Bike week in Daytona Beach and Orlando

February 18, 2009 by

Hi everyone! Today I’m going to talk about the upcoming bike week in Daytona. Now just like my post on the Daytona 500, Orlando gets a lot of overflow tourist from bike week even though it’s in Daytona Beach, about 60 miles away. In fact many fly in from the Orlando airport, get a hotel in Orlando and drive out to Daytona during the day.

I myself have been to bike week several times. I use to have a courier route that went right down A1A, which is the beach front road. I got stuck in that sea of bikers all week long with my cargo van, what a pain! However it was cool to see all the bikes,,,, and biker chicks! :) I also went there just for the event last year.

If you’ve never been there you just can’t imagine the sight of over 600,000 bikes all in one town. That’s over half a million motorcycles riding down the road. You know that sound when a dozen or so bikers ride by? Picture that sound 10 times louder and never stopping all day! If you don’t like load noises, bike week is not for you. [Read more…]

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Staying in Orlando for the Daytona 500 NASCAR races

February 16, 2009 by

Well I did it again, being just a few days late about an event I should have posted about here in Orlando! Yesterday was the Daytona 500, the first race of the season for NASCAR. Of course the Daytona 500 is not in Orlando, it’s in Daytona Beach. But many get a hotel in Orlando or come to Orlando to do the tourist stuff.

Daytona Beach is around 60 miles north-east of Orlando. The best way to get there is on I-4, which goes straight there. I use to have a courier route that took me right past the track all week long. Now I have to admit I’m not a big fan of racing, but my mom sure is! She watches every race that comes on TV.

On race day it can be damn hard to find a place to park. The parking right there at the track quickly fills up and then people start parking everywhere all around it. The shops around the Daytona 500 track get real tough with their parking. If you can’t prove your there to use their store your going to get your car towed. [Read more…]

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Roadside roses in Orlando for Valentines Day

February 14, 2009 by

Happy Valentines Day everyone! If your in Orlando on vacation you might be thinking about where you can get some roses or other gifts for your sweetie for Valentines. There actually are many places you can buy some roses, heart shaped chocolates and cards for Valentines day around the tourist areas.

The catch is, they are a bit cheap. As in mass produced and a bit low grade. Going into any large grocery store like the Publix chain you will find Valentines cards, chocolates, balloons and roses. Every 7-11, and you find them about every mile in Orlando, will have some cheap roses, cards and trinkets for Valentines day.

Even the many gift shops will have a few things to give your sweetheart for Valentines Day. One thing you will find down here, and it seems to be something you find just in Florida, are the many vans parked by the road selling roses. That’s right, today if you drive around your sure to see a van parked on the side of major roads with the back door open selling fresh roses, cheap too! [Read more…]

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Valentines day weekend hotel deals in Orlando

February 10, 2009 by

Click here for half off Valentine’s Day Hotels @ priceline!

So the 14th is Valentines day, love is in the air! At least it is if you don’t forget your sweetie on this day. If you do then it’s more like the smell of burned dinners for the next week! Orlando is a great place to be on Valentines day. There are hundreds of romantic places to get away, do things and shop for that perfect Valentines gift.

One great way to make your Valentines special this year is to book a romantic getaway hotel for the weekend. A good friend of mine is going to stay with his girlfriend at Universal’s Portofino Bay hotel. Almost all the major hotels in Orlando are having some type of Valentines weekend deal. With hundreds of them it can be confusing which one to pick.

Priceline has a nice list of the best Orlando area hotels that are having Valentines specials, so I recommend checking them out and seeing what is closest to you. In fact the links I have here will take you right to the Valentines special deals page. Just type in the area and let Priceline show you all the best deals you can get for romantic hotel Valentines specials!

Click here for half off Valentine’s Day Hotels @ priceline!

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Can you take an Orlando Vacation without a rental car?

February 5, 2009 by

One of the biggest things you need to figure out when you take an Orlando vacation is if your going to do any of your own driving or not. Much depends on just what your going to do when your here. Orlando is a very spread out city, with many points of interest miles away from each other. If you do much sight seeing a cab will quickly cost much more than a rental car.

However many tourist in Orlando do quite well without a rental car, because they don’t go very far. So lets talk about those who would not need a rental car. Lets say you and the family are going to be down here for 7 days. Your a big fan of the theme parks and have almost every day planned out, with each day going to a different park.

You schedule in a day or two to relax and take it easy. So for the most part your whole vacation will consist of staying at the hotel or going to the theme parks. Disney has buses that go right to the airport and whisk you right to your Disney hotel, if your staying at a Disney one. For the other hotels there are many other buses, passenger vans and taxi that operate out of the airport. [Read more…]

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Orlando vacation theme parks and water parks

February 3, 2009 by

Well everyone, the title to this post seems pretty simple huh? Theme parks and water parks in Orlando. Heck we all know who they are, don’t we? Well actually maybe not! Orlando is growing very fast, and so are the theme parks. Also the major theme parks keep adding new parks! So it can be confusing to keep track of all the big theme and water parks in Orlando.

