Labor day events in Orlando Florida & theme parks

Labor day events in Orlando, Walt Disney, Universal Studios and Sea World

Well everyone, one more week and it’s Labor Day weekend in Orlando, Florida! That’s the signal that summer is over and fall is coming soon. Labor Day weekend sees many having outdoor cookouts, going to the beach and taking a dip in the pool. Here in Orlando it also means the last big crowds of tourist in the theme parks before school.

Last year I spent Labor Day weekend on the beach at Daytona Beach. Someone took a picture of me, and that’s why I’ve been working out ever since! Anyway,,,,, for those wondering what kind of events might be going on at the theme parks and around Orlando, there really is not that much more going on. The crowds will be bigger everywhere as many get in their last Holiday weekend of the summer.

But all the theme parks will just have their normal summer events. Walt Disney World, Universal Studios and Sea World will have their normal nightly fireworks, parades and events. They might have a bit more fireworks than normal, a few more sales. The smaller attractions, stores and outlet malls generally have some big sales and discounts going on during Labor Day weekend.
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Watch your car top carriers in parking garages & Universal Studios!

Careful of the height of your car top carriers in parking garages

Nothing ruins your Orlando vacation faster, or makes you more embarrassed, than pulling into a parking garage at the Orlando airport, downtown or the one in Universal Studios and hearing your new car top luggage carrier getting ripped apart because it’s too high! I’ve seen that happen; I’ve been right behind someone who was having that type of bad day.

So let me tell you where you will run into these parking garages and the height requirements. Luckily there are only 3 places you might park inside a parking garage in Orlando. One is right at the airport. They have two main sections, part A and part B on each side of the main terminal. The rental cars are in these also.

The next place you might decide to park inside a parking garage is downtown Orlando. They have several right in the heart of downtown. It’s hard to find a parking spot downtown, so you might very well have to use one if your going to see what the main city is like. It can be very confusing for visitors trying to find the damn things however!
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More airline luggage cost means more reason to pack light

packing light for airline travel with rising luggage cost

More and more flying the friendly sky’s means paying for every single thing you carry. With airlines cutting cost they are now resorting to charging for more meals, drinks, little niceties and luggage. They also are not letting you get away with that over-sized carry-on bag like they use to. More and more airlines are charging per item of each checked bag, or after the first one.

Which means all the more reason to learn how to pack light! I must say over packing for trips is a pet peeve of mine. When I see a couple with no kids check in 5 bags plus 2 carry-ons each I have to shake my head and roll my eyes. True, I don’t know anything about them. Maybe they are going on an Brazilian expedition and they have a rubber raft in that luggage, but likely not!

Most people always over pack way too much stuff. When I go on a vacation I take just two carry-ons. One is my laptop, as I am always working on it of course. That’s how I post all these great articles even while on a trip! 😉 The other one is a soft bag with all my other stuff, small enough to fit any airlines carry-on bag size limits. That’s it!
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How much does it rain in Orlando Florida?

how much does it rain in Orlando, Florida!

In most Orlando vacation fliers and ads you always see it sunny without a cloud in the sky. You always hear about the Florida sunshine and getting sunburned. However for those who are not from Florida you might be surprised to learn that it often rains every day in the summer here in Orlando! In fact Florida I believe is the USA’s number one ranking for lighting strikes.

However the type of rain here is different than the rain you get up north. Yes it’s still just as wet, if not more so since it comes down so fast here! The difference is how long it last. Up in Vermont where I’m from a rainy day means it’s going to be wet, cold and dark all day. In Florida however it’s very flat, meaning the storms roll in and roll out very fast.

A normal summer day in Orlando Florida sees the morning as bright and hot, with very few clouds. Then in the afternoon clouds form, get very dark and roll in fast, often with plenty of thunder. It then rains very hard, often so hard it fills up roads and driveways with several inches of water. Then, about a half hour or so later it blows away, and the hot sun comes out again.

Within an hour or two all the water is gone and you can’t even tell it had rained! It does that almost every day, all summer long. So early afternoon is a good time to plan on doing something inside on your Orlando vacation. Take in an inside show, watch a movie or something. Normally the rain only last an hour or so, then after that it’s like it never happened.

