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

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supadupafly said:
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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Wow, I didn't realize it was that big of a place. Is it even used regularly? I don't think any teams play there.
 

RodentRampage said:
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.
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Just sent an email to the AD and fan relations about this. Doubt it will do anything, but hey worth a try.
 

supadupafly said:
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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I know Mizzou was allotted 8,000 tickets and only assume we are allotted the same. Stadium seats 65,000 and can hold up to 70K if demand is high enough (temporary seating last happened 10 years ago).
 

Buck_Buchanan said:
I know Mizzou was allotted 8,000 tickets and only assume we are allotted the same. Stadium seats 65,000 and can hold up to 70K if demand is high enough (temporary seating last happened 10 years ago).
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They a lot about a quarter of the tickets to the schools?

I can't imagine the crowd will look great on TV.
 

I stand corrected. As long as we hold up our end of the bargain it looks like this stadium fills up pretty good on a yearly basis.

Average attendance (tickets sold) is 62,565 since 2003.

That number drops to 60,447 since 2010 and 56,629 last year.

So no excuses this year for our side. This is our chance to prove we can travel. Hopefully there is 60,000+ in the stands.
 


Anyone know roughly the size of the alumni base down there? just trying ot get a feel for number of people we could be expecting. hope it's a lot
 

upnorthkid said:
Anyone know roughly the size of the alumni base down there? just trying ot get a feel for number of people we could be expecting. hope it's a lot
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Yep, was wondering the same. Have to think there is a good amount of retirees and snowbirds down there.
 

GophersInIowa said:
Yep, was wondering the same. Have to think there is a good amount of retirees and snowbirds down there.
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thought this as well. if we can dominate attendance, should really help with future bowl reps in getting good selections
 

I have to believe the. AD's office has people checking this's site. Maybe Norwood figures out that running a budget charter/hotel will bring more gopher fans to the game even though he might not get a huge donation (other than raised ticket prices) from the regular fan. It's disappointing to see the administration not taking an active role in making sure the regular joe, long time ticket holders/supporters who bought tickets through the tough years ( and there were plenty) can make this game. I'm sure they would appreciate all their fans to be six figure people with disposable income. Many of us are not.
 




Cheapest trip I can hack together at the moment for those who want to fly and are only interested in the game (not a vacation): fly spirit air to Tampa on 12/31 for $113. Rent a car for $40. Book 1 night hotel for $90. Drive 90 min to Orlando and attend game on 1/1. Leave no later than 5:30 (game should be done by 4:30). Drive back to Tampa, return rental, and take the 8:45 flight back to MSP for $222. I estimate your total expenses, including game ticket and food, to be around $600. Do it!
 

MGGopher said:
Cheapest trip I can hack together at the moment for those who want to fly and are only interested in the game (not a vacation): fly spirit air to Tampa on 12/31 for $113. Rent a car for $40. Book 1 night hotel for $90. Drive 90 min to Orlando and attend game on 1/1. Leave no later than 5:30 (game should be done by 4:30). Drive back to Tampa, return rental, and take the 8:45 flight back to MSP for $222. I estimate your total expenses, including game ticket and food, to be around $600. Do it!
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If it was just me I'd do that. But the lady is not a fan of this idea. She wants to actually see things while we're down there I guess... :cry: ha
 

Just a heads up, you guys should also keep an eye on Melbourne (MLB) for a flight as well. It's a small national airport so the prices aren't usually super cheap and right around the same as Orlando at the moment but who knows things may change. I also would think that lodging wouldn't be nearly as expensive and it isn't touristy like Orlando but is still a cool location on the Space Coast (near Titusville). It's only like an hour from Orlando and if you are in town I will buy you a beer as I live here working at Florida Tech.

Shameless Plug Alert: You should also keep an eye on Florida Tech football! We just completed our second year and were actually really successful, finishing 6-5 with a number of heartbreaking losses. We compete in the Gulf South (basically the SEC of DII but without the respect) against perennial powerhouses like Valdosta State and Delta State. If you're interested you can read my press releases (along with much more) at FloridaTechSports.com.
 



