Orlando/Disneyworld Thread (Part 3)

giovanni

king_dogleash wrote: »

So my questions are:

what is the best time of year to go to Orlando? we would prefer sunny warm days.

other than Disney, what parks will cater for the kids, and the adults? ie rides that both can enjoy

what age/height restrictions are on the famous rides?

what beaches are recommended?

should we get two cars or one people carrier?

have you an idea of flight prices?

is is better to get a ticket for all parks or pay on the day?

is parking free at the parks?

what other attractions are there, maybe lesser known but worth a visit?

Thanks in advance, you can PM me if you prefer.

Ricky

1. July and August are very, very hot but it is hot pretty much all year round.
2. Universal studios has some good rides - simpsons, spiderman, jaws for kids but it depends how much action your kids are willing to take.
3. Famous rides usually are between 40-48inches
4. Clearwater is apparently very good
5. Sorry, don't know what cars is best
6. Flights are about £500 each when i check at Virgin - or you can try opodo.co.uk
7. buy the tickets beforehand they work out much cheaper
8. parking is free if you stay at an on-site hotel, otherwise i think its about $14
9. Seaworld, the disney waterparks, discovery cove, busch gardens (possibly)

dealchaser

king_dogleash wrote: »

Hi all

Would any kind soul be prepared to help with some questions I have? There is a lot of info contained in this thread, but would probally take me a month to find the bits I need!

We are two couples with two kids each, oldest is 9, youngest is 6, 3 girls one boy, adults who like like to relax as much as running round after the kids keeping them happy.

So my questions are:

what is the best time of year to go to Orlando? we would prefer sunny warm days. I would say either May or October.

other than Disney, what parks will cater for the kids, and the adults? ie rides that both can enjoy Universal has 2 parks. There is also Busch Gardens and Seaworld.

what age/height restrictions are on the famous rides? 54" to get on all the rides but some of the less hair raising rides are 48" or less. My son went on Tower of Terror when he was 4.

what beaches are recommended? Personally I love disneys blizzard beach and typhoon lagoon. I have not been to Aquatica yet. For me they are as good as going to a real beach so I have never ventured to one.

should we get two cars or one people carrier? I would say 100% get 2 cars. We have tried it both ways when we have gone away with other couple and the 2 car option was definately best. If we wanted to do different things it was much easier. When we had a people carrier between us a bit of compromising had to be done.

have you an idea of flight prices?

is is better to get a ticket for all parks or pay on the day? Get a Flexi ticket which will cover universal, sea world and busch gardens and a multi day/multi park ticket for disney.

is parking free at the parks? No, it is charged per day. Its a couple of years since I have been so maybe someone else can let you know the cost.

what other attractions are there, maybe lesser known but worth a visit?

vivatifosi

blue_monkey wrote: »

KarenG if you are around, you asked what room we got. We got a 1 bed Savannah View in Kidani Village. Just what we wanted!!

I called OKW today and ask if I could have a room preference noted - they said I had called a little early and to call back 10 days before we go.

LOL.

??? I'm a member at OKW and they sort out my preferences 11 months out. They can inflexible at times though, I want to shake them. Glad you're happy with Kidani Village. I think the family will love it. I haven't stayed over there since the extension was built, but it was a beautiful resort.

kerrymay

Hi everyone,

We are off to Florida in three weeks, staying at Toluna Resort, Kissimmee. We have car hire sorted out through our package but was just wondering about car seats. We have 3 children - 3, 7 and 11. The 3 year old obviously needs a car seat. We were thinking of taking one with us but have never done this before. Sounds silly but do you just hand it in along with your suitcases with a label attached? Also, will my 7 yr old and 11 yr old need one out there? Want to get away with not hiring them if at all possible so could put boosters in our luggage perhaps?

I also have a query about money out there. We were thinking of taking a couple of hundred dollars in cash and then paying with our credit card for everything else. Is that advisable and/or feasible?

Also (!), can anyone recommend anywhere to eat in or around Kissimmee? We have been before but it was a while ago and we found a couple of the eating places to be a bit 'rough' and not very nice tbh - ended up in TGI Fridays or Mcdonalds most of the time!! We won't eat out every day as we have a villa and are happy to eat there but we do like a few meals out - any ideas appreciated.

Thanks so much for any help - my head is spinning with everything we've still got to do - haven't even sorted out Disney tickets yet!

TIA xx

Trevv

Hi, we are staying at the Floridays resort at the end of February, just wondering if anyone else has stayed there recently and if they have any hints or tips? Also we are planning to use the i-ride trolley, good idea?...

blue_monkey_2

vivatifosi wrote: »

??? I'm a member at OKW and they sort out my preferences 11 months out. They can inflexible at times though, I want to shake them. Glad you're happy with Kidani Village. I think the family will love it. I haven't stayed over there since the extension was built, but it was a beautiful resort.

Hi Viv,

Nice to speak to you again. It's been a while - hope things are going well.

I remember you said you was in the DVC, they started banking with RCI last year.

With OKW we booked an paid for via the WDW website as the offer was amazing and not worth giving our 'week' up for. We decided we will go again next year and do Boardwalk Villas and Wilderness Lodge.

We only paid £994 for a 1 bed apartment in OKW and that includes the Full Dining Plan and Magical Express so we just booked on their site. BWV will never be that cheap so this is why we saved our 'week'. I remember that you said the BWV were hard to get but they are up for exchange on RCI at the moment for the summer.