Now, in the fall and winter it hardly ever rains. Day after day goes by with no rain. That’s the dry season in Florida. Sometimes it gets too dry and we end up with a water shortage, brush fires and yellow lawns! So, it does rain in Orlando, a lot actually. But only for an hour or so in the afternoon. So don’t let the rain stop you on your Orlando Vacation!

Are Orlando theme parks still empty?

Are Orlando theme parks starting to fill up now

Sorry it’s been a while since I made a post here, life has a way of taking all your time! Because of the bad economy this summer has seen light crowds at the Orlando Florida theme parks. Disney World, Universal Studios and Sea World has all seen attendance drop like a gold plated balloon! More and more however I keep reading about how things are getting better overall.

So, has things picked up at the theme parks? In a word, NO! This later part of the summer might be seeing a little bit more park attendance than the first part of the summer. But overall things are still down in the Orlando area. All the theme parks, hotels and rental agencies still report lower than normal sales. Of course I can see that just by going around town and looking with my own eyes.

It will not be too long before school starts. Once that happens things always slow down a lot, this year more than ever. This fall will be a fantastic time for that Walt Disney World or Universal Studios vacation. As I have said before fall has the best of both worlds in Orlando. It’s cooler, less humid and rains less than in the summer. Crowds are gone, prices go down and great deals can be had.

The only down side is that some rides in the parks get shut down for maintenance work, there are less fireworks and shows and less parades in the parks. But overall your enjoyment will be much better, especially since you can actually get on more rides and save money! So things might be picking up a little here, but the whole rest of the year promises to still be a slow one.

Disney, Sea World & Universal Studios 4th of July fireworks

Disney, sea world and universal studios fireworks in the 4th of july

Well everyone, soon it will be the 4th of July! As you can imagine Orlando has some major firework displays going on. For tourist most want to know about what types and when to see 4th of July fireworks at the theme parks. Just so you know, anyone can buy fireworks here in Florida, unlike some other states.

So watch out for people letting some loose around you, which they do. Last year it was very dry here in Orlando Florida. Because of that a lot of firework shows were canceled due to the fire hazard. But this year has been wet so everyone will be out shooting off their fireworks! The theme parks have some really good shows scheduled this year too.

The theme parks are always packed on the 4th of July, and some may stop admitting people in once they are full. So get there early and don’t leave the park until your sure your not going to stay anymore that day. Here’s a break down of what the major theme parks have in store for you on the forth of July:
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Summer Orlando vacation hotel rates still a bargain

The 21st marks the official first day of summer. Of course it feels like summer already, especially down here in Florida! With the summer season comes the summer crowds and tourist. Many think that Florida is the most busy during the winter, but that’s not true. It’s in the summer, like most places in the USA, that Orlando gets the most tourist.

All the international tourist that are having winter in their side of the world come to Florida in the summer. Also here in the US summer is when schools are out, so that is when the family gets to take that yearly vacation. Along with the summer crowds are the summer prices on everything, which usually is higher!

Most of the time it can be quite a bit higher too. Hotels put their summer rates up, which can be anywhere from 20% to 50% higher than the fall and winter seasons. However that does not seem to be the case this year. As we all know it has been a bad year everywhere, and still will be well into next. So the hotel prices have been low.

They will jack them up higher in the summer, but not as much as before. Also since they are already lower than normal, the price increase is not as much as in the past. There will be plenty of “middle class” hotels in the Orlando theme park area with daily rates of $30.00 to $50.00 per day! Plus many weekend and weekly specials.

So there still will be plenty of hotel bargains in Orlando this summer. Just check out some of the hotel booking places you see in the sidebars here and see for yourself what a great summer of bargains an Orlando vacation this summer will be!

Orlando Gay Days at Disney a big success

Well this tourist site would not be complete without a recap of Gay Days in Orlando that was this past weekend. Started 9 years ago, Gay Days has grown into a large event with many big name sponsors and theme park activities. My good lesbian friend Ashley and her girlfriend went and stayed at The Regal Sun Resort, which was the place to be for lesbians at Gay Days this year.

They would not let me go with them, some friends huh! 😉 There is always conflicting numbers as to how many come into Orlando each year for Gay Days, but 150,000 is about what they expected. This year there was many pool parties at hotels, Gay Day parties at the local clubs, lots of special events and more.

