The Holy Land Experience
The Holy Land Experience
4
This location was reported permanently closed
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The Holy Land Experience brings the heroes of the Bible to life through exceptional theatrical Broadway style productions and educational exhibits within an immersive biblical atmosphere for guests of all ages.
Duration: More than 3 hours
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
4.0
1,414 reviews
Excellent
762
Very good
254
Average
133
Poor
101
Terrible
164
Dasha_CT
CT103 contributions
Apr 2021
The venue is closed for unknown reasons and doesn’t even provide information about opening/closing. The tourists arrive there based on Google opening hour of 10 AM, wait there in front of the locked gate and leave. Even the parking lot was inaccessible.
All the theme parks in Orlando are open during COVID except this one. Looks like religious discrimination to me.
All the theme parks in Orlando are open during COVID except this one. Looks like religious discrimination to me.
Written April 24, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
BethCriseCook
Orlando, FL8 contributions
Aug 2021 • Solo
Soooo sad I thought I would go to Holy Land Experience after we “returned to normal what ever that is”. I was heart broken to read that the property has been sold and new owners plan to redevelop the land. So glad I was able to at least see it from the outside.
If you are in search of other Christian based places to strengthen or renew your faith, a place for miracles, and very interesting artifacts, might I suggest Biblewalk in Mansfield, Ohio. It is a non denominational - meaning everyone is welcome - museum that is amazing!!! There are 6 museums, display areas, Dinner Theater, and many, many, many collections of artwork dedicated to God. Lots to do in the area but plan on spending a full day there. It is a truly special place!!! Check it out!
If you are in search of other Christian based places to strengthen or renew your faith, a place for miracles, and very interesting artifacts, might I suggest Biblewalk in Mansfield, Ohio. It is a non denominational - meaning everyone is welcome - museum that is amazing!!! There are 6 museums, display areas, Dinner Theater, and many, many, many collections of artwork dedicated to God. Lots to do in the area but plan on spending a full day there. It is a truly special place!!! Check it out!
Written August 22, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Stephanie C
Clayton, NC133 contributions
Feb 2020
This park was amazing! No rides. Loved the few plays we did manage to see. Our youngest son was not so impressed and did not enjoy himself other than when he was playing with the foam swords and shields in the gift shop. We ended up having to leave early because of this. I would have loved to stay till the end of the day! It’s definitely worth additional visits, just maybe next time it will be with my elderly mother or husband.
Written February 9, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Vacationerx2
Powell, TN145 contributions
Jan 2020 • Friends
Was a good experience. Had heard and believe it has been more active years past. The shows were wonderful. Biblically sound I thought but need to quote scripture with address from the Bible and not just refer to it. Best part scriptorium with bible history. $10 to park and there is a $2 off coupon at brochure advertising stands. One per person. Take extra. worth supporting I think to help keep biblical opportunities open to visit.
Written January 14, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for visiting us!
Written January 15, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
hcforrester
Georgia11 contributions
Jan 2020
We loved this place. The show was wonderful and inspiring inside a beautiful auditorium called the Church of all Nations. It was so nice to go to a place in the area that honors God. We learned some things that we didn't know before about the Word and ancient Israel. The scriptorium was very informative about the Bible and its beginning and spread. It is a beautiful place and we hope to go back again next year.
Written January 27, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Cohun1
Port Orange, FL86 contributions
Dec 2019
We went to the Holy Land Experience on a recommendation of a good friend. Knowing the bible as I do, the experience brought the bible to life for me. We were privileged to enjoy their Christmas show, the Servant King. It was truly moving. The whole production was great and the actors were fabulous. We will definitely be back.
Written January 6, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Nina N
Saint Louis, MO25 contributions
We went to this park on July 6, 2009 around 1:30 in the afternoon.
When entering into the market place from the admission area, I expected to step into the past and into a "Holyland experience", this was not the case. It looked like an abandoned theater scene. No marketplace activity and no one to direct you to the exhibits. The place was extremely short staffed. That was very disappointing, because the promotional brochure and video leads you to believe it is a bustling place . It is NOT!
I started apologizing to my group for even suggesting we go to this place.
So we pulled out the map for instructions and directions since no one was around to point things out. We seemed to have arrived at a time when some skits/ plays were already going on in indoor theaters, so we just wandered around trying to figure out the layout of the place.
We came upon a last supper skit where you could sit at a counter made to look like the place where the disciples sat with Jesus. 2 young men conduct this skit. One is "Peter" the other is "Jesus". They gave everyone communion and you got to keep the little wooden communion cup that was made in Israel.