We stayed one night at Jambo House and have longed to go back. It is a dream come true and we are so excited. Something good to look forward to later in the year. DS got his formal diagnosis of ADHD and Autism earlier this year. It's been a long road.

blue_monkey_2

Trevv wrote: »

Hi, we are staying at the Floridays resort at the end of February, just wondering if anyone else has stayed there recently and if they have any hints or tips? Also we are planning to use the i-ride trolley, good idea?...

The i-ride only goes so far, it depends on where you want to go. Check out the Lynx buses, you can get a weekly ticket for $12 and go all over Orlando on them. Kids under a certain age go free. http://www.golynx.com/?id=1156003 You buy 2 on the first day and when one expires you start using another. You can find all of the schedules and maps of where they go so you can be well prepared for the journey. They are pretty much empty as well so no fighting for a seat and going to 100 other hotels like on the shuttle buses.

Also checked - you can buy the tickets online too: https://www.golynx.com/?fuse=shop&app=store

FH_Brit

Casey1709 wrote: »

I think I have all my tickets booked now, doesn't look there will be a rocket launch at cape canavral but hey ho!

We're staying at Lake Buena Vista, what would you guys recommend as the best way from the airport, the hotel suggests a shuttle bus ($132 return for 4)?

Also, I've booked a day at discovery cove, would we best get a taxi there and back?

Thanks in advance.

Casey,

1. When you get here, watch Central Florida News 13 or get the Orlando Sentinel (Paper) they list/annonce next launches regularly. Although the Shuttle may not be going up from Kennedy Space Center, down the road is CApe Canaveral Air Force Base and they have regular launces for Military Communications & Spy stuff (you won't get too much info on the spy stuff).

2. Are you staying in Villa at L.B. Vista or hotel? You may find that if you want to get away from Disney you could spend as much on bus/taxis as renting a car! If you are self catering, a few shopping trips and other shopping at the Malls together with Discovery Cove and the airport transfers could be costly. Another alternative is arrange your travel away from LBV on certain day and rent a car from Enterprize, They'll come and get you from your "home" and take you back after you return the car.

lea007

kerrymay wrote: »

Hi everyone,

We are off to Florida in three weeks, staying at Toluna Resort, Kissimmee. We have car hire sorted out through our package but was just wondering about car seats. We have 3 children - 3, 7 and 11. The 3 year old obviously needs a car seat. We were thinking of taking one with us but have never done this before. Sounds silly but do you just hand it in along with your suitcases with a label attached? Also, will my 7 yr old and 11 yr old need one out there? Want to get away with not hiring them if at all possible so could put boosters in our luggage perhaps?

I also have a query about money out there. We were thinking of taking a couple of hundred dollars in cash and then paying with our credit card for everything else. Is that advisable and/or feasible?

Also (!), can anyone recommend anywhere to eat in or around Kissimmee? We have been before but it was a while ago and we found a couple of the eating places to be a bit 'rough' and not very nice tbh - ended up in TGI Fridays or Mcdonalds most of the time!! We won't eat out every day as we have a villa and are happy to eat there but we do like a few meals out - any ideas appreciated.

Thanks so much for any help - my head is spinning with everything we've still got to do - haven't even sorted out Disney tickets yet!

TIA xx

Hi Kerrymay

just to answer your questions regarding car seats we took ours with us. We have a 18 month and 4 year old at the time. We flew with virgin. We just took them straight out of the car and straight up to the desk, they then put a luggage label on it and we then had to take it to another desk which was nearby. They then put it in a sealable bag and that was the last we saw of it till we got to florida. (car seats arn't included in your luggage allowance so you dont have to take them into consideration. The only things that are free.)

Regarding your seven and 11 year old i would just take what they use now. I dont think the americans are as keen as us for children in booster seats as when we've been there we've seen loads of kids who arnt using booster seats. You could just go to wallmart once your there and pick two boosters up for next to nothing if you don't want to lug everything around. Failing that another option is if you tell the car hire place, they should provide them for you. I know alamo do who we hire car with at the airport.

Regarding eating - what about heading to downtown disney - there's loads of restaurants there to choose, so caters for everyone (new t rex retaurant is great for the kids). If you want some where cheap we ate at a place called wendys and that was ok. Nothing special but food was ok. They do free kids meals on certain days.

Just to let you know and to save a bit of cash you can now take food into the parks. Saved us about £50 a time easily. we just took a cool bag with our food in. (there was six of us). Prices have gone up this year in the parks for food. Average meal was about $10 a person. There is a website called wdw which is all about florida and disney that has loads of info on regarding restaurants etc etc. http://forums.wdwmagic.com/index.php

Hope this helps.

nettsey

Trevv wrote: »

Hi, we are staying at the Floridays resort at the end of February, just wondering if anyone else has stayed there recently and if they have any hints or tips? Also we are planning to use the i-ride trolley, good idea?...

We stayed at Floridays in October 08 and it was great. Lovely location and there is an i-ride stop right outside, handy if you want to go for a meal on International Drive and have a drink.

We found Floridays had everything we needed - full kitchen, washing machine/tumber dryer in room, two bathrooms (one en-suite), internet access, maid service daily, towels provided by the pool so no need to pack your own (saves on weight of luggage). A lovely touch is how they arrange your towels - we were so impressed we took photos (sad I know)

Just remember there is a service charge at the end of your stay.

Enjoy your stay - we did.