I am planning on taking a trip to Orlando ,fla this month and have a few parks planed out which are, IOA,Universal studios,sea world,wet, n wild, and MGM studios wish I could visit magic kingdom,but money shortage. I was wondering what types of things shouldent be missed in these parks, and do any of them have any flat rides? Also is staying onsite at Universal really worth the price, and is there more then 1 jarasic park type rides at universal studios? I remember seeing one with the jeeps etc? or is that in universal hollywood? Thanks.

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"It is what it is"

Here's a list of no-misses -


- Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls

- Popeye & Bluto's Bilge Rat Barges

- The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman

- Jurassic Park River Adventure

- Journey To Atlantis

- Pteranodon Flyers

- Dr. Doom's FearFall

- The Incredible Hulk

- Dueling Dragons

- Kraken

- Rock n' Roller Coaster

- Space Mountain

- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

- Splash Mountain

- Test Track

-

I'd say no, it isn't worth the price to stay on-site for Universal -- yes, you do get some of the express access, but if you're in the park right when it opens and go quickly to Hulk, Dr. Doom, Spiderman, and then around to Dueling Dragons (both sides), you won't have line issues anyway. So why pay $$$ per night when you can stay just 5 or so miles away for A LOT less?

Most of the parks do have flat rides, but not too many. Sea World doesn't have any flat rides, and Kraken will easily be a walk-on first thing in the morning. Furthermore, if there are empty seats first thing in the morning, you can ride again without going back through the queue line -- they'll only let you do it for one extra ride, but then you can go around again and ride twice. I was there just this past Friday (6/7) and managed 10 laps in just about an hour -- not too shabby!

At Islands of Adventure, if you want to go on Pteradon Flyers, you'd best head there really early on -- it's "supposed" to be a family coaster, but because of low capacity they won't let adults ride if there's much of a line at all. If you get there with a small or no line, they'll most likely let you on. It's short, but still a fun ride and a unique experience.

For MGM, be sure to use the Fast Pass for both Rock'n'Roller Coaster and the Tower of Terror -- they're close by one another, so your best bet is to hurry and grab one pass and then go wait in the other line, by the time you're out of there you should be able to get a second Fast Pass (they let you get a second one 5 minutes after you can first use the one you already have).

Another spot I'd check out if you have the time is Old Town Kissimmee -- they have a neat little coaster there, Windstorm, that costs $5 to ride but you can buy armbands that let you ride unlimited, and there are some other small rides there as well -- a Scrambler, carosel, little stuff like that. You can see all the details of that at this site...

http://www.old-town.com/

They're open later than the major parks by at least a couple of hours, so you can always stop by there after spending the day at one of the bigger attractions.

If you're going to be staying at a Days Inn (nice hotels, cheapish, good locations to the parks...), there is a $5 off coupon available here...

http://www.daysinntravelplanner.com/...Coupon5off.gif

Most of them will honor it, unless you're getting a really superb discount rate already. Every dollar counts, especially with the parking prices and admission!

Hope some of this helps, and have a good time!

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Walk Beyond...

IOA does not have a Jeep Ride. There are three attractions there: the River Adventure, P Flyers, and Triceritops Encounter.

I advise you skip WnW, SWF, or even MGM if you haven't been to MK. Just because it doesn't have coasters doesn't mean its a good park. I think Space Mountain is infact better than both of MGM's main attractions.

At IOA: Use Express and single rider lines! I can not stress this enough. You will get everything done, just hit Marvel in the morning. Don't pass up Poseidon's Fury as many do. This past week they added more fire effects that really add a nice zing to the attraction. Don't be afraid to ride the Caro-suess-al. And if lines got you down, have a water gun fight in Camp Jurassic! At the end of the day, all the islands empty out pretty well save Marvel.

At USF: Go to the ET, BTTF, MIB, Jaws belt first. They are some of the best attractions in the park and can get lines. Listen here: ON MIB, GO IN THE SINGLE RIDER LINE! This will shame countless minutes, dare I say hour, off your wait. If you want to ride again, dont exit the building, go through the path above the ride path through baby swap and get in the single rider line again. Watch the Horror Make-Up Show... one of the best park shows around. Also, make sure you visit the Curious George Playground. The water area is a blast and so is the ball factory. Don't think it's just for kids, the adults get into it just as much, if not more.

