Ever been to an airport having stores displaying major theme parks, a famous restaurant or an arcade? Yes, all of these are there at Orlando International Airport (MCO), Orlando. MCO refers to its former name McCoy Air Force Base. Most people on reaching the international airport feel the vacation has already started. Imagine how amazing the place would be!
Stores displaying major theme parks
In the center of the Orlando airport, there are stores dedicated to the major theme parks in Orlando area. It includes SeaWorld, Kennedy Space Center, Universal and Disney. Not just one but each parks have two shops you can shop in. So, you need not worry about the airline you are flying, definitely you will find one at the airport easily. At the shop dedicated to Disney, you will find “The Magic of Disney” and “Disney Earport”, in between which is a smaller version of world of Disney. Other attractions at the shop include the stuffed animals, vinylmations, pins, shirts, kitchen line of Chef Mickey and products from Goofy’s Candy Company as well.
Out of the two stores of Universal, one is solely dedicated to the merchandise of Wizardly World of Harry Potter and the other one has everything else. So, there’s a side with chocolate frogs, Gryffindor robes and wands for you and another side with Spider Man figures, Despicable Me dolls, Minions and Thing 1 & Thing 2 shirts from Dr. Seuss. The choice is yours. In your excitement visiting Disney and Universal, do not forget to stop by the Kennedy Space Center and SeaWorld. You will unique artworks to shop at both the stores. You must be making plans to book last minute flights to Orlando by now, right?
The Monorail
How about if I say you get to board a real monorail right after landing taking you to the terminal area? Isn’t it cool? The Orlando International Airport has a monorail as the people mover. We have all done the elevator, moving walkways and escalator thing, but monorail? It is damn new and awesome. Some people feel crossing the Ticket & Transportation Center at Walt Disney World while moving to the terminal in the monorail while for some, it is an all new fun experience.
A hotel inside the airport
Restaurants and hotels near airports are common but having a great restaurant and hotel in an airport is quite rare. The MCO airport comes in the latter category as it has the 5-star hotel – Hyatt Regency inside. The hotel has 445 rooms, two restaurants, a gym open 24X7 and outdoor pool. It is among the best places to stay in the city with the best restaurants inside Orlando International Airport. The best thing about the grand Hyatt Regency is the two glass elevators that give you a perfect view of the airport atrium while to move up to the 10th floor. The hotel has got superb reviews with a rating of 4.5 across the web. People coming to Orlando in business class flights might stop by at the hotel with their team before heading for the business meeting.
Shopping, shopping and shopping!
Got your flight delayed by a couple of hours? Don’t worry if you are at Orlando International Airport. You can stroll across the many fantastic stores. There’s an amazing book store “Stellar Books” with a nice selection of graphic novels. A Bibliophile? If so, your time at the airport is already sorted. You will also find graphic novels of Marvel and DC. Yeah, you can have that big smile on your face now.
Every popular retailer you often find at normal malls can be found here, even Brookstone, Oakley, Lids and Build-A-Bear. There’s nothing that you can’t get at Orlando airport – Harley Davidson? Yes. Hello Kitty? Yes. Did I forget mentioning about the special hair brushes store? Oh Yes, there’s this entire store dedicated to hairbrushes, head on to Bayside Brush.
The official “King of Kong” arcade
I know it is a lot of surprises lined up for you, hard to believe but it is all true. Remember the documentary King of Kong – A Fistful of Quarters? The one in which Steve Wiebe attempted to overdo Billy Mitchell’s high score in the video game named Donkey Kong. The documentary depicted Billy Mitchell as one of the best villains in the history of movies.
Though relatively small, The King of Kong arcade at Orlando International Airport includes all the games you would hope to have in order to pass your time in the airport. From pinball, racing, to claw games and shoot-em-up, you will have them all. What makes the arcade a unique entertainment feature at Orlando International Airport is the Donkey Kong theme and the gift shop.
Players or passengers waiting for their flight can buy trading cards of Steve Wiebe, the referee Walter Day and Billy Mitchell. At the gift shop, you can also get t-shirts with Billy Mitchell quotes as used in the film, like the one, “Work is for people who can’t play video games.” If you are a movie buff, you will find something worth spending time in the Orlando airport, no matter how late you flight is.
Remember these 5 top entertainment features of Orlando International Airport and do visit them all if ever you get a chance to be there.
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