So I want to make a nice list of them. Now, when I say theme parks, I mean big ones, and I mean each different park in each complex. Disney World, for instance, is a giant mix of 7 or more parks. Water parks are a mix of ones in the big theme parks and other smaller ones all by themselves. I’ll start with the most popular ones first, shall we! [Read more…]

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Disney World Orlando Vacation outlook for 2009

January 31, 2009 by

It looks like a friend of mine and his family are coming down for an Orlando vacation sometime in the late spring. Now this friend is not big on going anywhere, they’ve only been down here one other time. But they wanted to go one more time for their kids, who are around 16, 14 and 10. One of the main reasons they are going this year is because of the economy.

Now you might think wait a minute. If things are going so bad, and everyone is hurting for money, then why would they actually want to pick this time to spend their money and go on vacation? Well, not everyone is having a bad time with their jobs. This family happens to be doing okay and has money set aside and so on.

They also look for bargains and ways to save money with everything they do. That’s one of the reasons why they are doing okay! So it’s because this is a bad year that makes it appealing to them to take their last big Orlando vacation. They know prices for everything is low, and that not many will be in the theme parks. So, it makes sense to pick now to come down here. [Read more…]

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Grocery store shopping on your Orlando Vacation

January 29, 2009 by

When your on an Orlando vacation, your going to spend a LOT on food and snacks. Eating just seems to be one of those things you do lots of while on vacation. Your walking around, seeing the sights and being more active than normal. Also because Orlando is hot you tend to drink a lot more fluids. Lucky for you there is a snack food store on every corner down here!

You also will eat at a lot of fast food joints and restaurants. But after a few days of all this junk food, you might want to do some real food shopping to eat at your hotel. Most hotels have a mini fridge and microwave, while suites can have full kitchens. If your not from around here, and most likely your not, your not familiar with the most common grocery stores here.

I’ve seen a lot of people buy lots of stuff at the 7-11’s down here. They are everywhere! But, anything you buy there is going to cost you a lot compared to a normal grocery store. I’ve seen poor tourist ring up 80 bucks worth of food that fit in one plastic bag at those 7-11’s. So where do you go to buy real food at a real grocery store? [Read more…]

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Getting free theme park tickets to see timeshares not worth it

January 27, 2009 by

I’ve got a funny story to tell you regarding Orlando timeshares. It’s a true one, not making it up. Way back when I first moved to Orlando I had one of my sisters come down for a visit. We did not have much money, in fact both of us were broke. I wanted her to see at least one theme park while she was down here, so I checked out the deals at timeshares.

Well it turns out that one was advertising a pair of free tickets to Sea World just to come in and take a tour of the timeshares. I forget how, but somehow we passed ourselves off as husband and wife (no redneck jokes here please). They asked for your drivers license and stuff, I forget what you needed but it was not much.

So on the day of the tour we went in and they had a free breakfast waiting for us. Actually there was around 20 couples there, all doing the same thing. That’s how they do that, round up a bunch for a morning breakfast and sales pitch. A guy came out and told us he was our guide and salesperson. So after we ate he led us to a timeshare unit, all the while just bursting with energy and so happy to be with us! [Read more…]

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Living with the Orlando Florida lizards and wildlife

January 24, 2009 by

Hi everyone, it’s time for another post about some common wildlife you might see on your Orlando Florida vacation. Actually of all the things you might see, the little lizards we have will be the most common. Many people call them many different names. Gecko, lizards, chameleons and so on. There actually are around a dozen different lizards in Florida.

But the most common one your going to find on your Orlando Vacation is the green Anole and brown Anole. They both are small, around 8 inches long. The green Anole is more common, and often called a chameleon because it changes its color to match the color of whatever it’s standing on. So it can be different shades of green, brown, gray and white.

They are very common, often crawling around every shrub, tree and fence around your hotel, theme parks and houses. Often as you walk on the sidewalk you can notice a quick movement in the shrubs and grass close to where you are; those are the lizards hiding from you. They are harmless and do not bite, they have no teeth. [Read more…]

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Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum in Orlando Florida

January 22, 2009 by

Sometimes when you take an Orlando Florida vacation, too many only think of the big theme parks. There are actually a lot more attractions in the Orlando area, a lot! One of them is our own Ripley’s Believe it or not! museum in Orlando, Florida. It was built to look like it was sinking into the ground, it’s kind of cool when you go in.

Ripley’s Believe it or not! has 27 different museums around the country, all of them around 90% unique in what you see inside. You can see many weird, bizarre and just plain crazy exhibits, as well as some amazing and funny. The Orlando Florida Ripley’s Believe it or not! is open from 9:30 AM to midnight.
[Read more…]

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Alligator facts in Orlando Florida

January 17, 2009 by

Sometimes you hear so much on the news about alligators, snakes and bugs in Florida that it sounds like your going to a jungle on your Orlando Vacation! Well I can tell you to relax, as like all things the critter stories are mostly overblown. Yes, Florida is home to lots of exotic looking wildlife,,,, out in the woods and swamps.

But just like your not going to see a bear in NY city even though New York state does have bears, your not likely to see any alligators or snakes. For the sake of this post, let me talk about the Florida alligators. Now there are plenty of alligators in Florida, most of them small around 2 to 4 feet long. However they can grow up to 18 feet or more in the swamps.

Just about any place that has water will have an alligator. In fact it’s surprising how common they are in small ponds and streams. I jog along a lake each night, and I often see about 6 or so cruising the edges. Alligators main diet is fish, frogs, ducks and any type of small animal that gets too close. Yes that also means cats and dogs. [Read more…]

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