Jet lag in Orlando
We were suffering from jet lag upon landing in Orlando. After our long trip starting in Bratislava and ending in Orlando we were quite exhausted but also happy. You could feel around that the people were excited!
It was beginning of vacation, although there were still some technicalities to be done. One being passport control! Which meant that your vacation could be ruined. If they decided to deny you entry. The fact that you have visa. Or approved ESTA doesn’t mean that you are automatically admitted. Fortunately everything was in order and everybody could go and claim their luggage.
It was a while since my last flight to USA. But there were a few things that I remarked. Firstly that we were not allow to use our phones immediately after leaving the plane. We had to wait for border control first. Also there was no internet. Usually people are switching on the phones right away but in this instance we couldn’t actually use it. It was a good thing that I read about it before. So I was not surprised. It can be inconvenient if you need to get in touch with somebody to arrange your transportation.
We could claim the luggage after we passed the immigration . I understood that there is the option to use a baggage belt. To transfer them to the desired terminal before taking the stairs. But it might take a long time to get them. So we carried them with us.
After the stairs we had to take a train (APM) in order to get to terminal B. The train arrived very fast and it was clean and nice. It took only a few minutes to get to the terminal.
Transport from Orlando airport
Another important information was the fact that the airport has contract with certain taxi companies. Orlando International Airport has a very good website with information regarding transportation from airport. Many hotels have their own shuttles for their guests. There is also public transport although it might take longer to reach your destination because they make many stops along the way.
You can also rent a car. We thought about renting directly from the airport but decided against it. The jet lag and the unfamiliar surroundings played a heavy role in taking this decision. Plus the amount of time that would probably take us to actually fill in the forms in case we did pass the other two objections.
Our hotel did not offer shuttle from the airport which left us with the option of a taxi. But we were not sure what was the regulation with respect to baby car seat in taxis and how to get one. We ended up arranging transport with Martin Faynik. He was great! I read the reviews but I was not sure if they were accurate. I can confirm now that they are. We communicated via email, and phone and he was right there when we exited the terminal. He came with a big van and two kind of car seats. 🙂
He provided FK with great input on driving in USA. His advises were priceless. He answered our questions in great details and in general he was very helpful. We were suffering from jet lag and we couldn’t wait to rest but he made the last part so much nicer. The weather was warm and we were getting into vacation mood. 🙂
Check-in the hotel
Our hotel was a budget hotel on Canada Ave. With breakfast and internet included. The parking was also free. The reception team was very nice and fast and we finally could REST! 🙂
Because of the jet lag I woke up at 5, Orlando time. Since F was not awake yet I had time to prepare for the day. 🙂 Moms would understand the value of free time. 🙂
The first day we took it easy. We walked a bit in the area and we sampled some fast food. My favorite became Popeyes. I never taste it before and I had no idea what the caloric value of a menu but I liked the taste. 🙂
Renting a car in USA
We also picked the car that we reserved. We chose a pick-up point close to our hotel so we just had to walk to the agency. We picked a car from Alamo because it seemed to offer the best rates for what we were looking for. The drop off point was Houston airport. We also rented a car seat for the baby. We didn’t want to complicate ourselves but basically Walmart has car seats in the same price range as the amount we paid for just renting it for 18 days.
If you have time you can search for the best deals. Is very common to find discount coupon or negotiate your price in the USA. This is something that I can relate to. In Romania we negotiate a lot as opposed to for example with Slovakia or Czech Republic.
I found a site that I didn’t use previously called Priceline which I liked a lot. Especially the “express deals” option. Although I did try also “name your own price“. Every time I got great results. And I found out that covers other parts of the world not just USA.
Regarding the car insurance we found a great article in The Guardian . Since we have the baby we are more cautious so we took also the extra insurance. But the article was great in giving an overview.
Where to go with an infant in Orlando
We only spent two days in Orlando and considering our jet lag we were heading to sleep earlier then the rest of the world. 🙂 We were not into theme parks because we had F with us. And he was too small to enjoy them anyway.
We did spent some time at Disney’s BoardWalk which was perfect to spend some time with an infant. The weather was nice (around 15 degrees C). And F admired the view from his stroller most of the time. That till he got tired and we had to take him in baby carrier. 😉
We were also looking forward to see the food trucks and to taste the food. Unfortunately we were able to accomplish just the first thing.
It felt so good to leave the cold weather behind and enjoy the sun. We did a lot of window shopping as well. There are many shops in the area and in general there is a lot of activity going on.
Parking by Disney’s BoardWalk
With respect to parking we found out that there is a huge parking place near by where you can park for free. We arrived around 10:30 and there were plenty of spaces left. Although when we left we noticed that on our level was almost full. We understood that there are also parking places with a valet. But we didn’t explore that option.
American pizza
My husband wanted to try the American pizza and so we went to Pizza Hut. The restaurant we chose needed some upgrading but the food was good. The pizza crust in USA is just different and we like it very much.
What was a bit of a surprise for me was the reaction of the waiter! When I asked for a juice with no bubbles and if possible not cold. For “no bubble” they made some suggestion. Although it was not what I had in mind. But they didn’t have anything at the room temperature! 🙂
Since we were there we tried also the “buffalo wings”. The portions are huge and we could only manage half of our meals. And the drinks they keep refilling as soon as they see the glass half empty. It is another thing that we are not used to in Europe.
Tipping in USA
Tipping in USA is different than the one in Europe and in particular the countries like Slovakia, Czech Republic or Romania. I do not remember how the things were in East of USA. But in South we noticed right away signs with “advice for tipping”. 🙂 The most common are: 15%, 20% and 25% of your bill. Something that in my culture is quite a lot.
In Romania we tip based on the quality of the service. And in general not more than 10%. For sure there are not suggestions on how much you should tip. The tip means that you appreciate the effort and charm, the food etc.
In Slovakia and Czech Republic there are many instances where the people are just rounding up the amount.
In USA I had the feeling that if we didn’t tip according to the script we would create some prejudice. Which leads to the fact that even before you are served. You know that you will have to add at least 15% to the bill. The waiter is not even at your table and you can already start calculating. 🙂 I wonder why they do not include the 15% in the price of the food directly and pay it to the staff later. Is much more straight forward. 🙂 But that is just my opinion.
After two days in Orlando we still had a bit of jet lag but it was quite manageable. F was adapting to the new hour better then I expected.
Jet lag or no jet lag we were ready for Miami!
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