Orlando/Disneyworld Thread (Part 3)

blue_monkey_2

Bunny200 wrote: »

We can do 2 weeks in hotel + flights for around £2500 or we can do flights only for £8000+:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

.....unless I'm going about it all wrong!

When are you looking to fly? Thats a lot unless you are going at a very peak or last minute time.

We are going at Oct half term and a cheap hotel and flight would only be 2.5k with virgin.

Fly a few days either side of the Easter holiday but it will be very expensive (and busy!) at Easter.

johnnyroper

tinshed wrote: »

Whats the standard percentage to tip in resturants in Orlando?

Ive heard double the sales tax, then got told this only amounted to 12-13%. This was too little. Then heard that the standard is around 18% and rising if the service is excellent.

Plus if you go somewhere like the Golden Coral which is self-service you still tip, even if your only served a few drinks.

15-20% is the norm depending on type of place you are at.
At the self service buffet places I was leaving about 10% but that could have been wrong I just thought they have not done anything so not going to leave anymore.

Bunny200

blue_monkey wrote: »

When are you looking to fly? Thats a lot unless you are going at a very peak or last minute time.

We are going at Oct half term and a cheap hotel and flight would only be 2.5k with virgin.

Fly a few days either side of the Easter holiday but it will be very expensive (and busy!) at Easter.

We're thinking of going in the school hols at Easter.
Leaving 09/04/11 and coming back 23/04/11 which is Easter weekend. I might have to play around with the dates and see if theres a big difference to change to 10/12 days so that we come back before Easter weekend.
I'm only at the beginning of looking into the holidays so any tips or tricks to make it cheaper the better!

blue_monkey_2

Bunny200 wrote: »

We're thinking of going in the school hols at Easter.
Leaving 09/04/11 and coming back 23/04/11 which is Easter weekend. I might have to play around with the dates and see if theres a big difference to change to 10/12 days so that we come back before Easter weekend.
I'm only at the beginning of looking into the holidays so any tips or tricks to make it cheaper the better!

To be honest this will be the most expensive and busiest time of year - certainly more expensive than the summer.

As your kids are in primary, are they able to get 5-10 days off? I'd suggest flying on a Mon/Tues/Weds/Thurs and then returning during the Easter holiday but not near the end as people will go for 10 days so the price of the return flight will be high. They put supplements on Friday/Saturday and the price of flights will sometimes double.

As a rough guide of the cheapest times, go to the Virgin Atlantic website and look for flights, see what the prices are for flights. If there is a supplement on those flights the prices will be higher. You'll be able to see when the cheap days are as it says 'low' in a green box. The higher prices have a 'peak supplement' but you'll get the same supplement on your holiday package too. This is the best way to find out when the cheapest time to go is in my opinion.

As an example. We are going on the Sunday of October half term and flights have cost us around £2200 total for 2a 2ch but we are returning. Had we flown on the Friday or Saturday of half term the price of flights was double so we found we could fly on a Sunday for half the price of going on Thurs/Fri/Sat of that week and we get 20 days holiday instead of 21 which was no big deal tbh. I looked last night and the price of flights for flying on the Sunday was over £1000 pp in economy. Ouch.

It is also Spring Break so all of the kids are out of school at that time of year - it will be heaving - so a few weeks before might actually be more beneficial in regards to crowds too. http://www.thedibb.co.uk/when-to-visit-orlando-and-wdw.php This guide tells you the best time to go.

In all honesty I would recommend going early Feb and coming home in the middle of the half term holiday, it was really quiet when we went this time of year and there was little or no wait time for rides. We did Univeral and Islands of Adventure in 1 day and did not miss anything out. Seaworld was also very quiet this time of year. The parks get busy at the weekends still so maybe you could use Saturday and Sunday as a rest/shopping day and do the parks in the week. This is what we will do. HTH.

johnnyroper

Bunny200 wrote: »

We can do 2 weeks in hotel + flights for around £2500 or we can do flights only for £8000+:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

.....unless I'm going about it all wrong!

a quick search on virgin atlantic reveals not much availabilty,outbound put in for 7th april £689 coming back on 21st or even slightly before £1200 these are per person prices.

searching on skyscanner indirect gatwick to charlotte 2.5 hour lay over time and then 1h40m flight to MCO is £2202 for 2 adults and 2 children.

with it being easter then most holidays are fully booked/close to fully booked so prices are through the roof.
if i were you then i would be going indirect and poss looking for a villa to hire as i think it will work out the cheapest way to do it.

try posting your requirements on the travel agent thread and see if any of them can help you out.

blue_monkey_2

Easter is quite late next year, Good Friday is 22nd April. To fly on Thurs 14th April for 14 nights is £2400 for 4 passengers - any time around then is more or less the same price so you could get away for the Easter Break but bear in mind that it is the busiest time of year.

