-story CineDome. The CineDome is the world's largest domed theater and planetarium. An experience not to be missed. It usually plays short, but interesting movies on subjects such as dinosaurs, Egyptian mummies, caves, and mountains. Each different showing is as interesting as the last.

The University of Central Florida Arena also hosts a tremendous variety of lecturers, comedians, plays and musicals. Event calendars for the University's events and all of the other venues can be found on their websites or an Orlando Cultural Event Calendar. Simply type these words into any search engine and you will be directed to the most current schedules of all of the performances happening in and around Orlando.

Come To Orlando Florida And Shop

Maxx — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:35:55 +0000

Any city or country that is known as a tourist destination is going to have great shopping. Orlando, Florida may very well be the most frequented vacation destination for people from more countries around the world than any other. With this vast diversity of cultures and people from all social and economic classes visiting this city, Orlando fulfills all desires by having some of the most and varied shopping choices available anywhere.

Most towns around the US have maybe one shopping mall, if they're lucky. Two or three if it's a larger city. Orlando has eight major shopping malls. The Florida Mall alone has over 275 shops. The other malls range in size of 75-150 stores. There are at least three major outlet malls that allow you to purchase all of your favorite designer brands for a fraction of the cost. As well, you will find flea markets, Spanish marketplaces and thousands of small tourist souvenir shops about every 500 feet down all of the major thoroughfares.

The major shopping malls are not unlike the malls that you find in your own hometown. The difference in Orlando is that every major retailer is represented in at least one of the malls here. For instance, Belz Festival Bay Mall offers more of a specialty feel with surf shops and western wear shops along with an Urban Planet and a World Soccer store. For a more "upscale" shopping experience, The Mall at Millenia offers stores of all of the big names such as Gucci, Ambercrombie and Fitch, Ann Taylor, Cartier, Godiva, Lois Vuitton, and Tiffany's. Definitely someplace to go if only to window shop.

One of the best places to stroll and shop for souvenirs and take in the atmosphere is a small main street that only allows pedestrians and is lined with arcades, restaurants and carnival rides. This area is in a suburb of Orlando, called Kissimmee. More than likely, unless you are staying at one the major park's resorts, your hotel accommodations will be in Kissimmee. This shopping and sightseeing "must see" is Old Town. The shopping is mainly small, privately owned boutiques and trinket stores. There, you will find such shopping as a British grocery store, an Irish gift shop and teahouse along with old-fashioned ice cream parlor, a magician's shop and a surf shop. Shopping in the evening is an entirely different experience as the entire street is lit up with fairy lights and the sounds of the arcade bells and the screams of the patrons on the surrounding slingshot, bumper cars and other carnival rides. There are over 75 shops and this intimate strip mall is so full of character and charm and it presents so many unique shops that it will become your favorite shopping location to visit every time you come to Orlando.

Whether you are shopping for a ten thousand-dollar Tiffany trinket or you wish to buy 4 Orlando souvenir T-shirts for $10, you will be able to find all of this and more in Orlando. With all of these shopping choices, you may find it difficult to fit time in for the amusement and water parks.

Water Parks And Water Activities To Do In Orlando

Maxx — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 13:09:55 +0000

Orlando, Florida is best known for Walt Disney World and all of the other large amusement parks such as Sea World and Universal, but there are so many other things to do while you are experiencing an Orlando getaway vacation. You may not think of it, but Orlando has some of the best water parks and water sport activity centers than anywhere else in the world.

Florida's weather is perfect anytime of year to enjoy some of the amazing water fun that it offers. If you travel to Orlando in the summer months when the children are on summer vacation, the climate is usually very warm and very humid. Including a few of the vacation days enjoying some cooler activities will be a welcome addition. There are so many parks and establishments to choose from that there definitely will be one that will please everyone. An added convenience is that most of the major water parks can be added into your bundle or hopper tickets. This will allow you to spend a few hours at the water park to cool off and then you can go right back to any of the amusement parks that are included in your ticket. You can come back and visit as often as you'd like with this type of ticket. This is a refreshing way to cool off after walking for miles around any of the major attractions.

Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon are the two Disney water parks. These are huge water parks that can be added to your Disney itinerary and visited as often as you'd like. Blizzard Beach is a huge alpine village in the middle of Orlando. The main feature of Blizzard Beach is a snow-capped mountain, Mt. Gushmore. There is a ski lift that takes brave souls to the top in order to experience the thrills of two of the most exciting rides, Slush Gusher and Summit Plummet. These rides will either have you speeding down a 120-foot ski jump at 60 miles per hour on Summit Plummet or pummeling you over two 90-foot hills on Slush Gusher. Just looking at Blizzard Beach with all of its snow and ice design will cool you off on the hottest day.

Typhoon Lagoon looks like a more tropical park with thatched roof buildings and sandy beaches. Typhoon Lagoon has a very popular surf pool as its main attraction. The pool simulates a constantly changing wave cycle that feels as if you are at the ocean. Usually, the waves run about 6-feet high at about 1 every minute or so. The water slides at Typhoon Lagoon are all so beautifully landscaped that it will be hard to look away from the scenery. Where swimming with live tropical fish and sharks is usually an added expense at most places, Typhoon Lagoon has Shark Reef. This is a large area where a continuous line of visitors can snorkel across the salt-water enclosure while viewing a beautiful reef, colorful tropical fish and even small, harmless sharks. This is also the park that offers surfing lessons. For about $150, you can have a three-hour class where by the end you will be able to try your hand at catching that big wave.

There is another major water park in Orlando and that is Wet 'n Wild. This park has the biggest and most exciting rides. In the summer season it can become quite crowded and the wait for rides can be very long. But, if you happen to visit in the spring or fall, you will be overwhelmed by the amazing experience. Blue Niagara is a thrill ride that takes visitors on a twisting rush through 300 feet of twisted tubes to a splash pool. The Bomb Bay contains a 76-foot vertical drop. Other rides include The Storm, which spins and douses guests around a giant open bowl and Knee Ski, which allows guests to practice knee boarding or learn it for the first time.

In addition to the water parks, there are many places where you can try parasailing, water skiing and jet skiing. There are many lakes in the area and fishing is also a very relaxing water activity to do. Florida is a state surrounded by water and the influence is predominant throughout the entire region. Even inland as Orlando is you can still find many water sports and thrills to fill an entire vacation.

Orlandos Oddities Visiting Offbeat Attractions

Maxx — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 18:01:55 +0000

With so many attractions competing for every vacationer's limited money and time, some of Orlando's attractions have endeavored to become ones that you will visit by offering an experience that is truly out of the ordinary.

Gatorland may be one of the oldest and most unique attractions in Orlando. The park began as an alligator farm in 1949 and has grown ever since. The Godwin family has owned the park and they have continued to expand the park to what it is today. Gatorland is a conservation center and education tool, while at the same time it entertains and amazes visitors with views of alligators and reptiles in their natural everglade habitat.

The park recently added a water park to its 110 acres and recently raised admission to $23 for adults and $15 for children. This price also includes all day entrance into the water park. This still keeps it as one of the least expensive amusement parks/attractions in Orlando. At the end of 2006, Gatorland suffered a major setback when a fire broke out from a faulty heating devise. The gift shop was completely lost, as was the famous front entrance to the park, the enormous alligator's open mouth that visitors walk into to enter the park. Within 3 weeks, the park reopened and they are currently open while at the same time repairing and rebuilding. The new buildings are set for a completion date of June 2008.

Another different sight to see is next door to Orlando, in Kissimmee. It is called the Monument to the States. This is a 50-foot tower that plays tribute to every state in the union. Each stone that the tower has been built from was cut and brought from each state and represents characteristics and fossils from that area. Viewing the monument is free, as it is publicly displayed in Historic Downtown Kissimmee. The monument is made up of over 1500 stones and was put together in 1943. Since then 22 countries from around the world have also contributed stones.

Orlando is the home to one of the largest museum for oddities; Ripley's Believe It or Not! This museum is full of items from Robert Ripley's trips around the globe searching for the world's wonders and oddities. The building itself is odd. The massive museum looks as though one end of it is slowly sinking into the earth. The museum is set up as a self-guided tour that allows you to study the unusual items at your leisure.

