All Things Citrus Bowl/Orlando Travel Tips, Plans, Hotels, Tickets, Actities and More

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supadupafly said:
Don't like it either, but that sounds about right for a high travel time (New Year's week) to a high travel/tourist destination like Orlando in the Winter. Many people go to places like Orlando/Disney World around that time of year on family vacations, to celebrate New Year's, etc. It is what it is.

Yes, hopefully some charter flight opportunities will come together if people show enough interest/desire for them and do that in a rather quick manner. But as we all know that will likely only happen IF in fact people DO show interest/desire afor them and not just talk about a hope for them on message boards like ours. So I say get busy drumming up additional interest and calling around to places/companies/airlines that can pull off such things. :)
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AMEN. I have already let SunCountry know what they should be doing to support the hometown team!!!
 


supadupafly said:
Don't like it either, but that sounds about right for a high travel time (New Year's week) to a high travel/tourist destination like Orlando in the Winter. Many people go to places like Orlando/Disney World around that time of year on family vacations, to celebrate New Year's, etc. It is what it is.

Yes, hopefully some charter flight opportunities will come together if people show enough interest/desire for them and do that in a rather quick manner. But as we all know that will likely only happen IF in fact people DO show interest/desire for them and not just talk about a hope for them on message boards like ours. So I say get busy drumming up additional interest and calling around to places/companies/airlines that can pull off such things. :)
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Already have an email into a VP at Sun Country. All I can do is try. I'm also out of the country, so tough to leave my vacation and spend time of this, but I am!
 

I agree, have no desire to stay at a "nice" hotel. I can't afford it. Why can't someone provide airfare, a decent hotel, transportation to/from game and a place to tailgate/warm up. Someone should be able to make a profit and do that for those of us who are fans, but don't have the same disposable income. Season tix are a stretch and bowls are a huge Christmas present.
 

First of all, congrats on the J1 game, you earned it. Below, I have listed some advice/info from numerous bowl trips to Florida. Your opinions on Orlando may differ from mine, so keep that in mind.

1) First of all, unless you have a charter that gets you to to stadium, buy a parking pass if you are driving (they sell out)! I would also check out Uber before I counted on them. It's ugly out there. I can't emphasize this enough. The area around the stadium is rough (the police will tell you this) and you don't want to park in an unauthorized location. Orange Blossom Lane sounds beautiful, but it is a dump. On one trip, the police pulled a body out of the retention pond in our parking lot; it did not add to tailgate gaiety.

2) Be flexible on where you fly into/out of. Orlando/Sanford and Tampa/St. Pete are only about 90 minutes apart. Fly into or out of whichever is cheaper (or even Fort Meyers, if you are staying there). On one of our last trips, the car rental was actually cheaper with an Orlando pick up and Tampa drop off. Go figure.

3) If the Allegiant times work for you, it is a great option. Both Sanford and St. Pete are smaller than Orlando/Tampa and you walk out of the terminal and go over and get your car. Like it.

4) Check out this website. http://www.mousesavers.com/national-rental-car-discounts/ You can get into other car rental places besides National from the site. It has some good advice/discount codes.

5) Do you like Orlando? I hate it. On one of our last trips, we spent the night before the game at an Orlando airport hotel, then hot-footed it to St Pete Beach for a week of R & R. Sirata Beach Resort is a reasonable St Pete Beach hotel that I've stayed at a few times. Also, if you are staying a while or with a group, try VRBO.com. Unless you are going to the Keys, nothing is very far away in Florida.

6) The Doubletree where Gopher Lady is staying has had good reviews from some of our folks, mainly because of manager's reception.

Have fun!

Edit: I heard they have upgraded the stadium (needed) but doubt they have upgraded the neighborhood.
 


Let's just all take a minute to acknowledge how big of a ripoff $1000 for a coach bus and 3 nights in hotel is. That's absolutely outrageous. It doesn't even include a game ticket.
 

So I get free flight through Delta, but I fly standby as a result. Would you think flying to Tampa, Atlanta, or Jacksonville would give me a safer chance of getting on a flight (not completely booked) to make sure I get to Orlando? Which destination do you guys think will be least busy and will leave me the best chance of getting there and back with relatively little trouble?
 

