Our 5*'s Easter '01 w/2 teens, all Dis, Sea World, Airboat Ride, spaceshot

[pepsibar]

5*+ Disney's Fast Pass system. WOW! that sure made Disney more enjoyable even w/ huge crowds.

5*(of 5) (great day trip - only 1 hour from DIS)
Airboat Johns Airboat Ride, Christmas, FL (exit 41 off I4 then 30 min toward Cocoa Beach.) Saw numerous bald eagles, gators of all sizes, turtles. It was 15 min from excellent Kennedy View. We did Airboat 12-1:30 and then watched spaceshot w/great view @ 2:30. Suitable for all ages.

5* Sea World Guided Tour "Adventure Express". Kelly (guide)was friendly and very knowledgeable. My wife usually loves SW and I just go along. I liked it as much as she did this time! (1st lime I ever pet a penguin!) Sea World only do 4 tours per day, so I strongly suggest reservations. Includes feedings and 1st in line for rides.

5* Jellyrolls @ Disney's Boardwalk. Dueling piano bar. (You'd never guess you're in DIS) Great music + hilarious antics. The women (customers)in there go crazy! Singing, dancing, swaying, etc. Must be 21. $5 cover. Opens 8pm. (Better than anything @ Pleasure Island.)

5* Rock'n Roller Coaster - MGM (what a start!)
5* Tower of Terror - MGM (@ 12 my youngest sons leg reminded me of Thumper in Bambi!)
5* Back to Future - Universal (best ride anywhere)
5* Wild Arctic - Sea World - better than DIS/Univ Shaker Table Rides! (ie: Star Tours)
5* Alien Encounter - Magic Kingdom - terrified my wife!
5* Animal Kingdom: It's Tough to be a Bug, Dinosaur, Festival of the Lion King Show, Dinosaur,and Maharajah Jungle Trek - at start of every morning - they release live fish into Tiger's pond. Tigers then "hunt" the fish as you watch from above. True Nature!

5* Johnny Rivers Restaraunt (BBQ) great food, huge quantities, very reasonable prices! Exit 41 AWAY from Cocoa (left coming from DIS)

5* Kona Cafe @ Polynesian Resort. Great food! Huge Portions! Amazing desserts! Fair Lunch prices.

5* Shuttle Launch @ Titusville Bridge. See the difference between the speed of light and the speed of sound!

5* My Hertz Rent-a-Car. Freedom to EXPLORE! See the coupon books @ visitor centers, Dennys, Shoneys, etc for great ideas for off DIS fun. Also allows me to NOT wait for DIS (very time consuming) buses. If you pay your $6 in the morning you can move lot to lot free. I paid <$22/day for full size Sable.

5* Marriott Orlando World Center Resort (hotel):
5 in/out pools, waterslides and falls, gym comparable to Golds, World, etc, hottubs, tennis, golf, basketball, kids program. Tower 4 has great DIS view. Two miles to DIS. See fireworks from balcony. 5 restaraunts from $10up / meal. (great deal as a Priceline 4*) Bad parking.

5* Caribe Royale (hotel)
great pool w/waterfall, great suites (much better than Marriott's rooms), bad, but free hot buffet. Same corner as Marriott. Lesser view.

Prior: Caribe Royale, Embassy Suites- offsite, Dixie Landings-onsite
Easter 2001: Marriott Orlando World Center, Hyatt

 

[Goofy'sFriend]

Thanks, I'm glad to see your high ratings for AK, Fastpass and Kona Cafe.

 

[pepsibar]

It's great!
The way Fastpass works is:
Every 2 hours
OR
5 minutes after your earliest start time (you are given a 1 hour range ie: 11:45am to 12:45pm) you can get a Fastpass for either the same or another attraction. Each entry pass you have is eligible individually.

Your Fastpass has the ride time in large bold #'s in the center and the time you ordered the pass in small #'s at the bottom.

So with the example above:
If you ordered your Fastpass @ 9am, you could get another at 11am (2 hours) even though you haven't ridden yet. On the other hand, if you got the same Fastpass ride times at 11am, at 11:50 you can get another Fastpass because that is 5 minutes after the earliest ride time on your ticket. You don't have to wait the full 2 hours

Prior: Caribe Royale, Embassy Suites- offsite, Dixie Landings-onsite
Easter 2001: Marriott Orlando World Center, Hyatt

 

[The Pluto People]

Hi! Could you please give some more information about the Sea World Guided Tour you took - how long was it, how much was it and how far in advance did you book it! Thanks in advance for the info!

<marquee>We Love Swimming at WDW!</marquee>

 

[pepsibar]

Regular price is $55/person or $400 for private group of up to 16 (admission extra). We purchased ours at ibidusa.com an Orlando/Tampa bid site. Sea World has been offering different packages on ibidusa about a 1x per month basis. We paid about $10/ea more than just buying undiscounted tickets.

Prior: Caribe Royale, Embassy Suites- offsite, Dixie Landings-onsite
Easter 2001: Marriott Orlando World Center, Hyatt

 

[pepsibar]

Tour was 5 hours. Kelly said that usually tours are even available very early in the morning on the day you want to go. But sometimes not. Because we were using the bid rotation, we bought month in advance.

Prior: Caribe Royale, Embassy Suites- offsite, Dixie Landings-onsite
Easter 2001: Marriott Orlando World Center, Hyatt

 

[The Pluto People]

Thanks so much! We may try to do that tour on our vacation next year! Thanks again!

<marquee>We Love Swimming at WDW!</marquee>

 

[nativetxn]

Thanks for posting this...5 star rating sysytem is a great idea.

Katholyn

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