Two other more unusual attractions in Orlando have religious themes. The Jesus Film Project is a 2-hour movie of the life of Christ that has been seen by over 5 billion viewers since it debuted in 1979. The other attraction is the Holy Land Experience. This attraction allows the visitor to walk through an ancient Jerusalem as authentically costumed actors portray people from the Bible re-enacting various Bible stories.

Consider another attraction that is a re-creation of another event. Titanic: The Experience allows you to become one of the guests on that fateful trip as crew members act as guides showing you many of the areas of the ship and explaining what happened.

WonderWorks is another odd sight to see. The building itself looks as though it fell from the sky and landed upside down. An exhibit includes a mock up of the space shuttle and allows you to try your hand at attempting to land the space/aircraft. In the same way, you can enter flight simulators of other aircraft to see how you would fare "up in the wild blue yonder". In one exhibit you can get inside an actual astronaut's space suit and in another, you can step in front of blue screens and see yourself as famous sports figures scoring the winning basket, touchdown or goal. They also have an earthquake simulator and a room that allows you to create bubbles of all sizes. It even has a simulator that lets you create and then ride on your own roller coaster.

As you can see, a trip to Orlando does not have to revolve around the major three parks of Disney, Universal and Sea World. If you are looking to experience something a bit more out of the ordinary, consider any of these choices.

Orlandos Most Unique Resort Experiences

Maxx — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 09:15:55 +0000

Orlando is full of resorts, hotels, time-shares, condominiums, and other places to stay. The competition between them can become quite fierce. Each one is vying for your vacation dollars and in order to win you over, some of them offer very unique events and experiences to add to your vacation enjoyment. It may be the addition of a luxurious spa or the addition of specialty cruises, but they all want to "one up" the other. All of this competition is great for the common vacation consumer who now has an abundance of choices in booking the perfect stay for themselves and their family.

The Disney resorts have all taken the idea of unique resort perks to an all new level. This company knows how to come up with a complete vacation experience package that is very hard to beat. For instance, people who stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge in the savanna view rooms can awake every morning to wild animals such as zebras, giraffes, and gazelles roaming in the natural savanna just outside of their balcony. Nothing like having your morning coffee as a giraffe looks you in the eye!

The Grand Floridian is based on San Diego's Hotel del Coronado and has that old world veranda style charm, but on a huge scale. This resort is linked with Disney's monorail system, which allows it to be minutes from any park. The Grand Floridian is most unique for its weddings. They offer any couple a fairytale wedding full of special one-of-a-kind service and one of the most romantic services that you could ever find.

The Polynesian Resort is full of cascading waterfalls and offers a spectacular view of the nightly firework displays over Cinderella's castle in the Magic Kingdom. The Polynesian Resort offers many children programs with babysitting service from 5 p.m. to midnight every day. There are also Luau dinner shows every night.

The Portofino Bay Hotel is not a Disney resort, but it is a very unique Italian village recreation on a beautiful man-made bay. This resort is affiliated with the Universal parks and can offer easy access to their nightlife and the rides. The bay is dotted with small watercraft and the resort offers nightly shows at the harbor of live musicians playing lovely tunes from Italy. They also provide a supervised activity area for the children, which allows for a romantic dinner for the adults. The restaurants are amazing and an outdoor movie is shown every night at sunset next to the main pool. Definitely a very unique and charming resort.

Many of the resorts offer live dinner shows and in the case of the Disney resorts endeavor to entertain you with character meals that allows you to have a meal buffet-style as some of the most-loved characters sign autographs, take pictures and entertain everyone for a couple of hours.

All of the major resorts offer marvelous shopping facilities right on site and all of them are equipped with state-of-the-art exercise and spa facilities. The staff at all of these 5-star locations are there to serve you and make your stay with them better than you have ever experienced anywhere else.

Little Known Tips For A Disney Vacation In Orlando

Maxx — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 00:20:55 +0000

Anyone who is visiting Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida for the first time can benefit from tips from people who are very familiar with the parks and how they are run. There are so many things to do and out of the way places to experience at each of the four Disney parks that it is impossible to do them all in an average one week vacation. Knowing some of these tips beforehand can help you to narrow down the best of the best and eliminate some of the hassle.

