Walking!

[alisonbestford]

As I remember you get off the Trolley just about opposite 'Skull Kingdom', just past Wet 'N' Wild - cross the road and then turn down past 'Skull Kingdom', off I Drive and carry on walking

It's a busy road, but yes there is a walkway, and I remember walking over a bridge.
Carry on and you'll see the signs for Universal.

We used to walk one way, in the late morning, and then get a taxi back if we were too tired to walk back.

Hope this helps

Have you looked on the Lynx site for any info on the passes?
Or it looks like you can buy online

Just had a look and found this:

http://www.golynx.com/?pid=1155574

Check out the 'route assistance', fares and passes and 'LYNX partner locations' on that page

 

[NotUrsula]

This website has REALLY detailed maps available of the area (and also of the US192/Kissimmee/WDW area): http://www.orlando-internationaldrive.com/map/map2/idrivemap2.htm#idrivemap2btm

Do look at the aerial photographs that are included here; though I think that they must have taken them shortly after dawn, as there are almost no cars on the road in most of them. Not at all the case during the hours when people are up and about.

For what it's worth, I didn't say that I thought that Orlando's lack of pedestrian access is good -- I just said that it is what it is. Most Americans who visit Orlando do so in their own cars, often driving upward of 1000 miles to get there. (That's why there are so many toll roads in the tourist areas.) From the local perspective, most of the housing in the Orlando metro area is in gated estates that are many miles from the business districts, which are in turn nowhere near the shopping districts. Unfortunately, with the possible exceptions of Winter Park and perhaps Baldwin Park, the place really isn't likely to morph into a truly pedestrian-friendly city anytime in our lifetimes, so we have to deal with the fact that tackling the city as a pedestrian is a challenge.

 

[alisonbestford]

This website has REALLY detailed maps available of the area (and also of the US192/Kissimmee/WDW area): http://www.orlando-internationaldrive.com/map/map2/idrivemap2.htm#idrivemap2btm

What a great link.
Thanks for that

 

[Kimberlyfamilyfv]

If you want to look at a different hotel perhaps, try this one. the holiday inn 8214 Universal blvd. Look it up on mapquest.com and see if this is an area you want to stay. the room has frig/micro and only costs 54.50 a night with entertainment rate. if you want to book this one go to www.priorityclub.com (holiday inn website). This hotel is only about 6 years old. this is a decent hotel.

kimberly

 

[Kath2003]

For what it's worth, I didn't say that I thought that Orlando's lack of pedestrian access is good -- I just said that it is what it is. Most Americans who visit Orlando do so in their own cars, often driving upward of 1000 miles to get there. (That's why there are so many toll roads in the tourist areas.) From the local perspective, most of the housing in the Orlando metro area is in gated estates that are many miles from the business districts, which are in turn nowhere near the shopping districts. Unfortunately, with the possible exceptions of Winter Park and perhaps Baldwin Park, the place really isn't likely to morph into a truly pedestrian-friendly city anytime in our lifetimes, so we have to deal with the fact that tackling the city as a pedestrian is a challenge.

Please don't believe that my anti-cars rant was aimed at you, I just never thought wanting to get about on foot would be an issue but it seems that Orlando is the one place that it is, and I do indeed think it's sad. I must admit, when I visit with my family we do have a car - five adults in the equivilent of a Vauxhall Astra is great fun

Still, there will be one less car on Orlando's roads this August - it only takes a few people for "folks in charge" to start realising the benefits this could have to the area, and although I doubt I'll ever make an impact, I kinda feel as if I'm "doing my bit".

Thanks for the info about the buses - I have raided Lynx's website extensively but they cannot sell me a pass online because I am from the UK, not the USA.

We will not be trying a different hotel closer to Universal because we only intend to go to City Walk one evening - not worth changing hotels for. Our hotel, despite several bad reviews in recent months after we booked it, is cheap and has free shuttles to ALL the parks including Disney.

 

[powellrj]

If its the best western I am thinking of (the one with the blue roof on I-Drive) we stayed there several years ago. It was ok then, but its been several years ago so it could have changed.

What I wanted to tell you was that while we stayed there, we did have a car, but we wanted to do seperate things many days and used the bus alot. DS took it to sea world one day and it was great! I dropped us right at the door and picked us up at the same place. While we made several stops along the way, it was still a pretty quick trip. We also took it to the beltz outlets (not sure if they are still there) and it wasn't a bad trip.

The publics may be hard to get to walking because its a really really busy intersection. You may want to take a bus for that trip too.

If you want to eat on I-Drive, you will have no problem walking and finding many many places. There is a ce cees pizza on I-drive that offer all you can eat for around $4 a person. Pick up the little coupon books on every corner and you can get lots of meal coupons.

What an adventure!! Have a great trip!!

 

[Kath2003]

Thanks for the encouragement! We can't wait to go. IThe BW seems OK for the money - you get what you pay for and we're not paying a lot. There's also a Goodings across the way so maybe we'll go for there a few bits and pieces (bottles of water, mainly).

 

[bunnywabbit!]

I agree with Kath2003! The way I see it is, we already pay for public transportation by our taxes, so why not use it? The $$$ and the hassle of driving is not worth it.

But, unlike other countries, Americans are obsessed with owning cars and most see driving it as a necessity. So it's a endless cycle.

 

[seashoreCM]

I would avoid walking in traffic if at all possible.

Don't compromise your safety just to save a few gallons of gasoline or benefit a government that doesn't put your safety at heart.

You might want to shop around and see if you can get a rental car for less.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[Lewisc]

Since you're on a tight budget you might look at using Lynx to go from the airport to your hotel.