We entered a building with model city of Jerusalem. It is a miniature city that is not as big as it appears in the web site image. It has hills and valleys and little buildings, trees, palace, animals,people, etc. This display needs to be dusted badly.
We could hear a musical play/ show? going on in the Shofar auditorium nearby. It had a patriotic theme I guess because it was around the 4th of July, which made us kinda glad we missed it because we preferred attending something that would go with the theme of the park.
The only thing that made the visit somewhat pleasant was The Scriptorium. It is a walk-through experience that transports you to historical and geographical areas of the world where displayed biblical documents originated. It gave you an understanding of the history of the Bible and how it survived through the ages. It displays manuscripts, scrolls, and other authentic religious artifacts. But the robotic characters were not working ,some of the display case lights were burnt out, and some pull back curtains were not operational.
At the end of the walk through experience, really we did not like the paintings depictions of key people in the bible.
The Great Temple was really and open Amphitheatre where you sit to watch plays. It was nicely designed but nothing to tour.
You could not go into the Wilderness tabernacle unless a show was going on so we did not see it.
Wasn't much to the cave.
The tomb was in a open garden area. The fountains in the lake were down so we did not see any type of water display.
The place was clean and the diplays such as the open tomb and small gardens were maintained, and the food a bit pricey, we truly could have skipped this experience. I wish I could get our money back. TBN (Trinity Broadcasting) needs to clean up their act.
Seriously.
When entering into the market place from the admission area, I expected to step into the past and into a "Holyland experience", this was not the case. It looked like an abandoned theater scene. No marketplace activity and no one to direct you to the exhibits. The place was extremely short staffed. That was very disappointing, because the promotional brochure and video leads you to believe it is a bustling place . It is NOT!
I started apologizing to my group for even suggesting we go to this place.
So we pulled out the map for instructions and directions since no one was around to point things out. We seemed to have arrived at a time when some skits/ plays were already going on in indoor theaters, so we just wandered around trying to figure out the layout of the place.
We came upon a last supper skit where you could sit at a counter made to look like the place where the disciples sat with Jesus. 2 young men conduct this skit. One is "Peter" the other is "Jesus". They gave everyone communion and you got to keep the little wooden communion cup that was made in Israel.
We entered a building with model city of Jerusalem. It is a miniature city that is not as big as it appears in the web site image. It has hills and valleys and little buildings, trees, palace, animals,people, etc. This display needs to be dusted badly.
We could hear a musical play/ show? going on in the Shofar auditorium nearby. It had a patriotic theme I guess because it was around the 4th of July, which made us kinda glad we missed it because we preferred attending something that would go with the theme of the park.
The only thing that made the visit somewhat pleasant was The Scriptorium. It is a walk-through experience that transports you to historical and geographical areas of the world where displayed biblical documents originated. It gave you an understanding of the history of the Bible and how it survived through the ages. It displays manuscripts, scrolls, and other authentic religious artifacts. But the robotic characters were not working ,some of the display case lights were burnt out, and some pull back curtains were not operational.
At the end of the walk through experience, really we did not like the paintings depictions of key people in the bible.
The Great Temple was really and open Amphitheatre where you sit to watch plays. It was nicely designed but nothing to tour.
You could not go into the Wilderness tabernacle unless a show was going on so we did not see it.
Wasn't much to the cave.
The tomb was in a open garden area. The fountains in the lake were down so we did not see any type of water display.
The place was clean and the diplays such as the open tomb and small gardens were maintained, and the food a bit pricey, we truly could have skipped this experience. I wish I could get our money back. TBN (Trinity Broadcasting) needs to clean up their act.
Seriously.
Written August 1, 2009
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ambassador19824
Dayton, Ohio2 contributions
We visited the Holy Land Experience in Orlando the week before Christmas. It is about 2 miles from Universal Orlando, and since we had a car we did not have any problems getting there. Public transportation may be available.
We got a $2 off coupon which is available in most Orlando Tourism brouchures. The name speaks for itself. It is themed after Biblical places. There is a replica of the Garden Tomb, the Qumran Caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found (Currently not open), intricate model of the city of Jerusalem, life size external replica of Herod's Temple in Jerusalem during the time of Christ, a life size replica of the wilderness tabernacle from the time of Moses. The Birth of Christ and the Healing of the Roman Centurion's servant were depicted as musicals. They did a fantastic job. The actors used the outside settings for these musicals. The Wilderness Tabernacle show was great as it showed exactly what the high priest did in the Temple as recorded in the Old Testament. There was a building called the Scriptorium where ancient manuscripts of the Old and New Testaments were kept. There were also several Bibles that are several centuries old. They gave a good visual description of how the God kept the Bible alive during the dark ages and how people translated the scriptures into vernacular languages with disregard to their personal safety. It is worth seeing. They also had a musical describing the history of music in the history of the Christian church and that was a great show.
