FAQ
*Note* – if you have a question that is not asked and answered here on the FAQ, feel free to contact us HERE. We’ll promptly email you back with the answer and make sure this FAQ is updated with your question and the answer!
Q: So why Orlando?
- Orlando is one of the best tourist locations not only in America but anywhere on Earth. It has a wonderful combination of beautiful weather, amazing attractions, convenience of travel, outstanding facilities, a great local fanbase, and much much more. The last time Worldcon was held in Orlando was back in 1992, and we feel it’s time to bring Worldcon back to Florida and the East Coast of America. We really can’t think of a more perfect location to have Worldcon than Orlando.
Q: Can Orlando properly host a Worldcon?
- The greater Orlando area contains approximately 450 hotels, 115,200 hotel guestrooms, and millions upon millions of square feet of function space. There are also more than 26,000 vacation home rentals available and more than 20,000 vacation ownership units. With a metropolitan area of over two million people, we can more than adequately host Worldcon.
Q: When are you proposing to have Worldcon?
- We are bidding for the traditional Labor Day weekend, which will be September 2-6, 2015 – Wednesday through Sunday.
Q: Why Labor Day weekend? Isn’t that Dragon*Con’s weekend?
- Actually, it’s -Worldcon’s- weekend; Dragon*Con made the decision to come on -our- weekend. But even in recent years, Worldcon has made the decision to be on Labor Day weekend, like Noreascon 4 (2004), Nippon 2007 (2007), Aussiecon 4 (2010), Chicon 7 (2012), and LoneStarCon 3 (2013). We believe there’s enough fandom for everyone to not overly worry about where people are going to go, just as those previous Worldcons felt. Having said that, Disney is working with us to provide incentives for people to choose – the fact that Worldcon will be at Walt Disney World is an incentive right there. Please stay tuned as we will be discussing in the future exactly what we and Disney will be offering for the membership of Worldcon!
Q: What facilities are you proposing to use for Worldcon?
- Our facility will be Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort at Walt Disney World. It’s a gorgeous facility that has over 1,900 hotel rooms and over 220,000 square feet of function space – meaning we won’t be split up over multiple hotels and multiple facilities all over the place. We’ll be together as one con at one hotel. The function space is all on one level, and the hotel rooms are situated in two and three story buildings around a beautiful lake, meaning for the vast majority of us our Worldcon will also not consist of a single elevator ride…unless you choose to ride The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme park, that is! For a full breakdown of what Coronado Springs has to offer, visit our facilities page at http://orlandoin2015.org/facilities/coronado-springs/. We’ve also provided a twenty-seven minute video of our proposed hotel located on the right-hand side of our web page marked “Video 0f 2015 Worldcon Hotel”, which will allow you to see first-hand the layout of the resort, the restaurants, registration, everything!
Q: Will Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort work for a Worldcon?
- Absolutely it will work for Worldcon! The total amount of function space is comparable to what Renovation used in Reno for 2011. We’re using one of the biggest ballrooms in the South (over 60,000 sq. ft) for the Hugos and the Masquerade, the exhibit hall for the dealers, art show, and exhibits is over 86,000 sq. ft, and there are 46 breakout rooms – more than enough space for Worldcon. More importantly, the space is all together, meaning we won’t have large spans or distances to walk between panels and rooms. And, all the space is on the same level – no need for going up and down stairs, escalators, and elevators.
Q: How are the facilities for Worldcon members with disabilities?
- Walt Disney World has excellent facilities for guests with disabilities. Services extend to facilities, hotels, attractions and transportation. Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort includes 99 rooms available to guests with disabilities, including wheelchair-accessible bathrooms, roll-in showers, lower-to-the-floor light switches and thermostats, and rooms designed for the hearing impaired. We will make sure those hotel rooms are available for our Worldcon members with disabilities. All Disney transportation is wheelchair, scooter, and ECV accessible.
Full, comprehensive detailed information about Disney’s full range of services to the disabled through its resorts and throughout its four theme parks and two water parks can be found HERE.
Q: Won’t it be expensive to have Worldcon at Walt Disney World?
- Actually, our Worldcon will be much less expensive than they have been in recent years! That’s because due to the amount of hotel rooms we will be utilizing for Worldcon, Disney has offered us the entire function space for FREE! Furthermore, we can announce that we have secured a hotel room rate at Coronado Springs of $139/night for up to four people in one hotel room. Did we also mention that there is no resort fee for staying at Coronado Springs Resort? And that parking for all Worldcon members will be absolutely free, even if you choose not to stay at Coronado Springs?
