Orlando/Disneyworld Thread (Part 3)

FloFlo

mattarmy wrote: »

Hi again,

Best price I can find Discovery Cove inc swim for is £129 - has anybody done any better than this price?

Also, we want to do Universal (all 3 parts) which I have found for £107 each which is for a 14 day pass. We only need a 3 day pass really is the 14 days the standard offering or can you save money by doing less days?

Also, does our choice of hotel make any difference? Someone mentioned earlier it is an advantage to stay at a Universal hotel but would that still be the case if we already have tickets?

If you stay at a Universal hotel you still need to buy tickets for entrance to the parks, but your hotel key card acts as a fast pass for the rides (called front of line pass at universal). There are a small number of rides mainly the harry potter rides and rip ride rocket that aren't included in the front of line pass but I believe you get early entry to harry potter world as a hotel guest.

The three hotels at universal are Royal Pacific Resort (cheapest), Hard Rock Hotel (mid price) and Portafino Bay Hotel (most expensive. Many people recommend booking direct http://www.loewshotels.com/en/Default.aspx as when a special offer or discount becomes available nearer the time you can have them apply it to your booking.

We stayed 4 nights at Hard Rock Hotel and would not want to go to universal again without staying in one of their hotels. We loved the Hard Rock Hotel, there was no need to rush out in the morning as we had front of line passes, hardly any queuing and back to the hotel in the afternoon to chill out around the pool. We are hoping to do a week there next trip.

poet123

I agree, we stayed at RPR, for the fastpass benefit, and the convenience was great,rooms sleep 5 and the onsite restaurant was good too.

poet123

We are looking at going next August(late) for abut 2 weeks and 2 days. Although we have been twice I have forgotten the best sites for flights and car hire. Details of the best sites to use/search for best flight costs, we would prefer manchester flights, but for a good saving would fly from London. Also happy to fly into any Florida airport, and at a push would even consider indirect. The last time we went I spent ages on the net getting all the info, and I know some of you will have done the same and be experts!! so could I pick your brains please?

haggis4

Hi,

I'm looking to book a holiday to Orlando for 2 adults and 1 child (11 years) for this October (yes thats right - this October!!!) and I am struggling with all the various options.

My husband is currently on a 6 month tour of Afghanistan and we would really like to have a family holiday of a lifetime when he gets back (dont worry I'll give him a month or so to get used to family life before I drag him off to spend 24 hours a day with us! He knows about it and its giving him something to look forward too after a particularly tough tour). Unfortunately he cant help me with the booking and so it falls on me to get it right and thats why I need advice! There are so many options and my head is spinning trying to get to grips with it.

We would like to fly from any London Airport and are looking at the last 2 weeks of October or the last week of Oct and first week of November (yes I'm afraid we are taking daughter out of school but they are a forces school and completely understand. She will not have seen her dad for 6 months and he was away training for the 8 months before he went!). After reading through most of this thread we would like to stay at Disney for the first week then International Drive for the 2nd week. Is this feasible? I cant seem to book this on the internet so do you have to phone? Disney looks good but I am concerned about the dining packages? Is it worth paying for it before we go or can we just add this on when we get there? Are the packages worth it? Are there other places to eat as and when we choose?

Also the park passes are next! I think we want the 7 day disney ticket and the 7 day flexi orlando ticket. That should be enough or is it too much?! Where is the best place to buy these from as prices are varying wildly from company to company!

Sorry but I am clueless!!! I have phoned several companies and have got prices ranging from 3496 to 7138.50!!!! Some have flights direct and other have 2 or 3 changes. Is it better to book it as a whole package or should i be trying to find each stage seperately and book it as I go?

Sorry for waffling on. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

natters_2

I am going the same time as you want to go - I booked through expedia for myself & my 11 yr old and got a 3 week package including flights for £1500 staying on international drive at the quality Inn - my flights are indirect, but i did read somewhere else on this thread that it can be beneficial as you do customs and immigration at the first stop (philadelphia in our case) thereby avoiding the queues at orlando.

Maybe you could ring expedia to get the package you want.