There is a model of the city of Jerusalem as in AD 66 and it is intricately detailed, and they had a guide explain the different regions of the city and how it related to the events in the gospels. The gospel message was presented in a very clear manner. They had animals that are frequently seen in the Middle East in one area, and they had a restaurant and couple of snack food places with Biblical themes. Where else can you get a Goliath hamburger, Jaffa hotdog, and real shepherd's pie. The best thing about this place were the friendliness of the staff. They were great, and it was very evident that the message of the Bible had transformed their lives in a personal way. This is a great place to visit for Christians, Jews, and Muslims. I even saw some Hindu religious sadhus wearing saffron. It is also a great break from the usual theme park atmosphere of Disneyworld and Universal studio. You will need a good 6 - 8 hours to see everything. You also have to do a bit of planning to ensure that you cover every building and every show especially if you get there at noon like we did.
We got a $2 off coupon which is available in most Orlando Tourism brouchures. The name speaks for itself. It is themed after Biblical places. There is a replica of the Garden Tomb, the Qumran Caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found (Currently not open), intricate model of the city of Jerusalem, life size external replica of Herod's Temple in Jerusalem during the time of Christ, a life size replica of the wilderness tabernacle from the time of Moses. The Birth of Christ and the Healing of the Roman Centurion's servant were depicted as musicals. They did a fantastic job. The actors used the outside settings for these musicals. The Wilderness Tabernacle show was great as it showed exactly what the high priest did in the Temple as recorded in the Old Testament. There was a building called the Scriptorium where ancient manuscripts of the Old and New Testaments were kept. There were also several Bibles that are several centuries old. They gave a good visual description of how the God kept the Bible alive during the dark ages and how people translated the scriptures into vernacular languages with disregard to their personal safety. It is worth seeing. They also had a musical describing the history of music in the history of the Christian church and that was a great show.
There is a model of the city of Jerusalem as in AD 66 and it is intricately detailed, and they had a guide explain the different regions of the city and how it related to the events in the gospels. The gospel message was presented in a very clear manner. They had animals that are frequently seen in the Middle East in one area, and they had a restaurant and couple of snack food places with Biblical themes. Where else can you get a Goliath hamburger, Jaffa hotdog, and real shepherd's pie. The best thing about this place were the friendliness of the staff. They were great, and it was very evident that the message of the Bible had transformed their lives in a personal way. This is a great place to visit for Christians, Jews, and Muslims. I even saw some Hindu religious sadhus wearing saffron. It is also a great break from the usual theme park atmosphere of Disneyworld and Universal studio. You will need a good 6 - 8 hours to see everything. You also have to do a bit of planning to ensure that you cover every building and every show especially if you get there at noon like we did.
Written January 7, 2005
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Procal2000
Lexington, KY4 contributions
Jun 2012 • Family
Anyone can see the continuity of the negative reviews and realize that they are real comments, not just angry customers. My family and I are not angry, just hurt. We are missionaries who have traveled outside of the country several times. Unfortunately, we have not had the privilege of traveling to the Promised Land. We planned this vacation in Florida and convinced my mother to drive in from Houston,Texas on the promise that we would take her to the Holy Land Experience. We had several activities planned, so we planned the HLE for the last day to end the vacation with a bang.
During the week, we had passed the HLE several times while commuting around Orlando. Each time, I noticed several things that just didn't make sense. First, why was it on an interstate off-ramp? That didn't exactly make me think of the Garden of Eden. Then I noticed all of the gold, Jesus was humble, why was this flashy? Then I noticed the Roman Colosseum. Roman Colosseum? huh? Holy Land? Jerusalem didnt have a COLOSSEUM!!!!
So as the week went on, I started to tell my mother about the inconsistencies that I was noticing, but she simply said that if I didn't want to go, she would go after we headed back to Kentucky. So I had no choice than to pay $170 to take my family, 3 adults and 2 kids to HLE.
When we arrived, we thought the Noah's ark animals were cute. My daughter climbed on a lion and posed for a pic. Then we went to the ticket booth and it was closed. So we thought, it's midweek, maybe they are slow. Then as we passed one of MANY butterfly benches, we stood in a line that looked like the office. We waited in line for 30 minutes and when we got to the counter the cashier pulled out an old slide-type credit card machine. You know, the one with a carbon copy? During the wait, we made ourselves comfortable in the 6 foot tall white thrones in the office. Where did they fit in?
