Life can be full of Hard Knocks!

A few weeks ago, Travis (Global I.T. specialist) and I set off to visit Hard Knocks Orlando, a urban themed indoor laser tag (sort of and I’ll get to that) gaming facility. Located just a few minutes from University of Central Florida, it’s a 30-40 minute drive from most of our resorts. After all is said and done, it’s well worth the drive and the money. This isn’t your father’s laser tag!

Once we arrived , we joined a group of six other friends and kept the same 4 man teams throughout the two hour session. After all, we had to keep score for bragging rights! Who won? Keep reading.

So how is Hard Knocks NOT like your ‘father’s laser tag’? Simple, you use real (looking) guns and run around in realistic themed environments completing several team based missions. The ‘weapons’ are replica metal electronic devices with a similar weight and feel of the real thing. Ammo is limited and the quantity of available ammo is tied to the type of gun your using at the time. You have to remember to ‘reload’ by hitting a button when your ammo count is low. Then you must wait a few LONG seconds for the gun to become live again as it completes the reload sequence. All in all, very realistic. Also, only ‘killing’ shots made to your opponents sensors (three in total) will cost them a life. Once all your available lives are gone, your dead and have to take the walk of shame back to the staging area. Remember, no talking to your teammates on the way out – dead man tell no tales. Pirate rules!

I haven’t played laser tag for over a decade and honestly never got into it. Too much of people running up to you and rapidly pulling the trigger in your general direction. Not very realistic! Hard Knocks is much different, teams must work together to advance (and stay alive) or they won’t last long. Strategy actually counts for something at Hard Knocks and the combinations of realistic feeling weapons and the fast pace of game play (missions rarely last over ten minutes) makes for a quick and fun team building experience for all involved. The two available formats (Warehouse and Office Building) are played back to back with over 30 missions or scenarios to choose from.

If I had to list one thing that makes Hard Knocks worth your time, it’s the realism. The environments and weapons are so realistic that local SWAT teams practice in their facilities. With over 30,000 square feet of air conditioned  space available, it’s a great place for team building, birthday parties, pickup games or any sort of group team experience. You’ll also get a great workout! Even though the AC is blasting, running (actually running isn’t allowed – let’s call it ‘aggressive walking’) around for two hours gets the blood moving. I had a hard time climbing stairs for three days after Hard Knocks!

For more information on Hard Knocks Orlando, including prices, requirements and training videos – visit Hard Knocks Orlando and Hard Knock Training Videos for details on the rules of game play. Your Regulator “Athena” will walk you though it.

So who won? Well the fact that this blog post exists should give you some idea. Travis and I were on the winning team with yours truly winning the final mission – “The Highlander”. As I walked out of the Office arena, our Regulator gave me a thumbs up and said, “Congratulations, your the Highlander!”. I can think of no higher compliment.

Am I in the Truman Show?

My third day in Orlando, I decided to check out the town of Celebration that I had heard so much about from locals and tourists alike.  It was a short drive from Windsor Hills Resort and I arrived around 11am, just in time for lunch. 

As I drove around Celebration, a town built by Disney, looking for a parking space I began thinking that I had somehow stepped into the Truman Show.  My immediate impression was that Celebration is the quintessential American town and is pretty close to perfection, very similar to the town Jim Carey grows up in the movie the Truman Show.  Celebration taps into the American frontier spirit and all the homes are designed in neo-traditionalist style.  It is a charming American town of the past, complete with an ice cream parlor and an AMC movie theatre in the town’s center. 

I found a parking space after circling many times and decided to try out the Columbia Restaurant, which had been strongly recommended to me by several locals.  Columbia is a quaint and elegant restaurant located in the center of town — and Russ was correct when he said “the 1905 salad is the bomb.”  It was my first experience trying Cuban food, and I must say I am all for trying it again.    

After lunch, I made a quick stop at Kilwins, a confectionery chocolate and ice cream shop, for some fudge.  I am a sucker for chocolate, especially fudge, and I couldn’t resist as I walked by Kilwins and saw (and smelled) all the delightful and tempting chocolate treats in the window. 

Once I got my chocolate fix, I began walking the brick-lined streets of Celebration bouncing in and out of the boutiques and specialty shops I discovered along the way.  I found there were only a handful of clothing stores which was disappointing to me as I was ready to shop!  There are a variety of specialty shops however, that embody the small town charm that the town of Celebration prides itself on.  From a new and used booked store to a dog bakery to a custom frame shop, Celebration has an eclectic mix of boutiques and shops that you could easily spend hours exploring. 

I returned to Windsor Hills empty handed other than a half eaten box of fudge.  It was late afternoon and I was already hungry again for dinner.  I was dying to check out Pleasure Island so I decided to get ready and head out for a night on the town!

Jordan

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