Let's start with some general tips when visiting one or all of the Disney parks. If summer vacation or winter or spring breaks are the only time you can visit because of the children's school schedules, be prepared. These are the busiest times at all of the parks and resorts. But, if you are able to be flexible, the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas are the least crowded and yet the most festive at all of the parks. The last three weeks in January and most of October are also times when the attendance is a bit lower.

Always buy your ticket packages either before you leave home or at least a day before you plan on going to the first park. There are many packages and the line to enter the park will be long, but if you also have to stand in line first to buy tickets your wait will be twice as long. Any Disney stores in any mall around the country sells ticket packages to the parks, as does any AAA office. Multi day tickets do not last forever as they used to. Once a ticket is used at the first park it will expire in 14 days. It is cheaper to package many days together now in order to save some of them for your next trip to Orlando. That can still be done. Your ticket can be made to have no expiration date for a small additional fee.

Once you are in the park, utilize Disney's FastPass option. There are very popular rides at every park and standing in line for them can waste an hour each that you could spend seeing other sights. Immediately go to the FastPass Kiosk near the line for the ride you wish and enter your ticket. It will spit out a receipt that will give you an hour-long reservation window for sometime later in the day to return to that ride and go right to the beginning of the line with hardly a wait. This conserves your time and allows you to experience more at each park than the majority of the other visitors.

If you have to rent a stroller or wheelchair for the day, return them before the final fireworks show at the end of the night, if possible. This can save you a lot of time in line, allowing you to get back to your hotel almost an hour earlier. Shop in the gift shops earlier in the afternoon as well. The shops are very crowded right before the park closes and the lines to pay for your merchandise become very long. If there are two afternoon parades being offered, always go to the second one. It will be much less crowded.

Look into attending one of the Character Breakfasts, Lunches, or Dinners. They are a wonderful experience for everyone in your party and allow you perks that you may not have considered. For instance, buying tickets to the Character Breakfast at Animal Kingdom allows you to enter the park an hour and a half before the park opens. You will have a wonderful behind the scenes breakfast adventure and when the park does open, you are already at the head of the line.

Not many know that there is a working barbershop on Main Street at the Magic Kingdom called Harmony Barbershop. One thing that this barbershop specializes in is first haircuts. So, if you have a little one who will be about that age for a haircut, wait until you arrive. The experience is magical and the little tot is given a pair of Mickey Ears to wear that says, "First Haircut" on the back. Truly a wonderful keepsake.

There are so many tips that they could fill an encyclopedia. Hopefully, these few will give you some insight into Disney's parks and increase your enjoyment a bit.

Is Orlando An Enjoyable Vacation Destination For Seniors

Maxx — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 05:16:55 +0000

You don't have to be a senior citizen to find most amusement parks like the Disney parks, Universal's two large parks and Sea World daunting. The amount of walking that is entailed and the huge crowds can be enough for anyone to have second thoughts about spending an entire day there. Many times grandparents find themselves at these same parks they took their own kids to in order to relive the experience through their grandchildren's eyes. That doesn't mean that the crowds are any thinner or the walking is any less. But, is Orlando a destination that lures seniors to come on their own? The major parks sure hope so and for those people who just adore everything Disney, they will certainly make time to revisit Orlando every few years or so.

There are many other amusements abundant in Orlando besides the parks. Anyone who enjoys the game of golf will have to spend at least one vacation here playing as many of the more than 50 stellar courses that are in and around Orlando. Golf packages are quite reasonable and sometimes, a room and a round of play package can amount to less than the round of play itself. In fact, most people who have played some of the beautiful 9- and 18-hole courses have booked their next golf vacation to Orlando as soon as they return home.

Another amazing sports activity in Orlando that is untouchable compared to anywhere else is shopping. There are almost as many shopping malls, outlets, and flea markets in Orlando as there are golf courses. This activity can be accomplished at any pace that is comfortable and every store imaginable can be found in at least one of the shopping centers. Most resorts have shuttles that can take visitors directly to several of the shopping centers and malls that are nearby.