I went to the Virgin Holidays website and chose those days and Ramada maingate as it was coming up cheapest - it is £3653 for that break.

I checked the fly drive way I used to get 10% but it is not working and comes out at much more, huge supplements added so maybe it was a glitch when I got it as I got flights cheaper and I did post it on here so maybe someone saw it.

I'd look on Expedia for your accomodation though as it would be cheaper and book it yourself. A long van booked with Mears is $60 from the airport to Int Drive and you can book that online too.

Something else I have just checked is the free dining plan dates. If you stay in Disney Accomodation you get free dining from early Jan up to 17th February and you can stay at Old Key West for £819 for a week but this entitles you to the free dining plan - and you can have a character meal every day for free as well as a lunch so you could save a fortune by doing this. We have 7 booked including Chef Mickey and Breakfast with Lilo and Stitch (pre-book these though!!). You do have to buy your tickets with them though they are not more and you get some extra bonuses (like priority firework viewing and Planet Hollywood $15 off and free merchandise voucher)


If you have not given it much thought and you can get the kids off school how about this:

Book your flights on Virgin Atlantic website (get Quidco Cashback), 10th Feb - 24th Feb is coming up priced at £1858 at the moment. However, book it now, we faffed around and the flights went up £400 from £1800 to £2200 in a few days when we was deciding on whether to book and see if it would go down. We booked 8 months in advance too.

1 week stay 10-17th Feb (runs into half term) for a week at Disney Deluxe Villa Resort http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/old-key-west-resort/ in a Studio (sleeps up to 4 but you get a kitchenette so you can have breakfast in your room) with free dining plan is £819. The Free Dining Plan is a good one as this is a 5* resort so each day you get: 1 x counter meal, 1 x 3 course table service meal (including character meal) and 1 snack. This is 'worth' around $160 a day if paying as you go.

This would also get you onto the Magical Express from Orlando International for Free, they collect your luggage at the airport and take it to your room and you get to go on the Disney Bus: http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/benefits/airport-service/

Then a week in International Drive area (Around £300 for a 3-4* hotel) so you can go to Seaworld/Universal easily then coming home a few days after half term.

On the way home you can book the Virgin Downtown Disney Check In and then you have another day free to explore the parks. Don;t get wet though obviously!! http://www.virginholidays.co.uk/extras/postbooking/holidayinfo/valet.shtml

Total cost less than £3000. But you'll be getting £700+ of free meals and it is really cheap to eat on International Drive. At least you'd not have to worry about the cost of eating in Disney and you can do special things without thinking about money.

I do appreciate this is all dependant on the kids being able to get time off school - around here we are allowed 10 days - but not only would it be quiet you also get free food for a week at Disney which for me was a real winner. I've booked all our meal reservations online (you do not pay, you pay when you eat) already and on average a character meal is $40 ad and $20 child - $120 per evening meal saved, plus then lunch, another $30, plus a snack. They say on most LA websites that it is allowed for a 'once in a lifetime opportunity' and even our School Chair of Governors told me that it was too good a chance for the kids to miss.

You can stay somewhere slightly cheaper in Disney but you'd get a basic room and Old Key West is a deluxe resort. KarenG and Vivatosi both have studios there so they will tell you what it is like. For me, the free food evened out what we was paying for the Disney accomodation, we are staying in an apartment.

I hope this helps somewhat. ETA. Apologies, that was a long thread after all that, I hope you did not get bored of reading.

Bunny200

blue_monkey wrote: »

To be honest this will be the most expensive and busiest time of year - certainly more expensive than the summer.

As your kids are in primary, are they able to get 5-10 days off? I'd suggest flying on a Mon/Tues/Weds/Thurs and then returning during the Easter holiday but not near the end as people will go for 10 days so the price of the return flight will be high. They put supplements on Friday/Saturday and the price of flights will sometimes double.

As a rough guide of the cheapest times, go to the Virgin Atlantic website and look for flights, see what the prices are for flights. If there is a supplement on those flights the prices will be higher. You'll be able to see when the cheap days are as it says 'low' in a green box. The higher prices have a 'peak supplement' but you'll get the same supplement on your holiday package too. This is the best way to find out when the cheapest time to go is in my opinion.