Of course the big highlight of Gay Days was Saturday, when everyone wears red and goes to Disney! But this year there were plenty in the other theme parks too, like Sea World and Universal Studios. Gay Days pumps in millions of dollars into Orlando, so the parks and attractions are really starting to welcome them more each year. Check out the Gay Days official site for lots more information!

Orlando flooding not in the tourist area

It seems like these days the news tends to dramatize everything. If a tornado hits one town in Oklahoma they make it sound like the whole state got blown away. That seems to be what is happening right now in Florida.

If you’ve seen the news, you know that parts of Florida is having a little flooding problem. The east coast and parts of central Florida have been having days of thunderstorms and lots of rain. Talking to some family out of state they seem to have the impression that every house in Florida is under water and all roads closed!

That of course is not true. The only places that are suffering some flooding is areas on the east coast, in places that are in flood plains. Places they never should have built any houses anyway. Even then it’s only small areas of those towns. But of course it does not take much to equal a lot of damage in dollars.

Here in central Florida where Orlando is everything is pretty much normal. We always get afternoon thunderstorms in summer, but only for an hour or two. These just happen to be bigger ones that last longer. I just wanted people to know that despite all the hype on the news, everything is normal in Orlando and the tourist areas.

Latest updates in Orlando Inside

Wow, talk about not keeping up with my site huh! It’s been a while since I made any post on here, sorry about that. I blame it on the economy. You see, this is a new site, one that I am growing. But when it’s new, it does not make much, if anything. So with the downturn in the economy I had to devote all my time into the sites I have that do make money.

So that’s my story and I’m sticking to it! The tourist industry is still light in Orlando, and expect it to be all year. The summer will be busier like it always is. But still lighter than normal. I don’t see the Orlando tourist crowds to be back up to normal until next summer, if that. So if you want that Orlando vacation when the crowds are light, any time this year is good.

Prices are still way down too. Normally you see higher prices for everything once summer is underway. But I don’t think they will go up much this year. If they can’t fill the hotels and rent the cars now, how can they increase the prices! Even I’m taking advantage of low air fair prices, I’m up in Vermont visiting my mom right now!

Working on my laptop on vacation, can’t get any better than this! I’ll try to start posting more on here and getting this place big with lots of information and the latest news. So again, sorry about not keeping this place updated. But I’ll try to get back into it and keep it current. Now come on down and enjoy a light crowd, low price Orlando vacation! 😉

Spring Break in Daytona Beach and Orlando

Hi everyone! Right now, March 1st, bike week in Daytona Beach and Orlando is still in full swing. But next week, on the 9th through the 29th of March, is spring break! Yes it’s that time when the college kids take off from school and go crazy. Daytona Beach has been both a popular and unpopular place for spring break over the years.

In it’s heyday MTV held shows at Daytona Beach spring break. They had some years when the kids got a bit out of hand, and the powers that be in Daytona did not want them there anymore. But, over the last few years it has once again become more spring break friendly, with a little more rules in place so it’s not a free-for-all.

Since Daytona beach is only around 60 miles away from Orlando, it gets it’s fair share of breakers that fly into the Orlando airport and stay in Orlando. Indeed many come to Orlando for the theme parks and other attractions, going to the beach maybe once or twice. The beaches of Daytona and theme parks of Orlando make for a great combination. [Read more…]

Gatorland youtube video in Orlando

Well everyone, today I’m having one of my lazy days! So, I thought I’d show you all a neat gatorland youtube video. You’ll notice when I’m having a bad day or not enough time I’ll throw in a quick you tube video! It’s not that they are bad, it’s just fast. One of Orlando’s smaller parks is Gatorland. It’s been around for a long time.

In fact one of the very first James Bond movies had a shot inside Gatorland. Over the years it has gotten bigger, and now it had hundreds of reptiles to see. From alligators, crocodiles, snakes and lizards, it has them all. They have several shows a day, including jumping alligators and of course alligator wrestling.

It’s fun for the whole family and good for a few hours or half a day. They even have a little train that goes around the park. So when you go on your Orlando vacation, if you like wildlife and reptiles, think about visiting Gatorland. I’ll write a more complete post about it sometime. But for today, enjoy this Gatorland youtube video! :)