Non-Disney Orlando attractions

Dawn S · 05-09-2002

Aside from all of the activities on WDW property, have you ever checked out the other attractions in Orlando...perhaps some of the not-so-colossal attractions? What would you recommend to other Orlando travelers?

One of my personal favorites is WonderWorks. It's on I-Drive At Pointe Orlando. All of Pointe Orlando is great & a wonderful way to spend an evening away from Disney. WonderWorks is a really unusual place. The building that houses it has an upside-down facade. The entire building is structured to be upside-down by outward appearance! Even the palm trees & sidewalk mailboxes are up above your head! Inside, there's all sorts of high-tech type entertainment from coaster simulators, hurricane, tornado & earthquake simulators, a floor piano & tons more. It's like a huge playground! If memory serves, it's about $18 admission & in my opinion, very well worth it.

Disney4648 · 05-09-2002

Everytime I go to IOA and Universal, I always pass Skydive. Something that might be very fun to try and im adding it to my "must do" list for my next disney world vacation.:)

brumcg · 05-09-2002

We've never been there, but Splendid China always looks interesting... Has anybody done it?

We drove in once - we thought it was a Chinese Restaurant!

Bruce

**mickey** · 05-09-2002

Bruce, glad you mentioned Splendid China. While there are chinese restaurants there, that isn't the main focus of the park. Splendid China was built by the Chinese government as a replica of an extremely popular park just outside of Hong Kong. It features almost one hundred miniature representations of tourist sites in China, the great wall, forbidden city, Yangtze river, etc... Not exactly the Tower of Terror. Several years ago, after a couple of years of running it to less than one hundred people a day, the Chinese were not happy with the performance of the park, and installed a new manager who proceeded to not repair anything in the park for years. With the Florida heat and humidity, it nearly fell apart. They have spent the last year or so rebuilding.

We visited it a couple of years ago. You have to know that Minnie and I have two daughters who were adopted from China, so obviously we were drawn to Splendid China. Funny thing was is we planned a day to go over there, and when we got there about an hour after opening, there wasn't a car or bus in the parking lot. We actually thought it was closed. There is a large area in front that is free to enter, and has shops and restaurants. We didn't pay to go in because they were in the process of fixing many of the attractions, and we could see from the free area it was going to be a long day for the kids if we did go in. We spent about an hour in the shops, and talked to some very friendly people. The entire time there, no one else came.

I don't know if we will go back. I think if you had a couple of hours before your plane, and found a good discount, it would be a fun way to see China. I think it is now mostly aimed at tour groups, not a lot of individuals show up.

05-09-2002	#1 (permalink)
Dawn S Senior Mouseketeer Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Kissimmee, FL Posts: 250	Non-Disney Orlando attractions Aside from all of the activities on WDW property, have you ever checked out the other attractions in Orlando...perhaps some of the not-so-colossal attractions? What would you recommend to other Orlando travelers? One of my personal favorites is WonderWorks. It's on I-Drive At Pointe Orlando. All of Pointe Orlando is great & a wonderful way to spend an evening away from Disney. WonderWorks is a really unusual place. The building that houses it has an upside-down facade. The entire building is structured to be upside-down by outward appearance! Even the palm trees & sidewalk mailboxes are up above your head! Inside, there's all sorts of high-tech type entertainment from coaster simulators, hurricane, tornado & earthquake simulators, a floor piano & tons more. It's like a huge playground! If memory serves, it's about $18 admission & in my opinion, very well worth it. __________________ Dawn (AIM - Diznyqt ) ~~~~* To book me for upcoming engagements, see my talent agent, DisneyHog6! ~~~~* The dolls are EVIL!!! ~~~~* Chipper Jones #10/Mark DeRosa #16 - GO BRAVES! NASCAR - Matt Kenseth #17 ~~~~* I'm not a complete idiot, some parts are missing.

05-09-2002	#3 (permalink)
brumcg Mouse Meister Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 1,100	We've never been there, but Splendid China always looks interesting... Has anybody done it? We drove in once - we thought it was a Chinese Restaurant! Bruce __________________ My Disney Countdown Counting down to: 2009 WDW Trip! 263 days, 12 hours, 2 minutes

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Non-Disney Orlando attractions

05-09-2002	#2 (permalink)
Disney4648 Currently in Timeout! Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Florida Posts: 125	Everytime I go to IOA and Universal, I always pass Skydive. Something that might be very fun to try and im adding it to my "must do" list for my next disney world vacation.:)

05-09-2002	#4 (permalink)
mickey Administrator Join Date: Sep 2001 Posts: 6,264	Bruce, glad you mentioned Splendid China. While there are chinese restaurants there, that isn't the main focus of the park. Splendid China was built by the Chinese government as a replica of an extremely popular park just outside of Hong Kong. It features almost one hundred miniature representations of tourist sites in China, the great wall, forbidden city, Yangtze river, etc... Not exactly the Tower of Terror. Several years ago, after a couple of years of running it to less than one hundred people a day, the Chinese were not happy with the performance of the park, and installed a new manager who proceeded to not repair anything in the park for years. With the Florida heat and humidity, it nearly fell apart. They have spent the last year or so rebuilding. We visited it a couple of years ago. You have to know that Minnie and I have two daughters who were adopted from China, so obviously we were drawn to Splendid China. Funny thing was is we planned a day to go over there, and when we got there about an hour after opening, there wasn't a car or bus in the parking lot. We actually thought it was closed. There is a large area in front that is free to enter, and has shops and restaurants. We didn't pay to go in because they were in the process of fixing many of the attractions, and we could see from the free area it was going to be a long day for the kids if we did go in. We spent about an hour in the shops, and talked to some very friendly people. The entire time there, no one else came. I don't know if we will go back. I think if you had a couple of hours before your plane, and found a good discount, it would be a fun way to see China. I think it is now mostly aimed at tour groups, not a lot of individuals show up.

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