Where to Stay for BlogOrlando 2008
Once again the question comes up, where should I stay? Same answer as before and before:
The events on Friday and Saturday will be taking place in the downtown/Winter Park area. Perhaps poor planning on my part, but finding a cool meeting location that offers free wifi like Rollins and is close to the theme parks is difficult.
One option is to pick a location and stay there the entire time, the other is to switch hotels for the weekend. Switching hotels might be tough to do though. Here are the pros/cons:
Downtown
Pro - close to the action on Friday/Saturday
Pro - cheaper hotel rates
Pro - Might be able to car-pool to Disney
Pro/Con - You have to drive to Disney on Sun but it's weekend traffic
Con - You miss some 'on property' Disney benefits
Con - driving anywhere after a long day at the the parks
Disney
Pro - close to the parks for the weekend
Pro - 'on property' benefits
Con - you have to drive to downtown for the evenst
If you're going to stay downtown I would suggest the Embassy Suites on Lake Eola or if you want a cool place the EO Inn. If you're staying at Disney there are plenty of hotels to choose from.
Comments
Winter Park is an absolutely perfect place for BlogOrlando. In fact, it's so nice to have an event in the Central Florida area that doesn't cater to the typical amusement park syndrome.
Now, if you've never been to O-town and you must see Disney World because you you'll be excoriated by friends and family back home if you don't, well then, do what you have to do.
Personally, I'd advise against spending an exhausting, expensive day at Disney (or other giant parks), fighting traffic to get there, and then being exhausted all day at BlogOrlando because of it.
If you're looking for great things to do, Winter Park is full of them.
If you really want to get a feel for Winter Park (which is, ahem!, not Orlando), you can't beat taking the Winter Park Scenic Boat Tour. It's only $10 and the dock is only a few blocks north of Rollins. Morning is better; it's less crowded, cooler, and less likely to be closed early due to afternoon storms. I've taken it at least three times in the past 20 years.
If you just want to stay within walking distance of Rollins, be sure to head all the way up Park avenue and check out the shops. WP has some of the highest per capita income in all of Central Florida and the shops cater to that. Stop and get a refreshing tea or coffee at the original Barnie's (about halfway up) just so you can tell everyone, "Well, I didn't go to Disney, but I have been to the first Barnie's ever." And really, if you're a mobile worker, what's more important than that?
If you are somewhat geeky (and you must be to be a blogger, right?), the Orlando Science Center is fantastic. It's only about two miles from Rollins. You could literally spend the day there, but if you're into art and culture the Orlando Museum of Art is right across the street from the Science Center.
I lived in WP 2 years back in the 80's and visit all the time. I've only pointed out places I've personally been to and recommend, but there's a nice list at A Day in Winter Park if you want to check out some other stuff.
Posted by: Lawrence Salberg | July 13, 2008 01:49 PM
Good call - since Winter Park is home to Mark and Lorna at the Red Fox Lounge!
Posted by: Tacky Fabulous | July 25, 2008 08:58 AM