Orlando/Disneyworld Thread (Part 3)

chaosweddings

[QUOTE=sunshine_![/QUOTE]


I'm actually looking to stay a few days in a Universal hotel to get the perks, express pass and early entry however how much use would the express pass be early Septmeber?
Is it worth beating the queues or are the queues quiet enough for me to save money and booking a cheaper hotel?[/QUOTE]

We have booked with hard rock hotel for one night next year to take advantage of the early entry and folp, there are 5 of us and it works out cheaper to book a room for 1 night instead of buying the express passes for 2 days, also the express passes you buy can only be used on each ride once where as hotel guests can use the folp as many times as they like on each ride

CT19720

vivatifosi wrote: »

3pm check in and 11am check out is the norm at DVC resorts (I think Disney resorts too, but I tend only to stay at DVC as I'm a member). You can get there earlier and try to get a room, but most of the time they are ready at around 3.

Regarding the passes, your "Key to the World" room key has the pass put on it for the length of your stay, so you are right. How about using the other days to try say Kennedy Space Centre or Universal Studios or possibly even a trip to the beach?

ALI1973 wrote: »

3pm was the time we were given for Old Key West last year. We had a week in OKW and a week in a private villa last year and were unsure which way round we were going to do it, when we enquired with the Disneyworld helpline they advised us that if we needed to activate our park tickets before check in at OKW we had to go to the Communication Centre in Downtown Disney with your booking info and they can issue your tickets early. Please remember though that they are only valid for 14 days from first use

Have a magical time

Thank you so much for your help/advice; and Ali the tip about trying to get our passes before checking in. We may well do that, but as we arrive on the monday night and check in to disney on the thursday, I think we can loose a couple of days to shopping, wondering around kissimmee and the old town, and a few other bits and pieces. We will also go to gatorland for the day too to fill the time - OH and I have been before and it was fab, so really want to take the kids, and you can now get a ticket to wrestle with a gator, so that could be fun!

In the past we have done cocoa, and the space centre, so may look to do seaworld or universal.

Thanks again for your help.

mintster

I have been reading this thread for weeks and have now come to the conclusion that I really need help! We are booked to fly on 20th October for 2 weeks. There will be myself, my partner and our Son 7 (8 in December). We are staying in the Enclave suites and will be hiring a car.

My main problem is I am finding everything a little overwhelming and I am struggling to decide on where to start! Does anyone have good hints/tips for first timers? Is there any chance anyone has some sort of planner? Is there any chance anyone wants to just organise my entire holiday for me!!!

Seriously - any help really is appreciated!

BigAde

Having trouble getting flights to Orlando for October half term week. Guess I left it too late. Does anyone know if the drive from Tampa to Orlando is an easy one (at the end of a long flight)?
Thanks.

nuttyp

mintster, try going onto the dibb website. Its all disney and has been made to help us brit get the most from our disney trips. Just have lokk at other peoples planners or ask questions there.

maemaesmummy

BigAde wrote: »

Having trouble getting flights to Orlando for October half term week. Guess I left it too late. Does anyone know if the drive from Tampa to Orlando is an easy one (at the end of a long flight)?
Thanks.

It's not a bad drive, pretty straightforward and you would prob clear immigration a whole lot quicker than at MCO!

yellowmonkey

mintster wrote: »

I have been reading this thread for weeks and have now come to the conclusion that I really need help! We are booked to fly on 20th October for 2 weeks. There will be myself, my partner and our Son 7 (8 in December). We are staying in the Enclave suites and will be hiring a car.

My main problem is I am finding everything a little overwhelming and I am struggling to decide on where to start! Does anyone have good hints/tips for first timers? Is there any chance anyone has some sort of planner? Is there any chance anyone wants to just organise my entire holiday for me!!!

Seriously - any help really is appreciated!

Try here

http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=473110

kompendium

mintster wrote: »

I have been reading this thread for weeks and have now come to the conclusion that I really need help! We are booked to fly on 20th October for 2 weeks. There will be myself, my partner and our Son 7 (8 in December). We are staying in the Enclave suites and will be hiring a car.

My main problem is I am finding everything a little overwhelming and I am struggling to decide on where to start! Does anyone have good hints/tips for first timers? Is there any chance anyone has some sort of planner? Is there any chance anyone wants to just organise my entire holiday for me!!!

Seriously - any help really is appreciated!

