Orlando/Disneyworld Thread (Part 3)

LucyLocket

spoonk1 wrote: »

Just checking again...Does all the wdw resort hotels offer the free airport transfer?
A lot of sites say its for all disney hotels but quite a few dont mention transfer on the disney bus from and to the airport.
do you generally book a year in advance or do you save the money and book closer to the time?
Asking this because to fly out on 1 june 2011 for four of us and staying at the disney's all star sports resort for 2 weeks is costing a total of £2084,if the free disney bus is not included in this hotel it's only an extra £112 for the 4 of us return.
What is the best park tickets to buy? we would like to do as many parks as possible during our 2 week stay shopping is NOT an essential,im more excited about getting to the parks than the kids so we will probably be in the parks every day maybe keep one day/evening for the shopping.
AAAAARRRGGGHH i should have started my wdw research 2 years ago.

I haven't used Disney's Magical Express personally but I believe it's available to the guests of all disney hotels including the value resorts, providing they are flying into Orlando International, it doesn't operate out of Sanford. Also the luggage collection procedure is different for US and UK guests in that we need to pick ours up and take it through customs ? but US guests don't. HTH.
I have always booked well in advance but I can see both benefits and pitfalls to leaving it later.
We usually buy 14 day ultimate tickets ,Pricey but 14 days unlimited Disney access including water parks.If you pick these you need to get them in the UK, not the US. Are you intending to do Universal, Sea World, Discovery Cove , Busch Gardens etc?
If you have any other questions, please fel free to ask. I love WDW . We have been six times in the last five years but DH says we need to see other places and can't go back until DD is 16 in 2015. I'm not sure I can survive that long :-(

jackieblack

p4girl wrote: »

At Easter, I stayed in the Fairfield Inn, Marriott Village at Lake Buena Vista. We got a really good price through Thomas Cook. Worth looking at - very clean, nice pool, breakfast to save the dollars and a wee eating market.

We stayed there in 2008, loved it, said if we ever go back we'd stay there there again. Good to know it's still as nice.

LucyLocket

ffotogirl wrote: »

Blue_Monkey, you are so right! When I went with my family as a kid my Aunty arranged the whole thing over the phone! Twelve years later and thanks to the internet I have researched myself into a state of panic :eek: There are just so many hotel options and opinions differ vastly on tripadvisor. I think I trust the advice on this message board a lot more but am wary of being annoying and asking too many questions.

My boyfriend and I have decided to go in the last week of September/start of October for a fortnight and it looks like we will book flights & hotels separately. We know we want to spend 2/3 nights at the Hard Rock Hotel as a treat, either in the middle of the trip (my idea) or at the end (his more sensible idea!). I'd quite like to stay in the middle of the trip as I'll go crazy waiting to go to the Harry Potter park! Also, I'd like to mix it up throughout the trip with Disney and Universal Parks rather than Disney Disney Disney for an entire week which I think might eventually drive us insane, despite how much I love it.

To save money we only want to hire a car for a day or two (to do Kennedy Space Center) so will be relying on hotel transport. We're not sure whether Lake Buena Vista or International Drive will be the best base for us as even though lots of the hotels say they have shuttles/Lynx bus links, some of the reviews say they aren't very regular and none of the reviews mention how long the journeys are. I don't fancy a half hour bus ride every day but maybe this is inevitable? We're happy driving in America and maybe it would be more relaxing for us to drive every day but I'd like to save a few pennies somewhere! Is it stressful relying on shuttles & public transport and making it back to them in time?

I guess ideally we need a clean, modern hotel with good transport links to both parks. It needs to be near enough to Disney to be able to get a taxi back affordably should we miss the bus or want to stay longer (around $10). It also needs free breakfast with a decent-ish variety for vegetarians (sounds like a minor quibble but when we toured California in January so many hotel breakfasts had bacon bits hidden in the most unlikely places!) and be within walking distance of a few bars/restaurants/supermarkets/fun things for nightlife.

Stress!

Currently in the lead is the Hawthorne Suites at Lake Buena Vista but it looks like it might be a bit tatty... anyone stayed there?

