Anyone in Orlando today?

Sun, 02/28/2010 - 18:05

milliehubbard

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Oh don't I wish

We just booked a trip for November...

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Sun, 02/28/2010 - 21:32

Brad

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chriskre wrote:

I'm headed to Orlando tomorrow. Anyone there now?

How's the weather.

Taking my out of town family to Holy Land Experience and hopefully I can convince them to spend a day in one of the parks.

Have you been to the Holy Land Experience before? I'm really interested in that place. Do you think it's worthy giving up Disney time if you're an out of stater?

Mon, 03/01/2010 - 04:13

chriskre

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Brad wrote:

chriskre wrote:
I'm headed to Orlando tomorrow. Anyone there now?

How's the weather.

Taking my out of town family to Holy Land Experience and hopefully I can convince them to spend a day in one of the parks.

Have you been to the Holy Land Experience before? I'm really interested in that place. Do you think it's worthy giving up Disney time if you're an out of stater?

Hi Brad,
Yes I have been to the Holy Land Experience before. I went when it was owned by Zion ministries. It's now owned by TBN so I'm sure it's a new and improved version by now.
If you are into Christian history or even Jewish history for that matter, I think you'd find it a fascinating place. They've got lots of shows with singers and they also do a re-enactment of the crucifixion of Christ in the garden tomb.

They have a model of the tent where the priests did the sacrifice with a holy of holies in it. It was really cool how they did the presentation. It's all done with shadows. I though it was very cool.

They also have a place called scriptorium. They have bibles dating back to the Gutenburg press. They also have bibles with blood of martyrs on them.

They also have a little petting zoo with camels and sheep etc.

The food served in the restaurants is mediterranean food. Shwarmas and falafel, pita etc.

It's kind of like a huge EPCOT World Showcase pavilion but totally dedicated to Israel. It's on a beautiful lakefront piece of property.

Yes, I think it's worth missing a day of Disney to visit at least once.

I went to Israel years ago and if you are someone who wants to go to Israel but are too chicken to take the chance I think this might wet your appetite enough to take the chance and go to the real Isreal.

I think it's only $30 to get in. It probably wouldn't take a whole day to see everything unless you saw all the shows and read every little placard like we did. If you are the kind of park commando that can see World Showcase in one day then you can do Holy land in one day too.

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Mon, 03/01/2010 - 06:25

bali

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chriskre wrote:

I'm headed to Orlando tomorrow. Anyone there now?

How's the weather.

Taking my out of town family to Holy Land Experience and hopefully I can convince them to spend a day in one of the parks.

Nopa nopa! It's going on two years for us, but we're about to plan a trip for the Fall, I think (really wanted to last year, but no go).

I DID hear on the WDWToday podcast tonight that the forecast is chilly this week!

Have an awesome time with your family at the Holy Land experience. Be sure to pop in and let us know how it was! Thanks for the info on the place; I've never been.

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Mon, 03/01/2010 - 15:42

SpaceAce

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Thanks for the cool review on the Holy Land Exp, Chriskre -- sounds really interesting!

Let us know how the fam liked it.

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Mon, 03/01/2010 - 18:46

dsoup

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Have a blast there! Thanks for the info on the Holy Land Experience!

Thu, 03/04/2010 - 22:13

Brad

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How'd your trip go Chris?

Sun, 03/14/2010 - 15:00

chriskre

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Brad wrote:

How'd your trip go Chris?

We had a great time. It was freezing by my standards.
It was in the 40's and I'm a Floridian so for me that's brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr cold.

I'm going back again this weekend for another fix. Actually I'm going to a training seminar which of course will be extended into a mini vacation. At least this time I'm going with people who love Disney too.

My family really enjoyed the Holy Land park. They are catholic and really enjoyed the exhibits. The park is more of a protestant influence with an exhibit about Martin Luther and the Gutenburg press but I think any Christian of any denomination would enjoy it. I really liked the exhibit of the Tabernacle. It really gives you a great impression of how it must have been back there in the wilderness. I didn't see the animals so I think they are gone but they've added a big kids section called Smile of a child with Noah's Ark & Jonah & the Wale type exhibits and shows. We didn't go see anything there as we were kidless but it looked nice. They added a full scale replica of the site where Jesus was born that looks like the real Bethlehem star spot in the real Bethlehem church.
I bought the tickets online an they give you I believe a $5 discount if you purchase online. Then you just go to the will call desk and you're in. There is no charge for parking at the park which they used to charge for before.

