Spring Training Online

If You Go ...

Concessions: The concession stands feature standard fare: hot dogs, burgers, fries. Nothing remarkable. Outside the first-base side of the concourse there's an open-air concession area with stands selling Philly cheese steaks, pizza, Slushies, and more.

For the Kids: For being smack-dab in the Happiest Place in the Known Universe, there's little to entertain the kids: there's no children's play area and no activities geared toward the young.

Parking: There's a paved parking lot right outside the stadium; part of it is sold with a surcharge as priority parking, and part of it is free of charge as general parking. You'll need to arrive really early to score a paved parking spot. If you arrive closer to game time -- as we did -- you'll be stuck quite a ways from the stadium parking on a grassy field. Despite some torrential rains the day before, this field was dry and walkable, however.

Hotels: There are a plethora of hotel options within Disney World, but there's a big advantage to staying in the park: the Disney transportation system runs to Champion Stadium.

The resort closest to Champion Stadium is the Caribbean Beach Resort, which is classified by Disney as a moderately priced resort, which is a euphemism for $160 or so a night (plus taxes). A room at a lower-priced resort like the All-Star Sports Resort runs $109 a night (plus taxes, while a room at a high-end resort like the Grand Floridian can cost upwards of $440 a night. Generally speaking, the Disney resorts aren't worth the money: the rooms are small, the amenities are few, and they are basically designed to force you out of your room and into a theme park. (Feel free to price the rooms yourself at the Disney Web site.) My family and I once stayed at the Swan and Dolphin, a high-end resort run by Sheraton. Apart from the convenient location and the swank swimming area -- complete with fake beach and multiple waterfalls -- the hotel was disappointing: the rooms were small and garishly decorated and there was no restaurant within.

So your best bet is a hotel either within the city of Lake Buena Vista or in the southwest quadrant of Orlando. There are a ton of hotel rooms in the greater Orlando/Kissimmee area. World Center Drive is technically within the grounds of Disney World, but the hotels along the drive are run by outside vendors and include such names as Hilton, Doubletree, Sheraton and Best Western. I've stayed at the Doubletree on World Center Drive and can recommend it. You'll rarely spend more than $200 a night on World Center Drive, with most of the rates at the $120-$150 range.

The prices go down even more once you leave the Disney World grounds. The Orlando and Kissimmee areas around Disney World features a slew of decent hotel with room rates under $100, with family suites at a hotel like the Clarion Suites running $130 or so a night. You may also want to check out resorts from the likes of Radisson and Hyatt. Virtually every brand-name hotel is represented between Sea World and Disney World.

There's another cluster of hotels around International Drive, north of Disney World.

Finally, you may want to consider staying in Celebration, a Disney-planned community southeast of Disney World. I'm not going to get into the politics of Celebration (let's just say Disney has exerted a level of control over Celebration that has been dissected elsewhere), but I must admit that Celebration is an attractive community. The Celebration Hotel (700 Bloom St., Celebration) is located at the end of Celebration's main street and overlooks a small lake. It's decorated in a Florida plantation style; worth a look. And it's fairly close to Kissimmee, spring-training home of the Houston Astros.

What to Do in Orlando: You would be well-advised to spend some time in a Disney theme park while visiting -- they are truly amazing experiences. I first visited Disney World four years ago, and to be honest I didn't know what to expect, but I ended up having a great time. This certainly isn't the most original advise or a secret to most of you -- after all, Disney World is one of the most popular places on the planet -- but the parks are worth the steep admission prices. The same thing goes for Sea World and Universal.

If you want the Disney experience without the high admission prices, head over to Downtown Disney. Yes, the world's largest Disney-merchandise store is here, but the hip Virgin Megastore makes up for it. There are also some good restaurants, including Wolfgang Puck's (go for the meatloaf), House of Blues, and Bongos Cuban Cafe. Pleasure Island is an adults-only area that feature eight clubs with a wide variety of offerings, including dance clubs, comedy clubs, and bars. Wandering around Downtown Disney is free; there's a cover charge for Pleasure Island.

Spring-training venues that are within easy driving distance of Orlando include Kissimmee (Houston Astros), Viera (Washington Nationals), Lakeland (Detroit Tigers) and Tampa (New York Yankees). A further trip, but still doable, could involve Clearwater (Philadelphia Phillies), Bradenton (Pittsburgh Pirates) and Dunedin (Toronto Blue Jays).

Flying In: The closest airport is Orlando International Airport in the center of the city. While it's a bigger airport, it's fairly easy to make your way around, as a tram brings you from the gates to the central terminal. Just be warned that it's quite a hike from the gates to the terminals even with the tram. You may also want to consider flying into Tampa and then driving to Orlando if the fare to Tampa is significantly cheaper. The drive is 79 miles and takes an hour and a half on I-4 -- which is not the best freeway in the world -- but if you can save $100 or so on your air fares, the drive will be worth it.