Q: Why not use the same facility that the previous Orlando Worldcon, MagiCon, used in 1992?
- The Orange County Convention Center is a very nice facility. Nice…and expensive. As mentioned, Disney has offered us all the function space at Coronado Springs Resort for free due to our very large hotel room block, which is an amazing deal for Worldcon. It means that we have the ability to free up hundreds of thousands of dollars in our budget that we can use to bring new experiences to Worldcon, or even lower the price point for memberships which could help bring in new members! Another consideration was the hotel. Worldcon will be all together in one hotel – we won’t have to split up the membership into multiple hotels forcing people to walk all over the place. And finally, we can run things twenty-four hours in Coronado Springs – unlike convention centers which close at a certain time forcing Worldcon to move panels/filking/videos/gaming to an “overnight” hotel, once again splitting up the Worldcon membership, this time into “Do we go to the parties, or do we attend any of the late-night activities?” At our Worldcon, you won’t have to make that choice, because we’ll all be at the same hotel!
Q: If we’re having Worldcon at Walt Disney World, doesn’t that mean there aren’t any restaurants within walking distance?
- Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort has six eateries alone (not including room service), which is far more than most hotels. Furthermore, should anyone wish to eat at any of the more than two hundred and twenty restaurants at Walt Disney World, they can use Disney’s free transportation system should they not have access to a vehicle which can take them to and from any destination located in Walt Disney World. And if they choose to eat at any of the more than 5,300 restaurants in Orlando (yes, you read that right) and not have a vehicle, Walt Disney World is connected to Orlando’s Lynx public transportation system.
Q: How can I help Orlando win the right to host the 2015 Worldcon?
- There are several ways to help out. If you’d like to actually join the committee, contact us HERE. You’ll be a part of the decision make processes and be able to get in on the ground floor of the 2015 Worldcon staff positions. You’ll get to sit at bid tables and help out with bid parties at various conventions while hanging out with some really cool people. (And of course, there’s nothing like being a member of the winning team!) If you’re not ready for that level of commitment, but would still be interested in perhaps helping sit at a table, help out at a party or two, or even just bring flyers with you at a convention you know you’ll be at, contact us anyway and let us know what you’d be interested in. We’ll not turn anyone away that wants to help! And finally, regardless if you join the committee or help out in any way, you need to vote for Orlando to host the 2015 Worldcon.
Q: How do I vote for Orlando to host the 2015 Worldcon?
- There are two steps to vote for the 2015 Worldcon. First, you have to be at least a supporting member of LoneStarCon 3, the 2013 Worldcon. You will then be eligible to vote in the 2015 site selection, but you will also need to purchase an advance supporting membership in the 2015 Worldcon as part of the voting process. The cost of the 2015 advance supporting membership has yet to be determined, so keep your ear to the ground and we’ll let you know!
Q: So what is there to do in Orlando?
- You must be joking, right?
Q: No, seriously, what is there to do in Orlando?
- Oh, you were *actually* asking. Sorry about that. Well, there’s a reason Orlando is called “America’s Playground” – for starters, the highest concentration of theme and amusement parks is located in this region. They include Walt Disney World’s four theme parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom) and two water parks (Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach); Universal Orlando’s two theme parks (Universal Studios Orlando and Universal’s Islands of Adventure) and its water park Wet ‘n Wild; SeaWorld Orlando (featuring SeaWorld Adventure Park, Discovery Cove, and their water park Aquatica); Busch Gardens Tampa Bay and their water park Adventure Island (located only a forty-five minute drive from Orlando); Legoland Florida; Gatorland; and Holy Land Experience.
Those are just the theme and water parks. Other things to do in the Greater Orlando area include:
The Kennedy Space Center, Wonderworks, Orlando Science Center, I-FLY Orlando Indoor Skydiving, Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament Show, Titantic – The Experience, Cornell Fine Arts Museum, Orlando Wetlands Park, Revolution: The Off-Road Experience, Cirque du Soleil: La Nouba, Blue Man Group, Fantasy of Flight, Central Florida Zoo and Botanical Gardens, Arabian Nights Dinner Attraction, Bok Tower Gardens, Orlando Balloon Rides, Ripley’s Believe it or Not Orlando Odditorium, Fun 2 Dive Scuba and Manatee Snorkeling Tours, Orlando Museum of Art, The Richard Petty Driving Experience, Orange County Regional History Center, Dinosaur World, Fun Spot USA, Horse World Riding Stables, Pirates’ Dinner Adventure, Lakeridge Winery and Vineyards, Mennello Museum of American Art, Green Meadows Petting Farm, Boggy Peak Airboat Rides…look, we could keep going like this for a long time, but put it this way – we have a saying down here, “If you’re in Orlando and you’re bored…there’s something wrong.”