If you are looking for better airfare try Spirit Air on a red eye to Fort Lauderdale and rent a car and drive to Orlando which is about 3 hours away.

Not sure what their prices are but its another option.
 

GameDay said:
So I get free flight through Delta, but I fly standby as a result. Would you think flying to Tampa, Atlanta, or Jacksonville would give me a safer chance of getting on a flight (not completely booked) to make sure I get to Orlando? Which destination do you guys think will be least busy and will leave me the best chance of getting there and back with relatively little trouble?
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You could probably get on a flight no problem to Orlando if you just pick the latest flight available. Like a 10pm departure is usually pretty empty.
 



Just booked from 11/28 to 1/2 for the wife and I.

$650 each for RT airfare to Orlando on Delta. Car rental was much higher than I usually pay - $500 for a mid size. On the bright side, we're staying at Hampton Inns using hilton honors points, so lodging for us is free. Looking at $100-$130 each for game tix. Figured we're going that far, let's get good seats.

Interesting that with Wisconsin in the Outback and Iowa in the tax slayer, there will be lots of college football fans jockeying for position out there. Also there is another bowl game a few days before ours in the citrus bowl.

This New Years bowl stuff is exciting. Hoping for a huge Gopher fan turnout.

Go gophers.
 

Why doesn't the U charter buses? Should be able to charter some buses to bring students and get them to the game on the cheap.
 

You want somebody else to do all the coordination/scheduling/booking you will pay a premium. You want it cheaper than exhibit a little hustle. Quit whining.
 

All Things Citrus Bowl/Orlando Travel Tips, Plans, Hotels, Tickets, Actities ...

I think I figured out my schedule. I just need to find two more people to go to get 4 drivers so we can drive it one day.

Leave on Tuesday, December 30 and get there on the 31st in the morning. Spend the 31st, 1st, and 2nd in Orlando. Leave on the 3rd and get back on the 4th.

2 days in the car for 2.5-3 days in Orlando. And I'll only need to take 1 vacation day and my floating holiday. Sounds like the best use of time and money :)

It's basically my own makeshift land package from the alumni association except it's going to cost $600 (300 for gas and 300 for hotels) for 4 people instead of $3100. Absolutely outrageous what they're charging.
 



GopherLady said:
We've got our hotel booked - the DoubleTree downtown....now the flight thing is brutal. $600 is what you pay for exotic trips. Not Orlando. I can't decide if I should book not, or hope someone gets a charter together.

If I were the U, I'd charter about 10 flights down there, charge $400 a person, and if you lose some $, it's worth it to have the stadium packed. But what do I know???
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$600 is super expensive for Orlando, but where do go that's exotic for only $600?
 

Southoftheriver said:
I agree, have no desire to stay at a "nice" hotel. I can't afford it. Why can't someone provide airfare, a decent hotel, transportation to/from game and a place to tailgate/warm up. Someone should be able to make a profit and do that for those of us who are fans, but don't have the same disposable income. Season tix are a stretch and bowls are a huge Christmas present.
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I agree, as long as Motel 6 will leave the light on for me, that's more than good enough for me.
 

Why don't GH posters rent a coach bus and take Motel 6 over?
 

All Things Citrus Bowl/Orlando Travel Tips, Plans, Hotels, Tickets, Actities ...

Spoofin said:
Why don't GH posters rent a coach bus and take Motel 6 over?
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OMG. Gopherhole should totally put together a travel package on the cheap.

They could make a quick buck off it too.

Admins take note!!
 

GopherLady said:
Already have an email into a VP at Sun Country. All I can do is try. I'm also out of the country, so tough to leave my vacation and spend time of this, but I am!
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Whats his email? I'll send an email also.
 



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afurry91 said:
OMG. Gopherhole should totally put together a travel package on the cheap.

They could make a quick buck off it too.

Admins take note!!
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This actually would be a rock solid way to raise funds for the site if you got it going before people started booking their stuff
 

upnorthkid said:
This actually would be a rock solid way to raise funds for the site if you got it going before people started booking their stuff
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+1 I'd be interested in somethig like this as well. Let's get it going!
 


