Flo
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Vans Skate Park
The boys love Vans Skate Park. After a couple more sessions they were doing much better but even beginners can have a great time here as they rent you the whole board, helmet and pads bit and falling onto this smooth surface does not seem to hurt them too much. The great thing about this centre is that it is indoor and air-conditioned! They will still get very hot and sweaty (don't forget to leave them a couple of dollars for the drink machines) but at least they will not fry or burn. A really good day away from the sunshine! The other good thing about this place is that it is in Festival Bay shopping mall. Once the children are settled skating, you can wander round the shops, have a coffee or put them in for 4 hours and watch a movie :-) The address is Vans Skate Park 5220 International Drive, Orlando 32819 (407) 351-3881. but for most tourists, this translates into.... go along International Drive, past Wet and Wild, past a few more shops until you reach Festival Bay Shopping Mall. Drive right round the back of the mall and Vans is at the back.
Hours: Daily 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Sessions last two hours, with the more expensive ones between 2:30 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. weekdays and all day on Saturday and Sunday.
It does not matter how good or cool your kid thinks they are, safety gear is compulsory and if you don’t have your own you can rent helmet, elbow and knee pads for $5 a session. You can also rent a skateboard for $5.
Takes a few sessions to get their nerve up but actually, if they fall, its so smooth and they have so many pads on, they would be pretty unlucky to hurt themselves unless they had picked up a lot of speed. One of the videos shows our boys using this bowl very well! The only place I have seen kids really hurt themselves is in the section outside the building (through the door shown in this picture.) This section seems a little more extreme, serious and pointy so it is probably best avoided unless you really know what you are doing. If you want some more photo's and expert opinion on this park, try here: http://www.concretedisciples.com/skateparksdb/skateparks_display.php?id=670 Vans Skate Park Videos As we get some better videos we will add them to this page. Just click on the images to view. Vans 2005 This was the first time the boys went to Vans. They have got a lot better since then! Vans 2006You get a pretty good idea of what Vans is like from these
Vans October 2007 Connor bouncing over high objects in 2007
Vans January 2008 Connor in the bowl
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Awesome
dude! Totally Narly. Other such expressions.
Sessions
cost $12 to $15 per session ($5 to $7 for members.) If you plan to be around for
a few weeks (or go to Florida often) you might consider becoming a member.
Membership $25 per year so the kids need to 4 sessions a year to make it worth
it. 
The
first time you go, you will have to sign a waiver and need to have some photo ID
to do this (passport or photo driving license)
A chance to try out a real bowl! Most kids
stand at the top of this and say "erhmmmm".
