Orlando/Disneyworld Thread (Part 3)

Mab2009

Jon_Stubberfield wrote: »

Depends on the dates really, If it's July/August then it's a wicked price. If it's June or November... it's not that great a price...

Also... are they showing you pictures of a bespoke villa? or are they just giving you allocation on arrival?

i'll be going in January around 10th. The villa will be named as soon as booked not on arrival.

Thanks for taking the time to answer me.:beer:

delwynshd

John Its only working out at £630 per head for 14 nights in a Villa

Its a good price, but maybe things can be done better we will have to wait and see!

Del

Jon_Stubberfield wrote: »

Depends on the dates really, If it's July/August then it's a wicked price. If it's June or November... it's not that great a price...

Also... are they showing you pictures of a bespoke villa? or are they just giving you allocation on arrival?

Jon_Stubberfield

delwynshd wrote: »

John Its only working out at £630 per head for 14 nights in a Villa

Its a good price, but maybe things can be done better we will have to wait and see!

Del

Actually, you're right! For 8 people that's a crazily good price! BOOK IT IF YOU CAN!

Make sure it includes the car insurance and everything... I'm actually a bit dubious about this price. Some companies will quote low, then they will add on £80 per person. I'm not going to name names again but this is a tactic that some are using. basically, this looks about £500 less than it should be. So if they add 8 x £80 then I wouldn't be surprised.

GOOD LUCK!

vivatifosi

Jon_Stubberfield wrote: »

Yes I am a travel agent... my answer was a little gung ho wasn't it. More of a 'hey look everyone, I'm a travel agent' rather than helpful advice.

There are indeed pros and cons to DIY and travel agents.

Also... I may be wrong here, I'm not an insurance salesperson but I was under the impression that MOST insurance policies don't protect you from things going awry with airlines/car rental/accommodation etc... more there for medical bills and stolen purses? I might be wrong?

Well welcome anyway Jon;).

I think insurance is pretty good, I haven't had to claim often, but when I have they have always paid up.

One thing I think some people do get wrong is that they wait until the last minute before their holiday to get insurance, so if anything goes wrong in the intervening period between booking and the trip itself, they don't have cover. This is particularly the case if people have an incling something is going to happen and then try and get cover (volcanic ash springs to mind) only to find a raft of exclusions. We always make sure we are covered from the time of booking, best way to do this is to get a reasonably-priced annual multi-trip policy.

vivatifosi

Birdie85 wrote: »

I know that they're really strict about ID over there for buying alcohol, will we be OK using our driving license as ID or should we take our passports out with us? I don't really want to be carrying our passports round all day, but I know the last time I was there (6 years ago before I was even legal to drink there!) my brother had trouble in some of the places we went because they didn't recognise a British driving license, are they better with this now?

The big problem Americans had with British licences is that the old paper ones didn't have a photo on. Now they can see the photo I've never had a problem anywhere, however I have had a couple of very knowledgeable car hire peeps who knew we had a two-part licence and insisted on seeing both parts because they knew the other (paper) bit is the bit that tells them how many endorsements you have.

Occasionally I get asked for photo ID in stores too, just for proof that I'm using my own credit card, so it's a good to have it with you at all times. Also, you are supposed, by law, to carry both parts in case you are stopped by police while driving, though whether anyone has ever just had one part with them and had problems I don't know.

vivatifosi

Kenny-Powers wrote: »

Ive been to the US 20+ times and haven't once been asked to provide the counterpart. Having been stopped by the police 3 times in 3 different states Ive never been asked for it either.

It is certainly worth taking, but if you forget it don't worry too much. The odds are in your favour.

I haven't ever been stopped by the police in States so not sure about them, have definitely been asked by car hire co's though. I've hired a car in US on about 50 different occasions and been asked for it 3 or 4 so not for the most part. They were the ones who told we had to carry the part two for the driver when out in the car, so we just kept it in the glove box and carried the photo licences in our wallets. Your post is reassuring because I figured that's how it should be, but knowing my luck I would meet that one hypervigilant cop who'd ask for it.

Birdie85

Thanks for the info, we're not hiring a car so I don't think I'll need the paper counterpart, I just want to be able to buy drinks without hassle!

LadyfromVenice

Hi, I'm a complete Orlando virgin, in fact I've never actually been abroad with my own family (last time was when I was 21 and mum & dad did everything for us!!!)

Because of this I've booked a package holiday as I didn't feel at all confident in trying to do it myself. We are going end of October/November 2011 (2 adults 3 children aged 12, 8 & 7). Probably costing me over the odds, if we get on alright this time I'll probably have a go booking myself.

I want to buy tickets for MNSSHP and the Christmas night as well. Can't find anything about this yet, only for 2010. Can anyone tell me when the tickets go on sale?

Thanks for the thread, have only read a few pages but some really good advice on here. Do you have any 'must have/do' tips for a first timer?

Lil_Me_2

MNSSHP and MVMCP tickets went on sale early May if I remember rightly it was the 1st May last year. They don't announce the date very far in advance! You need to get in quickly if you want 31st October tickets.

Are you staying onsite on the dining plan? If so then to make the most of the table service meals you need to have a look now and plan in advance where you would like to eat. You can make reservations 180 days in advance and some of the pricey places (which are better value on the dining plan) book up early.

Must do tips for the first time? Probably just go to Magic Kingdom for your first day, it's a great way to start the holiday!

Is there anything really special that you want to do? Like eat in Cinderellas castle? Who are your favourite characters? I might have some tips around those. Also, don't forget to get your "1st visit" badges! If you're celebrating anything in particular (birthday/anniversary etc) then you can get badges for that too.

LadyfromVenice

Lil_Me wrote: »

MNSSHP and MVMCP tickets went on sale early May if I remember rightly it was the 1st May last year. They don't announce the date very far in advance! You need to get in quickly if you want 31st October tickets.

Are you staying onsite on the dining plan? If so then to make the most of the table service meals you need to have a look now and plan in advance where you would like to eat. You can make reservations 180 days in advance and some of the pricey places (which are better value on the dining plan) book up early.

Must do tips for the first time? Probably just go to Magic Kingdom for your first day, it's a great way to start the holiday!

Is there anything really special that you want to do? Like eat in Cinderellas castle? Who are your favourite characters? I might have some tips around those. Also, don't forget to get your "1st visit" badges! If you're celebrating anything in particular (birthday/anniversary etc) then you can get badges for that too.

Thanks for that. I'm going to diary that date. We don't fly till 27th Oct so we don't really have much choice for the Halloween dates!

We've booked a villa in Kissimmee. TBH hadn't really thought too long and hard about what we are going to do, just going abroad is daunting enough for us . I think we need to sit down with the children and see what they actually want to do and then get back on this thread.

Personally for me I want to see the fireworks over the castle & I hear the Epcot ones are good but it's better to book somewhere to watch them over the lake so tips on this would help. We love animals so Animal Kingdom is a must. We have tickets booked for the parks already. Otherwise I think the word 'everything' really sums it up :eek:

As for budget, obviously I don't want to go silly, but I probably have about £700-£800 for 'extras' ie halloween/christmas/other encounters which won't go far between five of us.

Looking forward to coming back on the thread again. I think my countdown has now started........6 months to go :rotfl: