Orlando/Disneyworld Thread (Part 3)

blue_monkey_2

maemaesmummy wrote: »

Hi bluemonkey...

I'm back again lol... have 2 trips booked again this year August and Christmas :j have you booked anything yet?

LOL, you lucky thing! No, nothing else for us yet, will probably wait til 2012 now tbh. It is such a long way for the children to go and do and see the same stuff again and again. We have another 2 timeshare weeks banked and will be staying at Bay Lake Tower or Beachclub Villas or Boardwalk. Definately doing a split stay though and stay a week each place. That's not to say that I have not stopped looking.... If the price is right, then who knows We have the accomodation already.

Was going to go to DLP next month but hubby has to have a op so now that is out of the question for a few months too rather annoyingly. Will go later in the year though.

karmic

Hiya

Thanks for helping.

We were hoping 5k or less, to be closest to magic kingdom and it's just two adults.

Cheers peeps!

jackieblack wrote: »

Which park?
Magic Kingdom? Epcot? Animal Kingdom? or Hollywood Studios?

blue_monkey wrote: »

And how many people?

Also to bear in mind that the nearer you are the MORE you are going to pay. A fortnight at Contemporary for 2 ad 2 kids for example will cost around 5k.

Have a look on the Disney website and put in your dates and the prices will come up.

2.5k for Animal Kingdom (next to AK but a long way from the other parks), Beach club, Boardwalk a walk to to Epcot and Hollywood Studios expect to pay around 4k, Swan and Dolphin, slightly less, Ply, G. Floridian and Cont. expect 4.5k upwards. The hotels next to the parks are VERY expensive unless you can find someone with timeshare points they want to sell.

We went November 2010 and for us was VERY hot the first few days of the month, then it turned and got really cold and we needed fleeces every day and long trousers at night. We did swim but it was chilly but we are British, we were probaly used to it!!

blue_monkey_2

karmic wrote: »

Hiya

Thanks for helping.

We were hoping 5k or less, to be closest to magic kingdom and it's just two adults.

Cheers peeps!

Then you can choose from Contemporary Resort or Bay Lake Tower - right next to each other and, possibly, not even a 2 minute walk from the gates of the Magic Kingdom. BLT is new, built 2 years ago, and is the Disney Vacation Cub option so may be a tad more expensive but you'll get a studio with a kitchenette (my preference). The monorail does run through the hotel so you can get to Epcot, etc..

ou may not be able to book Bay Lake Tower for another 6 weeks or so as they do not usually become available on the website until 8-10 months before travel as the units are open to DVC members first, if BLT is not coming up and you really want to stay there, give it a few weeks and look again.

There is a big lake and around the lake is MK and hotels. The one above is closest, then Grand Floridian then the Polynesian.

Grand Floridian - again a monorail or boat ride away from the the MK which is the other side of the lake. I am not sure if this is walking distance or even if you can walk but it is not far away.

The Polynesian is walking distance to the transportation where you get the buses to the parks and the monorail that takes you to the MK.

Have a look at the link I gave, put the dates in you want to go and the prices will come up: http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/ If you are going certain times of year you'll get Free Dining plan for your stay and November is included - it runs out 18th November this year - it will come up on the price list that you will get it. They load all your meals onto a card and you hand the card over for paying for food in Disney. Staying in the hotel you want you would get 1 Quick Service (counter) Meal, 1 Table Service Meal and a snack a day, you can save them and use them when you want for your stay - for example, you could have a TSM breakfast, QSM lunch and a TSM in the evening and not have a TSM the next day because you are going out to Universal. You can even use 2 meals to 'pay' for a dinner show. Saves a lot of money - we went for a week and had about £800 of character/counter meals and snacks (we bought fudge!!).

If you are staying in Contemporary they have Chef Mickeys for breakfast - you MUST book as soon as you can if you want to go. Booking opens 6 months before but if you have booked your holiday on the Disney website you can book a little earlier than everyone else.

Oh, and to get the free dining you MUST buy your Ultimate park tickets at the same time. If you do not get park tickets (if you have an annual passport for example) you will not get your free meals.

tich2

Hi Blue _Monkey,
I am looking for any info you may have. I have now given my wife the christmas present of a trip to Disney and she was over the moon. We are going for 14 nights and have decided on the the parks that we want to do. This still leaves us time to do other things and wondered what you recommend.