We have never driven in the states as we are both too cowardly. It can be restricting but we have still enjoyed it enough to keep on going back. Disney and Universal are not really that close together. If your hotel is near to the one area you may end up with a longer than half an hour shuttle ride to get to the other, particularly if the shuttle picks up at several hotels en route. Where Disney is concerned, hotel shuttles don't always go direct to a given park but may drop off at a central point like the ticket and transportation centre. Also a ride that doesn't feel long on the way in, can feel a lot more extreme on the way home in the evening when you are tired.

We get round part of the complications by staying at more than one hotel. We tend to spend a week at Disney / Lake Buena Vista and then a week near Universal. We always include a night at Hard Rock or Royal Pacific for the benefit of the front of the line passes. If you really want to mix up the Disney / Universal days you might find you are better off with a car for the full two weeks.

One thing we find really improves the theme park experience is being there for rope drop before the crowds peak, consequently we tend to keep coffee, juice, cereal etc in the room and eat breakfast on the run. We also find this saves a significant amount of money. Have you looked at the 'Country Inn and Suites by Carlsson' and the 'Holiday Inn Express' on palm park way both are in lake buena vista and i think they do brekkie, not sure about the shuttle situation though.

meer53

spoonk1 wrote: »

Just checking again...Does all the wdw resort hotels offer the free airport transfer?
A lot of sites say its for all disney hotels but quite a few dont mention transfer on the disney bus from and to the airport.
do you generally book a year in advance or do you save the money and book closer to the time?
Asking this because to fly out on 1 june 2011 for four of us and staying at the disney's all star sports resort for 2 weeks is costing a total of £2084,if the free disney bus is not included in this hotel it's only an extra £112 for the 4 of us return.
What is the best park tickets to buy? we would like to do as many parks as possible during our 2 week stay shopping is NOT an essential,im more excited about getting to the parks than the kids so we will probably be in the parks every day maybe keep one day/evening for the shopping.
AAAAARRRGGGHH i should have started my wdw research 2 years ago.

This is just my personal view but rather than all the messing about with buses, shuttles, extra costs etc, would it not be simpler to just pick up a car at the airport for the time you're there ? If you want to do as many parks as possible, you'll probably find that you're limited by shuttle times, it's a VERY tiring holiday to fit it all in, in 2 weeks, especially with kids in tow, i know, i've done it more than once.

I wouldn't contemplate going without having the freedom a car gives. With a car, if the kids get cranky and tired (and they will !) you can leave the parks and go back later when they're in a better mood, you can't do that on a shuttle bus, well you can, but do you want all the hassle ? Until you get there you don't realise how big the Disney area is, it's not like here, for Magic Kingdom, you don't park your car and walk in the park gates ! You park your car, then get on a tram, then you either take the monorail or the boat to the entrance ! At Universal it's a huge hike on foot from the car park to the entrance (unless you use the more expensive valet parking service, highly recommended !)

If you're buying tickets for all the parks, (Ultimate tickets are usually the best value for Disney and Flex tickets for Universal/Seaworld etc) they're not cheap so you need to make sure you can make the most of them, why not make it easier for yourself if you can afford it ?

blue_monkey_2

meer, not everyone goes on holiday to drive. We don't. It is personal choice. This time will be the first time in 5 visits we are getting a car but only because we want to go further afield this time as we have seen a lot of the other stuff and would only go once. We actually spent less on cabs/i-ride and buse tickets in 3 weeks than we have done this time on car hire for ONE week - and that is before starting on fuel and parking. We got taxi's everywhere. We will NOT be using the car for visiting theme parks at all, for that we will use the Disney shuttle buses.

And we have never once gone home early from the parks because the kids are cranky and we have been to Disney a lot - here and DLP, never once have we left early. We go to the parks every single day too, we do not have 'days off'. And yes, if you are staying in Disney it is much easier to get back to resort using the bus as they go from opposite the WDW gates and you do not have to get back to the parks.