As an example. We are going on the Sunday of October half term and flights have cost us around £2200 total for 2a 2ch but we are returning. Had we flown on the Friday or Saturday of half term the price of flights was double so we found we could fly on a Sunday for half the price of going on Thurs/Fri/Sat of that week and we get 20 days holiday instead of 21 which was no big deal tbh. I looked last night and the price of flights for flying on the Sunday was over £1000 pp in economy. Ouch.

It is also Spring Break so all of the kids are out of school at that time of year - it will be heaving - so a few weeks before might actually be more beneficial in regards to crowds too. http://www.thedibb.co.uk/when-to-visit-orlando-and-wdw.php This guide tells you the best time to go.

In all honesty I would recommend going early Feb and coming home in the middle of the half term holiday, it was really quiet when we went this time of year and there was little or no wait time for rides. We did Univeral and Islands of Adventure in 1 day and did not miss anything out. Seaworld was also very quiet this time of year. The parks get busy at the weekends still so maybe you could use Saturday and Sunday as a rest/shopping day and do the parks in the week. This is what we will do. HTH.

johnnyroper wrote: »

a quick search on virgin atlantic reveals not much availabilty,outbound put in for 7th april £689 coming back on 21st or even slightly before £1200 these are per person prices.

searching on skyscanner indirect gatwick to charlotte 2.5 hour lay over time and then 1h40m flight to MCO is £2202 for 2 adults and 2 children.

with it being easter then most holidays are fully booked/close to fully booked so prices are through the roof.
if i were you then i would be going indirect and poss looking for a villa to hire as i think it will work out the cheapest way to do it.

try posting your requirements on the travel agent thread and see if any of them can help you out.

blue_monkey wrote: »

Easter is quite late next year, Good Friday is 22nd April. To fly on Thurs 14th April for 14 nights is £2400 for 4 passengers - any time around then is more or less the same price so you could get away for the Easter Break but bear in mind that it is the busiest time of year.

I went to the Virgin Holidays website and chose those days and Ramada maingate as it was coming up cheapest - it is £3653 for that break.

I checked the fly drive way I used to get 10% but it is not working and comes out at much more, huge supplements added so maybe it was a glitch when I got it as I got flights cheaper and I did post it on here so maybe someone saw it.

I'd look on Expedia for your accomodation though as it would be cheaper and book it yourself. A long van booked with Mears is $60 from the airport to Int Drive and you can book that online too.

Something else I have just checked is the free dining plan dates. If you stay in Disney Accomodation you get free dining from early Jan up to 17th February and you can stay at Old Key West for £819 for a week but this entitles you to the free dining plan - and you can have a character meal every day for free as well as a lunch so you could save a fortune by doing this. We have 7 booked including Chef Mickey and Breakfast with Lilo and Stitch (pre-book these though!!). You do have to buy your tickets with them though they are not more and you get some extra bonuses (like priority firework viewing and Planet Hollywood $15 off and free merchandise voucher)


If you have not given it much thought and you can get the kids off school how about this:

Book your flights on Virgin Atlantic website (get Quidco Cashback), 10th Feb - 24th Feb is coming up priced at £1858 at the moment. However, book it now, we faffed around and the flights went up £400 from £1800 to £2200 in a few days when we was deciding on whether to book and see if it would go down. We booked 8 months in advance too.

1 week stay 10-17th Feb (runs into half term) for a week at Disney Deluxe Villa Resort http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/old-key-west-resort/ in a Studio (sleeps up to 4 but you get a kitchenette so you can have breakfast in your room) with free dining plan is £819. The Free Dining Plan is a good one as this is a 5* resort so each day you get: 1 x counter meal, 1 x 3 course table service meal (including character meal) and 1 snack. This is 'worth' around $160 a day if paying as you go.

This would also get you onto the Magical Express from Orlando International for Free, they collect your luggage at the airport and take it to your room and you get to go on the Disney Bus: http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/benefits/airport-service/

Then a week in International Drive area (Around £300 for a 3-4* hotel) so you can go to Seaworld/Universal easily then coming home a few days after half term.

On the way home you can book the Virgin Downtown Disney Check In and then you have another day free to explore the parks. Don;t get wet though obviously!! http://www.virginholidays.co.uk/extras/postbooking/holidayinfo/valet.shtml

Total cost less than £3000. But you'll be getting £700+ of free meals and it is really cheap to eat on International Drive. At least you'd not have to worry about the cost of eating in Disney and you can do special things without thinking about money.

