Great "Cheap Holidays & Excursions" Hunt: Orlando

ad_luton

We eventually got our tickets from Keith Prowse online but be careful about the dates you say you are going from. We had to chase them for tickets a week before we left and they were going to dispatch them on our departure date :mad:

moggie01

Don't get talked into upgrading your car hire at the airport - a "compact" was more than big enough for 2 grownups, 1 child and all our luggage. Photograph the fuel gauge on "full" with date/time option on the camera when you return car in case they try to rip you off for filling up (currently fighting this one out with Alamo).
If you're only doing one of the Universal parks ask for the one-day, one-park option - they don't advertise it.
Have fun!

RachyRoo

Hi Im going to Florida next year and want to know is it cheaper to buy tickets either single days or for all parks from the parks themselves or before we go?
Looking to go to Bush Gardens, Universal, Island of Adventure, Water Park, prob wet and Wild and Magic KIngdom,
Any1 Know of any deals let me know
x

disney_cjd

Hey, for some great advice there is a dedicated Orlando thread right here on MSE!! http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=592789

Thriftkitten

ad_luton wrote: »

Best Value tickets only available in the UK.

Disney 14 day Ultimate Ticket gives you 7 days (valid for 14) unlimited entry into Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot and Hollywood Studios.
PLUS 14 days unlimited entry into Downtown Disney (Disney Quest), Blizzard Beach & Typhoon Lagoon.

We spoke with some locals and Disney staff and they all are so jealous of the great value these tickets are and wish they were available in the USA.
we saved £400 by buying ahead - a keen money saver always loves the satisfaction of making a smart choice!!!

BE CAREFUL OF PARKING CHARGES! Disney/Universal/Seaworld etc all charge $12 dollars per car per day (more if you have those huge people carrier bus thingys) although you can park in more than one Disney car park per day and pay the one fee. Better options are to use courtesy buses for free!

Lockers at disney - hire one (around $5) and you get free lockers in any other parks you visit on same day eg Blizzard Beach daytime and then Magic Kingdom in evening for light show and fireworks - both excellent btw!

We planned what we wanted to see before we went and then searched the web for the most cost effective way to buy the tickets.

ORLANDO Flexticket - 14 days unlimited entry to Universal Studios / Seaworld / Aquatica / Island of Adventures plus a dinner & horse show Arabian Nights.

Wallmart rocks! Defo a must stop! Bulk buy 24 bottles of water for $2.96 cheaper than the $4 dollars per bottle in the parks. Fruit & Snacks and gifts are all hugely cheaper than in parks. All parks except Aquatica allow food & drink to be brought in. Acquatica offer a eat & drink deal all day for $20 per adult and $14 per child which if you eat lunch and again before you leave works out very nicely and you get a good choice of food.

Taxis are really good value if there are 4 of you rather than paying busses.
We save $30 dollars by getting a cab both ways to Arabian nights(beer included :beer:) rather than use a tour bus (4 x return fare)

HAPPY HOLIDAYS GUYS - wish i was still there!

Hi can you tell me how much you paid for this tickets each as I want 1 adul and 2 children for 14 days tah

Squish_21

If anyones after cheap flights try netflights.com. The cheapest ones arent direct but we managed to get flights for 6 people for Oct 09 for just over £1k.

cadmus

my tip that will save you guys alot of dollars ...... as you know florida is very very humid and when youve just had a drink your want another one soon after( water im on about ... not the hard stuff). with bottles of water selling at around $4 at the parks , we were spending best part of $50 a day on water .
we then noticed the large (750ml) souvenier mugs at kiosk dotted all around every park . they cost around $8-$10 but after that you can have unlimited ice cold water refills free all day long , or if you like fizzies there then only around 60cents for a refill or if you want a deliscious ice slushy there around $1.60.
so these mugs are great value. just take them with you the next time you go to that pareticular park again and drink your self silly and quench that thirst.
we had one disney mug that catered for all disney /waterparks . a universal/ islands of adventure mug and a sea world mug .
this worked great for us as we didnt want to get weighed down bringing bottles to the parks and they dont stay cold long as you can imagine .
an obvious tip too is dont take too much baggage to the parks as theres nothing worse than walking miles in the heat holding bags or a backpak. we just each had a large bumbag that took your essentials( tickets, glasses, money, spf, keys , souvenier mug and few other bits and bobs. you see people trudging around with heavy bags or cases on wheels and they look exhausted (lol). i know its common sence but it just makes life so much easier to have the bare essentials
ENJOY you florida lovers ..... wish i was going this year too !!!!!

