# Trip Report: Central Florida and the Go Orlando Card



## rsnash (Jan 29, 2009)

Our trip to Orlando was planned with “Everything But Disney” (or Universal or Seaworld) in mind. To that end, we purchased 5 day Go Orlando Cards for pre-paid admission to a variety of tourist attractions. We stayed at Marriott's Cypress Harbour, which is very nice as expected. I have posted a review in the Member's Only Resort Database section.

For those who want the short version, I would recommend the Go Orlando Card if you want an activity filled vacation *and *have someone willing to be in charge of making sure you get from one activity to the next in a timely fashion. Someone needs to be organized enough to make the reservations for the activities that require them, and make sure you leave with time enough to get there. If you are going for a week, and the weather is expected to be nice, I would definitely get a 3 day card. We had no other plans and were going in January, we got the 5 day card. Since our flight arrived Sunday evening and left Sunday morning, that really only gave us 6 days of vacation, leaving us with only one “free” day.  Thankfully (?) the weather was too cold while we were there, so we didn’t miss not having much pool time.

So, that’s the short version, here’s what we actually did. As I said, we arrived on Sunday evening, so we just checked in, and went out to dinner. I had also printed out a bunch of Restaurant.com gift certificates, and we chose to make use of one of them. We went to Nile Ethiopian restaurant and it was really good. If you’ve never been to an Ethiopian restaurant before, the foods are usually strongly seasoned (not necessarily hot, but some dishes are) stews of vegetables and/or meat served on top of injera, which is a flat, crepe like, sour dough spongy bread made of a grain called Tef. You tear off pieces of the additional injera they serve and use it to scoop up bits of the stews. When you are done with the bulk of the stews, you eat the gravy soaked injera that lined your plate. Nile is a welcome oasis in a sea of neon lit chain restaurants lining International Drive.




_A sampler platter at Nile Ethiopian Restaurant.
Click for more images._

We were kind of wiped from our travels, so Monday we stayed in the Orlando area for Day 1 use of our Go Orlando Card. First, we drove south to Gatorland. We got to see lots of alligators, as well as a few others animals. Unfortunately, the cool weather meant that the Gators did not jump very high during the Jumparoo show, and many of the more delicate animals, especially the birds, were not on display. Try to go to Gatorland during a warm day. Alligators are cold blooded, they are more active in the warm weather. Be sure to sample the fried alligator nuggets and barbecued alligator ribs available at Pearl’s Smokehouse on site. We spent about 3 hours at Gatorland, and saw all three shows they offer: the Jumparoo, Gator Wrestling, and I even participated in the Upclose Encounters, helping to hold a really long boa constrictor.




_It took three of us to hold this snake, that's me on the end.
Click for more pictures from Gatorland._

Bonus for those with kids... If you are there on a hot day, Gatorland features a small splash park. No rides, but lots of sprinklers & fountains to run around in. It would be a great place to cool off, so be sure to bring or wear bathing suits if you are going on a hot day.

After lunch, we headed to International Drive and checked out Train Land International and Wonderworks. Out front of Trainland, they advertise their helicopter tours more than the trains, so I actually drove by and had to turn around. Be sure to take a copy of the scavenger hunt. Without it, it would be a 5 minute walk through, “gee that’s neat” look at a massive model train collection and miniature villages. But, by using the scavenger hunt, you take the time to look at all the impressive details, making it last 30-45 minutes. The hardest item to find?  Big Foot. Good luck finding him, we had to ask for help!





_One of the Trainland scenes_

Trainland is about 1 block from Wonderworks, so rather than move the car, and pay for parking, we left it parked in their lot and walked. Wonderworks was quite fun. There are many interactive exhibits. Some psychological (try walking straight through the spinning tunnel), while other demonstrated weather phenomena or modern technology. Wonderworks takes around 1.5-2 hours to go through.





_No, the picture isn’t upside down. The building is._

We went to Butcher Shop steakhouse for dinner. The flame grilled entrees (lamb chops for me, NY strip for dh) were excellent, as were the sides. But we don’t recommend bothering with their appetizers, which seem way overpriced, i.e. $10 for one rather small crabcake, on the menu as “lump” but either overworked or backfin crab was used, as it was all shreds of crab, I sent it back. They honored by Restaurant.com gc even though they are no longer listed with them (I printed mine out back in August). No loss if you choose to go somewhere else, imo.