If you do not want to completely rule out hitting at least one of the major amusement parks, Sea World can be recommended most for seniors. Sea World offers a "buy one day admission and get the second day free" option. Any park can be better appreciated if you don't have to try and see all of it in one day. Sure, you could split any of the parks up into two days, but you will pay more than one day's admission for it. Sea World is a very interesting and fun park. It has many very funny and entertaining shows that are only performed at certain times. This alone makes it hard to schedule out the day in order to see every one. By dividing your day into two partial days, you will be sure to see every show that interests you and you won't wear yourself out by overtiring yourself in one long day. The days do have to be consecutive, but usually that doesn't pose a problem.

Orlando also offers some of the most luxurious resort and spa accommodations. Because the entire city loves to build everything according to a theme, you can be sure to find a resort that appeals both to your style and your wish to partake in certain activities. If you love the tropics and luaus, the Polynesian may be your choice. If you've always wanted to go on an African safari, Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge where you can see gazelle, giraffe, and zebra stroll by your balcony is the perfect spot for your memorable vacation.

Orlando isn't only for kids and young people. You can be any age to enjoy all that an Orlando vacation can offer.

Experience The Abundant Nightlife In Orlando

Maxx — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 02:26:55 +0000

Orlando is a tourist city that caters to vacationers of every age and lifestyle. While it is best known for Disney World and all of the Disney parks that abound, it can also offer some of the most exciting nightspots. Florida "locals" travel for miles from other cities to party at some of these popular nightspots.

Disney and Universal have created two of the favorite places for after-hours fun. Disney's Pleasure Island is located right in the middle of their Downtown Disney mega outdoor shopping and restaurant center. The Pleasure Island section of this huge metroplex opens at 7 pm and doesn't close until 2 am. Just like the rest of Downtown Disney and all its sights and shops are free, Pleasure Island is also free if you only wish to sightsee or dine at one of the fine restaurants. There is a cover charge if you wish to enter any of the clubs, however. They do offer a multipass, which would allow you entrance into any or all of the clubs for one night. That pass usually costs about $25.00. A single club admission is around $15.00.

You will find a variety of nightclubs in Pleasure Island all centered on different themes and music styles. There is the Adventure's Club, filled with inanimate and live artifacts from a 1930's-style exploration. The club celebrates New Years Eve of 1937 every night and you are a partygoer. As you enjoy the atmosphere, characters that are all playing parts will surround you. Soon you will become part of the theater.

8-Trax is a 1970's disco that plays all of those lovely disco hits. Break out your Barry Gibb or Donna Summer hair and join in the fun. Be prepared to join in on several group dances like the Hustle and YMCA.

For the newest techno beat music, hop down to Mannequins Dance Palace where the light effects and the rotating dance floor add to the over the top mood. This nightclub has won many awards and is one of the most popular nightspots at Downtown Disney.

There are several other clubs. Motion is a club for Top 40 music, BET Soundstage plays Reggae, Hip-Hop and R&B. Rock 'n' Roll Beach Club is for all the most popular music of the past and present and Comedy Warehouse featuring stand up and improv comedy.

Universal's party zone is called City Walk. City Walk is another open area of shops, fine dining, movie theaters and entertainment events. There is no admission to enter, but most clubs will have a cover charge ranging from $7 – $10. Here also, you will find a wide and varied selection of nightclubs. In City Walk you can enjoy dance hits of the past 3 decades at The Groove or partake of live entertainment with a Caribbean twist at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville. The Red Coconut Club is where you can experience fantastic views and enjoy signature martinis in a quieter atmosphere. Pat O'Brien's is famous for its Cajun specialties and New Orleans's style food, drinks, and music. Finally, there are CityJazz and Bob Marley's for jazz, R&B and soul or Reggae music.

These two areas in Orlando are the most popular nightlife spots because of their locations and the abundance of choices. You can experience almost a dozen different clubs and enjoy radically different atmospheres within a few yards of each other. The area is well populated and has very good security. There are many convenient modes of transportation available from these areas to take you back to your resort or hotel when the night is through.

Both Disney and Universal have perfected the concept of entertainment saturation. There truly is something for everyone. Whatever your taste in music or entertainment, whether you love a noisy, crowded dance floor or if you prefer a quieter, more mellow bar atmosphere, there is a place for you at either Disney's Pleasure Island or Universal's City Walk.