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

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

Buck_Buchanan said:
Nashville as well for us (Tentatively)
A number of people I know (retirees who drive regularly) opt for Paducah, Kentucky as well.
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They might have cheaper hotels there. I should check Paducah out.

Chattanooga would also be a good one if you want the first day to be the heavy day and have the second day be a little lighter.
 

Buck_Buchanan said:
Nashville as well for us (Tentatively)
A number of people I know (retirees who drive regularly) opt for Paducah, Kentucky as well.
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Paducah is a barbecue mecca. Be sure to google it and find a good place to eat.
 

afurry91 said:
They might have cheaper hotels there. I should check Paducah out.

Chattanooga would also be a good one if you want the first day to be the heavy day and have the second day be a little lighter.
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I would recommend saving Chattanooga for day two so you can see it when it's light out. I was amazed at how beautiful that area was when I was moving from Utah.
 

According to the Creative Charters website, both of their bowl trip packages are already sold out.

The Alumni Association's "Deluxe Air Inclusive" package is now indicating there is a wait list.

As others have mentioned, it would be great if SOMEONE would put together a reasonably priced air-only charter flight. I know at least 10 people (fairly recent graduates) that would sign up immediately. Does anyone have connections at Delta? MSP is a major Delta hub - it would be really nice if they would do something!
 

If you're looking for cheap hotels, look at Daytona Beach. It's an hour away from the stadium, but there are countless hotels for $75 or so a night.

You can even go down to $50 a night if you're that brave.
 


GophersGonnaGoph said:
To save money, I am thinking of driving to Orlando, FL from Apple Valley.

This is going to be my first road trip, so I was wondering how the people of GH would plan this out.

According to Google Maps, the trip would take around 22 hours to get to Orlando. How should I spread the drive out? I was thinking of driving 12 hours and resting overnight in Nasheville, then spend the rest of the hours driving to Orlando. If you have any suggestions, comments, or references that would be appreciated.

I have done this drive twice with stops, we drove straight through to Chatanooga Tennessee 14 hours than stayed overnight at a Hampton inn there, had breakfast at the waffle house, and did the remaing drive in 6 hours to Orlando stayed at Disney that year. Didn't see many highway partrol in Tennessee or Kentucky, in fact I think we rolled through Kentucky going 80 about the whole time. The other year we also drove straight and stopped in Paduch Kentucky, stayed the night, Had breakfast at Shoneys(no longer exist I think) hours, then stayed in Kissamee instead of Orlando, cheaper hotels, we made really good time through Georgia, both times but you have to be really alert and watch out for a lot of highway patrol officers through Georgia(Do not do 90 like a lot of locals). Makes no sense to drive 18 hours straight like we did one spring break because you cannot check in to your hotels until after 03:00 most places anyways. IF your a family and going to do the drive one bit of advice, the large trucks stops offer nice shower options for about $10 each and a towel some were even $5.00. It feels nice to clean up and take a shower when you have been traveling in a car that long. I really liked staying in Chatanooga, nice town and the hotels are not the tourist trap prices of Nashville. Waffle house are king of dirty so if you can stomach the cheap food they are a quick breakfast option. They have quite a few Perkins in Orlando area which I was surprised by.
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Creative Charters website now shows that both of their packages are sold out. They were both flying on 737's which, depending on the model seat either 117 or 150 each (according to Sun Country's website). So that's 234 to 300 fans right there. The Alumni Association's website for their chartered flight deal now has a "waiting list" button. I assume that means it has sold out and they are waiting to see if there is enough demand for a 2nd flight.
 

Good news guys! I purchased a parking pass and now I no longer need it. Lot G. If anyone is looking for one shoot me a message or text me. 612-964-4736.
 

MplsGopherFan said:
According to the Creative Charters website, both of their bowl trip packages are already sold out.

The Alumni Association's "Deluxe Air Inclusive" package is now indicating there is a wait list.

As others have mentioned, it would be great if SOMEONE would put together a reasonably priced air-only charter flight. I know at least 10 people (fairly recent graduates) that would sign up immediately. Does anyone have connections at Delta? MSP is a major Delta hub - it would be really nice if they would do something!
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No Connection. Sun Country is more likely to come up with something than Delta. Smaller, Home Town, and VP is a huge Gopher fan. I suspect with the ticket sales in the first 36-hours plus all the packages being full that someone will come up with more options. I just hope they are reasonable........

Also - Sun Country has a twitter, facebook, etc. acct - let them know your desires!!!!
 



Spoofin said:
No Connection. Sun Country is more likely to come up with something than Delta. Smaller, Home Town, and VP is a huge Gopher fan. I suspect with the ticket sales in the first 36-hours plus all the packages being full that someone will come up with more options. I just hope they are reasonable........

Also - Sun Country has a twitter, facebook, etc. acct - let them know your desires!!!!
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I've already done that. Sun Country is already providing the flights for the Creative Charter packages. Hopefully they can come up with more options, but they're obviously a MUCH smaller operation than Delta.
 

Mt. Dora is an adorable town to stay in less than an hour from Orlando. We stayed at Maison en Ville, which is a great place to bring your wife or girlfriend. Great town with shops, art gallerys, pubs, restaurants, and on a beautiful lake.
 