bonner_villa

When pricing hire cars book a 2 door (always cheaper than a 4 door) as they don't have many (if any!) 2 door cars in America, so therefore you will be given a 4 door for the price of a 2 door.
Just a word of warning to anyone who finds a Villa for rent at a silly price, a lot of homes are or about to go into foreclosure and these owners will try to get any price to rent out their Villa's and you just might find by the time you get to your holiday home it no longer belongs to who you hired it off!
Also a large travel company in the USA called 'Welcome to America' went bust and never paid the owners for the hire of their Villa's. This happened at Easter and thousands of people arrived in Orlando to NO Villa's!
Just remember you get what you pay for!! (Yes, I am a Villa owner who does not sell myself or my Villa short):beer:

Florida_Fan

I have been to Florida 15 times... I don't claim to know everything, but I do know more than I did 15 visits ago!

RULE 1: When booking, do not be misled by fly-drive offers put out by the main tour operators in their bochures and websites (Thomas cook, Thomsons, Virgin Holidays). Very often they quote a car that is 3rd party only, and if you accept their "bargain" you will be clobbered for CDW (fully comp) and local taxes. Usually better to ignore their car and book independently (see below).

RULE 2: Do not let the staff at Alamo, Dollar, Hertz, Avis, Thrifty, Budget flog you anything - they are all on commission and some of them may deliberately mislead you. Read your voucher carefully - it will tell you whether you have sufficient insurance.

RULE 3: Don't fall for the "special price upgrade". It is almost always (if you use my recommended sources) cheaper to upgrade before you go - often only a few pounds a day for the next size.

RULE 4: Don't rent too small - their cars have tinier boots that ours, and no roof racks! Even an "Intermediate" (Mondeo equivalent) is a struggle with 4 passengers and 4 suitcases.

RULE 5: In the current economic climate, rent from someone reliable that you have actually heard of. I know you all like scouring the Internet for a bargain, but you want to make sure they are still going to be around in a few months time! Remember that car hire is not ATOL bonded...

So, where to find you car? I used to find holidayautos.co.uk a good source, but for the past few years I have been using their prices to haggle with a guy on the Co-op Florida Team. They are a bit slow and old-fashioned sometimes, but at least I know they have been going for decades and won't let me down. For all you points collectors, they have their own equivalent of the Tesco Clubcard (the older among you might remember the days of the Co-op divvi!) so you can get approx 1% cash back and use the card in the Co-operative food shops (and funerals!).

The last deal I got (which I think is still current) gave me a FREE upgrade to the next size up (I book a Compact and get an Intermediate) and a FREE second driver (normally a few quid a day extra). With most rental companies you have to pay for a tank of fuel and bring it back empty (difficult unless you push it the last mile!) but on this deal you don't pay, you just bring it back topped up, which is much easier!

The guy has a Co-op website (frankly, it is not much use!) instant-holidaysworldwide.co.uk but you would be better off emailing him to say what you want. It's [EMAIL="mike.stones@futuretravel.co.uk"]mike.stones@futuretravel.co.uk[/EMAIL] (don't forget to say you want to become a Co-op member...) By the way, I originally came across him a couple of years ago through the recommendation of another MSE'r in a forum here.

PS. I will be happy to give advice where I can - you might as well benefit from the stupid mistakes I have made renting villas and condos over the past two decades!

Florida_Fan

morph2008 wrote: »

book the flights as late as you can and check daily as the prices can change significantly and try to be flexible with the dates.

This sound advice about late booking only applies to charter flights to Sanford run by companies like Thomson, First Choice, Avro etc. For Virgin and BA, the opposite is true - they do not have "last minute" bargains - they ration how many flights they sell in each bracket (a bit like Easyjet & Ryanair) - the earlier you book, the less you pay.

Having been 15 times, can't say I am that keen on renting privately on eBay. With Florida villas being bank repossessed daily, I am not keen to give hundreds of pounds to a total stranger, who is not bonded, before I get on a plane to the other side of the Atlantic.

By all means get a price, but I always like to get a second opinion from a travel agent who is fully bonded. I have been through most of them, but at the moment I use the Co-op Florida Team. I don't suppose he will thank me for recommending him (I know what you lot are like for squeezing the last pip out of travel agents) but I have always found my man honest enough to know when to say "You've got a good price from them, leave me alone and go back and book it!"

His name is Mike, if anyone wants to pester him for free advice, it is [EMAIL="mike.stones@futuretravel.co.uk"]mike.stones@futuretravel.co.uk[/EMAIL] - don't mention MSE - he has rather gone off Martin since he published the advice about how to haggle the best deal on your holidays!