My husband’s main desire for this central Florida vacation was to visit Kennedy Space Center. Not to worry, the $40 admission is included on the Go Orlando Card. In fact, it even took care of our one spare day, as your admission ticket is good for a return visit within 7 days. We thought KSC would take a few hours in the morning, then we’d go over to the Police Hall of Fame. Instead we spent the entire day there. There are two different 3D IMAX movies to see, a space shuttle launch simulator, bus tours of the entire complex, just a lot more than we expected. In fact, if you really want to see the Police Hall of Fame, you’ll have to tear yourself away from KSC to do it. That way you can use your return ticket to KSC on a non-GOC (Go Orlando Card from now on) use day. The Astronaut Hall of Fame is included as well. You pass it on your way to the main KSC Visitor Complex, it is right next to the Police Hall of Fame.

We never did make it to the Police Hall of Fame, btw, just too much to do at KSC. I highly recommend you visit, we even got to see actual white room construction of components of the International Space Station. Really cool.




_The VAB or Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center.
It is one of the largest buildings in the world, by volume.
Click for more images of the Kennedy Space Center._

We met a friend in Cocoa Beach for dinner at the Old Fish House. It is casual, and not too expensive, unless you have as big an appetite as my dh, who went for their All You Can Eat Rock Shrimp for $34. The way their AYCE deals goes is you order the most expensive item you are interested in, then you can sample the rest of the items for that price or lower. They have really good seasoned steamed shrimp and crabs, fried shrimp, clams, and grilled or fried fish. This was not a restaurant.com deal, but it was a very nice place, with friendly service and house made key lime pie. What more could you want?


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## rsnash (Jan 29, 2009)

We got back around 10 PM, but Ripley’s Believe It or Not is open until midnight, so we decided to check that out before heading back to Cypress Harbour. If it weren’t included with the GOC, I would have felt ripped off. I actually noticed a small sign by the entrance that says no refunds once you enter, and I can see why. I’m sure I’ve been to other Ripley’s that are more interesting than this one. But in Orlando, it’s a lot of reading the Ripley’s comics on the walls, with some additional photo documentation. The film area shows clips from the TV show hosted by Dean Cain. It was really rather lame. To top it off, it concludes by putting you through the same vertigo inducing spinning tunnel that Wonderworks opens with. 30-60 boring minutes. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




On Wednesday, we started sedate in the morning by going up to Winter Park. First, we took the peaceful Winter Park Scenic Boat Tour. The guide was a nice older gentleman, who made fun of his own lame jokes, while showing us all the beautiful homes lining the lakes in Winter Park. The tour lasts 1 hour, and plan on arriving about 10 minutes before the hour (unless it’s a busier season).





_A home on Lake Osceola, Winter Park, Florida_

Next we went to the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art, which features the works of Louis Comfort Tiffany. The restoration of the Tiffany chapel exhibit from the World’s Fair is the subject of a short film. Afterwords, you can visit the chapel on site. Apparently, many people even stop to pray there, but it was created as a backdrop for the sale of ecclesiastical Tiffany products, not as an actual place of worship. Plan on spending an hour or two here, depending on how much you enjoy Tiffany glass works. I found it very interesting, but dh was bored.

Another museum included with the GOC is the Orlando Museum of Art. We actually went there an a different day, but it is not far from the Morse Museum, so you might want to do both in one day. There is a diverse collection of modern and traditional art on display. Everything from pre-Colombian art of the ancient Americas to the glassworks of Therman Statom, former student of Dale Chihuly. I wanted to go there primarily to see Chilhuly’s giant Cobalt & Citron blown glass tower.