Gopher07 said:
Here are the tailgating policies; says nothing about no alcohol. Where'd you get your info?

There will be ONE first-come, first-served public cash lot at Jones High School on game day (capacity 600), but no other public lots have availability.Please note that tailgating is not permitted on Jones High School property.

Tailgating Policies
Parking spaces are for vehicles only
Tailgating items must be confined to a small area in front of or behind your vehicle.
No tents! Guests who take over any additional parking spaces to tailgate will be asked to clear out of those spaces.
NO glass containers, beer kegs or open fires.
Fire extinguishing material is required when grilling.
No couches or indoor furniture.
RVs will be given enough space for awning on one side of vehicle only.
Dumping hot coals in the lot or trash receptacles is prohibited
Please refrain from ball of Frisbee throwing in open lots until lot is completely parked
Cars, tables, chairs, barbeque grills must be confined to one stall
There should not be empty stalls between cars and tailgaters should not expect to occupy empty stalls near their party.
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Good question Gopher07. Here's the link to these lots south of the stadium:

https://buffalowildwingscitrusbowl.clickandpark.com/

The fine print for these lots reads:

"Print and display your parking permit for lot attendants. Please follow the instructions on your parking permit. No smoking or alcohol permitted in this lot. Strictly enforced and subject to removal."

That's the case for these lots at this bowl-directed site. My guess is that others with different management and/or sponsors are more liberal with the libations.

I also guess is that there are folks who do consume but probably not conspicuously.

Does anyone know if beer or wine is sold in the stadium like TCF? My guess is yes...

Go Gophers!
 

Go Gophers Rah said:
Creative Charters website now shows that both of their packages are sold out. They were both flying on 737's which, depending on the model seat either 117 or 150 each (according to Sun Country's website). So that's 234 to 300 fans right there. The Alumni Association's website for their chartered flight deal now has a "waiting list" button. I assume that means it has sold out and they are waiting to see if there is enough demand for a 2nd flight.
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Welp, I guess that makes arranging the travel situation easier for lots of people now.
 



BilldGopher said:
Good question Gopher07. Here's the link to these lots south of the stadium:

https://buffalowildwingscitrusbowl.clickandpark.com/

The fine print for these lots reads:

"Print and display your parking permit for lot attendants. Please follow the instructions on your parking permit. No smoking or alcohol permitted in this lot. Strictly enforced and subject to removal."

That's the case for these lots at this bowl-directed site. My guess is that others with different management and/or sponsors are more liberal with the libations.

I also guess is that there are folks who do consume but probably not conspicuously.

Does anyone know if beer or wine is sold in the stadium like TCF? My guess is yes...

Go Gophers!
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They do sell beer in the stadium.
 

Jike Spingleton already mentioned it and provided a link to last year's parade. Here is the link to the 2014 Florida Citrus Parade to be held on Tuesday Dec. 30 at 10 a.m.: http://www.floridacitrusparade.com/

Also, someone was asking about New Year's Eve festivities. The hotel that the two Creative Charters packages are using is the Caribe Royale. They are having a couple of different things on New Years eve: http://www.cariberoyale.com/holidays2014
 

Gopher07 said:
Otherwise, stick to major highways, if you hit Chicago (which you shouldn't, but maybe you're taking a weird route) try to time it so you're not hitting in rush hours, get a good playlist and find good sports stations to listen to (bonus if you have something like the TuneIn Radio app where you can listen to games that are on), keep the car cool but not too cold, and limit the amount of caffeine you're taking in.
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You can skip Chicago via Iowa by going south on I-35 to Clear Lake/Mason City, IA...and then take the Avenue of the Saints (US 18/218) down to Waterloo...Iowa City...Quad Cities...on over to Peoria and south from there. Ultimately you want to get to I-57 to I-24 to I-75 on down to Atlanta to Orlando.

Not a lot of straight north-south interstate in Illinois, so at Peoria I've taken I-155 to I-55 down to Litchfield...left the interstate to Vandalia and on over to I-57 north of Salem.

You can also skip Chicago via Wisconsin too. This is the Iowa path that can work if you want to miss Chicago and St. Louis. Safe travels.
 


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

I just booked a hotel at the Baymont Inn in Kissimmee for $78 bucks a night for 3 nights after all taxes.

Anyone find a comparable deal closer to downtown? I'm not looking for fancy. Just your standard 3* hotel that will get me a good nights sleep. The one I made the reservation at is 30 minutes from the stadium and is fully refundable until December 30th.
 

afurry91 said:
I just booked a hotel at the Baymont Inn in Kissimmee for $78 bucks a night for 3 nights after all taxes.

Anyone find a comparable deal closer to downtown? I'm not looking for fancy. Just your standard 3* hotel that will get me a good nights sleep. The one I made the reservation at is 30 minutes from the stadium and is fully refundable until December 30th.
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Try www.vrbo.com. Vacation Rentals By Owner. I have not had experience with these but my sister in law does all the time. She was finding tons of places Saturday in anticipation of her going.
 

afurry91 said:
I just booked a hotel at the Baymont Inn in Kissimmee for $78 bucks a night for 3 nights after all taxes.

