Holy land experience..has anyone been to this?

[savannah]

I did a search, but so far I haven't found any reviews. Also do they have a web site? I heard that the admission fee is $17 for adults. I'm curious about the crowds, the attraction itself, tme to allow. I would really enjoy seeing some the the Bible brought to life!

 

[DJT]

You're correct that the price is $17.00. We went at 4:00 p.m. on Friday and left at 7:00 p.m. It was not crowded at all. It closed at 5:00 or 6:00 p.m. each day except Friday and Saturday when it stayed open until 9:00 p.m. It is not a very large park but it is still developing.

The exhibits are:
1. Wilderness Tabernacle with shows every 30 minutes (we saw this);
2. Theater of Life with shows every 30 minutes;
3. The Jerusalem Model A.D. 66 with a lecture every hour on the hour (we saw this);
4. Shofar Auditorium - Bible lecture;
5. Garden Tomb music and drama at scheduled times
(we saw part of this);
6. Musical drama at the Plaza of Nations;
7. Contemporary concert at the Plaza of Nations at scheduled times (we saw this).

Of the things we saw, my favorite was the Jerusalem Model and the talk that was given there. It was so interesting to see the models of the buildings, housing, and the way life was then. It gave me a new perspective about many things. I thought the talk was excellent.

There is only one place to eat, the Oasis Palms Cafe. We had planned to eat later so we didn't go inside. There is also a shop where you can buy books and gifts.

The Qumran Dead Sea Caves were not completed when we were there.

I'm glad we went but we probably won't go back until they add quite a few more exhibits.

 

[savannah]

thanks for your detailed post, that helps alot.

 

[DJT]

You're very welcome, Savannah. I just realized you also asked if there is a website. The brochure lists that as www.zionshope.org.

 

[BarryHom]

I am not religious, but I am debating on visiting it next month since many people are asking about it.

Barry Hom
Moderator, Universal and Sea World Boards

Click HERE for interesting Universal Orlando information!

 

[Chuck S]

Barry, If you do go next month please post or e-mail your opinion to me. I'd appreciate a secular view of the park. I'd like to see this park if it is based on Biblical history and sites, but isn't a 'hard sell' for religion.

Chuck
DVC '92 (OKW)

 

[BarryHom]

I'll do one better. I'll post a trip report here so everyone can see my opinions.

Barry Hom
Moderator, Universal and Sea World Boards

Click HERE for interesting Universal Orlando information!

 

[sandyneck]

We just visited the Holy Land. We are devout Christians and while some of it was interesting, I think they missed the boat and I wlll tell you why from a Christian point of view. They need to make up their minds on what this park is going to be about. There is a strange mix of history and a message to convert people to Christianity. Now believe me, I'm the first one to think it is admirable to try and spread the Word, but you are not going to do it with a 10 minute lecture or a twenty minute film. Those of us who already believe what they are trying to preach don't need a lesson on everything Jesus did for us, we already know. So the park doesn't meet the needs of either of the groups who will visit it. I live on Cape Cod, and I was hoping for something like Plymouth Plantion, only adapted to Jeruselum. A recreation of the city and people and times. I hope that with time they will sort this out. By the way, for non Christians, it is not a hard sell and you will not feel any pressure. For Christians, while the model and the talk on Jeruselum were interesting, I will say we were a little disappointed.

 

[savannah]

thanks Sandy. We too are christians and go to a great church that has lots of dramas, musicals, neat ways to bring the Bible to life. I never tire of seeing the Bible in drama form and I think from a historical point of view, I'd enjoy "seeing" some of the places, I am interested in why you found it disapointing. The previous post looked like they did have several things going on.

 

[savannah]

p.s. That web site was "under construction" nottoo much info there!!

 

[?]

We have friends who visited last week and they said it was boring, not much to see, and definately not worth the price. A great disappointment. Sorry, not trying to be negative, just sharing their thoughts.