So we walk out the back door and into the "market." There was no one in it. Not pretending to sell anything or directing newcomers. The market was only one outdoor "room" with one cart and a few shelves. We walk past the cart into a walkway with a few cutouts, but no employees. We walk about 20 feet down a path and this woman starts calling for us from about 25 feet away. She is dressed in a sequined shepherdess outfit and tells us we need to hurry to get to the show. So she gives us very vague directions and we head off. We pass a large rock and we can see that there is a mock Jesus tomb. We duck in and notice that the tomb has a little room with a bench that might fit a four foot person. But to get to the bench, you pass a door with a nice big brass lock, IN THE TOMB!! So we follow the ladies instructions down a path and pass a door to the wax museum, we run past some stone chaise lounges through a gawdy, Romanesque temple and catch a glimpse of some people walking though large white and gold doors. The rug runner says TBN, The Holy Land Experience, Trinity Broadcasting Network. You can barely make out "The Holy Land Experience", but TBN and Trinity Broadcasting Network are as clear as day. We are ushered in to a seat and were lucky to be sat in the handicap seats on the first row (we are not disabled.)
The "Passion" show starts and I am pleasantly surprised. Even though I am sitting in a theater with huge gold medallions and flashy lights, a panoramic view of a village around the ceilings with Christmas lights shining from it and a ridiculous announcer leading into the show, I am open-minded. Keep in mind that I have been in the park for less than 5 minutes.
The show opens with a market scene and is pretty cool. The actors come into all aisles of the audience selling their wares. They were so distracting that I almost missed Joseph flirting with Mary and heading out for his bachelor party! It was difficult to notice anything for all of the sequins. Mary in bright blue sequins and everyone else in the market must have struck it rich for all of the glimmering.
Then it just goes downhill from there. The angel appeared to Mary and she disappears, then Jesus is a full grown man. He is healing people like a tent revival. When Jesus is bawling like a baby and groping Mary-Magdeline, I started to walk out, then I remembered my mother who drove 18 hours to see this. I looked over at her and she had a blank look on her face. I couldn't tell in the flashing lights if she was enjoying it, so I stayed seated. I can't really tell you how the play ended as my husband, mother and I are still trying to decipher it. Jesus was crucified, then a dozen angels, Al Capone, Hitler and King Tut all came on the stage. YES!!!I am NOT MAKING THIS UP!!!! Then Jesus comes out in a bloody white gown and dance fights with Satan. Is this the resurrection or Revelations? You tell me... During the show we all look up at the observation deck and see the Tammy Faye wanna be and her body guard. She was wearing a gold outfit and we put 2 and 2 together and figured out that it was Miss TBN herself!
When we got out I asked my mother what she thought and she said,"It was something." My daughter said that if you didn't know what really happenedin the bible, that you wouldn't have understood any of the show.Then we passed the statues of Roman soldiers...wait are we in Rome? And we stumbled across another building with closed doors and we all thought it was another show. So my mom decided to go in and sit because she has bad knees. The lady at the door heard our conversation and told her the next show started in 7 minutes. So we left my mom so we could explore. We went around the corner and hit a dead end, that was the end of the park!We had hit the back wall already! So we turned around and waited for the show with my mother. When the doors opened we were ushered in and told to sit on the walls. When the announcer said it was going to be a 55 minute computer driven tour I gasped. Every 7 minutes we were let into another room. The dialogue was slow over the intercom and there was nothing to read as we all struggled to look at ancient bibles. After a few rooms, the kids all walked to the next exit and sat on the floor. There was no place to sit so my mother never got the rest that she was looking for. About five rooms in, I was fed up with being held prisoner and I took the kids out of the Scriptorium. we passed through several more rooms and there was a crowd trapped in each one. No wonder the streets were empty, they herded people into these "attractions."
We went to the scack bar to get a pretzel and they didn't have any. We went to the next snack bar and we saw 3 cinnamon pretzels hanging in the machine. I asked if they had any normal ones and she said no, then I said we would take the 3 she had. Two of those were hard and she wouldn't sell them so we took the one she had left. Meanwhile, we hear another snackbar calling for more pretzels on her walkie talkie. I take a bite of the one we got and it was inedible. Again, making the most of it, I didn't complain. Did I mention it was raining all day?
So I attempt to entertain my kids by exploring. we walk around the large stone in front of the snack stand where the tomb is and we are back at the entrance. That's it! The whole park! We looked in the kiddie land where there were misters and bubbles blowing on the rain. The bubbles fell straight to the ground and made the ground slick. The rock wall was closed and all of the kids were crammed in the craft room. It stunk and there were no seats.
