The Great Escape Room - Orlando, FL

A couple of girlfriends and I went to the Great Escape Room for one of our friends birthdays.  We went to the Orlando location which the door to the place seemed to be hidden itself.  Squished between a business and a bar you would have no idea it was there unless you were looking for the Sherlock Holmes flyers posted around.  Once you are inside there is no cameras allowed so I do not have pictures of the actual event. 

However her is the breakdown - you and up to 10 people are locked in a room for 60 minutes and have to figure your way out using clues, riddles, rhymes.  When we went there were  5 of us and then there was another group of 8.  Talk about a new way to get to know someone, try to figure out off the wall riddles and be one of the groups that gets to say "I did it!"  There are several different rooms to try so even if you come try it out you can always come back and solve the other room as well. 

To book your reservations or see more information - check out their page here - http://thegreatescaperoom.com/

Painting with a Twist - Orlando, FL

Recently my husband and I joined another couple for a date night.  I have heard about this place from a few others and thought let's give it a try.  The funny thing is that none of us have paint or do anything creative, but I thought how bad can it be and we should give it a try.  I went on the Painting with a Twist's website and perused through the calendar to see what types of paintings were on the horizon. 

They have 2 different types of classes "singles" which means that everyone paints the same picture and "couples" where each of you paint a canvas that when put together forms a large cohesive painting.  The cool thing is that the "couples" paintings can also stand on their own so you don't have to live together to take that class. Upon searching I found a couples class that had a beach scene that looked like it could be an easy task for a few artistic beginners.

The class was about 3 hours long and the instructor was great.  You get all of the paint, canvas and utensils to create your work of art as well as a smock to wear to cover your clothes.  During your painting they have a bar that sells wine and beer to get you in the creative mindset.  The 2 hour classes are $35/per person and the 3 hour are $45/per person.  It seems a little pricey, but dinner can cost just about that much and you have nothing to hang out your walls to remind you about the experience at a later date.

Check out our finished products!!!

Here is a group picture from everyone that participated that night

I highly recommend trying this place out with either your spouse, girls night out, they even have kids classes.  They also have a private room for parties.  Regular classes are 15 and up.  Kids' and family classes are 7 and up.

https://www.paintingwithatwist.com/orlando/

CSI Experience - Orlando, FL

One day I was driving down International Drive and I drove past a sign CSI experience, so I turned the car into the parking lot to see what it was all about.  I found out it was an interactive game created by students at Rice University that allows you to be a Las Vegas CSI detective.  There are 3 cases to solve and you work through the whole process.  I asked around and one of my girlfriends was really interested in going, so we went.  They allow no photography inside - not even the lobby area.  Upon entering you sign in and get a CSI detective vest and clipboard with your crime scene form.  You are then ushered into a room where Gil Grissom discusses the importance of CSI and how they work with law enforcement to solve crimes.  We then proceeded to our crime scene where you are told to draw all the important information onto the crime scene grid.  Anything can be important!!!!  Once done with the scene you go to your colored evidence table for comparison - did you see everything?   Once you have verified that you know what evidence there is you move throughout the different areas to verify the evidence.  For instance you check the tire tread, fingerprints, substances, etc.  You walk through several of these areas and then meet the coroner for the information from the 3d autopsy.  Once you have collected and examined the evidence you will need to go through and answer questions to determine who is the killer. Will you pick the right person?  Did you find all the clues? Come out and try it today!!!!

Get your tickets online:

CSI: The Experience Online Ticket Shop
7220 International Drive, 32819 Orlando, FL
407 226 7220

Adult: $ 19.99
Children (5-12): $ 12.99
They do have FL resident specials as well and if you want to do more than one case, it is only $5.00 with 24 hours.

Child Policy: CSI: The Experience is recommended for ages 12+. Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult. Kindly note no photography, filming nor food and drinks are permitted at CSI: The Experience.

Check out their website today - they even have an online case as well!!!!

Florida Caverns State Park - Marianna, FL

When I was a little girl, one of my fondest memories of a family vacation was when we went to Mammouth Caves in Kentucky.  I was in awe of the huge rooms filled with dripping liquid.  It was amazing to see that over time that dripping would form these beautiful sculptures that filled the entire space.  I was hooked and have loved caves ever since.  When I found out that Florida had caverns you could tour I couldnt wait.  After patiently waiting, I finally was able to get sometime off to get away.  We decided to do a mini vacation up in the panhandle area and knocked out both the Florida Caverns, but went to the Falling Waters state park as well (you can read all about that in another post).  It was very funny when we passed the Central Time Zone and gained an hour on our many hour drive up there. 

The week before we had headed up the Chipola River had flooded and much of the caverns and the trails were underwater.  The day we arrived was one of the first drier days and they decided to go ahead with the tours. I would definitely suggest if you go during rainy season to call ahead and make sure they are having the tours. (850)482-1228

We paid the basic state fee parking fee $5.00 per vehicle and an extra monies for the tour.  We were told we could walk around and then meet at the main entrance area around 9:30 for the tour.  The trails were really neat and several turned into smaller caverns.  Quite a bit of the land was still flooding from the river - but it made the view even more breathtaking.

Once you have parked you will see a very large stone building.  This has many displays discussing the flora and fauna of the state park.  It was a great place to check out before the tour began.

Some words of warning - you need to be in somewhat good shape for the climbing throughout the caves, the terrain is slippery and the tour lasts around 45 minutes.  Young children have a hard time as they are not allowed to touch anything and once you are in inside there is not wandering on your own.

Guided cave tours are offered Thursday through Monday except Thanksgiving and Christmas (no cave tours on Tuesday and Wednesday). The tour lasts 35-40 minutes and is considered to be moderately strenuous

If you or your family would like to check it out - I would say go for it - you will all be spelunkers in no time - http://www.floridastateparks.org/floridacaverns/default.cfm    

Inside the cave we had to go in the back entrance due to the flooding.  We started at the end, worked our way towards the beginning and then turned and headed back out the way we came. 

 

Helicopter tour - Orlando, FL

 Living in Orlando there are tons of things to check out and do.  I always see the helicopters flying around but never really gave them too much thought - until I saw an ad to ride in one.  That piqued my interest and made me want to fly high in the sky.  I have flown in airplanes before, but the personal nature of the chopper made me yearn to try it out.  I grabbed one of my girlfriends and we were off on our adventure.

With so many different tours to choose from we decided on the one that would be closer to the center of all the action - International drive - this way we could see Sea World, Universal, Disney, etc.

We arrived at Air Florida Helicopter Charters and were greeted by their very friendly and energtic staff.  There is a large wall that lists all of the flights - what they cover and their time frames - I am not going to lie to you - it is not cheap - they do have a $20/per person flight - but it is only 3 minutes long - I know what you are thinking 3 minutes?, but you don't realize how long 3 minutes actually is until you are doing something for that period.  They offer such a wide range - I linked them here -

We choose - Tour #5 - this is a 12 minute ride - but it felt like we were up there for at least 30 minutes!!!!

Get your cameras ready for this one! Our tour #5 soars you high above Disney's E.P.C.O.T Center, Hollywood Studios, Downtown Disney, Disney's Sport Complex, Typhoon Lagoon Water Park, Blizzard Beach Water Park, Planet Hollywood Themed Restaurant, Lake Buena Vista, Marriott's Orlando World Center Resort, Disney Resorts, Sea World, and Discovery Cove.

It was just as exciting and thrilling as I had anticipated it to be - I would suggest this for anyone that wants to live a little on the wild side -

the views are breath taking and you get to see just how much water there is in Central Florida.