Orlando in November 2007, Any Tips or advice??

Jezzer07 · 26 July 2007 at 9:11PM

Going to Orlando on Nov 26 with my girlfirend for 3 weeks just wondering if you guys had any advice or tips to save me a bit of money or that might help me while im out there?? Hoping to save about 3 grand from now to then so i have got my work cut out.

Cheers

J

jonesMUFCforever · 26 July 2007 at 10:56PM

Most obvious is to have a good time!

Don't take too much clothes with you as the shopping malls and favourable exchange rates means lots of bargains.
A lot of people book theme park tickets in advance - personally at the moment I would book through your hotel when you get there or even on the gate. I don't think that all UK sellers have passed on the weakness of the dollar to their customers (mentioning no names Mr Prowse) and there are a few tales of people having problems with non UK sites on these boards.

When you get there the place is full of flyers and free magazines offering 10% off this and that and 2-1 tickets - you could spend all day going through them all!

If you get the chance (checkout the NASA site) it is well worth going to see a Shuttle take off if you can ( you don't have to go to Kennedy space centre for this) -it is awsome. Something I will never forget even from 8 miles away at Veterans cove outside Tutsville (spelling!).

Have a great time - just remember to pace yourself - have a chill out day by the pool every 2 to 3 days to avoid burnout.

Jezzer07 · 27 July 2007 at 8:58AM

:beer: Yeah having a good time was def first on the agenda.

Yeah i was wondering about the limits and stuff like that i pretty sure im aloud 2 bits of luggage each weighing up to 20kg so i was planning to do most of my xmas shopping out there.

In regard to the park tickets my gf dad has been out to orlando 11 times and he says that it is by far cheaper to pay for the park tickets while you are out there.

One of the things that i am most looking forward to this is oing to the space centre as there is a rocket being launched while we are out there and its target date is my birthday :j .

What about money : travelers cheques, Cash or cards????

Cheers

alyth · 27 July 2007 at 9:39AM

I went there 7 years ago for a month, but I only spent 5 days in Orlando as I hated the place! One thing i do remember though, if you go to Seaworld and buy your ticket there, you can return for free within a couple of days. I took travellers cheques and didn't have any problem cashing them. We bought so many clothes we had to buy 4 extra cases to bring everything back, but that was before baggage allowances were so strict! There was a good Ralph Lauren outlet place I think on International Drive. I'm assuming you're hiring a car, for a bit of relaxation drive out to Blue Springs which is north of Orlando and see the manatees there.

I guess it depends on what you like, I hate shopping and theme parks so it was absolutely wasted on me! The Space Centre should be fantastic though, I wanted to see that but didn't have time as I was research work whilst I was there.

Crossy · 27 July 2007 at 11:32AM

Orlando is great, but plenty of other places to visit if you have a car:

Blue Springs State Park (just outside Daytona)
Cheap to visit, great snorkelling and wonderful views

If you like the great outdoors, have a look at this link www.floridastateparks.org/

There are some wonderful places to visit to see the real Florida

If you have time visit the West coast and go further down to Sanilbel or Fort Myers (aptly named the tahiti of Florida)

Have a great time, we are going the last week in November (courtesy of Virgin's sale) but are heading for the Keys.

DM2007 · 27 July 2007 at 12:00PM

book your flights last minute.

went last septmeber.

flights cost £135 quid each with air atlantic.

book hotel early. try and book it through an american agent - normally cheaper.

Jezzer07 · 27 July 2007 at 2:00PM

Im travelling with Vrigin and there is a free car included but you have to be 21 to drive a hire car in america which is a load of crap considering i would have been driving for 3 years by then anyway. :mad:. So it looks like it is just Taxis and Shuttles, hopefully these won't be 2 expensive.

Another thing i will ask is how strict are they on the drinking laws out there i will be turning 20 when im there i don't want to go out and get drunk everyday but the :beer: odd beer or bottle of wine wouldn't go a miss, i thought about taking my bro's ID as he is 25 and we look a like. ???????

alyth · 27 July 2007 at 2:23PM

Given the current security situation, I'd think it very unwise to take your brother's ID - if your ID doesn't match your passport then you could have a trip to the departure lounge quite quickly! I also think they're extremely strict on the drinking laws, I was frequently asked for ID to buy cigarettes and I was 30 - I was extremely flattered, but still asked numerous times.

Are you staying in a Disney resort hotel? I know I recently booked someone to a conference in Florida and she didn't have transport, and the taxis were fairly hefty each day, but hopefully someone can correct me on this. If you wanted to get outside of Orlando and see outside of Disney and the rest of the parks, perhaps you could hire a driver/taxi for the day - it would perhaps work out cheaper than numerous taxi journeys. Have a great time, keep saving!

vivatifosi · 28 July 2007 at 10:32AM

Jezzer, you are unlikely to be able to get a drink. I was asked for ID right up until I was 35 and they are really strict on it. You may also find that some nightclubs only admit people 21 and over (I know Mannequins on Pleasure Island used to do this, not sure what their current policy is). Taxis are hefty, but there are limited bus services in Orlando. If you can't drive, staying in Disneyworld means that you have a free bus service around Disneyworld, but it is expensive to leave and go elsewhere. There are shops and offsite restaurants at the end of Hotel Plaza Blvd, so if I didn't have a car I would get to the Disney Marketplace by bus and walk down Hotel Plaza Blvd to the local shops and restaurants (some are at Crossroads, directly across the traffic lights, alternatively take a left and there's another block with stores etc. Premium Outlet Mall is the nearest big shopping centre to Disney, but I wouldn't want to walk it.

Probably the best place to stay without a car is International Drive (aka I Drive) as there is a trolley bus service that you can use to get up and down this. Seaworld and Universal Studios/Island of Adventures are easy to access from here. Also make sure that your hotel offers a shuttle bus service to Disney (you may have to pay for this).

Also make sure that Virgin know that you aren't going to take the car option as it will cost you about $75 one way by taxi or $16-43 each return by Mears shuttle. If you aren't using their car, they need to arrange transfers for you.

If you want to go to Busch Gardens, Mears offers a shuttle for $10, see:
http://www.mearstransportation.com/AttractionTrans.htm. Mears is a huge transportation company that have the 'moving people around' in Orlando business pretty much sewn up. I think $10 is cheap, but that doesn't include admission. Also find out from Virgin what packages they do to Cape Canaveral etc.

If there's a shuttle or rocket launch when you are over and you can't get to the Cape, don't despair. You can actually see a lot of the shuttle launches (clouds and weather permitting) from Orlando, just look due east at the time of take off. It actually takes a minute or so after take-off before you can see it. I saw a shuttle launch from there, and although it isn't as spectacular as at the coast, and you don't hear anything, you could still see the solid booster rocket separation, etc.

Orlando in November 2007, Any Tips or advice??

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