Orlando - what to do?

Ste1605

Hi.
we are heading to Orlando last week in may for two weeks, just me and the misses. We have tickets for all theme parks except Disney. We have also booked in to discover cove to swim with the dolphins.

Can anyone comment on

what the queues will be like at this time of year?
What the Disney parks are like?
Good places to eat (all cuisines)
Decent bars - I have heard howl at the moon is quite good.
things to do outside the theme parks
basketball/soccer - are there games in Orlando?

any other tips or advice greatly welcomed

thanks

mightyreds

Millers ale house around pointe orlando is a good sports bar does nice food nothing fancy, amazing desserts though, captain jacks hidden treasure being the pick, monster portions too, and if I remember it was 5 dollars for a pitcher of miller, canyan copper girl around the same spot was lovely too

I see on millars website it's 8 dollars a pitcher of bud/bud lite was around 3 pints in a pitcher, when I was there the pitcher included a few variations of miller.

City walk is also good in universal has a few bars around very expensive though.

Ruu

Queues at the parks anytime of year will be long, especially weekends and times when kids are off school. Try going in the evening or during lunch for the rides, since the parks open until at least 7 or 8 (Universal).

Ste1605

Thanks for the heads up on the bars - that all sounds good.
That makes sense with the theme parks - are the fast passes worth the money seem quite expensive on top of your admission another 50-70 dollars.

mightyreds

Ste1605 wrote: »

Thanks for the heads up on the bars - that all sounds good.
That makes sense with the theme parks - are the fast passes worth the money seem quite expensive on top of your admission another 50-70 dollars.

I don't think they are worth it, what I found was if you arrive early you'll be ahead of the crowd and everyone tends to go the same direction around parks so you'll be ahead the whole first round of the park, the problem with this though was going to the 2 universal parks you will get stuck if you go to one early you'll be heading to the next around lunch and will get caught in queues

Jasper79

Yeah have been twice in last 3 years just me and the GF.

Recommend doing the parks on weekdays and Shopping/lounging at weekends.

Bars at Pointe Orlando are very good/reasonable and millers alehouse always has good crowd, and lots of sports on .

Disney has a lot, we found that could do 2 parks in a Day no problem ( being there at 8am till prob 8pm) just check some days Disney closes earlier.

Universal, the 2 week unlimited ticket is great value, can come and go as you please then.

Outkast_IRE

I actually spent 10 days at Universal Studios at onsite accomodation last year during the the end of May/ start of June.

With Regards to

Fast Pass - Not really necessary at this time of the year, avoid going at the weekend if you can. The most i queued was for 1 hour due to a ride breakdown. Most of the rest of the rides were 15 mins or less queues. But be intelligent if you see the queue for a ride says 2hrs walk away and go on something else i can guarentee you later in the day it will quiten down.

Also if you are staying nearby then head to the park very early in the morning or else late in the evening, alot of locals just go for a few hours in the middle of the day and its busiest from about 11am to 4pm it quieter outside these times.

Universal itself onsite has 2 parks, if it was me i would allow at least a day for each Park, the Harry Potter rides are the busiest and so is the Despicable me ride so head to these either first thing in the morning or late in the evening. And check out if they are doing fireworks shows in the evening they often are.

If buying souveniers in Universal wait till your heading home, you dont want to be carrying them around all day and needing storage lockers. Also wear comfortable old shoes you dont mind getting wet, you will be doing alot of walking so generally flip flops etc are a bad idea on the rides.

Ruu

There is free storage as a lot of rides at Universal have you store everything and you can't carry on any bags, loose clothing, etc. They vary but the lockers are free up until 1hr which is normally enough time from queuing until you are done with the ride.

billy few mates

I found this book quite useful when I was there.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Guide-Orlando-Disney-World-Guides/dp/0572044623

it's written by a British couple and has some useful advice and tips on how to make the most of your stay.

jack presley

Ste1605 wrote: »

Hi.
we are heading to Orlando last week in may for two weeks, just me and the misses. We have tickets for all theme parks except Disney. We have also booked in to discover cove to swim with the dolphins.