AT SWF: Go to Kraken/JTA first. JTA has a single rider line now, so you may want to use that throughout the day. Wild Arctic may get a line... if this happens go to the non-motion simulator. It will save you a line and a mediocre simulator ride. Also, see Cirque de la Mer... a often passed up show.

At MGM: Very little to do here. Go to RnRC and ToT in the mroning and throughout the day with fastpasses. Muppets 3D is a good show, and Star Tours ain't bad. Great Movie Ride is a good one too. Otherwise, there's not much else to see here.

I'm not a waterpark guy, so can't help with Wet 'n Wild.

Take a look at Old Town as Melissa said, try out the 300 ft. Skycoaster and Slingshot. Both cost about $25, but are worth it. In the way of other pay-per attractions, International Drive has Katanga which costs a bit less then the previous 2, but is still wild.

I could always come out in the afternoon and take a few spins on the IOA coasters or give you the 999,999 guide on MIB... just let me know and if it's a day I'm free I'll pop out there and meet you.

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"BECAUSE someone like you cared a whole afwul lot, this park is alive where before it was not." -The Street of the Lifted Lorax, IOA

Same here, let me know when you are there and all three of us maybe able to hang out for a few spins on Hulk or something.

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Dr. Bruce Banner version 3.0.... Coming summer 2006 to a theme park near you!
"I could sure use some of the Hulks strength right now."

I'll add one more thing you ought to do at MGM Studios if you're into Disney movies (seems like not too many of us here are...) -- either the Beauty and the Beast or the Hunchback of Notre Dame stage shows -- they are excellently done, fantastic renditions with great costuming and loads of talent. They're only about a half hour, so it's a good break, maybe with a bit of lunch thrown in. If that's what you're into, of course! Personally I wouldn't hang around for any of the night / laser / fireworks shows at Disney -- we did, and they were disappointing for the most part (especially at MGM), but ah well. It's all part of Disney, I suppose.

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Walk Beyond...

If you ask my wife what is not-to-be-missed in Orlando, she will tell you...

*Belz Outlet Mall

*Florida Mall

*Premium Outlets

*Olde Towne

*Celebration Main Street

*Disney Marketplace

*Any other Outlet Mall or Shopping Center.

Woo Hoo!

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Working here is like an amusement park! There's excitement! There's challenge...and it will often make you sick.

Besides the major parks and Old Town, which is a very fun place and has a ton of shops and some nice rides, there are a few other places in Orlando that are fun if you have a day off from the major parks. Fun Spot and Magical Midway are both small carnival-like places that are open well into the night. Magical Midway armbands are $15 if you get the coupon out of one of the many discount guides (found at travel discount booths, some Denny's, etc.). There is Wonderworks and Ripley's also, for around $15 a piece, even a few bucks less if you get the coupons out of the travel guide. Wonderworks and Mag. Midway have a deal (Something like $20 bucks for both), if you are interested you should look into that at the Mag. Midway ticket booth. All of these places are near each other on International Drive, as is Mercado's (shops and restaurants), the Pointe (night clubs, a movie theater, shops), and a few other oddities like Helicopter rides and the Race Rock Cafe. Around the corner is Wet N' Wild, Skull Kingdom (never been there...), a skydiving center (where you simulate skydiving), and of course, Universal Orlando. Basically, if you have an off day, do a little looking around, and you will find a lot of cool stuff in Orlando besides the major parks.

Thankyou so much to everyone who gave me such great imformation about these parks, but unforchataly I wont be visiting Florida this season, a whole lot of bills came in and just cant do it,but I might go over his coming up winter or end of next season , and will keep ur info in mind, darn wish I could go, there is always next time, thanks im defintaly heading down to V.A thou, and if anything chnges with the florida, i'll let you know. And on another thought the onsite hotels at unversal are way too much money! , if anything im staying offsite.

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"It is what it is"