It was comfortably crowded not overly crowded so it was enjoyable. There were several church buses full of people in groups that seemed to be having special showings for them that were not on the regular agenda.

I think it's worth visiting if you are into Christian history. Of course it can't compare to Disney but it's kind of like visiting one of the World showcases that is dedicated to just Isreal is the best way I can describe it. An enjoyable 8 hours spent. Good value for the money IMO.

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Sun, 03/14/2010 - 20:24

admin

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Sounds fascinating, Chris -- than you so much for the information. I love the idea of seeing the replica of where Jesus was born. I've heard that little spot is so interesting.

Mon, 03/15/2010 - 01:30

chriskre

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admin wrote:

Sounds fascinating, Chris -- than you so much for the information. I love the idea of seeing the replica of where Jesus was born. I've heard that little spot is so interesting.

What's interesting about the spot is that you have to go thru a security checkpoint with soldiers with machine guns in the real Bethlehem.
It's in Arab occupied territory now.

In Orlando it's not so dramatic. You just go in the cave and see the altar.

Honestly the real Bethlehem was such a big let down for me because it was just a hole in the ground under the altar of a Greek Orthodox church that you have to enter thru a midget sized doorway. The lines were long and people were so dramatic. They were kneeling, kissing the ground, crying, sobbing, screaming all sorts of drama at the real Bethlehem. Our group had a few fruit cakes travelling with us. Other than that the site was actually pretty disappointing.
I was much more impressed with other sites in the real Israel.

Don't worry there was no drama at the site in Orlando. No one kissing the spot or making a scene which might have actually been welcome.

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Tue, 03/16/2010 - 03:45

bali

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Ha ha! I'm not sure if it's good or bad that there was no drama in Orlando!

When did you visit Bethlehem? Would love to hear some stories. Other sites or tour companies you recommend?

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Tue, 03/16/2010 - 04:23

chriskre

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bali wrote:

Ha ha! I'm not sure if it's good or bad that there was no drama in Orlando!

When did you visit Bethlehem? Would love to hear some stories. Other sites or tour companies you recommend?

Actually I went with a big church group in 1996 so I'm not sure how it is today but I had a wonderful time and am glad I went when I did. You really need to be in pretty good shape to do Israel. It's all hills and cobble stone streets. I'm not in as good shape anymore as back then so it would be harder for me to do today. It's alot like Spain if you've ever been to Andalucia. All the walled cities and cobblestone streets. Actually Spain reminded me alot of Israel. The layout of the cities the beautiful scenery near the sea.

As far as tour companies, I don't even remember who we used on our tour. I think it was a private organized tour.

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Tue, 03/16/2010 - 16:09

Annie

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Isn't that interesting how the architecture of those Mediterranean cities are so similar? Thanks for the review, Chris -- would love to hear more about what you saw in Bethlehem and Israel.

Wed, 03/17/2010 - 02:37

chriskre

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Annie wrote:

Isn't that interesting how the architecture of those Mediterranean cities are so similar? Thanks for the review, Chris -- would love to hear more about what you saw in Bethlehem and Israel.

Israel is just such a special place even when I went back in 1996. I did so many things in the 10 days we were there. There is so much to see and do.

I bathed in the Dead sea which was such an interesting experience, you can't drown in it. It's very hot though. I went up to Masada which is where the Jews did a mass suicide as to not become ruled by the Romans again.

I went on the sea of Galilee on a fishing boat like Jesus would have and ate St. Peter's fish by the sea. I got baptized in the Jordan River, Went to the Wailing wall, walked the old city and followed the Villa Dolorosa.

We also went to Jaffa and Tel Aviv which were more modern sea side cities side by side. Cesarea was very interesting also. We saw all the historic Christian sites like the Garden of Gethsemane, The mount of beatitudes, the garden tomb, and we went to several archeologic dig sites with Roman ruins.

Bethlehem honestly is not memorable at all except that it's like going into the bad part of town and being watched by the locals because you don't belong here. It was definetely the only place that I did not feel safe in all of Israel.

There is So much to see in so little time. Honestly I could have spent another week hitting the Jewish sites as well but our tour didn't focus on those, only the ones that really overlapped.

It was my most memorable vacation yet.

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Wed, 03/17/2010 - 04:06

bali

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Wow -- that sounds truly fascinating, whether or not you worship in one of the faiths represented there. What an incredible trip. Thank you for giving some of the highlights! I wonder how safe a trip like that would be today.

