The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
Please vote in the Forum Structure Poll. Polling will close at 2PM EST on January 21, 2025.
I'm going to Emerica...what should I do/watch/see?
Bang Bang Miss America
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
HALLO.
In a few days I am going to Orlando Florida for two weeks! I live in Ireland =D Is there any good video game shops around there? Cool places to be? (Apple store? ke ke ke)
Oh and any good shows coming up in the next two weeks? Living in Ireland, we get shows ages after America. Plus I find the advert timing on American TV channels very silly.
Inform me of things!
Things that I want informed about:
The locations of video game stores, computer stores, Apple stores, cool places to be etc.
Any big events happening
Any good TV shows / films coming up
In a few days I am going to Orlando Florida for two weeks! I live in Ireland =D Is there any good video game shops around there? Cool places to be? (Apple store? ke ke ke)
Oh and any good shows coming up in the next two weeks? Living in Ireland, we get shows ages after America. Plus I find the advert timing on American TV channels very silly.
Inform me of things!
Things that I want informed about:
The locations of video game stores, computer stores, Apple stores, cool places to be etc.
Any big events happening
Any good TV shows / films coming up
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwyxz
Bang Bang Miss America on
0
Posts
You could probably find locations of any stores you want to visit near there on the internet, you probably won't find anything special, especially in a game store, unless you want to buy an NTSC system. I guess some DS games that aren't out yet.
Seeing as it's summer, there aren't any good shows on TV, but there are some good films in the theatre right now.
Honestly, you shouldn't really be coming here and then watching TV. Although Orlando does kinda suck. The only thing there are amusement parks.
And swamps. Some of the best times I had in Florida were while being ferried around the everglades by a terrifying redneck.
If you're at all fascinated by animals, go and watch the turtles (and alligators, sharks and manatees).
Aside from the reptiles, theme parks are the only reason to be there.
Oh, and stock up on sun protection, or you will go home looking like a pork rind.
But was there banjo music playing?
All I can say is bring plenty of sun cream, don't mention the IRA in the airport, and don't pretend you have a gun in your bag >_>
Nothing's forgotten, nothing is ever forgotten
What?
To be fair, game prices are pretty expensive in Europe.
That said, unless you have a region-free DVD player and either modded or NTSC game systems, the only thing you're going to be able to buy are games for portables (which are all region-free).
WHY???
DEAR LORD WHY???
Worst place ever.
Go get a swamp tour.
that's fucking retarded.
Orlando will be fun for about 1 week(at most), then you will have done the parks and the tourist shit.
If you have a car, or at least access to one, you can get down to the Cape. The got museums and an iMax theater and some other cool stuff. Coco Beach, which is right there, has some not totally cheasey stuff.
Bush Gardens, in Tampa, is pretty cool, and if you are old enough Tama's more or less historic district Yebore City, fucked the spelling up there a little bit, has a pretty decent nightlife.
Daytona beach, has a pretty nice beach, and roundy round racing stuff.
You will probably hear more about events if you can give a time frame, but I think all the big cons are done for the year.
There are all sorts of cool springs and nature shit in central florida, and a tonne of fishing. If you go in for that sort of thing.
There is some large semi new mall over there, The Mall of the Millennia or something.
Basically there are three places in the US that the entire population fears during the summer; Disney World, Las Vegas, and New Orleans. They all have a lot of fun, intersting things to do, but will pretty much confirm your worst fears/stereotypes of Americans.
But if you are going, yes, Disney is fun, Universal Studios Park (Spider-Man, et al) might be more fun for older crowd (12+).
Gatorland is a must see if you want to pet an alligator.
As for shops,,, yeah, since Orlando is a tourist area, so it's not a normal city. There's Best Buys and everything, and those should be regualr priced.
I personally spent two weeks in Orlando and it was a lot of fun, but I hit up the theme parks almost exclusively. The shopping mall Belz is good for Europeans who need to get a lot of (relatively) cheap clothes, plenty of cheaper Levi's and stuff there.
There is a lot of... local colour, but they are really pretty harmless. Google maps is pretty good for the area, and pretty much recommended if you have access.
People do live there. They do buy stuff and do stuff.
Just don't get killed on I-4.
edit:the decent niche shops and decent restaurants are kinda scattered across the whole sprawling mess. Which is lame.
Welcome to America.
It's not really that bad, actually.
Really.
we also talk about other random shit and clown upon each other
The moment you saw yourself type those words you should have erased your post and moved on to a different thread.
Keep it on topic people, and guys, I'm pretty sure he gets the point: You don't like Orlando. That's just ducky.
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH
Nothing's forgotten, nothing is ever forgotten
Miami is like 4 hours away from Orlando. If that's not far to you, then just go all the way to the Keys and have more fun than Orlando and Miami combined.
1.) You don't need to go to Miami to find a great beach in Florida (and Miami can be a horrible place anyway, tell me I'm wrong, holycrapawalrus :P). See #5.
