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Otronicon

3.8 (13 reviews)
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This robot, called the da Vinci, allows doctors to perform surgery with the tiniest of incisions using robotic arms. How cool!
Rebekah E.

What a cool event! Contrary to what many might think, Otronicon isn't merely a gaming convention, it's an awesome expo bringing STEM education and fun to Central Florida. 2016 was my first year attending and I left wondering why I hadn't been sooner. I stopped by Otronicon on a Friday night (the first day) as a volunteer for the promo video shoot. Participating landed me free tickets for any day during the rest of the expo (score!). But even if you're paying admission, at around $20, the prices are very reasonable. Particularly when compared to many of the other expos and conventions that take place around this city. The exhibits: There's a wide range. Of course, you have gaming. They had Battlefront and Madden, and also a nice selection of retro video games like Space Invaders, Galaxian and Centipede. They also have a nice selection of indie games from various schools and developers, who also have booths set up for more information on education in game development. This floor also had a variety of art related to gaming and nerd culture. Some really talented artists. And all available for purchase. Then there is the medical floor. This area had me amazed. Florida Hospital had brought in a device called the daVinci. It's actually a robot that performs surgery through a doctor's virtual touch. Incredible! I even had the chance to use the robot myself to perform surgery on a game of operation. Also learned about advancements in brain scanning as it relates to helping a doctor perform surgery to remove brain tumors. They now have a so-to-speak tumor GPS for more precise surgery. Technology is just amazing. There is also a virtual reality room that had booths from the Marines and Lockheed Martin, with areas set up to try out their training mission virtual simulations. I also got to ride a virtual roller coaster through an Oculus Rift. Otronicon also boasts a lineup of some awesome speakers giving seminars on a variety of topics related to STEM. I didn't have the opportunity to attend any of those (ridiculous lines) but I imagine they were quite good. Otronicon After Dark rolls out after 8 PM. This is supposed to be the adults-only portion of the event (though there were still a few kids running around while I was there). BART video game bar had a pop-up bar set up in one of the conference rooms where you could grab and adult beverage and play some retro games. There was also a band playing down on the main floor. Cool way to change it up a little bit for the adult crowd after hours. The location for this event is great! I always love a trip to the Orlando Science Center. You can play with many of their exhibits while you're wandering around Otronicon too. And at the end of the day, I was able to go up to the observatory and check out the moon and the Orion Nebula through their telescope. I'm so glad we have an event like this promoting STEM education in the City Beautiful. This is an awesome expo for kids and adults alike. If you're interesting in gaming, technology, medical advancement, or just an all around good time learning, you should check out Otronicon.

Cecille R.

I was lucky enough to snag some free passes thanks to being Yelp Elite. I love the Science Center and thought this would be a cool event to check out with my husband. Unbeknownst to me, it was more of a gamer event and something completely out of the spectrum of what I'm used to. While my husband has a game system and randomly plays, he is by no means a full out gamer. Anyways we got there the last day of the event. Parking to the garage was backed up so we parked in the OMA parking lot with no issues and walked over. We basically just roamed and explored the center and different rooms. I really loved the educational aspect of the event and really liked that parents were bringing kids to the areas dealing with science, engineering, medical technology and animation. There were lots of hands on things to do within the booths --Lockheed Martin and Kennedy Space Center to name a few. We joked that this event was essentially a "nerdfest".....there were several rooms and areas dedicated to video games where you could jump on and play. I liked the old school video games from my youth like Centipede and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Also saw some Dance Revolution going on (made for great video). There was one room that had a sign "For Mature Audiences only" -- on one side were kids playing more "kid friendly" games and on another side were the more violent games like "Call of Duty". There were volunteers milling around surveying everything but just found it a little disturbing that young kids could essentially walk up and play COD and their parents weren't around. The funniest thing was after my husband gave up on COD- as soon as he stood up, a young guy from clear across the room ran to take his seat and play. That's hard core. In a nutshell, it was ok but probably not my cup of tea. I would recommend this for kids who are really into science, technology and, of course, gaming but parents really should be with their young children and not allow them to wander around by themselves since there were very heavy crowds.

Mari H.

Fun science filled event with robots and VR and video games- the ultimate geek fest. I have gone to this event twice and have enjoyed it both times with my friends. It is also fun to explore the Orlando Science Museum itself and look at all the wildlife downstairs. Ticket pricing is not bad, ranging from $19-21 for students/adults.

Andrea C.

This event was cool and definitely something different. I'm really not a gamer, but my husband thought all the displays were really cool. They also had some cool one of a kind merchandise available. I enjoyed a lot of the medical technology and we even got to try our technology used in brain surgery, which was really interesting. My husband also go to do a cool driving simulator, which he thought was awesome. The exhibits were pretty cool, but there was really no regulation or lines of any sort. This meant that the wait times were long and people often walked right up without considering the people who were waiting. It was a nice afternoon and something different, but it was just okay in my opinion.