Yes spoonk, WDW give you a free bus transfer to and from the hotel/resort. You have to book it online at least 24 hous before you need it, they will collect your luggage from the airport and take it to the bus for you too.

blue_monkey_2

spoonk1 wrote: »

Just checking again...Does all the wdw resort hotels offer the free airport transfer?
A lot of sites say its for all disney hotels but quite a few dont mention transfer on the disney bus from and to the airport.
do you generally book a year in advance or do you save the money and book closer to the time?
Asking this because to fly out on 1 june 2011 for four of us and staying at the disney's all star sports resort for 2 weeks is costing a total of £2084,if the free disney bus is not included in this hotel it's only an extra £112 for the 4 of us return.
What is the best park tickets to buy? we would like to do as many parks as possible during our 2 week stay shopping is NOT an essential,im more excited about getting to the parks than the kids so we will probably be in the parks every day maybe keep one day/evening for the shopping.
AAAAARRRGGGHH i should have started my wdw research 2 years ago.

Are you going THIS June because your other thread said 2012?

Yes, you should be able to use the free shuttle from the airport for all WDW hotels but they do have to be booked seperately online before you need it.

blue_monkey_2

ffotogirl wrote: »

Blue_Monkey, you are so right! When I went with my family as a kid my Aunty arranged the whole thing over the phone! Twelve years later and thanks to the internet I have researched myself into a state of panic :eek: There are just so many hotel options and opinions differ vastly on tripadvisor. I think I trust the advice on this message board a lot more but am wary of being annoying and asking too many questions.

My boyfriend and I have decided to go in the last week of September/start of October for a fortnight and it looks like we will book flights & hotels separately. We know we want to spend 2/3 nights at the Hard Rock Hotel as a treat, either in the middle of the trip (my idea) or at the end (his more sensible idea!). I'd quite like to stay in the middle of the trip as I'll go crazy waiting to go to the Harry Potter park! Also, I'd like to mix it up throughout the trip with Disney and Universal Parks rather than Disney Disney Disney for an entire week which I think might eventually drive us insane, despite how much I love it.

To save money we only want to hire a car for a day or two (to do Kennedy Space Center) so will be relying on hotel transport. We're not sure whether Lake Buena Vista or International Drive will be the best base for us as even though lots of the hotels say they have shuttles/Lynx bus links, some of the reviews say they aren't very regular and none of the reviews mention how long the journeys are. I don't fancy a half hour bus ride every day but maybe this is inevitable? We're happy driving in America and maybe it would be more relaxing for us to drive every day but I'd like to save a few pennies somewhere! Is it stressful relying on shuttles & public transport and making it back to them in time?

I guess ideally we need a clean, modern hotel with good transport links to both parks. It needs to be near enough to Disney to be able to get a taxi back affordably should we miss the bus or want to stay longer (around $10). It also needs free breakfast with a decent-ish variety for vegetarians (sounds like a minor quibble but when we toured California in January so many hotel breakfasts had bacon bits hidden in the most unlikely places!) and be within walking distance of a few bars/restaurants/supermarkets/fun things for nightlife.

Stress!

Currently in the lead is the Hawthorne Suites at Lake Buena Vista but it looks like it might be a bit tatty... anyone stayed there?

Yes, I agree, sometimes having too much choice is not a good thing!!

However, I am going to suggest you do 6 nights in Disney hotel so get around on the buses and use Disney Transportation and get the Disney bus from the airport. You'll be able to eat for free at the time you want to go so choose Moderate hotel or above, you'll save a few ££ and be able to eat decently too. To get free food you get your tickets when you check into your Disney hotel so make this your first stay. Cost of travel $0.00 because of the shuttles.

2 nights in Hard Rock Hotel and walk to the parks. Cost of taxi will be around $40 to move from Disney hotel to Hard Rock.

6 nights on Int Drive - in somewhere that is on the i-ride route - in a suite that has a washer/dryer. Have the car during this time for 2-3 days. You can use the i-ride to get to Seaworld, you can get a shuttle bus from Seaworld for Busch Gardens and that is free if you have the Flex park tickets. And then get a car for the last few days so you can use it to get back to the airport and drop it off there. I-ride tickets for 5 days are $12 each IIRC and you can use them whenever. Cost of moving hotels will be around $20 depending on where you are staying.

For shopping we just got cabs but there are outlets at the top and bottom of Int Drive, i-ride takes you both places, and I found Florida Mall was quite good for shopping ($12 from top of I Drive). Do not bother with Festival Bay for shopping, it is rubbish!!

If you have a washer dryer in the apartment you can wash the clothes at night and you'll only need a few sets of clothes, you can travel light and it'll make moving from hotel to hotel much easier. Disney has free washing machines/dryers in laundry rooms next to the pool.