We get a call from my husband who has been let out of the bible place and walk back to the wax museum. It was only about 50 steps, so no biggie. To my amazement, the wax people are all in sequins too! Jesus is a blonde, did you know that? I have to admit, the wax scenes look good on camera, but in person, they were insulting. Jesus in sequins, Mary, Mary-Magdeline, Joseph, everyone in sequins!!!Where was the poverty? The exit dumped us into a gift shop. More White 6 foot thrones!!! More TBN stuff, where was God?!!! My husband actually stopped for a few minutes to take some pics of the model of Jerusalem, which is what this place was supposed to look like. It was probably the only redeeming thing here. I finally asked my mother if she was done and she apologized profusely for having us pay to come in to this disgusting place. She was almost in tears for making us spend our money for this. It was a glorified Roman town with all of its oppulance and greed and she felt so horrible for making us go. I felt so bad for her. Please remember that I had reserved my opinion until it was all over. I even told the kids not to comment on how bad it was. She was heartbroken. She wanted to get souvenirs for the first graders in her Sunday School class and couldn't even find anything to take them without TBN on it.
Please, this place is sacreligious. Please don't feed this monster!
Please PLEASE give your money to a real charity or take your family to some place fun. I recommend Cirque Du Soleil highly. We are not just disgruntled cuetomers, this place will make you cry and not in a good way.
During the week, we had passed the HLE several times while commuting around Orlando. Each time, I noticed several things that just didn't make sense. First, why was it on an interstate off-ramp? That didn't exactly make me think of the Garden of Eden. Then I noticed all of the gold, Jesus was humble, why was this flashy? Then I noticed the Roman Colosseum. Roman Colosseum? huh? Holy Land? Jerusalem didnt have a COLOSSEUM!!!!
So as the week went on, I started to tell my mother about the inconsistencies that I was noticing, but she simply said that if I didn't want to go, she would go after we headed back to Kentucky. So I had no choice than to pay $170 to take my family, 3 adults and 2 kids to HLE.
When we arrived, we thought the Noah's ark animals were cute. My daughter climbed on a lion and posed for a pic. Then we went to the ticket booth and it was closed. So we thought, it's midweek, maybe they are slow. Then as we passed one of MANY butterfly benches, we stood in a line that looked like the office. We waited in line for 30 minutes and when we got to the counter the cashier pulled out an old slide-type credit card machine. You know, the one with a carbon copy? During the wait, we made ourselves comfortable in the 6 foot tall white thrones in the office. Where did they fit in?
So we walk out the back door and into the "market." There was no one in it. Not pretending to sell anything or directing newcomers. The market was only one outdoor "room" with one cart and a few shelves. We walk past the cart into a walkway with a few cutouts, but no employees. We walk about 20 feet down a path and this woman starts calling for us from about 25 feet away. She is dressed in a sequined shepherdess outfit and tells us we need to hurry to get to the show. So she gives us very vague directions and we head off. We pass a large rock and we can see that there is a mock Jesus tomb. We duck in and notice that the tomb has a little room with a bench that might fit a four foot person. But to get to the bench, you pass a door with a nice big brass lock, IN THE TOMB!! So we follow the ladies instructions down a path and pass a door to the wax museum, we run past some stone chaise lounges through a gawdy, Romanesque temple and catch a glimpse of some people walking though large white and gold doors. The rug runner says TBN, The Holy Land Experience, Trinity Broadcasting Network. You can barely make out "The Holy Land Experience", but TBN and Trinity Broadcasting Network are as clear as day. We are ushered in to a seat and were lucky to be sat in the handicap seats on the first row (we are not disabled.)
The "Passion" show starts and I am pleasantly surprised. Even though I am sitting in a theater with huge gold medallions and flashy lights, a panoramic view of a village around the ceilings with Christmas lights shining from it and a ridiculous announcer leading into the show, I am open-minded. Keep in mind that I have been in the park for less than 5 minutes.
The show opens with a market scene and is pretty cool. The actors come into all aisles of the audience selling their wares. They were so distracting that I almost missed Joseph flirting with Mary and heading out for his bachelor party! It was difficult to notice anything for all of the sequins. Mary in bright blue sequins and everyone else in the market must have struck it rich for all of the glimmering.
