The route is somewhat flexible on the return trip, but we're planning an overnight at Cocoa beach before heading back to central Illinois.
Any advice on where to go and what to see on the way home?
Will there be anyone home at GRM HQ the weekend of October 21st/22nd?
Doubtful. I'm betting they'll all be in Gainesville at the Challenge.
That's what I figured but, you never know. At least I don't.
Lol
Friday night and early Saturday will be spent at Cocoa.
The rest of Saturday and Sunday will be the drive home, with an overnight along the way Saturday night.
Attending the challenge is out since I have to be back at work the following Monday. Though we could swing by for a quick, "Hey, how ya doin'?".
In reply to The_Jed:
You should really swing by Saturday if you can. Although that's concours day, which usually wraps up in the afternoon, with the awards banquet later that night. Still, it would be awesome if you could swing by the hotel(which is right next to the interstate) to say "hi"!
Perfect time for disney.
We're going the first week of October.
Looking forward to it.
go here
Fook disney come to Gainesville
If you are going to be near Cocoa--- the obvious choice would be to check out the Space Center. It's totally worth it. If you have any extra time, a boat / fishing tour of Mosquito Lagoon is also a great way to spend time. There's a ton of wildlife in that area, so you'll see manatee, dolphin, sharks, tons of other fish and birds and maybe even a sea turtle.
We'll all be at the Challenge, or out of the office as it's a weekend. But if you stop in Gainesville you can see the gang!
Will do!
Sitting in the Orlando airport waiting to fly home while writing this...
We just spent a week here and I will second going to the Kennedy space center - it is really fantastic.
If you are going to Disney parks make sure you go online in advance and sort out your fast passes for the rides/attractions you would like to see - it can really shave off a bunch of time in line.
Test track is cool at Epcot, flight of passage at Pandora/Animal Kingdom is seriously amazing and had stand by line-up waits of up to 4.5 hours this week!!
Pierre
My son lives in Los Angeles and has an annual pass. He goes 30-40 times a year to Disneyland and California Adventure.
His thing is you hit a lot of big rides early in the morning. He also goes from one side to the other side while getting his fast pass on the popular ride first thing in the morning.
I would go to Tomorrowland and hit every ride when he rides the best one and then shoots across the park. Use the app showing you ride time wait too.
It works cause we hit 6 rides in the first two hours and then 4 rides in the next three hours. Pissed my wife off all that running back and forth.
morecowbell wrote: Sitting in the Orlando airport waiting to fly home while writing this... We just spent a week here and I will second going to the Kennedy space center - it is really fantastic. If you are going to Disney parks make sure you go online in advance and sort out your fast passes for the rides/attractions you would like to see - it can really shave off a bunch of time in line. Test track is cool at Epcot, flight of passage at Pandora/Animal Kingdom is seriously amazing and had stand by line-up waits of up to 4.5 hours this week!! Pierre
If he doesn't have fast passes for Pandora now, he's not getting them. Disney employees are still on blackout. Agreed though, test track is a must ride. Haunted mansion at magic kingdom is a must ride, as is rockin' rollercoaster at Hollywood studios. Weather should be cooled off some by then, and all the tourists are going home next weekend.
Datsun310Guy wrote: go here
Yes. Go to the cocoa one. Pass on the Orlando ones.
The wife said a stop at Ron Jon was mandatory.
mndsm wrote:morecowbell wrote: Sitting in the Orlando airport waiting to fly home while writing this... We just spent a week here and I will second going to the Kennedy space center - it is really fantastic. If you are going to Disney parks make sure you go online in advance and sort out your fast passes for the rides/attractions you would like to see - it can really shave off a bunch of time in line. Test track is cool at Epcot, flight of passage at Pandora/Animal Kingdom is seriously amazing and had stand by line-up waits of up to 4.5 hours this week!! PierreIf he doesn't have fast passes for Pandora now, he's not getting them. Disney employees are still on blackout. Agreed though, test track is a must ride. Haunted mansion at magic kingdom is a must ride, as is rockin' rollercoaster at Hollywood studios. Weather should be cooled off some by then, and all the tourists are going home next weekend.
Wife said "we'll be back in 3-ish years, Pandora will still be there, we'll let the furor die down" and didn't even try for Pandora FPs. We're not huge on Animal Kingdom as it is, so we're going long enough for ITTBAB (which was closed on our last trip) and then heading back to Magic Kingdom for a second day.
mndsm wrote:Datsun310Guy wrote: go hereYes. Go to the cocoa one. Pass on the Orlando ones.
The Cocoa Ron Jon is the only one I've been to, so it didn't even cross my mind that there may be one in Orlando, LOL
In reply to Morbid:
There's actually two in the area now. One at florida mall (a wretched place overrun with tourist traps and Starbucks) and one about 20min from there attached to a defunct mall that was later turned into this dope homebrew antimall bazaar called srtegon. Artegon is gone, but the Ron Jon is still there. It's less offensive than the florida mall one just due to lack of traffic. Also, good call on skipping dak. It's still pretty damn warm in October, there's very little in the way of air conditioned respite, and aside from the safari ride amd some of the stage shows, it's a zoo. Better to split magic kingdom into two days so you aren't rushed there. Hws can be done in a day if you're smart, and epcot....youll be here during food and wine. Legendary good eats for adults. I know I'm going. A lot.
Even if you don't have time to visit the Space Center check and see if there are any launches going on while you're there. We were able to drive out that way, park on the side of the road and watch one.
The_Jed wrote: The wife said a stop at Ron Jon was mandatory.
As a cheap grm'er i prefer the knockoff next door, everything is cheaper . Provided it's still there of course. We're probably heading to cocoa beach post challenge for a few days
In reply to mndsm:
I try my best to schedule out MK days around 'party' days to take advantage of the lower crowds. Yes the park closes early, but usually the next day is evening EMH, so we head back for round 2 around noon on the EMH day. I don't know what I'll do if we ever go in the spring, I don't know how to plan with 'normal' operating hours 
I am looking forward to Food and wine, but the food part, because I'm not allowed to drink (stupid meds).
After a lot of thought, the Smith family has decided to forego Cocoa Beach for this year and, after spending Friday morning/early afternoon at Epcot, we'll be heading to Gainesville for an overnight at the Challenge host hotel before heading back to reality! We're excited to meet everyone and finally put faces to screennames, and the boy-child is thrilled about automotive shennanigans, the girl-child, on the other hand, the car gene missed her, so she's not as happy about the stop 
Now to get work things wrapped up so I can finish packing and cleaning; we're leaving in a little more than 36 hours!
Just to derail the thread. I know we all must make the pilgrimage to Disney during our lives, but there are so many awesome amusement parks out there!!
if you guys are in central Illinois come over to Kings Island in Cincinnati. It's SOO much better. (My 2 cents)
In reply to KyAllroad :
Been there, done that, I'll take Disney over KI any day. I appreciate the suggestion, but the Mouse has our hearts.
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