#international drive

[keiteay]

7am on the drag

[mapsoffun]

Orlando’s International Drive is rife with chain restaurants everywhere, including at The Pointe, a lifestyle center with restaurants, some shops, and some entertainment options, but I have to give credit where credit is due: Kavas Tacos + Taqueria is styled like a big chain, but it’s part of a local restaurant group (Merakai) that only owns one other restaurant: its sister restaurant Taverna Opa. (I went there  the next day, but it deserves its own post.) The food here was solid, and the happy hour especially was generous, and it was the first positive restaurant experience I had while staying in this part of Orlando. 

The ceviche trio was a highlight, as was the queso, but I think that’s because I was really craving some queso at that time.

They also bring in a fire dancer a few times a night, much like they bring a belly dancer to Taverna Opa upstairs, and it’s pretty impressive, but to be honest the latter is more interactive while this is literally barred off for obvious safety reasons.

[earth-1218designate]

Nationwide no other tourist strip is topping I-Drive but Arcade Monsters is the priceist "Free To Play" barcade I've been to in several states.

There's several locations, the one in SRQ the lowest cost but the most Eurocentric, so I opted for I-Drive as a farewell to FL of sorts.

$28 for really a handful of games. Eh, I've spent less in Memphis, TN and Astoria, OR and got the same results.

Shit just dont hit the same when FL is not the moneypot I knew it for when I first came out here 4 years ago.

Going from a min. Of. $300/wk. To $0/wk. when 'Bama has work and Texas will put me in porn, the next time I touch FL will be to touch base to go abroad. R.I.P.

*Beat X-Men vs. Street Fighter with Chun-Li/Storm. Those lightning kicks to Apocalypse's head sealed the deal.

** Beat Tekken 8 with Kazuya on some emulator. Arcade Monsters had WAY too many emulators. Not a fan of those. When I saw there was an MvC bootleg that had MvC skins but a KOF interface, I was ready to leave.

Official over everything.

[mikecovers]

49. "You're on the right path."

The path:

[frogshunnedshadows]

Brochure for the world's largest McDonald's, in Orlando, Florida, USA. 1998.

[marcmarcmomarc]

ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN

Paris

Design

Location Tour

Florida

Design

Location Tour

Charles de Gaulle Airport

Design

Location Tour

International Drive

Design

Location Tour

Marinette’s Hotel Room

Design

Location Tour

Travel Group’s Hotel Room

Design

Location Tour

Waterford Lakes Town Center

Design

Location Tour

Panera Bread

Design

Location Tour

ICON Park

Design

Location Tour

Back

[spearzreloaded]

Picked this up at I-Drive the other day and I got to thinking : who are the Afro women on my teams (L.A. and U.S. respectively) :

*Yeah Lily EASILY should have got the cover :

*Had to close it off with that Ethiopian smile ... any female from North Africa from my experience always has a memorable mug. Still though, Lily? What the fuck is Alex Morgan doing on the cover ?!?!

** Now I'ma keep it a bean. My city (Angel City FC) has a couple cuties :

... but that can be evened out with the Butches. Not surprising given the way my city treats Afro-centric people in general. And of course the mulatto one's are incomparable with the more masculine and mealninated one's because of negative optics when if you put Girma in L.A. she'd blow Gorden and Leroux out the water.

*** Bottom line Morgan on the cover is pure eugenicism in a Euro country. Body Armor tripping when sex sells and there are WAY sexier females on the U.S. team. They just happen to be the opposite of the U.S.' major demographic.

[natashacynn]

Yelp Elite Event: 2nd Annual Dine & Play at ICON Park

“What’s it like being a food influencer?” “Why do you Yelp and write reviews?”

It’s a question I get asked after I mention I go to Yelp Elite events or do influencer stories for restaurants and food brands. To answer simply— it’s fun & rewarding! :) It started as a hobby and a way for me to meet new people. I enjoy writing and trying new things. I get to be a part of the foodie community. When I had severe depression during Covid, I turned to Yelping as a hobby. I also made friends through the foodie & Yelp community when I moved to San Jose & Florida. Besides Yelping, I also write reviews on Google Maps as a Local Guide. Again, it’s mainly just for fun and bragging rights… but that’s for another post. I started writing on Google Maps a few months ago and I’m at level 6 with over 500k views on my reviews.