Then it just goes downhill from there. The angel appeared to Mary and she disappears, then Jesus is a full grown man. He is healing people like a tent revival. When Jesus is bawling like a baby and groping Mary-Magdeline, I started to walk out, then I remembered my mother who drove 18 hours to see this. I looked over at her and she had a blank look on her face. I couldn't tell in the flashing lights if she was enjoying it, so I stayed seated. I can't really tell you how the play ended as my husband, mother and I are still trying to decipher it. Jesus was crucified, then a dozen angels, Al Capone, Hitler and King Tut all came on the stage. YES!!!I am NOT MAKING THIS UP!!!! Then Jesus comes out in a bloody white gown and dance fights with Satan. Is this the resurrection or Revelations? You tell me... During the show we all look up at the observation deck and see the Tammy Faye wanna be and her body guard. She was wearing a gold outfit and we put 2 and 2 together and figured out that it was Miss TBN herself!
When we got out I asked my mother what she thought and she said,"It was something." My daughter said that if you didn't know what really happenedin the bible, that you wouldn't have understood any of the show.Then we passed the statues of Roman soldiers...wait are we in Rome? And we stumbled across another building with closed doors and we all thought it was another show. So my mom decided to go in and sit because she has bad knees. The lady at the door heard our conversation and told her the next show started in 7 minutes. So we left my mom so we could explore. We went around the corner and hit a dead end, that was the end of the park!We had hit the back wall already! So we turned around and waited for the show with my mother. When the doors opened we were ushered in and told to sit on the walls. When the announcer said it was going to be a 55 minute computer driven tour I gasped. Every 7 minutes we were let into another room. The dialogue was slow over the intercom and there was nothing to read as we all struggled to look at ancient bibles. After a few rooms, the kids all walked to the next exit and sat on the floor. There was no place to sit so my mother never got the rest that she was looking for. About five rooms in, I was fed up with being held prisoner and I took the kids out of the Scriptorium. we passed through several more rooms and there was a crowd trapped in each one. No wonder the streets were empty, they herded people into these "attractions."
We went to the scack bar to get a pretzel and they didn't have any. We went to the next snack bar and we saw 3 cinnamon pretzels hanging in the machine. I asked if they had any normal ones and she said no, then I said we would take the 3 she had. Two of those were hard and she wouldn't sell them so we took the one she had left. Meanwhile, we hear another snackbar calling for more pretzels on her walkie talkie. I take a bite of the one we got and it was inedible. Again, making the most of it, I didn't complain. Did I mention it was raining all day?
So I attempt to entertain my kids by exploring. we walk around the large stone in front of the snack stand where the tomb is and we are back at the entrance. That's it! The whole park! We looked in the kiddie land where there were misters and bubbles blowing on the rain. The bubbles fell straight to the ground and made the ground slick. The rock wall was closed and all of the kids were crammed in the craft room. It stunk and there were no seats.
We get a call from my husband who has been let out of the bible place and walk back to the wax museum. It was only about 50 steps, so no biggie. To my amazement, the wax people are all in sequins too! Jesus is a blonde, did you know that? I have to admit, the wax scenes look good on camera, but in person, they were insulting. Jesus in sequins, Mary, Mary-Magdeline, Joseph, everyone in sequins!!!Where was the poverty? The exit dumped us into a gift shop. More White 6 foot thrones!!! More TBN stuff, where was God?!!! My husband actually stopped for a few minutes to take some pics of the model of Jerusalem, which is what this place was supposed to look like. It was probably the only redeeming thing here. I finally asked my mother if she was done and she apologized profusely for having us pay to come in to this disgusting place. She was almost in tears for making us spend our money for this. It was a glorified Roman town with all of its oppulance and greed and she felt so horrible for making us go. I felt so bad for her. Please remember that I had reserved my opinion until it was all over. I even told the kids not to comment on how bad it was. She was heartbroken. She wanted to get souvenirs for the first graders in her Sunday School class and couldn't even find anything to take them without TBN on it.
Please, this place is sacreligious. Please don't feed this monster!
Please PLEASE give your money to a real charity or take your family to some place fun. I recommend Cirque Du Soleil highly. We are not just disgruntled cuetomers, this place will make you cry and not in a good way.
Written June 10, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jimmy L
Memphis, Tennessee, United States48 contributions
May 2012 • Family
I wish there was some rating LOWER than one dot. I provided the feedback below directly to the Holyland Experience people after our visit. They did not reply at all, so I interpret "no answer" as a pretty loud statement about what they believe.
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My family and I visited your park last week and were incredibly disappointed. So disappointed, in fact, that I felt compelled to provide this candid feedback.
We visited your park in 2003 for the first time and LOVED it. It was an uplifting experience and we could tell the staff viewed their jobs as a ministry. We told everyone who was going to Orlando to make sure and include you on their itinerary.
We visited again in 2007 and brought much of our extended family with us. We loved it again, and they did too. We enjoyed the presentations, the exhibits and again found the staff to be helpful and happy to be there. We again told all our friends to go see your park.
