Orlando/Disneyworld Thread (Part 3)

2boysmum

Mr_Lahey wrote: »

Are you having a laugh?

No mention of the best beaches which all happen to be on the Gulf coast. What about Clearwater? St Petes? In fact all the beaches around Tampa bay!

FH, no doubt you know your stuff about insurance, but your knowledge about all things Florida is in my opinion very limited.

*Edit* The Travel Channel names Clearwater Beach as the second best beach in the whole of Florida - http://www.travelchannel.com/Places_Trips/Travel_Ideas/Beaches/Beach_Guide/Slideshow_Top_10_Florida_Beaches?slidevalue=2

- Not a single beach recommended by FH is in the top ten.

Have to agree about the Gulf Coast beaches, we much prefer Clearwater to Cocoa Beach and try to stay at least one night of our trip just to chill out. If you are planning on travelling to Kennedy then it's maybe worth a stop but I wouldn't go out of my way to visit any of the beaches on the Atlantic side.

joewa

4th try


Hi there

We are trying to decide what the best tickets to buy are? We are going to Disney 6 nights, then a villa the next 6? Looking foir the best deal for 6 day disney tickets

brenmcc1

mintster wrote: »

Ideally we would like a villa and my partner wants to fly with Virgin. The cheapest we have been quoted so far is just over £3000. If I am honest I am not really fussed who we fly with but if we can get Virgin it would get lots of brownie points!!!! We definately want a villa (or similar) as we want to be able to cook ourselves and we also want to have a different room for our son to sleep in.

Out of interest.....why?

Quentin

Mr_Lahey wrote: »

FH, no doubt you know your stuff about insurance, but your knowledge about all things Florida is in my opinion very limited.

There is some doubt about FHBrit's insurance knowledge!

He comes at it from experiences he has gained in his job as a debt collector in Florida, and it seems based only on how quickly the bills for medical treatment get paid.

You will see he often posts his opinions on all manner of insurance queries in an authoritative manner, and when corrected either takes umbrage, or protests that he merely posts what he "thinks" as opposed to what he knows!

johnnyroper

mintster wrote: »

I always promise myself I would never post a "can anyone help me find the cheapest deal" but...........

I am looking to go to Orlando with my partner and little boy (he will be 7) in October 2011. We are trying to tie it in with half term so there is less time off school so departure needs to be around 15th October 2011.

Ideally we would like a villa and my partner wants to fly with Virgin. The cheapest we have been quoted so far is just over £3000. If I am honest I am not really fussed who we fly with but if we can get Virgin it would get lots of brownie points!!!! We definately want a villa (or similar) as we want to be able to cook ourselves and we also want to have a different room for our son to sleep in.

Would we be better off waiting for the flights to be released so we can book it all separately or is there any chance we could find a decent package for around the £2000 mark? Am I living in dreamland?

Also - having read the last few pages of comments about brits abroad, go to Corfu when the Italians invade - some of the rudest, obnoxious, untrustworthy (this is from the bar and shop owners!) people you will ever come across!!!!!

i went in march with virgin flying out of gatwick stopped on i-drive total cost was £2500ish i think for 2 adults and a 2 year old for 14 nights.
i have now booked for september next year stopping in a villa for 14 nights for £600 the villa sleeps 4-6 people.
been looking at flights and so far prices are around £1200-1600 for orlando depending on airline thomas cook,thomson,virgin and ba all checked.
although tampa looks like it might come out cheaper with BA than going to orlando.
in the past i have been impressed by the virgin atlantic service but in march it seemed to have gone downhill slightly especially on the man/lgw based fleet and i have it on good authority the BA 777 service out of LGW is a better all round product.
i booked villa through these
http://www.ownersdirect.co.uk/USA-Florida-Orlando-Kissimmee-2bed.htm

another thing to remember is half term week comes at a cost but from what i have seen the villas booked direct seem to vary less in price over school holidays than tour operators.

atro1

Cannot really say i go to Florida for the beaches, as I live near two of the best on the south coast and take them for granted.
The perfect day and evening is a few drinks around [and in the pool] a massive steak on the Barbie and a massive fruit cigar in my mouth. Sadly I am not allowed to do this every day have to go to the parks and shopping and eating out!!
On that subject I cannot understand any restaurant list without 'Manny's Chop House. Surprise surprise its usually full of Yanks! Or the buffets without the Golden Coral. Copious amounts of food and good fruit for brekkie too!:j

Mr_Lahey

atro1 wrote: »

Cannot really say i go to Florida for the beaches, as I live near two of the best on the south coast and take them for granted.
The perfect day and evening is a few drinks around [and in the pool] a massive steak on the Barbie and a massive fruit cigar in my mouth. Sadly I am not allowed to do this every day have to go to the parks and shopping and eating out!!
On that subject I cannot understand any restaurant list without 'Manny's Chop House. Surprise surprise its usually full of Yanks! Or the buffets without the Golden Coral. Copious amounts of food and good fruit for brekkie too!:j

I have to say my favourite in Orlando/Kissimmee has to be Logans

mintster

brenmcc1 wrote: »

Out of interest.....why?

Brownie points for getting Virgin flights as opposed to a charter flight within a cheap budget!

Mr_Lahey

mintster wrote: »

Brownie points for getting Virgin flights as opposed to a charter flight within a cheap budget!

At the end of the day its 9 hrs to Orlando - That is not a long time. People who pay more for economy on different airlines for a 9hr flight are wasting their cash.

stmidwife

Thanks for the advice so far.

Initially I had said no to Disney hotels because they are expensive but for next Sept with Walt Disney direct I can get Port Orleans for all 4 of us inc dining plan and ultimate tickets for £4558. My alterative is this DoubleTree resort (here) which I have found via Firstchoice for £2555, so factoring in tickets and food I thought it would work out about the same as the disney??? Really don't know which is the best option!

It is also unlikey that we will go back to Orlando as this is a once in a lifetime opportunity so I want to cover as much as possible so with the ages of my children which parks are the ones to look at. Really want to go to Animal Kingdom and a waterpark of some sort!

TIA