Where it's at
Orlando is a major metropolitan city in central Florida. The metropolitan area has a population of approximately 2.5 million. Orlando is a major tourist destination well know for it's theme parks including Disney World, Universal Studios and Sea World. Florida enjoys warm temperatures through most of the year. Orland lies within 2 hours of the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Gulf of Mexico to the west.
How to get there
Being in the middle of Florida, Orlando is accessible by car from most of North America. Depending on where you live, you may not realize just how large Florida is as a whole and the area surrounding Orlando more specifically.
I traveled to Orlando by airplane and traveled within the area in a variety of ways. There are a large number of airlines servicing Orlando and it's worth mentioning some considerations for air travel. I was able to find a very inexpensive flight to Orlando through Travelocity. My flight in was with Spirit Airlines and my return flight was with Frontier Airlines. These airlines are known to have inexpensive fares, but then they charge you for every little thing when you get there to make up the difference. I had a large checked suitcase which was approximately 3x as expensive to take as I was. A majority of airlines in the united states now charge for checked bags and it is becoming increasingly common to be charged for carry on bags. These airlines both charge nearly $100 for a carry on bag too big to fit under the seat in front of you or for a small checked suitcase. Suitcases over 40 or 50 lbs will accrue additional charges to check, so it's worthwhile to review baggage restrictions with any airline you choose.
Getting around Orlando
Orlando's metropolitan area covers a huge sprawling space. Most travel within the area will be by car. I made arrangements to stay at a hotel with a free shuttle from the airport, but ended up not using the shuttle. I checked for last minute rental car deals on the morning I flew out and there were plenty of deals to be had. The base price for my rental car was like $9, but you should expect plenty of taxes and fees for a rental car including the expectation for toll roads when you visit Orlando.
On my return trip through Orlando I had opportunity to take a taxi and an Uber. My phone was submerged in water during my cruise and I took a taxi to a nearby AT&T store which cost me over $50. My return trip to the airport was an Uber which was only $20. Frequently the price of taxi and Uber are very similar. My experience with Uber in Orlando was much better than the taxi.
I took a shuttle between the Orlando airport and Port Canaveral which was about $50 round trip.
Things to do in Orlando
Most people visiting Orlando know about the big theme parks. Many people do not know about some beautiful state parks in the area.
Wekiwa Springs State Park
Wekiwa Springs features a huge natural swimming pool. There are also trails for hiking and river for kayaking or paddle boarding. Being fresh water in Florida you may encounter alligators. Alligators are dangerous wild animals. When the main pool is as crowded as you see in this picture, it's probably fine. If the pool isn't full of people, I would be cautious. The same goes for kayaking or paddle boarding.
Picture yourself driving through a residential suburban neighborhood between Apopka and Altamonte Springs. You make 1 turn off Wekiwa Springs Rd into the park and it feels like you've gone back in time, to the Jurrasic period. The drive through the park is surrounded by various types of palms and hanging Spanish Moss. The park is beautiful.
Lake Louise State Park
Lake Louise lies a little further out from Orlando's city center, but there's loads to do. I chose to go horseback riding. They also have cabins and glamping opportunities.
Where to eat
Mrs Potato
If you look for highly rated eateries in Orlando you may come across Mrs Potato. It's a Brazilian restaurant known for rosti's. A rosti is a fried potato cake. I picture it as sort of meat and cheese that's been balled up with hash browns on the outside. The ball is not held together firmly and spreads out horizontally as it cooks.
When you see the reviews, you may expect something fancy, but the restaurant sits at the end of a strip mall next to a massage parlor with a Publix grocery store in the middle of the strip mall. The prices are somewhere between what you might expect from the fancy reviews and the humble location.
I started my meal with deep fried brie accompanied by a sweet chili sauce. I had a chicken catupiry rosti and finished my meal with a cartola banana melt. The rosti was great, but was only my 3rd favorite part of the meal. The best part was the cartola banana melt. It was like Bananas Foster with the addition of melted mozzerella. It sounded pretty weird to me, but it worked. Altogether cheese was as prominent on the menu as potatoes were.
Pollo Tropical
Pollo Tropical is a sentimental favorite from when I lived in Florida. They have Caribbean inspired recipes revolving mostly around chicken, rice and beans. I wasn't super hungry when I got there, so I just got a regular sized Tropichop. Generally, I would get a quarter chicken with white rice and black beans which is a better value. Then I smother it all in salsa and curry mustard.
I'm new to the Pinmapple community. I would love to make so much money blogging about travel that I could quit my day job and just do this, but I'm not expecting much. I do plan to share some more posts about the ports from my cruise and I'm not sure when I'll next have an opportunity to travel.
What sort of information do you like to see included in Pinmapple posts? I’m hoping to keep them fairly short and sweet. What do you think of my format for this post? Any constructive criticism is appreciated, but use your words. Telling me to make my posts better is not helpful without examples and/or descriptive words.
I hope this post has been helpful and informative. Thanks for reading and thanks for all the upvotes, reblogs, comments and follows.
Lastly, I'm hoping that this community will be interactive. I would love to hear your comments and considerations if you happen upon a post about someplace you've lived or visited. I'll try to do the same for you when I stumble onto a post about somewhere I love to visit.
images from:
unitedvanlines.com
floridastateparks.org
mrspotato.net
wikipedia.org