We stayed at Hilton Grand Vacation Club at Seaworld and it was the perfect base, we walked to Seaworld (also to get the BG bus), hotel took us to Discovery Cove for free and there was a shuttle bus you could use if you wanted it. I-ride stopped outside and we got the trolley to and from the outlets. We'd stay there again, definately.

Getting around to see the main tourist attractions in Orlando is easy and can be done cheaply too, much cheaper than hiring a car. We are hiring one as we want to go on an Airboat Ride, wildlife coach trip, possibly swim with the manatees and go to the Space centre too this time. All of this we need a car for otherwise we would not bother, you can get around easily and cheaply without a car.

ffotogirl

SirAlfonso wrote: »

Sorry i can't help with your hotel choice but just wondered how much you will save by only hiring a car for a couple of days rather than the whole time?
The issue with car hire is normally that people don't want to drive out there. If you guys will be hotel hopping you'd need a taxi for the moving days, on top of the cost of the buses for 2 weeks. Standard car hire can be had for around £200 insured for 2 weeks. I'm not sure it's worth saving literally a couple of pennies to lose out on the freedom the car brings.

Sir Alfonso (great name!) - we figured that once we add the cost of a second driver, fuel and parking each day it would end up costing more than we would happily pay on the i-ride trolley, Lynx buses, taxis & free shuttles. If money was no object we probably would hire a car but we'd like to make a few savings somewhere... keeping it thrifty! :money: We don't really mind relying on public transport if it's easy to get around as luckily we don't have any kids in tow to worry about.

jackieblack wrote: »

My brother and his family stayed there a couple of weeks ago (Easter), I'll check with him.

Jackie - Fab, thank you!

LucyLocket wrote: »

One thing we find really improves the theme park experience is being there for rope drop before the crowds peak, consequently we tend to keep coffee, juice, cereal etc in the room and eat breakfast on the run. We also find this saves a significant amount of money. Have you looked at the 'Country Inn and Suites by Carlsson' and the 'Holiday Inn Express' on palm park way both are in lake buena vista and i think they do brekkie, not sure about the shuttle situation though.

Lucy - Thanks for the shuttle advice and the hotel recommendations. We stayed at a Holiday Inn Express in California back in January and it was the best hotel of our trip (jacuzzi & television in the bathroom - luxury!) so I'll definitely check out the ones you've mentioned.

I'm sure we'd find it far more convenient driving but the main thing putting us off the car is all the extra costs with parking, extra driver etc. Need to pinch the pennies somewhere so it's a relief to hear that others manage well enough without one. Oh and initially I too was terrified about driving in the states but we hired a nice big SUV when we did it and it definitely felt safer than tootling along in a little 2 door runaround. It helped that we were mostly driving along deserted roads out West though Do you mind me asking how much you usually budget for transport when you've been to Orlando in the past?

blue_monkey wrote: »

Yes, I agree, sometimes having too much choice is not a good thing!!

Getting around to see the main tourist attractions in Orlando is easy and can be done cheaply too, much cheaper than hiring a car. We are hiring one as we want to go on an Airboat Ride, wildlife coach trip, possibly swim with the manatees and go to the Space centre too this time. All of this we need a car for otherwise we would not bother, you can get around easily and cheaply without a car.

Blue_Monkey - So much information, thank you! We hadn't actually thought about staying in a Disney hotel and doing the meal plan. I'll do a bit of research and see if there'd be enough choice for veggies. Also, although I am the queen of travelling light, my boyfriend is another matter entirely (we once went to London for an overnight stay; I took clean underwear & a fresh top, he took a second pair of jeans, a spare t-shirt and a selection of shirts ) so it's good to know Disney have free laundry facilities!

We don't intend to do Seaworld or Busch Gardens so that makes it a little bit easier as we only have to factor in nipping between Disney & Universal and the day trip to Kennedy. You're probably right that the best way to do it is to split time between the two areas and I'll just have to sit tight for the Harry Potter world! Do you mind me asking, when you've done Orlando before without a car, what was your budget for transport?

meer53

blue_monkey wrote: »

meer, not everyone goes on holiday to drive. We don't. It is personal choice. This time will be the first time in 5 visits we are getting a car but only because we want to go further afield this time as we have seen a lot of the other stuff and would only go once. We actually spent less on cabs/i-ride and buse tickets in 3 weeks than we have done this time on car hire for ONE week - and that is before starting on fuel and parking. We got taxi's everywhere. We will NOT be using the car for visiting theme parks at all, for that we will use the Disney shuttle buses.