The parks we have chosen are
magic kingdom, animal kingdom, epcot, hollywood studios, universal, islands of adventure, seaworld, wet n wild, blizzard beach and aquatica.

We have been to Orlando twice before and have already been to Busch Gardens, Typhoon Lagoon, Discovery Cove, Kennedy and have done the big fan boats to see the gators.

I would also like to go to the ESPN world of sport this time but not sure what it is or what to expect, but I just love sport and luckily the wife also doesn't mind it. We will also be doing some shopping and I will be spending time in the Bass Pro Shop at Festival Mall, I love watching the pro fishermen fishing for bass actually in the shop while sitting on top of a huge fish tank.

Any other info for exciting things to do will be great.

Also any meal ideas will be good to as we are staying in the Metropolitan Express opposite Wet n Wild. Thanks!!

KarenG

blue_monkey wrote: »

Then you can choose from Contemporary Resort or Bay Lake Tower - right next to each other and, possibly, not even a 2 minute walk from the gates of the Magic Kingdom. BLT is new, built 2 years ago, and is the Disney Vacation Cub option so may be a tad more expensive but you'll get a studio with a kitchenette (my preference). The monorail does run through the hotel so you can get to Epcot, etc..

ou may not be able to book Bay Lake Tower for another 6 weeks or so as they do not usually become available on the website until 8-10 months before travel as the units are open to DVC members first, if BLT is not coming up and you really want to stay there, give it a few weeks and look again.

There is a big lake and around the lake is MK and hotels. The one above is closest, then Grand Floridian then the Polynesian.

Grand Floridian - again a monorail or boat ride away from the the MK which is the other side of the lake. I am not sure if this is walking distance or even if you can walk but it is not far away.

The Polynesian is walking distance to the transportation where you get the buses to the parks and the monorail that takes you to the MK.

Have a look at the link I gave, put the dates in you want to go and the prices will come up: http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/ If you are going certain times of year you'll get Free Dining plan for your stay and November is included - it runs out 18th November this year - it will come up on the price list that you will get it. They load all your meals onto a card and you hand the card over for paying for food in Disney. Staying in the hotel you want you would get 1 Quick Service (counter) Meal, 1 Table Service Meal and a snack a day, you can save them and use them when you want for your stay - for example, you could have a TSM breakfast, QSM lunch and a TSM in the evening and not have a TSM the next day because you are going out to Universal. You can even use 2 meals to 'pay' for a dinner show. Saves a lot of money - we went for a week and had about £800 of character/counter meals and snacks (we bought fudge!!).

If you are staying in Contemporary they have Chef Mickeys for breakfast - you MUST book as soon as you can if you want to go. Booking opens 6 months before but if you have booked your holiday on the Disney website you can book a little earlier than everyone else.

Oh, and to get the free dining you MUST buy your Ultimate park tickets at the same time. If you do not get park tickets (if you have an annual passport for example) you will not get your free meals.

Just to expand on Blue Money's excellent post:

It takes between 7 to 8 minutes to walk from the lobby of Bay Lake Tower to the Magic Kingdom. That's at a reasonable pace. But it couldn't be better located if you want proximity to the Magic Kingdom.

Unfortunately you cannot walk from the Grand Floridian to the Magic Kingdom. There is a path that goes almost the whole way, but not quite. It's a quick monorail ride to Magic Kingdom however (or boat). The Polynesian is also connected by boat and monorail.

Another Magic Kingdom resort is the Wilderness Lodge, which tends to be a bit cheaper than the ones I've mentioned. You have to catch a boat to the Magic Kingdom, buses to everywhere else. It's not on the monorail loop.

