Theme park tour in the not too distant future

[AuSSiETiG3R]

Hey all,

 

Was thinking of saving up and flying over to the States to Orlando FL for a couple of weeks and going on a bit of a mini theme park tour.

 

Any recommendations as to which ones?

 

I've already got two set: WDW and EPCOT, but was also considering Busch Gardens, Animal Kingdom (Expedition Everest) or Sea World Orlando.

 

Will also be travelling by myself, so would need an idea of some fairly inexpensive places to stay etc

 

Oh and I'd take it most of you would have been on the Rock N Roller Coaster with Aerosmith at MGM Studios, just wondering what it's like because I was thinking of going on that ride as well.

[Gav]

I've already got two set: WDW and EPCOT

To claify though. WDW is the name given to the whole Resort. Hollywood Studios, Epcot, Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom are the parks within it.

 

Oh and I'd take it most of you would have been on the Rock N Roller Coaster with Aerosmith at MGM Studios, just wondering what it's like because I was thinking of going on that ride as well.

It's just a launched coaster in the Dark. Very smooth ride.

Ever been on Superman at Movie World?...Its like that, but with a less powerful launch.

I'm guessing by your avatar you've been on Demon at Wonderland. Rock n Roller Coaster has 3 inversions too.

 

Dont miss out on Islands of Adventure though! it's a great all around park, with stuff like The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, Jurrasic park and the Incredible Hulk Coaster.

Universal studios is good too, and can be done on a multi park ticket.

 

The thing to keep in mind is that if you're sinking close to $2000 on airfares, then an extra say $40 to upgrade your pass to include an extra park is totally worth it.

 

If you're after cheap Accom, well, when I've been traveling I have been solo too, and just stayed at the Hotel 6 on American Way (At the top of International Drive) It's walking distance to the Universal parks, and you can take the Lynx buses to Sea World, and connect from Sea World down to Walt Disney World.

[downunder]

I stayed at a Days Inn, which was easy walking distance from Universal (almost across the road from where you drive into the resort), and they had a shuttle to the other parks. It was only $30 a night Australian in October last year.

 

There's also a bus that picks up from the Universal bus parking area that goes to Busch Tampa, that worked pretty well. Only $10, or free if you have multi day pass for the Busch parks.

[simon8899]

As always in the US - with the exception of NYC, Boston and Frisco: Get a rental car.

 

Even if not a themepark and the space program lies in shambles: Kennedy Space Center is not far off by car and makes a good day.

[Bryce232]

Definitely go to Busch Gardens, Seaworld, and Universal. ESPECIALLY if you're a B&M fan.

[Tanks4me05]

It depends on how many days you are spending. To get to the main thrill parks in Orlando, you will need two, maybe three days: One day for Sea World, and two days (or one if you feel like doing a credit run; I generally advise against credit runs unless the parks are really small, because I don't like feeling too rushed while going to amusement parks) for both Universal parks. I also recommend doing Fun Spot USA and Old Town in Kissimmee (they are two adjacent, separate parks) because one of them has a 150 foot Larson drop tower, and the other has the world's tallest sky coaster with a gorgeous LED package on the supports. You can do both parks at night. If you're going in the winter, I suggest to go to Sea World during the day, and hit up these two parks at night, after Sea World closes.

 

And if you are going after March 2013, (I assume you aren't, but you didn't specify when you are going) go to Fun Spot Action Park (5551 Del Verde Way, Orlando, FL) because they are tripling their size and are getting two coasters, one of them rumored/speculated to be that compact GCII "Big Fun" model that was recently unveiled at IAAPA this year.

 

And then there is also Busch Gardens over by Tampa, which is about an hour and a half or so outside Orlando.

 

As far as hotels go, there are so many, I can't possibly point you to a specific one, except for that Days Inn a mile away from Sea World: I got stuck in a smoking room, and the smell was horrible, paint was peeling on the ceiling, the bathroom smelled incredibly musty, and I found a cigarette burn mark on my comforter the third night I was in there (stayed four nights.) However, the attached IHOP was amazing and the staff were INCREDIBLY friendly.

 

To find a hotel that you want, just go onto Google Earth, zoom into the parks in the Orlando area, and type in "hotel" in the search bar. I don't know your budget, but all I care for is a clean hotel, so I won't do any hotels that don't have guest submitted reviews, don't have links to their website via Google Earth so I can check them out further, and I generally won't go with anything less than a 3 star hotel. (The Days Inn was a 2 star.)

 

And try to plan your schedule around what is open at Busch Gardens, because I went in February and I didn't think to check what rides were closed for maintenance then... I found that Montu was closed until a week after I got there, and everything was booked by then.