After going to the Morse Museum, we headed an hour-plus south to go on a Boggy Creek Airboat ride. This was quite fun, but dress warmly if you go on a chilly day. We actually didn’t see any alligators, although I’m sure that’s not the norm. We had seen plenty on when we visited Kennedy Space Center, they were all over the place (they even have special fences to keep them out of the buildings). But I was more than happy to see the great variety of birds, especially the Bald Eagles. Apparently, Florida is second only to Alaska in Bald Eagle populations. We got to see at least six different Bald Eagles, including a nesting pair, both at Boggy Creek and at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (all the land on Merritt Island that is not Kennedy Space Center (KSC only occupies about 10%, the rest is left to the animals)).





_Our Boggy Creek Airboat & Tourguide_





_A nesting pair of Bald Eagles_


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## rsnash (Jan 29, 2009)

Attempting to go to another GOC attraction, we stopped at the Haunted Grimm House. The description makes it sound like it is an actual old house turned into an attraction, but it is just the Haunted House at a stupid side of the road amusement park called “Old Town.” We didn’t even get to go inside because it opens at 5 PM, and we arrived around 4, and Old Town is not worth hanging around at just to go to their haunted house.

Another loser for us, was going to the Pirate’s Dinner Adventure. The GOC features your choice of 4 “bonus” attractions. Three are dinner theaters, the fourth is Wet & Wild Orlando, a water park. It was too cold to go to the water park. So, I greedily chose to go to the most expensive of the Dinner theater options. It also sounded like it had the best food.  However, when you arrive, there are continuous “upsells” going on. The default dinner choice is a dark meat chicken quarter, but if you want a breast it is a few dollars more, if you want fish, it is much more, etc. The “appetizer buffet” was pathetic. And there are a million kids there and it really is more of a kids show. Plus, I’m pretty sure that because we were GOC users and didn’t upgrade to better seats (for more $$$), we got really sucky seats. My dh couldn’t stand it and we left before the main show began. The manager was willing to refund us, but there’s no way for the GOC to be refunded (we wanted to take advantage of a different bonus offer, the Magic & Comedy dinner show, thinking it had to be more adult oriented). I called GOC customer service but they never got back to me. Anyway, my recommendation is, if you are just adults, you might prefer the Magic & Comedy show at Wonderworks over the Pirates or Arabian Nights shows. The dinner there is just pizza, but you can always skip that and eat a real meal at your TS instead. That show is in the WonderWorks building, so combine it into one visit.

Like I said earlier, on our fourth day of GOC use, we went first to the Orlando Museum of Art. We then continued north east and went to the Daytona 500 Experience. We are not big NASCAR fans, but it was plenty interesting anyway. There are race simulators, a 3D Imax movie on the history of NASCAR, an extensive tour of the speedway, a 16 second Pit Stop challenge. Even for us non-fans, it was fun and informative.




_A view of the Daytona Speedway during their tour.
Click for more Daytona 500 Experience pics._

On Friday, we went back to the Kennedy Space Center. We took the NASA Up Close Tour (an extra $20 over the GOC admission, but worth it). This got us closer to the VAB and launch pads, below. The space shuttle Discovery was even in position, but you can’t see it because it is covered by the Rotating Service Structure. It is scheduled for launch on February 12, 2009. 





_Pad 39B, see, no shuttle_





_Pad 39A, the rockets on the underside of Shuttle Discovery_

We had been running around a lot this week, so I tried to make our final day in the Orlando area relaxing. Since it was yet another chilly day, lazing by the pool was not an option. But we really like animals, so dh decided he wanted to go to the Green Meadows Petting Farm. Now, just hearing that, you’d think it was just for kids, right? Well, maybe it is, but we had a great time. We got to hold & pet lots of cute and fuzzy creatures. There is a very intelligently organized tour to see all the animals. After you check in, someone brings you to the tour at whichever stop around the zoo/farm it is at. Then you just go along with the tour until it returns to the point where you started. If anything, I didn’t allow enough time for this attraction. I thought an hour or two would be plenty, but the full tour takes at least 2.5 hours.