Q: What are the restaurants like in Orlando?
- With over 5,300 restaurants in Orlando, we’re guessing you don’t want us to list all of them (OK, OK…*we* don’t want to type out all of them, that’s a lot of typing!), so here are our choices for the best of the best:
The Best – Victoria and Albert’s
Best View – California Grill
Best Value – Taverna Opa
Best Wine List – Jiko, the Cooking Place
Best Late-Night Dining – B-Line Diner
Best Theme Park Restaurant – Mythos (Universal’s Islands of Adventure)
Best Themed Restaurant – T-Rex Cafe
Best Oriental Cuisine – Mikado Japanese Steakhouse (honorable mention – Emeril’s Tchoup Chop)
Best Italian Cuisine – Bice (honorable mention – Pacino’s Italian Ristorante)
Best Steakhouse – The Capital Grille
Best Seafood – Ocean Prime (honorable mention – Todd English’s bluezoo)
Best Barbecue - Bubbalou’s Bodacious BBQ (also gets our vote for “Best Name”)
Best Tapas Dining – Cafe Tu Tu Tango
And if that doesn’t whet your appetite, we’d also like to mention the world’s largest McDonald’s just happens to be in Orlando (trust us, it’s HUGE).
Q: What is the weather like in Orlando during Labor Day weekend?
- The weather is so predictable you can almost set your watch by it. The high in the day will be 90°F (about 32°C), the low in the evening will be 72°F (about 22°C). There will be a chance of thunderstorms in the early afternoon – if it does rain, it will rain for about ten minutes at the most. Even though Florida is about as far south as you can go in the contiguous United States, the weather is actually comparable to what the majority of the United States experiences during summer – we Floridians just happen to have more of it for a longer period of time than most Americans.
Q: How do we get to Orlando?
- Orlando is one of the easiest cities in the world to get to. If you’re choosing to fly into Orlando International Airport (airport code MCO), you can choose from one of forty-one airlines, seventy-two direct domestic flights, and nineteen direct international flights. Not only that, but every travel site from Expedia to Orbitz always (and we do mean *always*) has deals for flights to Orlando – meaning traveling to Worldcon isn’t going to break your budget. If you want to take the train into Orlando, Amtrak’s Silver Meteor and the Silver Star both provide service to Orlando.
Q: How do we get around Orlando?
- Orlando is served primarily by Interstate 4, which runs north/south through Florida. If you’re choosing to rent a car, Orlando happens to be the largest rental car market in the entire world with over twenty-five different agencies serving Orlando International Airport alone. If you’re not a driver, Orlando’s LYNX System (the Central Florida Regional Transportation Agency) provides public transportation throughout Greater Orlando (Walt Disney World connects to the system at two points, the Transportation and Ticket Center and the Downtown Disney shopping and entertainment district). Furthermore, by 2015 Orlando’s commuter rail project SunRail will be completed, providing over sixty-one miles of track with seventeen different stops throughout Greater Orlando. However, since our Worldcon will be taking place at Walt Disney World, we will also be Disney guests, which allows us to take advantage of a unique service provided by Disney called Disney’s Magical Express.
If you are flying into Orlando International Airport, call Walt Disney World at 1-407-W-DISNEY to sign up for the service. Approximately two weeks before your flight, you’ll receive luggage tags in the mail from Disney, on which you’ll put the name your hotel room reservation is under as well as the hotel name (which for us will be Coronado Springs). When you arrive in Orlando, you’ll get off the plane and proceed directly onto an air-conditioned Disney motorcoach. The motorcoach will drop you off at Coronado Springs. After checking-in, you’ll go to your hotel room…where you’ll find your luggage in your room waiting for you. Disney’s Magical Express is a free complimentary service provided to all Disney guests and, for our purposes, all Worldcon members staying at Coronado Springs.