It's hard for me to give advice because there's such a variety of topics to talk about. First off I think you're going at quite a good time of year, because the parks shouldn't be too busy, and it won't be as hot as in the summer. One thing I would suggest is you do one theme park per day, and take some days off from the theme parks depending on how many of them you want to do. Some people think they will be able to do so much in one day but if you've never been before it's best to stick to 1 park per day. Perhaps you could decide which theme parks you want to do before you go. Here's a list of theme parks you could go to:

Disney World:
- Magic Kingdom
- Epcot
- Hollywood Studios
- Animal Kingdom
- Typhoon Lagoon
- Blizzard Beach

Universal Orlando
- Universal Studios
- Islands of Adventure

SeaWorld

Aquatica

Busch Gardens

Kennedy Space Center

Legoland (brand new, should be open when you go)

(these are the main ones)

Let me know if you want to know any more about any of these parks, or if you want any specific questions answered. To have a break from the parks you could do stuff like crazy golf, shopping, etc.

Ron_McDon

Hi,

We've been to Orlando four times now so have found what suits us best, but it is different for everyone depending upon who is in your party, if you love Disney or not etc.

We buy the 14 day pass which includes both Universal parks, Busch Gardens, Wet & Wild, Aquatica and Sea World. They are all pretty different from each other and you get a really broad experience if you can do this. The price this year was about £185 per adult and £160 per child. But be aware that 'adults' are children aged over 10 for these tickets! :eek:

We usually arrive mid-afternoon, collect our car then get something from Burger King etc on the drive from Sanford Airport to Orlando. The kids are usually tired from all the travelling and if you eat something around 5pm US time when you get to the hotel the kids can just go straight to bed and sleep!

As the weather is usually hot and humid (we go in June when it's cheap for this very reason!) we go to a water park on the first day. That way the kids can get in and out of the water and get a bit used to the heat.

You will probably find you are awake early the first week due to the time difference. Make the most of it to get up and out for breakfast early, then get to the theme parks for when they open at 10am.

We usually go to the other side of the park from the entrance as soon as we arrive as it is usually quieter and you can do all the rides there first before it gets busy.

A lot of the parks are now doing 'all you can eat' wristbands which (if you don't mind eating junky food for the day and have no special dietary needs) can be very good value. These are only worth doing if you plan to stay in the park from morning til night though, as you probably wouldn't spend $20 on food each just during a few hours. Busch Gardens charged $30 for an adult wristband but this included beverages which made it a really good deal - we usually find we spend a fortune on drinks to keep hydrated. Also, because it is about 1.5 hours from Orlando we tend to do it in a day and stay from opening til closing, so in this case it was a good deal for us.

If you are vegetarian I wouldn't recommend doing the wristbands as there are very few choices and lots of the restaurants you have to use don't do anything vegetarian at all.

We usually alternate a day at the theme parks with a day lounging by the pool, going shopping, visiting Wonderworks (an upside-down house on International Drive which houses a hands-on science experiement museum, great for the kids!) etc. I know of people who have gone and done theme parks all day everyday but it's not very relaxing to do that and you probably will get home feeling very tired at the end of it. If you have the fortnightly pass you can visit a theme park in the morning then go to Wet & Wild in the afternoon or go back to the hotel and rest.

Finally, everyone always asks us if we're going to 'do Disney' when we go. If you love all the Disney films and are into that then you will enjoy it. If you're not into all that and are looking for 'big' rides I would recommend going Universal etc as it is not aimed at little children as much. We took a 3 year old to Universal etc a few years ago and he had a blast! Obviously he was too little for many of the rides, but he loved the little play areas they have there for young children and particularly loved seeing all the animals at Sea World.

There is so much to do in Orlando it can seem a bit daunting, but the best thing is to decide whether you're going to go Disney or Universal and then just see what you fancy doing each day.

Hope this helps!

kompendium

I'd like to comment on the post above. I think they've given very good advise overall, but there is one thing I disagree with them on. That is that they say you should consider whether or not to do Disney. This is just my opinion of course, but I don't think you should give any thought as to whether or not you are going to do Disney, you SHOULD. Going to Orlando without going to Disney World would be like going to a water park without getting wet. It is simply a misconception that you have to like Disney films to enjoy Disney World. There is so much non Disney related stuff there. You would still have time to do Universal aswell, but I think you should spend at least 1 full day at each of the Disney parks. There'd be a lot more rides the whole family can go on at Disney, not to mention all the shows, fireworks and parades that Universal and other parks simply can't compete with.

Just my two cents,
Tom.