However - as adults, my advice would be to stay at one of the Epcot resort hotels rather than one near Magic Kingdom. These include the Boardwalk Inn (or Villas), Yacht or Beach Club and the Swan and Dolphin (the latter two not owned by Disney but are very nice hotels and tend to be cheaper). From these hotels you are a 5-10 minute walk from Epcot, and also a 15 minute walk to Hollywood Studios (or there are boats if you don't want to walk). There is nightlife at the Boardwalk (located by all of the above hotels) and a massive choice of dining options within an easy walk. If you like cocktails I highly recommend Blue Zoo at the Dolphin :T

I actually own the points at Bay Lake Tower, so my natural bias leans towards there, but for an adult only trip, I'd suggest an Epcot resort is the better option

KarenG

tich2 wrote: »

Hi Blue _Monkey,
I am looking for any info you may have. I have now given my wife the christmas present of a trip to Disney and she was over the moon. We are going for 14 nights and have decided on the the parks that we want to do. This still leaves us time to do other things and wondered what you recommend.

The parks we have chosen are
magic kingdom, animal kingdom, epcot, hollywood studios, universal, islands of adventure, seaworld, wet n wild, blizzard beach and aquatica.

We have been to Orlando twice before and have already been to Busch Gardens, Typhoon Lagoon, Discovery Cove, Kennedy and have done the big fan boats to see the gators.

I would also like to go to the ESPN world of sport this time but not sure what it is or what to expect, but I just love sport and luckily the wife also doesn't mind it. We will also be doing some shopping and I will be spending time in the Bass Pro Shop at Festival Mall, I love watching the pro fishermen fishing for bass actually in the shop while sitting on top of a huge fish tank.

Any other info for exciting things to do will be great.

Also any meal ideas will be good to as we are staying in the Metropolitan Express opposite Wet n Wild. Thanks!!

When are you going? Have a look at the ESPN World of Sports to see if there is an event on. I'm not sure it's worth making the trip if there isn't.

What is quite good fun, if you are into ESPN, is to go to the ESPN Bar at the Boardwalk (nowhere near the ESPN World of Sports, confusingly), on a Sat/Sun for American Football, or Monday (depending on what time of year). Great atmosphere and loads of fun

vivatifosi

Shevs wrote: »

Hi guys

Im hoping someone can offer me a bit of advice. Myself and OH are going to Orlando for 2 weeks in March and we would like to do a day trip to Miami. Has anyone here done that before on their holiday? What I would like to know is should we book the trip in the UK or wait till we're there? Any advice on what a good price is and also who to book with?

Thanks everyone x

Personally I wouldn't, it would be like taking a day trip from London to Newcastle. If you want to go there, take a few days out from your trip to go down and maybe see some other local attractions while you're there, such as the Keys or the Everglades. If you're just going to Miami, I still wouldn't go there for less than two days, and then you're talking about a 3 1/2 hour drive each way.

vivatifosi

KarenG wrote: »

However - as adults, my advice would be to stay at one of the Epcot resort hotels rather than one near Magic Kingdom. These include the Boardwalk Inn (or Villas), Yacht or Beach Club and the Swan and Dolphin (the latter two not owned by Disney but are very nice hotels and tend to be cheaper). From these hotels you are a 5-10 minute walk from Epcot, and also a 15 minute walk to Hollywood Studios (or there are boats if you don't want to walk). There is nightlife at the Boardwalk (located by all of the above hotels) and a massive choice of dining options within an easy walk. If you like cocktails I highly recommend Blue Zoo at the Dolphin :T

I actually own the points at Bay Lake Tower, so my natural bias leans towards there, but for an adult only trip, I'd suggest an Epcot resort is the better option

I'd go for the Yacht and Beach too. They are sublime hotels and as Karen says there's plenty to do there. Trip Advisor has lots of photos of room interiors etc as well as reviews, so if you aren't sure that should help swing your decision.

elantan

Hi all wondering if anyone can help ... i'm booked to go to florida this year and am a bit loathed to getting travellers cheques incase i have to cash some of them back in when i come home and dont get good money for them ( i know i know possibly dreaming)

when i went to thailand i could use my atm card virtually anywhere there where holes in the wall every where we went and it worked out great for us (nationwide before any charges) i cant remember seeing atm machines in Florida though .... i assume they will have them but does anyone know are there alot of them? were staying in kissimee this time but will no doubt be down the old town at night i dont plan on going to the atm every five mins ... but i would like to know before i go if this is going to be possible for us to use

also anyone got any idea which is the best current account /debit card to use for the u.s ?

thanks in advance

Penny-Pincher!!

Has anyone used TotalFlorida.co.uk? Friend has been recomended it but not heard of them before.

Thanks

PP
xx