I booked some food/entertainment tickets through expedia but the park tickets I got from http://www.orlando-ticket-deals.co.uk/index.html?source=adwords&adgrp=orlando_park_tickets&gclid=CM3Iq9qIvKMCFc792AodcFhudg - the tickets arrived very quickly and I found them to be the best for prices.

I just did a quick check and expedia are still doing good prices for those weeks - if you are thinking of going to discovery cove you may want to go the first week in November as the prices drop that week.

I also booked the mickey halloween party online - (link is further up oin this thread courtesy of blue monkey if i remeber correctly)

I hope you get it all sorted - any questions don't hesitate to ask and i hope you have a fabulous time - you all deserve it (I think people forget about the stress forces family left behind suffer!)

Goldust

FloFlo wrote: »

If you stay at a Universal hotel you still need to buy tickets for entrance to the parks, but your hotel key card acts as a fast pass for the rides (called front of line pass at universal). There are a small number of rides mainly the harry potter rides and rip ride rocket that aren't included in the front of line pass but I believe you get early entry to harry potter world as a hotel guest.

The three hotels at universal are Royal Pacific Resort (cheapest), Hard Rock Hotel (mid price) and Portafino Bay Hotel (most expensive. Many people recommend booking direct http://www.loewshotels.com/en/Default.aspx as when a special offer or discount becomes available nearer the time you can have them apply it to your booking.

We stayed 4 nights at Hard Rock Hotel and would not want to go to universal again without staying in one of their hotels. We loved the Hard Rock Hotel, there was no need to rush out in the morning as we had front of line passes, hardly any queuing and back to the hotel in the afternoon to chill out around the pool. We are hoping to do a week there next trip.

Thanks - were finding the prices are out of our budget for those hotels. Am I really going to regret not staying in one of those 3 hotels? Are there any others within walking distance of the resort?

blue_monkey_2

haggis, that makes 5 of us from this thread in Orlando that week. We should do a meet one day, LOL. Or wear a hat with a picture of Martins face on it. LOL.

Flights you'll struggle with because of the school holidays so I am not sure you'll be able to be too choosy. Travel on a weekday as it'll be cheaper - around £650 for adults - they really ramped the prices up because of Half Term on the weekends but when I checked a few weeks ago there was just a few left on Virgin for the Monday.

If you want to do Disney book Old Key West or Saratoga Springs Deluxe Villas resort and you'll get the decent dining plan rather than the quick one. MAKE YOUR MEAL RESERVATIONS NOW!! You can do this online. If you stay in a studio it'll be around £750 per week with free dining, if you want a 1 bed apartment it'll be around £1000 . Yes you do have to call but it is a UK number so please do not worry. You pay them 8 weks before you go so you get a little longer. You do have to get your tickets from them to get your free dining though but you can do all of this on the phone.

I posted a link above for a hotel on International Drive, it's the Hilton opposite Seaworld, another apartment rather than a hotel. Then you can eat on International Drive.

Of course, I appreciate that you might not want to stay in those places but for me, an apartment is better than a hotel as you can prepare your own food and breakfast rather than eating out everyday - which can get a bit monotonous to be honest (for us anyway).

I feel a bit excited that there are going to be loads of us MSER's there at the same time. How sad is that??

poet123

It is not really the proximity, as much as the facility of using fastpass. Even if you only do 1 night you get almost 2 full days of fastpass if you check in v early on day 1 and leave your luggage in the hotel till your room is ready and hit the parks.

blue_monkey_2

mattarmy wrote: »

Thanks - were finding the prices are out of our budget for those hotels. Am I really going to regret not staying in one of those 3 hotels? Are there any others within walking distance of the resort?

You can buy Fastpasses if I remember. To be honest, it was $280 a night when I looked this morning, bit of a waste of money for us if I am honest as we are already getting the early addmission with Virgin.

poet123

blue_monkey wrote: »

You can buy Fastpasses if I remember. To be honest, it was $280 a night when I looked this morning, bit of a waste of money for us if I am honest as we are already getting the early addmission with Virgin.

You can buy them but the one that you buy limits you to one ride front of line jump per attractin, the keycard for the onsite hotels is unlimited front of line rides on all attractions.