Orlando/Disneyworld Thread (Part 3)

blue_monkey_2

jeanniebeanie wrote: »

Don't forget you would also need a taxi from Sanford - I'd budget at least $300 return from Sanford to ID, it is much further than Orlando international and transport might be an issue if not booking a package and getting a transfer. At 18 neither of them would be able to drive./QUOTE]

Damn! Forgot that! :rotfl: You are right of course, so used to driving, didn't occur to me. Oh well, I tried.

In fact I have booked on that flight myself, but got premium upgrade which covered all those extras. Not my favourite airline, but cheap flights not easy to come by these days!

Us good old non-drivers always remember....!! The bottom link tells you al about Sanford, it is 30 miles north of Orlando International.

I do think that you need to allow money to get taxi's sometimes as the shuttle buses can get full and there might only be one a day (The adisson we was in, just had one a day and it took an hour despite us being a few minutes from World Drive, as we had to go to 10 other hotels first), and then you are limited on return times and will always be on edge about getting back for the bus and you'll be clock watching.

I, personally, think it foolish to only take a small amount of money over there with you as there is so much to do and it is so bigand getting somewhere does seem to take ages - no matter where you are staying. You can get Lynx buses and the I-ride but do allow for having to get a cab too.

jeanniebeanie_2

.I, personally, think it foolish to only take a small amount of money over there with you as there is so much to do and it is so bigand getting somewhere does seem to take ages - no matter where you are staying. You can get Lynx buses and the I-ride but do allow for having to get a cab too.

I agree that you need a lot of spends if you want to do all the parks etc., but maybe that's why Beckie1 needs to get there cheaply?

Btw Beckie, if your £640 was a package with, flights, accommodation and transfares then I think that is pretty damn good!

May not make any difference to you, but you do know there is a very well enforced no under 21 drinking law too?

disney_cjd

blue_monkey wrote: »

Don't forget you would also need a taxi from Sanford - I'd budget at least $300 return from Sanford to ID, it is much further than Orlando international and transport might be an issue if not booking a package and getting a transfer. At 18 neither of them would be able to drive.

Don't forget you need to tip 15-20%:
http://www.orlandosanfordtaxi.com/sanford-taxi.shtml
http://www.taxiorlando.com/rates.html
http://www.taxi-mco.com/Pages/Orlando%20Sandford%20Airport.htm

They can drive at 18 over there, In fact drivers ed starts at 15. Problem will be getting insurance on the hire car.

If you go to mearstransportation.com you can get a taxi estimate. Its free and easy. But I would suggest using someone like Tiffany Town Cars (in trye MSE fashion they have a coupon on their site) and are often the same price as a cab. Also get picked up in a nice car too. AND on the way they will stop off for 30 mins so you can get some cheetos and AW Root beer in

Beckie1

thankyou all, the 640 was flights and accomodation
..
does anybody know how much a cab would be from international airport to idrive?
we are looking at staying at the best western lakeside hotel .. its cheap and nice enough! they have shuttle buses there and back but yes we dont wana be clock watching so we accept we might have to get a cab sometimes! ive never been to america, are cabs expensive? we're looking at taking around £1500 spends, having already bought tickets for all the parks we want to visit. do you think this is reasonable?
thankyou all for your good advice!
x
anybody know of it or stayed there?

jeanniebeanie_2

The Best Western Lakeside is on HWY192, not International Drive, about 25min drive from International Airport (NOT SANFORD). Never used cabs, we drive, so can't help there, but Disney CJD and Blue Monkey posted some info above.

The 192 is miles long and it changes name as it goes along. in fact, it has 'markers' to help you find places and it's full of eating places and shops. it is not the norm to walk to shops/restaurants though, they are very spaced out in small blocks and it can be frustrating to be able to see where you want to get to, but hard to get there across very busy traffic and wide roads, so even if you are only going to the next block along, it's laid out so that it's often easier to drive there. Not sure about trolley buses etc. there.

Not stayed at the hotel, so can't comment on rooms, but met for hot air balloon ride which left from there and then we returned to a buffet breakfast. As you say, the hotel looks fine- the public ares were clean enough and the breakfast was ok- similar to the all-you-can-eat buffets you get at the chain restaurants around.

£1500 should be plenty if that doesn't include park tickets. You should be able to eat in some nice places and buy a few things from the malls too with that. Of course if you want go mad on the discounted designer labels at the Outlets........ best stick to Sizzler for meals!

blue_monkey_2

Hi Beckie,

Cab would set you back around $65 each way with tip but you can book onto the shuttle with Mears for $18 per adult. It'll take longer but if you are on a budget might be better for you.

Who was the package with? If it is with Virgin then you could be clever and book the holiday and wait for your booking number, then speak to virgin concierge in the USA (by email, they will call you back) and book your tickets with them. The cost is the same, but they'll book you onto the shuttle bus for free if you ask.