Anyone find a comparable deal closer to downtown? I'm not looking for fancy. Just your standard 3* hotel that will get me a good nights sleep. The one I made the reservation at is 30 minutes from the stadium and is fully refundable until December 30th.
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If there is a bar in walking distance then you hit the jackpot!
 

BilldGopher said:
You can skip Chicago via Iowa by going south on I-35 to Clear Lake/Mason City, IA...and then take the Avenue of the Saints (US 18/218) down to Waterloo...Iowa City...Quad Cities...on over to Peoria and south from there. Ultimately you want to get to I-57 to I-24 to I-75 on down to Atlanta to Orlando.

Not a lot of straight north-south interstate in Illinois, so at Peoria I've taken I-155 to I-55 down to Litchfield...left the interstate to Vandalia and on over to I-57 north of Salem.

You can also skip Chicago via Wisconsin too. This is the Iowa path that can work if you want to miss Chicago and St. Louis. Safe travels.
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Was just plotting our driving route last night, and too looked at ways to get away from Chicago's tolls and you named the best
route I could come up with. We took that way to Gopher/Hawkeye games at TCF South, very few cops on that stretch of highway too..

Plan is to stop every 6 hours and switch the driving with my brother.

Leaving Sunday Dec 28 around 7pm, Stops at Davenport (1am), Paducah (8am), Atlanta (1pm) and then ORLANDO (7pm monday)!

Will have to try to plan the return trip to hit Paducah between lunch and supper hour and get some BBQ.
 

afurry91 said:
I just booked a hotel at the Baymont Inn in Kissimmee for $78 bucks a night for 3 nights after all taxes.

Anyone find a comparable deal closer to downtown? I'm not looking for fancy. Just your standard 3* hotel that will get me a good nights sleep. The one I made the reservation at is 30 minutes from the stadium and is fully refundable until December 30th.
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Sent PM to you on potential place.
 

Spoofin said:
If there is a bar in walking distance then you hit the jackpot!
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Lol. So it looks like the place I picked literally shares a parking lot with a bowling alley. Don't know if they have a full bar, but I see beer on the website.
 

Buck_Buchanan said:
Nashville as well for us (Tentatively)
A number of people I know (retirees who drive regularly) opt for Paducah, Kentucky as well.
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My folks stayed there a few weeks ago on their snowbird drive to Kissimmee, they really liked Paducah.
Said it's a beautiful area, and gorgeous drive.
 

I have no idea of the distance from the airport to the stadium. Is anyone staying at the Holiday inn airport? I'm sure its a cab ride but trying to save a buck
 

Just booked a room at the Drury Inn and Suites in Orlando for $180/night. This includes breakfast, happy hour/dinner, soda and snacks and free parking. It's close to Universal Studios and most other hotels charge for parking per day. Lots of extras and a top hotel in Orlando on Trip Advisor - https://wwws.druryhotels.com/content/about_spserv.aspx.
 

Gopher028 said:
Was just plotting our driving route last night, and too looked at ways to get away from Chicago's tolls and you named the best
route I could come up with. We took that way to Gopher/Hawkeye games at TCF South, very few cops on that stretch of highway too..

Plan is to stop every 6 hours and switch the driving with my brother.

Leaving Sunday Dec 28 around 7pm, Stops at Davenport (1am), Paducah (8am), Atlanta (1pm) and then ORLANDO (7pm monday)!

Will have to try to plan the return trip to hit Paducah between lunch and supper hour and get some BBQ.
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For what it's worth, living in Chicago, id be shocked if there was too much traffic during that time to make a detour worth it. If it's about the tolls, they're worth not driving through Iowa. And for the adventurous sort, just blow right through the Ipass lanes and call the tollway authority after the trip and give them your credit card. You'll avoid the penalties by doing that (family has tried this and it worked).
 

I'm thinking about flying in from Colorado. Anyone want to try to share a room or otherwise figure out how to get tickets in the MN section even though booking from out of state? Advice welcome, I've never done this but I just turned 50 and it's on the bucket list!!!! :)

Rah-rah-rah! Ski-U-Mah!

:)
 

colomtngirl said:
I'm thinking about flying in from Colorado. Anyone want to try to share a room or otherwise figure out how to get tickets in the MN section even though booking from out of state? Advice welcome, I've never done this but I just turned 50 and it's on the bucket list!!!! :)

Rah-rah-rah! Ski-U-Mah!

:)
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You can still buy the tickets through gophersports.com and have them shipped to CO.
 

colomtngirl said:
I'm thinking about flying in from Colorado. Anyone want to try to share a room or otherwise figure out how to get tickets in the MN section even though booking from out of state? Advice welcome, I've never done this but I just turned 50 and it's on the bucket list!!!! :)

Rah-rah-rah! Ski-U-Mah!

:)
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If you live out of state, you can still order your tickets through the University if you want to sit in the Gophers section. I live in Las Vegas and they had no problem selling me 4 tickets to the game (or with renewing my season tickets each year since I moved here 6 years ago.)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

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