Orlando or Vero Beach?

[doubletrouble_vb]

Which would you choose if you wanted to spend some time in Daytona during Speed Week?

I'm not planning on doing an Disney theme parks...maybe Sea World & the Kennedy Center but that would be it.

In theory I can trade over to Daytona but I'm going to start out with the theory it isn't possible.

 

[vbfamily]

A vote for Vero Beach.

When is Speed Week?

 

[Cruelladeville]

Let me say up front that spending Speed Week in Daytona would be a living Hell for me, so take that into consideration, OK? I would go to Vero, where there is peace and quiet. I don't know what month you are talking about, either, but if you aren't doing Disney, going to Orlando seems somewhat out-of-the-way. Besides, Vero is just so lovely, with the beach and pool, and is quite a romantic place. If you are a guy, it would be a definite plus if you took your wife there. It would make up for a lot, which you are going to need after Daytona. Good luck!

 

[vbfamily]

What exactly is speed week? Is it around the Daytona 500 or does it have to do with motorcycles?

If you know you are not going to stay in Daytona during an event like that it is still kind of fun to drive through there.

I don't remember what was going on when we went down last March but we went through the Carolinas and Georgia and there was motorcycle after motorcycle after motorcycle-maybe Bike Week-and it was really cool to see-the kids and I counted (tried to count) motorcyles and then we drove through Daytona on the way to VB and got to see all the excitement.

VB is pretty relaxing and not a bad drive from Daytona-it is a very pretty drive between the two.

 

[ClarabelleCow]

Are you talking speedweek - (as in right now-NASCAR)? We have driven from Vero to Daytona for the Firecracker 400 in July, it is insane there!!! If you are not going to the races, I would't be caught dead in that area. We then drove after the race (it was still a day race) to catch a plane in Orlando, another nightmare. The traffic is crazy.

 

[vbfamily]

Yes, the traffic is horrible and we probably wouldn't go that way again but it was fun once. There are a lot of other ways you can take.

If you are going to go to Daytona and back a few times from either Orlando or VB, I would say VB

Have fun!

 

[Verandah Man]

My parents used to live near the Daytona area. I was visiting them during Speed Week and Bike Week traffic was a nightmare.

Between Orlando and Vero Beach, my vote is for Vero Beach. My family was just there in November and we loved it!!!

 

[doubletrouble_vb]

Wow that was decisive!

To answer the question...the particular speed week I had in mind was the one or two weeks preceding the Daytona 500...in other words right now. One of things I want to do with my timeshares is see the shuttle (guess that's going to take a while now), see some part of the Daytona 500 events, spend some time exploring both coasts. I don't plan to "do" Disney for a couple of years....2005...or if I can't stand it fall 2004.

I'm not a guy! I just like to see different things. I spent a week in Ormond Beach when it was absolutely dead...me & mom had a blast but it'd be fun to see it when its hopping too.

 

[vbfamily]

You mentioned you wanted to see the shuttle.

We saw it take off from VB once at night, WOW!!!

I know it will probably be a while before things get back to normal but if you ever get the chance to see it, it is amazing.

I still get chills when I think about what it looked like and standing with everyone on the big lawn at VB watching it. I think that is one of the reasons why VB is so special to us.

You're right about seeing a place when it is hopping (sp?). When we saw all the motorcycles leaving Bike Week-it really was amazing. My brother owned Harleys all his life and it was kind of nice to watch for the kind of bike he had and see all of the different people that were down there-even though we spent more time in traffic than we wanted to, it was worth it.

Have fun

 

[PamOKW]

I agree that Vero is probably a good way decompress but isn't it about twice as far from Vero to Daytona than from WDW to Daytona? I don't think I'd want to spend that much time driving and would head over the WDW. There's a lot more to do in the evening at Disney...even if you don't hit the parks.