You have to be very careful and be very lucky but you might talk to people on your plane. You might get lucky and find a couple renting a car that are going to a hotel near where you're staying.

Not to alarm you but a few months ago someone posted to link to a news article. An overseas guest got hit by a car while crossing a main road near Universal. BE VERY CAREFUL CROSSING MAIN ROADS AND ONLY WALK ON A SIDEWALK.

 

[jpeppers]

You sound very intelligent and I think you are smart enough to look both ways before crossing a road. Just use your common sense when walking and use the buses when possible. I can understand what it is like to travel on a budget so just make the best of it. It seems like every time I walk somewhere in Orlando it is a long walk but you are young and it sounds like you are used to walking. Have a great trip.

 

[jodifla]

Florida cities in general are just not designed for walking. And with the sprawl in a place like Orlando, a bunch of public transport just isn't all that practical. Especially since a good hunk of the year it's practically 100 degrees out.

I get enough walking around at WDW.

As long as you're careful, you should be OK.

 

[Lewisc]

In the United States drivers are generally allowed to turn right on a red light. We're supposed to come to a complete stop and to yield to pedestrians but many (most?) drivers don't You should assume any driver won't see you and won't be stopping.

 

[Kath2003]

I would avoid walking in traffic if at all possible.

Don't compromise your safety just to save a few gallons of gasoline or benefit a government that doesn't put your safety at heart.

You might want to shop around and see if you can get a rental car for less.]

I'm 21. Very few places will rent to me. Those who will want $200. We are not talking about a few bucks here, we're talking about a couple of HUNDRED bucks, plus gas, plus parking.

I will assume the worst of all drivers - believe me, walking around in the UK every day isn't a barrel of laughs: they don't stop at crossings even when they're supposed to and generally make being a padestrian less than enjoyable, but I still do it because it is the best thing for me to do: for my finances, for my health and for my responsibility to my environment.

Thanks to all those who've encouraged my "alternative" form of tourist mobility

 

[ladysoleil]

I won't say I've gotten "flamed" for expressing a desire to do Orlando without a rental car, but I've been strongly discouraged from doing it. Most of the argument is logically based that Orlando is *not* designed for pedestrian traffic and I'd have to somewhat agree, having done a couple of theme park hikes there. People really don't seem to walk, I don't know if it's the heat combined with the lack of sidewalks in lots of areas, or what.

I can't drive for health reasons and DH has no license, so we rely on cabs and our feet when we're in Orlando, and we've done both on and offsite trips.

The iDrive trolley is great, definitely take advantage- we used it to get to the outlet mall, some food places and just to explore the area. Check the big tourist information rack at the airport, you'll likely find a brochure with the iDrive map/trolley information. Your hotel should also have it. There are trolley stops every few blocks, it seems. You guys are big walkers so hiking to a trolley stop is not likely to bother you at all, and they're very easy to spot, they're big colorful sign poles with a sign with the stop number.

I've not tried the Lynx bus yet, as we usually save up a bit to take a cab home from the park at night so as not to have to hassle with the hotel shuttle at the end of the day.

However, I'm going to strongly second the "be careful" advice. We've walked to Universal from our hotel and found crossing the streets, etc, to be a bit difficult, especially as you come in closer to intersections and anywhere that people can pull into parking lots.

Drivers don't seem to expect to see pedestrians so use extra caution if you're walking to the restaurants, supermarkets and anywhere else where people will pull into a large parking lot. They often won't see you because they're just plain *NOT* looking.

Universal Studios is particularly bad at this, once you get on the property walking towards the parking lot, you'll likely hit some stretches with no sidewalk and no crosswalks.

Also, I found that even when you do find sidewalks, they may not be in the greatest condition, as I found out the hard way when I took a spill on an uneven broken curb near the Publix on 192, landed wrongside up in a drainage ditch, and sprained my ankle badly enough to need to rent a wheelchair.

But, I'd still walk again.

 

[salmoneous]

This thread reminds me of an incident from one of Bill Bryson's books. He's hiking the Appalachian Trail and gets off in a city for supplies. He asks some locals for direction to Walmart. He can't convince the folks that he wants *walking* directions, as in their mind it is impossible for somebody to walk the couple of miles to the other sides of town. As it turns out, the pedestrian-unfriendly way the town is laid out, it almost is impossible to get there. Yes you can walk from Georgia to Maine - you just can't walk to Walmart.

 

[pezpam]

While Orlando isn't set up for pedestrians, I suspect that you're old enough to figure it out. I'll only offer a few pieces of advice as someone who has traveled a lot.... and tends to walk all over cities and THEN hear things like "You walked through THAT part of town? Are you crazy?"

Always look both ways. Twice. Coming from a country that drives on one side to a country that drives on the other, it can take a bit of time to readjust to expecting cars from the direction opposite what you're used to. Especially when you're chatting with a friend, it's very easy to look in one direction and think you're safe to walk across that half of the road when you've actually got a car bearing down on you from the direction you didn't look - just need to overcome the instinct.

Don't rely on those panic buttons. You're certainly safer as a pair than alone, but relying on a personal alarm to get a car to stop and help you out isn't 100% - remember that there won't be other pedestrians and drivers may not hear the alarm in the first place. Chances are that nothing negative will happen, but talk to each other about a Plan B just in case.

ONe more - remember that the drivers are not used to pedestrians. They won't be watching for you and most will make turns before they notice you're trying to cross. In this case, it just is what it is - in places that don't have many pedestrians, you have to assume that they aren't instinctually watching out for you, so you have to be doubly careful. Defensive walking, as it were.

Enjoy the trip!