m_l

Hi,
I'm planning a our first trip to orlando in sept for a week.
We are not there just to see WDW as we'll probably only spend part of the holiday there and in other parks. Ideally we'd like to spend some of our time doing some sport activities such as horse riding/water sports etc..
I'm having problems deciding where to base ourseleves as we'd like to have easy access to restaurants, cinema, good shopping and some nightlife so I don't know which location is best...given the above can anyone whose been there can you let me know what they think ?

other considerations we're not hiring a car, how difficult would it be to get around ?

thanks,
Marni

sludick

Hi from Orlando. Probably best to stay on International Drive. You can catch the trolley up and down I-Drive (which includes Wet N Wild). Lots of restaurants and shopping, of course. A lot of hotels offer transportation to the parks, sometimes free, sometimes for a reasonable fee. Downtown Orlando without a car will leave you pretty stranded as far as getting to any of the parks. We keep talking about high--speed rail, but so far it's just bus and taxi, and you would really be too far from the attractions to make it real fun. Some others may suggest some areas down along 192 in the Kissimmee area, or staying at one of the WDW hotels or that area. Without a car, though, please be careful about where you walk if you are in the Hiway 192 area -- a lot of cars and hard to cross the streets.

m_l

What about Lake Buena Vista versus Intl Drive ?

JJBhoy

Hi m l.

I'm from Scotland & have visited the Orlando area twice. Both times we rented a car & stayed at the Western end of the 192. We preferred there to the I-Drive area as the latter can get pretty choked with traffic.

Having said that, however, I fully agree with sludick - if you're not going to have a car I-Drive would definitely be the best place to base yourself.

Jim

nytraveler

You may want to rethink the no car decision. Public transport in orlando is not very convenient except directly between the hotels and the parks. It can be especially inconvenient in the evening. You will enjoy the trip much more if you have a little freedom of movement instead of being tied to very limited options.

emd

You'll have a very hard time doing your other activities without a car. For instance, the only horse riding place in close proximity is Horse WOrld on Poinciana, and that is pretty far without a car, would be a heck of a big cab fare.
You'll need the freedom of having a car.
Have you considered a house/villa rental instead of a hotel. It's a better deal and so mauch nicer for a week to have space and private pool for less money.