2.) Orlando is not just theme parks; people need to stop saying that because it's retarded and wrong. It's a major metropolitan area that has everything any other large city has: world-class dining, nightlife, arts, pro sports, outdoor experiences.
3.) The Everglades (and here I'm just talking about the extreme northern tip of them, practically Naples) are a good 4 hours south of Orlando. That's, um, let's see... (googles) ...farther than the trip from Belfast to Galway, apparently. Ha HA! At any rate, not really a "pop down there for a day" kind of thing in most people's books.
4.) Here's a thread from not too long ago that dealt with the exact same question. I made a few rambling posts in it, highlights are: Awesome huge-ass arcade, live music, beaches, Cirque du Soleil, motherfuckers!
5.) Daytona beach sucks, seriously. It's as worn-down and scuzzy as the skanks who flock to it every spring. Instead, drive an extra 30 minutes north and go to Ormond Beach, or Flagler Beach, or Palm Coast.
5a.) Ybor City kinda sucks too IMO, but that's because I don't go to clubs. If you love clubs, and drinking, and latin culture, you're in for a treat. Also, crime.
6.) I agree that 2 weeks is way too long for Orlando, or any other city in the U.S., except for maybe Washington DC. Not that you should change your plans, but maybe that second week could be used for multi-day trips south to Miami/the Everglades or up to Atlanta.
7.) Contrary to what some people seem to believe, the dead of summer is actually Florida's off-season for tourism. The big crush starts around November and lasts until April or so. Crowds will be thick, yes, but not significantly thicker than any other time of year. Theme parks may be an exception, as kids being out of school for the summer can bolster attendance.
8.) Lewisham makes a good point, Orlando is a very spread-out city. As with any major tourist area, most visitors only see a small portion of it during their stay. If you are looking for a cool mom-and-pop music store or an oldschool arcade, they're there, you may just have to look around a bit.
9.) Apple's website says there are not one, but two Apple Stores in Orlando. One looks like it's in Millennia, their huge-ass new mall.
10.) Jasconius is so cute; 2-3 weeks? The rainy season usually starts in May (it was actually very late this year) and runs all the way through September as hurricane season wraps up. Every day during this time, you can expect severe afternoon thunderstorms. If you want to go to the beach or whatever else outside, get out there early. Seriously. Oh, and also, central Florida is the lightning capital of the world, yay!
11.) whuppins lives in Gainesville, which is about an hour and a half north of Orlando. He has been known to offer guided tours to the local Krispy Kreme in exchange for authentic Irish whiskey.
12.) About shows and other entertainment, UCF is usually able to bring in great bands, either to the university auditoriums themselves or the surrounding watering holes. There's the House of Blues in Downtown Disney, and the Amway Arena will draw in the more arena-friendly acts. A quick glance at Ticketmaster shows that they'll have the Family Values Tour (Evanescence + Korn) on the 12th.
13.) Cocoa Beach and the rest of the space coast isn't bad; the Kennedy Space Center just spent a ton of money on a new VR exhibit that simulates being an astronaut in a shuttle at launch. My folks are going this week; it's supposed to be pretty good.
1) THANK YOU. My god. I feel like the only person from SoFl who thinks Miami is pretty much a horrible place. I don't know where it gets such a good reputation from. I've never been to LA, but it pretty much seems like a broken down knock-off of LA. Anyway, that's all besides the point.
11) Are you at Gainesville for school? Just curious, since that's where I live now, too.
As far as Orlando goes -- if you have the money I'd definitely say do the water parts at Disney, you can do Islands of Adventure (A blast to go there) -- and for these places you can usually get 7 day tickets for less than two days, so. Also: I think there are usually shows that go on at City Walk in Islands of Adventure. I know right now The Blueman Group is playing there, and they have all kinds of concerts and things there.
You can just check www.ticketmaster.com and things like that to look for shows in Orlando.
I'd definitely recommend going to Downtown Disney, too. Since I'm SURE you're going to get sick of theme parks -- and Downtown Disney is a good bit of fun. Clubs, stores, a nice restaurant or two. A fun time, all around.
Make sure if you'll be staying at a hotel to ask at the front desk about things to do in town. They usually have a book or list full of events and locations to make sure you check out.
Heh, I just want to say that this is probably the most succinct assessment of Miami I've ever seen. :^:
I did go to school at UF, but I've been employed by the university for the past five and a half years. It sounds like you might be new to the area? PM me if you have any questions about how awful it is here (answer: pretty awful). I'm originally from Fort Myers, though (I think I graduated a year ahead of Raijin, from the same high school). Beh, anyway...
This is a good point. As with any tourist area, there should be a rack in your hotel lobby that's stuffed with brochures and pamphlets from all the local attractions, from the big ones like Disney to ones you'd never hear about otherwise, like Uncle Ted's Gator Wrasslin' Fantasy Camp. If you're staying at a snootier hotel that doesn't have one of those, ask the concierge to help you out. That's what they get paid to do.