_Don’t worry, I won’t let dh eat the little chickey!
Click for more pics of Green Meadows Petting Farm.
_

We had to leave Green Meadows before our tour was finished, because we had a reservation for the 1 PM EcoSafari at Forever Florida.  Forever Florida is the commercial component of the Allen Broussard Conservancy. Allen Broussard was a wildlife biologist and ecologist who died of cancer in 1990. Before he died he had requested his parents try to conserve the natural land adjacent to their cattle farm in central Florida. Much of this land was part of the Florida swamp-land real estate scams of the ‘70s. The Broussards have been buying back this land from those who thought they would some day build on it (the land is uninhabitable) and preserving it for the wildlife which abounds there. We saw many alligators, deer, hawks and cranes on our tour. In addition, the cattle which was the original business of the Broussards are kept as an exhibit. They get to live out their lives grazing the land and are not bred to death for meat or milking. 





_Here are some cracker cattle and a Texas Longhorn steer watching us drive by._

Thanks for joining me on our trip to Central Florida. See, it’s possible to stay in Orlando and never see a mouse!


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## Gracey (Jan 29, 2009)

Thanks for posting this, loved all the pictures to go along with your essay  
I was going to go on the disboards to ask for idea's of what to do in Disney  without having to do the parks.  Best compiled trip report I ever read.  Thanks again!

Laurie


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## vettebuf (Jan 29, 2009)

You've done it again, Rachel - given us a good review with beautiful pictures and food for thought. We've been to Orlando/Kissimmee so many times but never visited most of the places you wrote about. I agree with you on KSC, we all loved it, especially because we were there on a space shuttle launch day.


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## shagnut (Jan 29, 2009)

Great report!! We are going to Daytona 500 next year and Kelli really really wants to do the back stage tour.  shaggy


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## lprstn (Jan 29, 2009)

Thanks so much for sharing this.  This gave me another possible Orlando vacation other than the usual Disney/Universal Studios...


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## Zac495 (Jan 29, 2009)

I just love the pictures! Thanks for sharing!


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## jeany1020 (Jan 29, 2009)

awesome report. can u or someone explain the go orlando card. how much is it? can u see everything you want within a certain timeframe?


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## mpizza (Jan 30, 2009)

Rachel, thanks for sharing your experiences and pictures.  We also enjoyed Kennedy Space Center and Winterpark on past trips.   Another great non-park place to visit near Orlando is the Town of Celebration.   

Looking forward to your next trip report!

Maria


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## rsnash (Jan 30, 2009)

shagnut said:


> Great report!! We are going to Daytona 500 next year and Kelli really really wants to do the back stage tour.  shaggy


FYI - the tour we did is included with basic admission (and with the Go Orlando Card admission). It takes you in a tram all around the speedway and you get out at the pavilion where the winning car goes to be lauded to have your picture taken. Check their website, see link above, to see if there are additional behind the scenes tours, but I didn't notice any.



jeany1020 said:


> awesome report. can u or someone explain the go orlando card. how much is it? can u see everything you want within a certain timeframe?


If you click the link in my first post for the Go Orlando Card, it is pretty fully explained on their website. Basically, you buy a card for 1, 3, 5 or 7 days and you have 14 days to use those GOC days. You don't have to use them consecutively. Right now the GOC website has 20% off and if you do a search online, you can usually find a free shipping offer as well. Here's one: SAVINGSDOTCOM, but I'm not sure if it is current. 

Adding up the value of the attractions we went to, subtracting the Pirate's Dinner Theater, is $206. We spent $165 on the card. Both those numbers are per person, so double the savings for two, or more for a family. Now, the question is, did we really save any money? Because, we might not have done as many activities if we didn't have the card, so that's a judgment call. It was convenient to not have to fumble for cash or credit cards or add up my receipts at the end of the trip to know what we spent on the non-food portion of the week.

There are also Go Cards available for other tourist destinations around the USA. Click here to see all the Go Card destinations.



mpizza said:


> Looking forward to your next trip report!


That probably won't be until the end of May. Three trips in four months is an anomaly for us. Glad you enjoyed it.


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## rsnash (Jan 30, 2009)

DH uploaded some more pictures to flickr, so I've edited my first post above. Check it out to see pictures of Nile Ethiopian Restaurant and Gatorland.


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## Denise (Feb 2, 2009)

What a great trip report....you did a great job...one of the best I have read.


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