Let’s Get Back to Talking About Yelp’s 2nd Annual Dine & Play @ ICON Park ^.^

You can find my original Yelp review here. Below is a copy of it:

”Free valet or garage parking. A total of 13 businesses participated in this Yelp elite event. Check-in was smooth! I'm looking forward to seeing our group photo! -- 1) Brother Jimmy's (Check-In): The Mac and cheese was the favorite thing I tasted from them. The buffalo cauliflower was tart. The pulled pork & chicken sandwich was bomb. 2) Gordon Ramsay Fish & Chips: The Fish, Shrimp, & Chips were yummy. It came with 2 sauces. Signature Milkshake. 3) Tin Roof: Great live music (I think it's all day) & tacos. 4) Sloppy Joe's: Sloppy Joe hot dogs, nachos, mojitos, & margaritas. Free t-shirt! 5) The Lawn Bar: Tequila Sunrise was complimentary. 6) Brick & Fire Pizza: Slice of exotic pizza... first time I had fried banana pepper. 7) I-Cafe De Paris: Yummy strawberry & chocolate crepe; one of my event favorites. 8) The Wheelhouse Bar: Received a souvenir cup with my drink! 9) Max Action Arena: Received a Play Card. :) 10) In the Game: Received a Play Card. :) 11) Sky Bar: Complimentary drink... thank you for the High Noon. 12) Wheel of Icon Park: The Ferris wheel ride with my Yelp Elite squad was a memorable experience! 13) The Museum of Illusions: It was closed at 8 PM before the event ended. :(“

My fav food during the event was between Brother Jimmy’s & Gordon Ramsay’s. Overall, ICON Park is a cool tourist spot. I’m hoping to eventually see Madame Tussard’s Wax Museum. The Museum of Illusions changes their theme and had Halloween decor up. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see it. I have been once during normal season. I’’m from the Bay Area, and I’ve never seen the Wax Museum there but I liked the SF’s Museum of Illusions better. If you’ve think you’ve seen everything, each city is different. SF’s Museum of Illusions uses more backdrops. Orlando’s has a consistent theme and few backdrops. They are entirely different museums.

Enjoy the photos I captured from the event!

[southernmidwestgeek]

Last night was a great evening out and about with my Queen.

My darling wife suggested to try Uncle Julio’s Mexican was no disappoint by a long shot.

The service was on point (Thank You Ariel H…you did the THANG), my food was was delicious, my Sexy’s food looked heavenly. #unclejulio #internationaldrive #dinnerwithmyqueen #mexicanfood #beautifulevening

[r-aindr0p]

Magic jail for the first years

[keiteay]

I-drive views

[mapsoffun]

I took a jaunt up International Drive to Whole Foods one afternoon to get some room snacks and drinks, which was a combination of taking the local LYNX bus system because the local trolley system was nowhere to be found that day because it was rainy. (I was also annoyed because the hotel we stayed at provided free daily passes to said trolley system that were mostly unusable during our stay.)

I had vague memories of seeing the “world’s largest McDonald’s” when I was on the Orlando leg of a weeklong school trip to Florida back in the summer of 1997, but that memory was filed deep into the brain until I saw this place while walking to said Whole Foods and I saw that it’s the “largest entertainment McDonald’s,” which according to Wikipedia is still the same building (or at least the same site) from 1976, so I guess time is a flat circle sometimes. 

Anyway, I didn’t go in, but I saw this pretty sweet Great Egret in the parking lot, which was fun, and I got to see some highlights of their unique menu, like pizza and Belgian waffles, which felt very much like a gimmick, but that is basically the ethos of International Drive.

[thebreakfastgenie]

I think protests can be extremely effective but I think the reason more of them aren't is a lot of them are fundamentally emotional expressions and not highly disciplined actions with clear strategy and specific goals.

[mikecovers]

48. Nothing to see here, just a mobile weed dispensary 5 miles from Disney World.

[abyssalzones]

can I say something is this a safe space. it's kind of fascinating that ford is meant to read as a deeply repressed character and a capital s Scientist no less but he leads this other half of his life entirely dedicated to the occult. in the 70's-80's. like the historical connotations of the occult and what they represented in the united states at least seems kind of interesting in this context. for no reason in particular I find the dual aspects of "extremely dedicated to presenting as a logical, steadfast researcher trying to earn respect and social acceptance to the point of hinging all of his self worth on this vision for the future working out" and "deeply tied to the paranormal and "unsavory black magic" and everything Weird/freakish but feels like he needs to hide this aspect of himself from even the people closest to him" Very interesting. hiding six-fingered hands compulsively behind his back even if it's the emblem he puts on his journals. "what are you attracted to?" and "maybe you're simply attracted to things that hurt you" from two different points in the book. sweet dreams (are made of this) on the record player. hey does anyone know what that tarot card with a snake on it is meant to represent

[gunsatthaphan]

in honor of international kissing day I would like to once again raise awareness of this specific sandray moment because it remains one of my favorite scenes and I still think about it on a regular basis--