MGGopher said:
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
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Thanks for the tip. Cheaper than Hotwire/Expedia.
 

MGGopher said:
Cheapest trip I can hack together at the moment for those who want to fly and are only interested in the game (not a vacation): fly spirit air to Tampa on 12/31 for $113. Rent a car for $40. Book 1 night hotel for $90. Drive 90 min to Orlando and attend game on 1/1. Leave no later than 5:30 (game should be done by 4:30). Drive back to Tampa, return rental, and take the 8:45 flight back to MSP for $222. I estimate your total expenses, including game ticket and food, to be around $600. Do it!
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Spirit has one into Orlando on the 31st for $150, return Wednesday the 6th on Southwest for 110 to 114. That is the best I see for now.

Delta has around 218 going to Orlando on the 31st, return Southwest on the 6th.

If you return before Wednesday the 6th it gets very expensive.
 

We have 12 players from Florida and a handful from GA. I am sure a lot of their families will be traveling to Orlando.
 

Last night that Spirit Flight was around $157....today its up to $456....not saying its related to the FB game but odds are it is....It's been hovering around $157 for the past week until today.
 

Anyone know which side of the field is considered the home side for the bowl game? I live in Georgia and plan on driving down and would prefer sitting on the Gopher side of the stadium and will likely purchase tickets through Ticketmaster or other online outlet.
 

GeorgiaGopher said:
Anyone know which side of the field is considered the home side for the bowl game? I live in Georgia and plan on driving down and would prefer sitting on the Gopher side of the stadium and will likely purchase tickets through Ticketmaster or other online outlet.
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The far side marked Big Ten. Looks like U of M seats are from 133 over to the corner.

https://www.mygophersports.com/online/BowlCentral
 



Those willing to make a quick trip, you can fly from MSP into Orlando on 12/31 and out around 7:30pm on 1/1 for $352 (American). That should give you plenty of time after the game to get to the airport.
 

FYI on Spirit Air.....Flown them many times. About 75% of their flights are delayed, sometimes for hours. If you're not in a hurry and don't mind waiting for awhile they are worth the price.
 

All Booked up......4 of us on Sun Country leaving the 30th and returning Saturday the 3rd. It's not cheap, but it took 54 years to get back to a NYD bowl and for all I know it could be another 54 years for the next (hopefully not).
 

airfare booked here too...leaving on Tuesday 12/30 and returning 1/6. What hotel(s) are folks staying at?
 

Creative Charter running a 7 day package. December 27 to Jan 2. Staying at the Hyatt Regency 1795.00 double occupancy. It's almost a Disney package.
 

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.
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Thanks for the tips. We have a member of our group driving from Tampa so we were planning on tailgating, but it looks like parking passes are already sold out:

https://buffalowildwingscitrusbowl.clickandpark.com/

Does anyone have more info on parking?
 

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 so much for the tips! I'm glad that we picked a good hotel. We went from 2 in our group yesterday, to 9 already!

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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Haha - as an admin, we'd LOVE to do this, trust me. But we have no pull! With that being said, I have heard back from Sun Country, and they are working on possibly getting a charter for GopherHolers. If it doesn't happen, it's not for their lack of trying...they have been great. Just keeping my fingers crossed they can do it, just heard back from my contact 20 minutes ago. I assured him we'd have NO trouble filling up a plane. I think we could fill up 10! I will keep you posted!

At least we got our tickets and hotel :)
 

I just spoke to Creative Charters and the only way they'd be looking to put together an additional shorter package is if this one nears a sellout.
 

Go Gophers Rah said:
I just spoke to Creative Charters and the only way they'd be looking to put together an additional shorter package is if this one nears a sellout.
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That would be amazing! Please let them know we'd love an air only package too!!!!
 

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