So, as you may imagine, a day at The Holyland Experience was a planned highlight of our week (May 19-26, 2012) while we were in the Orlando area.
Upon arriving, we immediately noticed many changes before we ever got inside. The huge TBN lion/horse logo at the front gate, as well as all the animal figures. Hmm, we thought, maybe these are to emphasize a new Noah exhibit. When we had visited IN THE PAST, there were always many, many staff in period costume near the front entrance, both inside and outside. They welcomed visitors, posed for photos, informed you of attractions and shows, as well as providing atmosphere. For this visit, we were greeted by ... no one. Over-sized freaky statues of Roman soldiers, or disturbing cardboard cutouts where PEOPLE should have been. Are these cardboard figures reflective of the park's ministry now? Looks good from a distance, but fake, shallow, and without substance?!
We remembered the Old City area near the front gate as quaint and realistic. On this visit, we found a strange mix of modern furniture, junk for sale, and just plain clutter. What's with all the angel statues?
As we moved further into the park, we were there just in time for the Last Supper service. Based on past experience, we expected this to be a presentation or reenactment of the Last Supper where we might get a deeper understanding of the significance or thoughts of the disciples present. Imagine our surprise when we were thrust into a communion service. My 12-year-old turned to me about half way through and said, "Dad, this is creepy, I want to leave."
We then went through the kids' area, where you can apparently have a photo op with Jesus walking on water. What exactly are kids supposed to learn in this area? Other than cooling off in the whale's mouth, we didn't see a real ministry impact here. Frankly, the last two times we came, we had a 5-year-old and a 7-year-old who both LOVED the park the way it was. They didn't get upset because their wasn't a playground, because they enjoyed the Jerusalem model and the Bible museum... just like the adults. The staff made it interesting for everyone.
Finally, we wanted to see a show which was located in the Church of All Nations building. We initially had a little trouble finding our way through the maze because there wasn't an employee anywhere in sight... anywhere to direct us. We finally went into one of the shops to ask. As we arrived, we noticed everything was painted white and gold, with gilded mirrors covering nearly every surface and fake grass! Now, I will admit that we come from a pretty conservative religious tradition. But don't you think floor to ceiling mirrored walls and gigantic thrones everywhere is just a little over the top?! In what religious tradition is this normal? I can imagine a Pharisee adding these improvements to your park and proclaiming to the world... "Look at how rich, wonderful, and glorious WE are. We wish to look upon OURSELVES in this vast hall of mirrors and bask in our self-created radiance!"
Your old park was simple, elegant and effective. You walked through the alleys and imagined the humble life Jesus lived in similar streets. You could talk with theology professors (who seem strangely absent now, along with all the other live staff) and have discussions over a cool soda.
To shorten this review, we watched about 10 minutes of the show before we got up, made our way quickly to Guest Services, and requested our money back. When the man in the office asked why we were disappointed, I replied with the first impression that came to mind, but unfortunately still applies... "The new park looks like how Las Vegas would build a Biblical themed casino. It is cheesy, disgusting, and disappointing." Fortunately, we had only been there 20 minutes and were able to get our money back.
Based on my two previous visits to your park, prior to significant TBN influence I assume, I must conclude that most of the changes are designed to attract and appeal to TBN viewers. Unfortunately, I find the changes to be gaudy, shallow and completely without any redeeming value. My wife and I actually left the park feeling hurt and utterly deflated because of the changes. We will not be back and will warn others accordingly.
-----
My family and I visited your park last week and were incredibly disappointed. So disappointed, in fact, that I felt compelled to provide this candid feedback.
We visited your park in 2003 for the first time and LOVED it. It was an uplifting experience and we could tell the staff viewed their jobs as a ministry. We told everyone who was going to Orlando to make sure and include you on their itinerary.
We visited again in 2007 and brought much of our extended family with us. We loved it again, and they did too. We enjoyed the presentations, the exhibits and again found the staff to be helpful and happy to be there. We again told all our friends to go see your park.
So, as you may imagine, a day at The Holyland Experience was a planned highlight of our week (May 19-26, 2012) while we were in the Orlando area.
Upon arriving, we immediately noticed many changes before we ever got inside. The huge TBN lion/horse logo at the front gate, as well as all the animal figures. Hmm, we thought, maybe these are to emphasize a new Noah exhibit. When we had visited IN THE PAST, there were always many, many staff in period costume near the front entrance, both inside and outside. They welcomed visitors, posed for photos, informed you of attractions and shows, as well as providing atmosphere. For this visit, we were greeted by ... no one. Over-sized freaky statues of Roman soldiers, or disturbing cardboard cutouts where PEOPLE should have been. Are these cardboard figures reflective of the park's ministry now? Looks good from a distance, but fake, shallow, and without substance?!
