VACATION!!!!!

[SkyeFire]

Okay:  short version, work has been Hell for months, my entire life has piled up a huge backlog, I'm trembling on the edge of a stress-induced nervous breakdown, and I've just now FINALLY gotten the Project From Hell off my back.

So I went straight to Priceline and booked a week in Orlando.  And I'm *trying* to get some of the up-close tours at Kennedy Space Center, but the KSC website is screwing up royally...

So, anyway, I'll be in Orlando for a week, from July 18th through the 25th.  Kinda vaguely planning to hit Disney a bit, Universal, maybe a day at Sea World.  But I'm open to suggestions if anyone knows of anything cool going on there/then.

[Bob Schroeck]

Number one bit of advice: Make sure you have good, comfortable shoes and are okay with lots of walking. If at all possible, alternate park days with "hang out at the hotel pool" days.

If you're thinking Disney, plan on spending a day per park unless you want to splurge and get the tickets that let you move from park to park at will. If you need to eliminate something, skip Disney Hollywood Studios -- it's the smallest of the parks and since animation went all-computer it's not a live studio anymore, which used to be part of its draw. The remains of the "studio tour" are not worth doing. (Then again, the Indiana Jones and Muppets shows are good, the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and the "history of movies" ride are lots of fun. And they've got some fun restaurants.) Depending on whether or not you like animals, you may want also to skip Animal Kingdom or whatever they call it -- we did.

Oh, important point for Disney -- pick your big meal of the day, lunch or dinner, and make reservations ahead of time -- as in, before you leave. Pick your restaurants and times and call Disney's 800 line to set everything up. Otherwise you'll wait forever for a proper sit-down meal. "Fast food" style restaurants in the Disney parks are usually speedy and good, though -- there's a taco place across from Pirates of the Caribbean that knocked our socks off when we went there in 2008 and 2009. And amazingly, the prices are on the high end of reasonable -- a huge difference from Disney in the 80s and 90s, when they would gouge you shamelessly on food.

In EPCOT, I recommend the big restaurants in the Moroccan and Mexican pavilions. Also the Japanese pavilion -- I've never eaten in the big restaurant there, but I hear it's good; if it's at least as good as the little noodle place they have across the pavilion from it, it'll be worth it. I haven't tried any of the other restaurants at EPCOT' that I can recall, other than the little Mexican place on the lake, so I can't tell you anything about them. Oh, and EPCOT might take two days -- one for the "science fair" part in the front, and one for the showcase of nations around the lake in the back. Depends on how fast you walk and what you're interested in.

Plan your path around the park ahead of time and get to your special target rides early -- the lines for things like Space Mountain fill up fast and stay full for the whole day. Disney offers a "fastpass" system, where you can book an entrance time to a ride through a kiosk -- use it, and use it early because it, too fills up. But be warned -- it only lets you hold an "appointment" for one ride at a time. Again, hit your target rides as early as possible.

Rides have clocks at their line entrances now, telling you how long the wait is, and what fastpass slot is being accepted.

Stuff in the back of most of the parks takes longer to fill up. We were able to do the Haunted Mansion twice in a row with no wait either time first thing one morning in the Magic Kingdom. You might want to consider heading straight to the back and working your way to the front for some places.

Oh, and this will save you some time: Take the "Hotel" (Resorts? I can't remember now) monorail from the Magic Kingdom parking lot. It goes to the Kingdom, but makes stops at the hotels first. The thing is, no one seems to realize that it goes to the Kingdom, and they all take the "park" monorail. That monorail will fill up and you'll have a long wait. But there's almost never a wait at the other. Oh, and if you have kids with you, ask the monorail gate attendant if you can ride in the front with the driver. If the line is light or nonexistent (as it usually is on the hotels line), you'll be able to -- the driver's cab has seats for four (besides the driver, that is).

Outside of Disney... Hm. I haven't been to Universal since the 90s, so I can't really advise you there. But if you go and you hit Marvel Manhattan and the Harry Potter subpark, I'd love to hear about both. Oh, and if they sell bottled butterbeer at the Potterpark, I'll reimburse you for a few bottles/sixpack/case. I wanna try that stuff.