This sucks. My family has a house in Orlando and a car so lodging and transportation to and from game are covered. All we need are game tickets and flights and I can't afford the effing flights. Can't the U take away their "best seats of the game promotion" unless they get a cheaper Gopher bowl flight deal so that the U can get good representation? The U has an interest in lower flight costs. How much would it cost for us to get a Gopherhole charter? Anyone know anyone with a plane?

:cry:
 

I looked into Greyhound, it's about $900 for the three of us for the round trip. I could do it, but that's a long trip for a 7 year old. I'd like to see if the U has any packages that aren't for the 5-star hotel crowd.
 

We don't expect game tickets to go super fast do we? I'm trying to scrounge up 3 friends and am giving them a week or so before I need a final answer. We don't expect this thing to sell out do we?

I'm not worried about finding a hotel cuz we'll have a car so we can go out of downtown if we need to and everything is taken. It looks like the areas around universal studios have cheap hotels available right now though.
 

All Things Citrus Bowl/Orlando Travel Tips, Plans, Hotels, Tickets, Actities ...

My best advice is to use. Google flights. Best search tool ever. Here's a link that should take you to a search of all major airports within a couple hours of MSP and Orlando leaving on12/31 and returning 1/2. Best I see right now is $460 into Ft. Myers. Flight there ( already selected) on AA and flight back on Delta. Play with the Google search tho...it's awesome:

https://www.google.com/flights/#sea...;r=2015-01-02;sel=MSPDFW0AA2431-DFWRSW0AA1004
 

TAW said:
First of all, congrats on the J1 game, you earned it. Below, I have listed some advice/info from numerous bowl trips to Florida. Your opinions on Orlando may differ from mine, so keep that in mind.

1) First of all, unless you have a charter that gets you to to stadium, buy a parking pass if you are driving (they sell out)! I would also check out Uber before I counted on them. It's ugly out there. I can't emphasize this enough. The area around the stadium is rough (the police will tell you this) and you don't want to park in an unauthorized location. Orange Blossom Lane sounds beautiful, but it is a dump. On one trip, the police pulled a body out of the retention pond in our parking lot; it did not add to tailgate gaiety.

2) Be flexible on where you fly into/out of. Orlando/Sanford and Tampa/St. Pete are only about 90 minutes apart. Fly into or out of whichever is cheaper (or even Fort Meyers, if you are staying there). On one of our last trips, the car rental was actually cheaper with an Orlando pick up and Tampa drop off. Go figure.

3) If the Allegiant times work for you, it is a great option. Both Sanford and St. Pete are smaller than Orlando/Tampa and you walk out of the terminal and go over and get your car. Like it.

4) Check out this website. http://www.mousesavers.com/national-rental-car-discounts/ You can get into other car rental places besides National from the site. It has some good advice/discount codes.

5) Do you like Orlando? I hate it. On one of our last trips, we spent the night before the game at an Orlando airport hotel, then hot-footed it to St Pete Beach for a week of R & R. Sirata Beach Resort is a reasonable St Pete Beach hotel that I've stayed at a few times. Also, if you are staying a while or with a group, try VRBO.com. Unless you are going to the Keys, nothing is very far away in Florida.

6) The Doubletree where Gopher Lady is staying has had good reviews from some of our folks, mainly because of manager's reception.

Have fun!

Edit: I heard they have upgraded the stadium (needed) but doubt they have upgraded the neighborhood.
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Thank you and thanks for all the tips. Best of luck to the rest of our B1G brothers and sisters in their bowl games as well. Cheers!
 

afurry91 said:
We don't expect game tickets to go super fast do we? I'm trying to scrounge up 3 friends and am giving them a week or so before I need a final answer. We don't expect this thing to sell out do we?

I'm not worried about finding a hotel cuz we'll have a car so we can go out of downtown if we need to and everything is taken. It looks like the areas around universal studios have cheap hotels available right now though.
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Can't speak to a sell out or not (would be really cool, but I understand the place holds like 70K), but I would certainly think these bowl tickets will move a lot faster than previous bowls have. Just with the location, date, etc. I am guessing if you give your friends a week you should be okay. But I wouldn't hold off too long if you have preferences on where you would like to sit.
 

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