Otronicon 2017. It takes place inside the Orlando Science Center. There is parking right in front, on Princeton Street, in the big parking garage. For 2017, the price to park was $5. The fair brings many technology schools, which set place in the main floor, with their displays, software, students, alumni and faculty. I was able to go into many virtual reality worlds, which is the hot things now, and I can say that the technology is pretty cool. On the floor above, there was a medical application exhibit, for kids who are inclined towards healthcare. And then on the top floor, you find the graphic designers and artists who use electronic medium. On the top floor also, you could find other interactive equipment used by the military. You could fly a helicopter, drive a tank, fly a plane, etc. My favorite, and main reason for going, was the Indie Game Showcase. I love animation, I love video games although I don't play, I love graphics and I love basic human ingenuity. Talking to all these developers and creators was amazing, as well as trying out their games. The bottom floor was part of the permanent exhibit, no technology there. Overall, I liked the expo, although I did not see ground braking technology. It is more like a massive school fair where kids checkout future schools. But it was fun, although I would have given more emphasis to the game developers. My opinion. Oh! Yes, before I forget. They also had tournaments (meh) and workshops, but I didn't attend any of those, though I feel I should have... read more

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Otronicon 2016 was SO fun! I got to take my husband and little toddler, and clearly a 1.5-year-old doesn't care about fun tech gadgets the way a 36-year-old does. He did enjoy the revamped KidsTown, and there were some things he could watch and interact with around the event. I kinda wish we had gotten a sitter just so I could have enjoyed it a lot more but it was still a lot of fun! I'm constantly blown away by the creativity and the genius behind a lot of the showcases from Full Sail University, University of Central Florida, and other colleges and high schools. Gives me hope for the future. Anyway, I've added a few pictures so you can see how much my man-child enjoyed himself! While it's a kid-friendly event, I definitely think I'll wait until he's a little older to bring him back! read more

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Ah Otronicon 2015... I came, I saw, I conquered, and you did not fail to disappoint. Otronicon is a techie interactive exhibit for anyone who loves video games, science, or general nerd culture held at the Orlando Science Center. It has multiple floors of exhibits ranging from testing out robotic surgical equipment to observing Jupiter in the 6th floor observatory and all of it is exciting for those who are 4 years old to 44 years old. I started with the Yelp photobooth (of course) and then moved through the Lockheed Martin displays testing out the oculus rift flight simulator and robot building competition (where a 16 year old schooled us on how to create a $4,000 robot which launches beachballs 45 feet). Next was the observatory to look at Jupiter close up and then get a glimpse of the Orion Nebula. Having the opportunity to view both of these outstanding celestial bodies up close is worth the price of admission alone! After some time playing a few new xbox one games, piloting an fighter jet, and mingling with bobba fett and some other characters wandering this event we hit up the retro arcade slash bar and had a beverage before hitting the road. Definitely a great event to check out in Orlando while you have the chance! read more

Otronicon - Arcades Near Me - Orlando, Florida

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. read more

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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. read more

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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. read more

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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. read more

Otronicon - Arcades Near Me - Orlando, Florida

This was my first time to this event in about 7 years. I had so much fun! We went to expose our son - he's 17 months - and get him all excited about science and tech. Fun fact: 17 month old kids don't care. They just want to run around and be crazy. Which is fine! Luckily, he was able to burn off some energy in the Science Center's newly-revamped Kid Zone or whatever it's called. That place is LEGIT and I'm kinda jelly that I didn't have anything like that when I was a kid! Anyhoo, Otronicon was awesome. It can be overwhelming because there is so much to see. And the parking/ticket line is going to be a bear. Pro Tip: Join the Science center! You can go in an hour earlier than everyone else, including for events like this (though it's just for the kid areas). This means, parking is a breeze! And we didn't have to wait in line! I totally geeked out on the military jet/plane simulators. I mean, the other stuff is cool, but this was what I really came for. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to convince my wife that I NEED a $10k+ home flight simulator. So I'll be stuck using my $30 joystick and keyboard for now. I think we'll like this even more when our son is older so he can appreciate it. I know now that we are members we'll probably be going every year! Pro-Tip #2 - go on the Monday of that weekend. It's always less crowded! read more

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!! read more

Otronicon - Under water robots! - Arcades Near Me - Orlando, Florida

Visited Otronicon 2018 this past weekend for the first time. Really enjoyed the cool science tech on display especially drones, bots, augmented and virtual reality. Motion sphere and flight lab for older teens and adults were the best of the lot. Managed to catch a movie on cine dome as well. Excellent theater facility with awesome acoustics. My younger kids had a lot of fun as well. There is a lot to do for every age group. Will visit next year again! read more

Maybe I didn't do my research correctly, maybe I'm just not that bright, but I didn't expect it to be a hard core fan fest event. I'm not sure if other people experience the "fan-dom" that I saw but people were dressed up as characters from their favorite video games and anime books, a full on comic-con sneak peek. That type of thing isn't really my cup of tea but hey, if you like it, I love it. I kind of expected a MOSI type of experience but felt like I kind of got short changed. I felt that there were too many of the same type of stimulations. From video games to flight simulation there was too much of the same thing. It felt more like a video game convention than a "Science Fai". My boyfriend enjoyed doing the different simulations and the special exhibits like the telescopes and Arc Attack were very interesting. I just wish there ahad been more demonstrations like that. It would be nice to show kids that science and learning doesn't always have to come via video games. If there was any advice I could give to the organizers it would be to stop allowing so many simulations of video games and ask for more demonstations like the robotcs, energy, and medical technology. Science isn't limited to just video games. read more

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This event is gamer paradise--pre-market games, arcade games, even an Atari. Unfortunately, neither my husband or I are gamers. This event is supposed to be a showcase of all the new and emerging technologies--more than just video games. There were single rooms that featured biomedical advances, space innovation, engineering and robotics, but the convention as a whole was overwhelmed by video game spaces. There were also TONS of people there, with no monitoring of time, so trying to participate in interactive exhibits took a lot of time and waiting. Will likely never return. read more

Otronicon is a GAMING EVENT. It is billed as a GAMING EVENT. All of these bad reviews from people that even flat out state "I'm not a gamer, this isn't for me" shouldn't even be on here as they obviously have no idea how to rate something that they would not even begin to understand. New unreleased beta games? CHECK Top gaming companies demoing games? CHECK Simulators for the military, nascar, and Lockheed Martin? CHECK This is seriously a programmer/gamer/simulator paradise! If you don't get gamer culture or the business of gaming or simulation, you have no real reason to go, let alone post bad reviews just because it's not for you. This event nails the gamer/simulator nail on the head, and should be respected as such. If you're a gamer, programmer, or interested in the business of both, you need to go to this, no ifs ands or buts about it. read more