Haven't been to Seaworld there since I was kid, so again, no advice.

There's a Medieval Times in Orlando, which can be a lot of fun and is a damned good meal as well. Nice way to spend an evening.

If I remember anything else, I'll add it later.
-- Bob
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Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Jorlem]

I had quite a bit of fun at the Potter subpark, or whatever the proper name is. The rides there are mostly roller-coastery, and the setting is quite good. The wand shop is also fun, so long as you get lucky, as it relies on audiance participation, but if they pick a kid that knows the books, it is excellent. The butterbeer is very good, and they sell a 'slurpee' version, which I'm sure you will find quite welcome, given the weather lately. Also, make sure you spend some time in the line for the main Harry Potter ride, even if there isn't much of a wait, if you enjoyed the books. They did a really good job recreating the setting there, and is probably the most fun line I have ever waited in (not that that isn't hard to achieve.) I've been told the pub/restaurant there is very good, but I haven't eaten there myself, though I am obligated to suggest you use the restrooms there.
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Stand between the Silver Crystal and the Golden Sea.
"Youngsters these days just have no appreciation for the magnificence of the legendary cucumber."  --Krityan Elder, Tales of Vesperia.

[SkyeFire]

Well, I'm here.  Been here a few days, in fact.
Arrived Wed.  Took Thursday as a do-nothing day, but used it to arrange my tickets and tours.  Turns out KSC has a *lot* of special close-up tours they never used to have going on right now (limited time), so being a space geek I signed up for all of them.  The VAB and Laucnh Pad tours on Friday, the Launch Control tour on Monday, and the historical tour (including the USAF part of Canaveral) on Tuesday (flying back Wed afternoon).
So, the gates at KSC open at 0900.  The bus for the VAB tour leaves at 0930.  No big, right?  Except that it takes me nearly 30min in line just to get to the ticket window for pickup.  At which point the drone behind the window tells me "no, you can only sign up for one tour per day."  WTF?  I spent two hours on the phone with KSC reservations hammering out this timing!  Anyway, at this point, I'm boned on the VAB tour anyway, so I ended up at Customer Relations (much higher IQ level) and re-jiggered my sched.  Basically, I'll be hitting the VAB first thing in the morning on Wed, then driving back to Orlando to grab my plane.  No big deal, I should have nearly 3hrs to spare between.
So I took the close-up tour of Pads 39A and 39B... coincendentally on the 43 anniversary of the Apollo 11 landings.  I swear, I did not plan this.  But very cool.  39B is essentially the way that Atlantis left it on the last STS flight.  39A has been stripped down to bare pad and is being overhauled to accep multiple different boosters with the new "Mobile Launcher" gantry.  And then I spent nearly 8hrs roaming KSC.  BTW, the "Shuttle Launch Experience" is a heck of a ride.  I knew the STS was a brutal lifter during the SRB phase, but OMGWTFBBQ.  That alone is sufficient reason to never base another crew lifter on an SRB-derived design, IMO.
Then I left KSC and dashed back to my hotel, b/c I'd been overambitious and bought a ticket to the Cirque at Disney for 9PM.  Then I proceeded to have a GPS glitch that ran me round the entire perimeter of Disney (in the dark) until dumping me... somewhere... so I missed the first 1/3 of the Cirque.  But the last 2/3 were still cool, and I was too dead beat to get worked up over what I'd missed.
Today was going to be my SeaWorld day, but I woke up with one of those long, grinding stomach bugs, so I just made it another do-nothing day.  Tomorrow is my Epcot day.  And my next two KSC tours are middle-day items, so I'll have time to hit the Astronaut Hall of Fame and the Warbird museum in my spare time.
Man, I should have taken two weeks down here.  But I would have had a hard time justifying the extra expense, and I've got Maker Faire in Detroit a week from today.
...how the heck did I take a major vacation and end up with *less* free time?