 

[sandyneck]

You won't see many places. That is the problem. The Marketplace is barely big enought to turn around in and there were two stores. The tomb is interesting, but takes about 20 seconds to see, and you can only see the temple from the outside. The inside is a film presentation. I was hoping they would have it set up as it was back then, with all the different aspects of what the priests had to do when they entered the temple. I don't want to be too negative, just don't expect a lot. Once they have more things open maybe it will be more worthwhile. <><

 

[savannah]

hey, that helps, maybe we will wait until our next trip, whenever that may be! It's good to hear comments to help all of us make an informed decision!

 

[kellymonaghan]

I have polsted an extensive guide to the Holy Land Experience, with descriptions and reviews of all the attractions and shows, plus information on dining and shopping. It's at:

http://www.theotherorlando.com/updates/

It's way too long to post here.

Kelly Monaghan
Author of "Universal Orlando: The Ultimate Guide to the Ultimate Theme Park Adventure" and
"The Other Orlando: What To Do When You've Done Disney & Universal"
<img height=100 src=http://www.theotherorlando.com/images/use.jpg> <img height=100 src=http://www.theotherorlando.com/images/orl3.jpg>>

 

[Lisa P.]

We visited this "park" last Monday and enjoyed it. After reading the posts here, we went into it with the impression that it would be more like a small "living museum" than a theme park. That turned out to be pretty accurate, at least for now. We foudn the price to be appropriate, especially when compared with the entrance price for good, modern zoos, museums, etc.

I will admit that we didn't learn a tremendous amount of new information but what we saw reflected much that we've learned in recent Bible studies and seminars, reinforcing it. For the casual Bible reader or someone who is curious about the history behind some of the key Bible stories, it would be a good visit. The musical performers were excellent. Our church also offers high quality musical and high-tech dramatic performances every year but we enjoyed this here too.

We were fortunate to be able to hear the founder speak in their auditorium Monday afternoon. He told of the way that the Holy Land Experience came about and their future plans. The background was fascinating and for a believer, an awesome testimony.

Anyway, they didn't originally plan to build it in Orlando. When they obtained the land for a song (bankruptcy sale), they didn't have the money to buy it but donations came in immediately. Later, part of the land was bought back by the government for more money than the original purchase (!) in order to build a new highway interchange, granting ideal I-4 access (right off the exit ramp). This made the location ideal and funded part of the early development. There's more.

It wasn't originally expected to be a huge, touristy, theme park. They had thought it would draw 200-300 people per day, many from church groups seeking a visual experience to encourage them in their faith and beginning efforts at understanding the Bible. When some local Rabbis expressed concerns about the content, it gradually gained worldwide publicity for free! So they are seeing an average of 1,000 visitors a day and scrambling to increase their employee base, add more food service and seating, more parking, etc.

They will open the Scriptorium (largest private collection of authentic Biblical artifacts in the world) next year. Future sections are also anticipated, related to Genesis/Creation and Noah/the Flood. When those are built, we'll definitely return! The quality of the things were saw was good. It's a very small place right now though. We took our time to really look around at everything and spent about 4 hours in the afternoon there.

We had an unusual experience. Walking across the parking lot after arrival, I saw a man taking a photo of his extended family and offered to take the picture so he could be in it too. They were visiting from the Philippines, excited to be there.

At the end of the day, an older gentleman sitting in a gift shop wasn't feeling well. His wife asked for water to help him as he started to pass out, very pale, somewhat dehydrated and confused, with a history of heart problems. A nearby police officer (another guest) and I helped his wife get him to the floor while the staff called for help. Within a minute or so, there were several staff people there to help, including a staff nurse with some equipment and then paramedics arrived a few minutes later. As an old ER nurse, I must say, everyone was very professional, efficient and kind. The rest of their extended family was found in the park. From the floor, the man looked up at me, smiled and said we'd met in the parking lot earlier. I hadn't recognized him - it was the SAME man whose picture I'd taken. Arrangements were made to take him to the hospital and we left. Hope he was alright - they've been in our prayers.

Hope this helped answer a few questions. Sorry it was so long.

 

[savannah]

thanks kelly, your review was very complete and details, we appreciate your time to post on this. Have a great week!!