Travel tips (south) (east) US?

[pastro]

I know you probably will not / cannot take my advice but here goes....

Disney World has got to be the most overrated tourist destination on the planet. You will spend 90% of your time standing in lines waiting to be put on rides which last 90 seconds. The weather in Florida during the summer can be compared to Vietnam or the Amazon.

There is only one place which sells beer in Disney Land itself and you will need to stand in line for that too.

I strongly reccomend you try one or both of the big water parks in Orlando. The water parks (Wet N Wild and Disney's Blizzard Beach) are a blast for kids and adults.

Both Universal Studios and Bush Gardens are much more fun for the kids than Disney.

Zanesville is about 2.5 hours south of Cedar Point Amusement park which is in Sandusky, OH. In my opinion this is the best amusement park in the US.

Your route also takes you close to Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge Tennessee in the Smokey Mountains. This is a very beautiful area but will be crowded in the summer. There is not much else to see along I75.

If you decide to see Memphis, be careful. This is a pretty rough city.

Welcome to America. please secure your valuables.

The last time we went to Orlando, we ended up at universal for 2 days and disney for a couple too. Universal was a lot more fun for my kids BUT they are older. Lots of kids like the young theme based rides at Disney.
Disney has fast pass which lets you get a reservation so you don't wait as much in line. It's free but get your reservation for the most popular ride early. You can only have one reservation at a time which is a bummer.
I don't remember a VIP pass that you could buy at Disney.
At universal there is a pass to go to the front of the line for about $40 a person. It's worth it, but more and more people do this so the fast line isn't quite instant anymore. We ate at Emirils which was ok, but overrated.
Cedar point is a great idea. I lived in Cleveland and that was a staple of our summer fun. Beaches on Lake Erie are surprisingly good too. It's in Sandusky. Baseball at Jacobs Field in Cleveland. Pretty hard to get a ticket though.

Rock and Roll hall of fame in Cleveland is pretty good. Washington is fun since there are so many sites and museums. Too bad that sounds like it's too far out of the way.

[bdgbill]

As for the beaches, being from OZ I found them overrated, narrow and 'full'. The only one I was happy with the size of was Panama City Beach, but it's a long way off your route. Panama City was also the only place I saw people openly wearing handguns, so It's probably not a place for kids anyway.

An Australian going to a beach in Florida must feel a lot like an American watching TV in Europe....."This is it?"

[Fatman_do]

I live about the same distance from several amusment parks here in the Midwest, and Cedar Point is a good one.

[pastro]

An Australian going to a beach in Florida must feel a lot like an American watching TV in Europe....."This is it?"

haha and I said the beaches in Cleveland were ok..

[stustunz]

the ones in oz you cant swim in half of them cause the jelly fish will sting you so the golden sand isnt all its cracked up top be
if you swimm in the rivers the crocks will get ya
if you walk in the bush the spiders or snakes will get you

aahh i feel better now

[wtg]

Let me also whole-heartedly recommend Cedar Point. The lines will undoubtedly be long, but it is indeed one of the best amusement parks to be found. If you like roller coasters, it's near heaven. And there aren't many places on the Earth that have a 120mph coaster that has a perfect vertical both up and down, 420 feet up. If you go, do not miss the Top Thrill Dragster.

Oh, and this should be on the way to Niagra Falls if I remember where Zanesville is.

Also while I doubt you'll take Interstate 65 south, if you do, like whurlston recommended, Mammoth Cave is an excellent stop with tours ranging from 2 hours to all day. It's the world's longest known cave system, 365+ miles if I remember correctly.

[stefan]

Thank you all. I could probably personally agree with you all about Disney World being overrated (I've been both there and to Disney land), but I still think it's quite fun. Besides, Disney World is Disney World, and kids are kids. They really wanna go there And we'll probably not be visiting the States again for a few years, if even at all while the kids live at home.

And I totally agree about Cedar Point, even though I haven't been there since 1994.

Well, gotta attend to the kids now. Again, thank's a bunch for your tips