[Star Ranger4]

well, from the sound of it you've succumbed to what I call "Vacation Commando" syndrome... THere is just so much you wanna see and do while you are there and you are not sure when if ever you might get back so somehow you feel compelled to try and squeeeeeze it all in somehow.

Don't feel too bad though, even though I live not far from the Original Disneyland I tend to do the same thing when I go. I am bound and determined to ride as many of the rides as I can, Usually starting in Tomorrowland and ending with the dark rides in Fantasyland (cause the lines for those go waaaaay down closer to closing, especially when Disneyland is open until like midnight because most of the families with small children who have made Fantasy land their main destination have taken their tuckered out tykes home to bed)
Hear that thunder rolling till it seems to split the sky?
That's every ship in Grayson's Navy taking up the cry-
NO QUARTER!!!
-- "No Quarter", by Echo's Children

[Jorlem]

I was at the Maker Faire in Ann Arbor (not in Detroit, but counts as part of Metro Detroit, I think), and it was really cool. Make sure to take the time to explore the Henry Ford Museum while you're there (The Maker Faire is on grounds of the museum, took up its parking lots last year, as well as quite a bit of space in the museum itself.), tons of cool stuff. I think entry to the Faire also nets you museum admission, so there shouldn't be a problem there. Also, be sure to to go on the Rouge River Factory tour if you can. You can get tickets at the museum front desk, and it is not something to miss.
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Stand between the Silver Crystal and the Golden Sea.
"Youngsters these days just have no appreciation for the magnificence of the legendary cucumber."  --Krityan Elder, Tales of Vesperia.

[Bob Schroeck]

...how the heck did I take a major vacation and end up with *less* free time?

That's the way of vacations in Orlando. There is far too much to do in Central Florida to accomplish in just one week. It was much easier when Disney World was just the Magic Kingdom or MK+EPCOT, as it was when I was a kid/in my teens/early 20s. (I actually had a pre-purchased commemorative "Opening" ticket for EPCOT for many years. ...I wonder what happened to that? Huh.) The last few times we made it to Orlando, we didn't have the time to do Universal, because our Disney expedition had ballooned to most of the week.

BTW, if you've been doing Disney, are you sick of the sight of smoked turkey legs yet? I have no idea why they are the single most prevalent fast food in all the parks...
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[SkyeFire]

I was at the Maker Faire in Ann Arbor (not in Detroit, but counts as part of Metro Detroit, I think), and it was really cool. Make sure to take the time to explore the Henry Ford Museum while you're there (The Maker Faire is on grounds of the museum, took up its parking lots last year, as well as quite a bit of space in the museum itself.), tons of cool stuff. I think entry to the Faire also nets you museum admission, so there shouldn't be a problem there. Also, be sure to to go on the Rouge River Factory tour if you can. You can get tickets at the museum front desk, and it is not something to miss.

Heh.  I actually spent a full day at the Henry just two Sundays ago.  Ironically enough, it was due to a calendar failure on my part -- I'd signed up for two training courses (Epilog laser cutter and AutoCAD 2012 basics) at TechShop, which is just a mile or so away... and I drove all the way down there (2hrs each way) on THE WRONG SUNDAY.  Bleagh.  So, since I was in the neighborhood, and I haven't been to the Henry in years, I just trotted over and made a day of it.  Even caught the old Corliss steam engine being operated.
I'm not even thinking about doing GreenField Village until the weather cools down substantially, though.  Maker Faire is going to be plenty tough enough unless the temperatures break this week.

[SkyeFire]

...how the heck did I take a major vacation and end up with *less* free time?

That's the way of vacations in Orlando. There is far too much to do in Central Florida to accomplish in just one week. It was much easier when Disney World was just the Magic Kingdom or MK+EPCOT, as it was when I was a kid/in my teens/early 20s. (I actually had a pre-purchased commemorative "Opening" ticket for EPCOT for many years. ...I wonder what happened to that? Huh.) The last few times we made it to Orlando, we didn't have the time to do Universal, because our Disney expedition had ballooned to most of the week.