And we have never once gone home early from the parks because the kids are cranky and we have been to Disney a lot - here and DLP, never once have we left early. We go to the parks every single day too, we do not have 'days off'. And yes, if you are staying in Disney it is much easier to get back to resort using the bus as they go from opposite the WDW gates and you do not have to get back to the parks.

Yes spoonk, WDW give you a free bus transfer to and from the hotel/resort. You have to book it online at least 24 hous before you need it, they will collect your luggage from the airport and take it to the bus for you too.

Blue Monkey, i did point out that this was just my personal view, we go on holiday to enjoy ourselves too, and just find that having the freedom to go where we want, when we want suits us more than planning for buses, shuttles etc. Your kids must be very well behaved, (maybe older than mine ?) the combination of the humidity, the heat and the sheer excitement of being in the presence of Mickey Mouse, Cinderella or Spiderman knocked my kids for six when we first started going to Florida ! We've also managed to do Kennedy Space Centre, St Petes, Tampa, Busch Gardens, Clearwater, Sanibel Island etc alternating our visits to the parks.

We've been to DLP 3 times too but i'm not impressed ! Think i've given it enough chances now, won't bother again !

blue_monkey_2

ffotogirl wrote: »

Blue_Monkey - So much information, thank you! We hadn't actually thought about staying in a Disney hotel and doing the meal plan. I'll do a bit of research and see if there'd be enough choice for veggies. Also, although I am the queen of travelling light, my boyfriend is another matter entirely (we once went to London for an overnight stay; I took clean underwear & a fresh top, he took a second pair of jeans, a spare t-shirt and a selection of shirts ) so it's good to know Disney have free laundry facilities!

We don't intend to do Seaworld or Busch Gardens so that makes it a little bit easier as we only have to factor in nipping between Disney & Universal and the day trip to Kennedy. You're probably right that the best way to do it is to split time between the two areas and I'll just have to sit tight for the Harry Potter world! Do you mind me asking, when you've done Orlando before without a car, what was your budget for transport?

No worries, it's easy for me I guess, we have done it all before.

Last time we was there for 3 weeks we stayed HGVC at Seaworld, then Animal Kingdom Villas for a week and then onto Disney's Old Key West for a week. We got cabs between the resorts and we went to the outlets, malls, Universal, a few parks and probably spent $400 in 3 weeks on taxi's. We did get a luxury SUV on the last day that cost $150 but it was well worth it as we had him for about 2 hours and he let the kids watch a money while we queued at DTD Check in for almost 90 minutes (and that was after arriving at 8.20!!).

It depends on where you stay to be honest, and what you want to do. Sort out what parks you want to go to and go from there. If you only want to do Disney and Universal I'd check into Universal for 3 nights (you won't need more than this tbh) and then spend the rest of it in Disney on meal plan and get your meals for free. You can save the table service meals and use them towards bigger, more epxensive meals in posher restaurants, you can also use them in Rainforest Cafe and other Downtown Disney eating places. have a look around the Disney website for more information.

If you choose the studio option of a DELUXE VILLA RESORT (not hotel) you'll get OKW or Saratoga Springs (as mentioned abouve) for about £100 a day and this gives you the good meal plan with 1 table service and one counter meal. You'll spend £60 a day on food easily. To get around, get the bus to the Magic Kingdom, then monorail to Transportation Centre and then get the Lynx bus to International Drive.

Of course, you could do 5/6 days at one, then go to Universal and then go to the other for a change of scenery.

To hire a car, arrange to collect/drop off late afternoon from Swan & Dolphin hotel and then spend the day at Hollywood Studios or Epcot and walk over there and collect the car at the arranged time.

You can find the menus here and on the plan you can pretty much eat anywhere: http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/reservations/dining/

We took so many clothes when we went and we never even wore most of them, it was a complete waste!! Hope this helps.