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Thu, 03/18/2010 - 00:39

chriskre

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bali wrote:

Wow -- that sounds truly fascinating, whether or not you worship in one of the faiths represented there. What an incredible trip. Thank you for giving some of the highlights! I wonder how safe a trip like that would be today.

It wasn't "safe" back then and I'm sure most people would it consider it not "safe" today as well. The week before we went on our tour there was a bombing in Tel-Aviv in a disco and also a sidewalk cafe. Fortunately for us nothing happened but you do feel the presence of the Air Force donig practice bombing or maybe it's not practice near Jordan.

Our tour director was some kind of officer in the military so he was pretty aware of our surroundings and was on top of us at all times. He ran our bus like a drill sargeant even making sure that we had our bottle of water at all times. He insisted on the bottle of water as the temps at times were over 110 degrees. It's weird though as you have a sea breeze so you really don't feel it as bad you would think.

I've got a friend at work who went last year by himself and aside from being out at the wrong time of day where he almost got stoned (I guess for breaking the sabbath, although he's not sure why), he said it was fun and he didn't even do a tour. Honestly I'd probably not go back at this time myself unless I went on a guided tour. You can wander into the wrong neighborhood much too easily by accident and break some religious rules you aren't even aware of. Ignorance of the law is no excuse in the middle east.

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Thu, 03/18/2010 - 16:20

LifeIsForLiving

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Surprisingly, you can still take these trips in relative safety. A friend of DW just got back from an Israel trip with her adult daughter. She said there's no problem as long as you stay on the 'right side' of Israel. I'd love to see that part of the world some day. Truth be told, it's not safe enough for me. Hopefully it will be some day.

I've never been to the Holy Land Experience, but I have been to one of their other properties. We all thought it was pretty neat.

Thu, 03/18/2010 - 17:03

bali

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Chris -- Thank you for such a great report. I agree that I would probably need to do the guided tour, unless I was with someone who lives in the area or knows it very well. Also, a man. There are certain places I feel comfortable traveling solo as a woman, but there are some Muslim countries where I would feel out of place.

LIFL -- Yeah! Going to check out the TN link now!

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Fri, 03/19/2010 - 02:05

chriskre

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bali wrote:

Chris -- Thank you for such a great report. I agree that I would probably need to do the guided tour, unless I was with someone who lives in the area or knows it very well. Also, a man. There are certain places I feel comfortable traveling solo as a woman, but there are some Muslim countries where I would feel out of place.

LIFL -- Yeah! Going to check out the TN link now!

Well not just the muslim countries but when we were in Israel the hotel which was a Radisson had male and female pool days. I had never heard of anything like that before but men and women don't bathe together in the hotel pools.

They did let both men and women bathe together in the Dead Sea but not the hotels in Jerusalem. Maybe it's unique to Jerusalem but I didn't even bother with it after I heard that. I didn't want any troubles.

Speaking of muslim countries, I just went to Morocco in December and that was definetely an eye opener for me. I was mobbed and even though I was on a guided tour my guide left me behind and I was attacked by the papparazi vendors on the narrow streets of Kasbah. It was the first time that I felt extremely vulnerable on a vacation. I was seperated from my group and I found it would be extremely easy for any number of doors in that walled city to be opened and abduct a woman with such ease and no one would be able to find you with all the concrete sealed homes. Kind of hard to explain but I had men coming out and coming right up to me saying things to me which I won't post here but needless to say I won't be visiting any more muslim countries without a man on my arm.

If you want to see my TR you can see it here:
http://www.mouseowners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34051

There is only a little about Morocco but you can see a little of what I mean near the snake charmers. The concrete walls are huge and thick.

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Fri, 03/19/2010 - 02:06

chriskre

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LifeIsForLiving wrote:

Surprisingly, you can still take these trips in relative safety. A friend of DW just got back from an Israel trip with her adult daughter. She said there's no problem as long as you stay on the 'right side' of Israel. I'd love to see that part of the world some day. Truth be told, it's not safe enough for me. Hopefully it will be some day.

I've never been to the Holy Land Experience, but I have been to one of their other properties. We all thought it was pretty neat.

The problem is knowing which is the "right side" of Israel. You can kind of tell as it's much dirtier but not in all areas.

I've also been to Trinity City in Hendersonville. I'd love to visit in December and see the lights. Its' on my bucket list.

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Fri, 03/19/2010 - 17:09

LifeIsForLiving

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Right-O! That's while I'll not be venturing over there any time soon. I'd hate to guess wrong

Nashville's a pretty place to visit around Christmas. Let me know if you do head that way; I've got tons of expert insight on NashVegas and the surrounding areas.

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