An Insider's Guide to Orlando

(This post seems particularly timely in light of Mickey's 80th birthday yesterday.)

A friend of mine is heading to Orlando for the first time and asked for some suggestions for fun things to do. Below are my recommendations for a six-day trip (for someone with three days of Disney park hopper passes) based on my experience of having lived there for 11 years.

If anyone has any other suggestions, please leave them in the comments section. I'll pass them along to my friend who leaves on Saturday.

Writing about all of this reminded me of how much I miss it down there. (See my blog posts of my recent adventures to Orlando.)

SUGGESTED ITINERARIES (Do these in any order. More details below.)

• Disney Day 1: Get to Animal Kingdom when it opens, go on the Safari Ride and see The Lion King Show. Stay until lunch and then go to EPCOT or Magic Kingdom and stay for the fireworks.
• Disney Day 2: MGM Studios for the day. Stay to see the Fantasmic laser and firework show.
• Disney Day 3: EPCOT or Magic Kingdom -- whichever one you haven't seen yet.
• Beach Day: Start off the day going to the Kennedy Space Center (open 9 AM to 5:30 PM), go to Dixie Crossroads for lunch (might require a little back-tracking, but well worth it!), and then hit up either Canaveral National Seashore or Cocoa Beach (where Ron John's Surf Shop is). If you're feeling extra ambitious and energetic, you could probably make it back in time to catch a 9 PM showing of Cirque du Solei and/or go to Universal Citywalk, but that might make for a very long day.
• Sea World: Make sure to see the Shamu show and the Otter and Sea Lion show. Everything else will be gravy. It's been a while since I've been, so there may be quite a bit of new stuff. I think they also have a dolphin encounter and shark exhibit where you walk under water with sharks overhead. The location of Sea World makes this a good day to go get dinner and explore the nightlife at Universal City Walk afterwards.
  
• Cirque du Solei and Downtown Disney: This could be a half-day or whole day affair. Downtown Disney has a ton of shops and restaurants and is a fun place to walk around. Cirque du Solei is next door (walking distance) and is a must see. (More on this below.) If you were to go to the late show for Cirque du Solei (9 PM), you should have enough time to go to Boma (see below) for an early dinner.
• Alternative - St. Augustine: If you also wanted to squeeze in a day in St. Augustine, you could do all of the above, squeezing Cirque du Solei in after the day at the beach, or substitute this in for one of the Disney days. If you go to St. Augustine , I recommend getting an early start to the day. It can be a 2 to 2-1/2 hour drive one-way. A visit is definitely doable in a day. Lots of history, shops, a lighthouse, a fort, and is on the right on the water, A beautiful town with a lot of charm and great seafood! Flagler College and the Lightner Museum are also worth seeing. If you go, be sure to do a city tour, see the fort, and squeeze in whatever else sounds good. I always enjoyed just strolling around the cobblestone streets, taking in the charm of the city.

MUST SEE:

• Cirque du Solei (at Downtown Disney) Here are ticket prices (ranging from $53 to $117). One of the best shows I've ever seen! Reservations suggested. I cannot recommend this highly enough! Performances are currently at 6 PM and 9 PM, with no performances on Sundays or Mondays.
• Animal Kingdom: The Festival of the Lion King Show and the Kilimanjaro Safari Ride.
• MGM Studios: Fantasmic fireworks and laser show, Tower of Terror, Rock 'n Roller Coaster, Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular, and The Great Movie Ride.
• EPCOT Center: Check to see if they have any special performances, Soarin', The American Adventure , Test Track and . Make sure to stay for the Illuminations firework show. The World Pavilion is also great for visiting any country you have interest in and shopping in the gift shops. The ride in Norway is also a lot of fun.
• Magic Kingdom: Any ride you guys enjoyed as a kid will be fun. My friends and I used to do the three-mountain-run -- Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain, and Splash Mountain. Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean are also must-sees. There are also several parades (at least two) during the day plus fireworks just before they close the park.
• Sea World: Shamu and the Otter and Sea Lion Show.

GOOD FOOD:

• EPCOT: Restaurant Marrakesh (Delicious Moroccan food!) Lots of cheaper fare in each of the World Pavilions. Free Coke samples from around the world in Future World.
• Animal Kingdom: Boma - Flavors of Africa (You could do this on a day you're not in the park. You'll want to make reservations for this one.)
• MGM Studios: 50s Prime Time Cafe (momma will make sure you keep your elbows off the table) or Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater (watch wacky sci-fi clips while you eat). Both of these are good, but not as strongly recommended as Marrakesh or Boma. Good choices for lunch. For a nice sit-down meal, I'd recommend The Hollywood Brown Derby.
• Magic Kingdom: This is tougher for me. Usually just grabbed ice cream on Main Street and turkey drum sticks around the park. A lot of people enjoy eating at the top of the Contemporary (the nearby hotel that the Monorail passes through) and watching the fireworks from there. A money saving tip is to eat beforehand and then go grab coffee or drinks at the top. You can also go outside on the top for free.
• Dixie Crossroads: Wonderful Seafood on the way to the beach. Famous for Rock Shrimp. Delicious key lime pie. Highly, highly recommended!
• Emeril's: A great restaurant at Universal Citywalk.
  
• Downtown Disney: Rainforest Cafe is a great sit-down restaurant with a jungle theme. For something a little more budget-minded, I'd suggest Earl of Sandwich and Ghiaradelli Soda Fountain for chocolate and ice cream.

NIGHTLIFE:

• Pleasure Island: Sadly, I just found out this closed in September.
  
• Disney Boardwalk: A nice place to chill out, go to a dueling piano bar, get great ice cream (outside of the Yacht and Beach Club at Beaches and Cream ), and relax at the end of the day. The Boardwalk Inn has huge couches with big, fluffy pillows -- great for hanging out on, Walking around the lagoon is fun at night. There's also a dance hall my friends and I used to go swing dancing in, but it seems to have gone downhill since then.
• Universal Citywalk: This is possibly something you could do after your day at Seaworld. A lot of good restaurants, bars, and shops.