I do appreciate this is all dependant on the kids being able to get time off school - around here we are allowed 10 days - but not only would it be quiet you also get free food for a week at Disney which for me was a real winner. I've booked all our meal reservations online (you do not pay, you pay when you eat) already and on average a character meal is $40 ad and $20 child - $120 per evening meal saved, plus then lunch, another $30, plus a snack. They say on most LA websites that it is allowed for a 'once in a lifetime opportunity' and even our School Chair of Governors told me that it was too good a chance for the kids to miss.

You can stay somewhere slightly cheaper in Disney but you'd get a basic room and Old Key West is a deluxe resort. KarenG and Vivatosi both have studios there so they will tell you what it is like. For me, the free food evened out what we was paying for the Disney accomodation, we are staying in an apartment.

I hope this helps somewhat. ETA. Apologies, that was a long thread after all that, I hope you did not get bored of reading.

Thanks for all the great advice, lots of food for thought!
It had crossed my mind that this time of year would be busy there, also staying at a Disney Hotel to get the Dining Plan is a great idea. We did the pre-paid meal voucher thingy at last time we went to Paris and it was the best way of doing food! Saved so much money and got good food, also didn't have queue in some places!

I think we might look at February and maybe take the kids out of school, my eldest had 100% attendance last year which is what they look at to grant permission at our school so should be ok. Just goes against the grain to take them out for a holiday (maybe we'll have to include a trip to Kennedy as ED is going a space topic next year and call it an educational trip!!!!!) but at least we can do it with less impact at this age than in 5 years time.

Hadn't really considered changing hotels whilst we were there, years ago OH & I went and stayed on International Drive and found it easy to get to the Disney parks etc but the kids would love staying in the Disney Hotels.

Thanks for all the ideas and if anyone has anymore keep them coming........
off to ponder things.......

blue_monkey_2

LOL at Kennedy. This is exactly it, it'll be special. In 5 years time they'll only be wanting to go for the rides and I do think that this age they see the magic (heck, so do I!!).

I do understand what you are saying about taking them out of school for a holiday - I felt guilty too - but they are in Primary, they will not be stting tests or exams and it is just 10 days. It is one off, not something you can/would be able to do again. Maybe they will fine you - is it worth the fine, everyone I have spoken to sais yes but that is your choice. You want to go while they are young so they can appreciate it for what it is. And if you book it alongside the Half Term it will only be a week or so off work. They do not do anything the last few days at our school anyway.

My daughter turns 8 while we are there and we have booked Chef Mickeys for her birthday meal - free of course with the dining plan. She has asked for a cake so at least we only have that to pay for. Chef Mickeys is HIGHLY sought after so there is something you dearly want to do, book it as soon as you decide to go otherwise you won't get a space. Last month I tried to book CM and there was one space left for November!! You can make reservations on this page: http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/reservations/dining/

You can also check out Special Events at this page here: http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/special-events/ While we are there the Not So Scary Halloween party is on, as is Mickeys Xmas Party and they are an after hours event and you need a wristband but the parks are almost empty and there are special parades. It is fab!! At the Halloween party they have trick or treating and the kids (and adults) get loads of sweets. Yummy!!

elsie52

johnnyroper wrote: »

if i were you i would look at different options if you have BIG reservations,the trip advisor reviews are normally fairly accurate.i went to florida in march and the hotel i had for second week in miami was truly awful i did not bother to check reviews before i went so had inconvenience of having to change when i was there,as it goes i ended up going back to orlando but it meant some hours of my holiday wasted. for info it was the days inn thunderbird in sunny isles.
i would advise looking at the quality inn international drive or quality inn plaza instead of what you have booked they are in roughly the same area,i also dont think there is much price difference between them with first choice/thomson.
i stayed at quality inn international in march and it was really good recently been refurbed,the rooms were large and clean/quiet but at a reasonable price.
hope this helps you.

Hi

We stayed at this hotel 5 years ago, and it was perfectly ok. Linen and towels were clean and changed regularly. Coffee maker, iron, ironing board. Laundrette was ok, small but there if needed, Pools were clean, as was resturant, which we only used once, there are so many other places to eat. Room was fine, not luxurious but you are only sleeping in it, to be honest you spend more time out of the room than in it. I am very fussy, but I am going to stay here again, some times Tripadvisor can put you off needlessly

elsie52

Bunny200


Hi,

We are going to Orlando 21/5/2011......2 adults + 2 children for 2 weeks. Staying at Continental Plaza on International Drive, + upgraded hire car and including CDW.and also including direct flights.

Total £3200.......with Thompsons


Good luck
I couldn't find this holiday cheaper anywhere,