Can anyone comment on

what the queues will be like at this time of year?
What the Disney parks are like?
Good places to eat (all cuisines)
Decent bars - I have heard howl at the moon is quite good.
things to do outside the theme parks
basketball/soccer - are there games in Orlando?

any other tips or advice greatly welcomed

thanks

I was there in May time last year (4th to the 16th) and while it was in theory a quiet period it still got busy at times, especially Disney which I think is busy 365 days a year. It's obviously before the real busy period (I think that starts after Memorial Day towards the end of May) but there will still be crowds. We stayed at Universal and the Fast Passes were a lifesaver. In May you get a lot of groups of school kids on their school trips (better then Clara Lara that we went to when we were in school!!) and if you get stuck behind them in a queue, there'll be a wait.

If it's just you and your misses and no kids, I'd give Disney a miss (well Magic Kingdom anyway). Unless she's always wanted to go there and is into all that princess stuff of course. I found it quite dated compared to Universal Studios and as I said earlier, it seems to be jammed a lot of the time. But that's just my opinion on Disney and others love it I'm sure.

The chances are you're staying on or near International Drive which is a good bit away from Orlando City itself where the sports teams play so unless you fancy a good old drive into the city, you probably won't get to see the Magic (NBA) or Orlando City (MLS) play. The NBA regular season could well be over by then as well and the Magic aren't anywhere near making the playoffs this season either.

Discovery Cove is probably the best day you'll have all trip. We did that about half way through our trip and found it a nice relaxing day after days rushing around the parks. It gave us a chance to recharge the batteries for the second half of the holiday. If you can, do the SeaVenture, that was brilliant. Also, try and go on a Saturday/Sunday as the limit the people they allow in so it doesn't get too busy whereas the parks will be packed on weekends.

There are loads of decent places to eat in and around International Drive and City Walk at Universal is great too. We had kids with us so didn't stay too late into the night at any of the bars but that seems like a good place to go.

Apparently the weather gets very humid and storms are frequent in from June onwards so May is perfect weather wise. About 28 most days and a nice heat as opposed to one where you're sweating after 5 minutes. It only rained on our last day too.

glassdaisies

Ste1605 wrote: »

Hi.
we are heading to Orlando last week in may for two weeks, just me and the misses. We have tickets for all theme parks except Disney. We have also booked in to discover cove to swim with the dolphins.

Can anyone comment on

what the queues will be like at this time of year?
What the Disney parks are like?
Good places to eat (all cuisines)
Decent bars - I have heard howl at the moon is quite good.
things to do outside the theme parks
basketball/soccer - are there games in Orlando?

any other tips or advice greatly welcomed

thanks

Keep in mind Monday May 25 is memorial day and a national holiday in the US, so that weekend the parks will likely be very busy and the queues possibly quite long. otherwise, I dont think they'll be too bad, as may is actually a really nice time to come before the heat of the summer really kicks in.

well, all four disney parts are radically different. For two adults, I highly recommend a day at Epcot. Wandering around the world showcase is my favorite passtime when I can get tot the parks.

Food and bars - it depends on where you're staying! Idrive? 192? Disney area? Universal?

Outside of the theme parks there is plenty to do, depends on what you like! cocoa beach is about an hour away, very touristy but it's the closest one. Jetty park beach is a good one to sit out and watch the cruise ships leave port canaveral in the early evening. Also tons of shopping at the mall at millennia, florida mall, and two premium outlet malls in the area.

Soccer - yes. The Orlando city soccer club just started with the MLS a few weeks ago! They play near downtown Orlando at the Citrus Bowl. A quick google for their schedule will tell you if they have any matches while you're in town. I highly recommend it! I went to their first home game and it was an incredible amount of fun. basketball - I dunno? The orlando magic play downtown at the amway arena, not sure what their season is though! google shall help you there as well.

Feel free to ask any other questions

Easypeasey

Hi all,

I'm jumping in on this, v informative so far, I would like some more recommendations for restaurants/bars to eat/drink in while in Orlando? Steakhouse? Asian?

Thanks

InTheTrees

glassdaisies wrote: »

Keep in mind Monday May 25 is memorial day and a national holiday in the US

Memorial Day is the start of summer bank holiday so its a major one. Expect huge crowds for that entire week.