Orlando/Disneyworld Thread (Part 3)

blue_monkey_2

maemaesmummy wrote: »

Am thinking about doing the SW Beluga interaction this trip..has anyone done it?

No, but someone did while we was there, we have them in the photos. It looked fab. But VERY cold, LOL. The whales are very reactive and seemed happy to be with the people there.

Lil_Me_2

I'll second the Universal/IOA on one day. It saves on travelling and also saves on parking at Universal for 2 days!

We did the VIP tour at Busch Gardens for $100 each, worth it if you're looking to do everything! We were escorted around for 5 hours, got straight onto all of the rides, got to see all the animals and learn a little about them, got to feed the birds and the kangaroos and we also got the safari tour where you feed the giraffe. Lunch is included, an extra drink in the morning, plus a $5 game card for the carnival style games they have and a 20% off everything voucher. If you add up lunch, the safari tour and the quick queue then it's not too bad of a deal. I made use of the 20% off buying a nice billabong zip up hoodie that was in the sale!

MOLLYBRUSH

Just another moan for anybody thinking of booking independently like I have just done, as well as the "resort fee" which is being added as a hidden cost, it also appears that a lot of hotels are charging for parking too. The Omni is $18 plus taxes per day, also the Westin Imagine and Gaylord Palms, although slightly less. The Hyatt Grand Cypress is free still. This is adding almost $40 dollars a day on to the price of a room and is not at all obvious when you are trying to book. I have never paid to park in all the years I have been going.

blue_monkey_2

MOLLYBRUSH wrote: »

Just another moan for anybody thinking of booking independently like I have just done, as well as the "resort fee" which is being added as a hidden cost, it also appears that a lot of hotels are charging for parking too. The Omni is $18 plus taxes per day, also the Westin Imagine and Gaylord Palms, although slightly less. The Hyatt Grand Cypress is free still. This is adding almost $40 dollars a day on to the price of a room and is not at all obvious when you are trying to book. I have never paid to park in all the years I have been going.

Ouch, that's not good Molly, who did you book with? Can you change hotels?

We book with our timeshare bank and we get told if there is a resort fee and what it covers, Disney charge us $95 a week (for using the transport but not complaining as we only pay £175 a week), the Hilton do not, but we do get told.

MOLLYBRUSH

Some of them I have booked with Priceline and the Omni I went direct through their web site. It was only because I had seen something somewhere else that I thought to ask, and found it was an extra 20 bucks just to park. I was there last year and didn't pay it. Just seems a sneaky way to get a bit more out of the unsuspecting punters.

blue_monkey_2

MOLLYBRUSH wrote: »

Some of them I have booked with Priceline and the Omni I went direct through their web site. It was only because I had seen something somewhere else that I thought to ask, and found it was an extra 20 bucks just to park. I was there last year and didn't pay it. Just seems a sneaky way to get a bit more out of the unsuspecting punters.

Cancellation charges?

I recently cancelled a Thomas Cook booking for DLP and the cancellation charge plus the price of the DLP booking was less that the Thomas Cook booking was so I saved money by cancelling and booking elsewhere. You might save some money if you can cancel is what I am trying to get at.

How much are you paying? Look at Hilton Grand Vacation Club, there is one on ID and one by Seaworld. Prices is around $150 a night for a 1 bed apartment and no parking/resort charges (or there wasn't last year!!) smaller apartment would obviosuly be less. Prices on site are good with free kids club/activities too.

vivatifosi

MOLLYBRUSH wrote: »

Some of them I have booked with Priceline and the Omni I went direct through their web site. It was only because I had seen something somewhere else that I thought to ask, and found it was an extra 20 bucks just to park. I was there last year and didn't pay it. Just seems a sneaky way to get a bit more out of the unsuspecting punters.

A lot of the hotels on Bonnet Creek Parkway (the road that runs through Disneyworld but isn't officially Disneyworld) have charged for parking too, so it can work out quite expensive, especially if you then drive to Disney and pay to park there too. The people booking them tend not to be from Europe on a two-week stay, so they don't feel as "stung" by the prices as we do, particularly if a resort charge for using the facilities is also put on top of that. It does seem to be a thing with a lot of the newer hotels though.

There are a lot of nice hotels on Hotel Plaza Blvd and in Lake Buena Vista that are as close as the Gaylord Palms to Disney and don't have charged parking mollybrush, would you consider one of them?

BiggaThanBen

What ticket options do you have apart from buying 1-day tickets or 2 weeks package ?

We are going to Florida in April for 2 weeks, but I wouldn't survive several days in a row in the parks, and with a 4 y.o. there are not that many ride options.

Ideally I would go somewhere for half-a-day and then spend the rest of the day elsewhere, but I only found this option for Wet&Wild aquapark so far.

Do any other parks offer a discounted half-a-day options ?

Or packages which would allow to spend 2-4 not consequent days in the parks over the 14 days period at competitive prices ?

At the moment I only see the two options - to go to the parks on 1 day tickets (about £50pp) or purchase the disney's 14 days offer ( about £200 pp which will work out the same for 4 days of visits and limit to disney parks only)

rachmear

maemaesmummy wrote: »

Am thinking about doing the SW Beluga interaction this trip..has anyone done it?

Me and my mum did this 5 years ago. It was amazing. The water is very very cold but yu do get a wetsuit which helps keep some of the warmth in.
We loved it!

homepride

Has anyone bought tickets from Orlando Attractions.com, The prices seem very good