Under water robots!
Jackie C.

This is a really cool event, I'm not much of a nerd so some of this stuff is over my head but if ur a gamer this is right up your alley!!

Alligators and turtles

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Downtown Food & Wine Fest - 2015 Golden Fork Award Sweet Treat Winner Ricotta Gelato, chocolate dipped & pistachio crusted cannoli shell from #PrimoOrlando

Downtown Food & Wine Fest

(52 reviews)

Downtown / Central Business District / CBD

What a nice event for Orlando. We went on the last day of the 2020 event and arrived around 2p…read more We were lucky enough to find a close parking spot so we started off great. We had free tix courtesy of a local radio station contest. I can still hear the busy signals in my ear from dialing in. This year, the event was "cashless", which doesn't mean you can't bring cash, but it means you pre-load your bracelet with money that you can use to purchase items from various vendors. It sounds like a good idea, but you have to guess as to how much to load, then do math all day and remember how much you have. When you purchase something, you can ask the person what your balance is. It's nice to not have to get out your wallet every time, but also a pain if you want something that's $7 and you have $6 left. You can't combine "bracelets" either so if someone had $1 left, they'd either have to reload or lose it. There was also a $1 service charge for the privilege of using the bracelet. As far as food options, there were plenty. Various restaurants from around town were there serving up some of their favorites. Gringos Locos, Dixie Dharma, Kaizen Something or other, American Social, Jeremiahs Italian Ice, Jimmy Hula's, and many others were there. It's a great way to try things without driving all over. Many places also had vegan and vegetarian options. There were plenty of wine vendors as well, and those lines were the shortest (or non existent). There was something you could buy that was a sampling of wines for $20. I think they punched or scanned something with each vendor. Most wineries were charging $7 for a glass (plastic cup) of wine. I would think if you want people to try your wines, you'd have it at a lower price point. Are they there to make money or get people to love their wine? (Gringos Locos got it with their $2 Double Decker Tacos, the line was nuts). The event ran till 7 but around 4p, some vendors were already closing up shop. That would be disappointing to me if I was arriving later in the day. There was also Mixed Drinks, Bloody Mary Bars, Beer, Hard Seltzer, and water/soda if you weren't there to get Lit. Prices were good for these options. There were plenty of porta-johns and hand washing stations which is nice. There was a stage with rotating bands. Lots of security as well. I'd recommend going as a nice day out. I wish they'd improve the cashless payment method though. At least let people combine. I'd give it 4 stars if it wasn't for that.

An A OK event that has some ups and downs. This is an annual event that takes place in the heart of…read moredowntown. There are tons of parking garages and lots in the local area that are within walking distance, most are around $5-7 dollars, so it's not too bad. It's about $20 for entry into the event, which seems a bit steep to me, since you have to pay for tickets for the food and drinks on top of that. Each ticket is $2 and most drinks and food are between 3-4 tickets ($6-8). It's a pretty expensive event overall once you tally up parking, entry and tickets. There are a lot of vendors, especially local vendors, which is great, cause I love to support local. There were about 40 tents, about half drinks and half food. There is a menu of options when you arrive, so you can know what to expect. Overall: B- A good locals event, but a pretty steep price tag on it once you add it all up.

Great American Pie Festival - Getting ready for the pie eating contest

Great American Pie Festival

(3 reviews)

What a great time! This annual event, sponsored by Crisco, is reminiscent of a small town's fair…read more Friendly people abound here, and Pie Pride oozes from every single booth. There are markets, bakeries, and restaurants galore here, all keen to have you taste either their take on a traditional, or point you with special glee towards their own creations. The weather cooperated, the band was great, people struck up conversations with strangers, and everyone got a little sun. I'm awfully glad that Yelp made this a Yelp Event. I didn't see any other Yelpistas, but then again, my eyes were looking at all that deliciousness..... So, come tomorrow- or next year. And, keep you eyes on the pies!!!

One of the best events we have each year is the Great American Pie Festival over at Celebration! I…read morehave gone to this even for the past 4 years in a row and it always is worth the drive. This year, I was lucky enough to get free entry into the never ending pie buffet from our friends at Yelp! Thanks Colleen for the pie! Since parking can be a nightmare even without events at Celebration, we always park by a friends house over by the high school and walk over. It only takes about 10 min to walk over and besides, it is a nice walk back to the car to walk off some of the pie we just inhaled. We arrived on Saturday around 1 pm and found the crowds this year to be a bit lighter than in the past. After checking in with the info booth and getting our wrist bands, we enjoyed checking out all the vendors and seeing if their was any arts and crafts we might want. There is a large booth that sells t-shirts, cookbooks and of course pies! This year, there were also a larger amount of food vendors selling the normal fair type foods. We did not indulge since we were saving room for pie. They also had a zip line contraption that looked like fun. We made our way over to the pie buffet entry. You must have a wrist band or you cant get in! The pie police are watching you. Once inside, we armed ourselves with plastic forks ( I suggest bringing your own metal one if you like) and then started to check out all the booths. There seemed to be less vendors than in the past. Publix and Winn Dixie were there as well as Kroger's and the Village inn. All make great pies but the ones I enjoy most are from some of the more independent pie companies that make unusual combinations of flavors. Bakers Square, Bonerts, Legendary Baking, and Wicks pies are these types of vendors. Yet this year, they only seemed to have a few flavors to try while in the past, they might have 10 or more types. My favorite of all time was a chocolate coated frozen cheesecake on a stick.... but alas, it was not there this year. Sniff Sniff... All in all, it was still a great feast! I will say that most people can eat about 5 or 6 slices before they are done but one friend of mine ate 10 slices! Oink! Some people like to eat one slice at a time while others stop at each booth, grab the ones they want, and then find a place to spread them all out and eat them one by one. After our pig out, we continued to check out many of the other booths that circle the stage. Crisco is the main sponsor but there are also booths for Duncan Hines, Smuckers, and Dunkin Donuts. Duncan was having a bit of a scavenger hunt with their new stir in flavors of frosting. You had to collect all 12 of the flavors and then visit their booth to be in a drawing for prizes. I collected them all, got my ticket for the hourly drawing but never got back to see if I won... oh well... There was also the appearance of Poppin Fresh! and Pie man! Always popular and sometimes a line to get a photo with them. The main stage had an assortment of entertainment including comedian Kirk Marsh, singer Dean Daniels and guest chefs David Sloan and Brian Ehrenholm. If you want something fun to do and love pie, I do recommend checking out the pie festival. The normal entry for adults is $10 and if you eat enough pie, it pays for itself. Our best tip would be go in... eat pie... walk around and enjoy the booths and sights... then go back again for more pie! (Then take a really long walk back to your car!) Enjoy!

Art Craft & Wine Festival

Art Craft & Wine Festival

(1 review)

The Seminole County South Rotary Club hosts a two-day Art, Craft & Wine Festival event at the…read moreCranes Roost Park in Altamonte Springs and it serves as a fundraiser for them with events like a Wine Stroll (For 2016, Tickets: $25 in advanced, $30 day of ) and a Chili Cook-off It's a free event, and while I didn't participate in either the Wine Stroll or the Chili Cook-off, I did have a lovely leisurely 2.5+ hr stroll checking out the over 150+ artists and crafters who were showcasing unique items, crafts, decorative products and arts. Some stalls were standouts - there was a local woodworker with really lovely and affordable furniture pieces, a stall which had antique spoons turned into functional jewelry pieces like rings, etc and another stall with artworks made from flip-flops. For the last one, it was so artfully done, I didn't realize the material used for the artworks were flip-flops at first! The amphitheater had live music, and it was a nice variety and lovely to hear in the background while wandering thru the stalls. Food vendor wise, there were only a couple of option and I couldn't help thinking they should have partnered with the Daily City Food Trucks events so a better variety of options could have been available. Also at night, not all vendors had access to electricity and so some of them were open, but I couldn't really check out what they were selling all that well. I had tons of fun browsing thru the stalls and so would definitely come and check this festival again next year, if in the area. Note: #377 of Yelp 100 challenge for 2016

Mount Dora Arts Festival

Mount Dora Arts Festival

(3 reviews)

Had a good time at this festival with tons of great artists and vendors. The most difficult portion…read morewas finding a place to park our car, and then walking quite a ways to get to the main festival area. If you know Mount Dora well you will know that they have limited street parking, and only a few public parking lots, so when things get busy, the parking is the first thing to go. We did enjoy the excuse to go to the area, get some food, visit some new shops and see some great local vendors. I always appreciate a chance to see handmade and homemade artisans. Overall: A- Parking situation is always a challenge in this area when things get busy, but the art show itself was a good time and I'm sure we'd go again in future years.

I am impressed. I don't remember being in such a big arts festival in a while. I don't travel to…read moreartsy events anymore, but as far as my previous travels remind me, this is one of the biggest ones in Florida. And I also have to say that the setting is just majestic, you can come and walk around, grab lunch, and keep walking. Of course, I hope you pick up some art, but if you don't, I hope you have fun. Besides all the nice restaurants to visit (please don't settle for pizza), you can also visit other galleries around the area. At the same time, talk to some people, many travel far to visit and to showcase their art. It is a great atmosphere, kids and small dogs may not appreciate it because it is crowded, but with a little bit of patience everything is smoothed out. There's plenty of free and paid parking also.

Otronicon - arcades - Updated May 2026

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