BTW, if you've been doing Disney, are you sick of the sight of smoked turkey legs yet? I have no idea why they are the single most prevalent fast food in all the parks...

I've actually been avoiding all the in-park fast food so far. 
I do agree on the "too much" thing -- between KSC, WDW, Universal, Sea World, and all the smaller attractions... whew.
I have reached a decision, though, that I'm going to avoid FL in future during summer.  Just walking around Epcot for 5hrs or so today wiped me out completely.  But I'm a Far North boy, I don't handle heat and humidity at all well.  I actually wouldn't have done Orlando this time, except that:
1.  The Project From Hell kept getting "one more week" last-ditch extensions... for a month.  Which killed every other plan I'd made, which included a few SF conventions in various cities
2.  KSC has the VAB open for a limited time (until Sept?) this year, and Atlantis is in the building being converted into a museum piece, so this is likely to be my one and only chance to get up close.  Plus the VAB is probably going to be closed to the public again after this year, from the sound of it.

[SkyeFire]

Well, it's been a heck of a week.  I'm writing this from the gate at Orlando airport, waiting for my delayed flight homeLike I mentioned before and/or elsethread, I hit the Pad 39 tour on friday, the 43rd anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing.  Sunday I got about 5-6 hrs at Disney, and just about died -- doing Disney in this heat is just no good for me.
Monday I did the KSC Launch Control Center tour... at aroun         Vd the time that Sally Ride passed on.  
Tuesday I did the "Then & Now" tour, which consisted of going off KSC and out onto the Air Force portion of the Cape, where all the Mercury and Gemini flights flew from.  Also the Apollo 1 fire.  It's also where ULA currently launches their Atlas Vs and Delta IVs out of, and where SpceX is renting SLC-40(?) to launch Falcons and Dragons from.  So I ended up in the old SLC-5 blockhouse that Allen Shephard launched from... on the anniversary of the very first rocket ever fired from the Cape, one of the Prject Bumper   

[SkyeFire]

...well, Yuku apparently doesn't like Android browsers.  And since that's all I took with me....

Now that I'm home and on my desktop machine, I can continue:

SLC-5, on the anniversary of the first ever rocket launched from the Cape, a Project Bumper repurposed V2 with a WAC Corporal second stage.  Then on to SLC-43, the site of the Apollo 1 fire that killed Grissom, White, and Chafee.  SLC-43 has been mostly abandoned to the elements for a long time, but they still do basic groundskeeping, and there's a small "shrine" of sorts off to one edge of the old pad, with three marble benches each engraved with one of their names.
Had to be careful taking photos from 43, since it's within good photo distance of SLC-37, which is an active pad for ULA's Delta IVs, and there was one on the pad.  And the Canaveral MPs have zero sense of humor about "oopsies."

Then the VAB tour on Wed morning, before my flight left.  Holy.  Crap.  This is the tour that won't last long -- apparently, it was the SRB hazards for Shuttle that eliminated the VAB tours 30 years ago, and as soon as the SLS begins operations, the VAB will be closed to all but the bare minimum crew again (which, IMO, just hilights how stupid it is to use solids for crew lifters, but that's a rant for elsewhere).   It's amazing how huge, and yet how cramped, it is all at the same time.  And, of course, Atlantis was in High Bay 4, and we got to go right up to the fence and shutterbug it from 30ft away.  

Hit Disney a bit too, but the heat and the crowds mostly killed it for me.  Although I can say that, if you're ever at Epcot, the "Behind the Seeds" tour at the Land pavilion is well worth the extra money.  I never knew that Disney did work in non-chemical pest control and hydroponic gardening.

[Star Ranger4]

You know, Now that I think of it, My mom took us on the 'behind the Seeds' tour, but I dont think I ever actually went on the boat ride. My brother and I found it really interesting. well, cant speak for him but I did
Hear that thunder rolling till it seems to split the sky?
That's every ship in Grayson's Navy taking up the cry-
NO QUARTER!!!
-- "No Quarter", by Echo's Children