Basketball Help

[Cassius69]

I've checked out the NBA site for tickets, and there's a couple of good matches on.

Anyone been to watch the basketball in Orlando? You got any tips (how best get there, best seats for the $$'s, what's the best pizza slice)

Thanks for your help

 

[vernon]

I've not been myself so any comments I have are hearsay, and my (dodgy) memory of other people's comments from the site who have been.

I think driving to the basketball arena isn't too tricky, either from I-Drive or WDW area. I think I-4 is the easiest route. Parking I believe was very well organised ( they usually are at American sporting events). Can't help on the tickets, I don't know the layout of the arena, although I wouldn't go for the "nose bleeds" myself, IMHO you're better off paying a little more to get decent seats.

 

[BruTamUK]

We went in December 2002 to watch Orlando Magic against Washington Wizards (Michael Jordans last season) and would recommend the experience to anyone. We had seats on the back row, upper tear (nose bleed seats) and the view was very good. The seating is steep so you dont have a problem seeing the court. We paid about $20 each through Ticketmaster and collected the tickets via 'will call'.
Getting there was easy and parking facilities were excellent.
One word of advice, take a camera. We were told that no cameras were allowed but when inside the arena we were the only people without one. I was gutted!
The atmosphere was great as it was such a big game and the fans seemed to cheer both teams.
During timeouts and half time cheerleaders and mascots entertain the crowd and if you are lucky men on stilts fire t-shirts into the crowd!
I have just booked some tickets for the games against Denver Nuggets and the New York Knicks this December. They cost $22 each for the upper tear, level with centre court, and $65 for lower tear tickets with a corner view.
As for the pizza slices I don't know, we had popcorn and a soda!
Regards,
Bruce

 

[juliebro]

We went to see Magic v Detroit Pistons back in April. It was an experience - totally unlike any sporting event I have seen in the UK. Ceratinly very different to watching United at the Theatre of Dreams!

I seem to remember that when we bought the tickets via Ticketmaster there was a facility to see the view from your seat. Check it out. We were in the upper section (almost at the back) but could see everything that was going on. There is also a big scoreboard/screen suspended above the court.

I can't believe how many breaks they have - it seemed to last for 3 hours almost - but with only about an hour of play in that time - with time-outs etc.

There were so many food outlets - almost every type of food you can imagine. Everyone seemed to be eating.

DS & DH enjoyed watching the cheerleaders. The mascot was a lunatic - dressed as a dragon, he was doing somersaults down the stairs and charging all over the place.

Lots of souvenirs on sale. Very friendly atmosphere - no segregation of teams - nor any required.

A couple of warnings though....

The flooring is 'sticky' - I assume so you don't slip and then try to sue them! And the traffic getting away from the TD Waterhouse Centre was terrible - downtown Orlando was gridlocked after the game.

It was an experience - I'm glad we did it - but I doubt we'd go back.

Julie

 

[Sian]

I would echo everything said above. Went for the cheapest seats and they were fine (if scarily high up). Easy to find, signposted from main road, parking good, traffic bad on the way out - either make a dash for it or linger. Definitely worth doing.

 

[tyke]

Seating

All depends upon whether you are a fan of basketball or you are just going for the novelty !!!

If you are a fan (like me) get as close to the action as possible - expect to pay around $100 for level 1 seating.

If you are going on a budget - tickets in the upper levels can be purchased for around $20.

I do suggest trying to get as central to the court as possible.

Parking

See Map


Which games are you thinking of attending !

tyke

 

[Cassius69]

Thanks for all the help - I'll get the tickets booked this weekend (possibly the last thing to be booked, but you never know)

We're hoping to see either the Boston Celtics or the Toronto Raptors (the 29th Nov and 1st of Dec I think) - which is great, because both me and my brother have (separately) seen both these teams play in their home towns.

How about you Tyke? Will you be there on the 1st - or will you wait to see Memphis play on the 4th?

Cheers all

 

[sherman]

We went a couple of years ago ( my son is a big fan ) and although I wasn't that bothered about going, it turned out to be the highlight of the holiday. Booked the tickets online before we went and picked up on the night - no problem.

I was a bit nervous about driving, parking etc - especially as it was dark - and decided to take a cab from the hotel on I Drive. The concierge organised for us and it was a great decision. I think it cost about 40$ for the round trip. The driver was great - he dropped us across the road from the car park and told us he would be listening to the game and be waiting for us in the same spot at the end.

We're going again in two weeks but staying at Lake Buena Vista, so a cab too pricey, but found about Gator Tours ( just do a search on Google). They offer a package including a match ticket and coach pick up and return from most hotels. Unfortunately they don't have secure on line ordering, but invested around £4 to call them and booked our seats - I just have to call them when we arrive to confirm booking and arrange pick up.

 

[sam_b]

Hi,

We went in Jan of this year and we bought our tickets at the TD Waterhouse stadium for a match the next day. Our tickets were $10 each in the upper tier, but they were fab!

If you are scared of heights (I am) I would recommend you visit the Jack Daniels stand - yummmmmyyyyy.

As we were there for the experience and not that bothered about the result we left when there was 30 seconds left on the clock and had no problems with the traffic.

Have fun!!!!