We remembered the Old City area near the front gate as quaint and realistic. On this visit, we found a strange mix of modern furniture, junk for sale, and just plain clutter. What's with all the angel statues?
As we moved further into the park, we were there just in time for the Last Supper service. Based on past experience, we expected this to be a presentation or reenactment of the Last Supper where we might get a deeper understanding of the significance or thoughts of the disciples present. Imagine our surprise when we were thrust into a communion service. My 12-year-old turned to me about half way through and said, "Dad, this is creepy, I want to leave."
We then went through the kids' area, where you can apparently have a photo op with Jesus walking on water. What exactly are kids supposed to learn in this area? Other than cooling off in the whale's mouth, we didn't see a real ministry impact here. Frankly, the last two times we came, we had a 5-year-old and a 7-year-old who both LOVED the park the way it was. They didn't get upset because their wasn't a playground, because they enjoyed the Jerusalem model and the Bible museum... just like the adults. The staff made it interesting for everyone.
Finally, we wanted to see a show which was located in the Church of All Nations building. We initially had a little trouble finding our way through the maze because there wasn't an employee anywhere in sight... anywhere to direct us. We finally went into one of the shops to ask. As we arrived, we noticed everything was painted white and gold, with gilded mirrors covering nearly every surface and fake grass! Now, I will admit that we come from a pretty conservative religious tradition. But don't you think floor to ceiling mirrored walls and gigantic thrones everywhere is just a little over the top?! In what religious tradition is this normal? I can imagine a Pharisee adding these improvements to your park and proclaiming to the world... "Look at how rich, wonderful, and glorious WE are. We wish to look upon OURSELVES in this vast hall of mirrors and bask in our self-created radiance!"
Your old park was simple, elegant and effective. You walked through the alleys and imagined the humble life Jesus lived in similar streets. You could talk with theology professors (who seem strangely absent now, along with all the other live staff) and have discussions over a cool soda.
To shorten this review, we watched about 10 minutes of the show before we got up, made our way quickly to Guest Services, and requested our money back. When the man in the office asked why we were disappointed, I replied with the first impression that came to mind, but unfortunately still applies... "The new park looks like how Las Vegas would build a Biblical themed casino. It is cheesy, disgusting, and disappointing." Fortunately, we had only been there 20 minutes and were able to get our money back.
Based on my two previous visits to your park, prior to significant TBN influence I assume, I must conclude that most of the changes are designed to attract and appeal to TBN viewers. Unfortunately, I find the changes to be gaudy, shallow and completely without any redeeming value. My wife and I actually left the park feeling hurt and utterly deflated because of the changes. We will not be back and will warn others accordingly.
Written May 31, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
When will it reopen
Christari
Celebration, FL6 contributions
This is something I've been watching carefully because we love Holy Land. TBN recently sold half of the Holy Land property to Advent Health. The area the company retained (to my understanding) includes the Scriptorium, but not all of the structures of the original Holy Land. There has been talk of a reopening of the Scriptorium with a few other attractions, but they have not released an opening date at this time. They closed at the beginning of the Covid pandemic, opened for 2 days to meet tax requirements without any of the live shows, then have closed since. The people I've spoken to assured me that the intention is to reopen "part" of the park with the Scriptorium, but at this time there is no date or details as to what else will be included when they do
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Adventurer229699
Okeechobee, FL
Is there free parking?
Adventurer229699
Okeechobee, FL
What is the fee for admission?
Do you have discounts for seniors
Susan P
Vero Beach, FL90 contributions
No. Everyone pays $50 to get in.
Is parking free still?
CityMan123
Chesapeake, VA41 contributions
I was there in May of 2019 and it was free...
Do they sell beer
Suze B
Ocala, FL1 contribution
No, I don't believe this is a venue for any kind of alchohol.
Are there any air condition building? What about people who have disabilities what accommodations are available?
Theresa123
Indiana33 contributions
The buildings are air conditioned. I have a scooter and I got around extremely easily. With a scooter or wheelchair, there is special seating and the staff is very accommodating. Much easier to get around here than at Disney!
Can you bring your video camera
Connie H
Nashville, TN36 contributions
Yes, but no video, except outside performances.
can you bring a video camera
Suze B
Ocala, FL1 contribution
Yes, I noticed that many people used them. In fact, I was very annoyed by someone who was holding their camera up and it was impeding my view.so yes,you may bring a video camera, but try to be thoughtful to others.
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