Here are some links for you. First is the link for the Virgin Special offers page - as you are not tied to a specific date, have a look to see if anything grabs your eye, keep an eye on the dates and you'll probably get a bargain: http://www.virginholidays.co.uk/special_offers/?filter=Filter%20Destination_%27Florida%27,|Board_%27All%20Inclusive%27,%27Breakfast%20Included%27,%27Half%20Board%27,%27Room%20Only%27,|Rating_3,3.5,4,4.5,5,9.9,|Origins_Glasgow,London%20Gatwick,London%20Heathrow,Manchester,|DepartureDate_Select...|Duration_3,4,5,6,7,8,9,11,14,|

Here is the link to Mears: http://www.mearstransportation.com/ Choose the 'shared shuttle' option. You can also play around with this site to get a rough idea of prices, say for example, from your hotel to Wet 'n' Wild, or Universal.

Virgin Concierge if you book with Virgin: http://concierge.virginholidays.co.uk/florida/ You'll also get free early entry to Harry Potter World if you buy tickets from them - ask to collect your voucher at the airport when you get your tickets!!

£1500 for the 2 of you will be enough for spends IF (as someone mentioned) it does not include tickets. It will cost you £250 for Disney tickets £175 for Universal/Seaworld/Busch (inc. shuttle bus) and Aquatica. This is each so will take a huge chunk out of your budget! However, if you budget carefully you should be able to get by.

There is a cheaper 'Magic Your Way' option for tickets but you would need to thoroughly plan what you want to see, at what park, on what day, by using a planner before you buy these tickets, as some parades will be on one day by not the next (Spectromagic for example) and some days the park will close early for a Special Event so it would be a waste of a day to go and have to leave early.

It is a BIG place and can be very daunting for a first timer. If shopping I would recommend the Florida Mall, I loved it and it was my preffered place - they just do not do designer wear to fit me and I wasted a day looking in the outlets, this will be the only place we go if we go back again. You should also try and get to Walmart or Target to stock up on snacks, drinks and souviners.

I hope that helps, please ask anything else you like, we will do our best to help.

We have stayed on the 192 and there is a fab Lynx bus service that gets you right into Disney Car Park by the monorail that takes you to the Magic Kingdom, so easy to use and does not take long at all. it costs artound $15 for a bus, get the bus to Disney you can then go on a different bus to Universal and also Seaworld, or get the bus to Seaworld and pick up the i-ride to Universal. If I get more time later I'll have a look at where you are staying and where the bus stops for you. There is a Walmart at both ends of the 192 (same bus) and LOADS of places to eat. Get the bus tickets and you can just ride up and down the 192 checking out all of the places to eat. YUM!!

HTH.

Abbza

Myself and my partner are going to Florida for two weeks on September 19th to celebrate my 21st :j

We have already booked the flights as they were slowly going up in price and are flying with virgin for around £500 each.

My question is this - we're town between our accomodation.
We're either thinking of staying at the Four Points by Sheraton Studio City booking with alpharooms, or booking with virgin holidays and staying at either the Fairfield inn or Comfort Suites.

I guess the gist of it is - will the benefits of booking with virgin holidays be worth it?

blue_monkey_2

Depends on what you want abbza, with Virgin you'll get transfers for example (guessing you'll need these as you are not driving) so it can save you $150 in cab fares, and you can use the V-room (you have to pay) but it's a nice start to the holiday.

However, you have already booked your flights so how can you book with Virgin Holidays now?

jackieblack

Abbza wrote: »

My question is this - we're town between our accomodation.
We're either thinking of staying at the Four Points by Sheraton Studio City booking with alpharooms, or booking with virgin holidays and staying at either the Fairfield inn or Comfort Suites.

If it's the Fairfield Inn at the Marriott Village in LBV then we have stayed there and thought it was great, clean and comfortable, good location (although we did have a car - although its clessed as being in LBV it is on between I Drive and the I4, near the Premium Outlets) and breakfast each morning saves time and $.

blue_monkey wrote: »

However, you have already booked your flights so how can you book with Virgin Holidays now?

You can book hotel only with Virgin Hols.

blue_monkey_2

jackieblack wrote: »

You can book hotel only with Virgin Hols.

Sorry, I did not realise they did hotel only so went to have a look.

I've just looked at where we will stay next time - already saved the details in my search - OKW in August for 14 nights, 1 bed villa.

Disney want £1113 for each weeks stay (actually great price as includes full dining plan:T)

So I looked on the virgin website and I saw the price of £2195 and thought 'great, it is cheaper and you get cashback and at the moment 10% discount', but actually it is a SHOCKING £2195 PER WEEK so for 14 nights the price was nearly 4.5k. :eek::eek::eek::eek:
Someone pick me off the floor!!!!!!

Plus they expected you to make your own way to the hotel, they did not offer the transfer if booking hotel only so you'd still have to pay for cabs

If you have found a price on the Virgin website I'd certainly be looking elsewhere such as expedia! You can get 10% cashback on hotels on Expedia too.